A/N: IMPORTANT NOTICE! MAKE SURE YOU'VE READ CHAPTER 25! Yes, you may have already read this chapter. This is because I was an idiot and posted it last week by accident. If you have already read this, go back to chapter 25 as that has now been updated to the intended content for chapter 25. To amend my error I've updated early this week so there will be no update on Sunday. Sorry for the mix up! ~ Emma
Original A/N: Hey Half-bloods! Today is a very exciting week because we are finally going to Camp! Hope you all enjoy the change up because we're staying for the next few chapters. Shout out to HaromyHarpshine7 again for the continued support and to HaywireEagle because all reviews are helpful reviews. ~ Emma.
"We're here." Annabeth announced, stating the obvious as they pulled up next to a marble archway with the words 'Camp Half-Blood' engraved in the top in the same font as they appeared on the orange tee shirt Annabeth had given her to wear.
Emma looked out of the side window, coated with drizzling rain, to see a large pine tree with a fluffy golden blanket over one of the lower branches. Next to it stood a large statue of a woman in armour who she assumed to be Athena. Both the tree and the statue seemed to exude power. She almost thought she saw something scaly in the higher branches of the tree.
Beyond, the sun broke through the clouds over a large expanse of fields, with a scattering of buildings in the distance. So this was where her brother had spent every summer since he was 12. Being a Hero. Saving the day. How could she live up to that? Emma wasn't used to living in someone else's shadow but as the second child of Poseidon this camp had ever seen? She knew it would be impossible to escape it.
She wondered how many people there would be there. On the painfully long drive up, Annabeth had explained that though not everyone stayed year-round, it usually wasn't too deserted due to all the extra claiming since the titan war.
As she got out of the car, Emma pulled the hood of her blue raincoat up over her head, while Annabeth didn't even reach for hers. The older girl just pulled the bags out of the boot, throwing Emma's at her with perfect aim.
"Are you gonna be okay?" Annabeth said as the rain droplets stuck to her effortlessly curly blonde hair.
"I'm about to go to a summer camp, where the weather's always nice, to pick strawberries and get beaten up by a bunch of teenagers who only know me as Percy's long lost sister. What could be better?" Emma said with sarcastic enthusiasm and a painfully wide smile on her face. It was the only way she knew how to deal with her unending lack of confidence.
Annabeth sighed.
"You don't give yourself enough credit. You're a better fighter than either they or you think. Especially given your lack of training."
Emma was quiet for a moment, letting the words she wanted to say roll around her head before she actually opened her mouth.
"You said most kids get claimed by the time they're thirteen, when the monster attacks get bad. I'm four years passed that and the monster attacks have been bad for even longer. I've been on the camps bloody doorstep for years and still nothing. Why wasn't I claimed?"
Annabeth looked at her sadly.
"Your dad doesn't have the best history of claiming. Toward the end of World War II, the oracle of delphi spoke a prophecy stating that the next child of the big three to turn sixteen would hold the fate of Olympus in their hands. They decided they needed to have less interaction with the mortal world, as their demigod children were too powerful. So, Zues, Poseidon and Hades all agreed not to have any more children. They all lasted a while, but then my friend Thalia, daughter of Zues, was born, followed by Percy and then Jupiter, Zues' Roman form, had Jason, who you met when we went to LA-"
"I'm not sure that answers my question…" Emma said, hesitantly.
"Right, sorry. My point was that Poseidon only claimed Percy when we arrived at Camp Half-Blood and started using the water to fight everyone." Annbeth continued. "He probably didn't want to admit he hadn't just broken the pact once, but twice."
Emma felt stung in a way she hadn't expected to.
"So in conclusion," Emma said, curtly, "I'm just a mistake and all those years of almost dying over and over were because my dad was too embarrassed to claim me."
"Emma-" Annabeth started, but Emma waved her words away.
"Can we just go in." Emma bit her lip nervously. She needed something to take her mind off it.
Annabeth nodded reluctantly. "Okay, dinner will be starting soon so we'll head to the Dining Pavilion. Tour will commence tomorrow."
The rain stopped as soon as they went through the arch and Emma realised why Annabeth hadn't bothered with a coat. It was getting dark as they walked down into the valley and, after a short time, they arrived to find that everyone had already taken their seats. When Annabeth had said the 'Dining Pavilion' she had at least been expecting some walls and a roof at the very least. Instead, it was just an area framed by columns.
She took a second to take a deep breath. A room full of kids she'd never met who would all be staring at her? She could do this. It's what she'd been doing for the past two weeks. Except this time some tiny part of her hoped they would like her. Maybe this would be the one place she could belong. Maybe this was how she learnt to trust.
Annabeth coughed, bringing her back into her own mind. She was mad to even think there was a place she belonged.
Annabeth explained that tables worked like cabins, meaning she would be sitting on her own. As Annabeth left to go and sit with her brothers and sisters, she felt a little deflated after all the effort of mentally preparing herself to meet new people.
As she looked around she could easily identify the different groups. At one table sat some girls who's looks could rival Betty Gardener. Their immaculate hair and makeup defined them as the Aphrodite children. At another table, everyone either sported some form of camo or leather, making them the Ares cabin. One table was even doing some light a cappella practice before dinner. As she stared at them one of the boys caught her eye and winked at her. The Apollo kids then.
Emma blushed and looked away, reaching into her bag to bring her book out, when a girl with vibrant red curly hair sat down in front of her.
"Am I at the wrong table?" Emma cringed. She become nervous as she realised that Annabeth wouldn't have shown her the wrong table and this girl must be breaking the 'you can only sit at your table' rule.
"No." The girl said, her green eyes gleaming as she smiled. "I don't have a godly parent. I'm Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the host of the Oracle of Delphi."
"Oh, right, of course." Emma stammered, feeling awkward. "Percy's told me so much about you."
Rachel wore a paint stained tee shirt and had splatters of acrylic up her arms. Her hair was the kind that could never be tamed and even sported some blue paint in the ends. Her eyes were vibrant, but kind and the warm smile on her face made Emma want to relax a little.
"I've heard a bit about you, but I'm more interested in who you are rather than what monsters are trying to kidnap you." Rachel said, reaching for one of the goblets on the table. "Orange Juice."
"I'm sorry?" Emma said, her eyes wide as the other girl took a sip from her empty cup.
"Oh, they're magic. They fill with whatever you drink you say." Rachel said nonchalantly as if this was perfectly normal.
"Urm… earl grey tea." Emma tried, feeling utterly ridiculous. However her cup did fill with what was the best tea Emma had ever had. "So what happens now?"
"The wood nymphs will come around with food. You load up your plate and burn the best bit as an offering to the gods." Rachel said and, as if on cue, the food came out.
"Ah of course, because I really want to give up the best part of my food to make my absentee father happy." Emma said sarcastically and Rachel gave a warm laugh.
"No one knows what will happen if you refuse. Could be an interesting experiment." Rachel said.
Emma sighed, knowing she had no intention of being the one to find out. When the food came around she layered up her plate and made sure to get the tastiest looking tomato, knowing full well that she wouldn't have eaten it anyway. That would be her small act of rebellion. As soon as she scraped it into the fire she felt a little pathetic for her feeble attempt, but she realised that she wasn't quite sure how to rebel against parents. For most of her teenage years she hadn't had anyone to rebel against anyway. Even if she did, it's not common for parents to object to their kids staying in all the time and reading.
Emma was surprised at how well she got on with Rachel. As they talked it became evident that they shared a mutual feeling of being the outsider. Rachel had spent months underground at Camp Half-Blood, but it seemed that even now she was free to roam around she still got odd looks from people.
"So you didn't live here before Bahram started to rise?" Emma said and Rachel nodded in response. "Then why not just go back home?"
"I… I don't get along that well with my family. My dad and I have very different views." Rachel said, poking at her food hesitantly. "Besides, I have friends here now that I want to stick around for."
Emma noticed how, though she tried to cover it, Rachel was more flustered over the latter part of her statement than the former. Her fair skin did nothing to mask the slight blush that came to her cheeks. Emma could have sworn Percy had said the Oracle had to swear off dating, but she supposed that didn't mean Rachel was immune to the odd crush.
"That makes sense. So why aren't you sitting with them?" Emma said, before she became acutely aware of how rude it sounded.
"Because I've sat with them every other night and I wasn't going to let the new girl feel lonely." Rachel said with a friendly grin that Emma returned.
Her attention was drawn by a man standing up from the high table, or high stone picnic bench as it could be more accurately described. He had messy black hair, a thick beard and sported the ugliest shirt Emma had ever seen.
"Well done you little wretches." He said in a mocking tone that surprised her. He looked like he was in charge and though she had no previous experience of summer camps, especially not ones for demigod children, she hadn't been expecting that from the camp leader. "You didn't die this week. Now go kill each other over a flag."
"That's Dionysus, but we all him Mr D." Rachel whispered.
"Dionysus? The Greek god of wine is reluctantly running a summer camp?"
Dionysus slumped back in his chair, his speech apparently over. A centaur wearing a tweed jacket, leaned over and whispered something in his ear, making him groan and stand back up.
"We also have a new camper. Ella Jackson." He raised his glass with a grimace as the centaur tugged at his arm again. Emma was sure she had turned a deep shade of red. She didn't want to be associated with Percy anymore than necessary. Everyone here must idolise him for what he's done in this eighteen years on earth. What had she done? Read a few books.
"It's Emma Turner." The centaur told Dionysus.
"You said it was Perry Jackson's sister?" Dionysus grumbled back.
"They share a godly parent, not a mortal one." The centaur said in a hushed tone that they could all still hear.
"Emma Turner." Dionysus announced, standing up straight again. "Now go do whatever you want, I really don't care."
Emma found herself smiling. She could imagine he would get quite annoying if you had to live with him all the time, but she kind of enjoyed his zero shits attitude.
The pavilion dispersed as lots of the campers ran off excitedly, chatting among themselves. Emma was trying to work out what to do or who to go with, when the centaur from the high table approached her. He dressed more like a professor than anything else, with a tweed jacket and glasses.
"Hey Chiron." Rachel said cheerfully as he approached.
"Wait, Chiron. As in the guy who trained Achilles, Jason and Perseus?" Emma asked, her eyes wide.
"That would be correct." The centaur said proudly. "Rachel, could I steal Emma for a moment?"
"Of course, see you later." Rachel said with a broad smile before disappearing into the crowd.
"How lovely it is to finally meet you." He said with a cheerful smile that lit up the lines on his face. Though he appeared to be early sixties, she could assume he was much older than that. "Shall we walk? We're not used to having new demigods age 17, so I think we'll skip the induction video."
Chiron didn't wait for an answer before beginning to walk out of the pavilion toward the beach. It looked beautiful lit up by stars as bright as those in the english countryside. She felt a million miles from New York as a warm breeze blew the smell of fresh air into her lungs.
"It isn't very often a demigod survives as long as you have without any formal training, nor is it common for demigods to slip under the radar of our well positioned Satyrs." Chiron mused. "It's even more astounding given the number of demigods at your school."
"I guess I just don't get out much." Emma replied, unsure of what else to say. It wasn't that she was a stranger to monster attacks, but she hadn't been aware of the Titan war or the Giants war. She supposed they must have occurred during her visits her grandparents in England each summer.
Chiron stopped at the point where the grass met the sand. Emma wanted to venture further, feel the sand under her feet or even reach the waters edge, but she didn't.
"There is a big fight coming and we won't know who is on what side. Once you get into somebody's dreams they are easy to manipulate." Chiron said, really not helping the trust issues Emma needed to overcome. "Camp Half-Blood can be your new home, if you wish, and we can be your family, so long as you never give us reason to mistrust you."
Emma was suddenly taken aback. He hadn't been warning her against others who may have had their minds poisoned. He was warning her against betraying them.
"Look, I don't know why I was never found." Emma admitted, her tone cold and defensive. "My mum had me doing all sorts of combat training classes from a very young age and I've just handled myself. I haven't had a dream from Bahram for over a month now and I want nothing to do with him."
"Emma, it's alright." He said warmly. "I am not saying what you think I am. I only mean to warn you that not is a troubled time for the camp and everyone is quite on edge."
She turned away, instantly embarrassed. She was used to assuming that everyone was either indifferent to her or out to get her.
"I'm sorry." She said gently, "It's been a difficult few weeks."
"So I've heard." Chiron said softly. He looked out at the ocean and Emma did the same. For a moment they were simply quiet and Emma let the sound of the rolling waves calm her.
"I hope you enjoy your time here. It's important for you all to get to know one another. It can be awfully lonely to be a demigod in this era, where you are not appreciated for your efforts. I would give you the tour but then you'd miss the games. Speaking of…"
Emma turned around to see Annabeth approaching them.
"All done with the intro talk?" Annabeth said brightly.
"She's all yours." Chiron beamed, contrasting their previous conversation. "Good luck, Emma." He added before trotting off to where the other demigods had gathered.
Annabeth turned to Emma with a wicked grin on her face.
"My siblings have gone to get your some armour and a sword, are you ready?"
"Why would I need armour?" Emma queried.
"We're playing capture the flag."
"That really doesn't answer my question."
"Oh right, well it's just like normal capture the flag, but with actual fighting." Emma wasn't sure why that made the other girl quite so happy. "It teaches you about battle strategy and it's good practice."
Just what Emma wanted. Day one and she was going to have to prove herself to the camp.
The teams were drawn up and Emma was thankful she was on Annabeth's side or she wasn't sure she would have made it through the night. She had played capture the flag a couple of times in 'fun' gym classes, but this would be completely different. Emma had never truly fought another human before and she assumed this wouldn't be like any classes she'd had over the years. She knew how to kill well. Her disarming needed some work.
Some of the Athena kids helped strap her into her armour and a guy named Malcom Pace briefed her on the strategy.
"Despite the fact you're a daughter of Poseidon, the Ares cabin all think you're gonna suck because you're new and Percy wasn't all that great when he first got here. We're putting you on border patrol so you're by the creek. Feign being terrible until you see a good time to unleash the daughter-of-the-big-three beast."
He slapped her on the back and smiled as if his plan could not fail. Emma managed a weak smile as she tried to get to grips with the foreign weight of a sword in her hand. It didn't feel wrong per se, just not as right as her knife.
"So what are the teams again?" Emma said.
"Athena, Apollo, Demeter and everyone from the smaller cabins, against Ares, Hephaestus Aphrodite and Hermes." Malcolm responded.
"Okay, this will be fine. I can do this." Emma wasn't sure why she was saying it aloud.
"Ready?" Annabeth said coming over to her with an encouraging look on her face.
"Sure." Emma grimace, before quietly adding to herself, "Why not."