Disclaimer: I don't own any characters of PJO/HoO and Greek mythology.
Summary: Amber (Korey) Cole is an unaware godling who thinks that she is a regular mortal. When things for her take a wrong turn when she's fourteen, she realized that she's a godling. But a child of who? She must attend Camp Hideaway, where hidden godlings grow up. They are the gods that were never supposed to be born, either because of a prophecy or by their parentage. Amber must retrieve what was stolen from a goddess, who is actually her mother, before time is up. Will Amber prove the success of Camp? Or the downfall?
I didn't want to be hidden. But was there to do other than hid me? I was a godling, one that was never supposed to be born. I learned that just a while ago since I was hidden for the first years of my life.
~opal-opal-opal-amethyst-opal-opal-opal~
My name is Amber Korey-that's my middle name- Cole. Well my last name was actually made up, but I didn't know that.
I'm fourteen years old, and I go to Willow Academy. It wasn't the worst place, since I was hidden. My life unraveled when we went on a tour of a museum of the Underworld.
"I hate tours." I muttered.
"This one will be cool, I'm sure of it!" My best friend, Zagreus said. I have a strong brotherly connection with him, so there's nothing going on between us.
Zagreus was a shy and mostly antisocial person. He had black hair and black eyes, along with pale skin. He was really mature and organized, kind of like me as I organized everything.
"I doubt that." I said. "I mean, it's the freaking Underworld! The one from greek myths that takes the life out of people."
"That's what you think." I heard Zagreus murmur. "If only you knew..." I couldn't hear the rest because the school bully, Normen, popped up in front of us.
"This is going to be the worst field trip yet!" He groaned aloud. "I think I'm going to DIE because of it!"
Everyone around us chuckled, while I saw Zagreus glare at Normen and clench his fists. Strangely, I also felt insulted. I'm the only one that can make fun of the Underworld. I gasped. Where did that voice come from? It really didn't sound like me. More like my mom for that matter.
"Not funny, Normen. Not funny." I said.
"Oh really?" He looked at me, eyes glinting with anger. "Well if anyone sees you, they will die from horror."
I saw my father turn from the front of the group, his head swiveling to glare at Normen. Oh right! I forgot to mention that dad is volunteering for the tour.
"If you dare hurt my daughter..." I looked up and saw my father walking away.
Normen jumped and hid behind his friend, shivering. With his posse doing the same. I would have laughed, if not for my father's intimidating presence. It almost seemed like dad commanded ghosts everyday. Turning around, I looked at Zagreus. He was actually smiling! My father always liked him, and whenever he accused us of being together and mom heard, she would say something along the lines of; they are not ending up like your siblings. I forbid it! And then father would laugh and look upwards, as if wondering if anyone heard him.
"Let's go!" Zagreus urged me forward. "If we get in later, all the good seats will be taken."
I sighed and followed Zagreus on the bus. He always sat in the back seats, as if he wanted a safe exit and a place to hide. It could be annoying at times, when you were trying to hold a conversation and your best friend was looking behind you. I also had another friend, Nicole. She had wavy blonde hair with sea-green eyes and always dressed casual. She was also extremely smart.
"Hi guys!" Nicole slid into the seat next to mine, her hair bouncing. "Did you see the new video game that just came out? It's called Deer warriors!" This might strike you as strange, but Nicole absolutely loved video games and shopping. Kind of weird, with her nerdy personality.
"Tell me again, why did I come on this tour?" I sighed.
"Unc- Your dad told you to come here, so you, being the daddy's girl you are, decided to come in exchange of pizza being packed for lunch." Nicole looked at me, her eyes sparkling.
"Did you call my dad 'Uncle'?" I made air quotes using my fingers.
"Of course not! Why would you think that?" Nicole asked me. "Anyways, I have to tell you something!" I looked over at Zagreus and saw Nicole nodding at him.
"What is it?" I looked over at Nicole.
"I'll tell you at the tour." She smirked.
"Please Nicky?" I asked. She hated that nickname.
"Stop calling me that!" She frowned. "I suppose it's better than 'baby owl'" I heard her mutter.
"You're called a baby owl?" I asked.
"I'm not!" Nicky- oh wait! Make that Nicole.
I stared at her unconvinced. "Sure..." I leaned back in my seat. I had barely gotten any sleep yesterday, with all the yelling in the living room. Apparently, dad had called his friends over, only to result in a lot of arguing. A little nap wouldn't hurt... I drifted off to sleep.
~opal-opal-opal-amethyst-opal-opal-opal~
I was in some sort of room. A large black one with a large sculpture of someone in the middle of it. Turning around, I saw rooms all around me with a door and a nameplate on each of them. All of them empty except one. The one that had my nae on it.
Amber Korey.
The second I read it, a gust of wind filled the room, swirling around me. I wanted to know what it was, but I was sucked into another dream.
~opal-opal-opal-amethyst-opal-opal-opal~
A large white room.
Green words floating around me.
I seemed to be in a jar filled with words, but when I touched one of the words, all of them formed a paragraph
How to vaporize Mist;
Clear your thoughts, take a deep breath and blink three times.
Remember this when you feel like you forgot something, and Mist that you can control will disappear.
Well that was useful. I thought sarcastically. The words had all faded, until I ended up in a white room with intricate green designs.
~opal-opal-opal-amethyst-opal-opal-opal~
"WAKE UP!" Nicole's silent yell startled me so much, I almost hit her. "We're here." She added innocently.
"We are?" I groaned. "Great. Just great."
Nicole grabbed me, pulling me out of the bus. Zagreus followed, bizarrely happy. Well again, he's always loved the Underworld. "This is going to be awesome!" The two of them said.
"Why did you volunteer for this, dad?" I asked him as I passed.
He turned from glaring at a replica of the Helm of Darkness. "This is so messed up. The Helm does not look like that! It has orange flames, not red." I heard him mutter over and over. "I like the Underworld, I guess."
I just stared at him, suspicious. All of a sudden, I remembered my dream. What if...? I just played along for the sake of it. Greek mythology couldn't be real! "Is greek mythology interesting to you?" I asked. Dad looked surprised.
"Yes I do." He said, going back to muttering.
"Let's go!" Zagreus pulled me back with a lot of force, surprisingly. "I have to check out the replica of the throne room!" I saw my dad smile for the corner of my eye.
"I want to see the layout." Nicole said.
We raced through the doors of the throne room, which Zagreus stopped to look at and criticize. "This is uneven, and the doors have prophecies on it!" He whined.
I stared at him, while Nicole laughed. "Calm down! It's not like Hades himself will complain." Though I did catch her looking near the entrance.
Turning around, I looked at the room. It was impressive, with the walls made of black marble, golden doors and gems forming mosaics. And all of it was just painted stone.
"You shall bow before me." A chilling voice said.
I gasped and looked at the fenced of thrones seeing a shadow sit there. Nicole and Zagreus on the other hand looked like they were ready to attack. Zagreus looked downright murderous. "We will not bow for you!" He yelled.
"This will be revenge! Your father has captured me and by unleashing my anger I blew one of your mother's possessions away. I know you have it, now where is it?" The shadow asked.
"We don't have anything!" Zagreus raised his hands.
I looked around the room, and saw a sword lying on the ground. It looked like black marble that felt like metal. I took my chance and threw it at the shadow.
Whoosh!
It sounded like a fan had blown through the room, passing through the three of us. The shadow I saw had disappeared.
"What was that about?" I asked my friends, who were whispering to each other.
"Should we tell her?" Zagreus asked.
"She killed the shade!" Nicole whispered.
"I'll take that as a yes." Zagreus smiled.
"Is she your sister?" Nicole asked.
"I guess not." Zagreus sighed. "Besides, the shade disappeared, she didn't kill it. No one can kill a shade except Hades.
I walked outside, feeling like Nicole was speaking nonsense. "What is this all about?" I asked. No answer.
"Let's go explore more of the museum." Nicole suggested, finally stopping her muttering of nonsense.
"Sure." Zagreus rolled his eyes and dragged me along. "Vlacas."
"My mom is a genius! And you dare call me vlacas?" Nicole frowned, glaring at Zagreus.
"Oh look! The godlings are hiding! That makes it just that much easier to attack them." I heard someone say. I looked around and saw... another shadow. Wait a second. Godlings?
"Guy? Someone wants to attack you." I told them. Better safe than sorry.
"Who?" Nicole asked, turning.
"That shade!" Zagreus pointed.
"I can't see it!" Nicole cried.
"You're not a child of Hades." I heard Zagreus say. "But you should still be able to see the shade."
Just at that moment, Nicole cried out. "I see it!"
I grabbed the sword from the throne room that I had accidentally brought outside. Weird that security wasn't called.
"You will not attempt to kill me again. The Doors of Death are weaker, seeing as Thanatos hasn't put his daily spell on them yet. My boss, Tartarus will come and get you. It is no use." The shade cackled and the sword dropped. When I tried picking it up, I yelped. The sword was red hot!
"You can't hurt us." Zagreus said, annoyed.
I looked at him and Nicole and copied their stance. The shade was not going to intimidate me, even though I didn't understand anything. Impulsively, I took off my scarf and picked up the sword using it.
"A smart one, I see." The shade smiled. "You must be a child of Athena. All you need to do is give me what you have and I will let you go."
"I don't have anything. If you want the sword I will not let you take it." My eyes blazed in annoyance. Who was this guy to speak to me like this? "Who are you anyways?"
"I am King Minos. Hades banished me in Tartarus for harassing a son of his. I used to be a judge of the dead, but someone else has replaced me. For that, you will pay." He glared at Zagreus. "Here's an easy way to take care of you." Grabbing a tube filled with an acid green potion, he sprayed it at us.
I barely had time to register it, but Nicole had already pulled out a shield and covered us with it. I was so surprised, I didn't even ask why Nicole was carrying a shield around with her. I mean really? Who takes a shield with them? To use as a table? "Missed us!" I called out, testing the sword. It wasn't so hot anymore.
"No I didn't!" Minos yelled. I looked at everyone else. Couldn't they see the shade? It was then I saw that no one else was there. "Take that!" He whipped out a staff at tried to hit us with it.
Of course, my first reaction was to yell and throw the sword at him, effectively shutting him up. "Finally. Some peace and silence. Now can you explain what's going on?" I asked my two friends, picking the sword up.
"Umm..." Zagreus trailed off.
"I mean, the vaporization of Minos? Him reforming? Most of all, him being supposedly dead?" I asked, my voice rising and I glared at them.
"Your glare is just as efficient as Zagreus'." Nicole said. "Deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out." She demonstrated, as if I didn't know how to breath.
"I know how to breath!" I yelled, earning weird glances from people near us, as we went to the tables, and met up with the rest of our class. "Anyways, go on." I added, taking my food out.
"Where were you?" Father walked up behind us.
"Outdise. I mean outside." I was so annoyed, I mispronounced the word.
"She figured out, didn't she?" Hades asked Zagreus, sitting down.
"Kind of, but not really." Nicole said.
"Speaking of that, why did you come here? To get exposed?" Dad frowned. "If thunderhead found out..."
"Who's thunderhead?" I asked.
Nicole and Zagreus stifled laughs. "My younger brother. Youngest actually." Father said, looking upwards. "Mom called him that too."
"Can you explain what happened?" I asked him.
"What?" He asked me. He actually did look confused, so I asked Nicole and Zagreus.
"What happened?" I asked again.
"What do you mean?" Zagreus asked, attaining the same look of confusion that my father had just used to me.
"I think she means what happened when we were at the garden." Nicole said, snapping her fingers.
I felt my memory start to fuzz over and, wait. What happened? I was pretty sure that Nicole had pulled Zagreus over to the garden to show him something about black flowers and had stayed there for a few minutes...
"Oh, right! We were interrupted by your dad, when he asked us where you were." Zagreus said.
I felt a small tugging at the back of my mind, as if that hadn't been the truth. But how did I know that?
'Remember what you learned, my dear.' A calm and sweet voice told me. It was so calm that it felt sick. 'Remember how to get rid of Mist.'
Frowning, I tried out the instructions I remembered from my dream. 'Clear your thoughts, take a deep breath and blink three times. All of a sudden, my mind cleared. They never went to the garden. This shade guy -Minos- had tried killing us and all that. Why did they lie? Watching them smile and laugh about gardens being the last place that dad would usually go to, I doubted that it was to hurt me. But what had they used on me? It felt as if this was a giant illusion. Father seemed to notice me zoning out.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"I know that they're lying."
"About what?" My dad stared at me weirdly and snapped his fingers, much like Nicole had done. All of a sudden, my thoughts changed. Nicole and Zagreus had been at the garden when Minos attacked, and in the throne room, they had left for a while. My thoughts were all jumbled. Did Nicole and Zagreus know what was happening? Wait. What was happening? They weren't there when I killed Minos. I think. A wave of nausea overwhelmed me and once my head cleared, I remembered what happened with Minos.
"What are you doing after school?" Zagreus asked me once dad left.
"To the ice-cream shop." I said.
"Cool! We're also going there!" Nicole said.
"Do you know Minos?" I asked them.
"You mean the greek king Minos?" Nicole asked, frowning. "It really wasn't fair to make people get eaten by the Minotaur."
"And then become a judge of the dead once he died." Zagreus added.
"He tried to attack me." I said.
"He did what?!" The two of them asked, quietly.
"He snuck up on me today. And then you called him a shade." I said, staring at them.
"We did?" Nicole blinked, owlishly at me.
Sighing, I gave up. "I'm going to the museum shop." I told them, picking my purple backpack up and walking over there.
The sign beside it wrote;
Stuffed Pegasi for $5 dollars each!
Going inside, I bought a stuffed black pegasus. It was really cute, actually.
"I guessed that I would see you here." Someone said. Turning around, I saw Ms. Leors. She was a devil. The worst teacher ever, and she seemed to hate Nicole, Zagreus and I. "What are you doing here alone?" She asked me.
"I wanted to visit the shop." I replied in a duh tone of voice.
"Don't use that tone with me, young lady." Ms. Leors' eyes seemed to glow red. Or maybe that was a trick of the light?
"I have to go." I payed for the toy, stuffed it into my backpack and left. Deciding to put the sword in my backpack, I used some wrapping paper that was in my backpack to wrap it up and put it in. I heard Ms. Leors turn and shift through some things behind me.
"What did you get?" Zagreus asked me. He seemed really anxious for some reason.
"A black pegasus. Why?" I answered.
"Nothing. Just wondering." Zagreus replied.
"Let's go check out the 'rooms'!" Nicole said. "I heard they have good architecture."
I sighed as I followed her. I saw Zagreus roll his eyes, and look around the place. "Fine." We both agreed.
I saw Ms. Leors watching us from the corner of my eye.