The Children of Demeter

Chapter 14: Cassandra Coon

Just one note before I start this chapter.... I like blondes, and I do have blonde friends. I am not an anti-blonde. Just putting that out there. Okay, continue...

Cassandra did not trust Petunia. She just seemed.... Evil. Blonde. No, that's mean. Devin's blonde, and Cassandra thinks of him like a little brother. No, she didn't hate all blondes, but she didn't like Petunia. After Madeline ran off to give Scarlett a tour with Elizabeth on her heels, Cassandra and the others just glanced awkwardly around, not wanting to speak to Petunia.

"I LOVE your hair!" Squealed one Aphrodite girl with curly brown hair and brown eyes to break the awkward silence in the group. The girl wore a mostly pink outfit with a short skirt and high heels that Cassandra would never wear in her life.

"Um, thanks...." Petunia grumbled, standing up. Now that Cassandra could see her up close, she nearly felt sorry for Petunia. Her outfit of a light pink tank-top and denim shorts were covered with dirt and her arms and legs were covered in bleeding scratches and bruises. Her curly blonde hair was dirty and even had a few sticks in it. She wore a ton of makeup, but it was all smudged. She had bright blue eyes that looked full of sadness. Petunia stood up straight and patted some dirt off her tank-top, then faced the group.

"How long will I be staying here?" She asked coldly, glancing up at Cassandra.

"Um, well..." Cassandra mumbled, still scared of her. She cleared her throat and spoke clearly. "We will all be leaving on a quest soon, a quest you will be a part of."

"Huh, sure." Petunia scoffed. She turned to the Aphrodite girl that had spoken earlier. "Where can I stay the night?"

"OMG, my cabin! We have PLENTY of room! And I can do your hair!" Before Sabrina or Cassandra could protest that this was against camp rules, both girls trotted towards the cabins, the group watching.

"Well," James started, "Let's call it a night and wake up early tomorrow. Hopefully the huntress will be here by then." The entire group turned to Alec.

"Oh, my sister? She's already here." He turned around just as a silver-tipped arrow came flying perfectly towards him. He ducked out of the way just in time. "Everyone, meet Samantha."

Standing where the arrow came from was a group of about ten identical dressed girls. Nine out of ten of them had an immortal glow to their skin, but one girl stuck out like a sore thumb. She was a little shorter than the rest, and looked a lot younger. She had short black hair down to her ears, and Alec's dark eyes. She was pretty, in a huntress way. She wore green camouflage and had a quiver full of arrows strapped to her back and a bow-n-arrow at the ready. She wore a slight glare on her face.

"You called?" She answered lightly, refusing to put down the bow-n-arrow. The other Huntresses glared at the group. Cassandra looked on jealously.

"I told you about the quest." Alec stated, folding his buff arms on his chest.

"Yes, I heard. I heard you need a leader." The huntresses snickered at this and grinned.

"There is no leader."

"Well," James started, "Isn't Sabrina...—"

"Then I'll be the leader." She turned to Cassandra. "Method of transportation?"

"Um... Well... we haven't really decided yet..."

"May I suggest a train? The daughter of the sea god probably doesn't like air travel, and the daughters of the sky probably don't like water travel. It's easy and quick."

"How does she know this stuff?" James asked Cassandra with a puzzled look.

"I read."

"Good for you!"

"Shut up."

"I dislike you."

"Oooh!! BIG word! Good job!" Samantha rolled her eyes and walked off with the rest of the Hunters.

"That girl's crazy."

"Yeah..." Frisco muttered, sighing heavily. Ruby elbowed him in the gut. "Ow!"

"You're weird." She grinned and walked over to talk to Cassandra. "Brothers, am I right?"

"Totally." Cassandra grinned. Cassandra hadn't noticed when Sabrina came up to the two of them with a serious look on her face.

"You guys, there's something you might need to see." Sabrina announced to the group, leading them towards the camp entrance.

"The Mist is really weak. We NEED to start this quest as soon as possible. As in, tomorrow." Gasps were heard from the group.

"That's crazy." Stated the stranger who had spoken before. "I mean, the new Demeter girl doesn't even have a weapon, and the Poseidon girl and my cousins just got here."

"Cousins?" Cassandra asked, reading everyone's mind.

"Don't ask. Long story."

"Anyway," Sabrina started, "We still do need to train them."

"But how are we going to do that with the Mist borders fading?" Cassandra asked.

"We can have some Ares kids keep watch."

"With three foot swords? What will the mortals think?"

"We can make the place still look like a strawberry farm. Just no magic, so nothing seems suspicious."

"How long will we have?"

"A few days."

"A FEW DAYS!?" James bellowed, shocking even Devin. "How're we going to do that?"

"Well, today's Sunday. What if we leave by Wednesday?" Ruby offered.

"Okay, but that means a TON of training. Lance and Francis, you're going to help train your sister. Ruby can help with Scarlett and James and I will help with Elizabeth. The rest of you, I want you practicing, hard. Any questions?" Cassandra asked, looking around at the soundless group. One Aphrodite girl raised her hand timidly. "Yes?" Cassandra called upon.

"Uh, Hello? We still haven't picked which child of Aphrodite will go!" The girl commented.

"Oh, uh, right. That will be...." Cassandra started, glancing at James uneasily and whispering to him. "Who was the girl that went off with Petunia?"

"I think her name was Brittany."

"Brittany it is!" Cassandra announced, although she really didn't care. She glanced at her watch and yawned. The girl who had spoken frowned and grumbled to herself. Wow, 8:30 already? We better get to bed before the harpies show up. Cassandra thought to herself.

"Okay everyone," Cassandra concluded, "It's been a very long and stressful day. We're all waking up at 6:30 sharp tomorrow to start practicing. Now get to bed before Chiron and the harpies come after us." Cassandra nodded at Victor and James and walked over to them to head back to the Apollo cabin.

"This is crazy." James muttered to her before yawning. "I mean, we've barely spent half a year here. And now we're all going on a quest? Scarlett and Elizabeth just got here! They don't even have weapons!"

"Well, Scarlett IS the daughter of Zeus. So she can fly, and probably summon lightening. And Elizabeth probably has some water powers. So they can always do that. Plus, Madeline can make plants grow. She can probably do some kind of Demeter things."

"Wow Cassandra, how uneducated that sounds!" James smirked.

"Shut up James, I'm tired. Let's go to sleep!" Cassandra moaned, closing her eyes and using James as a pillow as they walked. James grinned at Victor and shook his head. The two half-brothers and one half-sister all walked quietly towards the cabin, their feet dragging behind them.