Chapter Text
The sound of footsteps, no not quite footsteps, hoofbeats to be specific sounded just behind Annie. She looked over her shoulder and saw Chiron was picking his way down the steps behind her, looking not unlike one of those dancing parade horses.
It would have been almost comical if it hadn’t been for the prophecy still echoing dully in her ears. Annie considered herself fairly unshakeable, stalwart,her mother would say but anyone would be on edge, she reasoned, had that kind of bomb just been dropped on them.
Chiron gently placed his hand on her shoulder and she fought the urge to flinch.
“Annie, I think we should talk.”
But she didn’t want to talk. The last thing she wanted to do was sit here and talk to Chiron who would be too gentle, too kind, as his eyes dripped with pity. She didn’t even belong here. Everyone was smart or talented or brave (or beautiful), her mind so helpfully supplied.
They were everything she wasn’t and the longer she stayed, the sooner they would realize that. She knew she could not stay here but Annie also knew she had nowhere to go.
Chiron repeated himself, “Annie, I think we should ta—”
Annie felt herself shrugging his hand off her shoulder, jaw clenched, mouth set into a hard line. Without thinking she rose to her feet so quickly her head spun and took off across the lawn.
She knew she was being rude. She knew Chiron was probably standing back there, brows knit in a concerned line. She knew she couldn’t deal with it. Not right now.
She broke into a run and headed to the woods where they had played capture the flag. The voices of the campers, now enthralled in their daily activities faded as she drew nearer to the center of the forest.
As the trees began to thicken, she began to slow, not entirely sure if she were to keep running, where she would go. As the foliage thickened above her, the light began to dwindle, making it look as though twilight had come early.
Up ahead, in the shadows, what looked like a pair of eyes was peering at her through the gaps in the trees. She reminded herself what Hitch told her about nymphs and how they loved to watch the campers
“Couldn’t be much more goddamn nosy, could you?”, Annie shot at it, kicking at the grass, “What the fuck do you want?”
“Annie?, a deep, smooth voice replied
“Jesus fuck! I thought you were a nymph!”
From the shadows around the eyes, materialized a face, tall, skin dark as the bark, definitely not a nymph. From between the trees, a boy. One she recognized. Something stirred in her memory but she couldn’t grasp what. He looked confused, almost pleased to see her, hopeful maybe.
“Sorry, I thought you saw me.”, his voice, soft, reassuring
“What are you doing, skulking in the forest anyway? Wait, who are you?”
Annie couldn’t keep up with her thoughts, this boy, where did she know him? Had they met before?
“You...do you remember me?”
She didn’t. She’d met so many people in the last several days, it was a blur.
“I…”, she paused, grasping for some kind of inkling, just out of reach.
His face fell.
“I’m Bertholdt, from the Hecate cabin. I was in the meeting this morning…”, He trailed off, like he had something left to say.
“Oh. Sorry.”
“You really don’t remember anything?”
He seemed hopeful.
“Have you seen—”
He was cut off by a huge hand clapping him on the back, hard enough to knock the wind out of him, apparently, because he began to cough slightly.
“Bertl, let Annie be, alright? You remember what it was like when we first started here?”,
Reiner, seemingly materialized out of the trees, still clapping Bertholdt on the back as he shot his signature 10,000 kilowatt smile at Annie. She looked between them, glancing from face to face.
Bertholdt, unable to meet Annie’s eyes, ducked his head, flush rising from his neck. He seemed antsy and he kept spinning a ring around his little finger but beside him Reiner’s face never faltered.
An awkward silence fell over the trio, Annie eying the other two suspiciously.
“Well! We best be getting back to archery! Bertie and I are supposed to be teaching! See ya, Annie-O!”
Reiner smiled even wider, she hadn’t thought it possible. With one hand he waved cordially and the other he seized Bertholdt’s hand and turned on heel, pulling him away.
Annie was left there, perfectly still, as Bertholdt shot one last glance back at her over his shoulder.
-
Had she seen what? Bertholdt’s words echoed over and over in her head. What could he possible be talking about? Still something felt off. But then again, these days there was nothing that felt even remotely “on” in her life.
Sighing deeply, she dropped down onto a fallen log. She knew she had to go back but it didn’t have to be now. She reached into her pocket for her knife. Idly, she flipped it open and unsheathed the sword.
Turning it slightly so it caught the dim light filtering between the trees, she let it rotate in her hand until the blade brushed the dirt. Something caught her eye.There, something was etched into pommel of the blade, it read,
“Annie, please find Mnemosyne”