A/N: Hey guys! Sooo... spring break finally started! YAY! :D Aah, it feels so good not having school for an entire week!
Anywho... HAPPY NATIONAL MOM AND POP BUSINESS OWNERS DAY AND SMOKE AND MIRRORS DAY (MARCH 29)! Wow, these holidays are getting crazier and crazier. Like, Wednesday (the 27) was NATIONAL JOE DAY. Anyone else find that a bit weird?
Peace out,
~silentwolf111
PERCY'S POV
I stretched and yawned, swinging my feet over the edge of the bed. I rubbed my eyes and stood up, making my way over to the dresser. I pulled on a camp T-shirt and jeans, then proceeded to clean the cabin. I had cabin inspection with Annabeth at precisely 8:30, which gave me exactly ten minutes to make sure everything was neatly put away.
I made my bed, straightened the Minotaur's horn on the wall, and took a step back. Everything was perfect, except for the dirty pile of clothes in the corner of the room.
"Great," I muttered to myself as I scooped up the clothes.
Annabeth was coming over in less than 5 minutes, and I had no idea what to do with the dirty clothes. Well, it looked like I had no choice but to hide them. But where?
I gathered the clothes in a bag and stepped outside, looking around for a place to stash them. I wandered to the edge of the cabins and was seriously considering chucking the bag of clothes into the forest, when my eyes suddenly wandered to the canoe lake.
Perfect.
I hastily threw the bag into the lake and ran back to Cabin 3, just as Annabeth came out of Cabin 2.
"Hey," she said. "Uh, where were you?"
"I was out."
Annabeth raised an eyebrow.
"Uh-huh… So, you ready for inspection?"
"I guess."
Annabeth and I went inside Cabin 3, and I held my breath as Annabeth closely examined the cabin.
"Not bad, Seaweed Brain," she said. "However, there is still room for improvement."
I groaned.
"What now?"
Annabeth handed me the clipboard and threw back the covers from my bed.
"It's obvious that you haven't changed these sheets in a week. Plus, the whole room smells like dirty clothes. I'll give you a 3."
"Oh, come on!"
"What? I'm just being realistic."
I huffed a breath and gave the clipboard back to Annabeth as we made our way to the other cabins.
"I've already checked the Demeter and Ares cabins," Annabeth said. "So that leaves Athena next."
We walked through the door of Cabin 6, Annabeth grinning proudly as she wrote a 5 on the inspection scroll.
"Wait," I said as I examined a bookcase. "These books aren't pushed in all the way. Make that a 4."
Annabeth rolled her eyes and scoffed.
"What?" I said mockingly. "I'm just being realistic."
"Seaweed Brain, let's just move on before I sock you in the face."
I knew better than to argue.
I followed Annabeth out the door when she suddenly stopped.
"What?" I asked.
"What the Hades is that?" she said.
I looked toward where she was pointing and gasped. The entire Aphrodite cabin was covered in some sort of paper; and it was everywhere. You could barely see the pink paint underneath.
We ran toward Cabin 10, and Annabeth ripped one of the papers off.
"Join the Hunters," she read. "It's the best decision of your life."
We were silent for a few seconds.
"So why exactly is there advertising to join the Hunters on Aphrodite's cabin? Everyone knows they aren't going to join," I said.
"Guess again," a voice behind me said.
We whipped around to find Piper looking at us, her face deathly pale.
"Piper," Annabeth started cautiously. "What do you mean 'guess again'?"
"I mean just that," she said. "Something's up with my siblings. I tried to convince them, but for some reason even the charmspeak didn't work. They're actually going to do it."
"Do what?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.
"Join the Hunters," Piper said, looking like she was going to throw up.
"What?" Annabeth said. "All of them?"
Piper nodded.
Annabeth crossed her arms.
"I don't believe you."
"Then have a look," Piper said, gesturing toward the window.
We peeked inside, not fully believing what we saw. Every camper inside was swooning over the advertising, each chattering endlessly about the excitement of being a Huntress.
"No way," I said.
"Where are all the boys?" Annabeth questioned.
"Gone," Piper said. "Disappeared, just like that. Vanished without a trace."
We all sat down on a nearby bench to think.
"So," I said. "What do we do?"
"I don't know," Piper said miserably. "I mean, these are children of Aphrodite. They're not meant to swear off men forever. And they would never even think about joining the Hunters! I don't know what came over them… It's almost as if they're in some sort of trance."
"Then why didn't it affect you?" I asked.
"I don't know that either," Piper moaned, putting her head in her hands.
"Well," Annabeth said. "The only controlling force I know besides charmspeaking is magic. And I really see no reason for Hecate to do something like this."
"The only person who would do something like this is Artemis," I said. "Have you guys done something to anger her lately?"
Piper shook her head.
Suddenly, Annabeth sat up straight.
"You guys didn't do something to anger Artemis," she said. "But maybe your mom did."
"Maybe…" Piper said. "But what would she do?"
"I don't know," Annabeth said. "But it makes perfect sense. And Artemis must have somehow convinced Hecate to help her… it's the only explanation."
"And she must have hidden the boys somewhere," I added.
"That must be it," Piper said. "But I still don't know why I wasn't affected by the magic."
"Even I don't know that," Annabeth said. "But I do know one thing: Aphrodite's going to freak when she finds out about this."