Chatter was going around through the field, drowning out the sound of wind and Mr. D trying to get the attention from the crowd. Looking at everyone here right now, I wondered how much time Gods have on their hands. There were so many demigods-maybe a hundred or two. Apollo seemed to have the most, that guy seemed to like... certain things. Did the gods take the time to get to know there kids? That was what worried me. If I ever truly figured out who my mom was, would even know me?
My attention, as well as everyone else's, was drawn to Chiron, who trotted right in the center of the field. The crowd went silent, purely out of respect for the person who ran the camp. I glanced at Cash out of the corner of my eye, who was adjusting his breastplate. The past three days were pure torture. Because my schedule wasn't ready yet, Cash just skipped his classes to help me train. I had gotten better, but still, all the training left me sore. The armor on my back was threatening to send me crumbling to the floor.
"Attention, campers!" Chiron bombed. He adjusted the cuffs of his shirt. Was he always wearing a vest? "As you know, the Hunters of Artemis have been at camp for three weeks. Hopefully, this game proves that you demigods can defeat the Hunters, while they enjoy their prolonged stay."
Cash chuckled, and the rest of the demigods groaned.
"What's funny?"
"I don't think the Hunters have ever lost a Capture the Flag game, like, ever. In the history of Camp Half-Blood."
My eyes travelled to the group of girls in white. Half looked eager, the other half looked bored. But the number of them, it wasn't a lot. Thirty, at most. There was no way they could beat us. Not against all these demigods.
"Are you sure? There aren't many."
Cash sighed. "Well, when it's a game like this, Chiron tries to make it even. They take a few campers from each cabin to go against the hunters."
"And how is that decided?" I took off my helmet to readjust my braid. My head was covered in sweat.
"Rumor is Mr. D pulls names out of a hat," Cash smiled. I put my helmet back on. That wasn't nice to hear. I was too sore to run-or even lift my sword arm-it would be awful to get picked.
Chiron raised his hands in the arm to get the attention back; most were ADHD.
"You know the rules!" Chiron yelled. "The entire forest is fair game. Each flag must be well displayed, and have no more than two guards. All magical items are allowed, including the magic of Hecate children-no fire! We learned our lesson the last time. The creek is the boundary line. No killing or maiming-punishment is no dessert for a week. Prisoners can be disarmed, but not bound nor gagged. I will be your referee and battlefield medic. I will now announce the demigods participating."
He sounded like he was reading of a script.
I crossed my arms over my armored chest. "Did he just say killing or maiming was punishable by deprivement of dessert? I feel like there should be a better-"
I was cut off by Chiron's announcement. He rattled off the names slowly, taking two or three demigods from each cabin. Looking, I didn't think the names were pulled out of a hat. The demigods of the Ares cabin were one of the biggest.-the guy had to be almost seven foot. Everyone seemed to have a good feeling about the demigods picked.
"Hermes," my ears perked up. Oh please. Oh please no. "Austin Reynolds and," Oh god, oh please, "Yvette Grimes."
My eyes widened, the eyes of everyone from the Hermes cabin were on me. Cash looked at with mixed emotions. Like he was going to laugh, then realized we were friends, so it turned into shock.
"Her?" Someone muttered angrily. "They picked her? Out of all of us? And an unclaimed above all else?"
"Look at her, that armor is going to kill her before anyone else."
Naturally, I looked down at the armor on my skinny body. I guess my 100 pound body looked ridiculous in it. Maybe I should borrow a mirror from an Aphrodite kid.
I glanced up when a figure appeared at my side. The cabin counselor, Austin, glared down at me. His glasses glinting in the moonlight. His hair wasn't spiked this time, instead it was flat on his head, drenched in sweat. His scrawny body most likely looked like my own. A sword hung from his belt sadly. Way to represent the Hermes cabin, huh?
"Great. Of all the people, they pair me with Yvette," he said, pronouncing my name with a 'y' instead an 'e'. He spoke like I wasn't standing next to him.
"You're saying my name wrong."
The sound of hooves stomping on the floor made me forget about Austin. Chiron had two banners in his hands: blue, sporting the symbol of an owl above an olive branch, and red, sporting the symbol of a silver crescent moon. "Demigods, you are the blue team."
Several demigods argued about who will go up, but in the end it was the seven foot Ares kid. He seemed pretty proud to hold the blue banner.
"And the red team, the Hunters." Chiron held out the red banner to a black haired girl with dark eyeliner. "Thalia."
"Chiron," she greeted back.
That name seemed familiar, but I shrugged it off for now.
Thalia returned to the hunters as Chiron spoke again. "Arm yourselves, and good luck! We will give you a few minutes to prepare." Chiron trotted through the crowd, and to the medic tent. People began forming into groups, discussing tactics and ways around the Hunters.
Dad's sword was heavy on my side. Cash wouldn't let me go out with just Àlikos, said it was too dangerous. He didn't care that I'm not good with a sword, just that I was protected. I turned to him.
"I don't think I can do this," I murmured, fumbling with the hilt of the sword. The image of myself falling to the floor and getting stomped on made my skin crawl.
"Think of it as a birthday present!" I frowned as he spoke. "You won't have to do anything, and if you get captured, just don't try to fight," he was trying to make me feel better. The thing was, I didn't want to be captured. I wanted to actually fight. "And remember to focus on your mother's powers. Strong emotions allow them to come out."
I nodded, and exhaled slowly. Whoever picked me to go must be enjoying this right now
"You should get going," Cash said, looking over my shoulder. "Good luck!"
Confused, I glanced over my shoulder to see Austin halfway across the field.
"Hey!" I said, trying to catch his attention. Hermes speed was really getting on my nerves. The armor weighed me down, but I managed to catch up to him.
"Aren't we a team?" I asked, grabbing onto his shoulder to balance myself.
He shook it off with a snarl. "Oh, it's you. If you have to know, I'm meeting with the Athena cabin."
"Why?"
"We're allied with Apollo and Ares. Stop asking questions, and don't you dare slow me down," the way the moonlight hit his face made him look pure evil. I gulped.
We made our way down a trail of the forest. Being surrounded by the dirt and plants boosted my self confidence, maybe this would be such a bust after all. Up ahead, some of the blue team surrounded a map on a fallen log. Poor log. I recognized the big Ares kids, and the one overlooking the map was a daughter of Athena-Maisie, I think.
Her grey eyes glanced up at us when we arrived. Besides her eyes, she really didn't look like the rest of her siblings. Maisie had dark curls and brown skin, while her siblings had blonde hair and pale skin. "Great, we're all here."
She straightened her back and turned to the Ares pair. "Grant and Vera, you two guard the creek. After what happened two weeks ago, I can't trust Grant with battling."
Grant scoffed, and crossed his arms across his chest. His sister laughed loudly, which one could compare to a pig oink. It was kind of cute.
Maisie gave the rest of the orders. It was obvious people trusted her judgement, and respected her as a leader. Her height and stern look gave an intimidating vibe; nobody objected to her rulings. Finally, she turned to us. She observed me closely with a frown on her face. Nervously, I adjusted my breastplate and averted eye contact.
"You," Maisie jabbed her finger into my chest; her nails were painted red. "What can you do?"
"I-I can... um... sword. Kind of."
"You can... sword?" Maisie raised an eyebrow while Austin facepalmed himself.
"And work a dagger," I chimed in. Grant and Vera chuckled, I thought that would make it better. It didn't make it better.
Maisie covered her face with her hand. "I'm gonna regret doing this. Austin, take you and the girl to get the flag. You'll have reinforcements around, so don't worry about being outnumbered."
I squeezed my eyes shut in defeat. With my bad luck, how could this go right?
"The rest of the blue team will be led to battle by my brother Richard, and I will be guarding the flag with Alexis from the Apollo cabin. Remember, the Hunters are fast, good at ranged weaponry, and complete with wit. We need to take them by surprise."
The horn sounded, indicating the game had started. "Go!" Maisie yelled, she grabbed her sword, leaping into the trees. Austin, using his speed, disappeared into the greens and I quickly followed.
"Where are we going?" I asked, finding it easy to navigate throughout the brush. The distant sound of metal clashing, and people yelling echoed throughout the place.
"To get the flag, duh. They won't notice us in the trees."
"But won't they suspect us to go through the trees?"
Austin ignored me, and continued to walk throughout the forest. We turned and twisted through out the plants and trees, I wasn't sure what direction we were going. I could feel mosquitoes enjoying my blood, and the humidity was making my blue feathered helmet stick to my head. Where was Austin even going? Did he know where the flag was? Asking him would probably make him more annoyed.
It was oddly quiet. No sounds of other people, and the sound of battle was getting more distant. My hands shook, and the sword in my hand felt heavier than usual. The soreness of my joints wasn't helping either. I pushed some leaves out of my eyes, only to realize Austin was nowhere to be seen.
"Wha-" I stuttered. How did I lose him? I spun around, half expecting him to be right there. "Oh no."
Dying in a forest didn't seem like the best way to go, on my birthday of all days. I decided to trek on instead of head back, Austin was leading us somewhere. Silently, I continued for a short while. Voices could be heard behind the trees, Hunters talking a bit loudly. Stopping, I leaned in, eavesdropping on the conversation.
"This is useless," said a voice, "We both know the demigods aren't going to win. So why bother with this?"
"You're one of the oldest Hunters left, Gwen, you should know it's tradition." My breath hitched in my throat. I remember that voice. Thalia's voice. My mind searched for that name. Thalia... Grace. Cash told me about her. Artemis's Lieutenant, sister of Jason, daughter of Zeus.
I peeked through the leaves. Oh man. Both of the girls stood next to the flag. It waved in the wind, beckoning for someone to capture it. My eyes travelled to the girls again. Gwen was the girl who kept staring at me on Wednesday.
Gwen snorted, tightening her high ponytail. "Tradition? Right. Is it tradition to lose to the Hunters every time?"
I needed to get the flag, it was apparent now. This might prove to my mother that I am worthy of being claimed. Or prove that I can do more than sword. They were facing me now, I'd need to circle the area and strike from behind. I took a step back, planning the attack in my head.
Snap.
My boot hit a twig. Of course I snapped a twig. Gwen and Thalia's heads snapped in my direction. I could see my headstone now. Gwen crained her neck, readying her arrow. Thalia took a step, holding tightly onto her spear.
"Come out. Now." Thalia's voice was stern and intimidating. I was gonna die anyway, so I did as I was told.
I pushed myself through the weeds, showing myself to the two girls.
Gwen's eyes softened when she saw me. She even lowered her bow a bit. For some reason, seeing her raised my confidence.
"Grab her," Thalia ordered. Gwen put back her arrow, and her bow. Forcefully, she grabbed me by my arm, bringing me to the center of their hideout.
Gwen let go of me, and seconds later, Thalia hit me on the cheek with her spear, drawing blood. A shock of electricity went through my body, numbing my senses. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and the air felt hot.
"Ugh!" I groaned, falling to my knees by the sudden impact.
"They sent this thing?" Gwen asked, getting her dagger out of the sheath. "Sad."
Bringing myself to my feet, I tightened my grip on the sword. Heat built in the pit of my stomach, slowly crawling up. A ting of pain hit my head. The Ares genes were coming out-I was battle hungry. But could I really take on two Hunters? One being the Lieutenant?
Without my control, I swung my sword at Thalia, and she blocked it with shaft of her spear. Wiping the blood off my face, I dodged her incoming blow. Gwen backed up in surprise, getting her bow out and grasping for an arrow.
"You got guts," Thalia shouted, spearing the space between my armor. I hissed in pain. Blood trickled down my shirt. "But I think I'm losing dessert privileges this week."
An arrow whizzed passed my face, taking out a chunk of my bangs. I ignored the floating red hair falling to the floor.
"Damn!" Gwen groaned, getting another arrow.
Her spear clashed with my spear. Maisie's words mocked me. "You'll have reinforcements around, so don't worry about being outnumbered." And those reinforcements were... where? As I hit her spear again, electricity shocked my body, making me sick to my stomach. She must have sent it through her spear.
While I was distracted, an overwhelming amount of pain took me by surprise. Gwen lodged an arrow into my calf. Immediately, the pain spread throughout my body, making me fall to the floor.
"Shit!" I cursed, dropping my sword to the floor.
I glanced at my wound, my torn jeans showed green skin peaked out from underneath.
Gwen stomped near, drawing her dagger. Thalia, on the other hand, had other ideas. She held a hand out to stop Gwen. "You ready to surrender?" She asked, kicking my sword away.
I looked at her with hooded eyes, remembering Àlikos on my wrist. Nodding, I silently slide the bracelet off my wrist. "Good," Thalia said, stepping closer. She extended her hand to let me up.
Twisting the rose pendant, Àlikos sprung into a dagger before Thalia's eyes. I jabbed it into her thigh without thinking, twisting in the process. Thalia yelped in pain, falling on one knee because of the pain. Her spear fell to the floor, hitting the soft dirt. There was no way I was getting up with the poisoned arrow in my leg, so I did what I do best-crawl. I slid the spear across the clearing, away from Thalia, when something red caught my eye. The flag was there, right there. I could reach it if-
Someone has my leg.
Gwen pulled me toward her, flipped me around, and pulled her arrow out of my leg. Her boot clad foot pressed into my wounded leg. "Thals, I think both of us are losing our dessert privileges." I screeched loudly.
Thalia groaned in response, pulling Àlikos out of her leg and throwing it into the brush. I had to remind myself that it would come back.
My mind focused; Cash told me all throughout trainings to focus on my hidden power. "It will come to you naturally, especially during times of strong emotion." I gritted my teeth. Gwen now had her dagger at my throat, her foot still pushing on my wound.
I clamped my eyes shut, and did a quick prayer to my mom. How nice would it be for her to gift me with the knowledge of my power? Very nice. As I focused my mind, I felt energy leaving my body. I heard whisps in the air, and Thalia's screams. My eyes opened instantly. Gwen, on top of me, was looking over her shoulder in concern. I looked too.
Vines had Thalia by the arms, holding her back forcefully. Was I doing that? I focused my mind at the vines. They continued to grow. I was doing it. The vines grew as I asked, tying Thalia to a tree.
"Oh you little-" Thalia groaned, trying to wiggle out of the eco-friendly prison.
Gwen leaped off me, with the intentions of cutting the vines that imprisoned her leader. I pushed myself up on my elbows. More vines grew, taking Gwen by the waist. Making the vines pull her to a tree away from Thalia, I tied her up tightly.
"Gods! Let us go!" Gwen groaned. Her hands flexed in and out of a fist.
I sprang to my feet, ignoring the pain in my leg. Swiping dad's sword off the floor, I was about to leave when I realized what I came here for. The flag.
I grabbed it off it's pole, earning cries from Gwen and Thalia.
"Sorry!" I yelled, limping out of the clearing.
With no idea where to go, I just went the way I came. I had to have made a trail, right? Right! I pushed my way through the trees, holding tightly onto the red cloth in my hand. Surprisingly, the ten foot piece of flag was easy to carry when it was bunched up in your fist. Must protect it with my life. Must protect it with my life. Whoever wants it will have to pry it from my cold, dead hands.
Soon, I heard the sound of water. Oh sweet god. The creek. I just need to cross it and-
"Hey! She has the flag!"
Great.
Two Hunters stood in my way. The sound of water grew closer. I could hear the shouts of people fighting. I did not have time to fight again. Not with poison flowing through my body. So I did something idiotic and pushed my way passed. The adrenaline in my body was flowing, and my legs seemed to go twice as fast as usual. As I ran, something stopped the Hunters from following me.
"Cut it down Milly!"
"I'm trying, Jen! Are these weeds made of metal?!"
I glanced behind me, only to be greeted by tall weeds behind me. I didn't do that. But I couldn't stop and contemplate who did right now.
The sound of water got louder, and louder, until I was right at it. Shoving my body through a bush, I fell face first into the water with a yelp. The battling across the creek slowed down as people noticed the girl submerged in water.
"Oh my Gods! The flag!"
"Get her over here!"
Grant rushed into the water, ignoring the Hunters of Artemis who slashed their way out of the weeds. He threw me over his shoulder, getting me out of the ice water.
"Can you put me down, please?" I murmured as we reached the coast. A crowd had formed now, Hunters and demigods alike.
Austin pushed through the crowd angrily. He was badly injured; his arm was in a sling and his glasses were gone. Broken, perhaps? He was about to yell when cheers erupted. Grant shifted my body onto his shoulders, and started carrying me around. Cash pushed his way through the crowd, sporting a big grin and giving two thumbs up. Just then, Chiron made his way through the forest, and blew the horn.
We won. I won.
Everyone stopped abruptly. Grant put me down gently, adding to my confusion. Nobody was looking at me, but above me. I looked up, only to see the fading symbol of a green-aura bundle of wheat. I was no longer drenched in water, my injuries were simply gone, and the ground around me was sprouting different flowers. From the corner of my eye, my braid was intertwined with flowers. Above all, my armor was changed into a Greek styled dress decorated with flowers. My eyes widened, this was the same dress Persephone wore in my dream.
Chiron cleared his throat. "Hail Yvette Grimes. Daughter of Demeter, the goddess of the harvest. Granddaughter of Beatrice Fields, daughter of Ares, and Henry Grimes, son of Poseidon. Child of land, war, and sea."
My eyes were most likely the size of the moon. Demeter. My mother was Demeter. I wonder why I didn't connect the dots sooner.
The symbol on the flag shimmered. What once was a silver moon, was now a bushel of wheat.
~
Yay! Demeter finally got around to claiming her daughter! Only two years late am I right?
On the side is the trailer I made for this book. It's my first one and it's... okay. It could be better. But anyway, hooray!
Can we get to 1k reads by tomorrow? :)
Hannah x