𝗚𝗢𝗟𝗗𝗜𝗘! 𝙥. 𝙟𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨𝙤𝙣 ¹

Hello Kitty

CHAPTER SEVEN: LYDIA

Lydia woke up the morning of the quest in a cold sweat. The doubt washed over her stronger than the night before.

She'd hardly slept at all, spending the night rolling around in bed. Despite promising herself she wouldn't cry, she did. Her pillow was soaked in her tears.

Her bravery had limits, and now she was just plain scared. Learning that even Percy thought she couldn't do it had tipped her over the edge. The roller coaster of emotions from all the events of the previous days had caught up to her.

She didn't even know what to worry about. Should she think about Annabeth, or her fight with Percy, or the ominous quest lines, or whatever the hell happened with Ethan? Where even was he? She hadn't seen him since then.

Lydia had promised herself to apologize to him the next time she saw him. She felt she was too harsh, and it made her feel awful.

She got out of bed earlier than usual. She'd decided that since she wasn't getting any sleep, she might as well get a head start packing her bags. She wasn't alone for long, though, because Silena came by.

"Knock, knock." Silena said, scaring Lydia out of her wits.

She'd left the cabin door open to 'air out the place', but we all know that she was waiting for someone. She hoped he'd at least come to say goodbye. If he was right and the quest lines really did refer to her, they might not see each other again.

She was still in her penguin pajamas.

"Hi," Lydia greeted, a soft smile stretching on her face. She couldn't help but feel grateful someone came by. At this rate, Lydia's anxiety was going to eat her up from the inside. "Am I late?"

The sun wasn't even up yet but knowing the hunters they'd probably already left yesterday. She wrapped Cressida's blue seed in a cloth and shoved it into the pocket of the jeans she was going to wear.

"No, no. Don't worry." Silena reassured, walking into the cabin. "Need any help?"

"Uh..." Lydia tangled her fingers into her hair, looking down at the mess on her bed. "I'm not sure."

Silena chuckled, sitting down on Lydia's bunk and pulling her down to sit too. She started to untangle Lydia's hair, with one of those enchanted combs you'd find laying around everywhere in cabin ten.

Lydia's hair was the textbook definition of rat's nest, especially when she woke up. Silena's magic hair fixing powers were not foreign to her.

Although Silena was a few years older, Lydia often went to her for advice—about everything, not just beauty or love. Silena was one of the smartest people Lydia knew.

"Jeez, Lyd," Silena grimaced, tugging at a knot. "Even magic can't fix this."

Lydia fake sobbed, she said, "Should I just shave it off?"

Lydia's hair was almost to her waist now. She didn't like to cut it at all. She'd actually rather die. Hair held memories after all. Only trims to keep it healthy.

"I told you to tie it up or braid it before you went to sleep."

Lydia frowned. She always did, she just forgot to yesterday. There was a lot on her mind.

Silena stopped combing her hair. "Is everything okay?"

Lydia didn't need to be asked twice. She told Silena everything starting from Westover Hall. As the words spilled out her, she felt the weight lift off her shoulder. Maybe it was because she was finally talking about it, or maybe it was because Silena was the one listening.