"You're from the uh... Olympian council?" Annabeth asked as we walked towards our next lesson.
"Yes, I am. I'm really new to the whole council. I've met a few of the members." I replied, my fingers through the straps of my heels that were off of my feet.
"Have you met Athena?" She asked, wiping sweat from her forehead.
I chuckled. "Athena?" I raised my eyebrows. "She's like a teenage girl together with Artemis."
"Athena's my mother." She told me.
I sucked in air quick, shocked. "Holy... oh my goodness." I covered my mouth to not show my smile. "Athena? I don't even know how she can even be your mother. You are way more mature than her, that's what I can tell you. I haven't seen her serious side yet."
"So have you met anyone else here except for me and Nico?" She asked.
"I've met Clarisse." I replied. "Is she the bully here?"
"Totally." She laughed. "Everyone's all so scared of her. You know what, I'm going to introduce you to my boyfriend, Percy."
"Okay." I smiled. She took my hand and lead me to a guy who had tanned skin, sea green eyes, and dark hair. He was quite good-looking.
Annabeth wrapped her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek hello. "Percy, I'd like you to meet —"
"Lady Isabella Marie." Percy finished her sentence. He looked me up and down and smiled. "A pleasure to meet you."
"Just call me Bella." I smiled back, holding my hand out. He took my hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you. Who are you the son of?"
"Poseidon." He replied. "I was shocked to hear that you're a daughter of Hades. Zeus's children are always in the council."
"Oh yeah!" Annabeth exclaimed. "I forgot about that! You've met your father, have you?"
"Yes I have. He's really nice." I said.
Annabeth & Percy shared a strange look. Annabeth looked at me. "Hades? Nice? Never heard him like that. Nico says he's moody, but protective."
"He can be a little... rude." I chuckled, remembering the time when he just walked into my cabin without permission.
"Now that's more like him." Percy muttered. "Have you met any of your half-siblings from your mother's side?"
I frowned. "Well... no. They look a little..."
"Stuck-up?" Annabeth finished. "Most of them are. There are only a few that are really friendly, like Silena Beauregard. She's the counsellor of the Aprodite cabin."
"It's nice to hear that." I chuckled awkwardly.
"Percy, she saved me from the Nemean Lion just now. It almost killed me." Annabeth told Percy.
Percy went in full panic mode. "What? Annabeth, are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"
"Percy, I'm fine! I told you Bella saved me." Annabeth replied, exasperated.
I suddenly had a strange decision that just popped in my mind when Annabeth told Percy about the Nemean Lion. "Uhm... excuse me but I think I need to do something back at the arena." I said, then turned around and walked off.
I walked straight with no emotion on my face until I was met with Chiron again. He was locking the cage of the Nemean Lion. I glanced at it before asking Chiron, "Are you going to use the lion for lessons anytime soon?"
He looked at me and smiled. "Oh hello Lady Isabella. No, I don't think I need to use him any time soon. Why?"
"Can I keep him?" I asked.
He stared at me, shocked. Probably no one asks him that. He then regained his calmness. "Well... yes. Sure. Of course, you will have to return him when I need him for lessons."
"Just don't kill him when you get him for the lessons, can you?" I requested.
"Of course, my lady." He still stuttered. "Do you need him now?"
"Well, I would love to get him now. Do you have a leash?"
He took out metal chains from the side of his horse body and gave it to me. I waited patiently as he opened the cage. I walked recklessly towards the lion and locked the leash onto the collar of the Nemean Lion.
"Is he trained?" I asked.
"No he isn't. Please be very careful with him. I most definitely do not want to see you hurt." He said.
I chuckled. "That's okay. What shall I name you, you furball — uhm, metal-ball?"
The Nemean Lion stared at me. He had big red eyes.
"How about Grumpy?" I wondered out loud. "Grumpy it is. I'll make sure Venus is going to be very nice to you. She'll be very pissed that she has to share her space now. Thank you, Chiron." I nodded towards the centaur in front of me and he did the same.
I left the arena with a big smile on my face.
"Your mother asked me to teach you something totally unrelated to our history," Hades told me when I let him in the next day.
"Oh really?" I folded my arms. "What did she ask you to teach me?"
"Vampires." He replied simply.
I frowned. "There's such thing as vampires? You mean everything's real? To the whole sleeping-in-coffins thing to the unretractable fangs?"
"Well, the coffins and fangs are just myths." He corrected me.
"Even the fangs aren't real?" I said. "That's, like, one of the things that makes vampires so iconic! Please don't tell me they don't drink blood. I would totally lose my faith in legends if you tell me they don't."
"They drink blood." He confirmed, which made me sigh in relief.
"Why do I need to learn about vampires anyway?" I asked.
He sighed. "Your mother made a deal with one of them. A deal that involves you, obviously."
"What deal?"
He didn't answer my question. "Artemis & Athena have taken your measurements, haven't they?"
"Does that have to do with the deal?" I asked, leaning against the closed door.
"Yes it does." He replied.
"Will you please tell me what's the deal?"
He shook his head, refusing to cooperate.
I tried all my persuasive tactics but it never worked on him, like he has about all of them before.
"Your mother's techniques have all been tried on me before, and they are exactly like yours." He chuckled, like he read my mind. "All your questions will be answered once it is time."
"Time for what? I don't understand. Why does everyone get to know but not me? This is so unfair! I'm involved in this and I don't get to know what's happening?!" I whined.
"You sound exactly like your mother." He told me.
"If you don't tell me, I will find out one way or another."