𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐀 | Unveiling, uncovering. The Greek notion of truth.
Esmerelda knew everything was going to change the second her super nice foster father suddenly turned into a snake monster and tried to eat her. She just never expected for all of...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
▬▬▬▬▬ CHAPTER TWELVE ▬▬▬▬▬
SINCE ESMERELDA WOULDN'T BE ABLE tocelebrate her twelfth birthday with her friends due to school, an early birthday party was hosted the day before term began. It was her siblings' idea and she was more than happy to go along with it. Cakes were smuggled in by the Hermes kids (as per usual) and gifts were exchanged. Despite the happy day, she couldn't help but notice Ethan's odd behavior.
Ethan had been acting weirdly ever since Luke was announced as a traitor to the whole camp. Even the prospect of traveling to magical Britain didn't excite him. It concerned Esmerelda greatly. It was understandable for Annabeth to be bothered with Luke's betrayal, they came to camp together five years ago after all, but what was wrong with Ethan? She couldn't remember a time where he and Luke had been particularly close. Ethan always pushed others away—except for her.
Her mind went back to the time Luke requested to take Ethan to the infirmary. Something had happened between them. Ethan said that Luke spoke about his unknown mother, but would that really be enough to render her best friend in such a distant state?
They reached Sweetie's Ice Cream Factory where she finally couldn't hold it in anymore.
"What's wrong with you?" She blurted out loudly, causing Ethan to trip on his way up the stairs.
He gasped, holding the railing as the staircase trembled slightly. "Esmerelda, what the Styx?!"
"Sorry!" She squeaked, looking worried. They really needed to find a more stable way to reach the second floor. "I was just worried about you. You haven't been acting the same since Luke..."
He straightened up at the mention of his name. "I'm fine. I just... I can't get the words he said out of my head." He admitted.
"You mean, when he went with you to the infirmary?" She asked. "Did he talk about his plans or something? You didn't... You didn't know that he was the traitor, did you?"
He hesitated, then slowly walked back down the stairs so he would be standing in front of her. "Of course not, he just..."
"Here," Luke tossed a ziplock bag of ambrosia squares on Ethan's lap.
The younger boy straightened up on his seat at the edge of the infirmary bed and plucked out a gold square. "Thanks," he muttered ungratefully, popping it into his mouth. Immediately he could feel his nose shift back in place, the cut on his tongue from when he accidentally bit it seal up, and the ache in his ribs fade away. Even then, he still felt like shit.
"That kid—Caleb, right?—seems like an asshole." Luke said casually.
"He is," Ethan replied darkly, looking at his bloody knuckles. "Son of Ares. Thinks he's great because his daddy's an Olympian and his mommy told him he once visited him as a child. I just get pissed every time I hear him brag about it and then he starts taunting me about—about—"
