Hero

Chapter 4: Roselyn's POV

Days passed.

Every morning, Crystal and I set off to hunt, and we came back in the afternoon laden with prey. Kasey stayed in the tent to take care of Leafy most of the day, and at night she went out to fetch more herbs - though where, I don't know.

Leafy was already looking better, thanks to Kasey’s awesome healing skills. Soon all of them would be ready to search for Artemis.

Winter was coming to an end. Flowers were starting to bloom and the animals were slowly coming out of their hibernation.

I talked to Kasey a lot these days. Sometimes we argued, other times we just had a friendly conversation. In these conversations, I found out that her father was Hephaestus and that her mother was mortal. Her mother made it clear that she didn’t want Kasey, so Kasey ran away when she was six years old. Soon, she encountered the Hunt and joined them, grateful for a new family.

One night, when Kasey set out to look for herbs, I crouched beside Leafy, gazing at her beautiful face and touching her soft brown hair that was glowing silver in the moonlight.

Suddenly, Leafy groaned and her eyes fluttered open.

I yelped with surprise, then grinned. “Oh my gods, Leafy, you’re alive!” I hugged her so tightly she let out a hoarse call of help.

I pulled back and gripped her shoulders. “I’ve missed you. I thought you were dead. I’m sorry I left you back there all alone.”

“It’s fine,” Leafy croaked. “I’m alive, and that’s what matters, right?”

I nodded, but said nothing.

Silence hung in the air, broken by someone voice, “Miss me?”

I let go of Leafy and twisted around to see Kasey standing at the entrance of the tent, some herbs stuffed in her satchel. She rushed inside and hugged Leafy.

“I’m so glad you’re alive!” Kasey squealed.

“Kasey? Is…is that really you?” Leafy stammered.

“Yes, it’s me,” Kasey answered softly, a ghost of a smile dancing on her lips.

“How did you find us?” Leafy demanded. “Tell me!”

So we told her the whole story from the beginning to the end.

Just as we finished, Crystal came in, carcasses of numerous animals slung over her back. Her shape shifting mechanical pencil was strapped to her belt. “What is going on here?” she asked.

“Leafy’s alive!” Kasey shrieked.

Crystal turned her gaze upon Leafy. “Hey there! I’m Crystal.”

“Hey.” Leafy paused before adding, “So you’re helping us find Artemis too?”

“Zeus’s orders, but yeah.”

Leafy nodded. “Okay, that’s cool.” She rubbed her hands together. “We need to get moving as soon as possible. Anybody have a plan?”

“Um, I guess we could follow a strong monster trail,” Crystal suggested, “since Artemis is the goddess of the Hunt, you know?”

“Good idea,” I piped up. “But first we need to actually FIND a monster trail. Anybody know of one?”

“I do,” Kasey said. “I came across one just a while ago. It’s aura is way strong.”

“Where is it?” Leafy asked, sitting forward eagerly.

“It leads into the Labyrinth. I’ll show you later. For now, all of you need to rest. I’ll keep first watch.”

“No, you need to rest too, Kasey,” I protested. “I’ll keep watch instead-”

“No!” Kasey snarled. “I’LL keep watch, okay? Just go to sleep already!”

I flinched. I had never seen Kasey’s temper flare until today, and it was NOT something you’d want to experience.

“Kasey…” Leafy began hesitantly, her brow knitted. “You okay?”

Kasey took a deep breath. “All I mean is…you guys have had a long day, so you should rest. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, then,” Crystal said, studying Kasey warily. She looked like she wanted to say more, but instead closed her eyes. She lay very still, but something told me that she wasn’t asleep.

I opened my mouth to say good night, but it quickly turned into a huge yawn. I laid back on the comfy pillows, sleep soon overcoming me.

I had a dream tonight, unlike the rest of the nights in Kasey’s tent.

I absolutely HATED demigod dreams. They were so vivid that you had to remind yourself more than once that it was just a dream and that you couldn’t get physically hurt. Emotionally? Maybe. Physically? Nope.

The other thing I hated about demigods dreams were that they were all those mystical kind of stuff like omens, prophecies, foresight, and sometimes even stuff that’s happening right now when you don’t know it. It all made my head hurt.

THIS was my dream:

Shadows danced across the forest floor. The moon was covered by clouds, so darkness hung ominously in the air. I couldn’t see; I could only hear.

I crept forward, feeling my way through the undergrowth, but it turned out I didn’t need to. I passed through trees as easily as if I was wearing Hades’s helm of darkness.

Deadly silence writhed around me. I tried to speak, but my voice wouldn’t work.

What do you want to show me? I thought to no one in particular.

This. My father’s voice bellowed in my head so suddenly that, in my surprise, I fell forward into a clearing.

I could barely make out a faintly gleaming lake in the center. A black silhouette of a girl was hunched over at the edge of the lake, holding a prism to make a rainbow. But HOW did the girl make a rainbow when there was no light?

I gasped silently as I realized the girl’s hand was lit on fire. She didn’t even seem to be hurt, burnt, or scorched.

“O’ Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering,” the girl murmured, tossing a golden drachma, money of the gods, into the rainbow. She looked over her shoulder, muttering something inaudible, but I couldn’t catch sight of her face.

The rainbow shimmered and suddenly, a giant’s face appeared in the Iris-message, a message that is carried by Iris, goddess of the rainbow.

“Hello, Alcyoneus,” the girl greeted. Something about her voice sounded familiar, though I could not guess why. “The trap is sprung,” she continued. “They will be there by noon.”

The giant – Alcyoneus – nodded with approval. “Good. I’ve got Porphyrion, Polybotes, and Enceladus fighting the goddess. She can’t hold them for long. And when your friends come, you and I will join the battle and we will surely win.”

I stifled a gasp as I realized Crystal, Kasey, Leafy, and I were the “they” in his statement. But who was the girl talking to Alcyoneus? And the giants were trapping Artemis obviously, but where were they keeping her prisoner?

Suddenly the rainbow vanished. The mysterious girl sighed, looking over her shoulder one last time. My eyes widened as I saw the unmistakable gleam of her silver clothing.

Oh my gods, oh my gods, oh my gods.

This can’t be right, this can’t be true! I thought desperately, but inside, I knew it was very, VERY true.

Before I could control my swirling emotions, a giant heap of betrayal, hurt, and anger crashed down onto me, and I fell back into the undergrowth by the force of it. Burying my face in a pile of soft leaves, I wished with all my heart that I could just wake up forgetting everything.

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A/N: Ooooooooohhhhhh so what do you think happened? ;D VOTE VOTE VOTE PLEASE IF YOU LIKED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) Comment if you want. ^-^