'River Anise was like the morning sun. Her rays were gentle and calm, accompanied by a light breeze. Her light painted the skies with a beautiful array of colors that Percy thought no painter could ever truly capture.'
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(Percy Jackson)
(The Lightn...
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chapter three: the quest of surprise
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River's eyes opened at the crack of dawn and she was met with the sight of a bright yellow hyacinth flower nearly touching the tip of her nose. She knew immediately who it was from. She reached out to grab it gently, caressing her fingers over its petals before she tucked it behind her ear.
Every night River would speak to her father. She would tell him about her day, ask him questions, share her feelings with him. Anything, really. She always knew he was listening when she woke up the next morning to a flower on her pillow. A hyacinth.
As with all the rest of her siblings, River awoke early every morning just as the sun did. They were all stirring in their beds, some already getting ready for the day.
River snatched her notebook off the table and nearly squealed at the sight of orange marker written all over it. She could always count on her dad to come through for her. She had prayed to him the night before to check over the song she was writing. His beautiful cursive writing flowed neatly at the sides of the page along with pointing arrows to certain bits of her composition. At the top of the page was a drawing of a sun and the printed words 'excellent'. Her heart soared as she hugged her notebook tight to her chest. There was no one River loved more than her parents.
River carefully closed the book and set it down as she dressed for the day in her camp t-shirt and a pair of denim shorts that she had painted flowers on. She slipped her tattered yellow converse on her feet, tying them twice before hopping out of her cabin behind her other siblings.
The sun's rays glowed immensely brighter over the horizon for just a moment as they all walked outside, as if their father was saying 'hello'. It was likely that he was. Apollo loved his children the most, it seemed. At least, he showed it the most.
They always woke before everyone else, which meant some of their activity slots started earlier too.
Lee Fletched led the way for his siblings to the archery range, letting them each grab their bows before lining them up before the targets.
It was no secret that kids of Apollo were the best archers. They nearly always hit their target.
"Michael," Lee called out for his brother to step up next.
Michael drew back the string of his bow after notching an arrow, took a breath, and then let go. The arrow sunk into the center of the target and his siblings applauded before rotating to the next person.
In the middle of their practice, more campers began to wander out of their cabins, though none looked nearly as energized by that time as the Apollo children.
Percy was one of those that had woken up early, mostly due to nerves. He wandered over to the edge of the archery range as River stepped up. He found himself watching her every move closely. He hadn't realized it before, but whenever she was around, even if he was annoyed, she had all his attention.
