Disclaimer
I do not own or intend to take credit for Percy Jackson and the universe that Rick Riordan has built around him.
Introduction
First, I would like to thank you for reading my first Fanfic! I have been a huge fan of Percy Jackson for years and have always wanted to write one and I am finally doing it. This story takes place after the events of the Heroes of Olympus, at the same time as the start of the Trials of Apollo. Apollo is still banished from Olympus, but I am using my own take on what happens from that point onward. I am no Rick Riordan, but I hope that you enjoy!
Chapter 1: I Get Thrown Out To the Wolves
My mother used to always tell me that the sun would come out tomorrow. My life changed forever on the day that it did not.
My name is Sunny Reiser, and I'm going to tell you a story about family.
I'll never forget that fateful morning. It started as any average morning would. I grew up travelling around North America with the Cirque du Soleil, so the day always started early. I grabbed some yogurt and went out and sat on the porch of the travel trailer that my mom and I stayed in. I wasn't worried at first, but once the clock read 7:00, I knew some fishy was going on. As I got up to go and inform my mom, a bone-chilling breeze swept over me. It was colder than Toronto in December and it pushed my mild concern to panic.
My mom looked like she wanted to vomit when I told her that the sun hadn't come up. I wasn't sure if she had expected it to happen because she was surprisingly calm with the potential end of the world in front of her. Whatever was going on was a scientific phenomenon, and my mom knew exactly where we needed to go. Without even a goodbye to her circus-mates, she started our RV and drove off.
I had never seen her so nervous. I had seen her perform in front of thousands of people more times than I can count, but nothing compared to how she looked now. She ran away from home when she was just eight years old to join the Cirque du Soleil. It was her passion and nothing had ever managed to deter her from it; even my father.
My mom never liked to talk about him. She said that they met while she was performing a show in Houston. She said that he was the most handsome man she had ever seen and that he seemed to glow when she saw him in the crowd as she walked on the tightrope. She said he went back into the locker rooms to meet her after the show that he claimed to be amazed by her talent. They ended going out while the circus was in Houston and they quickly fell in love. On the day that the circus moved on, my dad tried to get her to stay with him, but she turned him down. If there is anything that I know for sure, it's that Melissa Reiser loves the Cirque du Soleil.
And nine months later, yours truly was born.
Spending my fourteen years with the circus hadn't been all that bad. Sometimes it was a lot of fun, but most of the time it was really lonely. I was the only child that traveled, so I spent a lot of time playing with the animals. There was just something satisfying about playing fetch with Banjo the bear. I wish I would've been able to tell my old friend goodbye before we left. Performing became less enjoyable the older I got. The training was hard and the shows were exhausting, but the smile that I always saw on my mom's face always made it worth it. My biggest complaint would have to be that I was never asked if I wanted to perform, but rather was pushed into training when I was a small child. Regardless of that, I love my mom dearly and I would do anything, even performing, for her. That made it especially painful when she told me I had to go off on my own.
We drove for a couple of hours that morning (if you can even call it morning without the sun) and we reached what appeared to be an abandoned house in the vast dogwood forests of Northern California. With tears in her eyes, Mom took my hands and let me know what was going on.
"Soleil, sweet daughter," she said with a sob. She had named me after the circus that she loved, although I had always gone by Sunny. The fact that she used my real name escalated the seriousness of the situation. "I need you to be strong. Remember that I love you dearly and I'll always be with you when you need me most." With that, she removed her golden necklace of the Cirque du Soleil symbol that I had seen her wear every single day of my life and handed it to me. With a combination of sorrow and pride, I put it on.
"Momma—I—wha—," I struggled to speak with the lump quickly forming in my throat and the tears running down my face, "I love you too. " She pulled me in for one last hug. And for the small moment in her embrace, I felt my fears melt away. She turned towards the RV to drive off before turning around and telling me something that I will never forget.
"The show must go on, and what a great show it will be."
And with that, she drove away. I had never felt so lost and alone. Confused and scared, I walked toward to ominous house. It walls and roof were damaged and badly in need of renovations. In front of the house laid a large empty reflection pool. There were 2 spots about the size of compact cars where the concrete was missing, as if the earth had just grown through. As I reached the doorstep, all of the strength that I had mustered up for the walk over slipped away, and I collapsed to the ground and bawled.
That was shut down almost immediately. I heard a load bark that scared me so badly that rolled away and nearly toppled into the pool. What I saw when I looked up scared me even more. Standing above me was a wolf that was bigger than Banjo. Its golden eyes glared right into my soul as if to search for the weakness that I was showing. Her pelt was a collage of black, grey, and brown hairs, and in the cold February air, it seemed welcomingly warm.
"Quiet, pup," the wolf growled, "My name is Lupa, and I am the wolf goddess. If you wish to join my pack, you must be strong. Now pick yourself up and follow me inside." I was terrified and confused, but I did as she said without question. I followed her through the doorway into a large room with a hearth burning in the center. Lupa must've been over seven feet tall because she stood at least two feet above my five foot frame.
I spent my first day at the Wolf House sitting by the hearth and listening to Lupa's stories. She told me that the gods and goddesses of Ancient Rome still exist and are prevalent in the modern world. She told me that my father was one of these gods and I was a demigod. She told me that she once saved a couple of infants by the name of Romulus and Remus from the river Tiber and trained them. They eventually founded the state of Rome. She said that it has always been her responsibility to train young demigods so that they will strong enough to join the legion and protect the glory of Rome. I found all of this difficult to believe at first, but realizing that the sun hadn't come up today, stranger things were afoot. All that I did know is that if was to make it out of the Wolf House alive, whether I wanted to join the legion or not, I'd have to prove to Lupa that I was strong.
When the moon popped up over the horizon, the first day of darkness had finally ended. It made me sad to not have a sunset to look at. After eating a dinner of whatever meat one of the wolves hunted cooked over the hearth, I went into one of the back rooms to go to sleep. I lay down on a bed of burlap. Despite my raging emotions and the uncomfortable conditions, I quickly fell asleep.
I woke up in the sky, tumbling towards the earth. Realizing it was just a dream, I willed myself to calm down. New York City was spread out before me, and the view was breathtaking. I then found that falling from the sky is quite literally breathtaking. Thunder rumbled above me. Dark blotches began to litter my vision. My vision turned black and the only thing I could see was my mom falling aside me. I tried to reach my hand out to her, but we drifted apart. I could sense that we were nearing the ground. I squeezed my eyes shut and braced for impact, hoping that someway, somehow I wouldn't have to see my mother hit the surface.
I jolted awake before either of us made contact. My heart was going a million miles per hour and I couldn't stop shaking. Tears ran down my face as I thought about the sight of my mother falling from the sky. A loud howl awoke me from this trance. Knowing that the she-wolf would not be pleased with my tears, I got up, splashed some water on my face and went to tackle whatever Lupa was going to throw at me that day.
The wolf goddess told me that the first trait that a warrior of Roman must possess is courage. I spent my first day of training in the pool, facing my fears. In case you couldn't tell, I'm pretty afraid of the wolves. I wasn't sure how Lupa expected me to spar with the wolves. As a small girl, only weighing about 110 pounds, I didn't want to get mauled. I was successful at using my small frame to avoid the advances by my opponents, but this did not please Lupa. It took me a while to realize that I had to grow up and act like a strong Roman. My first attempt to subdue a wolf resulted in a gash across my left arm. It stung and bled profusely, but I ripped the rest of the sleeve off and tied it around my arm and went back at it. By the end of the day, I had managed to wrestle two of Lupa's wolves to the ground, and the goddess seemed pleased. Proud of myself for the feats that I accomplished, my exhaustion overtook me and I fell asleep right in the middle of the pool.
I woke up to another sunless day back in my burlap bed. I was relieved to find that I had no dreams that night and that Lupa had brought me to bed and nursed my wound, which was already covered by skin and seemed to be almost painless. Another howl echoed through the halls, and I mustered up the strength to fight for another day.
That day Lupa taught me to hone and use my 'warrior instincts'. She told me that a true Roman warrior needed to be able to use more than just their sight in battle. Aware of the challenge ahead of me, I put my long black hair up into a bun and prepared to perform for Lupa, just as I had for adoring crowds many times before. The blindfold did a fine job amplifying the fear that I had, but I knew what I had to do. I stood in the center of the pool as the wolf circled around me. I could hear its footsteps and feel its presence around me. I found that partaking in Lupa's trials were a whole lot like performing in the circus. The more nervous I allowed myself to feel, the less confident I felt in the location of my opponent. I calmed myself and focused. It was on my right side when it made its first approach. I quickly rolled forward and turned to face the beast. It went back to stalking around me, waiting for another opportunity to strike. It was directly behind me when it lunged next. I jumped into the air in a back flip, landing on the wolf's back. I wrapped my legs around its neck and put everything I had into swinging my 110 pounds off to the side. When I removed my blindfold and looked up to Lupa, I could've sworn I saw a smile on her maw.
"Well done, pup. Welcome to the pack."
