<>------<> Arrow <>------<>

My blood was at boiling point.

The campers were frustrating enough to train. Being informed that my sister had followed a cloaked figure into the forest alone just worsened my mood. I was the dormant volcano that had suddenly become active, any second ready to explode and spew lava.

‘How could you let her just walk out?’ I yelled angrily.

‘We tried telling her it was a bad idea,’ Leo shouted back, his fire matching my own. ‘Do you really think we wanted to jump into the path of an Archangel?’

My anger subsided somewhat. He was right. If Destiny had set her mind to something, nothing the two boys said or did would stop her. She was too powerful for that.

Frank huffed, ‘Besides, she was so sure they could help.’

‘Destiny would believe the moon could help if it told her so,’ I snapped. ‘She’s too trusting.’

‘Don’t you trust your sister to take care of herself?’ Frank asked as if disbelieved I would think anything otherwise. ‘She seems plenty capable to me.’

My eyes narrowed, ‘Of course she is. That doesn’t stop me worrying about her. Her trust is her weakness. She thinks there’s a peaceful solution to just about everything.’

'What if that person was our enemy?’ Leo wondered aloud.

I shook my head, ‘No. They wouldn’t come strolling into camp. More likely it was a servant or ally.’

They fell quiet. Perhaps they were contemplating possible consequences of letting Destiny walk off. My head turned to the still forest, the trees gently blowing in the slight breeze. It was unusually quiet, like something had driven off the monsters. Though I welcomed the silence, it made me nervous. If something was lurking in the forest I wasn’t keen to find out what. My worry for Destiny increased tenfold.

Behind us, a flap of wind indicated someone emerging from the quarantine tent. I turned to huge almond eyes. Leo instantly wrapped his arms around Calypso’s neck and pulled her tight. The gardener girl took off her protective mask and let shinning tears roll down her cheeks onto Leo’s shirt.

‘What’s wrong?’ I asked not unkindly.

Calypso sniffed, ‘They’re just getting worse. I’m afraid some of them aren’t going to last much longer. The Fire Fever is spreading. I don’t think we can contain this.’

I turned back to the forest and Leo muttered comforting words and stroked her hair. Frank sunk to one knee and rested his head in his hands. My will was as strong as any (any Sorrow could tell you that) but even it was wavering as we seemed on the losing side of this war.

A glint of gold caught my attention and I gasped in relief as Destiny emerged from the foliage. She grasped her arms and glanced around wildly like she was shook up. That didn’t stop me from running over and embracing her in a bone cracking hug.

‘Where were you?’ I yelled. ‘My gods, I was so worried! Don’t ever do that again. How could you go off like that, Destiny? You scared me half to death!’

‘I’m sorry, Arrow,’ she took my hands and pulled them off her, gripping them together between us. ‘I have to talk to you. And you have to hear me out.’

I glanced over my shoulder. Leo, Frank and Calypso stared after us expectantly, the quarantine tent looming behind them like some ugly green monster.

‘We’ll be back soon,’ I called. ‘We have something to discuss.’

They muttered something amongst themselves but I didn’t stay to eavesdrop. I grabbed Destiny’s arm and steered her away, nodding at her to start talking. She didn’t hesitate.

‘The person I met was Tyme, an Emotion Spirit. She took me to five of her sisters and they offered their help. You see, before Chaos there was another race; the Ancient Ones. They were spirits, separated into light and dark. The Emotion Spirits are light, but one of the dark is Kakó, a daemon spirit. She was imprisoned in earth, another spirit named Earatheal, but she broke free of her bonds and now is trying to get back at everyone who confined her. The Emotion Spirits told me they could help rebind her.’

‘How do we know we can trust these Ancient Ones?’ I asked dubiously.

‘I do,’ Destiny said. ‘I don’t know why, but I do. They sound like they’re telling the truth.’

There it was; her unwavering trust. Internally, I sighed heavily. When all this was over, I would need to have a long and hard chat to her about that.

‘Father is an Ancient One too,’ Destiny added after a moment of silence.

My head snapped up, ‘What?’

‘He doesn’t know,’ she amended quickly. ‘He’s young compared to the rest of them. They left him here to rule this dimension while they left for another.’

I felt my forehead crease in a scowl, ‘That’s horrible. They left their own family behind? We have to tell Father.’

‘No,’ Destiny caught my sleeve. ‘What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. He’s been perfectly happy living without that knowledge for millennia. Besides, we have more important things to worry about.’

I nodded distractedly, ‘The Fire Fever; its spreading.’

‘Any contact from Midnight?’ she asked.

I shook my head, ‘None. They had drachmas, but we can only assume Iris messages don’t work down there. We have no way to know if they’re still alive.’

‘Or whether Nero caught up or not,’ Destiny added.

I flashed her a dark look and she sighed, ‘Nero’s down there now. You being angry at him isn’t going to help anyone.’

‘Maybe not,’ I grumbled. ‘But it makes me feel ever so slightly better.’

Destiny chuckled and I found her cheeriness intoxicating, a small smile weaving across my face. I motioned with my head back towards camp and started walking.

‘Come on, we have campers to train,’ I reminded her.

She glanced backwards at the quarantine tent long behind us, ‘What about the sick campers?’

‘Leo, Calypso and Frank will take care of them,’ I assured. ‘I left Aeras with the healthy campers, but their break should’ve just ended. He’ll need our help.’

Destiny seemed to recall Aeras’ recent power struggles and quickened her pace. I saw her glance at the sky nervously. I was more nervous for more brother rather than what he might accidentally do. He wasn’t taking everything very well. He talked less and always seemed to be lost in thought, a dark shadow covering his face.

The clanging of metal sword filled the air quickly as we approached the arena. Aeras’ voice rose above the din, shouting commands at the campers. Inside was chaotic. The younger children ran rampant in amongst the older campers who were trying to follow Aeras’ instruction. The Archangel himself was at the front of the crowd, attempting to demonstrate a basic thrust. Charlie, Kiralee, Abraham, Autumn, Henry, Willow and Aaron were trying to catch the little kids and calm them down. Ewan watched from the stands in half amusement.

I sighed and threw my hands in the air exasperatedly, ‘What happened to our system?’

‘Out the window, apparently,’ Destiny muttered.

Aeras spotted us and twirled his sword around in an expert motion, slipping it neatly into its sheath. The campers tried to copy his action and shouts sounded as weapons slipped and cut hands, swords and daggers falling to the ground.

‘No, no, no!’ Aeras raised his hands. ‘Don’t copy that!’ He groaned. ‘Take five, everyone.’

The campers grumbled and put away their weapons without the fancy handwork. Ewan smirked as he jumped down from his seat and made his way into the main arena to stat healing the minor injuries. Aeras sighed heavily and walked over to us. A strong current blew through the arena and his hand jerked up to his hood to keep it pulled forward.

‘Destiny,’ he shouted when he reached us, wrapping his arms tightly around her. ‘Oh thank gods.’

‘Sorry I made you worry,’ she said as she hugged him back. ‘I didn’t realise I was gone so long.’

‘A lot’s come up,’ I intervened.

Aeras released his hold on Destiny and pulled back, his features folding into a heavy, serious frown.

‘Tell me,’ he insisted.

Destiny explained her detour to the forest and her meeting with the Emotion Spirits. Aeras’ expression didn’t change throughout the course of the conversation, but when she mentioned Tyme and her sisters his eyes narrowed.

‘You trust them?’ he questioned when she was done.

‘Yes,’ she said confidently. ‘They’ve shown no reason not to.’

‘Except for hiding in the forest and coming into camp and acting suspiciously,’ I shrugged nonchalantly. ‘Nothing untrustworthy at all.’

‘They were afraid of your reactions,’ Destiny sighed. ‘And they were right to. They knew you wouldn’t trust them. That’s why they called on me.’

‘Well, I don’t trust them,’ I crossed my arms. ‘They haven’t shown a reason to trust them.’

Destiny huffed, ‘And if they did, would you trust them then?’

‘I would consider it.’

Destiny apparently did not consider that a satisfactory answer. She matched my crossed arms and tilted her head back so I could see the hardness of her golden eyes. I threw up my hands in surrender and shook my head. The corners of her mouth lifted slightly in a smirk.

‘Okay, maybe, yes,’ I relented. ‘But they would have to prove they’re trustworthy.’

Destiny nodded, ‘I’ll tell them.’

She turned but Aeras caught her arm and pulled her back. Stumbling, she grumbled, ‘hey,’ and frowned confusedly. Aeras had the look like he was doing an intense maths problem in his head, but kept getting a calculation wrong and had to start over.

‘Wait,’ he said. ‘You’re going back?’

‘Well, yeah,’ Destiny nodded. ‘I’m apparently the go between. If they have to prove they’re trustworthy, I’ll help them. I know that they’re good. I just have to get you all to see it.’

She took flight. Stretching out her wings, she pushed against the air beneath and rose into the air like she was shot from a canon. She flew straight for the forest. I watched until she was nothing but a golden light on the horizon. And then she was gone.

Aeras gripped my shoulder, ‘Destiny can take care of herself. The campers can’t.’

He pulled me away as I nodded absentmindedly. The Sorrows had managed to get the younger kids under control and sitting down on one side of the arena. The older kids all gripped cups of water. Some, looking wet, had seemingly poured the contents over their heads, and I was reminded painfully of Nero.

‘Alright!’ Aeras yelled over the chatter which died instantly. All eyes stuck on him and he stared each camper down. ‘Girls are going with Arrow, Kiralee and Autumn. Boys are with Charlie, Abraham and Henry. Aaron, Willow and I are going to look after the young kids. Minor injuries head to the infirmary to get patched up, major injuries go straight to Ewan. Got it?’

A chorus of ‘yes, sirs,’ sounded around the arena and Aeras nodded, satisfied.

‘Okay,’ he called. ‘Go!’

Immediately, I was surrounded by teenage girls. Their weapons ranged from swords to daggers to bows. Multi-coloured eyes blinked expectantly at me. Whispers crept around but were hushed by others. Kiralee and Autumn moved by my side and looked to me for instructions.

‘Okay then. Sword fighters can go with Autumn, knife fighters with Kiralee; she’s as sneaky as any. Bows can come with me.’

The girls dispersed. Autumn lifted herself off the ground with her telekinesis as if determined to impress the campers. She smirked over her shoulder as the girls ogled her power in wonder. Kiralee, ready for a competition, called over her group and led them away by disappearing and reappearing a few feet away, aweing the campers with her invisibility.

Rolling my eyes at their folly, I chose not to participate in their silly games. Leading my girls out of the arena, I headed for the archery range. I had about twenty girls following me with bows, their voices all mingling excitedly.

For a moment, I imagined being back with the Hunters, tracking down a monster with two dozen immortal followers of Artemis in tow. Unconsciously, I reached up under my hood and touched the crown of my hair, feeling for the silver circlet that was no longer there.

Shaking my head, we reached the archery range. I stationed the girls in groups of three or four and told them to rotate while I inspected them in turn.

The first group I stopped at were all Aphrodite girls, giggling as they lined up the arrows on their bow strings.

‘Whoops,’ one muttered cheerfully as she released her string, the arrow flying off about three meters into the grass.

I sighed, ‘More practice. Remember that it isn’t a race. It takes a long time to get a smooth motion.’

To demonstrate, a pulled my bow off my shoulders and plucked a single deckras tipped arrow from my sheath. In a single action, I strung it up, pulled back and let go. The arrow tore through the air with a sharp rip and hit the centre of the target.

I hooked my bow back over my shoulders and pat an open mouthed Aphrodite girl on the shoulder, ‘Keep trying.’

I moved to the next group where they were doing a lot better. Two Apollo girls were helping their Hermes friend to aim properly. The Apollo girls definitely seemed to know what they were doing, so I took over their friend.

‘Here,’ I took her hand and positioned it on the bow a little higher. I showed her how to hold the arrow, ‘Now pull back.’

The Hermes girl drew back the string, took a deep breath and released. The arrow made a whoosh sound as it sailed straight over the target.

‘Better,’ I congratulated. ‘Try again and keep up the good work.’

I soon found that not all the groups were as easy as that one. Some girls had clearly never held a bow before while others tried to disregard my advice, insisting they knew better. Those ones I gave up trying to persuade. If they died because they’d ignored me that was their problem. Some part of me felt bad for thinking that, the rest of me thought rationally and taught those who wanted to be taught.

One of the last few groups contained Alyssa Wright, one of the swords instructors. She was at the forefront when I reached her group. She had the bow lined up against her face and was squinting down the shaft of her arrow, her other eye closed.

‘Whoa, whoa, whoa,’ I intervened, stepping in the path of her arrow before it could fly. ‘Open your eyes.’

She obeyed and puzzlement shone at me from grey orbs.

‘You should have both eyes open,’ I explained. ‘Proportions. You’re likely to miss if one is closed. Also, widen your legs a little bit and relax your arm.’

‘Oh,’ she adjusted her stance. ‘Is this good?’

I nodded, ‘Yep.’

I squirmed a little inside as I taught the older woman to handle a bow. Even though I was technically much older, I still looked like my teenage self. I stepped back to examine the Athena girl. Her straight blonde hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail that fell in a curtain down her back. Her arms were well muscled from time wielding a sword and she filled her Camp Olympia shirt well.

Her fingers dropped the string and the arrow struck the target in the outer ring. Alyssa sighed heavily but let her group members step up to take their turn.

‘Not usually an archer?’ I asked.

Alyssa shook her head, ‘I’m used to the sword. But I’m good enough at that. I thought I should learn a little more.’

‘Wise,’ I agreed. ‘It’s better to have a range. You never know when you’ll have to scrounge something up on the battlefield.’

‘Precisely,’ Alyssa looked back to the front to await her next turn and I moved on to the next group.

I moved back and forth between the girls for the remainder of the afternoon, straightening aims and adjusting postures until majority of them could hit the target. I picked out a few of the best Apollo girls to help me with some of the less gifted. Twice I was forced to duck as a stray arrow zipped over my head. One girl managed to fire her arrow in the wrong direction and send it flying into the forest where she fetched it with flushed cheeks.

As the sun dipped in the sky and turned the skyline a dark orange, I called time. After I said a quick well done and told them to listen out for a better training schedule, I dismissed the sweaty group. Most headed for the bathrooms instantly, choosing to refresh themselves, while others crashed back at the cabins, tired from a hard day’s work.

My upper arms ached from being pulled so taut for so long. I rolled my shoulder painfully and moaned as I heard a sharp crack. Shaking it out, I returned to the arena just as the remainder of the campers flooded out. I slipped past the crowd where Aeras and the others convened.

‘Did well?’ Aeras inquired.

I nodded, ‘We have quite a range of good archers.’

Autumn rested one hand against her stomach and the other against her chin, ‘The swords need some work. Since they’re a main weapon, I think there should be a focus on them.’

‘Agreed,’ Charlie said.

‘We’ll organise more swords training,’ I assured. ‘How did you go, Aeras?’

‘Well, they’re no experts,’ he started, ‘but I think we have a lot of kids with potential.’

‘Especially a certain black haired beauty?’ Aaron nudged Aeras knowingly.

‘Oh, shut up, she’s seven,’ Aeras shoved him sideways as the troublemaker laughed.

‘Heidi still clinging to you, I see,’ I but in with a smirk.

Aeras’ posture softened, ‘Yeah. She’s getting pretty good with that knife too.’

‘I’m sure a lot of it is owed to her instructor,’ Willow smiled lazily.

Aeras stiffened, ‘Okay. That’s it. Sorrows dismissed. Return to base.’

‘Aw, spoil sport,’ Abraham complained.

The six Sorrows spread their transparent wings and lifted into the air with a blast of wind and murmur of voices, flying straight for the Wonder Glider.

I sighed, ‘Do you think we’ll be ready when the final fight comes?’

Aeras shrugged, ‘I don’t know. But hopefully Destiny might.’

I followed his gaze to a descending shape, gold wings spread impressively. I felt Aeras shudder beside me and the winds strengthened, momentarily blowing the Archangel off course. Steadying, Destiny landed mere paces from us and strode forward, a message from the Emotions Spirits ready at her lips. And a retort ready at mine.

~*~

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! Maybe not for everyone, but for me it is, so, yeah, Merry Christmas! This chapter was a little hurried, but I think its alright nonetheless. I really wanted to update for Christmas. So, tell me what you think! Was it good? Honesty, please. Also, there was a lot of supportive comments last chapter, so thank you very much. For understanding, for being patient, for being awesome; thank you. It was so hard to choose, but I eventually picked the dedication to go to Cadence1o1 for their comment. Thank you Cadence1o1! And thank you so much to everyone else! Please do remember to vote, comment and follow! I hope you have a very Merry Christmas! And stay colourful, M&M's!

~TripleM