𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐀 | Unveiling, uncovering. The Greek notion of truth.
Esmerelda knew everything was going to change the second her super nice foster father suddenly turned into a snake monster and tried to eat her. She just never expected for all of...
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▬▬▬ CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN ▬▬▬
ESMERELDA TRIED NOT TO SEE it as a loss. Her siblings weren't dead, they were simply... gone. Gone to join Luke and his army of monsters and titans. They could die though, and not just from the monsters. The gods would see their treason as unforgivable, and they'd kill them the same way they killed Merlin (so easily and so mercilessly).
She hasn't had any dreams lately, from Kronos or her mother, which was a huge relief for her health. The bags under her eyes were still there, but they were getting a little better now that her sleep was undisturbed.
She wished that she could speak to her mother though. To confirm her siblings' whereabouts, and then to yell at her for leading them to their deaths. If her siblings died, it would be because she made them join the wrong side. It would be all her fault.
Ethan was desperate to find some way to distract her from her siblings (which was near impossible), so he reminded her of her promise to teach him some knife throwing skills and her desire to become an Animagus.
She was just grateful she had something to keep her busy while people were prepping up their chariots for the race.
She had stolen about thirty or so mandrake leaves from Professor Sprout's greenhouse. But now, her supply was dwindling. Understandably, it wasn't easy trying to keep a leaf in your mouth while also teaching someone how to properly throw a knife.
"Relax your body and stand u—huck! Gack!" Esmerelda coughed, feeling the mandrake leaf stuck at the edge of her throat. She finally felt it disappear into the depths of her larynx and groaned in frustration. "Oh come on!"
"Swallowed the leaf again?" Ethan said knowingly, watching her in pure amusement.
"Shut up," she grumbled, fishing her pockets for the baggie of mandrake leaves she carried around with her. She picked up one leaf and popped it into her mouth.
"That's the sixteenth one now, how much do you have left?" He asked.
Not wanting to accidentally swallow yet another leaf, she quietly counted the leaves she had left and held up 3 fingers. Two in one hand, and one in the other.
"Three?" He guessed. She shook her head. "Oh, twenty-one?"
She nodded, then impatiently motioned for him to get into the right position. She tapped his right foot, nudging it forward while maneuvering his left one slightly behind it. Since he was right-handed, the right foot needed to be forward.
"You know, this would be a lot easier if you talk." Ethan tried to goad her, but she stayed resilient as she silently fixed how his fingers were wrapped around the knife's handle. He grinned and stubbornly kept his fingers in place. "Nuh uh, you gotta tell me what to do."
