I sat at the Hermes table in the mess hall. I was all alone. Everyone else had already left to go get ready for some camp-wide game that they play. After Chiron announced my name and who my godly parent was he proceeded to tell all the campers that they were dismissed to go get ready for the game. They all left in silence. For the most part, many of the campers gave me dirty looks as they left. No one was their kind and jolly self as they were before. The girl who had showed me how to perform an offering didn't even attempt to tell me what was going on. So, I stayed in my seat because I wasn't sure what to do next. I didn't know what game they were preparing for, or what the game even was.

I looked down at my hands. How could my mom be Hera, the Queen of the gods? I thought about all the stories I had heard about Hera. Of course, everyone was shocked to see who my parent was; Hera wasn't supposed to have demigod children! She valued family, marriage, and represented dedication and justice. She was a rule follower. I suppose that the lightning and thunder was Zeus feeling angry about the whole situation. I don't blame him. He must've just found out as soon as Hera decided to claim me.

So how, then, could she be my mom if she never dishonored her marriage with Zeus? Sure, Zeus dishonored their marriage quite often and had demigod children with other mortal women. Hera was known to be very vengeful if she found out about these affairs, and she would often times kill the poor woman. I just couldn't understand how the kind, loving woman who would snuggle up with me and read me stories when I was little was Hera.

I realized, suddenly, that I wasn't alone. Someone had sat down across the table from me. I looked up from my hands to see Apollo. He wore a half-hearted smile, an expression of pity towards my situation. I hate it when people show me pity.

I looked back down at my hands to try and avoid eye contact with him. I could hear him sigh. In my peripheral vision, I could see him turn his head to look out over the camp.

"Look," he began, "I'm not going to pretend I know what you are going through right now. Honestly, finding out who your mom is came as a shock to me too. In fact, I could feel that it was a shock to all the gods. But I do know what it is like to find out about something that you didn't know existed."

I looked up at him. Apollo now looked at his hands, clearly a little embarrassed at what he was going to say to me.

"I had no idea that Christian was my son. To be honest, I don't even remember who his mom is. The past years have been very crazy for me. I'm not the same person I was before the Titan War, the War with Gaea, and the War with the Triumvirate. My essence used to be everywhere doing whatever it wanted."

I wasn't quite sure what he was talking about, but I was sure it probably had something to do with the responsibilities that came along with being a god.

He continued on. "But I could tell that he was a child of mine. There was a part of me in him. Point is, I know it sucks to find something out that you didn't think was a piece of your life. I get that. You just need to keep being you. And sometimes, you may even find that the newly added piece to your life is another joy waiting to be revealed."

In a strange way, he was right. Apollo realized that he had done something wrong, but in the end, he gains another son. Apollo is still himself even though he had a slip up. The fact that Hera is my mom doesn't change anything about me. I'm still the same girl I was before I got here. Sure, Hera shouldn't be my mom, but she is, and in a way, deep down I guess I was glad to know finally who my mom was.

Apollo looked up from his hands at me. I smiled at him. "Thanks," I said.

He smiled back at me. He tapped his right index finger on the top of his head. "Hey, I have all this godly wisdom. I've got to share it sometimes."

He then pushed himself up from his seat and walked over to my side. He stretched out his hand to help me up.

"C'mon," he said, "we need to go get ready for the game."

"What game is it exactly?" I said, reluctantly taking his hand. As much as I wasn't in the mood for a game, I couldn't just sit there in all my woes and pity myself.

"Only the greatest, most bloody game ever!" He said as he pulled me up. "Camp Half-Blood's very own Capture the Flag."

Apollo and I headed towards the woods where everyone else was setting up for Capture the Flag. I had played capture the flag before at school. I was always on the winning team. I tended to be the team leader and strategist, but occasionally I would take on the duty of capturing the flag myself. I was fast enough and could pick out the right moments of when to run and get the other team's flag. I also had enough endurance to run at a fast pace to bring the flag back to the other side. The way Apollo described this capture the flag, though, was definitely different.

On the way to the woods we stopped at the armory. Apollo told me that I would need to suit up for this. In no time, I was moderately covered in your classic Greek armor. My arms and legs still showed. I just hoped that I wouldn't get cut in those areas. I also carried a sword with me. The sword was a bit heavy, at least heavier than I would've liked a sword to be. I felt as though the sword would slow me down, but Apollo insisted that I would need a weapon of some kind.

"What's your weapon then?" I asked him. I thought about the Apollo stories from my Mythology class and what his strengths were in war. "Your bow and arrow?"

"Ah, well the thing is since I am the god of archery, if I were to use a bow and arrow I would never miss even if I tried. The other team wouldn't stand a chance," he said. "So, I tend to stick with my war ukulele I got as a gift when I was a mortal. I use it mostly just to whack people with because if I sang with it I could easily make the other team do whatever I wanted. And that would also be very unfair."

I rolled my eyes. I definitely see where Christian got his cocky attitude from (Hint…It's not from his mom).

After we visited the armory, we headed over to where our team's starting headquarters was by the Long Island Sound beach. The other indication that this was not your standard gym class capture the flag was the fact that there actually was a headquarters. There was a huge tent just outside of the tree line to the woods. Apollo had told me on our way over that we were on the blue team. The red team started on the other side of the woods by the Pegasus stables.

There were many campers all decked out in their armor waiting outside of the tent. For me, it was basically the closest thing to an army I have ever seen in person. There was probably about 100 kids just in that area ready for battle. As Apollo and I walked up, some of the kids stopped what they were doing and just stared at me. I started to cower behind Apollo a little bit, slowing down my walking pace. I mean, I don't get scared or intimidated that easily, but having an army of Greek warriors ready to attack starring at you like you were the enemy wasn't exactly a welcoming site.

Apollo turned his head slightly to look at me. "C'mon," he said smiling back at me. He grabbed my hand and lead me into the headquarters tent.

I was grateful to be out of the sight of so many battle-hungry warriors. Inside the tent, there was a table with what appeared to be a map of the woods at camp. There were a bunch of red X's littered across one side of the map. Along the sides of the tent there was extra battle gear, two cots, and some medical supplies. Leaning over the map was Percy all geared up and ready for battle. He had one hand grabbing his chin, clearly concentrating on the map. To the right of him, Will and Nico were also looking at the map. Across the table from them was a boy I hadn't seen before. He had curly dark black hair. He seemed a little impish and nimble. His fingers were drumming the table with the map on it. He wore what looked like a tool belt around his waist.

As Apollo and I walked in, Percy looked up from the map. He just stared at me for a beat or two. He looked at me as though he was debating whether to trust me. He then seemed to decide to go against what everyone else had done and smiled back at.

"Hey Cyan," he said. "Glad you could join us."

Will, Nico, and the impish boy looked up from the map. They all wore that same blank expression everyone else seems to wear when I walk anywhere near them.

Will then broke the silence. He stood strait up with his hands on his hips and leaned to one side. He stood like a teacher who was about to lecture me. His face had a stern expression. "Now Cyan, I don't appreciate what you did at the infirmary. I told you to stay put! And you should never disobey a doctor's orders!" I could see the corner of Will's mouth start to rise as he was clearly trying not to smile. I saw Nico smirk beside him.

"Yes, I know. But I didn't see a doctor there. Last time I checked doctors don't appear as teenage boys with flip-flops," I countered.

Will frowned. Nico and the impish boy laughed.

"Told you you don't look like a doctor," Nico said smirking with his arms across his chest.

"Ha, I like this girl," the impish boy said looking at Percy and pointing at me.

The boy then turned to me. "I'm Leo. But you can call me Hot Stuff if you'd like."

"Excuse me," Apollo said rolling his eyes, "but I am the real sun god here."

Apollo then looked at Percy. "I don't know if you have already given me a partner or job, but I'd like to partner up with Cyan. Me and her can be one of the flank groups that searches for the flag."

Percy nodded. "That sounds good. I just have no idea where Annabeth would've hidden the flag this time."

"Oh, it's fine," Leo said, "we'll just do what we always do."

"And that's what?" I asked.

"Wing it."

I don't know how I felt about being on a team that just "winged" it, but that is exactly what we did. After Percy and the others went around from group to group explaining what their duties were and making it up as they went, the groups would then split off and head into the woods. Apollo and I went towards the outskirts of the woods closest to the beach. Once we reached there, a big conch horn sounded off.

"And let the Hunger Games begin!" Apollo said laughing.

I laughed too. "That wasn't funny," I said. "To me, I feel like this actually is the Hunger Games."

"I'm kidding. It's not really like the Hunger Games. More than one person tends to survive…at least most of the time that is." He glanced sideways at me as we walked along.

"You better be kidding," I said.

We continued along the outskirts of the woods for a little while. We hadn't encountered the flag or anyone on the opposing team. We stopped for a moment to scope the woods and see if we saw anything. We were all alone. In the distance, I could hear yelling and the clashing of metal, but nothing close by seemed to be a threat. I decided to ask Apollo a burning question that I had had for awhile now.

"Why does everyone here seem to hate my mom?" I asked.

"Hmmm," he said. He continued to look out over the woods. "What do you mean?"

It seemed as though he didn't want to answer the question.

"Well, I know my mom isn't supposed to have kids with anyone other than Zeus, but it just seems like everyone at camp hates me on a personal level when I've only just arrived. And it didn't happen before I was claimed. So, it's almost like everyone hates me because of my mom."

"Ah, you're very smart," he replied. "Are you sure Athena isn't your mom?"

I looked at him and frowned.

"Sorry," he said. He finally turned to me. "You're right. Many of the campers dislike Hera because of what she did a few years back. Long story short, she took Percy from Camp Half-Blood and a handsome young fellow named Jason from the Roman Camp against their wills. She then erased their memories about their lives and put them in the other's camp. She did this in an effort to join the two camps. Obviously, many people love Percy. So, the fact that she took him away was terrible. Of course, Annabeth hates Hera's guts because of what she did to her boyfriend and all the horrors they had to go through. Annabeth and Percy have a huge following here at camp and so everyone else seems to hold their opinions and grudges on the same people. Also, Hera doesn't have a good history with demigods anyways."

I looked down at my shoes. I never thought that my mother, who I had always idealized in my head, was hated by so many people. I could feel Apollo staring at me now. I looked up at him. His jaw was clenched, almost as if he wanted to tell me something but he was trying not to. Whatever he was going to tell me, he never got to it. I saw his eyes grow big and he yelled, "Cy, duck!"

I hit the ground hard. I'm glad he wasn't talking about a duck as in a bird, otherwise I would've looked ridiculous falling to the ground for no apparent reason. As I dropped to the ground I felt the wind of something swinging over my head. All I could see at the moment was Apollo's feet and the forest floor. Apollo's feet then sprang over me. I crawled to the tree trunk in front of me to help pull myself up. As I spun around I unsheathed my sword.

In front of me Apollo was smacking two other campers with his golden ukulele. You would've thought that a boy with a ukulele against two kids with swords would've been defeated easily, but Apollo held his own. I felt stupid just standing there, but I didn't know what else to do.

Apollo then yelled to me. "Cy! Follow this line of trees and go get the flag! It's that way; about 400 yards!"

"Hey!" one of the campers fighting Apollo said. "You can't use your godly vision! That's cheating!"

"Um excuse me, Luis?! Don't give me a lecture on cheating when you clearly cheated on your girlfriend!" Apollo replied.

The second camper fighting Apollo gasped. "Luis, what?! You cheated on my sister!"

Luis looked a bit unsettled. "Uh, no! He doesn't know what he's talking about!"

Apollo now yelled at me again. "Cy, go!"

I turned and ran in the direction the god told me to go.

Sure enough, exactly 400 yards away from where Apollo was, the straight line of trees ended. I could see the red flag raised on a stick about 5 feet in the air. I crouched behind the closest tree. I looked all around me to make sure the cost was clear. There was no one behind me, to my left, or to my right. If anyone else was here they would be behind another tree facing the flag. I found that this was highly likely. Who would be stupid enough to leave the flag unprotected. I decided to pull a run, grab, and go. I knew that the stream that cut through the forest was the boundary line between the two sides, and that was a good half a mile away. I could easily make it there at a fast sprint. I tend to run at a fast pace anyways when there is a half a mile left in my cross country meets; this would be a piece of cake. I would just have to doge any crazy maniacs trying to stop me with sharp swords. I looked at the flag one last time and checked the area surrounding it to make sure no one was nearby.

I then jumped out from behind the tree and sprinted to the post. I yanked the flag down. It came free surprisingly easily. I then sprinted to my left and towards the general area of the stream.

I heard a female voice behind me yell, "Damn it! Come on!"

I ran hard. After about 50 yards, I could see pockets of groups in battle. I could hear the clashing of swords on metal and the laughter of triumph, or the screams of pain. I kept on running. When I had a little clearing without any trees in front of me, I glanced behind me. I could see a girl with blonde hair chasing after me along with two other campers. It was hard to focus on them, but I think the blonde-haired pursuer was Annabeth.

She was yelling, "She's got the flag!"

I could see a couple of the campers in my side vision turning towards me and then abandoned their individual battles to come pursue me too. At this point, I guessed that I was about 400 more yards away from the boundary line. I sprinted harder. My lungs filled with cool air. My legs were burning. Adrenaline coursed through my veins. There was no way they were going to catch me now; I loved this feeling more than anything else.

After another minute, I was about 20 yards away from the stream. I was debating whether or not to run through it or jump over it. The stream was about 10 feet wide. I didn't think I could jump all the way across. The stream was no more than knee deep though, so I decided that I would still be able to run through it and make it to the other side without being caught.

I hit the cold water and ran the last few yards, being sure to keep my legs up and pushing off the ground hard to get more power. I was so close. Hopefully, the fact that I won the game of capture the flag would make some of the campers reconsider their thoughts of me and start to accept me as one of their own.

Of course, though, there had to be a boulder in the stream. Just as I was about to make it to the other side, my right foot landed on a boulder. As I pushed off, the boulder slipped out from underneath me and caused me to lose my footing. I fell down in the water. Knowing that I was just off the shore, I quickly reached out my right hand with the flag in it. As my hand landed down, I felt the dirt underneath it. I picked up my head from the water to look and make sure that the flag was on the other side. Sure enough, it was. I had won the game! Thank goodness too, or that fall at the end would've made my social situation here at camp even worse.

I pulled myself out of the water smiling. I could see people on my side popping out from behind trees and jogging over to me. I turned around to see just how close my pursuers had been.

Just as I began to turn around, a sword smacked me in the gut. I hobbled back taken by surprise. I got the wind knocked out of me and I could barely breathe. I looked up to see who had hit me. I just saw the blonde hair before the sword came back down on me and cut my right arm. I staggered back again.

"Wha-," was all I could get out when the next blow came. The sword slashed across my left thigh. I bent towards the wound as the pain was excruciating.

"How. Could. You!" Annabeth screamed between slashing at me.

I stepped to the right and managed to dodge a slice to my right leg. She kept swinging her sword blindly. Out of the corners of my eyes I could see other campers just standing around us.

"Now you feel the pain I felt!" Annabeth screamed again as she swung her sword.

I tried to doge again, but the tip of her sword slashed across my cheek. As I tried to back up, Annabeth was faster and stuck out her foot behind my leg. I fell to the ground. I felt pain all over my body. My head now hurt as I didn't brace my fall. I could taste blood in my mouth. I couldn't stand let alone roll out the way. I looked up to see Annabeth getting ready to give me another blow to the head. I would probably pass out.

Just before the flat of her sword was about to connect with my head, someone football tackled her. Annabeth and the person went flying to the side.

I turned to my right side and spit blood out of my mouth, and looked to see who had stopped Annabeth.

Christian was getting up off the ground as I looked over. Annabeth quickly got up ready to fight. Christian now stood in between us.

"Leave her alone," he said in a deep and serious voice, which was something I hadn't thought Christian was capable of. "She was across the line. The game is over."

Annabeth and Christian had a stare down for a few seconds. All of a sudden, a conch horn sounded off in the distance. That must've been the confirmation that the game was over.

Annabeth then huffed, threw down her sword, and trudged off in the other direction. The crowd surrounding us quickly dispersed out of the way and starred to dissipate.

Off to my right I heard Percy yell, "Annabeth! Wait!"

I saw him run after her. I then remembered what Apollo had said. No one hated my mom more than Annabeth.

I slowly tried to get up. I didn't want to appear as some weak new girl, but it was extra hard to get up using my right arm as the gash had made it weak. Blood soaked my shirt sleeve.

Christian turned around and helped lift me up. I draped my right arm on top of his shoulders and stood on my right leg, putting most of my weight on him.

"You okay?" he asked.

I looked up at him and smiled. "Never better," I heaved out.

He smiled back at me, but he definitely had a concerned look on his face.

"C'mon. Let's get you back to the infirmary."