A Demigod in Wonderland
Chapter 1
Storm on the Horizon
"Did you know?
Every game has it's rules,
and those rules are cemented
from the beginning.
But you already knew this,
didn't you?"
"GAH!" Storm Skye, age 9, woke with a gasp in her cabin at Camp Half-Blood on Long Island. "What the Hades was that?" she muttered, rubbing the goosebumps on her slender yet strong arms. She'd never heard that voice before, and it held a tone that made her both curious and nervous. It was male, but unfamiliar. It didn't sound like any of the Gods, major or minor. Didn't sound like her guy friends at the camp, either. And it certainly wasn't her teacher, Chiron, the wisest of all Centaurs. "That was just freaky, even for a demigod's dream."
"What was freaky?" a boy's voice asked nearby. Ah, her half-brother, Andrew Barrok, age 12. Ever since the Rule against the Big Three - Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades - having kids was lifted nearly 30 years ago, there'd been an increase in occupants in Cabin 1. Where once, it was just the occasional demigod, there were now a dozen kids living here!
"I had the weirdest dream, brother," she said, looking up at his black hair and stormy blue eyes and hawk-like features. "This guy's voice said 'Hey, did you know? Every game has it's rules, and those rules are cemented from the beginning. But you already knew this, didn't you?' And then I woke up. It didn't sound like Dad, our uncles, or any of our immortal brothers. Didn't sound like any of the guys in this or the other cabins, and it didn't sound like Chiron."
"Weird, then again, we are demigods," Andrew rationalized, rubbing the back of his head. "Maybe you should talk to one of Morpheus's kids. They're pretty knowledgeable about dreams. They might be able to help sort it out."
"Ha! If they don't fall asleep, first," Storm said, partially joking, partially serious. Morpheus was the Greek god of dreams. Therefore, his kids spent most of their time dreaming. In other words, sleeping. But it was worth a shot.
Storm Skye was the youngest daughter of Lord Zeus, ruler of the skies, air, and king of the gods. This had earned her the nickname "Daddy's Little Princess." At Nine years old, and shorter than all the other campers - who were all older than her by three years at the least, I might add - she was viewed as the little sister, and it wouldn't be for another three years that she'd be able to emerge from that role. She had long black hair with streaks or electric blue, stormy blue eyes that she'd been named after, lightly tanned skin from living in California before moving to Long Island to live at Cam Half Blood, and a temporary tattoo of a thundercloud and lightning bolt on her left shoulder. She was cute, and the campers who spent the school year with their mortal families said she looked like she was from an Anime. She had no idea what that meant, but it was an undeniable fact that she was cute.
However, that didn't mean she was as cute on the inside as she was on the outside. Storm had already been through two battles too many for one so young, and had the scars on her upper arms to prove it. Her weapon - Riptide, the sword wielded once by Percy Jackson, and Heracles (Hercules, to those unfamiliar with his original Greek name. Hercules was his Roman name.) before him. After showering and eating breakfast, and tidying up for cabin inspection, she went down to the Morpheus cabin to see if any of his kids were still there. To her great surprise, they were all up and busy.
"The one time I need those snoozers, and they aren't there!" she mumbled. She sighed, then looked at her schedule. Huh. She had the whole day free to do whatever she wanted. Awesome! After letting her older siblings know where she was going, she headed to the forest to hang out with the nymphs. Oddly enough, the forest, usually prowling with monsters, was dead silent, except for the sound of someone crying out by Zeus's Fist, a huge pile of boulders that looked more like a pile of fossilized dung than her dad's fist. She knocked on the trunk of one of the nearest trees, and her nymph friend, Willow, emerged from the bark.
"Hey, Storm, what's up?" she asked.
"I hear something near Zeus's Fist," she explained. "Can you get me through the trees to there?"
"You bet, kiddo!" she said. Just like that, she was being passed from tree to tree like a sack of potatoes. But it got her there in two minutes, so it was okay with her when the last dryad tossed her down and almost made her hit her head.
"Off! Thanks, guys!" she called as she got up and closed the distance between herself and the rock pile. At the base was - wait, was this some trick of the Mist? No, couldn't be! The mist doesn't hide things inside the Camp! But how else could she explain seeing a little white bunny wearing a red, gingham checked jacket, pink shirt, red tie, brown pants, and a clock on a chain with his hind leg caught between the rocks?
Wary, but unwilling to leave a little woodland creature to die because he couldn't free his leg, she gently approached. "Hey, are you okay?" she called softly, trying not to look like a threat.
The bunny ceased his struggles and looked up at her, squinting his ruby red eyes as though he couldn't see clearly. "Oh, please, help me!" he said in the cutest little voice. "I was trying to look around for something, but I tripped, and now I can't get my paw free!"
"Talking rabbit who wears clothes," Storm said quietly. Then she shrugged. "Eh, not the strangest thing I've ever seen. Sure, I'll help you. Just hold still; that way, there's less of a chance of me hurting you!" She uncapped Riptide, and drove it between the rocks, using it to lever the rock off the bunny's paw. He tumbled down, then regained his footing.
"There you go! Is your paw okay?" she asked, easing the rock back in place before putting Riptide away.
"I-I-I think so," the bunny stuttered, trying to dry his eyes. "Can I ask one more favor?"
"Depends. What's the favor?" Storm asked, tilting her head.
"C-Can you help me find my glasses, please?" the little creature asked. "I can hardly see without them."
"Can you see the details of my face?" Storm asked. After some squinting, the bunny shook his head sadly.
"I can't even see the different blades of grass, and they're only a little over a foot away from my face." he said, sounding dejected.
Storm smiled gently. "Sure, I'll help you," she said. "Come here, little guy." After a moment's hesitation, the bunny came over to her. She gently picked him up, and he seemed to relax in her arms. "By the way, you haven't told me your name yet," she remembered. "I'd hate to simply refer to you as 'Bunny,' especially since you're dressed so nicely. 'Bunny' just sounds a bit demeaning."
"Oh, my name's Peter White, Prime Minister of Heart Castle," the bunny said.
"Heart Castle... that sounds familiar for some reason," Storm mused aloud. "But I can't quite place it. Where is Heart Castle?"
"It's in Wonderland, dear girl," he said. Then he sniffed the air around me. "Might I ask your name, and why you smell like the air before a lightning storm?"
"My name's Storm Skye, and I smell like that because I can control lightning," Storm explained. "I'm a Demigod, after all."
"Demigod, as in a child of a god and a mortal?" Peter asked.
"Exactly! We are in a year-round camp for demigods, after all," Storm informed him. "Did you not realize where you were?"
"I suppose not," Peter said. "Nightmare sent me to find a new Outsider, since Alice has finished her Game, and when I arrived in this world, I simply ended up in this forest, and was attacked by a giant wolf!"
"Yeah, that'll happen here," Storm said, cuddling him to calm him down. "Mr. D and Chiron have the forest regularly stocked with monsters to help us hone our battle skills. But as for when you mentioned Wonderland, did you mean 'Cheshire cat, caterpillar who smokes a hookah, sleepy dormouse, crazy March Hare, Mad Hatter, cute white rabbit with a watch, and scary Queen of Hearts' Wonderland?"
"Oh, so you've heard of it?" Peter asked excitedly.
"Yeah, almost everyone here has," Storm said. "And you're telling me it's all real?!"
"Of course, it's real! Wonderland is as real as you are!" Peter assured her.
"Then your predecessor must've gotten a promotion, because last I checked, the White Rabbit was the Red Queen's herald," Storm said. "And you dress to smartly to have ever held that job."
"Huh. I didn't know that part, but you're right that I've never been a herald."
"So, once we find your glasses, who are you going to take to Wonderland?" Storm asked, approaching one of the trees, as it's dryad was waving her over.
"I'm not sure. Perhaps you would like to come with me?" Peter asked.
"Hm. Well, things have been pretty peaceful since the Giants and Gaea were vanquished by a previous generation of demigod heroes," Storm pondered. "And Chiron said that there probably won't be any new quests until the next big conflict arises, so why not? I just need to leave a note so no one worries about me."
"Storm, did I hear you say something about lost glasses?" the dryad asked.
"Uh-huh. This little rabbit lost his glasses somewhere in the forest. Have any of the dryads seen them?"
"Seen them? I'm the one who picked them up so they wouldn't get damaged!" the nymph said, handing them over. Peter took them and places them on his nose and blinked.
"Ah, so much better!" he said. "Now, Storm, are you ready to go to Wonderland?"
"Hold on a moment," Storm said, gently setting him down. She took out a piece of paper and a pen, scribbled something, then handed it to the Dryad. "Make sure this gets to Chiron, please," she said, and the lady nodded. "Okay, lead the way, Peter!"
The rabbit nodded, and led the way to the rabbit hole.