Evaris POV
I am Evaristos Anasilus, but loved ones may call me Evaris. My hair is six inches from the ground; a honey-brown in which my mother loved to twirl in her fingers, and my brothers to mess when telling stories to I. My eyes are a blue-green/blue-gray color (I do not know the official name). I suppose my eyes come from my father's, but it comes from both my parents. I am twelve years young, but have the mind of a young adult. It sounds conceded, but it is true…at least, that is what my brothers say.
My brothers are Caius Anasilus, the younger of the two; and Decimus Anasilus, the eldest of the two. Decimus has shoulder-length honey-brown hair as I, blue-green/blue-gray eyes like our parents, and is twenty-five with a lovely wife. He is tall and muscular, like all soldiers of my father are. His skin is tan, like our father. Caius has cropped blond hair with curls like no other, blue-green/blue-gray eyes as his parents and siblings, and is twenty-two with no wife or woman lover, but a male instead; he is gay. He is tall like Decimus, with slim muscles, like any scholars of my father. His skin is pale, like our mother and I.
I am speaking off memory because I have not seen my brothers, my mother, or my father in nine years, eleven months, one week, and three days. It is strange how I have stayed twelve years young after nine additional years (or ten), but that is what the Lotus Hotel and Casino does to you; it stops time as there are no clocks or windows. Strange enough, my physical appearance did not age, but my mind had, and now I can finally call myself wise.
The year I checked into the hotel was…let me think…2088 BC? Yes. That was it.
The hotel was located in the desert on the outer boarders of Greece. A very strange place to put a hotel, but I was only twelve, and I was curious. When I stepped inside, with the company of Caius and Decimus, my curious became extravagantly rich, and I wanted to explore the entire building and play every game I saw…
The rest is a blur, but I think I recall my two brothers urging me to play and play and play. They wore headband-like crowns, given to them by either mother or father, I think. They didn't seem interested in any game that was shown, nor did they eat a lotus pastry a young woman brought for them. I did, and I loved it…
That was the earliest memory I have of my life, but anything earlier, I cannot recall. I do remember my mother, my father, and my two brothers, but it is very faint and sometimes I get scared because I cannot reminisce their faces every now and then. So, after almost ten years of playing and playing and playing, I was checked out of the Lotus Hotel and Casino by a young man with cropped blond hair with curls like no other, blue-green/blue-gray eyes, and who seemed to be in his early twenties. He called himself Caius, but I did not know him, because I had been asleep for nine years, eleven months, one week, and three days.
I was asleep for 4,105 years.
Caius brought me out, paying the man at the counter with ten golden coins, and I woke from my deep sleep. Not in memory, but reality, and how it had changed after so many years.
The desert was gone. Buildings that towered maybe thirty or fifty stories high above. Dirt roads were made cement, with walking paths, metal poles, and metal carriages. People walked by, wearing the strangest clothing I had ever seen. They wore clothed shirts—some short sleeved, some long sleeved, and some with no sleeves. They wore the tightest leggings I have seen in my life (!), with footwear that I did not recognize because, well, they were not leathered sandals like everyone used to wear. The woman painted their faces now, and so did the men, but they were not on thetre, and nor were they gay (if that is rude to say, then my apologies).
Lights were all around, and that was fine because it was starting to get dark outside, but they were everywhere. They were the brightest colors; absumo, galbinus, croceus, and caeruleus. Apologies; let me translate: reds, greens, yellows, and blues.
Caius placed his warm hand on my shoulder, and I looked up at him. I still did not know him, but a nagging feeling said I knew him, but just did not recognize him. He directed me toward a metal carriage, with rubber wheels and a single wire sticking from the roof of the vehicle.
What an embarrassing conveyance.
He opened the door to the back, and encouraged me to climb in and buckle up. His voice was low, but soothing and kind.
He said, "It is time to go home, Evaris."
I did not know he knew my name, but that was alright because he seemed very nice and caring. I just nodded my head and climbed inside the vehicle. He "buckled" me in by pulling on a weaved-like belt with a metal something on the end, and he clicked that into something that was next to me. He instructed me not to press the red button (if that is what it is called), closed the door after I agreed, and walked to the other side.
Strange…
He opened the vehicle's door on the other side, near the front, and climbed inside. A steering wheel that was plastic? What ever happened to the wooden ones, where my father's horses pulled my grandmother's carriage? This time was strange and embarrassing to me. I did not understand anything.
The blond man pulled out a golden key—a simple palace key with ridges and jewels, and put it into a small slot behind and under the wheel. He turned the key forward, and I could hear a medium roar from up front, and it vibrated the entire vehicle. It was very odd being here, and I just wanted to unbuckle myself, open this blasphemy door, and head right back into the Lotus Hotel and Casino to play and play and play like I did for nine years, eleven months, one week, and three days. People did not look you in the eye when they walked by. And if they did, they gave you a cold stare and continued their way down the concrete walking path.
"—you, Evaris?"
My head was turned toward the tinted window. I looked at Caius, with his gentle smile, playful eyes, and equanimity, he looked like any other man I would have seen alone on dirt roads with his hand up and hollering for a carriage to stop. A hitchhiker of a sort. And I never knew I had turned away from reality for a moment—something I would do in the hotel.
I said, "I am sorry?"
His smile grew wider. It was like he could almost see right through me. "Quomodo es, Evaris?"
I smiled back when he spoke Latin, because I knew he wasn't like the rest. I knew I could trust him. "Melior deversorium."
Caius's eyes softened, and he turned around and pulled out of his parking space. He steered into a street lane, creating horn noises when a mystery vehicle drove in front of us, and continued on his way…
I do not remember most of our drive, but the scenery was astonishing as I watched patches of trees, bushes, and other plant life go by in a blur. Greens, browns, and blues blurred together the longer I stared, so I looked up to the sky. That was not boring and hazy. The sky was just there, and reminded me of the ocean, but when I thought of the ocean, I suddenly had a feeling of homesickness. I did not know why. I just felt sick and missed home.
The baby blue color of the sky never left, but I wondered why it was only blue and not green or purple. I guess that is a fool's question, but I have been asleep and need get out of my dead beat state. Everything seemed so quirky. I did not recognize anything—which scared me—and I did not like anything.
It did not take long to leave the states—that is what Caius had said fifty miles back. I had thought that since the Lotus Hotel and Casino was located on the outer boarders of Greece, that I would still be in my home country, but I was terribly wrong. The hotel was located in Los Angeles, Nevada. I have no memory of where that is, but I was very far from home, and going farther as Caius said that he was driving to Long Island, New York.
"It is the safest place for you, Evaris," he said, keeping his eyes on the road.
I had just noticed something—this curly-haired man has an accent of Europe. I know he is Roman, and he might even be Greek because of his tresses, but he has a simple accent! I thought that maybe I was the only one with an accent… Apologies; back to reality.
When he had said that it was the safest place for me, I guess I laughed because he looked at me in a small mirror that was above the dashboard (he had explained the simple things of a "car").
"Is protection a joke to you?" he asked, quite serious too. "You will be safe, remember, and be home. That is what you wish for, is it not?"
I stopped chuckling under my breath. "Of course," I said. "I wish to remember my early life, and to be home again."
Caius smiled kindly and stared at the road again. "Then you will enjoy where I am taking you."
We did not talk anymore after that, but he did play the radio. Strange devise, and it played terrible music, except for one song called Summertime Sadness by Lana De Rey. It was a very good song.
Percy POV
I sat in the sand dunes after eating lunch. It was finally summer break, but I've been at camp for about a week now. I truthfully missed camp, and it was great to be back. There are so many new kids here now, that I was selected as the new Sword and Shield director. All I had to do teach any newcomers who cherry-picked swords instead of daggers or bows, and just clarified the basics of offense and defense. I loved it.
All the new cabins were finished being built, and the Hermes kids loved all the new space they had.
As I was thinking about all of this, I heard footsteps running toward me. I sat up when they reached me; and I looked up to see Nico hunched over with his hands on his knees and breathing heavy, as if he just ran around the camp's boarders.
"Percy," he wheezed. "Hurry. Caius brought in a new camper, and he wants you there." He straightened himself, but continued to pant from his run down here.
A new camper? Well, that isn't unusual, but if Nico, a son of Hades, had to run all the way down to the beach just to tell me that where was a new demigod among us, then it had to be important. Especially if Caius was asking for someone to attend, because he's usually a real laidback person to hang around; even for a god.
You see, Caius is the Roman god of heroes and heroine. The reason why he's Roman is because he is the half-blooded son of Neptune, Roman god of the sea and counterpart of Poseidon, my father. Caius is also (in a way) my half-brother, and was made a god about four thousand years ago in Rome by Jupiter, the Roman king of the gods…
I know. This was all confusing when I first heard it from him last year, but it sinks into your head after a while and you just pretty much just go with the flow.
Anyway, I walked with Nico to the Big House because, well, the kid was out of breath. Nico explained to me that the new camper had an extremely strong aura when she (he had mentioned that it was a girl) entered Camp Half-Blood, and that everyone practically backed out of her way when they saw her.
"Do you think she's a child of the Big Three?" I asked.
Nico and I were twenty yards from the Big House now.
"She has to be." That was all he said.
Another cousin or possibly another sibling. This was all so exciting, but yet strange at the same time as I would never consider having another brother or sister since children of the Big Three are rare.
We walked up to the Big House as Chiron spoke with Caius quietly on the porch and Mr. D sat lazily in a chair, sipping his diet coke with discontentment. I followed the wine god's gaze, and found that he was staring at a girl I've never seen before. Annabeth and Rachel Elizabeth Dare were talking with her, but I couldn't tell what they were talking about.
The unknown girl was about four inches shorter than Annabeth and about three inches shorter than Rachel. She had brown hair that reached almost to the ground, even swept over her shoulder. She wore a blue T-shirt, white jeans, and red Converse. I saw that her nails were painted a light turquoise.
Nico and I walked over, and I could hear my girlfriend and Rachel asking the girl where she was from, who she might think her parent was, and if any monsters followed her while coming to camp. The girl tried desperately to answer all of their questions, but Rachel's mile-a-minute chatting didn't let her get a chance to respond.
I intervened.
I walked up behind Annabeth and kissed her on top of her head. She turned her head and smiled up at me, and kissed me back, but on the lips. This year would be our fourth year dating, and I was still threatened every year about remembering our anniversaries.
Rachel stopped talking and looked up at me. She gave me a friendly grin, and then continued to torment this girl with questions.
"Do you know about the Greek gods then?" she asked.
The girl gave Rachel a dubious look, like the question was the easiest in the world. "Of course," she said. "I would not be who I am today if it were not for them." She said it with so much pride; I honestly thought she knew the gods and goddess personally, like they were her closest friends or something.
She looked about eleven or twelve years old, with a buttoned nose, round-almond eyes that were a blue-gray or blue-green color, pointed ears, and pale skin. Her T-shirt had the Superman symbol on the front, and there were rips all along her jeans. When she brushed her hair behind her ears, I could see that they were pierced twice with little silver balls.
This girl just looked like any other kid that you'd see out and about in the state, but the thing that separated her from the mortal teens out there was her aura. Nico was right—she had a freakishly strong quality about her. No camper got close; not even the Stoll brothers, and they're usually real sociable with new demigod (in their own traditional way [pranks]).
Wow…my concentration is bad today.
Nico stepped forward. I'd forgotten he was there (don't tell him I said that).
"What's your name?" he asked. It was pretty blunt, considering the questions Rachel and Annabeth were asking her, but I noticed that no one bothered to ask her what her name was.
"Evaristos Anasilus," she answered.
I could feel Annabeth tense under my touch. She stood up straighter, and I had to step back to prevent myself from falling backwards. I saw Nico wince slightly and rub his right ring finger. Rachel stopped talking in all—she had this stern face, as if she was trying her hardest to think of something.
"You mean…the queen of Athens? Sara Anasilus?" Annabeth questioned. I've never seen her edgy like this before.
Evaristos scrunched her eyebrows. "I do not know."
"I see you all have met Evaristos." Chiron clopped over to us, with Caius beside him. He always seems to come at the most of times, like "saved by the bell" or something. "Why not give her a tour of Camp Half-Blood? See to it that she understands the rules and grounds here," he ordered—well, invited, but it sounded like an order. That wasn't like him.
Annabeth didn't seem to argue. "Yes, sir," she said.
Rachel and her both took either side of Evaristos and led her away, pointing out different buildings or cabins, asking her about herself, and then pointing out buildings again. That seemed to go on until they were over the river that ran through camp.
I was about to follow them, when Chiron put a hand on Nico and my shoulder. We exchanged looks and knew that what Chiron was about to tell us wouldn't be good or bad news. So, he led us into the Big House with Caius still by his side. I heard Mr. D grumble something about 'injudicious Romans' and 'needing more diet coke'.
Now, I was worried.
Nico and I sat on the couch, while Chiron preferred his wheelchair; Mr. D had taken his rightful seat in a red leather chair made especially for him (in which his kids, Satyrs, and Nymphs had created), and Caius took a seat in a chair next to Chiron. No sound came from outside activities that were being played, but the changing Nymph-to-tree chimes hanging over the porch outside, creating an almost eerie sensation within the atmosphere.
Chiron glanced at Caius, as if expecting him to speak rather than himself. Now, this was interesting…
Caius turned toward Nico and I, and his azure eyes were a dull gray. "Well," he said, his voice hoarse. "Where do I begin?"
Where does it begin?
Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed the first chapter. Reviews and all of that. Ciao!
I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus.