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Chapter Text

Natalie Scatorccio hated Christmas.

She particularly didn’t like winter to begin with, but Christmas? It was worse. Christmas reminded her of all of the years she had to scrape in garbage-paying jobs while all the kids got to spend Christmas Eve with their families.

Someone had to make money so the company would not cut the gas, so they wouldn’t freeze to death in the four walls of rotting wood you could barely count as an actual house. That was probably why she never believed in Santa; she was the one who made other kids believe in Santa. She thought about how she used to wrap gifts with her small freezing hands.

Natalie remembered the envious, twisted feeling she got in her stomach watching the kids who got to be… just kids. No hunger, no blooming bruises to hide with long sweaters, no apologies to rehearse when you mess up a job.

That was why it didn’t feel real when she finally got to be one of these kids, a 18-year-old kid that is. Still, she would pinch herself sometimes just to remind herself that this life was hers. A part of her was still afraid that it could get taken away at any second.  

Everything started at her 18^th birthday. Natalie and her best friend Kevyn had gotten into a stupid fight. She never thought it would end up in a juvie. But there she was. Happy birthday to me, she thought. Such a wonderful way to start a new age. She would have to serve her punishment, obviously. There was no one to bail her out. Hell, even the thought of it was a stranger to Nat.

So, when a certain Ms. Taylor came to visit her in the juvenile center, Natalie was surprised for sure. She had never known any Ms. Taylors. But this? Damn, she was not expecting this. Her douchebag of a father left Natalie’s mother Vera, before Natalie was even born. She never knew who he was, and she never cared to know. At least, that was what she had been telling people. Say this long enough, she told herself, you will believe it eventually. However, when the lady told her that he was part of a big god representative lineage, Natalie just laughed. She laughed so damn hard that she nearly pissed herself.

She gave a quite short answer, only two words. Fuck off. Who let her out of the psych ward for her to tell some bullshit about her father? Then, Ms. Taylor made an offer. A one that Natalie couldn’t even think of rejecting. A get-out-of-the-juvie-free card. All she had to do was go with her. To some weirdass rich-kid private school. Natalie had handled worse; she could handle stupid rich kids. Or she thought so back then.

That was how she ended up in Wiskayok Academy, where the Greek Gods were real. And all of the kids? The kids were supposedly some kind of Divine Representative. From the outside, the school seemed like a typical over-the-top rich-kid boarding school. However, the inside… That was where everything got freaky.

Natalie would never believe it if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes. All the kids with their freaky, magical powers. She couldn’t do any of the things yet, so it was a surprise they even let her in here, but she guessed there had to be something Ms. Taylor knew. And the thing about handling stupid rich kids? That was harder than she thought.

Natalie always had a huge problem with fitting in, but it was never this bad. The worst one was the headmistress’s daughter, Jackie, who was the Aphrodite Representative. She even found a nickname for her. Burnout. What the fuck was that supposed to mean? And wherever she went, her best friends, Shauna Shipman and Lottie Matthews, followed her like little puppies, very judgmental puppies for sure.

At least, Shauna was like that. She always looked at Natalie with some kind of judgment in her eyes, a kind of judgment that would always remind her she was of the lower class. Lottie Matthews… She was different. She wasn’t as judgmental or mean as Jackie and Shauna were. However, she didn’t know a lot of things about her.

She had a different personality compared to the other two for sure. She was quieter, more mysterious. She never saw any judgment in Lottie’s eyes. Her eyes even kinda looked sad, she once thought to herself.

The only friend she (kind of?) had there was a girl named Misty, the Hephaestus Representative. She seemed sweet, but she was… Weird in her own way. Still, it was better than being completely alone.

So, she was waiting for Misty to pick her up for the Christmas Party of the Wiskayok Academy. She didn’t know what to expect, to be honest. She had never been to a party among the rich, except for the one time she worked as a waitress at Randy Walsh’s family’s home.

That party ended with a tray of shrimp cocktail spilled on a senator’s wife and her getting screamed at for a solid ten minutes while holding back tears.

Yeah, she was better at fixing things and maybe even shooting than carrying tables. But on the bright side, this one couldn’t be worse, right?

She turned to the mirror and smudged her mascara a little bit. This was a habit of hers that she couldn’t have gotten rid of. It was never smudged enough.

While she was checking her eyes in the mirror before a soft knock on the door made her jump.

It must have been Misty.

Her curly blonde hair was tucked under a ridiculous beanie shaped like a gingerbread man. “Hi, Natalie!”

Natalie smiled briefly, “Hey.”

Misty pushed her punch to the air. “So, are you ready to party all night? I heard that some of the Dionysus kids plan to spike the punch tonight. It will be amazing!”

Natalie was sure Misty had never drunk any alcohol in her life, ever. And she had suspicions about how amazing the party would be as well. But she didn’t say anything about it. Instead, she just said, “Yes, I am… excited.” She was not.

The hallway outside her dorm room was lined with glimmering fairy lights, like someone had vomited Christmas spirit all over it. Gilded garland shimmered along the banister. Every surface reeked of cinnamon and expensive indulgence.

“Will you be drinking the punch tonight?” Misty asked with a wondering voice.

“Hell, yeah. Whatever helps me get through this night.” Natalie answered.

“I brought you a matching heart-shaped ring to mine. So people would get we are best friends, isn’t it cute?” She handed Nat a ridiculous looking heart-shaped ring. Would it be rude if she said that she didn’t like it?

“Thanks… It doesn’t match my outfit today. I might wear it with another dress. Cool?” Nat asked.

Misty’s smile faltered for a second, but just for a second. She nodded enthusiastically.

“Oh, totally! It’s, like, super versatile. You could wear it on Valentine’s Day too. Or maybe if you ever go on a mission and need a focus ring for channeling…”

Natalie blinked. “Channeling what?”

Misty tilted her head, a strange glint in her eyes. “You know. Powers.”

Right. Powers.

Natalie didn’t even know what kind she was supposed to have. Or if she had any at all. They kept saying it would “awaken” eventually, that “blood reveals itself in pressure.” Whatever the hell that meant. Sounded like cult-speak. Sounded like bullshit.

But then again, this entire school was bullshit. Pretty, gold-dipped, god-touched bullshit.

As they descended the wide staircase leading toward the ballroom, she could hear the music already. Strings and synth, rich and haunting. Definitely expensive. The kind of music you’d hear in the background of a movie right before something beautiful and terrible happens.

She hated how her heart was racing.

The main doors were propped open, and the moment Natalie stepped inside, it was like falling into a dream she didn’t belong to.

White marble floors dusted in shimmer. A crystal chandelier that hovered, not hung, above them like a glowing jellyfish. Tables that adjusted their size depending on who walked by. People, glowing. Actually glowing.

She tightened her fists to stop her hands from shaking.

Misty led her through the crowd with a springy bounce that didn’t match the heavy atmosphere pressing down on Natalie’s chest. She passed girls with silver tattoos shimmering under their sheer gowns, boys with ember-colored eyes who whispered in tongues she couldn’t place. Some wore togas. Some wore tailored velvet suits. Every single one of them looked like they belonged here.

Then there was her. Secondhand dress. Combat boots. Hair she’d tried to tame but gave up on halfway through. Burnout.

She grabbed a glass of punch and downed half of it.

Misty gasped. “I thought you were kidding!”

Natalie wiped her mouth. “Guess I’m not.” She answered, smiling.

While she was about to take another sip of her punch, a hand held her arm. A cold but gentle hand with long, delicate fingers. Lottie Matthews, she thought.

“Can I speak to you in private?” Lottie asked. Why the fuck Lottie would want to speak to her in private? This was the same Lottie Matthews who trailed Jackie like her own designer purse. But now… She had that look again. The mysterious, sad look that she would notice. It was as if she was grieving for something, or someone.

“Uh… Yeah, I guess.” She answered. She felt her heart racing, like this was one of Jackie’s games. Maybe Lottie would act kind just to dig up some secrets for Jackie’s fun. She had a shitload of secrets as well. She reminded herself once again to be careful.

“I will be back in a minute, Misty.” Nat added. She saw Misty’s face faltering once again but she smiled through it.

“Okay, I will be here… hanging out with my other friends. I guess.”

While Nat and Lottie were walking outside the gym she checked out Lottie’s white dress, and her shimmering makeup. She had left her long, black, wavy hair down, which were braided in general. Natalie liked her hair like that better. Looser. Softer. It had a nice vanilla smell to it. She had always like vanilla smell.

After they left the gym, Lottie locked eyes with Natalie. Natalie felt her heart beating faster, once again. “I am listening, Lottie. What’s the deal?”

Lottie put her hand on Natalie’s arms again. Natalie felt her skin crawling.

“You need to leave this party. I saw a vision… of you dying, in this party.”

What. The. Fuck?

Chapter Text

A long, long time ago, a young, beautiful princess lived within the walls of Troy. Her name was Cassandra. According to the myth, her beauty was so breathtaking that even Apollo fell in love with her.

He gave her the power of prophecy. But when she rejected his companionship, he put a horrible curse on her.

She would still see the truth, but no one would believe her.

Lottie Matthews used to think about that story a lot when she was a child.

Not because of the gods or the city or the war. But because of the loneliness Cassandra had to carry like a dead weight. The way people would smile at her, nod, and dismiss her. The way her truth became a burden only she knew.

There was something about that loneliness that Lottie understood ever since she was a child.

She’d grown up in an enormous house with a mother from Apollo Lineage. But her mother wasn’t gifted with the talent of prophecy. Neither were the last five or six generations of Apollo Representatives. Thus, when she announced her talent people would look at her like she was a circus freak.

That is why she had learnt to keep her prophecies to herself. That’s why she never wanted to tell Jackie that Jeff would cheat on her. Or, that’s why she never told Shauna that her parents would get divorced when they were twelve.

But this time… This time it was different.

This time it was the new girl’s life at the stake. Or the life of Burnout, as Jackie so kindly called her.

Jackie could be mean sometimes, that was true. But Lottie had grown used to that.

She’d grown up with those girls. When her family wasn’t around, which was most of the time, it was Jackie and Shauna who would make Lottie laugh. Lottie would feel like she belonged somewhere with them, a feeling she had never felt anywhere else.

Still, she wouldn’t talk prophecies with Jackie and Shauna. Not really. Even with them, when she talked about it she wasn’t Lottie anymore. She was the circus freak. Maybe especially with them.

…

“You saw a damn vision?” Natalie said mockingly. “Sorry, no, I am pretty sure that you did have a vision. It’s just that I am so fucking new to this divine magic bullshit. But still…”

She chuckled for a moment.

“Why would somebody want to kill me? Is it some kind of mean girl warning because Jackie doesn’t want me around?” Natalie mocked.

“Natalie…” Lottie cut her sentence.

“You know what? No. Fuck it. I am not falling for your mean games. I’ve dealt with so much worse. Tell Jackie I said ‘fuck you’.” And Natalie stormed off. Just like that.

Lottie stayed frozen. Exactly at the place Natalie left her. She was at the exact place that she was afraid to be. She was the circus freak again. No, she was also the bully now. This felt even worse somehow.

“Where have you been? We waited for you for the photoshoot.” Jackie said her the exact moment she found the courage to come back.

“I… Never mind.” Lottie answered. “Where is Shauna?”

“So, Shauna has been acting weird. Again. Do you know what’s stuck up her ass lately?” Jackie asked Lottie.

“I… No…” She knew. She was dating Jeff, Jackie’s boyfriend. But if she were to tell Jackie… “I have no idea. Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Jackie said, smiling and rolling her eyes at the same time.

“You look a little pale, by the way. Is everything okay?”

That was the thing with Jackie. There were times she could be cruel. But there were times she saw right through her friends as well.

Lottie did not answer, though. She meant to, but her eyes were stuck on Natalie Scatorccio talking to Misty Quigley. Only if there was a way she would believe her…

She remembered the vision she saw once again. The crystal chandelier fell. Right when Natalie was under it. The chandelier was bound by magic. It couldn’t just fall, not on its own. Someone had to cast a spell, and to aim for that to happen. It wasn’t an accident. It was a message.

“Hey, Jax?” Lottie called out. “Can we get rid of that chandelier? It is not… very fitting with the Christmas vibe. Don’t you think?”

“No, I like it. I am pretty sure it’s fitting with the vibe.” Jackie answered in a second. “And since when do you care about it? You hate Christmas.”

That was true. And very irrelevant to Lottie right now.

“It just kind of clashes with the whole thing, that’s all. Don’t be so defensive about it.” Lottie said with a fake smile.

Her eyes fixated on Natalie for one more second. And in that second, Natalie looked back.

…

Natalie would feel Lottie’s eyes on her ever since she got back to the gym. She was already feeling bad for storming off like that. Lottie’s concerned gaze at her made her even worse.

What if she was actually right?

“Hey, Misty,” Natalie said. “What kind of person is Lottie? She seems… different than the rest. Why is she hanging out with that group?”

Misty answered with a high-pitched voice. “Well, could it only be because they are the coolest group around? I mean, what Jackie said about you wasn’t nice. But still, if you get to know them, they are very cool people.”

“I can tell.” Natalie mocked. But that question kept lingering in her head. What if Lottie was right?

She looked at the chandelier once again. And she could swear she saw the light in the chandelier flickered for a second.

Maybe she had had too much alcohol. Or maybe…

“One second, Misty.” Nat said. She started walking towards the chandelier. And as she got close towards it she heard a cracking sound.

Still, it could have been her imagination. But it didn’t feel like it.

She drifted back to Misty. "I think I will head back home, Misty."

"So soon?"

"I am pretty tired, you know." Nat answered. She looked at Lottie’s group one more time before she left but they were not there. That felt… off. The music suddenly sounded hollow. Something inside her chest curled tight. She needed air.

She started to walk in the biting cold. Maybe Lottie was right, she thought for a second. Maybe the light was actually tricky. Maybe someone would actually try to kill her. She had seen it as well.

She didn’t get far.

The path back to the dorms was long and narrow, cutting through a patch of forest that looked picturesque in daylight. It looked hunted at night. Natalie had walked it before, once or twice, but tonight, something felt different.

Not real, she told herself. Drunk. Hallucinating. Magic bullshit.

The glowing lights that usually hovered above the trail were flickering as well. One by one. She stopped walking. I need to get a grip, she thought to herself. But her heartbeat wouldn’t slow and her legs wouldn’t stop shaking. Then click. The light directly above her went out.

Natalie froze. Looked up. The next light, just ahead of her, pulsed once. It buzzed for a second before it died. Then the next. And the next. They started going out in a pattern, like someone was chasing her in the dark, closing in one light at a time.

She didn’t wait for the rest.

She ran.

Note to self: Never run in the snow wearing lace boots. Ever.

Boots skidding on frozen dirt and breath ripping from her lungs, she could hear each of her own heartbeats. Behind her, something moved. It didn’t exactly sound like footsteps, exactly. More like whispers inside the trees.

She ducked off the main trail, sprinting into the tree line. Branches clawed at her arms, her hair. She didn’t care. She didn’t stop until the lights were gone completely, and only the moon broke through the trees.

She collapsed behind a fallen log, panting.

And for a second, it was quiet again.

“Who is that?” A voice called out. Natalie knew that voice. She remembered it.

“Coach Scott?” She asked. “What are you doing out here in the woods?”

“I could ask you the same question.” Coach Scott answered with a slightly annoyed face.

“I was…” What if the Coach Scott was the one who was messing with the lights? Could she trust him to tell the truth? Hell, what even was the truth?

“I am a little drunk, and got lost. Had too much punch. Sorry.” She answered in a calm voice.

“Come on. I’ll head you to your room. And, we’ll pretend I never heard the thing you said about the alcohol. Okay?” He said, his voice firm.

She wanted to ask what he was doing, but she couldn’t. He was her teacher, it wouldn’t be very rich-ass-school student like.

What if he was the one who followed her? Who else could have been? But, what if she said no and started to run? But if she did… Would she even get away?

Coach Scott was an Ares Representative. Natalie didn’t know shit about mythology, but as far as Nat understood, those people were basically superhumans when it came to physical strength.

Did she have another chance at this point?

“Okay.” She quietly answered.

As she walked back to her room one thought kept lingering in her mind. She owed Lottie one hell of an apology.