The Daughter of Apollo.

Chapter 1 - The dream.

Prologue –

Ever since I was small, I mean smaller, I always had a sneaking suspicion that I wasn't who I was supposed to be. Who was I supposed to be? Sophie Clemson, daughter of Louis and Adam Clemson. I was the straight-forward, down to earth kind of daughter. Ma always said that I was so honest, I wouldn't tell I lie to save my life. She turned out to be right, well, sort of. I have never looked like either of my parents, but that's probably because my defining features are always changing. No kidding! Apparently, when I was born, my eyes were a colour that could remind you of copper and someone else of bronze. Now they are grey. It's the same with my hair, used to be black and now it's a shade of light brown. Now you can see why I always knew I was different. My other features have never changed though. I have always been short and petite, with long legs compared to others of my height. I have skinny arms and high cheekbones, a pointed nose with a splash of uneven freckles covering it.

Right now, I'm thirteen. Life is alright, I mean, I haven't died yet, so that's good. Living in this place is mundane, every day is the same. With only one good friend, I don't do the fun things other kids my age do. But that's probably because no one is nice to me. Since I'm the shy, tentative kid in school, I'm an easy target for bullies. It's not like I can have fun anyway, I don't have anything that interests me. No real hobbies. Anyway, enough about me. Where was I? Oh! The main supporting evidence for my suspicion was my dreams, because they've always been nightmares. Plus, I've always had this recurring dream, ever since I can remember.

It goes like this...

I start off observing the scene, like I'm watching the movie, not actually apart of the action... No, it feels more like I'm being suspended in place, not in control of myself or my actions. I hear a voice come from behind me, a deep and rumbling voice that would send shivers down anyone's spine.

"Let that one go. It can do nothing now. We have the real threat; Apollo's kin! Without it, the demi-gods are powerless against us." Says the voice. I feel myself regain control of my body and I drop to the ground.

"So...phie. Run..." Says another voice, this one is weak and broken. Now in control, I swivel my head in the direction of the fading voice... to find a fading person. Or rather, people. Up, about two metres above me, were three teenagers chained to three identical stone pillars. "Get... to the... h-hunters."

With that, I start running as fast as my short legs could take me. The world whizzes by as I zoom into an open desert. All around me, the ground is cracked from lack of moisture and there's not a plant to be seen. The heat is really starting to set in. However, I don't care about the raging sun attacking my neck, or the pain in my chest and ankles that strike with every step. I don't care about any of that. All I care about is getting away. Away from them. Does this make me a coward? I think. Why am I running? That's right, I need to get to the hunters. I abruptly stop has I feel my stomach lurch. I try to suppress the urge to cough, but I fail. I swiftly bring my hand up to cover my mouth, something I do from muscle memory. The cough is more violent and painful than I'd thought. Why I didn't collapse right there and then is past me. I'm about to start running when something stops me, a suffocating feeling that starts from my feet and rises like water to my head, until I feel like I'm drowning. I know straight away what this means.

"NO!" I scream, my eyes wide with fear, in the direction of the pillars. This can't be happening, it just can't be! But I know my wishful thinking won't help them. I need to keep going... but I can't. Everything in me freezes as my ears ring with the sound of shill, piercing cry. A death cry.

Present Day –

Iwoke up, my sweat-coated hair sticking to my face. I rolled to my side andhugged my pillow tight. I've been having these dreams since as long as I couldremember. I'm almost thirteen now, whenis it going to stop? Will it always be like this? My watch read 5:00. Atleast I woke up when I was supposed to this time. I force myself out of bed,thinking that maybe I wouldn't have to hide my bags with makeup today. I wentover to my small, oval mirror which hung on the inside of my wardrobe. Mypillow fell out of my hand as I gasped in surprise. There were scratches up anddown my arms. Scratches that weren't there yesterday. This was definitely not normal.