Solis

Chapter VIII

Ron's worries grew day by day as he discovered that Luke had been really offered a quest by Hermes. Because firstly, Luke didn't inform him about the quest before he left and only shared the news with Annabeth and the rest of the Hermes' children, leaving Ron feeling excluded. Secondly, Annabeth also chose not to tell him, leaving him in the dark until the information about Luke's quest began to circulate throughout the camp.

The entire camp was on edge since then, because it was very rare for demigods to have or being offered a quest. But, some demigods still seek the opportunity to go on a quest because it allows them to show off their abilities and the skills they have practiced and improved for months—and with Luke's quest, everyone was now in a state of anticipation, waiting for the news he would bring. 

Luke returned after approximately two weeks, and every camper rushed towards him, circling him, intrigued and curious about his scar on his face. Luke didn't hesitate to tell them what happened, but that only made every camper pity him—because Luke failed.

He failed.

And Ron and Annabeth was there, looking at Luke with concern look rather than pity. 

Chiron suddenly appeared, commanding them to return to their cabins and await dinner, as he needed to have a quick conversation with Luke about the recent events.

As they walked back to their cabin, Ron turned to Annabeth, concerned, and asked, "Will he be okay?"

“I don't know..." Annabeth responed then suddenly her expression shifted to something Ron couldn't explain. "I hope so. I think this is the right time. I want to talk with Chiron," she said before heading towards the Big House. 

"Wha—wait!" Ron called out confused, trying to catch up with her.

Annabeth was quick, but Ron was glad he has his short legs so he managed to catch up with her and tried to talk to her, However, Annabeth keeps ignoring her and hurriedly entered the Big House without hesitation. Ron didn't want to be left outside in the dark, so he hurriedly followed her inside.

Ron felt nervous he couldn't help but fidget when he noticed Luke and Chiron having a conversation in the old centaur's office but his gaze was cut off by Annabeth interrupting their conversation.

“If you just only tell me what the great prophecy—”

"And as I've said to you countless times, my dear, I simply cannot fulfill that request—” Chiron tried to reason, but Annabeth seemed to be not having it.

“And I'm having countless times of nightmare about it!“

Ron was sweating heavily, feeling uncomfortable inside Chiron's room because Luke was no longer present there and uable to comprehend their conversation, he just decided to leave quietly, stepping outside the door and waiting there.

He didn't know much about the other parts of the Big House (like the second floor, because Ron saw a stairs) except for the infirmary, where he had been before, and the place where the head counselors usually gathered for meetings. Outside the room, Luke was nowhere to be seen, but the other doors caught his attention.

Ron was just a kid—and not an ordinary one. Curiosity was a trait known among children, so it should come as no surprise that he found himself standing in front of the attic's door.

The door to the attic was partially open, so he couldn't resist the urge to take a peek—It wasn't as dark inside as Ron thought, because there's some light coming from the small circular window above. 

Inside the attic, Ron found the room filled with various unfamiliar items. Among the things he recognized were dented armors hanging on the wall and dusty few books and jars resting on wall shelves. The floor was also filled with papers and scrolls and other things—It was kind of messy. The rest of the objects were either stored in chests or covered by blankets, making the redhead wonders about their purpose and origin.

But below the circular window above, there's someone sitting there.

"Hello?" Ron called out as he cautiously walked towards the person sitting there. However, as he reached out to touch them, a book from the wall shelves accidentally fell, startling him. He reacted quickly, instinctively reaching for his celestial bronze, ready to defend himself.

After ensuring there was no immediate threat, he approached the fallen book slowly and knelt in front of it. Ron carefully touched it, but nothing happened. He shrugged as he put away his celestial bronze and picked up the scroll. It felt quite heavy, as he grabbed it to put it back on the wall shelves, but dust flew up, causing him to sneeze loudly.

But the sudden sneeze caused Ron to drop the scroll, accidentally making it rolled open itself.

After the sneeze, Ron opened his eyes and was shocked by what he saw. Instead of the attic with items, he found himself in a horse-drawn carriage floating in the clouds. There was a person in front of him wearing strange clothes.

Ron's first reaction was to shout, but he quickly steadied himself as the carriage shook. He was surprised to see that there was no horse or pegasus or anything that pulling the carriage.

Confused and unable to comprehend the situation, Ron stammered, "Wha—whe—who—"

The unexpected sight left him speechless, and he couldn't make sense of what was happening around him.

As the carriage tilted to the left, Ron couldn't help but scream in fear, desperately gripping onto the side of the carriage to steady himself. He was confused why the boxes is not moving at the back of the carriage—then another sudden movement startled him, and he held on tightly, trying to keep himself from falling.

"Hurry, Hurry!" Ron heard a voice call from somewhere behind them. Slowly, he steadied himself and turned to look. To his surprise, he saw three people dressed similarly to the person in front of him, wearing that weird long clothes and pointed hats with brooms.

Suddenly, the three individuals separated – one stayed behind them, another veered to the left, and the third went to the right.

"Wooh! We did it!" One of them shouted, and Ron watched in awe as the woman with curly black hair performed an impressive 360° maneuver on her broom.

"I told you, we can do this with their help!" She said, beaming widely at the others, who cheered in agreement, including the person in front of Ron.

"Let's go back! This will be great news for everyone! Be careful with the boxes, Rinsey!" Another person shouted, and the person in front of Ron gave a thumbs up as the carriage shifted to the left. Ron closed his eyes as the sudden rush of air and clouds hit his face.

Suddenly, the scenery changed from clouds to a breathtaking sight. Ron was amazed as he looked out and saw a vast, wide ocean beneath the carriage. The carriage flew just below the water's surface, allowing Ron to see his own reflection.

"This is awesome!" He exclaimed, as Ron waved at the woman on his right, but the woman seemed to ignore him, as if he were invisible. 

Ron was about to stand up when he heard screams of panic. "Gerry, watch out!" They heard someone shout, and Ron turned to see the man behind them falling into the ocean, with smoke emanating from his body.

"What's going on!?" the woman on the left shouted.

"I don't know!" the person in front of them replied, clearly as confused and alarmed as Ron was. 

Ron tried to stood up from his sitting and screamed shielding himself when a lighting strike the woman on his right.

Terrified, Ron tried to stand up from his sitting position, but before he could fully react, a lightning strike hit the woman on his right, leaving him screaming in fear as he instinctively shielded himself.

"Lith!" Both the other two individuals screamed in shock and horror.

"It was them!" the woman cried and stared at Ron's blue eyes. “They betrayed us.“

Suddenly, everything changed rapidly. The once serene sky turned dark, and heavy rain poured down. The ocean, once calm, now churned with large waves. Ron found himself all alone, unable to move his body as a colossal wave approached him and the carriage. His eyes widened in fear as tears streamed down his face. He doesn't understand it—he doesn't understand—

All of a sudden, Ron felt himself falling onto the attic floor, his knees hitting it hard. The scrolls he had seen earlier turned into ashes and dust right before his eyes.

The attic door slammed open, revealing Luke holding a claw-like object. "Ron!?" he shouted, rushing toward him.

Chiron appeared at the door just as Luke knelt down in front of Ron. The redhead's blue eyes were wide with shock. He didn't heard what Chiron had said to Luke, but the older teen left the claw on top of a chest and immediately carried Ron outside the Big House.

Before the door closed, Ron caught sight of a faint smoke green color dissipating into the air from the person sitting below the circular window while Chiron's gaze was fixed on the dust that had formed on the floor.