Opening my eyes, the world drifted in and out of focus until I remembered where I was. Sitting up with a gasp, I discovered the rest of the Hermes Cabin still sleeping. Quietly stumbling out of bed, I grabbed a change of clothes, graciously provided by the Aphrodite Cabin, and headed to the Shower House.
Emerging a few minutes later, cleaned and changed, I reviewed the clothes they had given me. Of course, nothing practical. Ripped, faded low-rise jeans, and a preppy, striped-blue button down shirt over a dark blue cami. That was when I noticed that the sun had barely cleared the horizon. Only the Apollo kids, of course, were up. I wandered around Camp, wasting away the time until breakfast. Very soon, I discovered something Demos hadn't showed me on the tour.
In front of me was a snow covered field. When I reached down and brushed the snow away, I saw dead vines of strawberries. Winter had obviously killed them. But, the oddest thing happened when I tentatively touched them. The vine literally began to glow with health, looking fresh and new. The smell of ripe strawberries filled the air, and I plucked on off the vine. It sat, juicy, fat, and red in my hand.
A voice calling "Lila!" startled me out of my thoughts. I looked up and saw Demos looking at me, concerned. His eyes widened when he saw the strawberry sitting in my palm. I could almost see the gears turning in his mind. "Don't tell anyone about this," He quickly said, then knocked the strawberry out of my hand. It fell to the ground, dead and black again. He glanced around nervously, then ushered me to the dining pavilion.
Ravenous, I ate quickly, then waited for everyone else to finish. When done, Conner told me I was having a test day, to discover what I was good at. Apparently, swordfighting was first. With a heavy heart, I set off for the arena.
The spectators giggled as I struggled to put on armor. It was all wayyy to big, dwarfing my tiny frame. In the end, I sighed, and decided to go armorless.
When I turned to see my instructor, my eyes almost popped out of my head. Shadows seemed to creep towards his tall, dark figure. His black hair and olive tone reminded me of someone I'd seen recently. But his eyes were what really got me. His dark, obsidian eyes, piercing me right down to my soul. Glaring at me with the most hate I had ever seen. I stood there, frozen by his glare, until he spoke.
"Nico Di Angelo." He said, his voice hoarse.
"Lila Briar." My voice sounded timid and weak. He nodded and took out his sword. It was wicked, three feet long, and the same color as his eyes. I held up my borrowed sword, feeble in comparison. Then we began to fight.
He was testing me, I could tell, but at the same time it felt like a real battle, life or death. I blocked his moves as well as I could, but swordfighting just wasn't my tell. With a huge clatter, Nico disarmed me and had his sword at my throat. I stood, still as ice, not breathing, waiting for him to take it away. He didn't.
Instead, a contemplating look came into his eyes, like someone was giving him a proposition. His sword began to press harder at my throat, and I could feel a trickle of blood running down onto my shirt. I stepped back, finding myself stuck between a wall and him. He stepped with me, pinning me there. Everyone was silent, waiting for his move. That is, until a hand clamped down on Nico's shoulder.
"Hey Nico, whatcha doing?" Said an unknown voice, and Nico reluctantly lowered his sword. I exhaled deeply, taking in oxygen gratefully. Nico stalked out of the Arena, and an unfamiliar boy watched him, then turned to me.
"Percy Jackson," he said, helping me over to a bench. "And you must be Lila, the new camper. Nice to meet you." I shook his hand, my other hand trying to staunch the flow of blood at my throat.
"Can I get an Apollo kid here?" Percy called, and the Hermes kids scrambled to obey him. While we waited, Percy lowered his voice. "Not to be rude, but what did you do to Nico?"
I shrugged, confused as he was. "I don't know." I said, "He just was teaching me, and next thing I knew I was pinned."
Percy looked thoughtful, and then left me to an Apollo healer with a "Get better."
As the Apollo kid bandaged me up, he chattered sunnily. "Weird kid, that Nico. Did you know he's the Son of Hades?" He continued talking, but my mind was elsewhere. That was who he looked like! Hades, from my dream.
Thinking about that dream made me finally remember the one from last night. I gasped as I remembered my mothers invitation. The Apollo kid looked at me oddly. "You okay? Maybe you should take it easy for today, recover from that. And stay away from Nico."
I nodded, then got up and sprinted to the Hermes Cabin. Flipping through the calendar on the wall, I noticed that todays date was January 28th. I flipped through Feburary, then scanned March, noticing 'Spring Solstice' written on March 20th.
'How odd." I thought. 'That's my birthday.' And then it dawned on me. I would have to wait 2 months to know who my mother was!
Pissed, I flung the calendar to the ground. Flopping onto my bed, I thought over my situation, and then came to the only logical end I could think of. I would run away from Camp, trace my roots back, and try with all my might to discover who my mother was.
A/N: Im so sorry for all the cliffhangers. I am a truly awful person. But the chapter has to end sometime. So, review until next time! And feel free to guess on Lila's parentage. I can pretty much 100% guarentee that you wont be right.
