The Beginning of the End (J. Grace)

XIII: I'm grounded

That night, I lay unable to sleep, staring aimlessly at the celling.

We're going to be later to rescuing Bello, my son. I've fallen hopelessly and obviously in love with a certain guy who my prophecy has warned me of. I'm going to go on a quest in the morning, which is good, but I can't let my daughter get hurt. And Lightning Boy's going on a different quest at the same time so I won't be able to beat up stuff to protect him, so I pray that he won't have another brick thrown at him or, something like that.

There were three knocks at my door, breaking me from my train of thought as I sat up.

"Who is it?" I wondered, confused as to how someone had managed to escape their cabin so soon after Hedge had done his rounds of smashing his club against our doors and telling us to shut up and sleep.

"Who do you think?" An all-to familiar voice responded, a slight hint of mocking in his voice.

"Come in." I decided, feeling myself smile involuntarily. Gods, how does he do that to me?

I watched as my door was pushed open and a certain tall blonde guy slipped in soundlessly, silently closing the door again behind him. Not making a noise. I'd like to believe that he learnt that from me... yeah, I'm gonna tell myself that.

"Can't sleep?" I wondered, sitting up a little straighter and wriggling over in my bed, giving him room to sit beside me if he wanted to, which he clearly did.

"No." He looked over at me after he'd made himself comfortable, trying for a grin, but failing and falling back on a joke instead: "Don't know why. Hedge really is great at making me fall asleep most nights."

I let out a short snort of laughter at that, which seemed to make him proud of himself.

"What's up?" I questioned, still smiling, but having anxiety irrationally creep up inside of me. What'd happened? Why wasn't he smiling, like, at all?

He seemed to contemplate telling me for a while, but then relented and sighed.

"Don't go." He blurted out, looking me over with a desperation and nervousness I'd never seen before.

"What? Where?" I spluttered, completely thrown off. He knows that I'm gonna die. I can't stop that: it's impossible, and I rarely ever say that something's impossible. My fate is set in stone. No one can change it, no matter how hard they try.

"Don't go on that quest." He elaborated, taking hold of both my hands and staring at me seriously. "Please."

I sat there in shocked silence for a while. Why didn't he want me to go? I need to feel that rush of adrenaline from a good fight again. I need it: I'm battle-deprived!

But he was being so serious, and there has to be a reason: he wouldn't be telling me to not go if there wasn't one. What was it about this ghost lady that he wasn't telling me? Did something else happen to RARA?

"I'm going." I decided, though my voice held uncertainty and -for Aphrodite's sake- I couldn't break away from his captivating gaze.

I also didn't want to be the one to break eye-contact first; Lightning Boy was raised by wolves and, in the world of wolves, breaking eye-contact first is a sign of weakness. Gods forbid he will ever see me as weak, or anything close to that.

But it doesn't matter if he does, doesn't it? He's seen me at my worst and it didn't change our relationship one bit.

"You can come to the Museum with the guys and I, but- " He began, though I needed to know why he wasn't giving this speech to the other girls, or our daughter.

"Then why can Hazelnut go?" I raised one eyebrow sceptically; my confidence being re-formed and I sat a little straighter again to try and be level with him. Gods, when did he grow so tall?! Not fair!