Ok so the first chapter, I don't know when I'll update next cuz I honestly wanna know what you guys think so review! Anyway I'm just gonna flat out tell you guys the goddess' name is Coralia, but she Lea, and to make that more clear it's Le-ah, yaaa. Ok well R&R! pwetty pwease!
Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own the greek gods or any of the PJO characters that might show up in later chapters but I do own Coralia
"C'mon Lea, I lost the other deck I'm sorry" Artemis pleaded. I sighed and rested my chin on my arm.
"I'm just tired of all the facts about Andromeda, and Cassiopeia and Callisto, on the back of every card" I shrugged ignoring Apollo who snorted.
"Did you just speak of a unfaithful huntress?" Artemis demanded.
"Artemis" I pleaded. She crossed her arms and sat back grumbling.
"These cards are way better than my 'Random Sun Facts' deck from D, speaking of D, where's the old drunk anyway?" Apollo murmured uneasily. I shrugged.
"You're the god of prophecies, I dunno, prophesize" I said twirling my fingers above our heads. Apollo rolled his eyes. Artemis had a smug smile on her face.
"Finally, someone who understands what it's like to have another god as your brother" Artemis sighed in relief.
"Don't even mention Triton, ugh I wanted to permanently turn him into zoo plankton, but dad wouldn't let me. He said there was a possibility krill would eat him and a whale would eat the krill but whatever" I shook out my jagged black hair.
"Really what did he do this time?" Artemis leaned forward anxiously. Apollo jammed his headphones in his ears. I rolled my sea green eyes.
"Ugh cheated sea horse racing again, sprinkles isn't even that fast" I groaned.
"Remind me again why you named that sea horse sprinkles?" Apollo smirked. I growled at him.
"Shut up, I was like five" I said glaring at him. The heavy garden fence door slammed shut and finally Dionysus walked into his secret garden. We all sighed in relief
"We were starting to think the host wouldn't make it to his own pinochle party" Apollo snickered pulled his headphones out of his ears and stuffing them in his pocket.
"Eh, took me forever to get out of that blasted camp" he said taking a seat and tossing his goblet full of water at me. I caught it with my right hand.
"Thank you" I inclined my head to the wine god.
"Technically you didn't leave camp we're just in a enchanted garden that only gods can see, and wow that sounded gay" Apollo shivered. I rolled my eyes while Artemis nodded vigorously. Dionysus rolled his eyes which were now covered by my large, white sunglasses he stole from my head, then he dealt the cards and we began to play. There was an awkward silence for a little bit.
"Remind me again why you have pinochle games every month, but you never invite that bloody centaur" I said randomly.
"Coralia, explain to me why you have those random moments when you talk like you're British?" Apollo asked.
"I dunno, I guess I get it from my mum" I shrugged.
"But that was almost three thousand years ago" Dionysus scoffed. "And when is your three-thousandth birthday again?"
"Ugh don't remind me of my blasted birthday" I frowned. Artemis sighed.
"Didn't you live in England for a century or two?" She asked. I nodded.
"I believe I win" Dionysus said setting down his cards. We rolled our eyes.
"I believe I win" Artemis smiled. Dionysus groaned.
"I don't get it D, you always lose but you refuse to quit playing" I sighed.
"Eh, it gives me something to do" he shrugged.
"Amen to that" Apollo agreed. I shrugged but nodded and Artemis just rolled her eyes. I looked over at her. Although she appeared as a sixteen-year-old, like me, she still flickered back and forth between twelve and sixteen.
"Artemis why do you like being twelve" I asked grabbing my goblet and sipping the water. Dionysus sighed and grabbed his empty diet coke and threw it in his small messenger bag for the satyrs.
She shrugged. "It's the age of most of my hunters, and I love the faces of demigods when the find out I'm a goddess" she smirked. I rolled my eyes.
"You're such a kid" I laughed. She nodded.
"It's fun being an adolescent, no worries, no bills" she shrugged.
"Since when do we have bills" I joked nudging her shoulder.
"I don't know" she sighed "It just sounded good in my head"
I laughed "True, it did sound good"
Dionysus sighed "Shall we toast"
"We shall" Apollo said raising his goblet. The rest of us copied.
"To…?" I started.
"To the gods, and half-bloods for defeating Kronos and his evil army?" Artemis suggested. Clink. The sound of our goblets echoed off the small, plant and vine filled, steel room.
"And to Coralia's two-thousand eight-hundredth and forty-second birthday" Apollo said earning a glare from me.
"Ha ha, that's right" Dionysus said laughing.
"To Coralia, goddess of sea plants and animals, daughter of Poseidon" Artemis smiled. I sighed but touched goblets with the rest of them.
"So why do you go by Lea again?" Dionysus asked.
"I just want a simple name, plus Coralia means 'Coral' and I don't like being called one of my plants" I shrugged.
"Ha Coral" Apollo snorted. I slapped him in the back of head and he glared at me. I sighed as a Iris mess popped up in front of me.
"Hello Chiron" Dionysus sighed.
"Mr. D, the campers will be waking up soon and I'm sure they'll see you walking from the forest" the centaur said.
"I'll be right there" Dionysus sighed. Dionysus snapped and disappeared in a flash of light, leaving the smell of freshly pressed grapes. Artemis stood and became a twelve-year-old.
"I should go meet up with my hunters. Goodbye Lea, Apollo" she smiled before swiftly walking through the iron gate and sprinting towards…where ever the hunters were camped.
"What to do" Apollo said sighing.
"Wanna scare the crap out of random sailors?" I offered. He laughed and pulled out his car keys.
"You bet" we jumped up and ran to his red Maserati. I sat in shotgun as he 'pulled out' of the empty patch near the little garden. I pulled my legs up on the seat and sat criss-cross. I was wearing black denim shorts with a purple tank top, my black converse and my white sunglasses. Apollo was wearing jeans, flips flops, and a stripped button up shirt.
"I don't understand how you can wear jeans when it's so hot out"
"I am pretty hot huh?" he smirked. I smacked him in the back of the head.
"Your as bad as Aphrodite" I murmured. He sucked in a large breath. "Start a poem I swear I will glue your lips together"
"Oh bit me" he said turning towards the Atlantic.
"I think you know better than to say that" I smiled widely. He rubbed the spot on his shoulder where I bit him two years ago and nodded.
"Why did you bit me again?"
"You called me Kelp face"
"You are!"
"Does my face look like kelp to you?"
"No"
"Exactly!" I screamed. Apollo rolled his eyes.
"You're a seaweed brain too" he said smirking. I laughed.
"The original" I said. I pulled a piece of seaweed out of my ear. He shuddered.
"I hate it when you do that, it's weird" he shook his head.
"You're the one who called the goddess in charge of underwater vegetation a 'seaweed brain'" I said crossing my arms. I spotted a ship directly below us. Crawling to the trunk my clothes changed into my green and blue striped bikini, I made it to the trunk and stood. I jumped off the back of the car and dove into the ocean below. Then poked my head up and looked at the small boat. The two passengers, a man and woman, were looking all around for something. Probably me. I looked up at Apollo he was still hovering right above the boat. I sighed and sank below the waves again. I swam to the boat's propeller. I hated propellers. A countless number of my sea turtles and manatee's had been injured or killed by them. I grabbed one of the three propeller blades, making the boat stop. It had been slowly making progress towards the dock a mile away. The boat lurched to a stop throwing the man off in the process. Fits of laughter took me over for a few minutes. I left go of the propeller when the man, with the help of his partner, got back on the boat. Then I pushed it forward towards the direction of the dock. I laughed as the woman ran to start the engine and get as fast as she could, away from me. I floated in the water until Apollo dropped a ladder and let me climb back up to the car.
"Now that was funny" he smirked as I climbed over the trunk, to the passenger seat. I was back in my shorts and tank top, but I was now barefoot. My converse were on the floor near the seat. I looked at my bright green toe nails and frowned. I need to repaint them.
"Yea I gotta get back to the palace" I said throwing my shoes over the edge of the car. I stood again and was about to jump.
"Alright, you'll be at the beach a six right?"
I turned and looked at Apollo "Why?"
"For your birthday party of course" he smiled. I scowled at him, then dove into the ocean once again. I heard him laughing as I free fell into the water.
Nervous. I shook my shoulders out, in attempt to get relaxed. Stupid birthday. Stupid birthday party. I was in my room getting ready. I had a huge desk against the wall by my door. As big as it was, it was littered with designs for the palace after it was ruined. A few pencils sat here and there but at the moment there was a giant pile of makeup the naiads made for me. Makeup I could use underwater. I got up and quickly took a shower. My wet curls hung limply around my face. I was in my robe and now sitting back in my chair at my desk. The small double-sided mirror was sitting in the back corner. I slumped down and rested my head on my desk. Stupid party. I was running out of time to get ready. After an hour of just sitting there, it was five-thirty. Thirty minutes. Groaning I stood and turned on my curling iron. Strange how certain electric items worked underwater. I got up and opened my closet door. For a goddess my bedroom was really small. The biggest thing was my green canopy bed that was in the corner. At exactly six I was wearing a black skirt with ruffles, a purple tank top and my converse. My makeup was done- simple black eyeliner, purple eye shadow and pink lip gloss. I sat ready at my desk looking in the mirror.
"Hey sis, ya ready?" my brother asked barging into my room. He was wearing jeans, a plain brown t-shirt, and flip flops.
"That's what your wearing to my birthday party?" I asked. The look in his eyes said duh. I grabbed my small black clutch and stormed out of the room, Triton trailing behind me. Stupid older brother, I thought to myself. We walked through the corridors, the west one being ours and our eldest brother, Proteus. We reached the courtyard where a large chariot rested with to hippocampus swimming in circles around it.
"I have to share with you?" I complained. He nodded sharply and took the reins. I sadly slumped down and sat with my back against the inside of the chariot.
"That's not a good idea" Triton muttered.
"Like I care" I said hugging my legs closer to my chest. With the hippocampus secure and chariot ready to go, I decided to stand so I could at least look at stuff. We reached the surface with a big splash. I sucked in a sharp breath. Apollo was waiting on the beach with his golden chariot and Artemis with her silver one. When
reached the shallow water, I jumped off and waded in the water to them. Apollo hadn't changed his clothes much, his was wearing a plain white button down shirt and dress shoes but Artemis was sixteen again and wearing a strapless silver dress. I rushed over to her as Triton jumped out and walked over to Apollo.
"I love you earrings" Artemis gushed. I touched my medium sized hoops with to half-moons hanging in the middle. I smiled.
"Thanks, they were a gift from a certain goddess" I nudged her. We laughed. Artemis waved at Apollo, a sort of signal and we got on the chariot. Now I got she was gonna race Apollo. After barely three seconds Olympus came into view.
"This will be fun" I muttered distastefully. Artemis rolled her eyes.
"You know it will, c'mon birthdays aren't that bad" she shrugged. I snorted.
"I beg to differ" I said shaking my head. A few more seconds and we'd be there. I cursed. No escaping now. We landed on back side of Olympus, all the buildings shinning. I didn't recognize most of the buildings. I guess that was my fault I stayed in the palace underwater when that daughter of Athena was re-designing Olympus. Many of the gods had gathered, waiting for me, I guessed. Stupid birthday. Most of them were minor gods or even godlings. I recognized two of my close friends among them. I stepped off the chariot and ran to join Hecate and Persephone. Persephone was wearing her normal winter attire, her bright dress faded, now black and a somewhat sullen expression on her face. On the bright side my uncle had decided to come to my birthday party. Wonderful. I sighed happily in the arms of my friends.
"Don't worry Lea, it'll be fun" Hecate smile. Of course she was three colors. I mean not literally, but her clothes, her hair and her eyes. Her hair was divided into three bodies. The right side, the left and the center. The right was jet black, the center white, and the left was dark purple. Her outfit was made up of the same colors. White jeans, a short sleeve ripped up purple v-neck and leather knee high boots. Her eyes had a strange tint to them, like they were changing colors, one minute they appeared orange, the next blue and the third solid black. The cycle repeated itself, only pausing on each color for a few seconds. She blinked once and waved her hand in front of my face, three rings were on her middle finger. One was an 'X' to symbolize crossroads, the second was the gruesome face of a ghoul to symbolize ghosts, and the third a cauldron to symbolize magic or witchcraft. She titled her head sideways and said "What do I have something on my face, I thought blue eyeliner, black eye shadow and light purple lipstick would work, is it too much? Cuz I can change-"
I smiled "You look fine, you just seemed…different, older, I mean your makeup looks the same cuz you usually do that or look like a three headed demon, you just seem…older" I muttered wrinkling my nose. She sighed.
"I know, I was sixteen earlier today, but some stupid hostess wouldn't let me inside a restaurant because I wasn't attended or old enough to go into a restaurant with a bar" she rolled her colorful eyes. I laughed.
"Mortals" was all I said. Artemis joined us and the four of us started walking to the throne room behind the large group of godlings and gods that had started walking.
"Wow, Missy, you look good" Hecate said to Artemis who flushed tomato red.
"You don't look that bad yourself Cate" she smiled. Persephone sighed.
"Why did we come up with ridiculous nicknames again?" she asked smiling.
"When Lea decided she didn't wanna go by her proper name" Hecate smiled.
"I came up with Missy" Artemis smiled.
"And I came up with Cate" Hecate shrugged.
"And I called Stephanie, I know. Have you ever noticed our nicknames start with the ending of our real names?" she looked deep in thought. I laughed at her expression.
"Yup all the time" Hecate shrugged. We laughed. Finally after passing under the brand new arch of Zeus and Hera did I realize what they were going to put me through. I started backing up slowly but Artemis and Hecate caught.
"Darn you and your iron grips" I muttered distastefully. Artemis rolled her eyes while Hecate chuckled. Persephone open the big doors and exposed the throne room. The thrones were pushed back against the wall which they only did for big parties The were snack tables all around and a bunch of random godlings were there but other than that I knew everyone.
"Happy birthday Coralia" my father bellowed appearing next to us. Hecate and Artemis stepped back and let my father slip his arm around my shoulders, his face crinkling up into his classic smile. I sighed. Same old smiling father.
"Hello dad" I smiled. He sighed contently.
"How's your birthday so far?"
"So far? Pretty boring, do you think the party will help?" I smirked. His laughed echoed through the silent halls.
"Of course" he murmured. Then he stepped away from me and nodded to Zeus. The music started and I wasn't surprised to see the Graces and the Muses had already dragged Apollo to the center of the room were everyone was now dancing. I past the messy hair of a familiar wind god.
"Zephyrs, hi" I smiled at him. He blew a large gust of wind at me, making my curls fly. I sighed. "Thanks Z, thanks"
"If it isn't the little goddess of underwater plants" the familiar voice of my stubborn aunt rang from behind me.
"Demeter, hello" I smiled at her brightly. She nodded stiffly as if to return the fake welcome.
"I suppose I should wish you a happy birthday" she said apparently amused.
"Thanks" I muttered dryly. She rolled her eyes and stalked towards the Nectar fountain her wheat dress scraping the floor behind her. "Like it's my fault she doesn't have power of plants out of her reach" I huffed, crossing my arms and storming away to find Artemis.
"Lemme guess Demeter?" she asked as I sat down at one of the many tables. Artemis smirked and sat across from me.
My only response was "Stupid goddess of agriculture"
"Oh Lea, if you could only see yourself now" Artemis said rolling her eyes.
I shrugged "She started it" I said whining like a four-year-old. Hecate sat down next to me.
"Demeter's just bitter that you got the better plants" Hecate said patting my shoulder. I sighed.
"True" was all I said. Hecate smiled with satisfaction as Artemis rolled her eyes.
"Where's Iris?" Artemis asked as her brow furrowed.
"Here I am" Iris materialized next to us so quickly I jumped so high I fell out of my seat. When I sat back down I was glaring at her. She giggled her bubbly laugh. Iris was always at least appeared a fourteen-year-old. Her dirty blonde hair was up in a bun and her light blue eyes that matched the sky were bright. She wore a bright yellow dress similar to Artemis'.
"I'd really appreciate it if you didn't bend light to be invisible"
"It's a gift" she smiled "I'll use it when I can and when I want"
"'Course" I said shaking my head. "Next time down scare the crap out of me"
"No harm intended" she smiled sheepishly. I sighed. Everyone but me got up to dance. Dancing, not gonna happen. Stupid clumsiness. I was a goddess too! I sank lower in my chair. Stupid flaw.
Dry. My throat was burning. Two hours had passed since we had got here and I had barely moved. Many of the guests had come to wish me a happy birthday. Not that I wanted it. Stupid birthday. Thump, thump, thump. I was continuously banging my head on the plastic table. I hated birthdays, especially mine. Apollo sat next to me. His hand caught my head before it hit the table again. I looked up at him glaring. He smiled and held up to goblets with his eyebrows raised. My eyes widened.
"Thirsty?" he smirked passing a goblet to me. I took it gingerly and downed it before Apollo's even reached his lips. He looked at me and passed his full goblet to me. That one was gone before he set it on the table. He smiled at me, then at the empty goblets.
"Thirsty" he repeated. I nodded and looked over his shoulder. The muses and the graces had gathered together to glare at me. Probably for "Stealing" their boyfriend.
"I think Thalia's in love with you" I said to freak him out. His eyes widened and he blushed brighter than a tomato.
"Wh…why would you sa…say that?" he stuttered. I rolled my eyes.
"Isn't it obvious?" I questioned.
"She's one of my sisters hunters" he muttered to myself. I laughed. He looked at me, eyes bulging.
"Did you think I meant Thalia Grace daughter of Zeus, and Artemis' lieutenant?" I mocked. He glared at me.
"They're all daughters of Zeus!" he practically screamed. I rolled my eyes.
"I meant the muse…and the grace. You know what I never noticed, one Zeus has three daughters named Thalia, one a muse, one a grace, and one a half-blood and the half-bloods last name is Grace." I said biting my lip and sinking down into my chair again. Apollo looked like he was thinking hard, which he never usually did. He always had a sarcastic comment or a haiku ready to go, but now- for the first time- he looked speechless.
Finally he spoke, but it was nothing I would've expected. "Weird"
"Weird? That all your gonna say?" I titled my head to the side. He shrugged.
"I have nothing to say" he said with a smug look in his eyes. I gasped.
"Wow that's a first" I smiled. He rolled his eyes. A slow song started playing and he stood smiling. Dammit! Damn it all. How many people had I told? How many times? I did NOT want slow songs playing at my party. One I was a horrible dancer. Two How many of the gods still had a crush on me after almost three thousand years. And three I knew I was dead now. I knew it before Apollo grabbed my arm and pulled me to the dance floor. "Apollo NO!"
"Payback is sweet" he muttered pulling me right along the crowd towards the center. I struggled to break free of his grasp. Apollo was gonna make me dance with him. I was gonna make of fool of myself. And everyone I knew would be there to tease me about it. I said Artemis smirking in the corner near Hecate. I stared at her, begging for help. She shook her head. My plea for help turned into a deadly glare. We had reached the center, where Hestia sat peacefully by her fire as a nine-year-old.
"Happy birthday" she mused as I took a step away from Apollo. He frowned and offered his hand. I bit my lip and glanced nervously at his hand. The music had paused and now everyone was looking at us. I looked at the nine-year-old sitting criss-cross on the floor. I had butterflies in my stomach, but I felt like they were intentionally hitting me. My palms were sweaty, which meant I was nervous enough to sweat. I was an water goddess. The water was supposed to stay inside of me.
"Hestia…" my voice trailed off. I looked at her for advice. She glanced up at me.
"Just dance with him Lea" she smiled. I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat, but it was still there. The butterflies in my stomach flew faster than ever. I wiped my hands on my skirt and slowly took his hand. My friends smiled, while other gods started whispering. I look at them.
"Shut up" I hissed. A few laughed. Apollo rolled his eyes and pulled my closer. I bit my lip so hard it might bleed. I was probably the shortest goddess…ever. The top of my head barely reached his nose. I was as nervous as hell as his other hand slipped to my waist. He laid my other hand on his shoulder and the music started again. We slowly danced in circles. My eyes never moved off my feet. I could feel a few other couples come out and dance. Persephone and Hades, surprisingly Persephone looked happy. My dad and my dreadful step-mother. Zeus and Hera. Eos the goddess of dawn was there with her husband Astraeus. The most surprising couple was Aphrodite and Hephaestus. Everyone knew Aphrodite had a thing with Ares, that was old news, but what shocked me was Aphrodite had dragged Hephaestus to the middle of the floor, right by Apollo and I.
"So I'm guessing your gonna keep your eyes on your feet?" Apollo mocked. I looked up at him to see him smiling like a idiot.
"Yes" I stammered, looking down again. I felt his hand leave my waist and push my head back up. He smirked at me his eyebrows raised. I sighed as his hand retreated back to my waist.
"It's rude to not look at people" he smiled.
"It is when your at risk of doing this" I said purposely kicking his shin. He rolled his eyes.
"Did you think that would hurt me?" he asked. I swear his smile could never be so bright. Groaning I laid my head on his right shoulder.
"Your impossible" I muttered. He laughed.
"I know"
To be continued...