The Rise of Erebos: The Chained Goddess

ROSE

I had never felt as nervous as I did now.

As I walked into Chiron's office, a million thoughts were racing through my head.

Was I in trouble? Did something bad happen? Was the world ending? What was going on?

Chiron's office looked the same as it did last time I had visited, with its bronze-shielded walls, boombox playing terrible Italian opera, computer, desk, and basically everything else that was there before. The last time I had been here was three months ago with Dionysus, Kai, Amethyst, and Alexander, when we had talked about the Mist and the prospect of launching a quest to repair it.

Now here I was again, discussing with Chiron about the Mist and the potential of starting a quest to fix it. Oh, how the times have changed.

"As you know, Rose, the Mist has completely vanished, and we do not know the reasons as to why," Chiron said, pacing behind his chair. "Because of this discovery, I invited you into my office."

A brief passage of time occurred after this statement, with Chiron now facing towards me and stopping his pacing before speaking once more.

"I'll just jump straight to the point. Rose, I want you to lead the quest to bring back the Mist."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Ever since I had returned from the first quest, I was excited at the idea of leading my own quest. Even though I had almost died multiple times on my previous quest, I enjoyed going on an adventure and exploring the great unknown. Many campers felt the same way, which is why what happened in the counsel meeting happened. Everyone, at some point in their life at camp, has wanted to lead or participate in a quest, particularly the former.

But as great as that all sounded, leading a quest would mean a butt-load of responsibility that I wasn't sure I could handle. I mean, I had just arrived at camp three months ago and was still a newbie by most people's standards. Was I even qualified to lead a quest of my own? In the last quest, it was Amethyst and my friends' hard work that had ultimately saved the day while it was my naivety and inexperience that frequently ruined our chances at success.

I then realized that I had been so caught up in thought that I had been staring at Chiron's desk for the last ten seconds without uttering a single word.

"Earth to Rose, hello?" Chiron asked, visibly perplexed.

"Oh, sorry," I muttered. "Zoned out for a second there."

Chiron chuckled. "That's okay. So, what is your answer? Will you lead this quest?"

I sighed. "Look, I'm really flattered that you thought of me for this, but I don't know if I'm qualified to lead. Wouldn't Kai or Amethyst be a better option? They've been here longer and would probably know how to lead better than me."

"Rose, do you know why I picked you to lead?"

I shrugged and suggested jokingly, "Because of my amazing charm and valor?"

"Not exactly, though you do possess both of those traits. I picked you because of your courage and bravery. You could've run off and not went on the quest with Amethyst, but you persevered. You are more than ready to lead, Rose, and at the end of the day, this is your quest. You know the Mist better than most."

"What about Lou Ellen? She's the head counselor of the Hecate cabin. One could surmise that she knows a lot about the Mist."

It wasn't just even Lou Ellen though. Oliver had schooled me in almost, if not all, of our practice sessions and spent most of his time practicing his magic. And making out with Drew, but... Ew. Millicent and Devin have also proven to be better and more experienced than me, so, what was Chiron on about?