The Labyrinth *editing*

Chapter 2

Her face went from sleepily happy to wide awake fear. Her skin flushed out all color so she was as white as a ghost in Tartarus itself.

     "Oh Hera help us." she murmured, mimicking exactly my own thoughts, which made me frown. Then she got up, threw on her clean white chiton and pretty blue necklace and went to rouse the others.

     "Get your father." she said in an expressionless voice that was not her own. I climbed out the window as fast as I could and sprinted out to the fields. Surely he'd have heard the bells. I was right. He was walking in from the fields hurriedly. I ran to him and hugged him. He patted my back in comfort, and kissed the top of my head. My father was a fun person to be with. He always laughs a laugh that made his eyes light up happily. He never was very serious, and didn't like to punish us, believing it was bad for our souls, and he was a hard worker. He loved his family more than anything, and never showed his fear. He was well known and liked in the village and even sometimes in the city. Everyone recognized him as the man you could go to with a problem, and he would help you out no matter what. Right now, his face showed no emotion of fear, but his eyes were concerned nonetheless.

     "Let's get back to the house, Xenia." he said in a duller than usual tone. Then his voice brightened considerably. "How about I race you?" he asked.

This is a good example of my father- trying to make fun out of anything, not showing fear. This is comforting, so I agree and for even more fun, I add a prize to the winner- a hug and a kiss. My father smiles his wonderful smile, agrees, and we take off, legs flying, chitons whipping in the wind. The soft dirt felt good on my bare feet, and when we reached the house at the same time, and we couldn't help laughing gaily despite the situation. We decide that the prize should go to both of us, and then we both jumped through the window since he is like me and doesn't like to waste time.

My mother has everyone up and in their chitons. Her hair is braided in two braids of long gold hair that are both wrapped about her head and tied with pretty silver ribbons. That’s my mother for you. No matter what the situation, she absolutely must look presentable, even when totally uncalled for. Iona and Hector are both old enough to be imprisoned and taken away to death itself, but Tiana isn't, though she still looks just as frightened. Both my parents are in their mid thirties, so they’re both too old to go. Percy has two siblings, Gaia, and Dahlia who are twins, both 12. They are all in danger, except his father, who is 31. His mother is still 30. I brushed Iona's golden hair quickly. I, after some consideration, hid a small knife with a short, sharp blade into the folds of my chiton. Just in case. I didn't dare tell my mother, because she would worry that they would kill me if they found out. And then we rushed out the door, toward the designated gathering place in the heart of Athens.

They give everyone about an hour to get to the rendezvous point, and after that, armed guards go around the city start looking for people who tried to hide or didn't listen. Percy and his family were already waiting and when they saw us, they waited for us to catch up, and then walked in step with us without a word. We then dragged our feet to the town square, against our will.

I had only been to three of these before, and only two when I was actually in danger of being taken. Percy grabbed my hand and Iona's hand and held them tightly like a life preserver, so I could tell he was scared too. When we got to town, my mother was a wreck. She never talked about it, and she didn't mention it now, but we all knew she was thinking of her brother that was taken away when she was only 10 and he was 16. She was probably thinking how they walked down this same path just like us, and then had to walk back without him, their hearts heavy with grief, eyes full with tears. Maybe she's thinking of how maybe one of us will soon have to walk down this path without their sibling or friend just like she did. I think about this for a while, and then start to feel queasy, and banish it from my mind.