I am so sorry this took so long. I have been extremely busy with school, exams, new classes and homework. On top of that I struggled to figure out how to write this chapter. i reread the entire Percy Jackson series. I marked and noted all of the books wit every place Katie has some sort of input. I am sorry if this chapter is a little off or confusing or boring but its necessary. So tell me what you think.

She was staying. Katie Gardner was going to stay at camp all year.

It was decided. Katie had returned her father's letter the proceeding day. She wrote that about finding out the truth and what that had done to her. She said that even though she missed them she could not return so soon. She told her father to send her love to the rest Dianne, Jess and Josh. Katie kept it short. There was just enough information to keep them aware of what was happening without raising suspicions. She did not go into detail about Camp Half-Blood or her new family and friends. She wanted to keep this side of her life private. Plus, if they knew they might be tempted to drag her out. Katie politely asked her father if he could send a few of her things up to camp. She her surprise arrival had left Katie wishing she packed more. Hopefully, her family would take the news of her stay well.

The last day of summer was a sad day in the Demeter Cabin. This was Olivia's last summer at camp. She would be attending the some small college just outside of New York. Olivia was a strong girl but everyone was still worried about her. She had been at camp for so long; none of them were sure how she would manage it. Before leaving, however, she told the group that she would not be alone. Apparently under the noses of everyone at camp, Olivia had managed to have a secret relationship.

"Adam and I have been together since July," she admitted the cabin.

"Adam? Adam Brites?" the asked Riley. Olivia nodded.

"Head counselor of Apollo Cabin, Adam Brites?" Again, Olivia nodded.

"Well," Jaz said, "this explains a lot."

"What do you mean?" asked Olivia. Now she was the confused one.

"You haven't said a word abut Luke since he came back," Jaz concluded. Olivia blushed a deep red. That girl had a crush on Luke Castellan ever since her sibling could remember. The blond leader of the Hermes cabin held the hearts of many of the girls at Camp Half-Blood.

"Well, people can change." Olivia said simply.

Katie though about what Olivia had said for a while after the conversation. "People can change". It seemed to sum up a lot of Katie's life into three small words. Those three words held so much power. They could be good or bad. You always hear that the most powerful words are "I love you". It may be true for some occasions but "I love you" is the end. They are the words you get when all else fails. "I love you" is the glue, and "people can change" is the hammer that destroys what is being held together.

Olivia was not the only one leaving. Riley was going to meet his father in Hawaii. He assured the group that he would be back for summer training next year. Riley was a strong boy and no one was scared that he would not be able to defend himself. It helped that he was going to be traveling with his father, the nature photographer, all over the world.

The Demeter triplets, who only ever stayed for the summer anyways, would be headed back to Texas. Katie had never really gotten to know the three if them. They were fraternal triplets. But just as annoying as identical. They all finished each other's sentences and only talked amongst themselves. There were two bos and one girl. Riley had tried to befriend the boys but without any luck.

That left Jaz and Katie. The two of them would be the only Demeter Children at Camp all year.

SEPTEMBER

The first day of September brought a new schedule for Katie. She didn't know what to expect when she decided to stay all year, but it was definitely not school. Unlike summer training, when you spent all your time with your cabin, during the regular year you spend time like any other school would, with people your own age. Every day head counselors and activity directors would lead the lessons inside different buildings. Every week, Monday through Friday, eight in the morning to three in the afternoon, the demigods would be in school.

Now, in a normal school day you are required to take classes like math, English, gym, art and history. At Camp Half-Blood instead of math you have a weaponry class where you learn about techniques and performances of using different weapons. in its place of an English class, you learned Greek. The demigods, being as they were from Greek decent, knew how to read Greek. They did not however know how to speak Greek. This class taught them how to do just that. As an alternative of a regular gym class where you play dodge ball and basketball, this was more like normal training at camp. Demigods ran mile after mile, climbed the Rockwall time and time again, and spent hours and hours practicing sparing, fighting, and defense. Art was art anywhere you go in the world. The campers would take an hour in the arts and crafts building attempting to create works that could last lifetimes and be used as offerings to the gods. The history courses were the most interesting to Katie. Every week or two they would focus on a monster, war, or other demigod who made an impact on the world. It seemed everywhere you looked the Greeks were somehow involved.

With in that first week of September Katie's father sent her some more of her things. Sometime during the day a box had been dropped off inside the Demeter cabin. That evening, Katie unpacked and reminisced about everything she missed about home.

"I used to spend all day out in front of our house during the summer," she babbled to Jaz as she had been doing for the last twenty minutes. The conversation was mostly one-sided with Jaz barely listening. She had been etching her pen furiously into her notebook. The lines grew harsher and harsher as the conversation went on, clearly indicating Jaz's annoyance. "We have these beautiful rose bushes. I'd be out there for hou-," she paused in disbelief, "-rs."

It took a moment but Jaz recognized the following silence. She looked up to see Katie slowly sinking down onto her bed. Something small was clutched in her hands, ad her draw was dropped in disbelief. Jaz groaned inwardly. Deciding to be a good sister she spoke up.

"Oh what the Gods could be wrong "oh-so-perfect" sister of mine?" she asked sarcastically without a glance up from her journal.

No response.

Jaz set her book down, pages open so she would not lose her spot. She got up from her bed and walked over to Katie's bed on the other side of the cabin.

"Okay, what's wrong? You've been talking non-stop for the last 20 minutes. What silenced you and where can I get one?"

"He did it on purpose," was all Katie said.

She held out the small object that was clutched in her hands. It was a picture in a frame. The frame was a simple, brown-molded frame, nothing special. The picture must have been what set Katie off. It was of a small family that Jaz guessed to be Katie's. There were four people sitting on a rock that overlooked a valley below.

"They're at Eagles Ridge." Katie told her. "We would go camping and hiking there every year. The weekend before school starts. It's my favorite place in the world. Dianne never seemed to like going she would always put up a fuss. Jess and Josh couldn't have cared less. But I loved it. I felt like it was the one place I could really breathe. You know? Like actually stop for a moment and breathe." She took a deep breath as if remembering the feeling. "He must have made them take this picture as a way to guilt me to come home." Katie's eyes started to mist up. "It's sad to think I missed it though. Pathetic."

Jaz grabbed the frame and flipped it over before thinking. She dug her fingers under the tabs on the back and pulled up.

"What-what are you doing?" Katie questioned her sister.

"We don't have time for sad memories here," she finished the four tabs and pulled off the backing. "Here," she handed her the picture. "im not going to take your picture. I just think that you should cover it. I don't want to here you weeping everytime you look at this on your nightstand."

Katie smiled at Jaz. As odd of a gesture as it was, it was the first real sister thing the girl had done for her.

"Thank you."

"Now, take this," Jaz handed her back the frame. "Fill it with something that you actually like. Nothing sad, please."

The corners of Katie's mouth went up, "I have just the thing."

Hurriedly, she stood up and walked around to the other side f her bed where her nightstand was. she yanked open the drawer and pulled out a notebook.

"I have had this book for about a year now," she told Jaz as she walked back to her side. "It started out as a diary from my father. When I first started having troubles in school, he wanted me to write them down instead of being angry. I also think he thought it would help with my dyslexia. Anyway, it sort of evolved from that. It's no longer just a diary. It holds anything and everything I like quotes and jokes I heard, doodles, song lyrics, pictures, movie stubs. Basically it is my life. I also hid this in there."

Katie opened the book about ten pages in. There laid a flower. A simple red rose that had been picked a preserved in the pages.

"This was the last thing I took when I left Charlotte. Don't know why I did, something just told me I wouldn't be back for a while. What do you say to compressing it and giving it a new place of honor in this frame? Is that too sad?"

"No, not at all."

DECEMBER

"Now you all know tomorrow morning we will be heading to Mount Olympus. So I expect you all to be awake, presentable and in your best behavior. Head counselors will need to meet at the Big House at five thirty tomorrow morning. Everyone else be there at six. Be prepared to be gone the entire day tomorrow. For now, off to bed."

With a clap of his hands, Chiron sent them on their way. His speech at dinner that evening left the crowd with an excited air. The campers who had stayed all year were surprised when they first learned they were going to be attending the Winter Solstice. It was a treat given to campers very rarely. None of them knew what to expect.

The next morning Katie was woken up by Jaz who was getting ready for her head counselor meeting.

"Come on girl get up!" she yelled. "I'm leaving in ten minutes."

Katie yawned, stretched and opened her eyes to see Jaz sitting on her bed adjusting her makeup. It was odd to see the girl in anything other than her camp clothes.

Jaz wasn't too dressed up but just enough to make it look like she may be excited to see Olympus.

"Someone looks pretty today?"

"Yeah-yeah. Better than your hair in the morning. C'mon get up, im leaving and you can't be late. Be there at six, girl, or I will kill you. "

Jaz finished getting ready in silence, only mumbling a few words to her self when she could not find her other shoe.

Katie began t get ready as well. She wore faded blue jeans, a rosy pink blouse that Olivia had given her before she left and tan boots that were "perfect for being outside working or going out", also from Olivia. Katie had braided her hair the previous night, now, when she took out the intricate plait, waves formed around her face. Katie never wore her hair down, she though it was a lousy distraction when it would fall into her face when working in the fields. While getting ready, she ended up pulling the top half back, realizing that her hair was not going to play nice today. Once she was ready, bundled up in her coat and hat with her bag over her shoulder, Katie walked to the pavilion.

Even though she was ten minutes early, the dining pavilion looked as though everyone was already there. Granted not a whole lot of campers were going on the trip, a little less than twenty plus the nine head counselors who were still at their meeting.

Katie sat down at the Demeter table and ate her breakfast cereal all alone. It was odd not to have anyone with her but Katie ate comfortably before disaster struck.

On each side of Katie, two figures ran up jumped o top of the bench she was sitting on and turned and sat on the table. They were the Stoll brothers. Not only did they startle her and knock over her bowl of cereal, whenever they showed up a scowl crossed Katie's face.

"What's up, Katie-kins?" Travis asked her. She turned away from him.

"What are you and your idiot brother doing here Connor?"

"Katie, darling," he responded, "obviously we love seeing that beautiful smile." Connor told her sarcastically. The scowling expression on Katie's face deepened.

"Kaitlin, dear, you need to lighten up," Travis told her. He poked the side of her mouth trying to turn her frown into a smile. She whacked away his hand. "OW! That hurt." He faked a sad expression only to have it disappear in a millisecond. "Come on, Kathryn, love, smile we are going to Olympus today!"

Katie stood up from the table and leaned in close to him. Looking him dead in the eye. Those mischievous sky blue eyes.

"Just because we are going to Olympus does NOT mean I am not carrying my dagger and does NOT mean I won't hurt you if you mess around. Are we clear?"

"Clear as day."

She had to look away from the eyes. It was like they were hypnotizing her.

"Connor?"

Connor was stifling laughter. "Oh, uh-yea, no funny business."

"Good," Katie ended the conversation by turning around and walking away from the boys.

"See ya later, Katrina!" one of them yelled most likely Travis.

"That's not my name!" she yelled back without a backwards glance.

Katie meet Jaz just outside of the big house. She was waiting on the wrap-a-round porch.

"How did the meeting go?"

"Fine. We have our schedules and groups and all that stuff. We have tours in the morning, then lunch, then evening festivities, whatever that means, and then we will be in the van on our way home at nine."

"Sounds good who are we with?"

"Athena Cabin, Aphrodite Cabin."

"Okay so Annabeth is going to stop us at every building and all the Aphrodite kids are going to stop us at each 'hot' minor god they see. But at least we get along with them."

"We also have the Hermes Cabin."

The group included Jaz and Katie, Annabeth(as leader of the Athena Cabin) and two of her siblings, three Aphrodite campers, and Luke Castellan, Travis, Connor and two other unclaimed kids. The day would have gone well if Travis and Connor hadn't walked off twice. Katie, knowing that they were going to cause trouble, followed them and then tried to drag them back to the group. Unfortunately, they had gotten lost, a few times. The day would have been perfect if the Aphrodite cabin did not have to flirt with every person they meet. Gods and sons of Hermes included.

It was a long day, and as the evening festivities died down all Katie wanted to do was fall asleep in her bed. She was sitting down at a small table off to the side of the dance floor. She sat with one of the Athena girls as they waited for the rest of the group. Jaz was currently trying to pull the Aphrodite campers of the dance floor. Soon everyone was there. Except for one person.

"Head-count, whose missing?" Jaz asked.

"It's Luke," Annabeth informed her. "He said he had to go check something out. He told me he would meet us at the vans."

"Okay, well then we can go."

Sure enough, once everyone was piled up into the vans, just as Argus was going to close the doors, Luke ran up and jumped in.

None of the demigods actually saw the winter solstice. They were not allowed to be with the gods during that meeting. Sure they meet a few of the minor gods but they had to leave before the actual Olympian gods came.

After driving for about five minutes, a sound caused everyone to jump. A loud BOOM! Knowing about different myths they all looked at each other. The same expression masked each and every one of their faces. The look of confusion and fear. What did it mean? They heard stories of how the winter solstice was one of the darkest times of power for the gods but this was serious. Another BOOM shook the demigods.

It was the sound of thunder.

So... what did you think? review and give me your ideas!

I also have been thinking a lot about the title of this story. "Katie Gardner" did the job t get you readers in but I think it is time for a change. So starting now, send me in reviews with a new name for this project.