The Forbidden Child

Chapter Three: Artemis Claims Me As Her Child

I awoke to someone spoon-feeding me something that tasted like buttered popcorn, except it felt like pudding. My eyes fluttered open and I saw Niko sitting on the bed next to me.

He smiled. "Hey."

My hand flew the back of my head. The minute my hand brushed against my head, I winced.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Minotaur knocked you out," Niko shrugged.

"Huh," I scowled. "So, where am I?"

"Camp Half-Blood, the infirmary," he said.

"Oh. . ." I murmured.

I turned and saw a glass filled with something that looked like apple juice. I reached for it. I took a sip and recoiled at the taste. It tasted nothing like apple juice. It tasted like brownies. This bakery down the street of my house always had these brownies that were my favorite.

Before I knew it, I had drained the glass. The drink made me feel less sick and warm inside. I looked into the cup and saw that the ice hadn't even melted.

I could have sworn that this drink was warm, I thought.

"Can you help me get up?" I asked. "I wanna look around."

"Sure."

I got up and Niko slipped his arm around my waist. Heat crept up to ny cheeks. We walked out to the porch and I was amazed by what I saw.

Hundreds of people were scattered about. A bunch were in an archery range. Targets were lined up, one next to the other. All of them wore orange t-shirts, including Niko.

Niko lead me into another area, where there were cabins. One of them was white with pillars and an eagle above the threshold. Another was decorated with peacock feathers.

We passed by a pink one with lace curtains and I nearly gagged at the scent of perfume.

"God," I mumbled. "Is that where supermodels go to die?"

"Hey!" a voice grumbled.

A girl stepped out and I recognized the pink dip-dyed hair of Daniella.

"Oh," I murmured. "Oops."

"It's fine," she shrugged. "This is the Aphrodite cabin. I'm head counselor of it since I am a daughter of Aphrodite."

"Your mom is a goddess of love and beauty?" I asked. "That isn't hard to believe."

"Thank you," she nodded. "And yeah, goddess of love and beauty."

"Niko, who's yours?" I asked.

"Nike," he said. "Goddess of victory."

"Isn't that. . ." my voice faltered. "Never mind."

Daniella stifled a laugh. Niko looked towards her and she looked down, pretending to be ashamed.

"Um," I said looking around. "Where do I stay?"

"Hermes cabin," Daniella said, nodding towards a cabin that looked like a regular wooden house.

"So, you basically get plopped into a cabin depending on who your mom or dad is?" I asked.

"Yep! And the term for that is Godly Parent."

"Nice. . ." I said.

A minute of silence passed.

This is awkward, I thought.

"I might go to training," Niko said smirking.

"Okay," I said. "See ya!"

After he left, there was nothing but silence between Daniella and me.

"I can give you a tour of the camp," Daniella said at last. "If you'd like."

I thought about it. Millions of possibilities ran through my mind of who my godly parent could be. "Sure."

         •   •   •

The day ran by so fast that I didn't even realize when it was time to go to dinner.

Daniella sat down with her siblings, a bunch of girls and guys who looked like freaking super models.

I sat down at the Hermes table and sighed. I layed my head onto my arms.

After dinner, it was time for the campfire. Earlier Daniella introduced me to the camp director, Chiron. Apparently he had hooves and is half-horse and half-human. From the waist down, he was a white stallion. From the waist up, he was a regular man.

He walked up to the center of the campfire and announced loudly, "Campers, today I would like to welcome our newest camper, Christina!"

All eyes turned to me. I lowered my eyes and pulled the hoodie on my sweater up.

"Secondly,  we are going to have a Capture the Flag game next Friday. Annabeth Chase shall be leader of the blue team. Clarrisse La Rue shall be leader of the red team."

A blonde haired, grey eyed girl stood up. Another girl who had dark eyes, dark hair, and a mischievous smile also stood up.

"You guys have Capture the Flag?" I whispered to Niko, who was sitting right next to me.

"Yep. Almost everyone who gets picked on by Clarrisse is on blue," he said, frowning.

"I take it by your tone of voice that Clarrisse is the camp bully?" I asked.

"Yep."

About 45 minutes into the campfire, Cabin Eight , which looked normal in the day time, began to glow silver. The moon peeked out from behind the night clouds and its rays shined down on me. Suddenly, a silver holographic symbol of the moon appeared over my head. I looked up and the moonlight began to fade away

Hushed voices of campers muttered around me.

Daniella ran over to Chiron. They started whispering and their conversation went something like this:

Daniella: I thought Artemis was a maiden goddess!

Chiron: I did too. . .

Daniella: She requested to Zeus that she remain an eternal maiden. . . Oh gods. . .

Chiron: Hush, child. If the gods are angry, they will take it out on Christina. We must keep her in camp, have Niko train her.

Daniella: Okay. I don't want this to turn out like what happened to Thalia!

Chiron: Do not scare her.

And that was all he said.

The symbol faded above me and Chiron knelt on his two front legs.

"Hail, Christina Costanza," he announced gravely, as if he were speaking at my funeral. "Daughter of Artemis, lady of Hunting, goddess of the moon."