The Guardian Angel- A PJO fanfiction

Chapter 35- Rania

Honestly I probably wasn't the best person to come if you needed comforting. Athena is all about logic, and in my experience emotions and logic don't mix well. But in this situation it was probably best that I found Zora. I couldn't imagine Dominic or that strange woman being able to help her much.

Almost as soon as I walked in she looked up and tried to gather herself. She wiped the tears off of her face and started to stand up and leave.

"Hey wait," I told her, "I- I know that we haven't been the best of friends but you don't have to run off. Why don't you tell me what's wrong and- and maybe I can help." I said nervously. Zora sat or rather collapsed back in the chair, but she didn't seem to be offering up any information. Gods I suck at this. "If this is about Christian-"

"No. I mean yes. Or kind of I guess." She took a deep breath and tried again, "I'm just worried about him and my brother and with everything else that's happened I'm j-just overwhelmed." She was trying to stay calm and hold herself together, but it was obvious that she was at the breaking point.

"Yeah I think we all are." I tried for a comforting voice, but I think it came out a little sharper than I intended. I think I was getting worse at this by the second.

"No, you don't get it. I'm supposed to be leading this quest and so far all I've managed to do is get Christian kidnapped and get you almost dead."

I decided that now was not the best time to point out her horrid grammar. "Zora none of that is your fault. There is no way you could have controlled the attack. You are barely trained for one thing and for another-" I stopped before I said anything else because this path was clearly not the right one to go down.

"Yeah for another I'm more mortal than demigod right? For another I'm too weak to do this. To save the people I care about. You hate me and Dominic doesn't trust anyone and I'm supposed to be able to do this but I can't. For some reason this master guy is after me and I don't even know why and I have to go save people who got taken because of me anyways. I can't do this. I can't-" She broke off with a sob and tried to gather herself again.

"Zora I don't hate you. I wasn't ever mad at you, not really. I was mad at myself for not being good enough. Now I've realized that it was never me that wasn't good enough it was that Christian was never interested in me. You know in a girlfriend way. I was fooling myself into thinking I could get him to notice me like that, but it was never your fault. I'm sorry for making you think that I didn't like you because of my own messed up feelings." I was relieved that I finally admitted it to someone. That I finally knew without a doubt that Christian and I wouldn't ever be more than friends.

"You- you don't hate me?" Zora asked timidly as if I would change my mind.

"No. In fact I think that the fact that you are only part demigod doesn't matter. You are a great leader and you never hesitated in getting me help. You just knew what to do. I would probably be dead if it weren't for those healing spells you did. I know that we will get Christian and your brother and Rachel out safely." I reassured her. She looked back at me with determination and hope in her eyes.

She took a deep breath and I watched as she put herself back together. She went from falling apart to the confident, strong girl I had seen since she arrived at camp. I could see why Christian liked her. "All right," she said without a hint of uncertainty, "Let's get started."