A/N: I was pleased to get so many nice reviews. At first, I had been nervous of whether or not this opening chapter would be even worth writing a story about, but it seems to be. Enjoy!

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Belle panted as she finished her jog around her neighborhood, her light brown hair streaked with sweat. The afternoon summer sun was bright, and having finished school for the summer, she was determined to jog around her neighborhood every night. The nights were never long enough for her likes. Belle was always called a night-owl. Because of her excellent night vision, and her nickname night-owl, most of her family thought she was a daughter of Athena.

Belle's family consisted of many unusual people. For starters, there was her foster mom, Mrs. Allenworth, also known as Jacque. She was a daughter of Demeter, and spent most of her time out putting around in the garden. Her foster father, Mr. Allenworth was a son of Hermes, and always had a trick up his sleeve. He was not as prone to thievery as some Hermes children were, although he had done quite his share.

Belle also shared her home with 4 other demigods. Alexis, the oldest at 15 was a daughter of Apollo. She could always be found in her room writing poems or playing her baby grand piano. Jordan was the second oldest at 13. She was a recently-claimed daughter of Aphrodite, and loved to show off her beauty, much to the disgust of her family. Belle was the third oldest at 12. She had yet to be claimed by her god parent. She was taken to an orphanage at the age of 2. It was said that she was found on the doorstep of the orphanage, with no note or anything. Thankfully, Mr. & Mrs. Allenworth scanned all local orphanages for any demigods, and they had found her. Belle could have been a daughter of any god. She possessed different qualities that were prone in many different gods, so it didn't help narrow down her search at all, although Belle had a sneaking suspicion her father was her god parent. Jake was 10 years old, and a son of Hephaestus. He was quite well-built for a 10 year-old, and he was known to have many different building models scattered in his room. Zoë was the youngest at 5 years old. She had been claimed a few weeks before by Apollo, and Alexis was thrilled to have a half-sister in the house, making everyone jealous. Belle was the only one who wasn't claimed, and with her birthday in a few weeks, she was excited to be claimed by her parent.

Jogging hurriedly up the steps of her large, 6 bedroom house, Belle heard clamor in the kitchen, accompanied by many screams of delight that most likely came from Zoë. The mahogany front door flew open, and Belle found herself being dragged into the house by a screaming 5 year old.

"We're going to camp today; we're going to camp today!" Zoë sang at the top of her lungs. Her curly black hair bounced as she jumped around the room. "I get to see my friends!"

Belle raised a suspicious eyebrow to her mom. "I thought we weren't leaving until tomorrow morning."

"Originally, we weren't. However, your father says that Chiron said that it was okay to come today. I know its late notice, but you've already got your stuff ready. Right Belle?"

"Sure," I answered. "I'm ready to go."

"Good," her mother replied "Now get your stuff and get in the car."

Belle grabbed her duffel bag off of the kitchen counter and ran to the family minivan, jumping in the middle row so she wouldn't get stuck in the back with Jake. Zoë hopped in and sat in the seat next to her, still singing 'we're going to camp today' at the top of her lungs. Belle sighed to herself as she pulled her iTouch out of her bag. If this trip went the same way most did, it was going to be a long ride to camp, although the distance wasn't that far.

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An hour and a half later, Belle and her family were standing underneath Thalia's Pine, just inside the camp boundaries. Belle couldn't help but feel extremely excited. She knew that the next time she left camp; she would know her god parent. It gave her an exhilarating thrill. The group of 7 walked down the hill to the Big House, looking for Chiron or Dionysus. Belle spotted Chiron down by the amphitheater. She thought he looked unusually nervous. Chiron spotted them over at the Big House and came cantering over, with a worried look on his face.

"What's wrong?" Belle's mom asked. "Is the camp under attack or something?"

"No," Chiron responded. "But the gods are upset about… something. Some secret is going to be let out soon, and so all of camp is down in the amphitheater, because none of us know what is going on. You can come down too."

They all trudged down to the amphitheater, and Belle was muttering Greek curses under her breath. She didn't care what really happened at this meeting, as long as she would figure out her parent before her 13th birthday. If this meeting was called to say that the gods didn't have to claim their children until they were 17, she was going to blow a casket. She settled down into a seat next to her friend Annabeth in the Athena cabin. "What did I miss?" Belle asked.

Aimee turned to face Belle, her blonde hair flying. "Lord Zeus says that one of the goddesses has some announcement. I'm curious to see if it has anything to do with my mom. Either way, I'm anxious for this thing to hurry up. Annabeth was just showing me some interesting plans on Daedalus's laptop when this stupid meeting was called. It better be something good."

Belle smiled to herself. Aimee was only 12, but she was sure to follow in her ½ sister's footsteps, even though the two were 5 years apart. Just then, the air above the stage of the amphitheater crackled with life. Everyone gasped as an image of the throne room on Olympus appeared. It was like a large Iris-Message, but at the same time like watching TV.

Lord Zeus stood up and addressed the Olympians and Camp Half-Blood. "I am glad to see you all gathered here. I'm sorry to have taken you from your previous activities, but one of us," he gestured to the rest of the Olympians. "Has an –announcement to make."

This stirred up the crowd at camp. Everyone seemed to think that one of the Olympians was maybe going to give up their throne, for nothing else seemed as important. Belle quickly scanned the throne room, looking to see who looked guilty. She judged it was Lord Apollo. He had a tight, irritated look on his face. Apollo looked like he really wanted to punch someone in the face, and Belle had no doubt that he would do so. Then, to her surprise, Lady Artemis stood up.

"I have an announcement to make," said the goddess, "I have done something I have never done before, and I apologize to any that I might hurt. I have a daughter." The crowd in the amphitheater let out a collective gasp, and so did some of the Olympians on Olympus. Lord Apollo looked like he was going to lose it.

"She must be punished!" Cried Hera, Zeus's wife. "My Lord, she has broken the vow she once gave you to be an eternal maiden. She has broken a vow to you!"

"Let me finish!" Artemis said with authority. Belle could see how it looked like the goddess wanted to cry, although Belle imagined she had learnt a thing or two after being a goddess for several millennia. "It's not how you think!"

"Really," drawled Hera. "And who exactly is this cursed daughter?"

Artemis stood stiffly there, weighing her options. "I cannot bear to shame her. I feel bad enough for not ever having any interaction with her, although I had intended to welcome her into the Hunters. To announce her name would be –sinful."

Zeus stepped towards his daughter, and held her hands in his. "I will not let anyone hurt your daughter. Please, tell who she is."

Belle felt the whole of the unclaimed section of the Hermes cabin hold their breath in hope. She wondered which of her cabin mates would be claimed. If only her father would hurry up and claim her…

"Her name is Belle Allenworth," Artemis blurted out, then buried her head in her hands.

Belle felt her whole body go rigid as she spied a light above her head. She looked up in time to see a crescent moon on a light purple background fade over her head. Then, she felt the life being sucked out of her, and felt her whole body being moved through –something. Somehow, Belle knew that she was going to Olympus. The last sight she remembered before she entered the blackness was the infuriated face of Apollo. Something told Belle she would not be her uncle's favorite niece…

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A/N: Soooooooo how was it? I tried to make it a little bit longer, and hope I succeeded in writing a good chapter. Of course, we all know that Belle was created out of the essence of a mortal and Artemis's, but the gods don't. Will Artemis be able to convince Hera that she never broke her vow? If I get reviews you will find out. If I don't…

- Sarra