Hold On: Chapter One

Chapter One

Arianne walked towards her cabin, glad she could rest for the day. Her chariot ride last night gave her a headache. She opened the doors and met the usual looming figure of her father's statue. She gave a groan, since she saw enough Zeus since she was born.

She sat on her bunk bed, which had been put up kindly for her. "Nice guy, that Xavier." She said, a tiny smile on her face. For years she had glimpsed him training under the care of Bia, and she thinks he is an awesome guy. The problem was that he looked very deep and serious, which slightly scared her.

"I suppose Training won't be so bad after all." She said as she finally lay on her bed for a short nap. "Even if I have to fulfill the prophecy and become the HERO OF OLYMPUS!" She imitated her father's booming voice when she said the final words. Thunder bellowed outside. "Oops."

She closed her eyes and went to sleep.

Her dream was wonderful. She was sitting by the shore of the beach, holding hands with a boy she felt she was in love with. Her head lay on his shoulder, and they were both watching the sunset on the horizon. The boy turned to her, his face kind and soft, a smile on his lips. He has auburn hair that was very untidy and alarmingly grey eyes. Arianne thought he was very handsome.

But one thing that troubled her was a shadowy figure standing behind bushes, and she didn't know she was staring at it until the boy asked, "What is it?"

The figure melted into nothing.

Arianne tried to smile at him and shook her head. "Nothing.... Let's just enjoy the view." The boy chuckled and held her hand tighter, and Arianne turned back to the sunset, and automatically, she was indulged in a fantasy with her Romeo.

But then, a voice called to her, "It's training time." Arianne tried to fight the voice, but it just kept echoing in her mind, getting louder and louder.

And she opened her eyes to see Xavier's pale face smirking down at her.

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They were in the Archery Range at dawn, cold breezes preventing her to wake up. Xavier was giving her some tips on how to use the bow, but she barely listened. She was too busy poring over her romantic dream.

"I said, it's your turn." Xavier said sternly, thrusting the bow in her hands. His face was stony, but when Arianne stared further, she saw a hint of amusement.

The girl took the bow, grinning wide. She had practiced with the bow a million times on Olympus, and she thought that this challenge is going to be easy.

A bronze arrow streaked straight to a bulls-eye, and there was a loud twanging sound. Arianne drew herself up proudly and crossed her arms at Xavier.

<p style="text-align: left; ">Xavier, however, looked unimpressed. He plucked off the arrow from the target and tossed it back to her. "Not quite there, Miss Rach." He said.

<p style="text-align: left; ">"You can just call me Arianne," Arianne smiled sweetly at Xavier as she prepared for another shot. Xavier chuckled as he stepped out of the way.

<p style="text-align: left; ">They trained in Archery until before breakfast. As Arianne walked with Xavier, drenched and tired, she glanced at the Athena cabin, where a group of boys were talking cheerfully. One of them was a boy with untidy auburn hair and grey eyes, who looked up and saw her.

<p style="text-align: left; ">Arianne blushed, but the boy just smiled at her and turned back to the conversation in his group.

<p style="text-align: left; ">"Freaky," Arianne thought as she arrived at her table.