The Second Half of the Sky

Chapter 12

I expected Poseidon to appear immediately and demand that Autumn unties Jade and me.  Then, he would only demand that he gets Cole too once Jade threatens him.

But instead, there were no screaming dads.  There wasn't a crying Autumn.  There wasn't an untied Sky.  There was just a group of legends tied to each other and Autumn peacefully waiting for the gods to notice.

After a few minutes of waiting, I was already bored.

"Ugh!" I groaned.

"What's wrong?" Jade worriedly asked.  "Was that sandwich you ate poisoned?  Is the poison kicking in?"

"No," I sighed.

"Then what's wrong?"

"I'm..." I trialed off.

"Stupid?" Cole suggested.

I glared at him.  "I'd slap you if I could," I threatened.  "Anyway, I'm BORED!"

"Oh my, she's a Sherlockian too," the Doctor gasped.

Jade rolled her eyes.  "Come on, Sky.  You can stay put for a few more minutes."

"I don't think you understand.  I'm so bored, my brain is feeling like slush," I explained.  "If I don't do something soon, I won't be able to think right until I sleep."

Jade nodded.  "That explains why you burst into song after taking that Latin test."

I furrowed my eyebrows.  "I'd burst into song anyway."

She shook her head.  "No, I know that.  But when I asked you what song you were singing, you stared at my blankly and said 'I was singing out loud?'"

I bit my lip.  "Yeah, that definitely was because of that Latin final.  How did I do anyway?" I asked.

Autumn lowered her gaze from the sky and glared at us as if we were picking each other's noses.  "Can you guys shut up?" she asked curtly.  "Pretty please?"

Jade turned to Cole.  "Why don't you zap her?"

Autumn laughed so hard that she ended up having to hold her stomach from how much it hurt.

"What the Hades is so funny?" Jade growled.

"It's just, oh my gods!  I thought that you, of all people, would've been able to figure it out on your own," Autumn giggled.  "But, I guess that I should've figured that there'll never be a child of Poseidon with an ounce of sense."

Jade chuckled to herself and nudged me.  "Can you believe this girl?" she winked secretly.

I forced some laughter out, but I guess that it wasn't real enough for Jade.  She moved her hand to the side of my stomach and tickled me.  I laughed much harder, squirming in the restraints.  "How did you know?" I whispered, wondering how she knew that I was so ticklish.

"I know, right," she smiled, still performing.  "I can't believe that she doesn't realize how preposterous she is!"

Autumn squinted at Jade.  "Please, I think that it's obvious who's the stronger one here is."

Jade smirked.  "We weren't talking about strength, which you haven't procured.  We're referring to something indispensable: knowledge."

"Just because you're using big words doesn't mean that you're suddenly a genius."

Jade tilted her head, the smile become a bit murderous.  "You're not insurmountable, you're not even prudent in any manner."

My mind began spinning, I had no idea what the Hades she was saying.  Those words were too complicated.

Jade flipped her hair before continuing.  "Have you even perused the gods?  You've had since the beginning of time, and look at you.  You think that the gods, especially the top two gods, would deviate from their from their schedule?"

"What are you saying?" Autumn questioned.

"Isn't it obvious, you indolent thespian?" Jade responded.

"Oh my gods, you honestly don't realize it?" I laughed, even though I had no idea what was going on.

Jade licked her lips.  "I thought that the flaws were quite obvious.  If you look around, you can see the flaw right now."

"And exactly what is that flaw?" Autumn smirked, expecting that Jade was only bluffing.

"Did you honestly think that Poseidon would come and save his two daughters?" she asked.  "Did you think that Zeus would descend from the heavens and save his son?"

Autumn rolled her eyes and turned away to watch the sky.

"The gods don't give a flipping crap about their children until they do something.  Just ask Sky," Jade suggested.

My eyes widened. "Wait, what?"

Jade shook her head at my cluelessness. "When were you claimed by Poseidon?"

"When I controlled water for the first time," I shrugged.

"When were you claimed by Zeus?"

"Uh..." I furrowed my eyebrows.  "After I saved the Seven from Octavian."

"Sky, don't you remember?" Jade asked.

"I just told you.  After I saved--"

"No, don't you remember the conclusion that you made?" she questioned.  "You told me about it a while ago, I figured that you already knew it."

My heart skipped a beat.  "Wow, I must've trusted you a lot," I commented.  "I never told anyone that before."

"Well, it seems like your sob story is what Autumn needs to hear right about now."

I looked at Autumn, her back was to me.  "You're so lucky," I said.  "You are a season, you have no parent except for Chaos if you even count him.  You don't know the feeling to grow up not knowing who your dad is."

"Don't prolong the introduction more than you have to, just get it over with," Jade whispered.

"Well, after it was clear that I was a demigod and all, my father only claimed me after I controlled water.  He waited until it was obvious who my father was.  You know why?" I asked.

"How much longer is this story?" Autumn yawned.

"It's because he's ashamed of me," I stated.  "He thinks that his child should save Olympus at least once before he even talks to them.  You know when Zeus finally admitted to being my grandfather?  Only after I did something impressive.  They don't care about their children," I told her.  "And I'll tell you right now: they aren't coming."

"Please, parents would do anything to protect their children," Autumn argued.

"Are you so sure about that?  I know exactly what Poseidon and Zeus are thinking right now.  They're saying that if we can't figure out how to save ourselves, we don't deserve to live," I growled.  "And you know what?" I asked as I turned my head and looked her in the eyes.  "They're absolutely right."