"Percy? Percy? Percy!" Bianca said, finally shouting the last word.
"Yeah, Bianca?" I asked.
"Were you even listening?" She asked, exasperation seeping into her voice.
"Nope." I answered. She rolled her eyes, while Nico, my boyfriend, snickered.
"We have to go to the slave market today. We only have a month left to pick a personal slave." She said.
"Oh yeah." I grumbled. "Do we have to?"
"Yes. We do have to. You barely managed to veto the arranged marriages and besides, he/she might become your best friend." Zoe said. "Trust me. I don't like it either."
"Fine. Let's go to the slave market and get this over with." I grumbled. I got up and made to walk to the door.
"We have to get Piper, Annabeth, Hazel, and Frank before we go!" Bianca shouted after me. I rolled my eyes.
"Nico and I will get Haze and Frank, you two get Pipes and Annie." I said. Nico and I walked towards Hazel and Frank's room and woke them up, telling them what was going on and we went back out and ate breakfast and then we left.
"I hate the slave market." Hazel said.
"Me too." I agreed. Everyone else nodded.
"Why are we doing this so early?" Piper asked.
"To get it over with and so we get back at a decent time." Bianca answered.
"I would rather be training." Zoe said.
We sat in silence the rest of the way there. When we got there, the market was already in full- swing. We stayed in our carriage, where we would still be able to see the slaves on the pedestals.
I pointed out one of them, a boy around fourteen years- old that was covered in scars, but still very attractive, to Nico. I felt a pull towards him. He felt like the right choice. He nodded, agreeing with me that we both wanted that kid. I told one of the carriage men that he was our choice and by then everyone else had already picked out one. The boy was taken off of the pedestal by one of the market workers and chained to the other three. We sat there for a few hours, while some of the palace workers picked out a couple slaves to work in the palace. After they finished that, they put the slaves that were to work in the palace in a slave carriage, which unlike most was covered. They put our personal slaves in a separate carriage. Then we took off back to the palace.
"Wow. We all got one at the same time and that quickly." Frank said, looking surprised.
"Yeah. That was quick." Annabeth said. "Who did everyone pick? Piper and I picked the younger girl."
"The older girl. I think her and the blonde boy are siblings. Definitely act like it." Zoe said.
"We picked the blonde boy." Nico said.
"So Hazel and Frank picked the other boy." I concluded. "I wonder how old they all are. The blonde boy looks familiar." I finished.
"That's because they worked at the boarding school. The older girl left after my first year and the other three after my fourth. The younger girl worked in the kitchens and the other boy would fix a lot of things. I saw him in my classes often, fixing desks." Bianca said, rolling her eyes.
"Oh." Hazel said. "I never saw any of them."
"The older girl and the blonde boy were the only ones who worked in the dorms. The boy worked in the dorms every year that I was there, other than my first." Bianca explained. "The girl was really good at doing hair. Whenever she was there in the mornings, Zoe and I would have her fix our hair. She apparently did the younger slave girls' hair every morning and she was really good. Probably from four years of practice."
"Yep, I still haven't done my hair like that. I couldn't figure out how." Zoe said, smiling softly, reaching up to touch her hair.
"We have another year. Does that mean that they will be at the boarding school with us?" Annabeth asked.
"Yes. You guys each share a room with your partner and they'll be in the room too. All they have to do really is follow you around. In the classrooms they stand at the back." Bianca said. "When you eat is the only time they won't be in the same room as you. The personal slaves eat with the younger kids that don't serve meals."
"So basically, they just have to follow us around? That sounds like fun." Frank said sarcastically.
"Someone will tell you all of this on the first day of school. I don't know, Bi and I never had one. We didn't attend that class, because we were giving tours to the first- years." Zoe said, rolling her eyes.
"I'm sleepy." Piper yawned. Then she curled up next to Annabeth and fell asleep.
"It's dark out. We should go to sleep and someone will wake us when we get to the palace." Hazel said.
"That's a good idea. Good night." Bianca said, before doing the same as Piper to Zoe and fell asleep. Nico and Hazel copied her.
"Okay. I'm not tired." I said.
"Neither am I." Annabeth said at the same time as Zoe. Then they grinned at each other.
"How could you be tired?" Frank asked.
"Who knows? I swear Hades' kids can sleep forever." Zoe said, rolling her eyes.
"Piper and I didn't go to bed until late, actually I went to sleep and she read a book." Annabeth said.
"I really want to know their names." I said, gestering to the carriage that was riding beside us.
"I think the older girl is Thalia, the younger girl Reyna, the blonde boy Jason, and the other boy Leo." Zoe said. "And that's from eavesdropping when we where supposed to be in bed."
"Jason. That's a nice name." I said.
"So Percy has Jason, Frank has Leo, you have Thalia, and I have Reyna." Annabeth said.
"Yes. We're in the city." Zoe replied.
"Finally." I muttered. It took about an hour to get through the city and to the palace.
After we had gotten into the city, the slave carriages went right out back, where they would probably clean them up and let them go to bed and teach them the ropes tomorrow. Our carriage stopped in front of the palace, before letting us out. I shook Nico awake and we got out of the carriage. Everyone else followed. We walked into the hall to see our parents. There was King Hades, King Posiedon, Queen Aphrodite, and Queen Athena.
"How did it go?" King Posiedon, my father, asked.
"Great. We all found one." I answered, enthusiastically.
"You all did? Any siblings? Did they grow up together? Have you seen them before today? What ages?" Queen Athena, Annabeth's mother, asked.
"Yes, I believe that two are siblings, but were most likely separated ten years ago. They used to work at our school and three are around fourteen, the other one is around eighteen." Annabeth answered. Our parents looked surprised.
"Alright. You'll get to meet them properly in a week." King Hades said. "Before you go to bed, we would like to speak to you."
The two queens and kings led us to the conference room, where they had us sit down.
"School starts in a month. Bianca and Zoe have applied for co- teaching jobs and have gotten them, so they'll be there too. They are teaching in a sixth year class, so you will have them for one of your classes. I believe it is Training, which all of you have together and you are the only ones in first period training. I have managed to get you all chambers together. Your chambers are very similar to the ones here. You enter into a sitting room, where you may study and talk. There are four doors, each lead into a bedroom. Each bedroom has one closet and one bathroom. You don't have fireplaces in your bedrooms, but you do have one in the sitting room. Any questions?" Queen Athena finished.
"What is the day like this year?" Hazel asked.
"This year you have six periods: First period is Training, Second period is Math, Third period is Language, Fourth period is household skills, Fifth period is History, Sixth period changes through- out the year. It is never the same two days in a row. That includes things that are important to your future or may be extra classes. In- between third and fourth periods, you have lunch. School starts at eight A.M. and ends at five P.M.. Breakfast is at 7 to 7:45, tea is at 5 to 5:30, dinner is at 6:15 to 7:00 and lights out are at 9:00, but you have to be in your chambers at 8:30, because that's when everyone else goes to bed. In- between tea and dinner, you can go outside and do what- ever you want to do. After dinner, you must do your homework and study. You are not allowed out of your chambers before 6:30. Bianca, Zoe, all of these rules apply to you too. You're still too young to not have them apply." Queen Aphrodite said.
"What about the personal slaves?" Annabeth asked.
"They will pretty much stay with you at all times. They will have meals with the other personal slaves, but any other time, they just have to follow you around. During class, they will probably stand at the back. Sometimes, one of the workers there will ask for one to come and help with something and the fact that they actually grew up there, they will probably be chosen a lot. If they are chosen, then you have a choice whether or not they actually have to do it. I recommend sending them to do it, but check what it is. Bianca, Zoe, yours probably could help with your class, but she just has to be there. Someone might want her to help with something but not very likely." Queen Athena said.
"Are we allowed to include the personal slaves in our class?" Bianca asked.
"Yes. As long as their owner gives permission."
"What do we do on the weekends?" I asked.
"On Saturdays you may go out into the city or into the woods behind the school, as long as you don't go past the pond. Sundays, you go on field trips. If there is no field trip, it is the same as a Saturday."
"Is that it?" Nico asked.
"Yes. Go to bed." We all went to bed and fell asleep quickly.