Prologue
Ah, the Hermes Cabin. The cabin of the unclaimed, the broken and the family-less. Most of the children there were like extras in a movie; all talented but not enough to be a 'star worthy', or in Camp Half Blood's case, "Olympian worthy', Oh yes, I am aware that Hermes is in fact, an Olympian god. But note, only one out of 7 in the messenger god's cabin were truly his. The rest of the children...well. Gods only knew what godly parent they came from. Besides, even if they were claimed, perhaps by some poor C-list minor god or goddess, it really wouldn't matter. Minor gods aren't special enough to have cabins dedicated for themselves. So in the Hermes cabin the children would remain.
That was all before the Oath, of course, which is where the story begins.
Lets look back. Before claiming at thirteen was mandatory, before the Titan War, before Percy Jackson himself came to the camp. A year before he came, to be exact, when things were all peachy and lovely, and the children in the Hermes cabin lived in peace. To some extent.
Chapter 1:
"Nope, cell phones are absolutely, positively not allowed the camp! If you do get caught with one, the punishment is having to clean Mr. D's toenails with your spit and a toothbrush."
The mix of horror and disbelief on the new demigod's face was so priceless that Justine Alvarez took a picture with her disposable camera, and slapped her knee with laughter.
"Kidding!" She said, putting her long arm over the girl demigod's shoulder, still laughing. "We actually make you clean up the arena and or kitchen. And believe me, either is super gross."
It was the summer at Camp Half Blood. The cabin courtyard was full of activity and smiling campers, with the sun blazing down on them. Apollo children played guitar, Hermes kids and nymphs raced to and fro, and Aphrodite children...Aphrodited. It was an ideal day for a newbie to pop in, just as this one had a few hours ago. With a brief explanation of, well, everything from Chiron, the old centaur had designated Justine to give the demigod a tour of the camp.
Justine was ridiculously tall for her age, and had light brown skin; a result from her mixed race parents. Her hair was curly and blonde/brunette mess, and her eyes were blue. She was pretty thin, and slightly awkward looking. A Demeter boy once described her as a premature tree; weird and gangly in the present, but everybody knew that in time, she would grow to be beautiful and awe-inspiring in the future. Everyone agreed that Demeter boy was on pot and was a total weirdo.
So far, Justine had walked the girl around the cabins, naming each one as she walked by. They had just passed cabin seven.
"Sooo that was Apollo's cabin, or as I like to call, Jock City. Apollo himself is pretty chill though. And you're pretty chill. Maybe Apollo's your daddy!" Justine said, smiling at her, hoping to get some response out of her. All she had gotten out of the brunette 12 year old were 'yeah's' and 'hmm's' and other affirmative noises. This time the girl had just sighed. Justine looked straight ahead.
"Or not. Don't worry!" She patted her head. "I've been here 13 years and I'm still not claimed!"
Finally, a reaction. The girl stared at Justine with wide brown eyes, giving Justine a full look of the girl's face. She hadn't seen it all day; the new demigod had been staring at the ground. Her face was very round, and she had gigantic brown eyes and a splash of freckles on her cheeks. Adorable, to say the least. Justine had to resist from squeezing her cheeks.
"13 years?" The demigod asked unbelievingly. "How old are you?"
"13!" Justine said, amping up her cheerfulness. "But I'm a summer camper. I go to foster families during school years. Its super exciting. Nothing's more fun than moving to new places with new people!"
The new demigod just blinked at her tour-giver. "Holy shit. You are like the saddest person I know."
The smile disappeared from Justine's face. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but before she could the roof of the Dionysus cabin tore off in a hurricane of icy wind and landed five feet away from Justine's feet. Pieces of wooden planks and grapes rolled past her as the new demigod scrambled out of the way. A long, sigh ensued from Justine's pink lips. She looked at the ice covered roof in front of her, then at the Dionysus cabin, then back at the roof.
"This is the part of cabin twelve, our very own Mr. D's! There isn't any way that you're his, because he isn't a womanizing butthole like the big Z although he may seem like it!" She said cheerfully. "Now, lets go to the beach!" She flounced away, continuing with the tour. The new demigod could do nothing but follow her, gazing in utter bewilderment at the wooden, roofless, and ice-covered cabin of the god of wine.