#1 Daughter of Hera: Rise of Tartarus

Chapter 9 - Beware of the Child of Aphrodite

~Christine Galliardo's POV~

Piper and I raced past the cabins and campers without stopping to catch a breath.

"I heard that the sword practice will be held at the arena this afternoon. It will be a sparring session for the two camps. The best swordsmen will be there like Percy and Hazel. Oh, yeah. Hazel's my friend too. I will introduce her to you. She's a Roman demigod. A daughter of Pluto. Oh, Percy's a friend too. But I guess, you got already acquainted to him, right?" Piper said.

"Yeah. Just this morning with that Athena girl named Annabeth." I replied.

"Annabeth's a good friend though if you just met her, you will find her a kind of unnerving. But as time goes by, you will find her a kind and supportive person."

"I guess..."

"You know what? When you arrived here, when everyone learned that you slayed three drakons all by yourself in one night, the whole camp went into a buzz. Everyone's talking about you. They're thinking you're a child of one of the Big Three like Percy, Jason and Hazel. Slaying drakons is the specialty of Ares cabin. But you're not as wild as them. So, it's a big chance you're not one of them, more of one of the Big Three's. Say, you have another powers like controlling water or summoning lighting? Or perhaps, calling spirits?" Piper asked curiously.

I frowned. I don't have any except speaking dragon language. But I don't want to tell anyone about it yet, not that I don't trust Piper or anyone in camp. It's just that I just arrived and I don't know everyone well enough. And honestly, I don't trust myself. Not until I know who is my godly parent and who am I really, I can't lay my trust on anyone yet. Or even let them trust me in any terms.

"I...I don't know." I just replied.

We stopped running. Piper turned to me. "It's that so?"

I nodded grimly. Piper tightened her hold on my hand and smiled.

"That's alright. A demigod will not discover his powers by just arriving in camp. It takes time and I guess, a bit of will. But if you discovered some power of yours, don't hesitate to ask for help in improving it, alright?"

I nodded.

"Anyway, the arena's not far. Let's go." She pulled me and we went running again.

The arena was jam packed with campers from both camps. All were focused on watching the demigods in the middle of the arena exchange blows with their swords. Piper and I moved slowly through the crowd as we search for any available viewing spot. The seats were already occupied and a huge number of campers were standing just to watch the swordplay. A loud roar exploded from the audience and I caught a glance of the demigods at the middle. It was a three vs. one match. Three Ares kids were fighting against a demigod whose jet black hair and sea green eyes I easily recognized: Percy Jackson. The Ares kids tried to attack him at three corners which Percy managed to adapt quickly. They were swift but Percy's swifter. Percy stayed a defensive stance as the three attacked him all together. Soon, he found an open and broke through them. He went offensive and quickly defeated them in no time. The crowd went wild as Percy was announced as the winner.

"Percy's great at swords, don't you agree?" Piper asked.

"Yeah. Honestly, this is the first time I saw him fight but wow...I'm speechless." I said.

Piper laughed. "That's almost my reaction when I first saw him fight. But what do you expect from a guy who was the child of Poseidon and saved the world and the gods many times?"

I stared at her at disbelief. No way! Percy's that powerful?!

"Piper!" A voice called out. We turned to see two Roman demigods running toward us.