"this is the part where you find out who you are"
"only the good die young"
Annabeth looked exhausted. Grover did too, but Percy just looked determined, angry even.
"Ready?" Grover walked over to me and put his hand over my shoulder.
"I still need to know what you need me for?" I asked, looking between the three of them.
"It's about the pro-"
"You shouldn't hear it from us." Annabeth said, interrupting Percy by hitting his shoulder.
"Annabeth." I looked at her trying to look as calm as I could be, but if it was just me and Annabeth, alone, I'd be shaking, this was about my prophecy. My prophecy. The thing I've craved for ever since I could remember. Raised by the gods, but never good enough to know exactly why I was.
"Lets just go up." Percy said, not waiting on any of us and just started walking to the elevator. We all got in and "Guns and Ships" from Hamilton started playing.
I'd only ever been at Olympus once and that's because I was sick once and Hades didn't know what to do so he took me to Apollo but those memories are fuzzy. My mom had only visited me once or twice but she had always gone down to the underworld. Hades said she never came for my "safety" but I'd be lying if I said I never thought that was bull.
Olympus was beautiful, celestial bronze was everywhere. We walked around to the little meeting area where all the gods did their solstice meetings. Percy had the bolt in his hand and walked with confidence that probably made Annabeth think he was crazy for acting like that in front of the gods. She's probably thinking how I'd do that if I were in his position.
We walked around to the thrones and saw all 12. As they looked to see Percy, Annabeth, and Grover, but were a little surprised to see me, which shocked me because shouldn't they know everything?
"Hello Pandora." Zeus said not even acknowledging the other three for some reason.
"Zeus." I said trying to do my best not to let my voice crack. I looked around and saw Hades, we shared a smile.
"Hey Kiddo," He whispered. I walked over to him.
"What is this about, Annie said it was about my proph-"
"You will learn, be patient." He put his hand on my shoulder. "Go on to your friends." I walked back to Annabeth and grabbed her hand.
"Percy." Poseidon stood. "I never meant to tell you that and now you bring her here?" He sounded angry.
"She deserved to know!" He stepped closer to his dad. I walked to Percy's side.
"I would really love to know what the hell is going on here?"
"Oh, my child." My mom started saying. "I am so sorry." She had a tear running down her cheek that she quickly wiped away.
"What is going on." I was panicking, I was terrified.
"I personally am not sorry." Zeus began. "This child has been a pain since her first breath."
I stepped as close as I could to Zeus' throne.
"Tell me." I demanded. "He brought the bolt, Hades has his helm back. You used Percy as a pawn in your chess game; and you can't even admit that you need us." I looked around to Poseidon, Demeter, all the gods who had children that they never acknowledged. "Without us, you wouldn't last, and you know it. So. Tell. Me."
"You sure are Aphrodite's girl." Hephaestus joked. "Anger issues and all." Aphrodite hit him softly and laughed.
"The Blood Moon Curse is what it's called." Athena spoke. "Zeus and Poseidon came together and cursed you, on your 16th birthday all the monsters shall be released from The Underworld and programmed to only go after you. The Moon will turn red, and you shall die." She said in monotone.
"What?" My voice cracked as I looked at my mom. She walked over to me and cupped my face in her hands. A tear dripped down her cheek.
"I'm so sorry, my bravest warrior." She softly spoke.
"Dad?" Percy weakly said. "You were apart of this?"
"If you only knew why we-"
"Mom would not be proud of you. Sh-She'd hate you for doing this." He said without looking at him.
"Hades," I turned trying to keep my eyes from watering. "Give him his mom back."
"I was always planning on doing so darling." He said with a half smile. "She will be returned."
"Here's your master bolt. Thanks for nothing." Percy threw the bolt at his feet and walked out and was waiting at the elevator. Annabeth was also tearing up. I walked by Ares as I left.
"I know it's not Clarisse." I whispered. He nodded as we left.
When the elevator doors closed, and it was just us four, I slid down the wall and collapsed into tears. My life was shorter than I ever imagined. Four. Four more years. Four. More. Years. Annabeth slid down next to me and layed her head on my shoulder.
"It's going to be alright." She said.
"How do you know that?" I asked, my face was drenched in tears.
"I just do." She assured me. I got up and wiped my eyes dry as the doors to the elevator opened.
"No one can know. I'll tell Chiron, Miley, Silena, and Luke when we get back, but no one else can know." I stated as I walked out of the elevator.
I had got Silena, Luke, Miley, and Chiron gathered together to tell them of the news.
"What the hell." Silena gasped as she hugged me.
"They are going to pay for this." Luke said under his breath.
"Pandora." Chiron began. "I now see why Hades has had you train. My bravest warrior." Funny, that's what my mom called me. "You shall face this, and you shall overcome this."
"Yes, yes, Dora, we'll train every single day like you have been, I'll help you even more than I already have." Luke said looking at me before he started pacing. Silena got a thing of lipstick out of her pocket.
"Here." She put it in my hand. "Have this."
"Silena? This is lipstick?" I questioned, seeing the hot pink lipstick that she wore all the time. She took it from my hand and tossed it in the air to reveal a bow and arrow. Light pink, with bows wrapped around the ends of the arrows. It was beautiful.
"I had Charlie make it for you." She handed the bow to me. "I didn't know when to give it to you, but now seems like a good time."
"How do I make it lipstick again?" I asked with a smile.
"You press this button." She pointed to the button that had a glitter barbie font "P".
"I love it." I pressed the button and put the lipstick in my pocket, and hugged her.
A few hours had past and I met up with Luke in an empty Hermes cabin.
"Panda, this is all too much." He said referring to the news I had told him earlier.
"Let's not talk about it." I said.
"How can we not?" He said, getting angrier. "The gods, they're taking your life with no remorse!"
"Two of them are. Zeus and Poseidon. Leave the rest of them out of your hate spiral."
"Whatever, Dora." He walked out of the cabin. After awhile, I gathered my thoughts and walked out as well.
"Pandora!" Will was waving me down from the archery arena. He jumped over the fence and ran over to me.
"What is it?" I laughed.
"Oh, umm, nothing. Was just wondering if you..uhh..got tickets to the musical yet. I would rather not go but I have to support my cabin and I would rather not go alone." He was speeding through his words and I could barely understand him.
"Yeah, Miley demanded I get them the day they went on sale." I said. "Though, you may want to tell them to get a better price than a single guitar pick."
"Well, Chiron said they couldn't charge real money, so they chose picks...for some reason." I let out a soft laugh. I sometimes thought that Will and I could've been a little more than friends, with the way he acted around me, and how I tried to be cool around him; but every Aphrodite kid's first love is destined for tragedy, so I try not to play with the fire that is romance until I'm ready to get burned. But Will Solace being my tragedy, doesn't seem half bad. Plus, I probably won't even live long enough to have more than one boyfriend. I mean, I don't see boys chasing after me.
"But yeah, I can go with you." I stirred up enough confidence in my body and let it burst. "It's like a date." The blonde boy let out a subtle sigh of relief like he didn't want me to notice his relief.
"Yeah, exactly like a date." He ran his hand through his curls and started backing away. "See you tomorrow then? I'll meet you at your cabin?"
"Perfect." I smiled; as I watched him walk away. I decided to take a walk over to the mess hall, and as I was walking past cabin four, Annabeth ran up to me.
"Dora! I never got to tell you everything! About the quest!" She was smiling so wide, it was like someone had just told her spiders had gone extinct.
"Right! Tell me everything!" I said taking her hand. "Walk with me over to the mess hall."
We came and sat down at the table that during meals would be the Ares table.
"He told you he picked you because he never thought you would be friends! What the actual heck!" I said in disbelief. "The audacity of that boy."
"But! But then he hugged me!" She said smacking her hands down on the table out of excitement. "And he's so cool! He sent Medusa's head to Olympus!"
"He did what!" I laughed.
"He actually reminds me a lot of you." She said looping a braid around her finger. "You know, the anger issues, sarcasm.
"I do not have anger issues."
"Yes you do, yes, you do." She said, nodding her head.
"Oh, also" I forgot to mention something. "I kinda have a date."
"What!" She screamed. "With who!"
"Will." I tried to not let a smile out but it was relentlessly growing upon my cheeks. She squealed.
"What are you gonna wear! Well, Silena can help you with that!" She was rambling. I've never seen this girl get so ramped up. Oh wait, yes I have; and he was walking over.
"I'll figure something out, Annie. Curly Fry's walking over here by the way." I cut her off from her speeding as Percy was getting closer in our vicinity.
"Hey Annabeth." He said with the biggest smile I've ever seen. "Pandora, did I just hear you call me Curly Fry." He said with his signature confused head tilt.
"Yes, yes I did." These days it was getting harder and harder to smile, but it was never hard to fake one. "What do you want, Curly Fry?" I raised my eyebrows playfully.
"Just wondering, what the heck is the Cabin 7 musical? And why did Kayla run up to me begging me to get a ticket?" He asked as he sat down next to Annabeth. Kayla had never been a musical Apollo kid. So it was odd that she begged him to get a ticket.
"Oh, the Apollo kids put together a musical, and it's like a camp event. Most Cabins require attendance, some don't. They don't tell us what the musical is until we're all sat down in the theater." I explained. Last year it was a parody of Mamma Mia but with Taylor Swift songs. Will was forced to be in it and his rendition of A Place In This World is something for the Camp Halfblood History Books.
"Oh. So I don't have to go?" He asked, gesturing to the fact that he would rather go back to The Underworld, then go to the musical.
"You should go." Annabeth said. "Almost everyone goes, if you don't, you're most likely just going to be watching the Stoll Twins smoke weed behind Cabin 11." She offered a laugh through her teeth.
"She is right. It's always a good musical, with them being Children of Apollo, but sometimes the concept is, well, interesting." I looked at Annabeth with wide eyes.
"Like one time, they did Mean Girls The Musical, but as Avengers: Civil War characters. That one was interesting to say the least." Annabeth pointed at me as she remembered the musical from two years ago.
"Ok, I'm totally going."