Ariel Sagitta - a Percy Jackson fanfic

Chapter 6

    “AAAA!” Ariel bolted upright from her bed, screaming. She looked around, her eyes readjusting to the light. No, she wasn’t in the cave – she was in her cabin. Phew. It was just a dream.
    But it had seemed so real….
    That girl, Thalia. Wasn’t it the same one Annabeth mentioned? One of the Hunters? Were all of those girls hunters? And were they really trapped in a cave with no escape?
    That didn’t make any sense, though. Wasn’t it just a dream?
    Or was it?
    Ariel decided to consult Annabeth. She seemed to know just about everything. In the meantime, she decided to check her cabin out. Ariel slid out of her bed and looked around.
    The whole interior of the cabin had a theme – silver, white, blue, and wild animals. There were many paintings of wildlife, including wolves, deer, and jack-a-lopes, as well as a painting of the moon. And as for the ceiling…
    “Aah!” Ariel fell onto the ground. Why was the ceiling so dark? And there were white spots…
    Then it hit her. The ceiling looked like the night sky, complete with constellations and the moon.
    “But how….” Ariel looked at the ceiling in wonder. “How is that possible?”
    She didn’t have an answer, but that didn’t bother her. Ariel could’ve sat there all day looking at the ceiling, but her stomach rumbled.
    After changing into a clean Camp Half-Blood shirt and jeans, she made her way to the mess hall. Many people were making their way to the same place, so Ariel wasn’t alone.
    Yet she felt so alone. Ariel realized that she’d have to eat by herself, and there was nobody else to share the cabin with. The warmth of family and friendship that she had felt yesterday was gone, replaced with the cold loneliness that had settled in her for 12 years.
    The mess hall went silent when Ariel entered. Everyone started staring at her like she was bringing in a disease or something. Ariel avoided their glares and sat down at Artemis’ barren table.
    “Hey.”
    Ariel looked up. Rachel was looking down at her, barely smiling.
    “Mind if I join you? I can sit anywhere.” Rachel asked.
    Ariel nodded. “Please.”
    Rachel pulled up a chair and sat down. “I’m really sorry about last night. At the campfire, I mean.” She laughed uneasily. “That’s my abnormal, temperamental side.”
    Ariel shivered. She remembered the green eyes, the harsh voice. Not the Rachel that she’d come to like.
    “Do you….always do that? When someone is being…”
    “Claimed?” Rachel finished. Ariel nodded.
    “No. Definitely not. I don’t know what happened. It’s usually a bad sign when I’ve been…taken over for unknown reasons.” Rachel had dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep. Ariel didn't ponder over this – after all, it had been a pretty bad night all around.
    “You look…trouble. Like something is bothering you.” Rachel noted.
    Ariel knocked over her goblet, causing orange juice to spill everywhere. “I…well…”
    “Don’t tell me. I have too much on my mind.” Rachel smiled as she nodded at the hearth. “You’d better sacrifice some food.”
    Ariel got up, walked over to the hearth, and scraped off a bit of her waffle to Artemis. Please, Artemis. Where are you?
   
    Breakfast was lonely for Ariel, since Rachel had to leave to go to the ‘Academy’, whatever that was. Percy smiled at her from his table, but that was the only bit of warmth she got. Everyone else just gave her cold stares, or completely ignored her.
    Ariel finished her breakfast quickly, not caring about announcements. She stood up and left the table, hoping that nobody would notice if she left early.
    “Sneaking out?”
    Ariel yelped as she turned around. There was nobody behind her – just laughter and noise from the mess hall.
    “Uh…who said that?” Ariel asked tentatively.
    An invisible hand clamped over Ariel’s mouth. She started screaming, but she knew nobody would be able to hear.
    “It’s just me, Ariel!” The voice whispered as Annabeth came into view, pulling off her Yankee’s Baseball Cap. “Sorry about that. We’re generally not allowed to leave breakfast early. Why, I don’t know.” She put her cap on again, disappearing from sight. “They’ll probably let you off the hook. Definitely not me.”
    “What is it?” Ariel asked. It felt pretty strange to be talking to nothing. “Why did you sneak out?”
    “To talk to you, of course.” Ariel heard a few footsteps. “Rachel said that you had something on your mind. I need to know what it is – it might answer a few questions. We’ll talk about it in Athena’s cabin. Number six.”
    Ariel nodded, though she was quite confused. “Um, about that?”
    “In the cabin.” The voice seemed farther away now.
    Ariel had no choice but to follow the invisible person into cabin 6. What does Annabeth want from me?
    The door at cabin 6 opened. Ariel walked in quickly, taking in every detail. It was definitely a place for eager learners – tables, papers, diagrams, white boards, a huge stash of pencils.
    “Sorry about the mess.” Annabeth had taken off her cap and was shoving some papers off the table.
    Ariel was interested in a huge layout of buildings taped on the wall. “What’s that?”
    “Oh…that.” Annabeth covered it up by stepping right in front of it. “It’s….just a layout of Olympus. But that’s not important – what’s on your mind?”
    “Uh….” Ariel looked away, not wanting to face the gray eyes. Annabeth wouldn’t want to listen to a dream, she knew that. But what else was she supposed to say?
    Annabeth groaned. “You remind me so much of my half-brother Malcolm when he first got here. He never told me anything weird that was going on. Let me guess – it’s a dream, right?”
    Ariel gaped. How had she known?
    “Trust me, I know all about bad dreams.” Annabeth almost smiled. “Demigod dreams are usually glimpses of what’s happening in the world. Almost never pleasant. What was your dream about?”
    Ariel slowly explained it to Annabeth, feeling a bit more confidant that Annabeth wouldn’t laugh at her. She described the cavern, Thalia and the Hunters, and the snake-woman. Ariel was practically shaking by the time she was done explaining.
    Annabeth, in response, grew paler and paler. “Oh no. That’s why I couldn’t contact her last night. She’s…oh Zeus. She’s trapped by the Echidna!
    “The…what?”
    “Mother of all monsters. She’s vicious: I met her 4 years ago.” Annabeth’s voice shook as she sat down in her chair. Ariel could see the fear in the gray eyes.   
    “Mother of all monsters?” Ariel repeated, her voice a tiny squeak.
    “We have to hold a counselor meeting.” Annabeth got up, ignoring Ariel’s last statement. “Thalia’s one of my best friends. We can’t just leave here there.”
    “Counselor meeting?”
    “Every cabin has a head counselor. We occasionally get together for a meeting.” Annabeth was already walking out the door. “That’s…that’s all I needed, Ariel. Thanks.”
    The door closed, leaving Ariel alone in the cabin. Her mind was whirring: Who was Thalia? Were the Hunters actually in danger, or was this just a trick in her mind?
    Ariel walked out slowly, more confused than before.

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