A/N: Thanks for choosing to read the Eight Halfbloods Series! I implore you not to seek out how long I take to update - you might waste your time -but I DO honestly try to do so as soon as possible. :) Enjoy!

The Eight Halfbloods and the Maiden's Daughter

by: 'The Sun and Moon'

Greed Saves

Last day of the school year on a year that nothing totally weird has ever happened could just be the best day for best friends Allysa and Charmagne. Before they met, every year would have at least one horrible experience: being chased by an overfed lion, going to the beach and accidentally make a mini-tsunami, or waking up from a weekend camp-out to find a seven-foot dog right in front of your tent. Allysa sighed deeply, she was more than delighted about the whole year.

Arriving early like she did the past ten months, Allysa sat on her place right beside her friend's place beside the air-conditioner in their classroom. Summer certainly was catching up on them and it was getting very hot. Not that she was complaining, though. The sun gave her a very nice tan – but she didn't exactly need it owing to the fact that her color was far more impeccable than a tan.

"Hmm… Staring out the window again while waiting for dearest Charmagne to arrive?"

Allysa rolled her eyes. She knew that voice: It was Mammon Egos.

"Mon, you passed my year with flying colors," she began, glaring up at the thirteen year old boy bending over her, "Why do you keep on insisting on coming back to these rooms?"

Mon grinned his lopsided grin, "Well, aren't you glad I actually do?" he asked the Allysa.

No regrets there, Allysa thought, "But Mon, I also know you're hiding from your fan girls out there," Allysa pointed out.

Mon's eye twitched. Allysa knew she hit the bull's eye: Mon, whose looks aren't exactly anything too special, had this charm that made some of the upperclassmen swoon over him. He was the right height, but around just as tall as Allysa, with short black hair and dark brown eyes. Most people would immediately say he's intimidating and scary but Allysa knew that he was really soft hearted, and often teased him about being so.

"Moving on," Mon pressed, ignoring Allysa's previous statement, "I actually came here to warn you about something…"

Allysa was intrigued. So, she looked at Mon making sure that he knew she was all-ears.

"Something really bad might happen to you today," he said in a low voice as students behind them began filing in, whispering to each other, "Be careful with what you'd do or what you'd say. If you think things are really going bad, just call me. Seriously, I'd be there," he ended with a softer smile than his usual lopsided grin.

Just as Allysa was about to say something, Charmagne dropped her stuff on the seat in front of the air-conditioner, "Good morning …" she muttered. She quietly sat down.

It' must be the morning, Allysa thought to herself. Indeed. She had already found out that Charmagne was always quieter in the morning.

Allysa turned back to Mon, "You were saying?"

But Mon just grinned and waved good-bye. Allysa rolled her eyes: Seriously! She thought, Fourteen year-olds…

But she had relied on Mon a lot this year, her subconscious mind told her. And it was true. Mammon had been there when a strange, overgrown bull attacked her at the rodeo their class went to the previous fall. He had used a three-foot long stick, although she thought she saw it as an iron sword, to hit it on its back before it fell on the sandy ground. He was also there for Charmagne when she was about to get hit by a large comet – which somehow swerved into another direction and didn't land in the school grounds. After that incident, Mammon had been a school-wide hero.

"Hey, stand up!" Charmagne said, poking her in the ribs.

Yelping, Allysa got up from her chair, earning the stares of her classmates. She saw that her teacher had just arrived and was looking at her inquisitively. She bowed an apology, then turned to Charmagne and narrowed her eyes. Her friend had gathered energy, it seemed, and was grinning widely at her. She heaved an exasperated sigh and sat back down when her teacher told them too.

Allysa's mind began racing: this was what happened to her usually during class. She had to keep her pen down, doodling, writing poetry or copying the notes her teachers wrote on the board so as not to be bored. Charmagne had the same problem, but Charmagne chose to doodle only and listen carefully. One of them had to learn the lessons in some way.

Then, she felt someone's gaze on her back. She turned to her right and found that somewhere behind her, her half-German classmate, Joshua von Christ was staring at her, mildly amused.

Her heart missed a beat: she's had a crush on the boy from the time he was introduced to their class in back in the second week of November. His short blond hair clearly caught her attention and his emerald green eyes made her feel like she was staring into the sea.

"Miss Elios, will you please expand this equation?"

Allysa woke up from her stance. She stared hard at the equation.

From beside her, Charmagne cleared her throat and read from her notebook: "It's "Quantity x minus four, squared,"'

"X squared minus eight x plus sixteen," Allysa said. The teacher blinked twice at her.

"Excellent – although you had to have someone read it out for you," her teacher muttered half the sentence under her breath. Allysa and Charmagne paid no heed to it.

Allysa turned to Charmagne, "Thanks,"

"Sure," her best friend replied, "S'okay,"

And after two hours of math, Algebra and Statistics, Allysa and Charmagne headed out of their class for recess. After eating a light snack, they each went to separate classes: Allysa to music class, which Charmagne will take after she did, and Charmagne to World History, which Allysa would take together with Mammon's year afterwards.

In music class, Charmagne was together with Allysa's little crush. He would steal glances at her but she merely shook him off, her long, curly, black hair bouncing off her shoulders. Afterwards, he would shake his head and sigh miserably. Although, she knew that he would steal glances again sometime later, sometimes at her best friend as well.

Hmm. I better tell 'Lysa this, she mentally told herself.

Meanwhile, in World History, Allysa was with Mammon, he sent her a note with a small bottle of what it seemed like ointment.

In case your head begins to hurt again.

Allysa smiled, How thoughtful of him to remember that I've had nightmares when I accidentally fall asleep in class, she said to herself.

She placed the small bottle of ointment in her pocket then stuffed the note somewhere inside her bag. As she did, she felt like she was going to take the ointment out again, and she'd use it on her arm. She subconsciously looked at her arm and saw that nothing was there. She sighed. She was thinking too much again.

Lunch that day was very much anticipated by the duo. It would be their final lunch at that particular school for that year. As most of their lunches went, they began talking about anything but academics. As she was intrigued by Mammon's little gift, Allysa told her best friend about it:

"And he gave me this ointment thing for when I have horrible migraine whenever I have those weird déjà vu dreams during class hours," Allysa began as she sat down on their usual table, Charmagne sitting beside her.

"Does it work?" asked her friend. Allysa shrugged.

"I haven't tried it yet," replied Allysa, "But it sure smelled great… Like some exotic flower…"

"Oh yea?" Charmagne asked, taking a spoonful pudding.

Allysa nodded, drinking from her soda can, "Like those on men's perfumes," she mused but Charmagne scrunched up her nose, "Which you don't like very much, I believe…"

Charmagne stared at her in disbelief, "Seriously," she started

The brunette giggled again. But then, she felt a gaze on her back again. This time, she and Charmagne both looked back and found Joshua staring at them both.

"Is that…" Allysa's sighed dreamily, "Joshua?"

They turned back to their lunches, "Yep," the black-haired girl replied shortly, "And by the way, I've been feeling his gaze on us too many times before…"

Allysa smiled with a faint blush on her cheeks but Charmagne chose to ignore it, "He's weird, 'Lysa," she warned her friend.

But the brunette's infatuation carried on, "Nah, he's nobility," Allysa said to Charmagne to the boy's defense, "I mean, his name's "von" Christ…"

Charmagne rolled her eyes, though Allysa had expected it: Charmagne wasn't really into that kind of talk. The dark-haired girl was about to stand from her seat to throw her garbage when Allysa stopped her.

"Wait."

And just then, someone behind them slipped on spilled juice on the floor and his food fell a few feet from where Charmagne was heading. She grinned at Allysa

"Thanks,"

However, before she stood up again, Mon sat on the chair right in front of them.

"Hey you two!" he exclaimed, "Watcha talking about?"

Charmagne answered him, "Something about names," before she stood up to throw her trash.

"Joshua's name," Allysa added, swooning.

"Names?" mused the fourteen-year old. Allysa nodded.

"You know, my name 'Mammon', it means 'greed'…" he said to her. Allysa cocked an eyebrow.

"But… You don't look like that type of person…"

Mon laughed at her, "I'll take that as a complement," he said.

Just as Charmagne got back, the end-of-lunch bell rang. Although Charmagne kept on saying "It's not yet bell,", Allysa walked back with her, with Mon going back to his friends.

Just as they were retrieving their things for their General Science class, someone slammed the door of Allysa's locker just after she had finished.

"Can we talk later?"

The suave, accented voice could not be anybody else.

"What?" Allysa couldn't hide her glee but she talked calmly, attempting to avoid the temptation of Joshua's beautiful green eyes.

"After we're dismissed," he began again slowly, "Can we please talk? Maybe at the music room?" he paused and side-glanced at Charmagne, "You know… Alone?"

Charmagne rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. Allysa, on the other hand, was more than ecstatic.

"O-of course!"

X.o.X.o.X

Charmagne began following Allysa inconspicuously.

Of course, she knew that her foreigner classmate wouldn't do anything to Allysa, but since Mon had been the one to warn her right before classes began after lunch, she became cautious:

"As much as possible, you and Allysa should stay together this afternoon…"

Hmm… she thought to herself. She traced Allysa's footsteps towards the music room. The halls began growing quiet for everyone wanted to enjoy their last day. The Music Room was very near the Ninth-grader territory but it seemed that most of them had left, most of the lights were even turned off because nobody was using them. About a block away, she heard a faraway door close. That, she figured was the Music Room.

For a while, all Charmagne heard was silence. Then, there was a deafening scream.

"HELP!"

And when Charmagne got to the end of the hall, she found out why: Allysa was on the floor, slowly moving backwards, with something that looked like an anorexic human with batwings flying softly above her.

Charmagne gasped. Whatever it was, it had Joshua's clothes; it was Joshua.

Allysa slowly looked back when she heard footsteps. Her eyes widened when she saw Charmagne.

"Charmagne… RUN!"

And she quickly got on her feet and dashed after her best friend who ran a few paces ahead of her. Behind them, whatever it was that Joshua had turned into, sniggered like madman.

"What is that?" Allysa demanded as they ran down a staircase to the first floor.

Charmagne began panting, "You were-pant- meeting him! Don't you-pant- know?"

They turned at a corner but then found that it was blocked by an already closed canteen door.

"Damn."

Then, they heard the snickering come closer. The flying thing had followed them right into a dead end. It cackled loudly before smacking its lips in the darkness.

"Wait… What do we do?" Allysa began to pull on Charmagne's arm.

"I don't know, this looks bad!" replied the dark-haired girl.

Then, Allysa remembered Mammon's words:

If you think things are really going bad, just call me…

Without thinking, Allysa just screamed, "HELP, MON!"

The flying thing cackled again.

"Nobody's coming for you!" it screeched.

Charmagne and Allysa exchanged nervous glances.

"Die, godlings!"

Charmagne and Allysa were about to squint their eyes when, as it was about to swoop over them, a three-foot iron sword pierced right through its heart and it disintegrated into ashes. And when Allysa looked carefully, from the shadows, emerged a greatly distressed Mammon Egos.

"C'mon guys, there's not much time…"

XoXoXoXoX

© empurple