TWO

Be strong but not rude, 

Be kind but not weak,

Be bold but don't bully,

Be humble but not timid,

Be confident but not arrogant.

                                        -Anonymous

What other good first impression was there than breaking the unbreakable protective seal set around the camp on your arrival.

The seal had been around the camp for decades. It was placed there together with an invisible magical dome by the seven elders of Arietis called The Stanchion in order to protect the camp from any threat whatsoever.

The key was passed down to the deans of the camp and dean Lee was currently the only one with the key. No enemy had been able to penetrate the camp due to this seal. Even if they were able to pass the dome, they could never make it past the seal. 

This seal together with the dome, made the camp invisible to prying eyes. From the outside all you could see were trees and mountains in the distance but the people in the camp could see whatever was going on outside. That was how powerful the seal was.

The Stanchion was made up of the seven most powerful kingdom leaders. They included the three brothers-the god of thunder, Zeus, the god of the seven seas, Poseidon and the god of the underworld, Hades with four other kingdom leaders. 

They help to keep the supernatural world in balance and seeing as those who made this seal were exceptionally powerful and had been undefeatable all these years — not that anyone had ever dared to defy them — you could picture how strong and impenetrable the seal would be.

So imagine the shock on their faces to see a person, one person not an army, standing right where the seal was meant to be. A person clad in black- skinny jeans, spiked boots and a hoodie covering the whole face with hands tucked safely in the pockets.

The intruder took a step forward, immediately causing the whole camp to be extra vigilant. Enjoying the reaction she was getting from them, she continued to take slow and steady steps forward.

"Stop!" A voice shouted from the crowd, revealing one of the teachers, Professor Ethan with a few other men behind him, assumably security. She stopped walking, a few but adequate steps away from them.

"Who are you and what is your purpose here?" He asked, maintaining a battle stance. He got neither a reaction nor a slight movement from her, making everyone wonder if the intruder, by chance turned into a statue.

This act of defiance infuriated the professor as he growled out

"Are you deaf? I said state your purpose here,” all he got from her was a slight raise of her head, though her face still completely hidden.

One word played in her head as she observed the loud and cacophonous man before her with a jaded expression. 'Impatient'. She saw that the man standing before her was clearly ardent, sentimental and hot-blooded. One look at him and she knew that he was a sentimental being, one who lets his emotions cloud his judgement. 

'People like him are always the first ones to die in a war as they let their actions cloud their senses,’ she thought.

Further infuriated by this disrespect and mockery, he took threatening steps forward.

"Why, you filthy—”

"Wait!" the dean, who had been watching the scene unfold, suddenly spoke, stopping the professor from taking further steps.

The dean walked forward as the professor begrudgingly moved back but stood still very close to the dean just in case the intruder attacked. 

"Who are you?" the dean asked firmly but softly, truly curious about the intruder's identity and how such one person, not an army, was able to penetrate the most powerful seal ever made by the gods themselves.

Sensing the power radiating off this man, she assumed he was of high importance in the camp, probably their the camp leader. Assuming that he would be less discordant and would actually think well before acting unlike the man earlier, seeing that she could talk to him and wanting to tease the man beside him, the one whom she had bruised his ego earlier, she stepped closer, making the egotistical man rush to move in front of the camp leader protectively.

The dean touched the egoist's shoulder, assuring him that he was fine. He warily stepped back again but not without shooting an intense death glare at her.

"Please state your purpose here,” the dean said again. She looked around at the present camp members before looking back at him, seeming to say 'not here'. 

"Hmm... come with me,” the dean nodded, understanding her need for privacy, then proceeded to walk back into the camp.

"What?! Dean Lee? You can't possibly consider bringing this... this thing with you? We don't know anything about it. We should capture and torture it until it talks!" Professor Ethan spoke with anger and disgust directed at her.

It?! How dare he call me a thing?! And torture?! He knows nothing about what I've been through! She seethed mentally, her fingers curled up in a fist. She was overly umbraged at his words. She was shaking with anger and her figure tensed, this action not going unnoticed by everyone.

A sudden gust of cold wind blew, making everyone cover their faces. A rumble was heard afterward and about ten to twenty trees around the camp grounds fell to the ground. Everyone jerked their heads toward the sound with flummoxed and surprised expressions.

They all couldn't help but look dubiously at the intruder before them. Strange things were happening, first, the most powerful seal that had been placed around the camp for decades was suddenly broken, now without anyone touching the trees, they just came crashing down, these happening all in one day because of this mysterious, uninvited person that seemed to have formed from thin air.

Alaria took deep breaths, trying to put her emotions under control. This camp was her only chance left, she couldn't afford to destroy it. And as much as she wanted to eviscerate the professor, she couldn't because then she'd never get a chance to stay.

"Do not worry, professor Ethan, everything will be fine,” The dean said, breaking the tensed moment of silence before he turned towards her

"If you'll please follow me.

He said and started making his way through the crowd. Alaria looked at the professor emotionlessly before following after the dean, the crowd getting as far away from her as possible.

As she walked through the crowd, the wheels in her head turned vehemently as she tried to figure out how to go about this interrogation that was sure to come up. She can't reveal anything that could give them a clue about her. As far as she knew, this was the safest place to hide and she can't mess it up. The last thing she needed was more enemies to add to the list of the endless ones she already acquired even without lifting a finger and from the looks of things, it seemed she had destroyed something valuable to them and she was already on the blacklist of one of the teachers. That factor was a wrong move that could ruin all her plans. She needed to make amends and couldn't afford to make more mistakes.

Amongst the crowd, there was a person whom the intruder had piqued his curiosity. It interested everyone to find out that the cause of the seal breakage was just one person and not an army of powerful men or giants. Their interest was further intensified when the intruder was brave enough to face Professor Ethan, who was clearly much more muscular and bigger than the minute figure and even peeved him with the whole camp armed and ready for battle.

The whole camp was curious as to know how this intruder was able to break in but this one person was curious about the reason for this break in. The question that swirled through his mind was why? What could be so important to warrant a break in? And not a break into just anywhere, but a break in into the camp of the gods.

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