The Daughter of Memory

"No no no no no. I-It can't be! How!?" I shriek in disbelief. "Amor, how is it possible?" I turn to the daughter of Venus, who's staring at me as if I'm an alien, which considering who my mom is, it's very well possible. "I-I-I don't know. She's a titaness, it's not supposed to be possible." Amor stutters, staring at the fading safe above my head.

"We... we need to get to Reyna. See what she says." Amor says, grabbing my bicep and dragging me to where Reyna stays. All along the way people are pointing and staring. The safe above my head is still there, but it's faint. And I don't think it has any intention of leaving. Yeah, magic safe, just make yourself comfy and draw more attention to me. I think bitterly, sending loads of resentment to my mother.

We burst into Reyna's room without knocking. We startle Reyna so much she drops the stuff she was holding. "Amor, Corona, what's wrong... oh." She trails off, her mouth forming a perfect O as her eyes land on the faded safe. "Reyna, please tell me this isn't possible." I beg, wrenching free of Amor's iron-clad grip.

Reyna's face contorts into sadness. "I'm sorry, Corona. Apparently it is. Moneta, or Mnemosyne if you want to go Greek." I drop to the ground and start sobbing. No, I can't be. Moneta is the goddess-no, titaness-of memory and remembrance. She isn't supposed to be a mother.

"I'm sorry, Corona." Amor says, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Sorry." I faintly hear Reyna say. Driven by my shock, I yank free, jump to my feet, and dart out of the room. I start running as soon as I'm out of the room. My necklace bounces against my neck as I push my legs to not stop. More of the campers stop and stare. The floating safe is gone, but news travels quickly in camp and pretty soon I'll be known as the daughter of Moneta.

I don't even realize where I'm going until I have to stop to breathe. I look around. It's the River Tiber. Taking a deep shaky breath, I sit own and throw my feet in the river, wishing it could wash away everything I stand for.

"Hey, you big sissy!" A voice calls. I groan as I recognize the voice. It's Lyam, the camp bully. I stand up. "What do you want, Lyam?" I sneer. "I just heard some pretty big news. Do you wanna hear them?" He asks. I have a feeling I know what the news is. "So, a little birdie told me that you're a daughter of Moneta, a titaness."

I clench my fists and resist the urge to knock this jerk into next Tuesday. "Yeah, so?" I retort, looking down. The next thing I know there's a whoosh of air by my right ear. My head snaps up just in time to block the next punch. My hand connects with Lyam's fists and I grip it. "You naughty boy." I almost purr.

I don't know what exactly I did next, but one moment Lyam was up and the next he's on the ground unconscious. I scream and scramble back, alerting the others. Reyna's in the front of the 'mob' but she doesn't say anything. She just has someone take Lyam to the infirmary and ordered the others to leave. Once they're gone, I lurch forward. "Reyna, I-I don't k-know what h-happened."

Reyna waves a lazy hand. "Lyam got what he deserved. Now, come on, we need to figure out what you did to ol' Lyam and Amor is worried."

We walk back up to the camp with our arms wrapped each other's waist, me using Reyna for support.

Notes