V: Capt. Emily Zhang
To: Frank Zhang
Son of Mars
Camp Jupiter
Caldecott Tunnel, Berkeley Hills, CA
From: Capt. Emily Zhang
The Underworld
For my Frank,
I hope this letter gets to you okay. Nico seemed sweet (if a little flighty) so fingers crossed! He said you're not sure what happened to Grandma — honestly, I don't know either. I'm sure she's okay, though, so don't worry too much. She's a force of nature!
Anyway, how've you been? Nico said you were going out with his little sister Hazel, and he showed me a picture of her he had in his wallet. She looks lovely! I'll bet you two are adorable together. You'll have to see if you can talk him into bringing me some pictures of you two and all your friends, okay? Nico promised to bring a letter back from you. I want to know everything about everybody!
Of course by now you've found out everything about the gods and your dad and all — I hope it wasn't too big of a shock for you, kiddo. I did always worry about how you would take it. I thought if I told you all those stories about our ancestry, like they were just pretend, it would make it easier to talk about later. Nico said you figured out the shape-shifting, after a bit. I hope it wasn't too difficult for you. It took me years to figure it out! Of course Grandma was near-perfect at it, but then that's how she is with a lot of things. I think she got more Greek blood than I did. And of course I knew you'd be better at it than both of us eventually, what with your dad. I wish I'd gotten the chance to tell you everything myself, baby. I was planning on telling you everything when you were older, but then — well. I waited a little too long, huh, Frank?
You know, I've got this tiny subconscious voice in my head that sounds like Grandma. I don't suppose you've got one — I think it comes from her being my mom. Right now it's telling me I'm beating around the bush, and I suppose I have been, haven't I? You know I don't like plopping right into big talks, and this is probably the biggest talk we've ever had — even if it is a little one-sided. You'll have to bear with me a bit, kiddo.
I really am so, so sorry for leaving you like that, Frank. I just… I knew I could help my people, and I did, but then I got in a bad spot and I couldn't help myself and they couldn't get to me. It broke my heart, when I realized I wouldn't get back home to you. You were my whole world — you still are — and I would give almost anything to get back up there with my baby boy. I wished I was back home with you right then, but I couldn't — I can't — regret saving my people's lives. If it was just one of me or six of them, I decided it was better that less of us were lost. Even if it was so terribly unfair that you'd lose your mom, it would be so much worse if six other kids lost their mom or dad because I didn't help. I wish so bad it hadn't meant losing you, Frank. I know you're probably angry with me for leaving, and that's ok, baby. I'm pretty angry with myself about it, honestly. Hopefully one day — very far in the future — we can sit down and have a good, long talk about it.
Oh, I almost forgot — Nico said you were a praetor now! I'm so proud of you, Frank! I know it means you'll have fought some pretty hard battles, though. I wish you didn't have to do that, but I guess with a soldier for a mom and Mars for a dad, you couldn't exactly have gone into flower-arranging, huh? If I could I'd write down everything I ever learned about leading people for you in a book, but my best piece of advice is this: always remember that your soldiers are people. That means you can't send them to do something you wouldn't do yourself, and you can't just think about them like pieces on a game board. Sacrifices in battle and war are real, and they take lives. Thinking like that will make some decisions really hard, Frank, and that's okay. They should be hard decisions. Just make sure you keep your head above water and surround yourself with good, honest people who won't hesitate to let you know if you're doing something wrong or hurtful. (Like Hazel!) Having good friends will make all the difference.
Oh dear — I'm starting to run out of room! I guess I'd better wrap up, baby. Remember that I love you truckloads and that I'm super proud of you!
Lots of love, Mom
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
PS: Watch out for your firewood, okay? I want you to live a good long life up there before we get to see each other again.
Some more love, Mom
xoxoxoxox
PPS: Be good to Hazel! I want you two to be happy together for a long, long time, and you've got to have a good foundation for that.
A little more love, Mom
xoxoxo
To: Capt. Emily Zhang
The Underworld
From: Frank Zhang
Son of Mars
Camp Jupiter
Caldecott Tunnel, Berkeley Hills, CA
Dear Mom,
Your letter made it alright… and I guess that's obvious, since I'm writing back. Um, anyway — you're the only person I've ever heard who called Nico di Angelo "sweet." I think most of the demigods are kind of scared of him. He makes me a bit nervous, mostly because he's got this Grim-Reaper aura, but it makes him a lot less intimidating to know he keeps Hazel's picture with him.
Hazel is amazing, Mom! She's sweet, and funny, and brave, and she's an awesome fighter. We've been friends for a while — almost since I came to Camp Jupiter — and I'm still kind of in shock that she likes me back. She's technically older than me, because she was born in 1928, but she sacrificed herself to slow down Gaea in 1942 and then Nico brought her back to the world last year, when the Doors of Death had just been opened. So counting from her birthdate, she's almost ninety, but biologically she's about fifteen, so just a couple years younger than me. You almost don't notice that she's been pulled out of time, but then she doesn't know what a chicken nugget is because they weren't invented in the forties. You'd love talking to Hazel, Mom — her sense of humor is so close to yours and she likes the same weird stuff you do, like shrimp and eating butter straight from the tub.
I put a bunch of pictures for you in the envelope of everyone, like you asked, but I think most of them are of Hazel. Nico already showed you her picture, so I don't really need to describe her, I guess. Obviously you know what Nico looks like. Percy Jackson is a Poseidon kid, he's the one who looks kind of like Harry Potter (but without the glasses and the scar). He's a little older than me, and a crazy sword fighter. Because he's Poseidon's son he can control water, make mini hurricanes, talk to sea animals and horses, and breathe underwater. Percy's actually kind of goofy, but not in a dumb way — he's pretty sharp, he just jokes around all the time. Annabeth Chase, his girlfriend, is blonde with grey eyes and she's the smartest person I've ever met. She's actually kind of scary (not that I'd ever say that to her face), but she's also really nice. She's a daughter of Athena, which is a little weird for me as a Roman demigod since Minerva doesn't have kids, but apparently Athena kids spring from Athena's head like she came out of Zeus's head and they're gifts to mortal men she deems worthy. It's kind of weird.
Jason Grace is the all-American looking one with blue eyes and blond hair. He's Jupiter's son, so he can fly, control the wind, and summon lightning and storms. He's actually a sort of high priest now, and he makes sure all the minor gods get the recognition they deserve (mostly so they don't go on crazy power trips). He's also a little intimidating, but he's pretty laid back when you get to know him. His girlfriend is Piper McLean; she's the one with the feathers braided into her hair. Piper's Aphrodite's daughter, and her dad is Tristan McLean! You remember that old movie we used to watch all the time, with the unicorn girl and the space miners? He played Rafik! Isn't that crazy? Anyway, Piper's really nice, not like some of the Venus girls at Camp Jupiter. Jason's crazy for her, but I guess I can't really talk.
There's also Leo Valdez; he's the Latino boy. Jason said the first time they met for real he thought Leo looked like a crazy Latino Santa's elf, which suits him pretty well. He can make fire with his bare hands, and he doesn't get burned, so it was kind of weird with us at first, but we smoothed it all out. He's a Hephaestus kid. Then there's Calypso — the real Calypso, the one from the myths. Leo brought her back from Ogygia. None of us know her all that well yet, but she's been really friendly so far. Except with Percy, she's kind of awkward around him for some reason, but I think they're working on it. Calypso's the girl with the really long reddish-blonde hair. Last but not least, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano (but never call her by her full name). She's the other Twelfth Legion praetor, and she can be really intimidating when she wants to be. She's a daughter of Bellona, so she can literally give you courage or determination in battle. Reyna's an amazing leader, so it's been super cool working with her. So… yeah, that's pretty much everyone. Oh, the Irish-looking girl in one of the pictures of Camp Half-Blood (the Greek camp) is Rachel Dare. She's the Oracle of Delphi, which means sometimes this green fog comes out of her mouth and she gives the Greeks prophecies for their quests. It's a little creepy, but it's more efficient than slicing open stuffed animals like we do at Camp Jupiter.
Learning about the gods and all was pretty freaky, but it also felt right, if that makes any sense. Like it was always that way, and I always knew it, but it was just something I forgot for a while. You know when you forget a song, and someone else starts singing it, and you recognize all the lyrics and stuff but you can't quite remember what comes next until they sing it? It was like that. When I found out about Mars being my dad, though — he sort of appeared in a pillar of flame to give a quest and then said, "oh, you're my son. Have a gift and don't die on this dangerous quest you get to lead." So that was kind of crazy. But we made it and saved the whole world, so it turned out ok.
I miss you a ton, and sometimes it still feels like you're just going to walk in the door and everything will go back to the way it was. I wish… I don't even know what I wish. I want you back, but if having you means other people lose their parents, it feels too selfish. I guess I'm just glad you could help and that we got to write each other. I don't think I'm angry — maybe a little — I don't really know. I'm looking forward to a good talk, though. But it's going to have to wait a really long time, hopefully. I gave my firewood to Hazel to hold onto, and I want her to be the one to keep it for the rest of our lives. I feel a lot safer when she has it.
Thank you for all the advice about being praetor. It's kind of scary, being in charge of so many people, especially since if something goes wrong Reyna and I will be the ones at least partly responsible. But we make a really good team, so I don't worry as much now as I used too.
Sheesh, this was a lot longer than I though it was going to be. My hand is kind of sore now, haha. I love you tons and tons and I promise to be careful! And I'm definitely going to take care of Hazel. If I don't, Nico will — I actually don't know what he'd do, but it would be pretty bad. But I'll be good to her, anyway, for as long as she wants me.
Love, your son Frank
xoxoxoxoxo
A/N: Yikes, this one was a beast. Hopefully that makes up for the super-long wait time… maybe a smidgen, anyway. I honestly didn't intend for it to take so long, but then… life. Blargh. Here it is anyway!
Also: I do not like ToA at all. I read some of the first book for Leo's return, but the rest of it I couldn't care less about.
I changed the way I write the addresses, since I was addressing letters to a body of water. *sigh* Sometimes I surprise even myself.
That's all for now — let me know what you thought of the chapter!
7/27/2021