I'm new to this, so no flame por favor?

-Disclaimer: Pssh... no.

The Token: Chapter Uno

Its beautiful black coat gleamed in the sun, looking almost blue it was so dark. The little foal whinnied at me and I laughed, taking only a second to think before chasing after it out into the pasture.

"What do they call you?" I asked the foal. It nickered, and maybe it told me its name, but I couldn't understand it. "Can I call you Freedom then?"

The foal dipped his head.

"So are you a boy or a girl?" I asked Freedom. The foal- Freedom, as I have named it- stood up to his full height. Freedom wasn't much taller than I, but it stared at me indignantly and puffed out its chest proudly. "So, you're a boy then?"

Freedom dipped 'his' head in what seemed to be agreement. I giggled at him and he nickered back, almost like when my daddy laughed. Shaking off that thought, I replaced it with another as he stood up on his hind legs like the big horses in movies did. Freedom waved his hooves in the air and neighed. I laughed- he was the most fun I've had all day!

"I've never been friends with a boy before," I told my new friend honestly. Freedom seemed to shrug in response, like he was saying "I've never been friends with a girl before". After a couple of seconds of just staring at each other, I decided I wanted to play a game with my new friend.

Running as fast as I could through the pasture, I shouted back at Freedom, "Catch me if you can!"

….

The sun was now finally setting on my birthday, when before it had been high above me and my friend. I stood rested against the big willow tree, the trunk bent just the way I needed it to be so that I could rest comfortably- this was my favorite spot.

Freedom folded his beautifully black legs to lay down beside me. His muzzle was very close to my face now, instead of inches above me, and I reached a hand out to stroke it. Petting Freedom was like petting velvet, soft and smooth. Freedom seemed to watch me with curiosity as I moved my hand to his cheek, patting the black fur softly. He nickered as I smiled up at him, and he moved his muzzle into my hair. Blowing out through his nose, he nuzzled my blonde hair. I giggled at the show of affection.

"Annabeth!" it was my step-mother's voice. I jumped at the sound of it and Freedom's ears pricked. "Annabeth, darling, where are you? I've told you not to go outside the gate without an instructor. Annabeth!"

My step-mother was slowly coming closer to me and I slowly got on my feet. She couldn't see us, but she would be able to soon.

"You're my very best friend," I told Freedom softly, kissing his cheek. Freedom brayed and nuzzled my cheek in response. "I won't forget you."

Stepping back, I came to the realization I might not see him again. Quickly, I lift my necklace from around my neck. The silver owl glinted in the low light, and it was one of the last pieces of my real mother I had left. I smiled as the gorgeous grey stone eyes glittered back at me and I slowly lifted it up and over Freedom's head. He nickered as it rested against his breastbone. I looked back up at him and his hazel eyes stared back at me, before they shifted color. The green of his eyes was more profound, like when the sun glanced off the small pond in my backyard.

"Now, you'll always remember me." I whispered. Freedom nods and I turn away, running in the direction of where my step-mother is calling me. But, just before I get to her waiting by an olive tree, I stop and wave back at Freedom.

Yet instead of seeing my black foal, I see a young boy with raven hair waving back at me. My stepmother grabs my waving hand and chides me about running off as she tugs me back in the direction of my house.

And I never saw Freedom again.

I sit up in bed, trying desperately to catch the remnants of the dream. Something about a horse- a foal- and a young girl- me? Confused I shake my head and lay back down. I haven't seen head nor tail- no pun intended- of a horse since I was twelve. Which was six years ago. Really, I haven't see my farm since then either- no pasture, no riding, no nothing 'non-lady like' as the Madam of my school would put it.

"Get up, girls! It's a new day!" Piper walked in the room, smiling sympathetically at us. "Up, up, up! We're learning dance etiquette! Remember, we've got that big ball coming up."

Most of the girls get up at that. The male counterpart of our boarding school- The Olympian Academy for Civil Young Men- is joining us in three days for this ball that apparently will have a "huge" impact on our lives. Everyone in their last year here will have to attend- which is everyone in my flat.

"Annabeth, get on up and dressed. We have class in fifteen minutes." It's Silena's voice from the bed next to mine and I sigh. Rolling out of bed, I begin to undo the braids that kept my hair in all night. Walking over to my vanity, I see that my dress has been laid out for the day.

It's a simple white gown, with a gold sash around the middle. The sleeves are connected to the dress with a gold loop of metal, stretching out to cover my shoulder and then going to the back where it once again connects with a gold loop. The bottom is a breezy skirt that allows room for you to move.

"You look stunning, Annie!" Thalia giggles from behind me. I roll my eyes at her as I put my curly blonde hair up in a ponytail. Putting in the gold hoops they'd laid out next to my dress, I rummage in my closet for a pair of white converse.

I grin triumphantly, holding up the converse for Thalia see. She laughs as she pulls on her white button up and flowy black skirt. She pins her hair back with a golden barret that was given to her by her father. She hasn't seen him since.

That's the story of most girls here. Their father or mother somehow disappeared or died tragically or normally and left them with some trinket that they never let go. Like my mother when she gave me her owl pendant necklace. But I lost it and I've tried remembering where it went but it's seems like my brain just shuts down whenever I try.

"Let's go," I mumble tucking my bangs behind my ear and falling into step with the fifteen other girls.

In my flat, we are all eighteen. Everyone one of us has been here since we were young- twelve- and have never moved. Most of us, including me and Thalia, don't even leave for the summer. Just stay here in Uptown New York.

Of the fifteen of us here, I only talk to three of the girls. Piper, a pretty brunette who lost her mother in a freak car accident, Salena, a bright girly-girl whose mother ran off because she didn't want to stay with her father because he never paid her any kind of attention, and then Thalia- her brother attends the boy school and they both lost her father to an electrical fire. Piper, Silena, Thalia and I have been complaining about this ball- well, mostly Thalia and I. Piper and Silena have been pretty excited about it. Surprisingly.

"Girls!" Miss Hestia smiled sweetly at all of us as she moved throughout our ranks. "I want all the taller girls with someone shorter."

Grinning, Thalia looped her arm through mine. She pulled me towards the gleaming dance floor and we prepared ourselves to dance.

"I hate this," we mumbled to each other at the same time. Both of us giggled, but stood up straight when the music began to play.

Friday rolled around, the day before the ball. And we were outside- thank heavens.

"I love it when they allow this," Silena said from my right, leaning back on her elbows and exposing her neck and chest to the sun. She was wearing a pale pink summer dress that went down to her knees and simple white flats. "I finally get to tan my super pale skin."

I laugh at her, but I enjoyed the warmth to. "Yeah, well there's barely any warmth to get you anything Silena."

She glared at me before going back to her to original task of basking in the rare warmth. Piper and Hazel were stretched out the way she was, eyes closed and letting the sun warm the skin. Thalia and I were sitting cross-legged next to them, playing poker- with chocolate.

"Girls!" there were loud claps as we turned our heads in the direction of the shout. Clusters of girls began to form neat, straight lines behind the four different mistresses- the mistress of the freshman group, the mistress of the apprentice group, the mistress of the novice group, and then the mistress of our group- the goddess group. We trudged down the hill we were sitting on to line up straight and be completely silent, looking up at Mistress Artemis.

"Heads straight girls, we're to head back to Mistress Hestia," most of the girls nod their confirmation, and we all keep silent. Our footsteps barely make a sound, even those in heels. Our hands are clasped in front of our dresses, polite smiles on our faces as we kept our focus straight ahead.

When we walked into the dance studio, there were all the teachers inside sitting next to long benches full of fabric.

"What's this?" the girl who asked was glaring angrily at some of the Mistresses, stringy brown hair up in a ponytail with a black dress that clung to her body tightly and a leather jacket over that. I'm pretty sure that the jacket was her token.

"Clarisse, you will speak to us respectfully," Madam Hera glared down Clarisse who glared right back. All the girls held their breath, unsure of what would happen.

"Yes madam," Clarisse finally backed down.

"Thank you, now," she straightened out her beautiful chiffon dress and cardigan. "Now, today we're here to figure out what will look best on you."

One girl raised her hand and Madam Hera nodded her head for her to ask her question. "Look best on us for what?"

"The ball," she said. That made the room burst into a bunch of excited giggles and exclamations. I rolled my eyes and picked at my fingernails. Thalia fiddled with a tassel on her dress.

"Now, I want Piper, Silena, Drew…" the girls were rattled off, each being assigned to a specific teacher. I knew who mine would be and waited for all the girls in Piper's group to be called.

"I now want Annabeth, Maria..." I nodded and stepped up, looking for the woman always dressed in red and gold. There she stood, with her stormy grey-blue eyes, in her red and gold floor length dress watching us with curious eyes. When she caught me watching her, she raised an eyebrow. I shrugged and she smiled at me.

Mistress Athena was a wonderful, witty and stubborn woman. She had rules, and she expected you to follow them, and when you did, you were well off. We normally had fun with her, hearing her stories of some of the other mistresses. The gossip we got made us laugh, but she made us promise to never repeat any of them as she didn't want the other women to know we were hearing them.

The six or so of us walked in a single file line to Mistress Athena who smiled brightly at us all and stood up from her stool.

"Alright, you'll all have colors that will compliment you, but you must all have red or gold." all the girls nodded, while I stood in the back, arms crossed. "Annabeth, I have a few on top that I think are your size, will you come and pull them off so that we can get to the ones underneath?"

I nod and walk forward, pulling off the first four dresses. Sorting through them, I'm shocked to see that they are all my size and that they should all fit and compliment me very well.

I pick out my two favorite, setting them aside as I fold the other two up neatly.

All the other girls chitter adamantly within their groups, as I hold up the two dresses. I see Thalia a little bit away with Madam Hera, working through some dresses. They both are wearing scowls and you can tell they don't want to be so close to each other- which means on opposites of the table. I giggle and see Thalia look up. When she meets my gaze, she glares at me for finding amusement in her situation.

"I hate you," she mouthes. I grin and laugh at her. She smiles before returning to Madam Hera.

"Have you chosen your dress?" Mistress Athena had walked up behind me, and I'd heard her, so I didn't jump when she asked me.

"Not exactly, Mistress." I say, pulling out the two different ones.

"Of course, may I see them?" she asks, gesturing to the dresses. I nod and give them to her, she places one on the table and holds the other one out. Her lips purse as she holds the dress to me, then she grabs the other and compares the color and what not. I stand there, tapping my fingers on my hip, trying to look like I'm concentrating. She hums, tapping her chin. I shift, but keep myself in her line of sight, changing the side my hand is on my hip.

Suddenly, Mistress Athena bursts into laughter as I blow my bangs out of my face.

"What?" I ask, confused at what's so funny.

"I've had you waiting here this entire time, seeing if you would keep still- and you did! I'm surprised with your patience." I blinked, surprised at the test. She grins approvingly, before pointing to the one on my left. "This one will do you the best."

I smiled as I set the other one down and folded it up, putting it with the other two.

"Alright!" Madam Hera's voice was tired, and unhappy. Thalia didn't look much better. However, the dress she held against her breast looked so beautiful against her pale hands, the fabric seeming to shimmer. "Now that you all have your dresses, we need you all to try them on so that we may see if there is any need of hemming. Now off with you." Everyone scuttled to the bathrooms at the other end of the dance room. You could very visibly see the irritation in Madam Hera, and her snappy voice confirmed it all. When Madam Hera was irritated, you'd better do what she says, or there'll be consequences.

I rushed into the pack of girls fleeing the room, falling into step beside an aggravated Thalia.

"I hate her," Thalia grumbled, shoving her black bangs out of her face.

"No ya don't," I teased. "You love her with all your heart."

"If that's a fancy way of saying I wish to see her burned at the stake, then I agree." my friend said, looking over at me.

"Say what you believe," I replied cheekily.

"You know what, I think I wouldn't mind you joining her." I bumped my friend with my hip, glaring at her playfully.

"No you wouldn't, you'd save me before they so much as approach me with the flame." Thalia sighed through her nose.

"Why do you have to be so smart?"

"Because my animal is the owl, duh." I retorted. I'd told Thalia all about my token that I'd lost. She'd felt bad for me, but I told her it was no biggie and she let the subject go.

"No wonder you're such an idiot," Thalia grinned at me.

"I hate you," I said, smacking her arm.

"No you don't," she retorted.

"Yes, I do."

"Nu-uh."

"Uh-huh."

"Nu- uh."

"Uh-huh."

"Nu-" Thalia blinked, before bursting into laughter.

"Children," Piper came up beside us, giggling at the two of us. I laughed with Thalia and Silena joined us on Thalia's right.

When we reached the bathroom, we split up into the stalls. I shed my dress, letting the smooth fabric just fall off my body with the undone zipper. I stepped out of the fabric as it pooled at my feet and grabbed my ball dress. I pulled on the tight fitting gown and smiled as I felt it roll down, settling into place on my hips. I stepped out and smiled when I saw Piper. She wore a short dress, going just to her knee, but the shimmery sunset colored fabric of pinks and oranges made Piper look absolutely breathtaking.

"You look good, girl." I said, nodding my approval. I heard two lockers unlatch at the same time and turned to see Thalia and Silena.

Thalia wore an electric blue dress with black and white accents. It flowed down her body, the cut ending right at her knee before it splayed to her left side, ending just before it touched the floor. Her bright blue eyes shone brightly and she had never looked more beautifully, her black hair flowing down her back.

Silena was nothing short of a goddess. Her dress was a shimmery white and pale pink fabric, with a pink sash around the middle. It was a single shoulder dress, and the pink fabric brought out her skin tone and the pink in her cheeks.

"You all look so stunning," I tell them and they smiled their appreciation. But they aren't looking at themselves- they're looking at me.

"Annabeth, I think you should take a look in the mirror." Silena said breathlessly, her eyes trained on my dress. I suddenly felt uncomfortable as I turned to the full length mirror beside the sink. And when I saw myself, I gasped.

The dress was a red-gold color, like a burning flame. It had a gold underskirt that went down to my knees before the see through cloth traveled down my legs. It went out from the black sash around my waist, so that if I spun, it would fan out beautifully. The top of the dress was like a halter top shirt, coming up and around my neck. I slowly pulled my hair from my ponytail and let it fall down to my hips. Running a hand through it, my hair smoothed out and feel almost elegantly.

"Hun, that is a keeper." I heard Thalia whisper and I saw her come up behind me.

"Can you move back?" I replied quietly. "I wanna try something."

Thalia gave me an odd look for that, but backed up none the less. Slowly, I began to turn. I spun on the balls of my feet and I felt the dress leave my legs and the underskirt hug me tightly. Three gasps accompanied my act and I stopped. I felt the skirt fall back to my shins but I smiled happily.

I'd never felt so free and alive since- since- since- since Freedom.

Soft green eyes enter my mind, reminding me of the green of spring grass, or of that of a clear ocean at high noon.

Shaking off the memory, I turn to my friends. "You guys ready to go see what they think?"

Thalia immediately shook her head adamantly. "Oh my gosh, no. If I have to hear that woman say one more time that I should exercise more, I will kill myself."

Everyone bursts into laughter as we exit the bathroom to face each of our teachers.

So, what do you think? I'm sure this will only be a short, like a three maybe four chapters long. I'm not expecting it to be anything super amazing or anything.

I guess, just review. You've got that box at the bottom for it.

Kisses,

-Jo