I managed to settle into a routine of some sort.

I practiced reading and speaking Ancient Greek with some help from the Athena cabin, foot racing with the nymphs, sword-fighting with the Ares cabin, archery with Chiron and cabin seven, Pegasus riding, canoeing, rock climbing, and a million other weird things I had begun to consider normal.

After their meeting with Annabeth, I knew the counselors were watching me. They were confused at my skills, and so was I.

Despite never having picked up a bow before I hit the inner rings of the target nearly every time. Even though I'd barely ever exercised, I could keep up with the senior campers in Capture the Flag. I could tell if a sword was balanced or not, and I managed to beat most of the Ares kids, although I'd never seen a sword before the hellhound encounter.

"Beginner's luck," was what everyone told me, but the looks I got from Annabeth and others made me unsure.

I wasn't good at everything though. I fell out of my canoe nearly every time, and the pegasi reused to even let me near them. I managed to kill every plant I touched, and building? Forget it. All I managed to make was a lumpy ball of metal.

With every new skill I tried, the whispers returned, despite the counselor's discouragement. I just gave them a small smile and shrugged, though it seemed to only encourage their suspicions.

I knew they were gossiping about me, but I didn't care. I had a small ring of friends, or at least people who ignored the rumors enough to talk to me.

Connor and Travis seemed neutral, though maybe that was their job as counselors. Annabeth managed to teach me Greek, but if she met my eyes, she gave a sad smile, or ran off to research about the prophecy.

The rest of the campers pretended not to gossip long enough for me to participate in their classes, though I still got some side-eye glances and whispered rumors. Most were about the prophecy.

Annabeth, in her meeting with the head counselors, had decided they needed more information before deciding if I was part of it, but that didn't stop people from theorizing. 'How can an unclaimed camper go on a quest?' 'Who do you think her godly parent is?' 'Why hasn't she been claimed yet? What about Percy's promise?'

Yeah. I was getting really tired of people guessing who my dad was. Because my godly parent was my dad. I could live with not being related to my mortal dad. But my mom was my mom, no matter what it meant for her and this mysterious god.

My world had been turned upside-down too much already, and even Piper's charmspeak couldn't help me if anything else happened.

Well, Piper's charmspeak didn't help me in a lot of situations. Like…

"Left!" Piper called out.

I dove to the left, tripping over myself trying to avoid the spear in my path.

"Your other left!"

"Real helpful," I called back, scrambling away from Clarisse's spear.

We were sparring again and had gained a bigger audience than normal. Clarisse was one of the Ares kids who could keep up with me, and she wouldn't hold back if I lost. She said she 'owed me' for letting Sherman go after me instead of herself, and that she 'ought to pulverize me' for getting away unscathed.

She pulverized me plenty during our sessions. I could defeat her occasionally, but most of the time I left with my head down and my muscles sore. This was probably gonna be one of those times.

"You can do it!" Piper shouted, but her voice lacked charmspeak, and I knew it was hopeless. We'd been at this for an hour and I'd yet to accomplish the new move I was trying.

"Focus, newbie!" Clarisse shouted from across the arena.

"I've been here for three months!" I shouted, rushing towards her, trying to slam my blade into her chest, but she blocked me with her spear. Our weapons clashed, sword against spear as I tried to sweep her off her feet.

"Try five years." She held steady, throwing her spear out. It hit me in the chest and sent me flying across the arena. The wind was knocked out of me, and I landed on my bad foot, sending me to the ground.

My ankle still acted up sometimes, when I was fighting for too long, or overworked. This was one of those times. I forced myself to my feet anyway, knowing I was pushing myself too hard, but doing it anyway.

As I faced her, I realized my odds were impossible. I was panting and drenched in sweat after nearly an hour of practice, where she showed no signs of tiring any time soon.

I charged her anyway.

She seemed almost surprised that I would try something so suicidal, but adjusted her footing anyway, preparing for my attack. Our audience disappeared as I ran towards her, racking my brain for a way to win. If I wanted to beat her, I would have to try something different.

I dove to the side, sliding like a baseball player. I slammed my sword into the back of her leg, and it buckled, sending her sprawling.

Our audience gasped in disbelief that Clarisse La Rue could be beaten so easily. I clambered to my feet, kicking her spear out of her hands, and placing my foot on her chest. The point of my sword was placed under her chin, ending her attempts to rise.

"Checkmate."

She spat in my face. I dug my blade slightly deeper into chin, a small warning, before stepping off her and turning towards the crowd.

They cheered as I faced them, and I couldn't help blushing a bit, especially when Piper blew me a kiss. It was probably meant as a joke, considering she had a boyfriend, but it was hard to tell with children of Aphrodite.

I gave the group a small smile and a wave, but Piper seemed unsatisfied. She strode over, grabbed my wrist (gently, as she had figured out about my avoidance of touch), and raised it into the air.

"That's how you win!" The cheers returned in full force, and for a moment, I felt like I belonged. The whispers had turned to cheers, and my hand was in Pipers.

Everything was perfect.

Until the sword point was at my back. Piper was pushed back towards the crowd as a leg swept my leg out from under me and sent me plunging to the ground.

I had forgotten about Clarisse.

Dazed with pain, I felt myself being flipped over, her spear point at my throat.

"You win," she growled, her voice ragged from her fall. "By never resting until your enemy is dead." The weapon was thrust further under my chin, the pressure enough to draw blood. "Got it, punk?"

I couldn't nod with a blade at my throat, but she seemed to take my silence as a yes. The pressure at my throat was relieved, and I gasped in a breath. She stormed off towards the Ares cabin.

The gathered campers slowly dispersed, no longer interested now that there was a clear winner. Piper was the only one who stayed.

She knelt at my side, helping me up despite my many injuries. "Don't mind Clarisse, she's just a sore loser," she said, handing me a piece of ambrosia.

"Yeah. I've seen it before." I ate the godly food, ignoring the sting as I swallowed and the feeling of blood trickling down my throat.

"Yeah, she can be a bit much. Good job on beating her though."

I gave her a small smile. It was all I could manage with my bruised and aching body, but it wasn't enough. It would never be enough. Not for everything she'd done for me. But even though I'd never given her much in return, she just kept on giving.

"Do you want to go for a walk?"

I did, desperately, but I also wanted a long hot bath. Unfortunately, I'd have to settle for a quick shower in ice cold water. You'd think the gods would be able to afford better showers for their kids, but no. I had to live with frigid showers and rusty toilets.

I wasn't complaining. Well…not much, anyway. It was better than being chased by monsters every day, even if I still hadn't been claimed. I could live with a bit of gossip. I'd done it at every school I'd been at since the accident. I'd be fine.

One more step. Just survive.

It was my motto of sorts, or at least words to live by. "No thanks, Beauty Queen. I think I'm gonna hit the showers."

"After dinner then?"

"Sure," I didn't want to disappoint her, and if I still wasn't feeling like it, I'd just fudge another excuse.

"See you then!" I didn't know how she did it. Staying so happy all the time, despite the horrors I knew she'd endured, and the quest that was yet to come.

She jogged away anyway, a smile on her face for as long as I could see, waving to me all the way.

My grin dropped the second she was out of sight. I was exhausted from having to talk to people all day. I still wasn't used to it.

I took a quick shower, relishing in the silence before the dinner horn sounded. I sat at the edge of the Hermes table, keeping my head held down to try and hide my new scar. No one noticed.

As we got up to scrape our food into the fire, I found myself glancing above my head. I didn't really care, but I couldn't help but be a little disappointed my dad hadn't claimed me.

My prayers had gotten more desperate over the last month, and as I burnt a bushel of grapes, all I muttered was, "Please." The smoke smelled amazing like always, but I felt anything but as I glanced up. Nothing.

I tried to shrug it off, praying no one had noticed. I finished eating quickly, rushing to the campfire, trying to hide my disappointment. The rest of the camp filed in, Piper taking a seat next to me.

My heart hammered in my chest every time the flames rose. I knew they couldn't hurt me, and Piper's shoulder against mine kept me from panicking, but I still hated it.

She was ranting to me about some unruly camper. I listened intently, grateful for the distraction from the blaze in front of me, and the off-key singing from all around.

"And then he ran away. Over a sandwich!" Piper said, exasperated. My eyes were on my feet, to avoid seeing the hearth out of the corner of my eye, but I still listened.

"Have you tried talking to him about it?"

I waited for her answer for a moment, then another. When it never came, I glanced up. Piper was frozen.

Everyone was frozen.

The Apollo cabin with their mouths half-open, still in the middle of a song, the campers next to me, lost in conversation, even the fire burning in the pit no longer flickered with its magic flames.

The silence was eerie. No birds chirping or ocean tides, not even any sound from the city. New York was never quiet. What was going on?

I stood up, my heart pounding in my ears, searching for any sign of movement, anything that could've caused this. There was nothing. The long grass didn't even blow in the wind.

"What are you?" I shouted to the silent world. In monster fighting lessons, I had learned that when something like this happened, you would have to fight.

"What am I?" a human voice asked from below. I whirled towards the sound, my sword in my hand before I even thought about it. "A bit cold coming from my daughter."

Daughter? Was this person…claiming me? No one had told me of anything like this happening, but there was a first time for everything, especially at Camp Half-Blood.

"Who are you?" I amended my statement, though my sword was still pointing towards them.

They laughed, a cruel thing, and the fire flickered. I hadn't realized how much I had missed the crackling of flames until they were gone. The light illuminated their face, revealing…a boy.

He looked around his twenty's, dressed in white robes with a scabbard at his waist. A thin white scar sliced down his right eye, making his face look crueler in the firelight. He had smile lines around his eyes, but he wasn't smiling now. He held a large scythe in his hand, half bronze, half steel. His sandy blonde hair and golden eyes reflected grimly in the firelight, making him look inhuman.

"I am Kronos, my dear."

I gasped and stumbled backwards, though there was nowhere else to go, and I tripped over a bench.

"You—you can't be." I stumbled over my words, shaking as I stalked towards him. "Piper said you died last summer."

"Can a Titan die? No. Perhaps I would've, if not for you. I suppose I should thank you for that."

"What are you talking about? How did I help you?" My voice quaked as much as my steps, as I moved closer to him, and the fire.

"Put that away," he said, gesturing to my sword. He waved his hand and it disappeared.

I gasped and grasped wildly for my neck, but my necklace was gone. With a chuckle, he held it up in his hand.

"How?" I managed to ask, my voice strangled with fear.

"I gave it to you. Should I not be able to take it away?"

I trembled in terror, scanning the seats for something I could attack him with. Nothing.

"What do you want?"

"Oh, I want many things. None of which you could give me, I assume."

"What do you want from me?"

"Ah, now that's much better. I simply wanted to give my daughter a birthday present."

Daughter. This man, this Titan, was my father. It was impossible. I was impossible.

"What do you mean?" I asked, hoping if I could keep him talking, help would come. But nothing would happen. No knight in shining armor, no Perseus Jackson would come barreling out of the woods to save me. I was alone.

"Oh, you'll see in time. But for now, happy birthday." He waved his scythe at me, and searing pain erupted in my arm. I stumbled, struggling to stay on my feet as he disappeared in a flash of golden light, leaving behind a million questions.

The world started moving again, a symphony of sounds returning. The campers unfroze, looking around in shock.

I stood in the center of the amphitheater, clutching my arm, returning the stares of a hundred of pairs of eyes.

"Celeste?" I heard Annabeth ask through my haze of pain. "What—" Her question was cut off by a burst of light above my head. I managed to look up, but what a saw sent me to my knees.

A golden scythe glowed above my head, leaving no doubt about it. Kronos was my father.

The whispers started, growing louder and louder, before exploding into full on panic. I heard none of it. It was a dull drone in the back of my head as I fought to stay awake.

In the end, it was a losing battle, and the last thing I saw was Annabeth's ghostly pale face before I pitched forward into the flames.