𝚖𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜 ✶ clarisse la rue

008. the campion of hera

The next few days, River went into a routine which she felt very comfortable with. Each morning, Percy and her would take Ancient Greek from Annabeth, learning about the gods and goddesses. River discovered that Ancient Greek wasn't hard for her to read. Annabeth said that had something to do with her dyslexia—something she struggled with majorly.
River was given the opportunity to choose her weapon. She decided she wanted to do archery. She was given a bow and arrow, along with a dagger. When she saw the dagger, her stomach dropped. It was the same blade from her dream. Except the one in her dream had ocean themed designs carved into it. She didn't tell anyone, she was scared it would come true.
She sat in the common yard after a long day of training. Tomorrow was Capture the Flag, so she had to train hard. She wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead.
A familiar voice spoke, "Long day, huh?"
She looked over, it was the curly haired boy, Rome. Her and Rome became really close over the past few days.
"Yeah," River sighed.
"Mind if I sit?" he asked. He looked as if he just came back from sword training. Sweat coated his forehead.
"Go ahead," River said.
He sat down next to her. "Are you excited for Capture the Flag tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I guess," she said.
"Is something bothering you?" Rome noticed.
"I'm just nervous," she told him. "What if I never get claimed?"
"Then you'll be in cabin eleven. With me." He nudged her, trying to cheer her up.
"But there's something inside of me that wants to make my father proud. How am I going to do that if I don't know who he is?"
The boy sighed. "Before I came to camp, my mother hated me. She thought I was just an inconvenience. So when I came to camp, all I wanted was to make my father notice me. But after he claimed me, he ignored me. But, Luke made me realize that we don't need our parents' attention to prove we are good." He smiled at the girl, "I know you'll be great, River. No matter what."
River smiled. Rome always found ways to cheer her up the last few days. She found herself having a crush on him, which she would never confess. She didn't want to lose her only friend.
River looked at his watch. "It's almost time for dinner. Wanna walk back to the cabin with me?" He stood up.
"Sure," River stood up after him.
They walked side by side to the cabin.
After dinner, the campfire was burning bright as they sang and laughed with each other. River caught Clarisse La Rue looking at her a few times, but she shook it off. When it was time for bed, River found herself asleep quickly.

In her dream, she saw a beautiful lady in a Greek dress. Looking straight at her, like through a camera.
"Hello, dear," the lady said.
"Uh, who are you?" River asked.
"Oh, I'm sorry, sweetheart. I'm Hera." The lady said. "I forgot that you're still adjusting and haven't learned everything yet."
"Here? As in, the queen of the gods?"
"That's correct, River. You're a smart girl." Hera smiled. "You'll learn everything you need to know in no time."
"So, uh, why did you decide to talk to me? Annabeth told me that gods can communicate through dreams."
"Oh, dear, I'm just here to tell you that you're going to be great, no matter what. Because you are my champion. So, take that as a compliment, because I don't like demigods that much."
"Oh, uh, what do you mean, your champion."
"Basically my children. Since I do not have any half-blood kids, I choose one every once in a while to be my champion, to do great things."
"Oh, okay. Thank you, Hera."
"Oh, it looks like it's about time you wake up. I'll talk to you later, have a good day, sweetheart."
The vision went black.