Hi everyone! Okay, so I know I said that I was going to post this chapter like a week ago, but I've been so busy, and to be honest, I wasn't very happy with this chapter, so I did a lot of editing (however I still think it could be better) But anyways, I want to give a shout out to Persiana and to R5isamazing for putting this story on their alerts.
I would really love it if you reviewed this chapter, not only because I want reviews, but your input also helps me for when I'm writing the rest of the story, and what I should change or what I should continue to make this story more enjoyable for you. I will have some questions at the end if you guys need a little help with starting the review. :)
So that's enough of me talking, here's chapter 3!
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" The taxi driver asked Sandra unsurely.
"Positive," Sandra told him as she handed him money for the ride. Then Stephanie and the others got their things out of the back.
"Well, this is it. Camp Half-Blood," Sandra said, and muttered under her breath something that sounded a lot like, "I hate this place."
Andrew seemed to hear her as well. "Why? Is it bad or something?"
"Oh, no. Trust me, you will love it. But the Hunt hates it because every time we come, the Stoll brothers always have a new prank, and we are not welcome." Sandra told them, walking towards a pine tree that was a few hundred feet away.
"Who are the Stoll br-"
But Stephanie never finished her sentence. Suddenly, two woman-who seemed to have robot-donkey legs- appeared.
"What do we have here?" One said in a terrifying voice.
"Three little half-bloods? How cute," the other said, and then added, "Oh, and one is a Huntress of Artemis. Well, we've just hit the jackpot, eh?"
"Empousai," Sandra muttered. Then she directed her words toward the monsters and said, "You will let us pass with no harm. You will let us reach Camp Half-Blood."
To Stephanie's amazement, the Empousai seemed like they were about to do just that, before their confused faces was replaced with anger and hatred once more.
"Ah, a daughter of Aphrodite," one of them spoke. "A talented and powerful Charmspeaker. But, perhaps you could work on that persuasion a little more, darling."
Once again, Sandra pulled the dagger from under her dress as one of the Empousai lunged at her. She sidestepped and started fighting it off. Maybe I should start wearing dresses like Sandra…Stephanie thought. No! Focus! Monsters about to kill you here!
But Stephanie felt helpless. She had no sword or any sort of weapon to help defend her. At least Andrew had his bow. In the midst of her thoughts, she heard someone give a warrior-like cry.
She looked over toward the main road, and she saw a figure of a half human-half goat running towards them. Her eyes widened as she realized it was Mr. Beekley, who was back from taking care of her and Andrew's sudden disappearance from school.
"For Olympus!" He was yelling. He had a sword in his hand, and he looked ready to fight. He ran over to where Sandra was, who was currently losing to the monster, and jumped on the Empousa's back and stabbed it. It turned into dust, and Mr. Beekley fell on the ground.
When he got up, he said, "Well, that was fun! Now lets get you two-"
"Mr. Beekley, no!" Andrew yelled.
But it was too late. The other Empousa came at Mr. Beekley, and stabbed him in the back. Mr. Beekley fell. Stephanie saw Sandra charge the monster as Stephanie and Andrew ran over to him. Stephanie put his head in her lap.
"Mr. Beekley! Cl-Claudius! Stay with us! We'll get you help! Don't worry!" She was yelling, on the verge of tears. While he was her school principal, she had become exceedingly close to him after spending so many times in the principal's office after fights.
"No, Ms. Burward. Don't bother. My time is up. I've done my part, now you do yours." Then he turned to Andrew. "Just remember, you two are now allies. At least try to get along. Thank you for letting me be your protector. Now kill those things." After those words, he closed his eyes for the final time.
Stephanie felt anger rush through her. She carefully laid Mr. Beekley's body down on the ground, and got onto her feet. She started stepping closer and closer towards the Empousa, which Sandra was furiously trying to fight off.
"Burward, what are you doing?" Andrew asked tentatively. If this were a different situation, Stephanie would have laughed at how afraid Andrew was at talking to her. He of all people knew how Stephanie got when she was angry. But no. This was not a different situation. This was reality. Stephanie already had a lot on her plate with finding out who she was and having to confront her family, which didn't go over well. But now, her principal, but even more importantly her friend, was dead.
Stephanie raised one of her hands, and a ball of fire lit up on it. She heard Andrew curse as she took the fireball and threw it at the Empousa. Sandra stepped back from the fight, shocked.
"No," Said a baffled Sandra. "It cannot be possible."
Stephanie threw another fireball at the monster, not letting off. The Empousa was crying out in pain, as each fireball blasted her back a few feet.
"Monroe, come on! Help me out!" Stephanie yelled.
Andrew seemed to come to his senses as he grabbed his bow, and aimed it at the Empousa. As it disintegrated, Andrew ran towards Stephanie, and caught her as she was falling. The fire she summoned really seemed to drain her.
Sandra walked over to the two. She looked scared.
Stephanie seemed to gain back some energy, and pushed herself out of Andrews's arms.
"I'm fine, Monroe." She snapped.
"Hephaestus," Sandra said in a shaky voice.
"What?" Stephanie asked. "What are you talking about?"
"Only a child of Hephaestus, god of fire and the forge, can summon fire," Sandra told her grimly. "Stephanie, why did you not tell me that you could summon fire?"
"I-I didn't know I could." She replied. "That was the first time I've ever done it.
Andrew piped in. "Sandra, why are you scared? What's wrong with Hephaestus?"
"Nothing," Sandra told him quickly. "Hephaestus is fine. It is just that, well, the power to control fire…nevermind. It is not important right now. Just…do not go around telling everyone, okay? Especially not your siblings."
Stephanie nodded. She'd known Sandra long enough to where she knew not to push her over the edge. But what she said worried her. Was being able to summon fire dangerous? What happened to the last person that could do it?
Suddenly she heard Sandra sniffle. She looked over and saw her looking down at Mr. Beekley's dead body. Stephanie walked over to her and put her hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Sandy," She said using her nickname for Sandra. "I know you two grew close while watching over us."
Sandra smiled sadly. "It is fine. Things like this happen. I have had to live through it for over a century. Let us just get his body to camp."
The girls were about to pick the body up, but then Andrew came over and hoisted Mr. Beekley over his shoulder.
"Show off," Stephanie murmured.
"What was that, Burward?" Andrew asked, turning around.
Stephanie glared at him before walking ahead of him, and she could almost feel Andrew smirking behind her back.
"This way," Sandra told them.
They were currently walking down a hill. Stephanie had no idea where they were going. It was getting close to dark, and she was getting anxious.
"Do not worry, we are almost there," Said Sandra. Stephanie couldn't help but notice that Sandra never used words like don't or we're. It was always do not or we are.
"Hey, why was I able to read that sign back there?" Andrew asked. "It was in this weird language."
"The one leading into Camp Half-Blood?" Sandra clarified, before continuing, "Because your mind is hard-wired to read and speak Ancient Greek. It is also why you are dyslexic. You are not meant to read the modern languages. It is like that with all Half-Bloods."
"Then is there a reason that I'm ADHD as well? Is it the same for all Half-Bloods with that?" Stephanie asked.
Sandra smiled. "You catch on quickly. Yes, all Half-Bloods are ADHD as well. It is your battle reflexes. Ares children happen to be the best at fighting and combat, for the pure reason that their father is the God of War. That is why I thought you could be a child of Ares at first. You have excellent combat skills. But obviously, that is not the case."
Stephanie smiled a little at this. When Sandra had told her that she could have been a daughter of Ares, Stephanie thought she meant because she was mean and intimidating, but now she knew that being a daughter of Ares wouldn't have been that bad, and in fact, when Sandra first told her, she had meant it as a compliment. But, in all fairness, she liked Hephaestus better.
Suddenly, she saw a light, and she heard voices.
"Sandra, is that it?" Stephanie asked.
"Yes."
As they walked closer, Stephanie realized it was a dining pavilion, full of kids of all different ages. They all seemed to be laughing and having a good time, like they've known each other for years.
When the campers saw the trio, they stared at them. Stephanie hated the feeling of being the center of attention. She heard whispers, saying things along the lines of, "More Aphrodite children?" and "No, the guy has to be Athena. He has the hair and eyes." But soon the chatting died down, as the camp realized what Andrew was holding in his arms. Someone cried out, "Claudius is dead!"
A man came forward…or wait, no. Not a man. A half man, half horse.
Stephanie gasped. "You-you're a-a centaur."
The centaur stopped in front of the three, smiling sadly while eyeing Mr. Beekley's corpse.
"Very good, child. I am Chiron. You must be Stephanie Burward. I have been keeping an eye on you." Then he turned to Andrew. "And you as well, Andrew Monroe."
He motioned for Andrew to give him the body, and he obliged. Chiron stepped back.
"Claudius Beekley. A wonderful protector and satyr. He shall be buried by Zeus' fist, and shall be reborn into the earth."
As soon as Chiron stepped away, everyone started staring at Stephanie. A few looked surprised, others looked disappointed. Stephanie looked back at Andrew and Sandra. Sandra looked normal, but Andrew looked confued.
"What?" Stephanie asked, annoyed at all the attention she was getting.
Andrew gulped and pointed over my head. Sandra pulled out a mirror, something else she kept strapped to her thigh, and gave it to Stephanie. Wow, Stephanie thought. She really is an Aphrodite girl. When Stephanie looked in the mirror, she saw a red hammer hovering above her head.
"You are being claimed, Stephanie," Sandra explained to her.
Chiron spoke, "Camp Half-Blood, meet Stephanie Burward, daughter of Hephaestus."
Sandra motioned for a girl to come up. She looked about Stephanie's age, with blonde curls and grey eyes. She was beautiful.
"Stephanie, meet Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena." She then turned to Annabeth, asking, "Can you show her around camp? I must go to the other Hunters."
"Of course, Sandra," Annabeth smiled. Then she turned to Andrew. "What about him?"
Chiron stepped in. "I want to have a talk with Mr. Monroe."
Aw. Mr. Beekley's dead. :( It was kind of sad to write that part, but there wasn't much I could have done with him for the rest of the story. But we found out who Stephanie's father is! Although it probably wasn't that hard to guess.
So here are some questions for you guys to answer in your reviews:
1)Who do you think Andrew's father or mother is?
2)Are there any couples you would like to see glimpses of?
3)Why do you think Chiron wanted to talked to Andrew alone?
Thanks for reading!
~Claire8216
