Based on the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series…
I present…
The Camp of the Gods
Nobody can help it if they're born a son of two major gods. Most kids would say "Hey! That's pretty awesome!" Others would say, being a god sounds like a really boring job. They just prance around Mount Olympus all day with flower wreaths and all that stuff. Neither is even true for me. My life is a LOT more tortuous than that. Especially considering that I'm the product of a god of the Underworld and the dead and the goddess of spring and flowers. Having satyrs prance past you and taunt you with that insult doesn't make it any better for me. I mean seriously. What am I supposed to be, the minor god of skeleton warriors and dandelions?
I've complained about this my entire godly life, but my parents just stare at me like I'm some type of ungrateful loon. Persephone just says "Its fine honey, you'll get some nice mighty power someday. Right?" She clenches her teeth at Hades and glares at him with those flashing eyes of hers. Hades just stares forward with his black- no, I correct that- empty colored eyes. I know, the color sounds pretty horrid, but he is my dad, so I'm not going to be mean about him. I'm telling the truth when I say they're the color of emptiness. Luckily I got my mom's side of traits. Hades usually summons Megaera when this happens and makes her look me in the eye and say "You will be great someday." Megaera's yellow, Fury eyes are just disturbing, and I notice they always say "someday", so I don't really bother complaining anymore. You see, I don't even know what my power is. I guess someone came up with this rule where you don't truly learn or master your power until you're 12. Because, hey, gods are immortal, so what's the rush to give them their power? Olympus has tried this out before, and it did not go well. Imagine having these little babies toddling around conjuring up hail instead of just going in their diapers. But I bet you don't even know the tantalization the "not knowing" forces on you, because you're probably just a normal kid, somewhere out there reading this story and laughing at me or pitying my misfortune. Because even if you were a half- blood, you would still be better off than I am.
Chapter 1: I ditch my undead matador bodyguard
"Senor Skotinaphos! Please wait!" A heavily accented Latin voice called out desperately. "Your father will be an angry bull if I do not make sure you are always safe. You are my charge and I-" I stop sprinting and turn around and roll my eyes impatiently, and I couldn't help but feel even more tormented as I watched the Spanish matador prance toward me awkwardly. His ungraceful, bony silhouette was framed by a gloomy fields and the pitch black cavern roof that towers high over our heads. Cortés panted as he slowed before me. He wiped his heavily tasseled and ornamented cream matador outfit sleeve on his forehead, and then readjusted his black hat while shaking his head.
"What?" I said innocently. Cortés was quiet for a moment, and continued to polish his 2- piece outfit. He was a regular – looking matador, but he would've scared a bull off with his creepy skeleton face and literally bony hands.
"Senor Skotinaphos, you should know better than to torture me like this! You run faster than El Cohete, the Rocket, my oldest enemy. I can never catch you. But I could overtake him!" Cortés beamed (if a skeleton could even smile) proudly.
I sighed again at my incredibly annoying and self- confident bodyguard.
"You know he's the reason you even came here, right? If my dad hadn't even decided to make you my personal bodyguard, you would probably be sentenced to Tantalus's quadrant of the Underworld. And I told you not to call me Skotinaphos! It sounds so un-Greek or god-like. Call me Scott! You know I hate the name Skotinaphos. Don't even understand it. I mean seriously? Dark light? Could you get any more original?" I could tell Cortés was about to say something, but suddenly something large and powerful swooped over our heads.
"Cawww!" it screeched in a shrieking scream. A creature that resembled a leathery woman with sharp fangs hovered close to the ground. It was clad in a short black robe and black combat boots, batty wings emerging from the back of her robe. I grunted at it and nodded it forward calmly as Cortés cowered behind me. I grasped his satiny suit firmly and brought him forward.
"Dude? You're dead. The Fury-"Cortés suddenly gasped with fright. "The FURY can't hurt you." I could hear the Fury hiss behind me and chuckle at Cortés's startled reaction. Cortés began clattering and trembling like crazy, like he always does when he's summoned before my father. I held up my hand commandingly and the Fury went silent. I guess there are some perks to being son of the god of the Underworld.
"But-but master, the Erinny- er Kindly One could torture me until I wish to die all over again." Cortés whimpered and stared at the flattened black grass, avoiding the smirking stare of the levitating Fury. I guess you had to feel bad for the guy. It was pretty tough being stuck in the Underworld and having some type of Fury-phobia. The Fury, who I was pretty sure was Alecto, screamed impatiently.
"Let us rush to greet the king and his queen of the Underworld!" Alecto cried. I rolled my eyes in my head at the un-needed formality of the Fury, but I followed her through the blackened plains to the dark castle.
Bones and dark, billowing matter shivered around our feet as we walked through the seemingly endless expanse. I could hear the sloshing sound of Charon rowing his dark barge in the distance, and grinned as I imagined him staring distastefully at the muddy Styx waters, wishing he had an Italian label poncho. My parents' castle loomed like death, sharp turrets growing like stalagmites, sending out a beam that chilled you "to the marrow", as some of the deceased said. To me, it was just plain home. The strict gate and door guards let us in glumly and escorted us until we reached the cavernous throne room.
"Oh honey, you're back!" Persephone rushed down gracefully from her new skull throne and hugged me. She looked delighted that she had a chance to step off her ghastly throne, which was at the moment a replacement for her dark flower seat. Her bright yellow chiton swished as she ran on the black marble, her clacking and swishing the only sound in the room for a few awkward seconds. Over her shoulder I saw Hades stare at me blankly, then crack a slight smile and wave his hand weakly. He seemed more tired than usual, probably meaning some complaining dead person had visited him or he had a fight with mom. I smiled back at him and hoped he was okay. Persephone probably thought the grin was for her, so she fondly ruffled my black hair and stared into my grassy eyes. "Oh, you're growing up as fast as a fresh peony!" I held in a groan as mom continued to compare me with flowers.
"Alecto, what is the matter? I never summoned you over here." Persephone suddenly scurried back to her throne and settled onto it uncomfortably. I realized I had never asked the Fury about why she needed to visit my dad. Alecto bowed and finally touched her boot-clad feet to the ground.
"Your Majesty, I am just here to see if you need any orders." Dad frowned.
"Is business here really that slow now?" Alecto nodded cautiously. Hades sighed and let his head rest in his hand. It was pretty weird, because dad didn't like having more groaning people around. I was guessing he probably just wanted a distraction from my mom's own complaining.
"You are dismissed." Alecto opened her mouth (which I have to admit, really stank), but closed it again (for which I was grateful). She spread her leathery, grey wings and flapped steadily towards the cavern roof high above, into the never-ending gloom.
"Well, glad that's over", mom said crisply. She looked like she was going to come off her throne again, but stopped. Dad frowned at her, and then continued to stare forward with that same empty expression.
"Why don't you escort Scott over to Upper Soil, Cortés?" I had to admit; sometimes my dad was pretty laidback about these things. Ever since a guy named Percy Jackson appeared and vanquished Kronos, in a way, he was becoming less worried about the people on the surface.
"Dad, Cortés can't go up to the surface! He'll be noticed!" I had never been taken on an expedition to the surface with Cortés or any other skeletal guard before, so I didn't know exactly how it worked. Hades smiled at me like I was some naïve little kid.
"The Mist will protect him, Scott. Remember the Mist?" I still didn't understand how a skeleton matador could look in the least normal, even with the mist and real flesh. Cortés and I began to step out, when suddenly Persephone and Hades launched into an all-out fight. I couldn't see them, but I could very faintly hear them
"I hate being down here! Why won't you let me go?"
"You've been down here for nearly all eternity, and NOW you go off complaining!"
"It's all because of you and your stupid fruit and selfishness! The least you can do is let Scott live on the surface and let him have the life I never HAD!" Persephone was screaming hoarsely, and I could hear tears choking her throat.
"I am not selfish. My brothers get all of the stronger posts, and then they go off and mock me and leave me to rot with these miserable people! I find it the opposite of selfish that I would need a living companion!" Dad was seriously letting out some emotion, but I had no idea about who to side with. Strong emotion was literally hitting me smack in the face too. I suddenly heard pattering, which I guessed was my mom stomping angrily away to her chamber. But instead of going away from me, towards our chambers, it seemed to be coming toward me. I suddenly hid behind a pillar outside and whispered "What is she doing?"
"I do not know," a voice replied. I nearly yelped in fright right then and there, but I suddenly realized I had forgotten about Cortés.
"Quiet, alright? I've got to see what's going on!" With all this whispering, I hadn't noticed how close my mom's footsteps got. I heard her talking softly to one of the guards in the corner. I peeked around the door and saw that the other person was…peeling off their face? I didn't even know that was possible for skeletons! But when they finished peeling the face off, I realized something even more horrid. This person was alive. Pink, rosy cheeks blossomed on a young woman's peach face. Her pink lips spoke softly as she glanced nervously from side to side, her blue eyes swaying around her elegant nose. But then, when I looked even closer, I wasn't even sure exactly what color her hair or eyes were. All I knew was that she was gorgeous. Her beauty was so confusing and entrancing my head started getting muddled and I felt dizzy and light and giddy all at the same time. I tried to listen hard, but I could only grab a few words.
"Out…Hades…Scott…" I tensed when I heard my name, but this woman was making me curious, so I stayed and listened a little longer.
"Zeus…Demeter…offers…update you…," from the other woman.
"Thank you Rodi. Check with you tomorrow!" Oddly, the last part my mom said was loud and clear. But what type of name was Rodi? But I didn't have time to think about the name, because Rodi suddenly started putting the mask back on and walking out of the doors toward me. I wanted so badly to see her up close, but somehow I knew this woman was really powerful, and I didn't want to get in her way. I fought back this odd feeling of giddiness and began to prepare to run.
"Master Scott, we must go!" Cortés hissed. I smiled and was about to thank Cortés for using my correct name, but what he said next really startled me. "Miss Aphrodite is coming towards us! And I believe she is helping your mother with a scheme to break your mother out of the Underworld, so it would be doubly dangerous to have her know we heard them! We must get you to the surface!" I felt embarrassed that a guy who had only started learning English when he entered the Underworld figured out the Rodi and Persephone scheme before me, but I listened to him. Before Aphrodite emerged through the open doors to find we were hiding behind them, I turned and sprinted, leaving my bodyguard standing there, his skeletal jaw hanging lower than usual.