Black Star

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The field was crowded, almost as much as it was in the

hallway. I walk through the crowd, backpack tight against my hands. My hands…they were wet. Sweating. At first, I didn’t know why, but then, I understood that I was worried if anybody saw me get away. When I heard the knives clang again—despite the crowd’s noise—I quickly froze on spot. I hoped that nobody heard the noise. I see a girl running at me and I was ready to run away. My feet were ready, but my heart beat wasn’t steady. The dizziness in my head ached me so I couldn’t make the escape. But I was lucky enough when I realised that the figure was Cecelia.

Her long and shiny blond hair was in a tight braid. She looked like these fairies I saw back at the library.

I hadn't recently seen Aurelia. I nearly forgot how she looked like. I remembered slight details, like her brown curls and her dark skin. But even these were already fading. Let me tell you, I barely recognised her when I saw her with Arthur, talking.

I realised that Cecelia was talking because her mouth was opening and closing. But no words were getting out. She was already giving me a headache without me hearing her. I faintly walked away and I saw her interrogative face. I ignored it, rubbing my head. Why did I feel so dizzy? I started to rub my ring, because it was an old habit I had. The pain in my head got more disturbing by the second. As if some kind of truck honking in my head, trying to get through. Then, it all seemed to stop at once. I could hear again the crowd’s noise. I wanted to desperately go to Menodora again and ask her again if it was common for Black Star’s to have these sudden headaches. I looked down at my ring. I was chocking, hoping that nobody was looking at me. Maybe Cecelia saw it. I picked up some light fading from my ring. Artemidoros, I thought, what’s wrong? I rubbed it until all of the light left it and until it turned as dark as a black pit. I took a deep breath and let out all the stress I left in my thoughts. Something was roughly shaking my shoulder. Someone.

- Hey! HEY!

It was a male voice.

I turned back and saw an unfamiliar face. Blond hair, straight and slightly long. Blue eyes shining from the sun’s reflection. He arched his eyebrows and I saw that he was holding my knives.

- What are you doing with THESE? I said, grabbing the knives out of his hands and shoving it in my backpack.

- Why do you have THESE? he asked me, scratching the back of his head the same way Ian was.

He was now digging through his hair and flipped it.

- Cooking, I said hesitantly.

- Cooking? Why bring them to school? he kept asking me none stop.

- It’s…complicated, I said just to shut him up.

I looked deeply in his eyes and somehow, I could’ve sworn that I’d seen him before.

- Do I know you? I asked him, rubbing my ring.

I decided to stop rubbing it since my fingers was already burning.

- Were you at the meeting? he asked me.

I shook my head.

- But I do know about the Black Star thing, I said silently with emptiness.

- Well, you know about the relatives and the Circle of Dawn and all too?

- Yea, I heard about that. Apollo’s relative and all.

I decided to not talk too much.

- Yea, well, I’m Apollo’s relative.

I froze. I seriously did. I think that I even stopped breathing. He smiled but I didn’t smile back. I was now facing my mortal enemy.

- I…didn’t see you…before…

- Yea, I know, he said. I was there at the meeting, but then I went to Greece. At Athens. My family lives there.

- Oh.

- My name’s Arthur, by the way.

Arthur. Arthur, the relative. My doom. My opponent. Arthur, my mortal enemy.

- What’s your name?

I woke up from my bubble.

- Diana Ward.

He held out his hand. I didn’t shake it. Instead, I walked away and went back to Cecelia, feeling bad for leaving her alone. However, I did turn back to see Aurelia whispering to Arthur and pointing at me. She smiled and waved her hand. I smiled sarcastically and she looked at me as if she was hurt. She put her hands on her hips and that was all I saw before turning back to Cecelia.

I knew that I pushed it too far, but hey, I was in shock. It’s not everyday that you get to meet your enemy fo who you’re supposed to kill. Especially when your friend is practically his girlfriend.

Cecelia waved at me and I waved back, glad to have her by my side and not by Arthur’s. But I knew that she was Aphrodite’s relative. And I knew that she’d try to kill me soon enough. That is, if they find out what I actually am. I’d have to persuade them, in a way, that I was good. Not Arthur, I didn’t care about him. I had to convince my friends.

Ismania came immediately to join us. Cecelia asked me:

- Why did you walk away when I was trying to talk to you?

- A bad headache.

- I bet, with all of this happening, commented Ismania.

We laughed. We talked. We laughed again. I loved them, my friends. I couldn’t let them. Even if they’d try to kill me, I would never give up on them.

But I’d already given up on Aurelia.

After a school, I went to the headquarters. I checked around me to make sure that nobody was stocking me. Stocking. I mentally laughed. Stocking reminded me of a song I used to sing in my last year in primary.

He’s red, he’s white. He stocks you in the night, it’s SANTA CLAUS!

I would never forget these good times I spent in my last years with my friends.

Because I’d never known that they would be the last ones.