The Child of the Moon

Chapter Three

((QUICK NOTE: I first wrote this on Google Docs, and while my friend was reading this, they created a different font and spacing size. I don't know how to turn it back, so if it bothers you, I apologize. Thank you for you consideration.))

3.

They seat me down in one of the antique chairs at the table. We all sit next to each other, leaving a few empty chairs. Halley asks me if I have any questions I want answered.
Of course I do. The only problem is, I have so many I don't know where to start. All of that happened so fast, and it was all so bewildering. So, I inquire the first question that comes to mind.
"Who are you guys, and who was that guy with the sword?" I question, twiddling my thumbs in my hands.
Everyone looks towards Halley, she sighs and says, "I'm sure you know the planets of our Solar System, correct?"
"Uh, yeah," I glare, baffled. "I take Astronomy. What does that have to do with any of this and your weapons?"
"Well," Halley gives a nervous chuckle, "the planets and some moons and sun have human personifications, where they go to Earth once every four years for a small meeting. That's actually where we get the leap year from. They make sure people don't remember them coming to Earth so it doesn't cause a panic.
"Some of the planets, fall in love sometimes, and end up having a child. When they do get the mother pregnant, they erase the memory to make it seem like they left them.
"One day, Pluto was anxious that the planets would cast him out like other dwarf planets, because he was so small. So, he recruited the dwarf planets and attempted to make the other planets and Sun bow down to him, but when Pluto almost succeeded, he failed, due to our moon. He was banned from coming to the meetings, and casted as a dwarf planet. But since nobody cared about him and he didn't have that aura of a planet anymore, he came down quite frequently and had many children. He's trying to build an army.
"Now, the myths about the Sun being more powerful are incorrect. The Moon tends to have more power than the Sun. Just because the Sun is the leader, does not mean he is more powerful.
"The Moon only has a couple of children for as long as the Earth has lived. And it is said that a child of the Moon is alive right now, and destined to defeat Pluto and the dwarf planets.
"Ever since Pluto started having children, a war broke out, because planets should only have one child a century at a time. Every planet either did that or had no children at all that century.
"And to a conclusion, you can believe it or not, all of the children at this table, including you, are children of our Solar System."
My jaw drops. I take that in to process. That can't be true. They must be playing with me. "You're lying." I spit out. "There is no way that's true. Science proves-"
"Science is just an excuse for the public." Halley cuts in, and folds her hands together. "I'm sorry for cutting in, but what do you think the people would think if they were just left without answers?"
I'm speechless to that. They have to be lying though. This is unbelievable. Then, I remember my original question. "So you're all children of Space or something like that? What about that guy with the sword?"
"That was a child of Pluto," Jove explains, with her tan skin sticking out because of the sunlight peering through the shattered window, "but that wasn't only one. There are hundreds more."
More questions start to float to my head, but I start with the first. "Who are you guys the children of anyway?"
They all look at each other and the boy with the dagger shrugs. "I'll go first, I guess." He says, and stands up. "I'm Nestor, and I'm the child of Mercury."
Nestor has gray eyes that are the same color of Mercury's surface. His hair is a straight and dusty blond and it can be considered gray, too. He has freckles spread all over his body. It's like he's covered in them from head to toe. He's wearing those basketball shorts those boys in High School wear in the Winter, as well as Summer. He's also wearing a light blue tank top.
He sits back down and puts his hand out to Jove to gesture for her to go. She glares at him, then groans, "Fine. I'm Jove And I'm the daughter of Jupiter, who's a jerk because he literally named me after him. Jove is another name for him."
"You've met a planet?" I ask, with my eyes wide and shocked.
"Yeah. He came to me in my dreams to tell me I'm his daughter and whatever. Your parent will do that sooner or later, trust me. They're probably gonna be a huge jerk but-"
"Jove!" Halley shouts at Jove, giving her an angry stare.
"Hey, it's just how my father is. I'm just warning her-"
"And keep in mind that you will be the only child of Jupiter for another century. Her parent could be the Moon for all we know!"
"So? How does that change her parents not being a d-"
"Language!" Halley shouts, and gives Jove another glare, then turns back towards the table and claps her hands together awkwardly. "Okay, who's next."
"I'll go," says the other female. Her muddy brown hair is all clumped up in a thick bun, stuck up in a scrunchie. Her eyes are the same mix of Bluish-purple Halley has, and she has thick eyelashes. She's wearing one of those Pink sweatshirts, sold by Victoria's Secret, and black leggings. She has a very similar look to Halley the more I study her facial features. "My name is Astra. I'm the daughter of that woman over there." She smirks and points to Halley.
    "Wait," I gasp, slamming my hands on the table, "Does that mean you're-"
"A planet?" Halley interrupts. She has a terrible habit of doing that. She waves her hand when she speaks, like she's pushing away the subject, "Oh no. Close though. Would you like to take a guess, dear?"
I nod, and take a closer look at her. Her eyes must have something to do with it, with them being blue and purple. Her hair is thin and gray, unlike her daughter's, and she is wearing a Hollister sweatshirt. It's like she's an asteroid. No, a comet. She looks like a comet. Her name is Halley.. "Wait, you're Halley's Comet?" I lift my hands up and point to Halley.
"Yes," Halley grins, "not many people figure that out. I'm impressed. You do know your astronomy."
I never knew I'd meet Halley's Comet before. I never even knew she had a personification. I never knew any planets had any personifications.
"Okay," Phoebus pushes out of his chair and rises, saying, "I'll go next. I don't know if you heard or not but I'm basically the Son of the Sun." He raises an eyebrow at me, like he's waiting for something. "You can laugh now."
"Laugh?" I giggle. That makes me laugh. "Why would I be laughing? You're being serious, aren't you?"
Phoebus hesitates, "Uh, yes! Yes! Serious!" He scratches the back of his head, and gives a relieved sigh. He sits back down in his chair and nervously chuckles. He's wearing the same robes and pants when I was asleep.
I'm a ghost compared to Phoebus. He's not as tan as Donald Trump, of course (I don't think anyone can be), he just has the perfect sunkissed tan anyone would want for Summer. While I have such pale skin I get burnt very easily and my camera on my phone ghosts me.
I wonder if why he's acting so strange. Why would I laugh if he were introducing himself. That's not the polite or correct thing to do to somebody.
"Do you have anymore questions you would like answered?" Halley smiles. She crosses her legs and places her hands in her lap.
I almost shake my head, and say I'm not prepared because I'm not ready to gain anymore information, until I scan the room. My eyes lay on their weapons.
"Yes," I murmur, sounding like a little child, too shy to ask a question. "Why do you have weapons and what's those symbols on them?"
"These weapons," Phoebus explains, picking his staff up, "are certain things our parents left for us on Earth to defend ourselves, in case any danger approaches. They give us powers and cool stuff like that, but the powers can only work if you are touching the weapon. To show you, I have cool fire powers when I hold this, but when I don't touch it and try the powers, nothing will happen. It also won't work for anyone that is not the person it was made for so this," he points to his staff, "will not work for you. It only works for me." He lays the staff on his lap and a small flicker of light emerges from his finger.
"What about the symbols?" I glare up at Phoebus, having a little more confidence for a reason I don't know.
"The symbols signify who it's for." Jove cuts in,  unamused, and annoyed. She puts her elbow on the table and her palm out when she speaks. She places her sais on the table with her other hand and points to the symbol on her grip. "That symbol you see there signifies Jupiter. They teach this in Astronomy. Haven't you learned this?"
I stare closer into the weapons. She's right. How did I not notice this before? It was the first thing I studied in Astronomy at the beginning of the year. I know Summer has just begun, but I'm disappointed in myself for not realizing that, that I'm at the point of almost groaning out loud.
"Don't be rude, Jove," Halley says, attempting to make Jove tranquil, "You shouldn't be rude. She's still taking all of this in."
I notice that Halley acts like a mother to Jove more than her own daughter, Astra. Or it may be me overthinking, because Astra is sitting there, peacefully, like her mother, while Jove needs a little more discipline.
I have over a million questions, but only three come out, "How did you guys know I was, well, one of you, How did you know my name, and how did you get into my dreams?"
"I told you she was going to ask about the dreams." Nestor brags, and jabs his elbow into Jove's. "Pay up." He holds his hand out.
"Fine." Jove rolls her eyes, stands up, and digs deep down into the pockets in her jeans. She pulls out a twenty dollar bill and slams it down in his hands. Jove sits back down and Nestor keeps it in his hands because he doesn't have any pockets.
"Wait, you guys were betting on what I would ask?" I question, not knowing if I should feel offended or flattered.
"Don't worry," Phoebus chuckles, "they did they same to me when they first found me and entered my dreams."
I glance to Phoebus. I never knew they do it to other people. I thought they were all friends, coincidentally. But then again, that'd have a very small chance of happening with over seven billion people in the world.
"Speaking of dreams," Astra remarked, shocking me, because this is only the second time I've heard her voice, "Let's give her answers."
"The Moon sends us messages through a telepathic radio. She sends it with sound waves, since she can't speak unless she has a mouth," Phoebus snickers, "And obviously Moons don't have mouths. Anyway, the telepathic radio translates what she's saying. She gave it to Halley the Earth meeting after Pluto got banned. She heard about the war, and gave it to Halley so she could find us. Of course, she had Astra already, but the Moon wanted to be prepared. Last night, she found you and told us your name and sent us into your dream-"
"Which is strictly forbidden unless I am there to supervise you!" Halley shouts, waving a finger at Phoebus. "She could have been having a nightmare and you could of all died!"
"Well, she wanted us to go in there immediately, Mom!" Astra argues, scrunching up her nose. "Besides, it's not the first time we've done it! She's sent us in for the past month trying to get Cynthia-"
"The past month?!" Halley shrieks, placing her hands on her head. "Moon has been sending my child in there for the whole month?!"
"Well," Nestor mumbles, "We missed a couple of days, but-"
"I don't care." Halley states, furious. She turns to Astra, Jove, and Nestor. "I hope you three know, when these two leave you're all grounded."
They all start groaning and complaining. They start arguing with each other, while Phoebus and I are sitting there. We look at each other and shrug, not knowing what else to do.
I stare down into my hands, and eventually dig my face into them. It feels like I'm at my friend's house, and their parents are arguing. It's the most awkward feeling in the world and it sucks.
After five minutes, they stop their bickering and remember Phoebus and I are here. Halley starts apologizing like it's the only thing keeping her alive. Jove grunts, Nestor sighs, and Astra stays quiet, seeming embarrassed of her actions.
"Well," Halley puts her hands behind her back, and apologizes once more, "I'm sorry, again. Why don't all of you show Cynthia the house?"
"But it's not even that-" Jove tries to defend herself, but Halley cuts in with a glare this time, instead of words. "Alright! Alright!" Jove's eyes widen. "Let's go."
---
They let me walk home after the tour with Phoebus, since he's the only other person there that goes home. Nestor, and Jove live with Astra and Halley and sleep in the Guest Bedrooms.
The house was pretty big, and made me feel self conscious.  It had four bedrooms and three bathrooms. There was a huge kitchen and a humongous living room. And I can't forget the room with the circular table.
"So," I say, taking out my phone, getting on Google Maps, and calculating the distance home, "Where do you live?"
I hate myself right after I speak the question. Where do you live? Do I want to sound like a mass murderer?
Luckily, Phoebus doesn't think anything of it and grins, "Right up on Dover Avenue. With my mom. It's a very small house and it makes the house Halley owns look like a mansion."
I chuckle, "Don't worry," I fan myself with my jacket, because it's hot and I'm too stubborn to take it off, "mine, too. I have to share a room with my brother."
"You have a brother? Lucky." Phoebus frowns. He has to walk a little quicker than his normal pace, because I'm speeding ahead of him.
"Half-brother, actually." I laugh, and try to make Phoebus feel better. "And no, I'm not lucky. All he does is wreck my art supplies."
"You draw?" Phoebus looks fascinated, by the word "art". "Can I see your artwork?"
"I don't have any on me," I shrug, taking skips as I walk. "I only took my keys and stuff like that, but what about you? What do you like to do?"
"Oh," He sighs, still attempting to keep his pace up, "You wouldn't like to know. I'm not even that good at it."
"Why?" I inquire, kicking at rocks, "It's not like I'm going to judge you or anything. My art is the most horrendous thing anyone can lay eyes on, if it makes you feel any better. And what do you gain out of being critical?"
Phoebus gives me a grateful smile. His eyes are ink black, like a sharpie right when it hits the paper. Or the corner of your room that is pitch black with the lights off. His golden hair reflects the sunlight perfectly.
"You're right," He starts to turn onto a street, "But this is my way home. So, I'll see you soon." He starts waving goodbye and jogging down the street. He didn't take his staff with him. He kept it in the house for some odd reason. I guess his mother never knew who his father was.
I wonder if my father knows who my mom is.