The Land Without Reign
Agnes's POV
I pulled all of them along. 'Go!' I shouted. 'I'll deal with him!'
Zeus didn't like the word 'deal'. He roared and thumped his feet onto the ground.
My heart was thumping too, and it threatened to beat right out of my chest.
Rysa ran like a maniac. She panicked and jumped up and down while running quickly. Aly tried to calm her but at last I think she gave up. She beckoned towards Annabel and her sisters and they followed her.
I summoned my bow and my quiver and shot while I was running. Not many of the demigods at both camps can do that, so I was pretty impressed with my skills when I actually hit where the sun doesn't shine.
He looked angry and raised his thunderbolt. He yelled something in Greek that I didn't understand, since I only understand Ancient Greek. I promptly translated that to I will kill you slowly. Monsters and statues like to say that.
I made a rude gesture and cussed him out. I ran as fast as I could, and I could see my friends staring at me. I gestured at them to look away, and also sent the message in Rysa's mind if they didn't see me. They turned away as I cast a few of my magnificent powers.
I made water splash over his face, then sprayed fire over him and repeated the process ten times. After that, I made the temperature heat up and he melted. Is he made of ice or something? I was sure I turned it into fifty-five degrees, not a hundred.
I sprinted across the field to my friends. 'Set up camp,' I told Rysa breathlessly.
She conjured up a tent from her bag and five sleeping bags. Her face fell when she found out she hadn't packed an extra.
'I haven't? I know I did. Where is it?'
I laughed. 'Rysa, I packed it.'
She looked shocked, and we all laughed at her expression.
I picked some twigs and made a fire. I carried logs to be benches and we sat at the campfire.
Rysa's POV
What Agnes did was very heroic, but I couldn't help thinking if I didn't panic or ran away what would happen. I wished I didn't but each time I see a monster, terror rises just like the time I saw my aunt die.
After everyone but Agnes had gone to bed, I saw details of her I never saw before, because I didn't look hard enough - she had bags under her eyes, her smiles didn't quite reach her eyes. The fact that I am her best friend and I don't even know that kind of freaked me out.
'Agnes?' I asked.
She looked at me. 'Huh?'
'Do you know... What's your fatal flaw?'
She stiffened. 'No.'
Her eyes avoided mine, and she looked to the left. Two signs of lying.
'I know you know.' I stated.
She smiled tiredly. 'How?'
'I do read, you know.'
'Nah, I just think you watched a video online on one of Leo's phones.'
'That, too,' I admitted.
She laughed softly. 'What's yours?'
She was holding back. She doesn't want me to know.
I looked away. 'You remember that quest we did back in Camp Jupiter? Mi - Athena told me.'
She tensed. 'Yes?'
'Loyalty.'
She nodded, satisfied. Her appearance changed, and her midnight blue eyes gleamed silver. Then her appearance changed again, and she's back to looking like the twin of Annabeth. 'I think all good children of Poseidon has that. Mine... Well, I have two, since I'm too powerful.'
My mouth twitched. 'Two things that can destroy you.'
She nodded. She hesitated, and stood up. 'Loyalty, like you,' she said bitterly, 'and... Fear of vulnerability.'
'Don't accept like people who know does. Go on, do it.' Bitterness laced in her tone. She was glaring at me, doubting me. Go on, do it, she seemed to say.
'Agnes -' I placed a hand on her shoulder gently, and she shook it off.
She looked at me for the last time, with eyes that shone coldly, conjured a tent and slipped inside. She probably zipped it up.
I heard sobbing and someone murmuring words.
Annabelle's POV
'Rise and shine!' I yelled at them. I saw an empty sleeping bag and I frowned. I walked out of the tent and saw another, placed next to the campfire.
I tried unzipping it and it worked.
Inside was Agnes and another girl with auburn hair in a chiton.
The girl was in a seperate sleeping bag, but every so often she would touch Agnes's arm and whisper something. By her gentle tone, I'd guess it was reassuring.
The girl glanced at me and shook her head. She placed a finger on her lips.
I nodded. Rysa told me something about a conflict between Rysa and Agnes, and she was quite worried about her, since she heard Agnes crying the whole night.
'Los Angeles,' Rysa said curiously. 'How's that place?'
Aly shrugged. 'Like I said, I've not been there for four years. I dunno.'
I knew Aly used to live in L.A., but I never thought she didn't live there anymore. I just assumed she kept living there.
'Agnes isn't awake,' Rhinestone announced. 'I'll check on her.'
'I'll check,' I said suddenly.
Rysa smiled. 'Yeah, you go. I don't know why, but Agnes seems to like you a lot. I think you're sisters.'
'Maybe,' I muttered doubtfully.
I walked to the tent, humming Despacito. I unzipped it once again and sat down. The girl was still here, but she was sitting.
She put her fingers to her lips yet again and summoned a chair.
I glanced at Agnes and nearly gasped. Her hair was changing color.
She now had straight black raven hair. She flinched and started sobbing. The girl laid down and comforted her. She hugged her and soothed her with hushing sounds.
Agnes gradually calmed down. She tensed, but she didn't make a sound.
Suddenly, a hunting horn sounded, and the girl smiled.
Meet them, she said in my mind. Meet my maidens, my huntresses.
I nodded and went out. There was a group of girls wearing silver clothes and holding a bow. I noticed they were waiting for a girl who had black hair with blue highlights and brilliant blue eyes. She looked goth.
'Where's Agnes?' she demanded.
Out of the corner of my eye I could see the girl shaking her head. 'I don't know,' I lied.
She narrowed her eyes. 'Really? Did you capture her?'
I shook my head.
She sighed and nodded. 'I'm Thalia. I'm a Hunter of Artemis.'
I held out my hand. 'Annabel,'
Thalia smiled. 'Would you like to join our hunt, Annabel?'
'No,' I said stoutly. 'But I'm asexual like Agnes. Also, I'm heading back to my tent.'
Thalia grinned. 'If you need us, just call us.'
She handed me a piece of paper. It showed girls fighting monster, hunting and underneath it said: A no boy future!(or something like that.)
I headed back to the tent. The girl was still there.
'Who are you?' I mouthed.
You do not have to know, she said.
I pouted but she didn't say so.
Agnes wriggled and thrashed. The girl patted her back and held her down.
Agnes opened her eyes. Her eyes were wild. She crashed into the girl and started sobbing.
The girl started singing in a language I strangely understood. It was in Ancient Greek.
'Sleep, my girl
Safe and sound
Let all the nightmares fade away
And let them be bound.'
Agnes fell asleep shortly.
Let's go, she got up. She will have a dreamless sleep.
We went out. 'How do you know?'
She smiled. 'I think Morpheus will be kind to her. After all, she did nothing to anger him. He did like her a lot.'
'How old is she, anyway?'
'She looks twelve, doesn't she?' she said wistfully. 'If she wasn't twelve, she wouldn't've been able to participate in the quest. She is vital to the quest. No. She is ten.'
(I did say in my bio that I am ten or twelve. I can use that.)
I gasped. 'Ten?'
She nodded. 'She has suffered a lot.'
'Like what?'
She studied me. 'Have you been boycotted when you were nine?'
'N - no.'
(I just told my biggest secret. Aw ma gawds.)
'Annabelle, you are not a daughter of Athena.'
I stirred. 'What?'
'You are actually a daughter of Artemis, but the demigods must not know about this. If they do, the prophecy will be destroyed.'
I tried to smile. 'Okay.'
A Hunter suddenly screamed. 'MONSTER!'
The monster didn't attack anyone. Instead, it was going straight at me. I gulped.
The girl placed a hand on me. She began to mutter in Ancient Greek, and slowly a protective circle was around me.
But it was too slow. The monster lumbered towards me and snatched me. I saw a blinding flash, then I was teleported away.
Then I blacked out.
When I woke up, I was directly in front of a black castle. Mist swirled around it.
Some ghosts - no, shades, Aly always corrected me - were wandering around aimlessly, but some were being kicked and beaten out of Paradise. I glanced around amd saw that the Punishment area was deserted.
I tried to get out, but there seems to be an invisible cage around me.
I looked at the castle again. I squinted and saw the reason of all of this.
There were two thrones in the castle.
They were empty.
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