the first huntsman || percy jackson

i take a tumble

NINA

Up until the new kid showed up, I thought my destiny was all just a bad dream.

Unfortunately, the nightmares of demigods usually turn out to be just the opposite: reality. And that really sucked, as none of those dreams ever seemed to depict anything remotely bright and sunny.

When I saw the mark of Artemis burn above Caspian Jay's head, I knew my fate was sealed. I knew the curse put on me was actually real, and I knew that a war was on the horizon. A bad one.

The night before my birthday, without fail, I have the same dream. It always goes pretty much the same way:

I find myself in a lush, green meadow. I can hear the sea, feel the wind whip my hair, and smell the saltwater. I walk to the edge of a cliff where a quaint, but lavish tea party is set up. Sitting in one of the two chairs is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. Her appearance shifted when I was younger, but for years she's had long, windswept but still perfect, blonde hair and the most breathtaking crystal blue eyes. She wore a plain white dress, as she didn't need flashy clothes to blur her natural beauty. She would smile at me as I joined her, but it would never stay long.

"Happy Birthday, darling," She started. Already her face grew sour. "You and your atrocity of a father seemed to have lived another year, I see."

In the last 365 days before this year's dream, I learned who this gorgeous woman was. "Thank you, Mother," I said, looking at my folded hands in my lap.

She poured tea into my cup. "Now dear, would you like me to remind you of your curse, or do you want to recite it back to me this year?" She feigned politeness.

That was the fourteenth time I'd had that dream. I think the patterned china and the ugly look on my mother's beautiful face would stay with me forever, along with my curse. But there we were again, both faking our way through another tea party.

I sighed and recited the curse bestowed upon me by my own mother:

"The first poor soul to kiss your lips

Will soon be gripped in Hades' fist."

She smiled. I'm sure she has a beautiful smile, but I've never seen the real ones.

"Good girl. And the other thing? The terrible secret you're meant to keep?" She smiled like it was Christmas morning. "Your time is nearing faster and faster. It would be such a shame if you failed your quest." She pushed out her lower lip in a fake pout. I said nothing as my mother told me she would not care if I died.

I forced myself to look back down at my hands. "I won't let you down, Mother," I said as quietly as I could.

Another ugly look crawled across her face. "I know that you will, Nina." She frowned further and stood up. "Well, I'd hate to call our happy reunion to an early end, but you get the jist of what I came here to say. Same time next year, I assume? I can't picture anyone wanting to kiss you in the next year, daughter of Aphrodite or not." She threw her head back, blonde hair bouncing, and laughed.

I don't look up as she reveals her true form and vanishes. Then I woke up, immediately bolted out of bed, and ran to check on my dad. Sure enough, every year, Mother tries to kill him while she has me occupied. This past year I discovered him with a plastic grocery bag over his head. I hurried over to him and pulled it off as he gasped for air. Then, like every year before, a red lipstick mark gleamed freshly on his cheek.

"Happy Birthday, honey," My dad said glumly. I struggled to smile as he caught his breath before trudging back to my room and falling asleep.

If you thought that was bad, you should've seen the fire I had to put out when I was seven. Or the raging telkhine I battled when I just turned four.