Thia's POV

I don't think I'd ever been so eager to move away from somewhere than I did after waking up. The remnants of Andy's pyre still smoldered despite having died down ages ago.

My stomach aches with a persistent hunger and I shook my head in dismay. I had to keep moving. I was by myself now but that was okay, I was used to being alone. Swallowing hard, I lingered just for a moment next to the glowing ash and embers.

"If you find anyone down there, good people, like Charlie and Selina or maybe Luke, or Michael Yew, they'll help you out. They knew lots of my family members. They're good people. They know war's hard and they'll appreciate your sacrifice." I didn't know why I felt the need to talk to some smoldering pile of wood but I did. With that, I shouldered what remained of my bag and pushed on.

It was hard to know where exactly I was going but somehow I felt like I knew. That something deep inside of me was showing me the way. I just had to make it to the temple. Once I got there I could release Order's spirit and everything would be fine. I could go home and my job would be done wouldn't it?

Time seemed to pass by at a horrifically slow and grueling pace. Still, I kept telling myself to just find the temple. I wasn't quite sure when I reached new civilization but I was vaguely aware of ancient streets and folks roaming about.

I could feel their eyes settling on me with concern and fear. I knew I must have looked like a mess, thin to the bone with tattered clothes covered in dirt and blood. Honestly, it was better than being dead I supposed.

Slipping quietly through the crowds I continued on guided only by instinct. I ignored those who attempted to stop me and politely declined those who attempted to help. I just wanted to keep moving. I was restless, like the closer I got the stronger this feeling became.

My feet ached horribly but I didn't bother to check why and continued on the worn pathways. Slowly the locals turned into tourists dressed in the clothes you'd expect with cameras in bags or on their necks.

Buildings were now crowded next to markets and small cafes with bustling crowds. My energy was slowly fading but I moved on. The tourists grew angry as I walked through pictures or pushed my way through their groups.

Sighing, I spotted a fountain and glanced inside. Coins decorated the bottom of the stone glistening in the clear water. Standing on a nearby bench I examined the area trying to figure out where to go.

A gentle breeze ruffled my hair and I caught the scent of pine trees, something I'd always loved. It calmed me. Opening my eyes I leapt from the bench and jogged off following the breeze. Mama always said you could trust the winds.

Ducking under a person's sun umbrella I danced out of the way of a mother pushing a stroller. Stumbling backwards I knocked into something or someone.

"Yo get your own street corner runt." A violent shove sent me toppling to the ground. My knees skidded painfully on the ground and my palms bore most of the impact as I sprawled out.

It took all of my willpower to slowly get to my feet. Every ounce of me wanted to just lay there on that concrete and remain for all of eternity. I was tired but my destination remained unachieved.

Standing, I bowed my head and said nothing as I ran off my legs somehow supporting me despite their weakness. My eyes stung with tears but I pushed them down. Crying wouldn't get me anywhere. Pausing at a map I tried to locate the temple but it appeared to be absent. Maybe we'd been wrong all this time. Maybe the guess we'd made had only ruined everything.

Shaking my head I had half a mind to slump over underneath that map and give up. Only the breeze came again as if it were calling me. With a final spurt of defiance I followed the stupid breeze until I was off the beaten path.

I was leaving behind the masses looking at pristine statues and buildings. I was journeying into a bland section of dirt and trees. It seemed like a cruel joke to me. I was on a wild goose chase and fate was just having a laugh. Then I stumbled upon it. A worn down building hardly more than a crumbled wall with vines twisting over its surface. The wind stopped blowing.

This couldn't be it. This had to be wrong. The temple should be big and grand;  immaculate and immeasurable in size. Staggering over to its skeleton structure I walked up the cracked and shattered steps.

It was more than a sad sight to see. Like the building itself had given up. The main floor was webbed with tarnished and destroyed marble. Some animal droppings decorated its surface in different areas. Pillar like soldiers were toppled and lopsided as if they'd been taken down in battle.

There was a statue of sorts in the center but it was horribly defaced. Unrecognizable in appearance and color.

"This can't be it." My words were heavy with defeat. "This is wrong! You brought me to this?"

I didn't know what I was yelling at. The sky? The wind? The universe? It didn't matter. What could this sad structure even offer me! Nothing. There was no magical object or hint as to what I must do to save the world. No solution to the prophecy. 

"There's no Order!" Spinning in a circle I stared angrily at all of the rubble as if it would hold the answer. "There is no answer is there? It's just a lie! All anyone ever does is lie to me!"

Tears slipped down my cheeks and splattered onto the ground. My hands shook and my exhaustion finally took over. My malnourished state was so pathetic I could no longer stand.
Slumping over on the ground I leaned against the base of the statue and wept.

"I hate this. I hate all of this. This earth, this universe, the gods, everything! There's no love here or purpose or beauty. It's ugly!" The world was just a shade of grey destined to turn black in time. "Everything is ugly."

The words slipped from my mouth uncontrollably. What false hope I'd had was now cruelly shattered. With shaking legs I leaned heavily on the base of the statue standing unsteadily.

"I'm not special am I? I'm not some hero destined to do something great. I'm just a scape goat. Someone to give people false hope. I don't want to be part of a lie! I wish you'd left me alone. I wish-" What did I wish? That none of this happened? That I could go back and fix everything? No, if I was being honest I wished that I hadn't been born.

If I wasn't here there would be no problem. No one would be responsible for what happened to Marianna. She could be alive not labeled an outcast because of me. Andy would be alive and in Rome and Leah would have her family and she'd be happy. My parents wouldn't worry about me and their lives would be easier. They could do what they wanted and I wouldn't get in the way.

"Please." The words came out as a whimper. "Please, I can't do this. I can't finish whatever you want me to do. You have to find someone else. I'm not the person you need."

The truth began to settle in my heart. I'd tried so hard to be this leader of the prophecy without even thinking that I might not be right for it.

"I don't have a pure heart. I don't have any powers. I'm a nobody don't you get it? I'm just a nobody." My throat grew too tight to speak anymore.

An immense tiredness settled over me and slowly I sprawled out on the ground as my eyelids grew heavy. It was as if my own sadness weighed me down. Glancing at my blurry reflection in the marble I nearly laughed. A bitter feeling settled in my stomach.

My cheeks had grown hallow, my arms were thin enough to snap, and I could feel my ribs pressing into my skin. I was so far gone and unlike the kid I used to be. Sighing, I closed my eyes.

"Child."

The word echoed through my head like a soft breeze. I didn't want to answer. I didn't have the strength to. I wanted to sleep forever. To satisfy this burning tiredness that had settled inside of me.

"Child you must fight."

The words were urgent this time and my conscience stirred ever so slightly. "I'm tired."

"It is not time for you to rest yet."

"I'm done. I want to sleep. Just let me sleep." My thoughts were a desperate plea.

"You are my chosen one. You must finish this."

"I am not the chosen one. I am not a leader. " The darkness in my head began to transform into a white empty space.

"Yes you are. You are my host! I have chosen you and only you young Grace." The words were persistent and my thoughts began to clear slightly.

"Why? What have I done to prove I can even do this?"

"Thia, you have lived a life of honor and the purest intentions of any individual on this planet for centuries." The voice echoed through the space like some bizarre entity. "I have watched you through the years. I've seen you grow up before my very eyes."

"How? I've never met you! I've never even seen you!" This had to be a lie. And if it wasn't why would this woman just watch idly as I suffered?

"That does not mean I haven't observed. I had to remain silent, unknown." There was a pause. "From the day Prometheus began to create you I was involved with the process."

"You're lying!"

"He followed my instructions carefully. You were to resemble your parents, to be similar to them, but you were not to be given powers." The words seemed to slam into my chest like arrows between the ribs.

"You..." Tears prickled at my eyes. "It's because of you!"

"You needed to learn what it was like to struggle." The woman, wherever she was, spoke calmly as if what I'd said had been unimportant.

"You made me this way? Powerless? All I've ever wanted was to be like my parents. To connect to them! I grew up watching my cousins learn their powers while my Aunts and Uncles looked on with pride!" The pain flaring in my chest was nearly unbearable. "I wanted that! I wanted them to look at me and know that someday I was going to be even better than they were. That they were proud!  I wanted them to guide me. To smile when I succeeded or if I failed."

"It was for your benefit."

"My benefit?" I couldn't keep from yelling. Anger was a mild term for my feelings. "Do you have any idea how much pain I felt because of you? How many times I caught them giving me pitying and disappointed looks because I tried so desperately to do something. To make a spark or to wield a weapon with little practice. Do you have any idea how many people tried to figure out what was wrong with me? How many of them tried to figure out how two of the most powerful demigods of all time could have such a weak and useless daughter?"

"You would only learn true humbleness if you experienced it from birth. You needed to see those who were flawed like you as your own
and believe that they could be better than they dreamed. It's why you adored Marianna and Andy and Leah. You are a bridge Thia. You know what it is to be good with insurmountable power, but good with nothing as well." My head spun with this information. It was too much to take in and I felt sick.

"What else did you do? What have you neglected to tell me?" There was a long drawn out pause, "TELL ME!"

"You were born without the natural fears of most humans. It was why you were so daring as a child. Why things didn't scare you. I wanted you to grow without preconceived ideas of the universe. To learn and understand the beauty of all things. To love unconditionally." The room seemed to be growing brighter. Like our emotions were mixing into one. Blinding hot rage and brilliant truth.

"Don't you understand that my whole life is a lie? I thought that I was different and good because I chose to be. Because I wanted to be. It was the least I could do. Now I know it's just because you made me something I'm not. You dictated my identity and you had no right!" All I could think of was the crushing feeling that I never even had a chance to find myself from the very beginning, because someone else, had planned it for me. "My childhood never got to be normal because I was never normal to begin with."

"You did have a choice. All of this has been your decision. I did not expect you to be so kind or so caring. I expected you to be withdrawn and emotionally detached because of my tampering. You chose our life and your personality Thia. You are original because you made yourself original." It was hard to believe. Hard to accept.

"Why did you do it?"

"I have foreseen this meeting for centuries little warrior. I have seen the ending of the world long before the idea was even conceived by my husband. I needed a host strong enough to sustain my flickering essence. What you see is all that is left of me." The room began to fade slowly before surging back to life with my panic. "Our emotions are tied. I draw my strength from you. My essence naturally links with the most just and pure hearts. You are all that keeps me alive. I have been careful in nurturing you because you are my lifeline."

"What if I don't want this? What if I don't want to help you? How can I even trust you?" The hurt had yet to subside and the idea of embodying Order's remaining essence was repulsive.

"Truthfully you have no reason to trust me,or to even love me, but I know one thing about you little Grace." I could practically hear the gentle smile in her voice. "You are never one to betray a whole world for your own needs. Neither were your parents. You still have their genes even if I had my sway in them."

"If I do this it isn't for you. I want nothing to do with you. I'm doing this for Andy, and my parents, and my family because they deserve better than dying by the hands of your husband." My pain and betrayal shifted into hardened determination. "What must I do? What happens?"

"You must do nothing. I will take care of such things. As for what happens? Well, you will have power as you've always wished and I will guide you as best as I can. You will draw strength from me as I draw strength from you." Order replied. "You must know Thia, that you are not the first."

"Who was it before me?" I demanded.

"A man born to a carpenter and young girl. The Christians adore him. You should be honored to be his reborn embodiment." Once more I was confused and shock settled in.

"Reborn?"

"Yes, the cycle has always continued. The saviors of the world and nations harbor me inside of them. They all come from humble beginnings my dear. You are no different than them. You come from a long line." There was a hint of amusement. "Jesus, Buddha, Alexander the Great, Cleopatra, ancient heroes all the way to modern figures like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. You have always guided the world in the direction I have chosen."

"But how? How can I be them and me?" My confusion was hard to hide.

"You are still you Thia, but their experiences, their strengths, their kindness, defiance, courage, brilliance, tenderness; it all races through your veins. It is what guided you here. Now you have little time, your body is fading." This statement caused a surge of alarm to pass through me. "Fear not young one. You are safe."

"What do I do?!"

"Remember I will guide you."

Reality came hurtling back at a rapid pace. My eyes snapped open and I was aware of the sever ache in my stomach.

"Thank god you're alive." My eyes shifted to find a familiar face.

"Leah?" My throat was raspy and she eagerly handed over a cup of water. I could vaguely make out fires and tents all over.

"Shhh. I'll explain later. Right now you need food." Nodding, I closed my eyes and a feeling of warmth spread through me easing my aching stomach. My heart slowed for a moment and I could have sworn the back of eyelids were brighter as if my eyes themselves were glowing. "Here. Eat slowly."

Obeying, I tried my best to eat as much of the soup as I could but my stomach was sensitive. Slowly, I got a better bearing of my surroundings. Men and women all sat together in different areas with young kids bouncing about. We were still at the temple.

"Who are they?" I asked. Leah opened her mouth to answer my question before a red headed man leapt into view.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I believe I know our friend the moon lady." The man's smile was bright and he seemed to radiate a permanent energy.

"Artemis?"

"Indeed, she's the one! A very good friend of mine," he beamed, resting his hands on his hips.

"And you are?" I asked hesitantly. The man laughed warmly and a gleam came into his eyes.

"My dear don't you recognize me? I'm Robin Hood!"