The next few days were boring as hell- and that's putting it nicely. The only exotic thing was the fact that I was being taught by satyrs, nymphs, and a centaur.
"Hey it normal for a demigod." Frank pointed out.
"But still Aria's not normal even by demigod standards." Annabeth reasoned.
"HEYYY" Complaigned Ariadne.
Each and every stupid morning, I took Ancient Greek from Annabeth, and we talked about all of the stupid gods and goddesses. Annabeth was semi-wrong about my dyslexia: Ancient Greek was actually pretty easy for me. After a couple of lessons - and a few, okay, a lot, of arguments - I could read through a couple chapters of Homer without too much of a headache.
"That's still my record." Ariadne joked.
The rest of the day, I'd rotate through outdoor 'activities' - if you call getting into fights, activities - trying to look for something I excelled in. I was pretty good at canoeing and that wasn't the kind of heroic skill people expected to seefrom the kid who had beaten the Minotaur.
This caused Poseidon to beam at Ariadne.
Foot racing? It was actually pretty fun I won sometimes due to my stealth. When I asked how they ran so fast, they told me it was because they had experience with love sick gods.
All the goddess glared at the gods who just looked away awkwardly
Damn, can the gods keep their hands off anything that has a vagina?
This made the Gods look anywhere but towards the females in the room.
Wrestling? I wasn't bad. I beat Clarisse most of the time. She would give me helpful hints on how to improve, even though I took Tae Kwon Do when I was ten, I was a little rusty.
Clarisse smiled at Ariadne causing her to throw a smile back.
But the thing I really excelled at? Chiron tried to teach me archery, but he didn't need to. Somehow, I was an absolute natural at it. Even better then the Apollo cabin.
"That's my daughter." Beamed Artemis as she sent a smirk Apollo's way at the fact Ariadne was better then his cabin.
Everyone gave the Greek campers a look that said Really? Youdidn't figure it out?
"The auburn hair should've given it away but the sea green contacts had us stuck." Remarked Annabeth.
Really!? Archery?! I knew the senior campers were watching me, trying to find out who my dad was. They probably were confused.
Little did they know that I already knew. See, I didn't have the strength of an Ares kid-though I was close-, I was better with a bow then the Apollo kids. I didn't have any of Hephaestus's skills or Dionysus's ways with vines.
Luke and Ethan-a bitter Nemesis kid I had become friends with- suggested that I might be a daughter of Hermes. A master of none.
"Hey!" Hermes said sadly. "Let's face you are." Apollo stated tryingnot to laugh. Hermes grumbled something inaudible to everyone.
I was quick to tell them to fuck off. Despite all of that crazy shit, I liked camp. I guess I got used to the wonderful smell of pine trees that I loved so much.
"Yeah, I wanna know how you left Artemis's care now." Muttered Aphrodite.
Even the weird noise that the monsters made at night wasn't so annoying anymore.
Everyone who has been there smiled happily thinking about home.
Gods I'm becoming soft. Soon, I started to understand Ethan's bitterness when I looked at it from his point of view. I get it, gods are busy and shit, but is it so fucking hard to wave your hand to claim a kid? Or to recognize the minor gods' kids?
All the demigods glanced at their parents glad to see themuncomfortable.
Dionysus could make Diet Coke appear out of thin fucking air. Why couldn't the other lazy ass gods claim their kids? Or just poof a cabin for minor gods? I didn't understand, and that made me even more angry than usual.
"That is a good point." Nico said.
Combine that with the fact that my dad hasn't claimed me yet and I knew who he was, I was livid.
Thursday afternoon, three days after I'd arrived at Camp Half-Blood, I had my first sword fighting lesson. Everyone from cabin eleven gathered in the arena, where Luke would be our instructor.
Travis, Conner, and every other Hermes members, that were there,grinned waiting for everyone's reaction to Ariadne's skills.
We started with basic stabbing and slashing, using some strawstuffed dummies in Greek armor. Not trying to brag, but I did good.
"Good is an understatement." Annabeth said dead serious. Ariadne blushed slightly and tried to wave it off.
I understood everything I was supposed to do and my reflexes were, as Luke said it, "better than any newbie I've ever seen." Only problem? I couldn't find a fucking blade that actually felt balanced in my hands. I tried light ones, heavy ones, short ones, long ones. None of them worked.
"Weird."
Luke tried his best, but in the end, he also agreed that none of the practice blades seemed to work for me. Fucking stupid ass blades giving me a hard time... We moved on to dueling in pairs.
Of fucking course, Luke announced he would be my partner, since it was my first time.
The older campers groaned knowing what he would of to the newermembers.
I don't think that was the reason... "Good luck," one of the campers told me. "Luke's the best swordsman in the last three hundred years."
Hermes looked happy that his son was powerful until Connor burst hisbubble. "Not anymore."
"Why?" Hermes said slightly annoyed. "Imight have... sort have... taken the um... title for him?" Ariadne finished in question blushing even more. Everyone laughed atAriadne's expression, even Hermes.
"Oh, fuck off, will you?" I replied hotly. The camper backed off pretty quickly. "Luke, I swear to the gods, purposely hurt me and you won't be able to have kids," I said menacingly, to which Luke hastily nodded to.
Hah. A fifteen year old scared of a twelve year old. Luke showed me thrusts and parries and shield blocks somewhat brutally. I was able to block some of his hits, but not all.
"Keep your guard up!" He said as he went to hit me in the ribs, which I barely blocked.
"Good."
Whap!
"Lunge!"
Whap!
"There you go!"
Whap! By the time he called a break, I was soaked in sweat, showing the lower half of my stomach because of my shirt. Some guys wolf whistled and cat-called, to which I just glared at.
"You better make sure none of your children look at my daughter like that in the future or I'll murder them all." Growled Artemis.
"And we'll help." Cheered the Hunters.
Reyna just smirked remembering a certain fight.
"I'm twelve years old you perverts! Fuck off, will you?!" I yelled.
The guys immediately stopped and the girls and Luke looked at me with respect. Luke handed me a new shirt for me to change into. I thanked him and changed. In front of everyone. Cause frankly, I don't give a damn.
"That's my girl. They can look but they can't touch." Whispered Reyna into Ariadne's ear making her blush.
While everyone was shocked into silence, I was able to grab some water from the cooler before it ran out and poured it on top of me. It felt amazing.
"And here is where the butt kicking begins." Leo said dramatically.
Luke was the first to snap back to reality. "Okay, everybody circle up!" He ordered. "If Ariadne doesn't mind, I want to give you a little demo," he said, giving me a mischievous smile. Shit, I thought. I'm totally, one hundred percent fucked.
"Not going to happen." Travis muttered to his brother
The Hermes guys gathered around. Some looked worriedly at me, others showing pity. Great. Luke told everyone he was going to demonstrate a disarming technique: how to twist the enemy's blade with the flat of your own sword so that your opponent had no choice but to drop their weapon.
"That one is so hard, it takes years to master." Frank sighed.Ariadne smirked at him.
Sounds badass.
"This is very difficult," he stressed. "I've had it used against me. Most swordsmen have to work years to master this technique. No laughing at Ariadne. I doubt you will though, as she would punch your lights out," he said the last part mostly to himself, but I heard it and smirked.
He demonstrated the move on me in slow motion. Sure enough, the sword clattered out of my hand.
"Now, in real time," he said after I retrieved my weapon. "We'll keep sparring until one of us pulls it off. Ready, Ariadne?"
"I was born ready. You're the one that needs to be ready, Letter Boy."
Before Luke could even register the new nickname I gave him, I lunged. He barely raised his blade in time. I started to go all out, energized by the water. I was able to keep him from hitting the hilt of my sword and countered all of his attacks. Suddenly, Luke's face changed, he started pressing me harder, trying to see how far I could go. The sword started to feel more awkward in my hand, the balance was becoming less and less proportionate. I knew I had to speed things up or Letter Boy over here would cream me. So, I had a brilliant idea.
Let's try the disarming technique. Why the fuck not? So I gave it my best and tried the disarming technique. My blade hit the base of Luke's and I twisted, putting all of my weight into a downward thrust. Clang. Luke's sword hit the concrete. The tip of my blade was a mere inch from his undefended chest. Take that, Luke.
"Okay that was funny but how did you do that? It took methree years in training to get it fifty percent of the time." Reyna askedvoicing everyone's opinions. Ariadne turned beet red and shrugged.
The other campers were dead silent.
"Well yeah, we saw Luke take down everyone easily then you comearound and on your first class you beat him." Travis saidemphasizing the word first.
"I would be shocked then too." Hazelsaid innocently. Everyone laughed a bit.
I lowered my sword and offered my hand to Luke. "Take that, Letter Boy." For a moment, Luke just stayed on the ground, too stunned to do anything. Then his face broke out into a huge grin and he took my hand.
"By the gods, Ariadne, that was awesome! Maybe I'll finally have a fair sparring buddy soon! Can you show me that again?"
I felt drained, but nodded nonetheless. We both got back in position and raced to each other. We did the technique five more times, I pulled it off two of the five times. Luke swiped the sweat off of his brow when we were done.
He looked at me appraisingly. "I wonder what you could do with a balanced sword..."
"Total destruction." Leo said dead serious. Everyone eagerly noddedtheir head while Percy's blushed turned even deeper.
"I could beat your sorry ass multiple times that's for sure, Letter Boy." I turned and left for my other activities, leaving a flabbergasted Luke behind me. But what I failed to notice was the thoughtful, and slightly malicious, look on Ethan's face as I left.
Friday afternoon, I was sitting with Grover at the lake, resting from a vigorous day of training. Grover and I had just got back from the climbing wall. Grover, of course, scampered to the top in under a minute, being the goat he is. Me on the other hand, it took me three minutes, which Grover assured me was better than almost all of the newbies.
Anyways, we were sitting on the pier, watching the naiads do underwater basket-weaving-well I wasn't really watching-, until my curiosity got the best of me and I asked Grover how his little convo with Mr. D went. Needless to say, his face turn an unhealthy shade of yellow.
"It went fine," he said. "
Just great."
"Well, that doesn't sound very reassuring to me. Is your career still on track, though?" He glanced at me a little nervously.
"Chiron t-told you I wanted a searcher's license?" I was going to ask him what the hell a searcher's license was, but I was smart enough to know that he didn't want to talk about that.
"No, he didn't. He just said that you had some big plans and you needed credit or something for completing a keeper's assignment. Did you get that?"
Grover looked down at the naiads. "Mr. D suspended judgement. He said that I hadn't failed or succeeded with you yet, so our fates are still tied together. If you were to get a quest or something and I came along with you to protect you, and the fact that we both came back alive, then maybe he'd consider the job complete." Of course.
"Well, that's not that hard is it?" "Blaa-ha-ha! He might as well have given me stable-cleaning duty. The chances of you getting a quest are very slim. Even if you did get a quest, why would you bring me along? You have the whole Ares cabin willing to come with you."
"Yeah you ended up getting like twenty." Thalia whispered to hercousin.
"Yeah I think I'm going to take at least a year break. And notby being asleep." Ariadne added in afterthought.
Every demigodchuckled and Annabeth glared at Hera slightly.
"I know that Grover, but they haven't been my friends for as long as you have. Of course I'd want your furry ass with me!" Grover started forlornly at the water, just the tiniest hint of a smile on his face.
"Basket-weaving... must be nice to have a useful skill." I slapped Grover real hard when he said that.
Juniper kissed her boyfriend's cheek. "You have lots of talents."Every Greek agreed.
"OW! What was that for?!" He yelled.
"For being a godsdamned idiot! You are a talented satyr! You are brave; I don't many people who are willing to run in the pouring rain to my cabin just to warn me of a monster that wasn't even after them. I don't know many people who are willing to risk their life for me. Grover, don't forget it, you are the best satyr there is."
By the end of my little speech, Grover had tears in his eyes. He sprang at me to give me a hug. I stiffened and gently pushed him away, hoping he'd get the hint; I still wasn't used to being treated so nicely all the time. He seemed to notice and quickly pulled away, sending me an understanding glance.
"Yeah, yeah. Don't get used to it, Goat Boy." After that little speech fest, we talked about a lot of stuff, ranging from sword fighting to canoeing. F
inally, I asked him about the four empty cabins. "Number eight, the silver one, belongs to Artemis," he said. "She vowed to be a maiden forever. So only her hunters stay there, well, when they visit."
"Now it's Ariadne's cabin." Artemis sat up with pride showing in her eyes.
"Yes, yes it is Papa."
"Yeah, okay. I already know about the Hunters of Artemis and all that jazz. Tell me about the three at the end."
All the gods tensed.
Grover tensed, we were getting to a touchy subject. "Well, number two is Hera's," he said.
Now Hera looked proud but all the Greeks glared at her. "What?" She asked angrily. She was the Queen after all. "Oh nothing it just in the future." Ariadne answers simply.
"That one's honorary. She's the goddess of marriage, so of course she wouldn't cheat. That's her husbands job-" I snorted.
Everyone burst out laughing until Zeus's voice cut everyone else'soff. "Why you little-"
"Zeus stop you know it true." Hera said angrily.Zeus quickly shut up at the fury in Hera's eyes and everyone wentinto another round of laughter.
"When we say the Big Three, we mean the three powerful brothers, the sons of Kronos."
The three said gods looked up hearing their names
"Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades... wow. I'm surprised there was no lightning when I said that."
Grover gave a nervous bleat as he looked up to the sky.
"Correct. As you know, after the huge battle with the Titans, they took over the world from their dad and drew lots to decide who got what."
"That seems like a pretty shitty way to decide, but that's none of my business. Anyways, Zeus got the sky, Poseidon the sea, and Hades got the Underworld."
"Always the short end." Hades grumbled to himself.
"Yep."
"But... Hades doesn't have a cabin here. Shouldn't he have a cabin?"
"Well... no. He doesn't have a throne on Olympus, either. He does his own thing down under. If he did have a cabin here... well it wouldn't be pleasant."
Hades and Nico both glared at Grover. "Uncle Hades, I'm sure itwould be really cool with like, green fire outside the door orsomething cool like that. And maybe it would be built by deadpeople." Ariadne started musing. Everyone stiffened their gigglesknowing what Ariadne was doing. Hades was less mad while Nico waskilling himself laughing.
Internally, I was wondering what was so bad about Hades. From what my mom told me, Hades was tricked into taking the Underworld. I felt an understanding towards Hades; despite everyone knowing me back in school, I was always an outcast, no one wanted to hang out with me...
Hades sent his niece/granddaughter a small smile.
I shook my head to rid the thoughts of my past and asked the question that was bugging me this whole time.
"Didn't Zeus and Poseidon, like, whore around a shit ton? They had like twenty fucking kids. So why the hell are their cabins empty?"
"Stupid oath." Zeus muttered under his breath. "What was that's.""Nothing!" Zeus answered Hera fearfully.
Grover shifted his hooves uncomfortably. "You really need to learn how to phrase your words. Anyways, to answer your question... s, about sixty years ago, a little bit after World War II, the Big Three agreed they wouldn't have anymore kids-" That went well didn't it, I thought "-their children were far too powerful and were affecting the course of human affairs too much.
"Yes and Zeus kids are the most powerful." Jason said smugly.
Everyone turned and glared at his except Zeus who also smiledsmugly.
"Actually idiot, even though I don't admit this often, moon head is the most powerful demigod born in a long time." Every singledemigod agreed with Thalia while Ariadne blushed ferously.
"Yeah,"Piped up Hazel, "when I first saw her Ithought she was a goddes with all the power radiating off her. Ithought she was Diana." All the Roman agreed.
That wiped thelook off Jason and Zeus's faces.
She's too powerful was the onlythought going through Zeus head now
Did you know that World War II was basically a war between the sons of Zeus and Poseidon on one side, and Hades on the other? Probably not. Well, Zeus and Poseidon, the winning side, then forced Hades into the oath with them: no more mortal affairs with women. They all swore on the River Styx."
"That's ironic 'cause he the only one who kept it." Ariadne whispered into Reyna's ear. Reyna just laughed silently and whispered back "Definitelyironic."
Thunder boomed. "Isn't that the most serious oath you can make?" Grover nodded.
Reyna looked at Greeks with a newunderstanding. "Now we understand why there were few big threedemigods."
"Hah. I bet all my money that Zeus broke first."
Thunder boomed, very loudly. I just smirked.
Grover looked terrified. "Welll... you're right. Zeus 'broke' first seventeen years ago.
Hera turned and glared at Zeus who was sweating bullets.
There was this TV starlet with a big fluffy eighties hairdo. Guess he couldn't help himself. Nine months later, his child was born, a little girl named Thalia.
All the God turned and looked at Thalia. She just shrugged andgrinned wickedly. All the demigods were laughingand clapping as she mock bowed.
"YOU STIRRED TWO DEMIGODS WITH THE SAME MORTALAFTER THE OATH!" All the gods had to help hold down Hera whileZeus hid behind his throne.
Eventually she calmed down enough.
As you said before, oaths made on the River Styx are serious about promises. Zeus got let off easy since he's immortal and all, but Thalia was left with a terrible fate."
"Ok, I find that completely unfair, that girl did nothing wrong, Zeus shoulda been punished," I said.
"Yeah thanks for that." Thalia said jokingly knowing full well whyHades was so mad.
Thunder boomed louder than last time.
Grover shot me a half annoyed, half exasperated, and half terrified look. "Could you not anger the King of Gods? Just for a second?"
"Let me think," I responded. "Nope!"
Grover let out an exasperated sigh before continuing his story. "Ariadne, children of the Big Three are a lot stronger than a regular half-blood. They have very strong auras, a scent that attracts monsters. When Hades found out about the girl, we wasn't at all happy about Zeus breaking the oath that he was forced into. Hades let out the worst monsters out of Tartarus to pursuit Thalia. A satyr was assigned to be her keeper when she was twelve, but there was nothing he could do to save her. He tried to escort her and her other half-blood friends. They almost made it.
"Almost?" Athena questioned
They were at the top of that hill." He pointed across the valley, the pine tree where I'd fought the Minotaur. "All three Kindly Ones were after them, along with a horde of hellhounds. They were about to be overrun when Thalia told her satyr friend to take the other two half-bloods to safety while she distracted the monsters. She was already wounded and tired, and she refused to live like a hunted animal. The satyr was reluctant to leave her, but she was very stubborn-kinda like you-so the satyr was left to protect the other two kids.
"No he couldn't." Thalia said sternly looking at Grover.
So Thalia made her final stand alone, at the top of that hill.
"You really can read emotions well." Thalia stated. Grover noddedsadly and Juniper have him big hug and a kiss on the cheek to tryand cheer him up.
Zeus took pity on her as she died and turned her into a pine tree. Even today, her spirit still helps protect the borders of the valley. That's why it's called Half-Blood Hill."
"But if you're a pine tree how are you here?" Athena questioned."You'll find out later." Thalia answered simply.
I stared at the pine tree in the distance as I spoke to Grover. "So, what you're saying is that Zeus couldn't interfere in her whole entire life until she was about to die? That sounds kind of stupid. Like, isn't that still interfering with her life?"
"How?" Hazel asked confused.
Grover stared at me in shock, then concern. "Ariadne, it wouldn't do you any good to think like that. I know that the gods aren't the best parents but even Zeus has to abide by the laws."
"But he didn't seem to have a problem breaking the law to sire Thalia, now did he?"
"Your mothers daughter." Chuckled Hermes.
Grover looked at me pleadingly. "Please, just drop it for now..."
"Whatever."
That night after dinner, there was a hell of a lot more excitement than usual. Finally, it was time for my first capture the flag. When the nymphs came and took our plates away, the conch horn sounded and we all stood at our tables. Campers yelled and cheered as Annabeth and two of her siblings ran into the pavilion carrying a silk banner. It was a whopping ten feet tall, glistening gray, with a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree.
From the opposite side of the pavilion, Clarisse and her buddies ran in with another banner that was more my speed. It was the same size as Annabeth's but it was gaudy red, painted with a wicked bloody spear and a boar's head. Clarisse saw me appraising her flag and gave me an acknowledging nod, a small smile at her lips. I turned to Ethan and Luke and yelled over the noise, "Lemme guess, those are the flags?"
"Yeah," Luke said.
"Do Ares and Athena always lead the teams?" This time, Ethan answered. "Not always, but very often."
"Yeah, we always win too." said Malcolm. All thebrain kids agreed while the Ares kids just snorted and said back,"Whatever floats your boat.
"So if another cabin was to win, what do the flags do, magically change?" I asked. Ethan grinned, a glint in his eye that I just couldn't place.
"You're smart. But first, we have to get one."
"So, whose side are we on?" Ethan gave me a sly look, as if he knew something I didn't.
"He definitely knew something was about to happen." Ariadne said to the demigods.
All the veteran demigods nodded while the others looked confused.
The eyepatch on his face made him look evil in the torchlight.
"That's because he is." Nico whispered.
"We've made a temporary alliance with Athena. Tonight, we'll be getting the flag from Ares. And you're going to help."
"Well, duh."
The teams were announced. Apparently, Athena made an alliance with Hermes and Apollo by trading chore schedules, shower times, and other stupid shit like that. Of course, that meant that Ares gets everyone else: Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus.
Totally unfair... well now that I think about it, totally fair. Dionysus's kids were very athletic, but there were only two of them.
"Thanks." Pollux said smiling slightly. Ariadne nodded her head at himto acknowledge.
Demeter's kids had the advantage with nature, damn them, but, they weren't very aggressive.
Katie and her siblings looked happy at Percy's description.
Aphrodite's children didn't ever participate, ugh.
Piper rounded and glared at Ariadne.
They mostly sat out every activity and checked their reflectionsin the lake and did their hair and gossiped.
Piper then shrugged and said "True."
Hephaestus was a threat, though. Even though there were only four of them, they were big and burly from working in the metal shop all day.
"Yeah we are!" Leo screamed.
"I was talking about your siblings notyou." Ariadne said and everyone burst into laughter.
Leo tried to lookhurt but the smile on his lips betrayed him.
Then, of course, that left the Ares cabin: a dozen of the biggest and meanest kids on Long Island, and everywhere else.
"Thanks for the description Ariadne."
"No problem Clarisse."
Before the game started, I snuck over to the hearth, where I saw Hestia again.
She saw me coming and waved. I waved back and sat on the log next to her.
"Shouldn't you be with the other children, playing your game?" Hestia asked.
"Well... technically, yes, but you look like you need some company right now." I was being highly out of character right now, and I knew it, but something about Hestia just broke my walls down, almost like when I was with Luke.
Hestia gave me a warm smile, like she knew what I was thinking, before saying, "I'm fine, child, go back to your game, we can always talk later. Remember, if you need me, come to the hearth." She then disappeared into the fire, but I saw the faintest trace of a smile on her face.
I went back to my position; only Luke had noticed I was gone. He gave me a questioning look that I just shrugged my shoulders to, conveying that it wasn't important. He just nodded and looked back towards Chiron.
Chiron hammered his hoof on the marble. How did that not hurt?
"Heroes," he announced. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line and the entire forest is fair game. Magic items are allowed. The banner must be clearly displayed with no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be gagged or bound-" here, I pouted, which didn't go unnoticed by some, "-no killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as battle medic and referee. Arm yourselves!"
He spread his hands, and the tables were suddenly covered in a shit load of equipment: helmets, bronze swords, spears, and a lot more. Before Luke or Ethan could get a word out, I dashed to the front and got myself a nice sized sword, and some light armor that wouldn't weigh me down.
The only thing that made me mad was that I had to wear this fucking helmet with a blue plume on top, signaling I was on Athena's team. Ares's were red. Luke tried to hand me a shield, but I declined it, saying,
"Do you want me to die?"
"No! I just thought you needed the protection!"
"You're saying this to the person who beat your ass three out of five times?"
Luke's cheeks spread in a blush.
"Fine. Don't take it. But your position is with me."
"Why?"
"Annabeth and I both agreed that you're very skilled. So you're with me, trying to get the flag."
"Sweet." I was practically jumping in my shoes. I was ready to pound some faces in... wait, I can't do that... oh, well.
Annabeth yelled, "Blue team, forward!" We cheered and shook our swords and followed her down the path to the south woods. The red team yelled taunts at everyone but me as they headed of toward the north. I caught up to Annabeth fairly quickly.
"Sup." She glanced at me.
"Hmm?"
"So, whats the plan?" I asked. "I have no magic items but I'm sure I'll manage."
This time, she fully turned her face to me while still marching forward.
"You need to watch out for Clarisse's spear," she said.
Cough, "Lamier." Cough, cough. Conner coughed out while Clarissegave him the death glare while everyone else why trying, and failing,not to laugh. Even the gods were amused by their children'sinteractions.
"You don't want that thing touching you, it's electric. I take it Luke has told you that you're going to get the flag?"
"Yeah, that's cool and all, but you still haven't told me the plan." She blushed a little, then glared at me.
"I was getting to that."
"Sure you were," I drawled.
"Anyways," she started. "You'll be with Luke during this. I'll send out a distraction team-I hope you can climb trees-cause you and Luke will go through the trees. One of you defeat the guards and make your way back, got it?" I nodded and went over to Luke.
"Are you ready to kick some red team ass?" I asked. He grinned. "Totally." As soon as the conch horn blew, Luke, some Apollo campers, and I dashed into the woods. Luke and I quickly scaled up a tree-which I wouldn't be able to do with heavy armor-and waited for the shouts of the distraction team to start. After a few minutes of going from tree to tree, we heard the signal to go-a shrill, three toot whistle. Luke and I raced to the flag from the trees.
"I'll take out the guards. I'm a decent fighter, I can do it," I whispered to Luke. He gave a short nod, and waited for me to drop down. I grabbed my brass knuckles out of my back pocket, which surprised Luke, and said, "Here we go." I jumped from the tree, right in front of the guards.
"YEAH!" Ares screamed excitedly, "FINALLY SOME ACTION!"
I knocked one out with a punch to the head with my knuckles before he could even react. The second guard was more prepared, though. As soon as I looked up from my position, a sword was swung at my face. I quickly ducked and grabbed my sword, putting away my knuckles. We fought back and forth, parrying and slashing. I gave a short whistle that signaled Luke to come and get the flag. As he dropped down from the tree, it distracted the guard, who turned to the noise. I quickly hit him on the temple with the flat of my blade, instantly knocking him out.
"WOOOO ARIADNEEE THATSSS MY DAUGHTERRR." Cheered Artemis proudly. All the hunters along with Zoe wooped and hollered.
Everyone looked at Ariadne in shock. "Okay I know you are anamazing swordsman but you literally had one lesson." Ariadne justshot Frank a grin while blushing.
"You can stop staring and startreading you know." Ariadne said while laughing nervously.
"Come on!" Luke yelled. Luke and I sprinted as fast as possible to the creek. Ares kids were chasing us, having heard our feet hitting the ground. They were gaining on us. I poured on all the speed I had and got ahead of them, Luke's hand in mine so we could keep up with each other. Ten feet from the creek. Five feet. And Luke and I passed the boundary, the flag in Luke's hand. The conch horn blew, signaling the end of the game.
Annabeth came up to us, a smile on her face. "Congratulations. I didn't know you could fight that well, Ariadne."
I wiped sweat off my brow. "Thanks," I breathed, completely out of breath.
All of a sudden, there was a growl in the forest. A canine growl. The cheering died instantly.
Chiron shouted in Ancient Greek, "Stand ready! My bow!" Annabeth, Luke, and I drew our swords. There on the rocks just above us was a black hellhound the size of a fucking rhino, with lava red eyes and fangs like daggers. It was lookin straight at me. Before anybody could do anything, the hound lunged over Annabeth and right on to me. It's razor claws ripped through my armor and into my skin, tearing an agonized scream from my throat. It felt like someone took three daggers and just scraped them down my chest. "Fucking kill it!" I yelled through the pain.
Leo looked at Ariadne completely serious and said, "You are soscrewed." Percy just raised an eyebrow at the statement but saidnothing.
Then there were several thwacking sounds, arrows. From the hounds neck sprouted forty or so arrows. The monster fell dead at my feet and disappeared into the ground. By some fucking miracle, I was still alive. My armor was shredded and I knew I was going to bleed out if I didn't get help.
Before I could say anything, Clarisse, Luke, Annabeth, and Ethan rushed over to me.
"Ariadne!" They all yelled.
"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!" I kept repeating quietly.
"Get me to the water!"
"Are you crazy?! You need ambrosia and nectar!" Luke shouted.
"He's a good actor." Travis said causing everyone to nod in agreement.
"No, I don't! Just trust me!" They all reluctantly agreed and carried me to the creek, careful not to jostle me too much.
As soon as they put me in the creek, I felt ten times better. Everyone watched as my wounds healed.
"Yeah so... you remember that comment I made that you werescrewed?" Leo asked Ariadne, who had to fight back a smile at theyounger boy,
"So I take it back, kick-ass Ari's coming out." Ariadne started laughing alone with everyone else.
"Di immortales!" Annabeth said after a while. "That was a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment! They're not supposed to..."
"Someone summoned it," Chiron said. "Someone inside the camp."
All the counselors shared a knowing look.
Before chaos could break out, Clarisse pointed above my head. "Look! Ariadne's getting claimed!" I looked above my head and saw a sea green trident. Poseidon had claimed me. Annabeth had a look of dread on her face as Chiron said, "It is determined."
All around me, campers started kneeling.
"Finally," I muttered, to quiet for anyone to hear. "Poseidon," Chiron said. "Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses, King of Atlantis. Hail, Ariadne Jackson, Daughter of the Sea God."
"Next Chapter me please."