➳ Jude

"Babe," Annebeth drawled, laying on the crusty brown couch. Her black crop-top did nothing to hide her swollen stomach. "What are we gonna do?"

"About what?" I asked.

"The child!" she exclaimed like it was obvious. "Dumb a..." She trailed off lazily.

"It's your own fault." I said, chewing on a rotten winter root. "If you really wanted to get rid of it, just give it back to that elf dude. He is the father, right?"

Annabeth rolled her hazel eyes. "William would never take this child. His family is an image of perfection." Annabeth laughed noisily. "I'm his dark little secret. I tarnished that stupid, picture-perfect family."

Annabeth frequently trashed William's family. From the day she showed up in Skog till now, she would complain about them every chance she got. At first, she was like a little annoying sister, but now she was more. Something like a partner, but I wouldn't put a label on it.

Annabeth twirled her necklace around. Unlike most elves, she kept all of her rings on a necklace instead of her fingers. She had ten rings so far.

"When is it supposed to come anyway?" I asked.

"Anytime now," Annabeth replied. "And, now that I think about it... we should give it to William." She smiled smugly.

"Obviously; we can't take care of it ourselves."

Annabeth opened her mouth to speak, revealing the silver piercing that she had gotten after her first year in Skog. A cry of pain cut her off, sending her hands flying to her stomach. As she gasped again, the rings on her necklace jingled again.

"Help me, you bumbling idiot!" she screeched, face flushed red.

"Why," I asked, voice silky with boredom.

"I'm giving birth, how dumb can you possibly be!" The words shot out of her mouth, sharper than the claws she called nails. I laughed and rolled my eyes, wings flapping in annoyance.

"Obviously you're giving birth. What do you expect me to do about it?" I asked, getting up and sauntering over to the window, opening it to let pale light spill into the dark room.

"I don't know! Just help me, dear-flipping-nuisance."

I rolled my eyes for the second time and turned around to find her panting in pain. "Just, you know... shove it out."

"Is that how that works!" Annabeth wailed in pain. "Fine! Just leave me alone for a moment! Okay?"

Oh the things this girl makes me do... I held up my hands in defense and left the room. I waited outside of the living room until I heard the unfamiliar wails of a newborn child.

I strolled back inside the room to find Annabeth holding a pale baby with pointed ears and a sprinkle of dark hair. She was holding it away from her body with mild disgust twisting her face, ignoring the pitiful cries.

"It's name is Hex. Now take this to William's house and leave me alone for a few days," Annabeth drawled, lazily tossing the baby into my hands. I bent to catch it, pulling the delicate bundle to my chest and pulling my wings tight to my back.

"Okay, whatever. Here is your mother-of-the-year award," I said. When Annabeth didn't respond, I stormed outside and got into my incredibly rusted car. Only rich people could afford nice cars from Cerevaux; I'd gotten this one off the black market. I "bought" it with a gun.

"Dumb baby. Why do I have to take you?"

The baby looked at me with its big eyes and began to drool in response. I sat it down in the seat beside me, not bothering to buckle it in properly.

I rested my head on the wheel and leaned back against the rotting seat. I was a year older than Annabeth, but she sometimes treated me like a little errand boy. She was lucky I let her live with me free of charge and that I did all this crap for her without demanding payment.

I sat up again and began to drive down the dirt street in haunting silence. People lined the street waiting to attack a nice car simply because they wanted food. One troll had the guts to jump onto my nasty car, landing on the hood with a crash. I quickly shot him without hesitation, the bullet flying through the glass. Hex began to cry, but I ignored her and kept my eyes on the road.

After a bit of driving, I got to the border between Skog and Grand Olea. The nations were beside each other, but the cultures were worlds away.

"State your reason for visitation," a man in uniform snapped, looking into my car window. I rolled down the window and stared at him.

"I need to get this... child... to her proper home," I said, gesturing to the nuisance beside me. "Skog is no place for an elven child."

"That is true. Skog is nothing more than a glorified dumpster. Let me check your identification and I'll allow you to pass."

I hesitated but nodded, pulling out papers that had been carefully forged by one of my contacts.

"She doesn't have papers yet," I said as I held out my identification.

He scanned it. "Looks like you have a clean record. You should consider moving to Skye. It's a better place for phaeryees."

"Yeah. I'll keep that in mind," I lied.

The man walked away and pressed a button to lift the iron gate that guarded the city from the people of Skog. I drove in quickly and glanced at my map. I was hours upon hours away from William's house. I looked around at the glimmering city. I needed a place to stay for the night, but all of the hotels looked ridiculously expensive.

My eyes drifted to a multistory parking lot. An idea hatched in my mind and promptly turned into the entrance. I drove up to the second floor and parked in the very back. I sat Hex in the backseat and set myself up in the front.

I drifted into sleep, only to wake up to the wails of Hex. I sat up, noticing an elf coming toward the car. She had on black leather armour and was carrying a long... wooden plank?

I breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't hurt me with a plank.

I remembered something that made my blood go cold. Elf's had many types of mental magic. This woman probably uses that stick to channel her magic.

I cursed under my breath and hurriedly buckled myself in and pulled Hex into my lap. It was still dark outside when I rushed out of the parking building. The lady didn't bother to chase me.

"Who needs sleep?" I asked myself. "Not me..."

As I drove past, I saw an advertisement for the same parking building. The membership for a month was as much as my rent for a year. With an angry sigh, I kept driving.

Not long had passed before Hex had begun screaming again. She released thin, pitiful wails that reminded me of my younger brother. He'd died a few years ago; Skog didn't have a great food supply.

I shoved the depressing thoughts out of my head. I didn't have time to mourn him. I cared for him too much; that was my mistake.

After a blurry experience driving with little sleep for three days and while caring for a starving baby, I finally arrived at my destination. William's property was massive; it consisted of many acres of land. The house itself was built inside of a giant oak tree and covered by surrounding shrubs. Ivy climbed up the walls in a way that wouldn't happen naturally.

I got out of the car, stretching my limbs. I took Hex from the backseat and patted down my jet black hair. I walked to the front door and knocked loudly.

I waited for what seemed like eternity, but no one answered. I pounded on the door again. I wasn't going back to Skog with this troublesome child.

"Is anyone home?" I shouted. "I got a delivery for William! Just open the ding dang do-"

The door suddenly flew open to reveal a red-haired female elf. She looked like she had been crying.

"Hello?" a melodic voice chimed.

I cleared my throat. "Is William home?"

"No. He's gone," she mourned.

"Dead?"

"He will be soon."

"Oh." I scratched my head, pondering what to do. I had to give up this baby one way or another. "This is Hex," I said, thrusting the baby toward her. "William is the father."

The girl's eyes widened. "Oh... Oh, I didn't realize." She took a deep breath and took the baby. "I'll take care of her."

"Good." I smirked and then turned around back to my car. I walked back to my car with relief. No more screaming baby.

"Do you need a place to stay?" the girl called as I opened my car door. "We have plenty of room."

A smirk played across my lips. On second thought... I turned around to meet the elfen girl's green eyes. "Sure. I'd love to stay."