Daughter of Death

T w e n t y - C o n s t e l l a t i o n s

It was 1:00am and you were lying wide awake in bed.  You couldn't find Lennon, you couldn't sleep, you had already listened to at least five different albums, you finished the book you were in the middle of, and you started a new book.  You got out of bed and decided to put the 5 hours left of darkness to good use.  You threw on your hoodie for Olivia Rodrigo's "Guts" album.  

You were walking through the forest, looking around.  Although, there wasn't a lot to look at.  You were getting bored, so you were considering heading back to your room.  Then you heard a rustle in the bushes behind you.  You swiftly turned and stuck out your sword, nearly killing the person on the other side of the blade.  

"GIRL-" 'Shit. Charlie.'

"Sorr-"  You instantly pulled the sword back.

"YOU ALMOST KILLED-"

"Shhh."

"THIS ISN'T A MATTER YOU CAN SHUSH ME ABO-"
"There's about a hundred campers sleeping, so DON'T wake them up!"  You said with a whisper yell.

"YOU ALMOST FREAKING-" Charlie responded in a louder whisper yell.

"I get it!  I almost killed you.  I'm sorry.  But why are you even up at this time?"

"I couldn't sleep."

"Oh.  ... Well, pro demigod tip- don't walk up on someone in a dark forest in the middle of the night.  Especially if that someone is armed."

"Fine.  Why are you here?"

"Couldn't sleep."

"Ah."  After a few moments of silence, you decided to continue walking.  Charlie stayed for a couple seconds then began to follow you.

"Wait up!"  She caught up.  "Where are you going?"

"I dunno." You looked at the direction you were going.  "Probably Zeus' fist, or something."

"...You don't know where you're going?"

"Nah." After a couple of moments, Charlie responded.

"Is it normal for you?"

"Is what normal?"

"For you to be...I dunno.  Just like, so, careless."

"Careless? No.  No, I'm not careless.  I like to say that I 'go with the flow' ... But it's all just cuz I'm too tired to plan anything out."

"Huh.  No gonna lie, that's kinda weird."

"I know.  I'm weird."

"Yeah.  I'm sorta weird too.  I like hedgehogs."

"...Hedgehogs?"

"Yeah.  They're my favorite animals."

"...Yeah you are weird."

"See?"

"I don't know if that's a good thing."  The next few moments were quiet until you got to the clearing where Zeus' fist was.

"The stars are so pretty..."  Charlie commented in awe after she gasped.

"Yeah.  That's why I come here at night."  You climbed onto the top of the stones while Charlie sat at the base of them.

"Are there constellations?"  You looked up.

"Yeah."

"Really?  They look like a bunch of dots with no pattern."  You studied the stars for a few moments, then pointed to a constellation you recognized.

"You see that one?  That's Virgo.  She's Persephone, my stepmother."

"I don't get it.  That's a human?"

"Yeah.  You have to use your imagination a little bit."  For the next few hours, the two of you laid there as you pointed out constellations and you guys talked about random stuff.  Random stuff until it became serious stuff, of course.

"Ophelia?"

"Hm?"

"What are you the goddess of?"

"Dying young.  Why?"

"Why dying young?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like do you get to pick it, are you assigned it?"

"I picked it."

"Why dying young, like instead of anything else?"

"I'm a minor goddess, and by the time I was born, there wasn't anything good left."

"Tell me the truth."

"Why do you want to know so bad?"

"I wanna know you better!  Plus, why are you being so reluctant?"  You thought about it.  You didn't know why.  Maybe it was because it was a painful topic.  But after a few moments of silence, you decided to tell her.  

"This may take a while.  You good with that?"

"I mean, we have at least an hour before sunrise."

"True.  Prepare yourself, it's a long story."

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