Prologue

It was May twenty-fourth, the year was 1997. But for the young girls, the days seemed to blur together. They had been on the run for a week. It wasn't like the seven-year-olds had decided to run away from home, they hadn't had a choice.

Alexandria was looking around the corner into an alleyway. "It looks empty, come on." She whispered and went into the alley quickly, holding her sister's hand.

Anastasia let her sister pull her into the alley. "I just want to go home." she complained softly, knowing full well that they couldn't.

"It's been a week, Lexie, can't we find somewhere safe?" They couldn't. They'd never be able too. Her sister protected her, even though they protected each other just as much. Ana felt like her sister shielded her from some of the darkness of their life- but they'd never been innocent, not really. Not according to their step-father, anyways.

Subconsciously, Alex touched the scar on her chest. That was from their dear step-father. Their father had been a great man- but their step-father had had him killed in the same attacks that gave Alex her scar.

Looking at her sister sadly, she said, "We can't, and you know why. It never ends well. That…" she paused, knowing she'd make it worse if she called him what she wanted to, a monster. "That man makes sure of it." She muttered. She kept walking.

With that, Ana felt more miserable, even though she'd known what her sister was going to say. "Do you think there are… others like us?" They were more mature than should be possible, and they had barely turned seven.

"Mo…." She cut herself off. "She protects from him, right?"

"I don't know or care if there are others like us. And even if she does, that didn't help dad." Alexandria said bitterly.

She kept an eye out for any sudden movements or anything that even resembled a monster.

It saddened Ana that her sister sounded so bitter, though they both had reason to be so angry at the Gods. Their father had been a great man. "We survived, though, right? We are going to survive this, right, Lexie?"

Looking at her sister, Alex's eyes softened. "Of course we are. We have each other. We can protect each other and ourselves. And that's what matters." She said.

She pulled her sister into a hug. "It'll be OK, Ana. It will. I know it." She said softly.

Ana hugged her sister back, really wishing they weren't the children of who they were. Even going to a zoo was a nightmare. It seemed crazy, hearing the peacocks speak to then as if it were normal. Hence why they tried their best to avoid zoos. Wouldn't want others to think they were crazy.

They only know who's God-Spawn they were because their father had thought they'd be much safer if they knew.

Both sisters stiffened when they heard a noise. They both hated confrontation, even with things that were literally out to kill them. Though Alex seemed to be more accepting of the idea of fighting when need be. Ana only wished that they could talk things out instead.

"They're just kids," came the voice of a female.

Alexandria glared and pulled out of the hug quickly, took Ana's hand quickly, and spun around to face the voice, keeping herself between the voice and her sister.

"Whoa, kid, we aren't going to hurt you or your sister."

Ana wanted to trust that whoever they where, they were human- just like them. Obviously they couldn't be God-Spawn, because they had to be the only ones? There couldn't be any others.

Alexandria's glare deepened. "And why should we believe you?" She snapped angrily.

"If we wanted to hurt you, we would have already," a male voice stated, slightly more tense than the female voice.

Alex was still on guard. She had to be, they have been tricked before. "Show yourselves." She demanded.

She couldn't stop her voice from shaking, no matter how much she tried. She was scared, though she didn't show it. She couldn't do that to her sister, she couldn't show fear. She had to be brave, for the both of them. It was so hard though, hiding her fear every day. Her emotions were starting to make her exhausted, and the monsters had started to realize that.

Her sister was nervous. What if it was another monster? Or more than one in this case, maybe. Unless it had multiple heads. Would each head sound different like this? She wanted to trust them, she really did. She wanted another person to trust. It seemed like such a rare occurrence.

Footsteps approached, and both sisters watched with caution as a boy and girl walked up. They looked ordinary, as far as either twin could tell. If anything, they were a bit cautious as well.

The others looked to each other, as if a silent discussion was being made between the two of them. After a moment, the girl first faced them. "My name is Thalia. And this is my friend, Luke." She said as she gestured to the boy as he turned his own head to face them as well.

At last, people who seemed willing to talk to them. Ana almost jumped at the opportunity. "I am Anastasia. This is my twin, Alexandria." She said quickly, before feeling a bump in her side from her sister. Looking over with a questioning look, she was met with a raised eyebrow and doubt from her sister.

They should be able to try and trust someone, and Ana was worried for her sister and the lack of trust that was so obvious with her. Both had once been so trusting, and it hurt to see such change in her sister since the loss of their father. She understood, but it hurt nonetheless.

Her twin gave the others a cautious look once more. It felt like forever before anyone made another attempt at conversation. Finally the silence was broken by Luke. "We should get out of the alley, before any… unwanted visitors stop by." He muttered, mainly towards Thalia.

Before either twin could comment, there was a clap of thunder in the distance. "That sounds like a really good idea." Alex said suddenly. Though both Thalia and Luke were surprised by the sudden agreement from the twin who seemed more stubborn, they knew that now was not the time to question it.

With that, the four children fled together to what would soon be their shelter for the night. It was a long night, with both halves of the group not quick to trust. The night led to a week. The week led to more, and trust followed the time that the four had together. Monsters came and were defeated, quests were taken, and soon a supposedly an unbreakable bond was forged.

For once in what felt like forever, time seemed to fly by. Though some days were longer and tougher than others, they were a family. It seemed to be them against the world. Three years pass by before the unexpected happen. Another member of their little family joins the group.

It wasn't what any of them had imagined, but hadn't that been true when the twins had joined the group? The girl was named Annabeth Chase, a child with a fire in her soul, and fight in her heart. Though Anastasia was more concerned by such a fighter's attitude, her sister seemed to be more comfortable around her. Luke gave the girl a knife, with a promise that they would become a better family than her old one.

Even with the rocky start to their relationship, each of them bonded with her in their own time. It soon became clear that Luke had more of a fatherly figure in the group. On instinct, Anastasia had more of a motherly presence in the group. It had been a while before the twins had confessed their heritage to Luke and Thalia, but it had been a couple of years since they had.

After a couple of months of more monsters and adventure, the group came across a satyr named Grover. He came with news of a camp, one for people like them. Deciding to trust him, they go with him.

Some wrong turns later, and all besides Annabeth are captured by a Cyclops. With luck and skill, Annabeth saves them. But victory does not last. The monsters chasing them have caught up to them due to the delay. It was obvious that they would not be able to outrun them. As they approached the camp, Thalia insists that they go ahead.

As the crossed the border into camp, Anastasia looked back to see Thalia take her last breath, and watched as the girl that she had called a sister turned into a tree right before her eyes. It felt as though the world was spinning, crumbling even. Crying out with rage and heartbreak, it was almost as if the world was crumbling. The sky seemed to darken.

But it was no imagination of the upset girl, the others could see it to. Alex seemed to realize it first, as she rushed over to her twin and tried her best to get her attention. The earth continued to crack and crumble underneath their feet. Finally, the grief stricken Ana looked to her sister. Eyes softening, the earth calmed and the sky returned to normal as she collapsed into Alex's arms, sobbing.

It was a heartbreaking and terrible situation for their whole little family, including the satyr that had been their guide. Each grieved in their own way, but none of them would forget this tragedy. As they cried, the symbol of their mother appeared above the crying twins, much to the shock of all but Luke and Annabeth. The symbol of Hera, Queen of Olympus.