Carpe Diem
Pandora
Pandora liked to say that she was an optimist. She got up early in the morning to greet the sun. She always started the day with a positive attitude. In her head, Pandora had made a list of things to look forward to each day. It looked something like this:
- Her friends
- Meals
- Camp activities
- Campfire
- Evan
Pandora believed in making the most of every day. Because you could get something positive out of every moment. But this philosophy didn't quite seem to work out that day.
To put it briefly, Pandora was stressed. The day had started fantastically. She got up early in the morning when she was woken up by soft music. Her twin brother was playing the guitar. She didn't know how he did it, but Evan was almost always awake before her.
After Pandora had got ready, she sat down on Evan's bed with a hairbrush and a box of jewellery. He didn't keep her waiting long and sat down next to her.
‘What would you like today?’
Pandora just smiled gently.
‘Surprise me.’
Evan nodded and began to comb through her hair. Pandora was aware that many in the camp admired her artistic hairstyles. But she was sure that very few people realised that Evan was the real artist.
After a few minutes, he stood up and told Pandora to look at herself in the mirror. When she saw her hair, she had to smile.
Her front strands were elegantly braided into two small plaits that framed her face. Pandora's remaining hair was tied in a half ponytail, decorated with colourful beads and glittering flower clips.
Grinning, she turned to her brother. He was in the process of decorating his own hair with gold and silver rings. As soon as he was finished, Pandora wrapped him in a bone-crushing hug.
‘Thank you so much! You're the best!’
Evan smiled at her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. As he was slightly taller, it wasn't difficult.
The two of them then made their way to the food pavilion for breakfast. The food was fantastic as always and afterwards she and Evan chatted to Regulus Black.
Pandora didn't know him well yet, but she had a good feeling about him. He had a positive aura. He had also been particularly sweet when he had visited Lily in the infirmary.
Apparently Evan had already made friends with Regulus too. Just as they were talking about the latest round of Capture the Flag, they were interrupted by a scream. Charity Burbage shouted an alarm.
The next moment, a huge beast stood on the crest of the hill. Some campers had started to fight the monster, but Pandora had no weapon with her. She helped to evacuate the area as best she could.
From time to time, she looked over at Evan. He had drawn his bow and was shooting arrows at the monster. Pandora paused for a moment to savour the image. Her brother was simply incredible. Pandora was sure that Evan was the best shot in all of Camp Half-Blood. And besides being an archer, he was also a trained field medic. At that moment, Pandora was incredibly proud of Evan.
The battle ended abruptly when a bolt of lightning shot out of the sky and pulverised the beast. When Pandora turned to Regulus, she knew he was responsible. Lightning seemed to twitch in his eyes as well. Luckily, she was good at calming people down.
But the chaos still hadn't subsided. Because standing on the hill were none other than the hunters of Artemis. Pandora had never seen them in person, but she had heard stories about them.
Unfortunately, she barely had time to talk to them as she was immediately called to the infirmary. So it was that she found herself standing next to a hospital bed where Sirius Black was lying unconscious.
Pandora had not witnessed the accident, but the injuries were quickly recognisable: Wounds to the arm, two broken ribs and a concussion. She had already bandaged the wounds and started the healing process for the ribs. Pandora made sure to get some Nectar into him. The whole thing wouldn't be so grave if only Sirius would finally wake up. The extent of the concussion could only be determined when he was awake. There was nothing more she could do at the moment.
She was deep into her thoughts, as Evan entered the room. He glanced briefly at Sirius before turning to Pandora.
‘Do you have time right now? Minerva's giving a speech.’
Pandora nodded slightly and thanked him for the news. After one last look at her patient, she followed Evan outside. Most of the camp was already assembled. Shortly afterwards, Minerva asked for silence.
‘My dear campers! I have disturbing news! It seems the camp's magical barrier has been broken, allowing the monster to enter!’
A loud murmur went through the crowd as campers shared their suspicions and opinions. One camper stepped forward. It was James Potter. Silence fell immediately.
‘How is that possible? I thought Marlene's Tree was holding up the barrier!’
Minerva turned her gaze to Hermes' son.
‘Normally it works like that. But the camp's satyrs have found the cause of the malfunction.’
Minerva took a deep breath, as if she needed to brace herself for the news she was about to deliver. Pandora exchanged a worried glance with Evan. Everyone waited tensely. Minerva let her gaze wander through the crowd.
‘Marlene's Tree has been poisoned.’
A collective gasp went through the ranks of the campers. Pandora turned to her brother in shock. He also seemed speechless. Why would someone poison Marlene's tree? Who would do something like that?
Minerva did her best to calm the campers down. When that didn't work, the loud call of a hunting horn sounded. All eyes focussed on the source of the sound: the hunters of Artemis.
One of the girls stepped forward. It was the same one who had spoken before. Minerva nodded to her and stood aside. The huntress lifted her chin.
‘We were sent by the Lady Artemis!’
No one dared to speak. Suddenly, James Potter stepped forward again and stood directly in front of the huntress. He had a grim expression on his face. Pandora had never seen him look so serious. The son of Hermes looked the huntress up and down.
‘Hi, Mary. Long time no see.’
The huntress, whose name was apparently Mary, looked at him with a similarly disdainful expression.
‘Not long enough, Potter.’
James looked at her with an unchanged expression.
‘Why are you here?’
Mary glared at him.
‘Do you get the impression, that we want to be here? What makes you think that? We’ll make sure to change it.’
James opened his mouth to say something, but Minerva intervened. She turned to the hunters.
‘Mary, you and your fellow hunters are very welcome here. During your stay, you will be able to stay in cabin 8. We'll discuss the situation later.’
Mary gave her a brief nod before she and the rest of the hunters made their way to the canins. When they were a good distance away, Minerva turned to James.
‘Mr Potter, I hope you will treat our guests with decency. Do we understand each other?’
James gave her a curt nod, even though he didn't seem at all happy with the arrangement.
Pandora looked questioningly at Evan. They seemed to be communicating telepathically. Pandora raised her eyebrows slightly: What is going on?
Evan tilted his head slightly and nodded in Minerva's direction: ‘I don't know. We'll probably find out soon enough.
Pandora nodded slowly. She had a sinking feeling in her stomach.
Something strange was going on here.