Legacies: Daughter of Magic

9- Another Year, Another Quest

I woke up to the sound of crying in the room next to me.

Olivia's room.

I quickly threw off my comforter and didn't bother to put a shirt on leaving me in just my shorts as I ran out of my room to the room next door.

It was three in the morning.

I knocked on the door rapidly.

"Olivia?" I called.

No answer just continued sobbing.

I knocked again, still no reply.

I didn't want to barge in and see what was wrong, it felt wrong. Not doing anything felt worse though and I felt like I had an obligation to check on her.

I silently opened the door and slipped in. A small stream of light crossed her face and I was quickly able to make out was happening.

Her eyes were closed as tears ran down her face. Her hands were white knuckling the side of her mattress.

She was having a nightmare or even worse, a demigod one.

I rushed over and sat down on the side of her bed.

I shook her a little bit trying to wake her up.

"Olivia." I whispered to her. "Olivia, wake up."

She continued to cry as she tossed and turned into her sleep.

"Olivia, it's just a dream." I said pinching her arm a little bit.

Her hand reached out and gripped my arm. I winced as her finger nails dug into my forearm as it began to draw blood.

"Olivia!" I yelled at her.

Her green eyes opened and she exploded up in her bed. Tears and sweat ran from her face as her body continued to shake.

"Hey, it's okay. It was just a dream." I said rubbing her shoulder.

"They feel so real." She said quietly.

"They're the worst." I said smiling at her.

"Why are you here?" She asked as she leaned forward and rested her forehead against my shoulder. "Not that I'm complaining."

"Your crying woke me up." I admitted to her. "I felt like I should check on you."

She nodded against my shoulder as she let out a small sniffle.

"Thank you."

We sat in silence for a moment as she calmed down.

She gasped as she saw the blood running down my arm. "Did I do that?"

I hid my arm and wiped the blood on my shorts. "Don't worry about it. It's nothing."

"No Ash, it's not." She said worried. "I hurt you."

"Trust me Liv." I said trying to keep her calm. "It's okay, I knew what I was getting into."

She nodded after thinking about it for a minute.

Her hair was in a rats nest around her face and honestly even though she was crying and sleeping, she looked just as beautiful as always.

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

She sat up and looked at me. "I think so."

I smiled at her and nodded. "Alright I'm going to head back to bed, let me know if you need anything."

"Okay." She said quietly as she laid back in her bed as I headed towards the door.

"Achilles." Her frail voice called to me through the room.

I turned and looked her. "Yes?"

"Will you stay with me the rest of the night?" She asked innocently.

I gripped the doorknob knowing that I shouldn't. A war was coming and I couldn't be distracted by Olivia or my emotions, I couldn't let myself become vulnerable like that. She could become a target.

In a split second of weakness I made my decision.

"Yeah, of course." I said walking back towards the bed.

I laid down on my back next to her and put my arm underneath my head.

She turned towards me and placed her right hand and her head on my chest as she crossed her right leg over across my lap.

"Thank you." She whispered to me as we fell asleep.

***
My eyes fluttered open to an unfamiliar bed. I was the only one in it and was confused at how I got here.

"Morning." Olivia said as she sat at her desk getting ready for the day.

The events of last night rushed back to me. The nightmare, the comforting, me staying here.

"What time is it?" I asked rubbing my eyes.

"Nine thirty." Olivia said turning to look at me. "You twitch in your sleep."

"Doesn't everyone?" I asked smiling a little.

"Hurry up and get ready. I'll go find Hope and Landon, we need to speak with Saltzman as soon as possible."

I already knew why but I asked the question anyway. "It was your dream wasn't it."

She nodded slowly without taking her eyes off the mirror.

***
"So you two slept together last night huh?" Landon said bumping shoulders with me and smirking.

I chuckled. "It wasn't like that. She was crying and I comforted her."

"Sounds like a boyfriend to me."

I playfully punched him in the ribs. "Shut it."

"So why did Olivia and Saltzman summon us?"

"Olivia had a demigod dream, something tells me we're not going to be in Georgia for much longer." I said as we turned into his office.

Landon took a seat on the couch on the far wall while Hope and Olivia were sitting on the chairs in front of the desk. I took my usual spot against the wall near the door.

"So now that everyone's here, what's this all about?" Saltzman asked folding his hands across the desk.

"I'd like your permission to leave the school, for a quest." Olivia said.

"And where exactly would you be headed?"

"The Arctic circle."

My eyes widened, and Saltzman choked on his coffee.

"There's a necklace there, one that can open portal and rifts to other places even other worlds. Last night my father told me to retrieve the necklace before the Titans can." She said looking at me in the eyes.

"You're father is a trickster god what if it's just a diversion?" Saltzman said trying to at all the angles.

Olivia looked over at me for help.

"With all due respect sir, I think we have to take the chance. I've been doing my digging, in the catastrophic event known as Ragnarok all the Norse gods seemed to have perished along with everything else in the world. Loki fought as an enemy of the Gods. I don't think he'd make that mistake again. I said to him.

He shook his head in defeat. "Well if you trust him, I do too."

"He said to make sure and bring you, Achilles." Olivia said to me.

"I know." I said putting the pieces together. "Your father's been watching me."

Olivia looked betrayed. "And you didn't tell me?"

"He hasn't appeared in months, I thought it was best to keep it safe until I found out why he was appearing to me."

Olivia nodded slowly. "Get Rafael, we're going to need another pair of hands on this one."

"Another year, another quest."