This has been in my head for a while, so I decided to try it out. After "The Last Olympian", but before "The Lost Hero". Read and Review!
Disclaimer: I do not own PJO, or HoO. That goes to Rick Riordan!
When the sun shines brightly through the laced curtains, I usually groan and dug myself darker into the cold, hard cot, hoping to return to my dreams where my mother is alive, my father actually knows me instead of abandoning me at birth, and the best of all, everyone was alive. Especially when everyone was alive.
I push myself up, wincing at the aches I developed over the night from over eight hours on sleeping on a hard, wooden surface. Oh well, I suppose I shouldn't be complaining; there are kids who sleep on the floor in sleeping bags.
The sun practically fights it's way through the thick curtains that cover the floor-length windows, forcing me up I sighed. Why was I always the one beside the crappy curtains?
But today is a special day. A supposed happy day. I haven't heard that word ever since the Titan war.
Today is my thriteenth birthday.
I rummage through my suitcase, which is so small it's practically a backpack. I pull out my nicest jeans and my beautiful blue-laced blouse that falls over me in a waterfall of the sky. I curl my lip bitterly. My mom bought me this blouse, and I only wore it after she died. Guilt coursed through me. I should've treated her better, I think.
"Awquie! Awquie!"
I watched as Sophie, the youngest of us (only five years old, for the Titans' sakes!) run over with a bright smile on her face. Her two blonde pigtails bounced beside her and her bangs whipped around her round face. I tried not to laugh at the particular way she said my name. Awquie. My actual name was Aquamarine. My father had named me, which I really wish he didn't. What kind of name was 'Aquamarine' anyway? To make it slightly more normal, I had shortened it to 'Aqua', though it still sounded laughable when Sophie pronounced it.
"Hey Soph," I ruffled her hair affectionately. Sophie was the purest, nicest and most innocent out of all of us. The war had corrupted us, until we were nothing but shells of our former selves. My fondness for Sophie increased. She was pure and sweet, and I would make sure that she stayed that way for the rest of her life.
By now, you should be wondering who we are, and why we're acting so particular about the Titan war, I mean, Percy Jackson won the war for the Olympians, right? The war of the mortals and the gods were saved, and it was all celebrating at Camp Half-Blood.
The half-blood children of the minor gods that fought on the side of the Titans, however, didn't get a happy ending.
Most of us were slaughtered immediately by the gods~they do not show mercy to their enemies, sadly~and the rest of us retreated into an old, abandoned orphanage at the edge of the city. The Empire State Building seems to mock me everyday. Memories of fallen comrades rest there, brave, courageous people who would never be acknowledged. Anyway, the oldest of us, Amphira, who was nineteen (pretty old for a demigod!) decided to take care of the younger ones. She was a daughter of Hecate, and she easily did all the chores with her magic, thankfully.
Eventually, we decided that we were the ones residing in the orphanage, which meant that it was our orphanage now. We gave it a name: Orphanage of Deserted Demigods. Initials: Odd. Perfect for us. After the war, the children of the minor gods were finally recognized, except that the 'traitors' weren't accepted. We hid, fearful of the gods and their superior powers over us without the protection of the Titans.
Depressing story. Moving on...
Just then, Kestrel ran into the girls' room. Yep, there's a room for boys and a room for girls. Five boys. Five girls (including Amphira). That's how much of us survived the gods' assault.
Kestrel was an unclaimed male demigod (what, did you think he was a girl?). Born during January twenty-first, he was roughly six months older than me: My birthday was June thirty, possibly one of the sunniest days, much to my dismay.
"Hey birthday girl," he greeted smoothly with a tint of an accent. I've never been able to place where his accent came from. I shrugged. Some things were never solved.
I nodded in his direction as I cuddled little Sophie in my arms. Thirteen. It was my thirteenth birthday. Thirteen years I have been on this world, and thirteen years I have suffered because I was a minor demigod, not a demigod of the Olympians.
He presented my birthday gift. A doll. I rolled my eyes at the pitiful round pink circles on the dolls cheeks, and the blue dots that served as the doll's eyes.
"Really, Kestrel?" I asked, trying not to snort. "I'm thirteen, by the way. Not three."
Kestrel pretended to be hurt. "How cruel," he mock-scowled. "I actually had to go out and buy this for you?" he stomped his foot in pretend-agitation, to which I laughed. "Do you know how much this cost? Three dollars!" It was too much for me. I doubled over in a fit of giggles as poor Sophie fell off my legs with a squeak.
I controlled my amusement, though tears pooled into my eyes. "Sorry, Soph," I managed to choke out before bursting into laughter again.
As I pulled myself into a standing position, I yanked open the stupid curtains that let all the light shine through and was immediately blinded.
"Arrrgggh!" I squealed as I collapsed, my hands tightly clamped over my eyes. I could hear Kestrel's laughter, and Sophie's anxiety and confusion at why Kestrel was laughing at me in 'pain'.
Oh, Sophie, you're just too innocent for the world.
As I slowly stretched myself back up, I heard Amphira and her half-brother, Quince, muttering spells to ward off monsters. The only thing that had prevented us from being caught and killed by monsters.
"That's cool, isn't it?" Kestrel remarked as he watched as colored sparks shot out of their fingertips. "I mean, being a child of Hecate. Do you know who your parent is?"
I felt a flash of resentment stab me. Of course I didn't. I stayed at Camp Half-Blood for a year when I was seven and left soon after. I was one of the demigods cramped in the Hermes cabin, of course.
"No."
The doors to the girls' room was flung open as Amphira entered, ruby-red hair flying wildly and emerald green eyes filled with terror.
"I can't find Remus and Belle." she panted. Remus was (obviously) a fifteen-year-old male demigod of Morpheus, and Belle was a fourteen-year-old daughter of Tyche, the lesser-known goddess of luck and fortune.
Well, maybe her daugther wasn't so lucky. At least she attracted bad luck.
Maybe I should explain the girls and boys in ODD for you;
Girls (eldest to youngest):
Amphira Flamus: Nineteen-year-old daughter of Hecate, eldest, is the legal guardian of ODD. Has ruby-red hair and emerald-green eyes.
Sara Graham: Sixteen-year-old daughter of Nemesis. Has chocolately-brown hair and blood-red eyes (a trait inherited from Nemisis).
Belle Nift: Fourteen-year-old daughter of Tyche. Has raven-black hair, extremely pale skin, and startling blue eyes.
Aqua Vetuoceani (me!): Thirteen-year-old demigod. Unknown parent. Has auburn-ish dark brown hair and green-blue eyes..
Sophie (last name unknown): Five-year-old demigod. Unknown parent. Has blonde hair and baby-blue eyes.
And now, onto the boys (still eldest to youngest!):
Bruno Smith: Seventeen-year-old son of Hypnos. Second-in-command beside Amphira. Has golden-brown hair and stone-gray eyes.
Remus Brown: Fifteen-year-old demigod of Morpheus. Has greasy black hair and gold-flecked purple eyes.
Ryan Crenshaw: Fourteen-year-old demigod. Unknown parent. Has light brown hair and pale blue eyes.
Kestrel Lyn: Thirteen-year-old demigod. Unknown parent. Has spiky black hair and brown eyes.
Quince Blade: Thirteen-year-old son of Hecate. Has curly brown hair and green eyes.
Yeah, I think that's it.
Okay, anyway, Amphira was saying, "I can't find Belle or Remus anywhere!" her voice rose to a wail. "It's all my fault! I sent them out to look for food, and now they're probably being hunted down by monsters!"
Well, you can see that Amphira wasn't comftorable with the leader position, but she held it, which meant that all of us respected and followed her orders.
"I'm sure they're fine and feasting on some chicken," Quince, Amphira's half-brother, soothed.
Amphira shook her head bitterly. "I told them not to eat a single thing and bring it back to ODD. And I confirmed that they were in serious trouble if they ate even a single thing, and told them that I knew truth spells from...mother." talking about our godly parents were difficult, because we all knew they abandoned us the moment we lost, leaving us for dead. I, in particular, couldn't forgive my father, whoever he was, for letting my mortal mother die. Couldn't Camp Half-Blood see that they'd just killed an innocent mortal?
And then a single name flashed in my mind.
Perseus Jackson.
I balled my hands into fists while my lip curled.
Perseus Jackson.
Oh, yes, the supposed 'hero' of Olympus would pay dearly for making us live this life. Especially Sophie. She was so young, so innocent, and she thought that we were living the best of life could offer, while in reality we've just hit rock bottom and are starting to go underground.
"~they know how to take orders properly!" Amphira was shrieking.
"Yes, which is why they're going to come back," It sounded like Quince's patience was wearing thin. "Please, Amphira, just re-lax. They're fine."
And then we heard the bloodcurling scream.
I wasn't aware of running, or the demigods running beside me. I just realized that, after the blink of an eye, I was standing in front of one of the most horrific scenes I have ever seen.
Belle was on her knees, crouched on a limp body. The body was so marred and bloody that at first, I didn't recognize the person underneath it, but then I realized that it was clear.
Remus.
I hurriedly covered Sophie's eyes as she arrived on the scene. Her short, stout legs had kept her struggling to keep up with the rest of the group, and she immediately understood when my hand arrived over her eyes.
Bad things, I used to say.
Amphira dropped to her knees, her hands pressed against her cheeks in horror. "I sent him to his death," she whispered.
Belle's blue eyes slowly drew from Remus's body, to the rest of ODD, and then, finally, to her own hands, which were covered in Remus's blood. Then the bright blue eyes lolled to the back of her head and she passed out.
"Belle!" Bruno gasped, catching her right before her head banged against the hard, wooden floor. He cradled her, who looked especially pale in his arms. I shuddered. What could've caused this?
Amphira sighed. "Probably, the gods attacked them again. You know how they just looove to pick off the lesser traitors in bloody and gorey ways."
Despair clouded my heart. Was this how we were supposed to spend the rest of our lives, sitting here and waiting in fear to be found and killed off by either god or monster? Was it our destiny to be beings of prey? As I looked at Remus's crippled body, I grimly realized that I had no answer to that.
None at all.
Sooo...whaddaya think? A little too gorey? Probably why this is rated "T"...anyway, review! I'll be happier xD
-Sky