Soooo sorry for the late update! I was moving, so I couldn't find much time to write. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do own Percy Jackson! *does a happy dance*. Raise your hand whoever believed me. No offence, but anybody who raised their hand is an idiot.
Chapter 2
"What?" asked Cindy. Percy and Annabeth gasped and the Mr. D guy raised his eyebrows. They were all gazing at something above Cindy's head. She looked up just in time to see a symbol before it faded. It was a golden bow and arrow, the symbol of Artemis, goddess of the moon, the hunt, and virginity.
"Well," said Mr. D. "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, daughter of Artemis."
"How can I be a daughter of Artemis?" asked Cindy. "I mean, she's the goddess of virginity, right? She can't have kids." Chiron sighed.
"About fourteen years ago," he said, "Artemis called an emergency meeting. There the Olympian gods found out that she had been raped and, as a result, pregnant. Needless to say, Olympus was in an uproar. Zeus commanded Artemis to live on Olympus until the baby was born. On the Winter Solstice, she gave birth to a little girl. Soon after, Artemis went to the best orphanage in the world and left her baby there on the doorstep. Five years later, the man who had raped Artemis, Clark Silvermoon, adopted her."
"I was that baby," whispered Cindy. Chiron nodded.
"We send demigods to schools for children with dyslexia and ADHD. Most demigods end up there sooner or later, giving us a pretty good idea of where to find them. Once we find them, we take them here, find out who their parents were, and train them. Sooner or later, they leave camp."
"Where am I going to be staying?" asked Cindy.
"In Cabin 8. The Hunters of Artemis usually stay there when they visit Camp Half-Blood, but since they are absent at the moment, that is where you will stay. Annabeth," Chiron said, turning to the blond watching the conversation thoughtfully. "Please show Cindy around. She needs to get acquainted with the rest of the campers." Annabeth nodded.
"Percy," said Chiron. "You look like something is bothering you. Please stay." Cindy looked curiously at Percy, but the young man seemed far away. Annabeth motioned for Cindy to follow her and together they went to meet the rest of the campers.
"Now, Peter," said Dionysus. "What seems to be the trouble?"
"Mr. D, I really don't know," said Percy. "There was a drakon at the school. It was a drakon, then is turned into a Minotaur, then a harpy, then an empousai, then a drakon again. I have a feeling the monster was somehow manipulating the Mist so that I wouldn't see it as a drakon." Chiron looked worried.
"Are you sure, Percy?" he asked. "Could it have just been your mind?"
"I don't think so, Chiron," said Percy. "I wasn't wounded or anything, so there's no logical explanation as to why the drakon would do that."
"There's no logical explanation to anything in this world," mumbled Mr. D.
"Percy, I must contact the gods. This is serious. If monsters are able to manipulate the Mist now… Demigods would never stand a chance," said Chiron. "Now go. And tell Clarisse not to mess with Cindy. I have a feeling Clarisse will end up in the infirmary eventually."
"And that's the climbing wall, that's the mess hall, and over there is the lake," said Annabeth, waving her hand at all the different things that she had mentioned. Cindy stifled a yawn.
"Annabeth, I'm rather tired. DO you think I could go rest until the campfire tonight?"
"Sure," said Annabeth. "Go right ahead. Artemis's cabin is the one that looks like its glowing with moonlight."
"Thanks." Cindy walked down until she came to the cabin. It was beautiful. There was soft silver light coming from inside. It was all silver: silver walls, silver curtains, and a silver door. Cindy opened the door and stepped inside. She looked around in amazement. There was a miniature moon on the ceiling that glowed softly in the dim light, while animals danced on the walls. Wolves, bears, foxes… All kinds of creatures seemed to run on the walls. On one side of the room, girls were carved into the wood. Girls chasing monsters, girls dancing around a campfire, girls laughing and talking. Cindy knew that she was looking at Artemis's Hunters. The bunks were made of solid wood with soft mattresses and blankets embroidered with silver lining that seemed to glow.
Suddenly, a sort of mist appeared over the bunks. "For incoming transmission, please deposit one drachma," said a voice. Cindy frowned and then looked around. A bowl of gold coins was sitting on a table. She took one and held it out, not sure of what to do. "Please throw drachma into incoming message." Cindy threw the coin in and it instantly disappeared, dissolving into a million gold particles. An image floated up. It was of a young woman no more than eighteen years old. She had long auburn colored hair and wore a silver uniform. "Cindy," she said. "I see you've made it to Camp Half-Blood."
"You're Artemis," said Cindy. "My mom."
"Yes," said Artemis. Her voice was soft and light, but also wise and powerful. "I thought that since the Hunt is coming to Camp Half-Blood this week, you should meet me first."
"Wait," said Cindy. "Why is the Hunt coming?"
"We visit Camp Half-Blood when Zeus requests me to tell the campers of important news."
"What news?"
"You will find out shortly, my daughter," said Artemis. "Now, Cindy, I need to tell you something. You have certain abilities. Certain abilities that may or may not help you. Learn to control them. Learn to embrace them. And no matter what anybody says, Cynthia Silvermoon, you are my daughter and you are not a mistake."
"How did you know my real name?" Artemis laughed, a gentle sound that warmed Cindy right down to her toes.
"I am the one who named you, my daughter. I am proud of you. Be strong."
The image faded away, leaving Cindy with a sense of belonging and contentment. She sat down on one of the bunks and took out a brush. Undoing her long braid, she brushed it out, then braided it again. Cindy pulled back the covers and fell asleep. Of course sleep meant dreams, and dreams meant nightmares, and demigod nightmares were terrifying.
A dark shape drifted in front of the moon. An evil laugh went through the camp, sending tingles down Cindy's spine. "You are helpless, daughter of Artemis," said the voice. "When you need your mother most, she will forsake you. Join me. Join me or all you know will come crashing down." Another vision appeared. Fire was sweeping through camp, destroying everything in its wake. Demigod screams filled the air, screams filled with pain and loss and sadness. "You are helpless," said the voice. "Join me." A bolt of lightning hit Cindy. She gasped as excruciating pain filled her body. She looked down and saw that fire was all over her body. She tried to scream, but her voice wasn't working. She collapsed on the ground, the edges of her vision going black as the fire engulfed her.
"Cindy! Cindy! Cindy!" Cindy was jolted awake by someone shaking her. Annabeth stood over her, looking concerned. "Are you all right?"
"I had a dream," whispered Cindy, her heart still thudding. Annabeth nodded.
"Demigods always get horrifying dreams. The worst thing is, they usually come true. What your dream about?" Cindy recounted her dream to the daughter of Athena.
"Cindy, that's… That's horrible. I've been getting dreams like that as well. I have a feeling that another war is about to start."
"Mom called me," said Cindy. "She said the Hunters are coming to Camp Half-Blood this week."
"She called you?"
"With some sort of mist message."
"An Iris Message. Demigods use them instead of phones. Come on," said Annabeth. "The campfire will start soon. Oh, just some warning. The campers know that there's a new camper, but they don't know that you're a daughter of Artemis. So just… Lay low."
"OK." Cindy followed Annabeth out. The blond led Cindy to the Mess Hall, which Cindy knew wasn't a hall. It was more of a large pavilion, with tables arranged in a circle around a large campfire in the middle. A platform was in the front, raised so that whomever stood there would be in sight of all the campers. There were quite a few campers there already; several of the tables were full. Annabeth stopped and turned to Cindy. "How this works is very simple. You say what you want out loud and whatever you get, you put the best in the fire as sort of an offering to the gods. Your table is over there." And with that, Annabeth left and sat down with a group of kids who Cindy assumed were children of Athena.
Cindy walked over to Artemis's table and sat down, trying to ignore the stares of the other demigods. A mean-looking girl walked over and slammed her fists down on the table. "What do you think you're doing, newbie?" she snarled. "This the table for Lady Artemis." Cindy looked the girl in the eye.
"I know," she said, keeping her voice level and calm. "I can't exactly go sit with Cabin 11 if I've already been claimed, can I?" The entire hall was deathly quiet. Cindy continued. "This is my table. I'm in the right spot. If you don't believe me, go ask Percy, Annabeth, or Chiron. They'll back me up."
"It's true," said Percy, standing up from his table. "I saw the symbol of Artemis myself."
"But Artemis can't have kids, punk," snapped the girl.
"Clarisse, I don't understand it either," said Percy. "Just leave Cindy alone. It's not her fault that she's the daughter of Artemis."
"Clarisse," said a deep booming voice. Chiron trotted onto the pavilion. "Leave the girl be. Mr. D will explain everything after the meal." Clarisse scowled and walked back to her table, which Cindy noted looked like it was for children of Ares. Said demigod looked away and instead stared at the intricate carving on the table. It looked just like the walls of her cabin, even sending off a faint glow of moonlight. Seeing that everybody was starting to get their food, she decided to do the same. "Pasta," she whispered. Instantly, the chosen food materialized in front of her. She was about to take a bite before she noticed that the other campers were getting up and putting a portion of their food in the fire. Cindy mentally smacked herself. She had forgotten that Annabeth had mentioned that you had to throw the best of your food into the fire as an offering for the gods.
Cindy stood and walked over to the fire, scooping a large portion of her pasta into the flames. Instead of it burning, it disappeared. Instead of smelling like burned food, it smelled like pasta, pizza, warm, buttered rolls, all sorts of delicious foods. Cindy could tell why the gods enjoyed this. She walked over to her table and finished her meal in silence, thinking about all that had taken place. Number one: she had found out that only was she the daughter of a Greek god, but she was the daughter of the goddess of virginity. Number two: Greek gods were real and alive. Number three: her camp director was Dionysus, the god of wine and insanity. Number four… Well, a whole bunch of other stuff that didn't make any sense.
Chiron pounded his hooves. The pavilion instantly grew quiet once more. "Demigods," said Chiron. "Let's give a toast to the gods!"
"To the gods!" cheered all of the campers. The all raised their glasses and sat down again. "Now, children," said Chiron. "I'm sure you are wondering why a child of Artemis is here. Cindy, please stand." Cindy shakily stood up.
"Campers, I am not permitted to tell you the reason that Artemis had a child, as it is an embarrassment to her and to the gods. But I am allowed to tell you that even I do not fully understand. I will now hand over the meeting to Mr. D." Mr. D stood up and walked over.
"Hello, you brats, welcome back, blah, blah, blah," said Mr. D. "There will be a game of Capture-the-Flag in half an hour. That is all." As soon as Mr. D sat down, the campers instantly went away, going to do random things: The Athena cabin heading to the Camp Library, the Ares kids heading to the Arena, Percy headed towards the lake. Cindy stood, unsure of where to go. Something told her to go where the moonlight was full and bright. She walked out of the pavilion, heading down towards the lake where the moonlight was strong. She saw Percy disappear beneath the water and sat down by a rock. She looked up into the sky and saw a moonlit chariot pulled by four golden stags flying across the sky. Artemis was up and riding.
Cindy stretched out her hand and looked at the moonlight shining down upon her palm. She stretched out her fingers and jumped. From her hand came beams of light. She closed her palm and opened it again. This time there was ball of light in her palm. She twisted her finger, and the light started to grow longer. Soon it resembled a stick of moonlight. She closed her palm and it disappeared. She heard a gasp. She looked up and saw Percy standing in front of her in shock.
"Cindy… How did you do that?" he asked breathlessly.
"I don't know," said Cindy. "I guess it's some sort of trait I inherited. You can control water, so I guess I can control moonlight."
"Go into the shadows where the moonlight doesn't reach you," said Percy. "See if it works." Cindy did as she was told and tried again. This time, she wasn't able to make a ball of light, or even a sliver.
"Interesting," said Percy. "Come on. We need to go tell Chiron."
"I'd rather not," said Cindy. "He'll ask questions, and then he'll tell the campers. I don't want anyone to know."
"All right. Come on," the son of Poseidon said. "Capture-the-Flag is about to begin. This time I think its Athena, Poseidon, Hephaestus, and Zeus against Ares, Hermes, Apollo, Aphrodite, and Demeter. I guess you can be on our team."
"Thanks." Percy and Cindy walked back to Camp, where everybody was busy getting ready. Armor was put on, spears and swords were sharpened, and quivers were filled. A teenage boy with sparkling dark brown eyes, black hair, pointed ears, and soot-covered hands walked over.
"Hey, Aquaman," said the boy. "Are you on our team?"
"Do NOT call me Aquaman, Leo," said Percy. "That's even worse than Water Boy. And yes I am on your team."
"Awesome!" the boy named Leo turned to Cindy. "You must be the new kid. The daughter of Artemis? That's cool. Hey, have you found your sword? I have this super awesome new machine that can take any form. It can be a sword, a gun, a plant, a hot dog-"
"Leo!" said Percy. "No, she hasn't found her sword. Why don't you go find her one?"
"OK! Come on… What's your name?" he asked. "I forgot."
"Cindy. Cindy Silvermoon," replied Cindy.
"Cindy. Is that short for something?"
"Yeah. But I don't want to talk about it."
"All right. Come on," said Leo. "Let's go find you a sword." Cindy followed the elfish boy into some sort of workshop. Swords lined the walls, along with armor, bows, spears, and different weapons. Some kids were sitting on stools with different, bigger kids trying to make helmets and armor fit. Leo turned around. "I don't think we've been properly introduced," he said, a smile playing around his lips. "I am Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus, and the most awesome person you will ever meet!"
"Weren't you one of the seven that defeated Gaia?" Leo's smile faded.
"Yeah. I was. How did you know about that?" Cindy pointed behind Leo. He turned around and grinned. The remains of the Argo ll were scattered about in corner of the workshop. "Oh yeah. I forgot about it. I was trying to put the ship together, but I was having trouble concentrating, so I dropped it. Let's find you a sword." Together they walked around the workshop, looking for a sword that would suit Cindy. After several failed attempts, Leo threw his hands in the air.
"I give up, girl! You're impossible. They're all either too big, too small, too heavy, too short, or too small! I guess you'll just have to find one that's OK. I mean, this is a last minute resort here. If you don't find a weapon, you're dead meat." Cindy nodded.
"That's all right, Leo. I'll get by." She picked up the one they had just tried. It was a bit too long, but it would work. A horn blew in the distance. Capture-the-Flag had begun.
Well? How do you like it? Love it? Hate it with a passion? Please review! The more reviews I get the more motivated I am to write!