The pearl sword sliced through the air, narrowly missing my head. An inch wide lock of golden blonde hair floated to the dust coated ground, the wind brushing it away a few feet. I spun around, swinging my sword to meet my opponent, metal clanging against pearl. It continued on like this for what seemed like hours, but time is always weird when in combat. You could be fighting for hours and it only feels like minutes. The pearl blade came at me again, but I was to slow. Fire erupted behind my eyes as the the sword gauged a deep line in my cheek. I cried out, growling in anger. How is it that a child of Aphrodite can beat me, a daughter of Apollo, in combat? But she, however, had been in combat before. Piper McLean had helped defeat Gaea last year, along with Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Nico DiAngelo, Hazel Levesque, Jason Grace, Leo Valdez, and Reyna Ramírez-Arellano. I had only been at Camp Half Blood for a week before they came back from Greece. I gave up fighting Piper, throwing my sword down in frustration. Too tired to do anything else, I sat down in the middle of the arena, closing my eyes. I heard Piper's sword clanging as she put it back in it's sheath. She sighed

"You know, Christian, you won't win a battle by throwing your weapon down and sitting on the ground." I opened my eyes and looked up, brushing my sweaty, blonde hair away from my face. Piper stood right in front of me with her hands on her hips, her boots and face covered in dust. I assumed I looked the same, if not worse. I rolled my eyes. Personally, I preferred to sing lullabies to my enemies, making them fall fast asleep, or maybe shoot them at long distances with a bow and arrow, but not face to face combat.

"Shut up, Piper." I huffed, trying to stay in a bad mood. Ha. A weakness. Who knew being positive could be a weakness.

"Suit yourself. I'm just saying you need to be more persistent in your attacks." I nodded, unable to stop myself. Standing up, I picked my sword up from the ground, putting it in it's sheath.

"You know what, Piper? You are fucking right. You are fucking right every time. Just because I like, have a weakness for being positive, doesn't mean that I can't be the devil if I want, though." I ended with a threat, which sent a twinge of uneasiness through me. This girl was totally capable of slitting my throat while I'm sleeping. I didn't really want to die quite yet, but trying to defy my father's personality would be worth it. Instead of killing me, Piper shrugged, just as the bell clanged, signaling dinner. I cursed. "This isn't over." I muttered under my breath, briskly walking towards the mess hall for lunch.

I sat down by myself at the Apollo table, lonely. I was the only known living child of Apollo, Greek or Roman. Luckily, he wasn't always busy, so there were many days where I had a partner at the table. Percy Jackson said I was lucky to have a Godly parent who cared, and most of the other campers wanted to kill me for it. I was lucky. I had a huge weakness, but I was lucky.

The magical plate filled up with ribs and steak, which I promptly butchered, my foul mood draining away. At least there was one thing I could cut up, even if it didn't run away from me. Not wanting to anger my dad with an offering of beef (He keeps his own herd of cattle), I put my salad that I got as a side dish into the bonfire. The flames leapt higher, a mix of orange and yellow. Though only children of Hephaestus could control and wield fire as a weapon, I could change it's shape without meaning to. Just like Percy can breath under water without trying. Instead of sitting down back inside the mess hall, I sat down by the fire, it's tongues of orange and yellow flame glowing in the now dark forest. This is where I could think the most efficiently.

Running my hand along the smooth bark of the log I was sitting on, I began to sing. I didn't even know where the song came from, but it was beautiful.

In the grass by the willow tree,

Lay the most ancient of living things,

A tomb of gold and pearl untold.

What is it that lays by the willow tree?

The grass may wilt,

The leaves may fall.

But one fate,

Surpasses them all.

Death by love,

Torture by care.

The future is costly,

But do not despair.

By the time I finished, I had a crowd of campers watching me. I blushed, the firelight illuminating my face. I turned, feeling a shoulder on my hand. A boy with brown hair and amber, almost golden eyes was looking at me. I guessed he was the one son of Hestia, because no other god has such unique eyes.

"That was amazing, Christian." He said, and turned back to the mess hall, walking away. Shortly after, the crowd dispersed, praising me on my voice and words, leaving me sitting on the log in shock. I didn't even know most of the Demigods who talked to me, yet they knew me. Maybe it was because I was the only child of Apollo, which made me pretty famous. I couldn't stop thinking about the son of Hestia, with his warm, golden eyes. But, I mean it makes sense that his eyes seemed warm, being the son of Hestia and all.

As a Demigod, you usually have dreams at night. Like, real dreams. Not the fuzzy, happy dreams that humans control. These dreams are messages, usually threats from other gods. Tonight, however, I was only visited by one dream. My father. It went kind of like this...

Me- Dad?

Apollo- Sup?

Me- I don't know... Aren't you the one who made this dream?

Apollo- Oh, ya! Great song tonight! I listened to every word, though I trust you didn't do it for the praise or attention. Right?

Me- I didn't even know what I was singing until the end. Also, I really don't like being positive all the time.

Apollo- I completely understand. It can be like a curse sometimes, and a powerful weapon the other times.

Me- Powerful weapon?

Apollo- Yah! If you annoy your enemy enough by using your sunny attitude, it'll be easier to kill them.

Me- Really?...Wow... I think I know how to defeat Piper!

Apollo- That daughter of Aphrodite? Psht. You can beat her any day.

Me- I've been trying for a week.

Apollo- Oh... Well, I'm glad I could help. Time to wake up soon!

Me- Bye!

The scene fades out, leaving me in my sunlit cabin, staring at the ceiling. Today, I was going to beat Piper. I was going to use my weakness to my advantage. I was going to annoy the crap out of her. Hopefully, she doesn't kill me afterwards.