I trailed behind Will as we headed towards the dining pavilion. We headed in separate directions once we reached the tables. I hid my face as I walked towards the Hades table. I sat down and stared at my plate. It magically filled with a heap of spaghetti that was covered in bolegnaise sauce. Sorrow surged through my veins and I started sobbing uncontrollably, the never ending tears streaming down my cheeks. The entire camp stopped talking and stared at me. I shrieked in surprise as something latched onto the back of my top and yanked me into the air. "HELP!" I yelled. Campers started screaming as they saw what it was. "DRAGON!" Chiron yelled. I whipped my head around and nearly fainted as I saw who was riding the blood red beast. "M-m-mamma?" I stuttered as the dragon raced away from camp.
Black tears streamed down her cheeks as well. I felt mine speed up. "Mamma?" I asked again. "But you, I, Zeus killed you. Didn't he?" "No sweetie. Zeus killed the mortal shadow of my true self, the cage holding me back from being what I am." she said. "A-and what's that?" I questioned. "I'm an Angel sweetie. You are as well." An Angel? No. I'm no Angel. I never was. I never will be. I voiced these thoughts and mamma laughed. "Yes you are darling. You just haven't Ascended yet. You will find your wings. You will gain and master your powers. You will see your camp again. But you will be tested. You will feel pain and you will feel joy. But don't worry, I'll be here this time." I smiled slightly and she scoffed. "What kind of smile is that? Goodness, you need more joy lessons than I thought." I chuckled and she whispered something to the dragon. It tossed me up onto its back and mamma instantly pulled me into a hug. Our tears soaked each other. Then misery washed over me. I began to sob, as did mamma. Once the sadness passed, I looked up at her. "Mamma, why can't I stop crying." "Because an Angel died."
My face must have reflected my inner curiosity because she took a deep breath before speaking again. "Her name was Odysia and she was one of my closest friends." She paused to clear the obvious lump in her throat. "One day we were out walking before the daily gathering. By the way, that is when all of the Angels meet up." "How many Angels are there?" I interrupted. She bit her lip before answering. "Ten, including me. Now, stop interrupting and let me finish. As I was saying, we were going to the gathering wh-when it a-a-attacked." She choked on the last word. She sobbed and I held her, stroking her huge, beautiful, wondrously white wings. Mamma calmed down and continued the tale of Odysia's death. "It was a huge, grey creature. She told me to run and get help while she distracted it. S-so I started run-n-ning. The monster it..." She paused. "It tore off her wings and left her to die. I...her scream made me stop. I ran back to her and held her hand as she...as she d-died. If I had just gotten help..." "She still would have died." I said. "Mamma, you couldn't have stopped her death. You were with her when she died. You comforted her and that is the best thing you could have done. If you had gone to get help then she would have died alone." She hugged me before pointing towards a strange floating island. "Look!" I gasped.
The island was pure pristine perfection. There were crystal clear lakes and rivers, beautiful beaches, rich, green forests and in the centre, an elegantly designed palace made of pure gold. The dragon beneath us grunted slightly and landed in a vast stone courtyard. Mamma and I hopped off the dragon's back. It glowed before transforming into an Angel. He was also crying black tears. My eyes widened in shock. "Thanks" mamma said to him before leading me into the palace. Footsteps echoed through the corridor we were in and I whipped out my sword, whirled around and nearly decapitated the Angel behind me. I recognised him as the angel that had transformed into the blood red dragon. "Sorry!" I cried after sheathing my sword. "Oh my gods, I am so so sorry. It's just that I've been in two wars already and fighting armies of monsters, Giants and Titans sorta makes paranoia necessary. Again, I am so sorry. So very sorry." "You carry a Stygian sword? But you are only a child." the Angel said. "I'll have you know I am the ghost king, the son of Hades, who, by the way, is the God of the underworld. I am the first survivor of Tartarus and the only one of the three survivors that went in willingly. I entered the Labyrinth at the age of ten after losing my sister to a quest. And yes, I have fought in two demigod wars, the first against Kronos and the second against Gaea." The two Angels in front of me stood there dumbfounded. "Oh, I forgot to mention that I have been in the death trance, journeyed through the house of Hades and nearly faded. Therefore, I think I'm entitled to some sort of reward. Even though I got this sword before quite a lot of that happened, but that is unimportant." Mamma then gave me a tour of the palace and took me to my room, before hugging me and telling me that my training would begin tomorrow. I fell asleep and dreamt of camp half blood, and more importantly, I dreamt of Will.
