D-E-A-D-L-Y. Deadly. That's my name and one word to describe me. I'm the daughter of Aphrodite and Ares. I'm like the brunette version of my mom on the outside. I get my personality from my dad. That's why my name is Deadly Beau. Apparently Apollo got this "vision" of me before I was born and whatever he saw made my parents decide on the name Deadly. Everyone always assumes I'm a daughter of Hades but that'd be to cliché, even for him.

At the moment I'm waiting for my chariot to Half-Blood Hill. Trust me, driving with Ares isn't as fun as you'd think. He's such a reckless driver and I tend to get motion sickness but I love him all the same. My mom and I stayed up for hours last night packing. She personally hand picked all my outfits. Even though I'm going to camp Half-Blood, I let her do her thing. She means well and heels make excellent weapons. My dad's chariot pulled up and he loaded it up with my suitcases. Yes, I'm taking suitcases. That's what happens when Aphrodite's in charge of packing. "You're mom never changes." My dad snickered. I rolled my eyes, "I know dad, I know." He hopped in the chariot and motioned for me to do the same. "Aren't you forgetting something?" I asked with a smirk. "What?" I held back a laugh. Confusing the god of war is a lot more fun they you'd think. Well considering he won't harm me in any physical or emotional way like he would to the average demigod, mortal, or monster. "Your disguise." He looked down avoiding my gaze, "Right." Then he went from scary, war-hungry, Ares to snotty, sophisticated-looking, lawyer dude. "A suit?" I arched an eyebrow. "Shut up and get in, Deadly." He snapped. I put my hands up in surrender, "Fine." I clomped over in my leather pumps. "I can't believe you're wearing that to camp." My dad shook his head. "Blame mom, not me." I said with a smile. My dad whipped the reins and we were off to Half-Blood Hill.

"Seriously, Deadly, it'll be impossible to fight in that. Why didn't you bring jeans and sneakers?" Ares was still complaining about my wardrobe. "I can still fight in this! Heels are like an extra weapon." He thought it over and let out a deep breath, "At least for you they are." We both started cracking up. I got all giddy when I saw Thalia's tree and the dragon. "We're here!" I started pointing to the ground. My dad landed the chariot a couple of miles away from camp. He transformed it into a limousine and made the skeletal horses into a creepy looking driver. It had a human body but a horse head and leathery skin. "Weird." I mumbled when the thing started driving. "It's better than nothing." Ares sighed from my left. "True." I blew a stray piece of hair out of my face. My dad and I were silent for the rest of the bumpy ride.

The limo pulled right up to the Big House. Chiron trotted out. "Um, dad?" He's so careless sometimes. Oh gods, I sound like my mother. "Yeah kid?" He snapped his fingers and the horse dude's head was normal looking. "You're supposed to be mortal!" He looked down at his apparel, "I know." I smacked my forehead. "Mortals don't make it past the entrance!" He bit his lip so he wouldn't swear. "I knew that." I was shaking my head at him. "I'll just stay in the car then." Ares said in monotone. " 'Kay. Bye." He patted my shoulder, "Bye, Deadly." The creepy driver opened the door and my eyes grew wide. Half the camp was standing around the limo. All their eyes were on me. "Aren't you people supposed to be sword fighting or something?" I asked, showing the Ares part of me. They all scattered like their lives depended on it. "Deadly!" Rebecca Tramonto, Daughter of Eos, exclaimed. She still had on her armor from the arena. She came running up to me and crushed me into a hug. Since she had the armor on she knocked the wind out of me. "Becca….Can't….Breathe…" I choked out. "Sorry!" She squeaked and let go of me. "Can I be of any assistance?" Trevor Comissari, Son of Asklepoios, teased. "I think I'll live." I gave him a quick hug before Becca dragged me over to Chiron. "Hey, Chiron." I waved. He bowed, being the well-mannered centaur we all know and love, "Hello, Deadly." I took a step towards him and loudly whispered, "I think Becca's on something." I felt someone's hand thump me on the head. "Ow!" I rubbed my head. Chiron laughed , "Girls, calm down." I turned around and pointed a finger at Becca, "So it was you?" She nodded her head all proud. "Hey look everyone Queen of the Barbies is back!" I felt steam coming out of my ears when I turned to face Nico De Angelo and his brothers. "Miss me, Deadly?" Nico strolled up to me. "Can't say I did. I mean without you around I don't have to waste money on air fresheners." He looked at me like I was crazy. "You reek of the Underworld, can't say it's a pleasant smell." I scrunched my nose to prove my point. He stalked off and his brothers followed him.

"Um, Deadly?" Becca piped up. "Yeah?" She looked at the ground. "." She let out in one breath. "I got none of that." She rolled her eyes, "I thought you said you liked the smell of the underworld." My cheeks flushed red. Trevor started laughing. "I….uh…I….um…well…" She was right. I remember telling her the only thing I liked about Nico and his brothers was that they smell good. I know, weird, but I was trying to be nice. "Just help me get my stuff." I stomped over to my suitcases and grabbed two of them. Trevor and Becca each grabbed one. My mom also has trouble packing light. They followed me to the Aphrodite cabin and helped me bring them in. "Need any help unpacking?" Trevor asked. Does he think I was born yesterday? "Nope." "Are you sure? I'd be more than hap-" "Trevor if you want to hit on my sisters, wait until dinner okay?" He shoved his hands in his jean pockets. "Fine." Then he left me, Becca, and my four suitcases in the Aphrodite cabin. "Well…..I better get back to the arena. Bye!" Becca sprinted for the door. Now it was just me and my suitcases. I unlocked my closet and started to unload my bags. After I finished unpacking I left for the dining hall. I was unaware of the note that fell out of my suit case and onto the floor.

I was late for dinner and ran to the Aphrodite table in my heels. "Deadly!" My sister, Ashley, chimed. "Hey Ash." I waved to the rest of my sisters and took my seat at the head of the table. Chiron stood and all noise stopped. "Now that everyone is here," He looked at me and I hung my head, "We can begin." When it was our turn to go to the hearth I stood up and walked toward the fire. My sisters were right behind me. I threw in some ribs for Ares and mixed vegetables for Aphrodite (she's vegetarian). "Hi Hestia." I whispered on my way back to the table. She nodded her head and smiled. I took my seat at head of the table and realized everyone was starring at me. "What?" I blurted. I clamped my hand over my mouth as everyone became interested in their food. It's not exactly polite to talk while sacrificing to the gods. I felt someone's eyes on me. I looked over at the Hades table and locked eyes with Nico Di Angelo. He wasn't looking at me with hate in his eyes like he normally does. Freaky.

After dinner Becca and I were walking around the camp grounds. We were talking about the usual; sword fighting, how to prank the Hades boys, and capture the flag strategies. Out of the blue Becca asked, "What was up with your eyes?" I gave her the "look". "At dinner, your eyes were on fire." I felt shivers go down my spine. "Wh-what?" I've never told anyone I'm a goddess. Circe made this potion that slowed down the process. I would become a full goddess on my 21st birthday. I'm only sixteen now. "Are you sure? I mean-" "The whole camp saw it, your eyes looked like Ares's." I heard foot steps coming from the woods. Nico came out of the shadows and approached me. "Can I talk to you?" What would he want to talk about with me? It's got to be a prank. "No." I turned on my heel but he grabbed my forearm. "We need to talk." He dragged me back to the woods. If it weren't for his iron grip I wouldn't have went with him.

When we got really deep into the woods I started to struggle. "What are you doing?" I asked after a while. "I just want to talk." There was a full moon out. "About what?" I snapped. "What happened to your eyes?" Nico asked the same question as Becca. "I….I don't know." Which was the truth. I don't know how it happened but I do know it probably had something to do with my dad. "Are you sure?" His eyes seemed to glow in the moonlight. Um, let's pretend I didn't say that. "No." I said sarcastically. "Why do you even care?" Nico and I have never really been friendly. We either ignore or insult each other. "I don't….can't a guy be curious?" He seemed a little nervous. "Why were you staring at me at dinner?" He took a step back, "I-I….Your eyes, that's why." The Prince of the Underworld is a bad liar? Hades will be so disappointed. "Don't lie to me Nico." He laughed humorlessly, "You think I'm lying?" I got in his face, "I know you are." Nico took a step back. "You wouldn't believe me if I was telling the truth anyway." I smirked, "So you admit to lying?" "Yeah, I do." I turned on my heel and headed back to camp. I could have sworn I heard Nico whisper "I care about you." but I wasn't sure.

I ran back to my cabin, frustrated as Hades. Yes, I ran in heels. It's not that hard to do, well for me anyway. Most of my sisters were there. Everyone except for Christina, Melissa, and Aurora. They were probably out with their boyfriends. Christina's dating a guy from Hermes, Melissa is dating a son of Athena, and Aurora's with, actually I don't know who Aurora's with. Ashley and Samantha were sitting on Ashley's bed talking about something. I wasn't interested in the least until I heard Samantha whisper my name. I walked right up to them and they stopped talking, "If you're going to talk about me, try to make it less obvious." Samantha fumble with a pillow case but Ashley stood up, "Deadly, we just want to know what happened to your eyes." I swear if one more person asks me that I'm going to throw them in the Sea of Monsters. "I don't know, okay? I would never have known it even happened if Becca didn't tell me." I gazed at Samantha, she still wouldn't look me in the eyes. "Sam, I'm not Medusa and I'm not going to feed you to a Minotaur, either." She looked up and I noticed she was blushing, "I know." She whispered meekly. Samantha shielded her face with her curly blonde hair and walked back to her bed. I turned to find Ashley smiling like a lunatic. "What?" She twisted her red hair around her finger, "I saw you go off with Di Angelo." My sisters really need to get a hobby. "Don't even start, Ash, he just wanted to know what was up with my eyes." She bit her lip and crossed her arms. That's her "thinking" pose. "I thought….hmm….Whatever, it's his own problem now." I really should have asked my dad to claim me, I'm pretty sure the Ares cabin is talking about war strategies not Nico Di Angelo. "Okay, I have no idea what you're talking about and I have a feeling I don't want to know. So goodnight." I went to my closet, got changed into my pajamas and climbed up to my top bunk. "Lights out!" I heard a few of my sisters groan. "C'mon Deadly." Jennifer asked, "Just another hour." I pretended to think about it, "Well, when you put it that way," She smiled proudly, "No." Her faced dropped so fast, it was priceless. "Lights out!" This time the lights went out and the Aphrodite cabin was silent. Let's just say my sisters literally think they need their beauty sleep.

I had trouble falling asleep that night. What Ashley said about Nico was eating away at my insides. Trust me, I've known that Nico's had problems but they were never serious. Did Ashley mean she was going to help him? Or that he was supposed to ask me to help him? Then again, why do I care? It's Nico Di Angelo I'm talking about here. The boy that calls me Queen of the Barbies and gave my Pegasus red bull (it's a long story). He thrives on making me angry and embarrassing me so why do I care? I pushed all thoughts of Nico to the back of my head and slowly drifted to sleep.

"Deadly!" I rolled out of my bunk and fell to the floor. It would have hurt if Ashley's stuff animal collection wasn't there to catch me. I rubbed my eyes and looked up to see a very angry Melissa. "Yes?" I groaned. "Nico wants to talk to you." She said through gritted teeth. I stood up and steadied myself. "Why?" I stretched myself and groggily walked to my closet. I quickly changed and threw my hair in a ponytail. I grabbed a pair of Christina's sunglasses on my way out the door. She won't notice they're missing. I turned around and wanted to laugh. Everyone was back in their beds, fast asleep. If you're wondering why Melissa was mad, it was because Nico ruined her "beauty sleep."

Nico was leaning against the oak tree near my cabin. He was wearing all black like always and he was scowling . He looked up and motioned for me to come over. Reluctantly, I walked over to him. "Hey." He said emotionlessly. "What do you want Nico?" He smirked, "You really hate me don't you?"

"I don't…hate you," I whispered. "Sure you don't ." I really don't hate him. I hate what he does to me. "Well we both know you hate me, so there shouldn't be any hard feelings." I said acidly. "Deadly, I don-"

"Save it Di Angelo." I sneered. "If you would shut up for five minutes I'd get to the point." I bit my lip to shut myself up. If Nico was going to try to talk to me civilized something must be wrong. "No one's been given a quest." I didn't say anything so he kept going, "Chiron and I have been talking and we think that the Oracle, Rachel, has been waiting for someone." I raised my eyebrows at him. What is he getting at? "Deadly, you just got here yesterday and you haven't seen Rachel yet, right?" I didn't even know Rachel was at camp . "I haven't seen Rachel but Nico….it can't be me. As much as I hate to admit it, you deserve a quest more than me. You've been on them before, I haven't." He actually smiled when I said that. "Deadly, it has to be you." I shook my head, "No, it doesn't. It could be a new camper that hasn't gotten here yet." Nico pondered over it. The Oracle couldn't be waiting for me. I'm not cut out for a quest. I'm not good with team work and working together. I'm a leader. I boss people around. I don't get bossed around. If the Oracle is waiting for me, I'd have to lead the quest. I wouldn't be able to chose who would come with me. If I were to bring Trevor and Becca I'd be worried about them nonstop. If I were to bring people I don't really care about the quest would be a complete failure. "I know it's you." Nico pulled me from my thoughts. "How can you be so sure? Aphrodite girls never get quests." Since no one knows Ares is my dad, I'm an Aphrodite girl. That's why he had to pretend to be mortal when he dropped me off at camp. "I had a dream, it was you." Crap. Demigod dreams are never just dreams. They always mean something. Sometimes they're premonitions and other times it's something that's happened in the past. "You dream about me?" I teased, trying to lighten the mood. Nico turned crimson. I had to stifle a laugh. The Prince of the Underworld, Nico Di Angelo, Son of Hades was blushing. I couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing. "Shut up!" I just kept laughing. "Deadly!" "But…your…face…is….so….red!" I choked out. He stalked off to gods-only-know-where as I laughed like a hyena.

I went back to cabin with tears in my eyes. Yes, I was laughing that hard. My sisters were all awake. Half of them were doing their hair, the other half their make up. I took a shower, dried my hair and put my clothes back on. I only wore them for about ten minutes so what's the point of wearing something else? After drying my hair I threw it in a ponytail and put on a little lip gloss. It took me a half hour to get ready. When I left the cabin some of my sisters were still doing their hair and make up. I smirked when I heard Sabrina whisper, "How does she do that?" to Aurora. On my way to breakfast I ran into Snake and Spike, Nico's twin brothers. "Hey Barbie." Spike annoyingly greeted. They high- fived each other in accomplishment. "You really need to get lives." I groaned. "We have lives, Deadly." I put on a fake smile, "So you do know my real name!" I walked away shaking my head at the idiots. I walked into the dinning hall to find the Aphrodite table empty. Did I mention my sisters take forever to get ready? The Ares cabin probably ate at six this morning and are in the sword fighting arena by now. I threw some bacon for my dad in the hearth and some eggs for my mom. Instead of going back to my table I sat and ate with Hestia. "Good morning, Deadly." Hestia looked like she was eight years old. She prefers to appear as a little girl for some reason. "Morning, Hestia." I bowed my head. "Deadly, there's no need to bow." I looked around to make no one could hear us. "It would be rude and disrespectful if I didn't." The goddess shook her head and laughed, "It would be rude and disrespectful only for a demigod but Deadly, you and I are equals." Of course she's right. I just wish she wasn't. Then again, I'm officially a goddess on my 21st birthday. "Technically we aren't." Hestia laughed again, "You do not wish to be immortal, correct?" I blushed in embarrassment. Hestia and I share a similar fate. We will live forever. Sometimes I wonder if it's a gift or a curse. Once I'm immortal, I'll lose all my demigod friends. "I'm not sure Hestia." She patted my knee, "You will soon." I finished my meal and bid her good bye.

I keep thinking about what she said on my way to the sword fighting arena. I feel like I'll never know if I want to be a goddess or not. I don't have a choice in the matter but sometimes I wish I did. "Deadly." Yes folks, it's the one, the only Nico Di Angelo. "Yeah?" I noticed he had his Stygian Iron black sword with him and decided not to make him angry. "Go see Rachel." He said demandingly. "No." I answered bluntly. "Why do you have to be so difficult?" He actually used some emotion while speaking. I think it was aggravation but I wasn't sure. "It's in my blood." I said without thinking. "Aphrodite girls' are supposed to be beautiful not aggravating." I felt my blood boil. "Are you saying I'm ugly?" His jaw dropped. He shook his head, "N-no." I crosses my arms. "You haven't met my dad." I said through gritted teeth. I started walking away to my cabin. Stupid Nico. He has no common sense. I mean if I- "Deadly!" Speak of the devil's spawn. "What? Wanna insult me more?" He looked my right in the eyes, "No, I just want you to go see Rachel." I bit my lip, "Fine…but you're coming with me." Nico seemed shocked. Underneath his bangs I bet his eyes were wide. "What?" I took a deep breath, "You're," I pointed at him, "Coming," I motioned with my hands, "With," I grabbed his hand, "Me," I pointed at myself. "Fine." He growled. We started walking towards the Big House. When we were half way there I realized Nico and I were holding hands. I pulled mine away from his slowly. "Uh…."He coughed out. "Don't say anything." I threatened. He was silent. I was surprised, usually he's not so obedient. Then again, that was awkward.

I didn't know whether or not to be relieved or nervous when I found Rachel. She was working on a painting. It was of a girl, probably a half-blood. The girl in the painting had long, brown, curly hair with blue highlights. It was thrown in a ponytail and she was . He face was covered in dirt and so were here clothes. "New camper?" I asked the artist. She bolted upright but her muscles relaxed when she realized it was me and Nico. "I think so." Rachel answered. "She's either a camper or a hunter." She added. "I think Deadly's the one." Nico said out of the blue. Rachel's eyes grew wide in excitement, "Oh my gods! You guys are getting married? That's so cool. I mean you're a little young but-" "Rachel I'm not getting married. Ever. Especially not to him." She smacked her forehead, "Right. Sorry. Nico what-" Rachel's eyes glowed green and she spoke in a creepy voice, "Three shall head west, only two survive the test, the journey brings two together, possibly forever, all depends on the goddess, who must conquer this quest." Then Rachel went back to her regular, 21 year old, red-headed self. Nico had a smile on his face, "Told you." I was too confused to say anything back. That made no sense what-so-ever. Three shall head west, but why? The second line is understandable and I kind of understand the third and fourth. The last two are confusing to me. "All depends on the goddess, who must conquer this quest."