Three days passed without seeing Percy again. I was sitting in a tree, glancing over the water of the lake. How it glistened in the light. I found myself singing before very long.

I need another story. Something to get off my chest. My life gets kinda boring. Need something I can confess. To know my sleeves are strained from the truth that I have said. Come by it honestly I swear that you saw me wink. No? I have been on the brink so tell me what you want to hear. Something that were like those years. Sick of all the insincere so I am going to give all my secrets away. I belted out the last line. Only another sound grew above my singing, clapping. I glanced down to see Percy. He stood with Riptide down by his side and there was a biggest grin on his face.

"I wanted to see if you wanted to go for another sword fight with me," I was stunned. I couldn't respond because my cheeks were too busy gaining a nice color of red. "I couldn't find you so I asked around and Grover saw you sitting up there earlier." He paused to collect his thoughts. "You didn't tell me you could sing."

"Singing doesn't defeat a monster," I yelled down to him, collecting myself.

"That doesn't matter. You were really good. I am not joking."

I jumped down from the tree and landed on my two feet. "Thanks. Before I came here, I was going to be in band and everything. We were close deciding on a name when a Minotaur attacked me. Now that I know about demigods and everything I don't think I am ever going to be able to be in a band."`

"Don't think so negatively. You never know."

"I can think negatively because that is just my luck. This is my life. It is not like I am living a wonderful life behind." I shook my head and walked away from the lake. I don't know where I was going, but I didn't want to stay here.

"Wait," Percy called after me. I slowed my pace so he didn't have chase after me. "Something wrong with your family?"

"Yeah," I stopped not wanting to saw more, but Percy looked straight at me, looking somewhat eager to know more. I sighed, but continued my story, "I was a child of an affair. My mother met Hermes when apparently she had been having a fight with my stepfather. It ended with her getting pregnant with me of course, but at first, my stepfather was sure it was his. We were a happy family for the first two years, I think. I don't remember. I have just seen some photos and the three of us together look perfect. Anyway, my stepfather found out somehow and he has hated me since. My mother never told me the exact details. My mother and stepfather are still together, but they have argument daily. I think the only thing keeping them together is my younger stepsister. She is actually my stepfather's child. He made sure by testing. My mother resent me for ruining her marriage and my stepfather won't talk to me. He would rather see me fail at life so that proves that his child is better than Hermes's child. I was lucky though with my stepfather. Something about him protected me from the monster for most of my life. I don't know the details exactly" By the time, I had finished talking we were in the middle of the forest. The sword arena peaked over the hill.

"That sucks," Percy murmured under his breath. He stared at the ground for a few seconds and the forest joined in his silence. I felt my cheek flush with a little red. Percy lifted his head and looked me straight in the eye. "Do you still want to practice?"

I nodded with enthusiasm as we started our slow jog to the arena.