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I didn't mean 2 not rite for so long! i had all these ideas in spain and then I came back and I was like… huh? wasgoinon… any ways last night I had a nightmare that all the characters ganged up and killed me cuz I didn't rite. so ya. and then meiscool2 was a 5 years boy with pimples (sorry) who joan fed my roasted guts to… but then ingrid visited me in hades and told me the rest of her story, so I cud get over my riters block. that happens to me.
Ingrid went to the dinner pavilion half skipping. The archery, the huntresses, the shock of having more then one friend was getting her high. Even before her dads murder she hadn't had many friends, she was weird, and when she was that young, no one really cared if she was pretty, she was a freak. Now she could count her friends with two hands, two. OK just barely, she had six friends, but still, that's two hands.
Ingrid shook away these thoughts, the point was, she was walking on sunshine. For the first time she wasn't the freaky girl who looks like a Disney princess. She was with people who were also the freaks with other people, people who understood what had happened to her. Nothing could ruin her good mood. Even the fact that Travis and Connor had "saved" her a seat on the floor next to them while they sat, all high and mighty, at the table. Chiron stood up.
"Before we can start eating" he started " I Have some announcements to make. First Of all, I am sure that all of you have acknowledged the presences of some guests, please welcome the huntresses of Artemis!"
There was a round of unenthusiastic applaud, but Ingrid clapped louder then most.
"while they are at camp, we must all make then feel as welcome as possible "Chiron continued " and in their honor we will have a game of capture the flag tomorrow."
The cheering was anything but half hearted now; campers and hunters alike whooped and yelled.
"Secondly, we have two new campers, welcome Nico di Angelo and Ingrid Snowdrift"
More half hearted applaud, not as if they didn't care, like it was for the hunters, but just impatient. Ingrid stood up next to the Nico kid, who she recognized form the lake. A couple guys winked at her, she ignored them, right now, she didn't care.
Travis told her to go scrape some food into the fire for her god parent so she got in line. When Ingrid reached the fire she had a moment of indecision. She didn't know who her mom was. She didn't really care either. If her mom had let her dad die then she didn't want anything to do with her. God parent… Favorite god sounds better. After a moments hesitation she scraped some barbeque into the fire.
"Artemis"
As Ingrid curled up in her borrowed sleeping bag, she smiled, she hadn't been so happy since… well, ever. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow. If Apollo's prophet had seen her then she would have cried if she had any human feelings left in her shriveled skeleton, for the good was not going to last long. Not long at all.
The next day started out pretty normally, for a day at camp half blood. Ingrid woke up at seven for breakfast, then went down to the archery range to wake up. After about half an hour there she was hauled to the sword fighting arena by Travis, Connor and Orlando.
"You have to learn how to handle a blade!" insisted Connor "though I hear you aren't too bad with a bow" he added winking.
"Where'd you hear that?"
"News travels fast around hear, stop changing the subject. Take the sword."
Ingrid grudgingly took the sword.
"Now both of us are pretty good with a sword but not at teaching level" said Travis, it was weird, they both acted so serious when it came to training. But then again, thought Ingrid, as she remembered Joan, it makes sense.
"So" said Orlando, breaking her thoughts "I've convinced my brothers best friend to come down and spend some time with you, he also happens to be the best swordsman in the last hundred years" his face clouded "except for maybe…"
"Maybe who?"
"It doesn't matter, the point is, and he's good, really good."
"Great… do you think my sucky-ness will piss him off?"
"Probably"
"Thanks."
"He's not really in a great mood; his gir--… close friend just got kidnapped"
At that point a boy who looked about a year older then Ingrid walked into the arena.
"Hey" he forced a smile, trying to look happy, but you could tell he was really, really fed up with life. "Are you Ingrid?"
"Ya…"
"Ever used a sword before?"
"No…"
He shrugged "Worth asking, I guess, but most people haven't until they get here" He picked up a sword and appraised it with a critical eye. "Any ways, we're going to start with a few basic jabs and stuff. Um… but I guess you should learn foot work first" he demonstrated the proper foot work, Ingrid stumbled a kind of pathetic copy. He showed her again, and again finally she got it pretty much right. to her surprise he didn't look too annoyed "No one expects you to get it the first time, anyways I hear you're a good archer, I'm horrible at that but you have to learn how to do close range fighting as well. A close range fighter can get away with having no clue how to fire an arrow or throw a javelin, but in a battle, a real battle, if someone attacks you close up, you have to be prepared."
Ingrid nodded, a burst of adrenaline coursed through her, she was going to survive, no matter what.
The lessoned progressed for about an hour, and by the end Ingrid was drenched in sweat though Percy didn't even look tired. She hadn't managed to get passed his guard at all and when learning moves, she was not nearly as smooth and controlled as Percy. She was shaky and unbalanced and no where near the immediate success she had had with a bow but she had tried her hardest.
"That wasn't too bad" said Percy.
"No it wasn't but thanks for saying it"
Percy laughed "You just need practice… lots of it. No ones a natural at everything. I know a girl who's used to using a knife or dagger, nothing as big as a sword, but if you gave her a sword she would practice until she was the best at it. Annabeth could never stand being second..." his voice trailed off and he looked at the sky. "oh Annabeth, its all my fault…" he whispered to himself.
Ingrid shuffled awkwardly. "What happen to her?"
Percy looked up startled, as if he forgot she was there. "You saw me arrive with the hunters?" Ingrid nodded.
Percy continued, "Well they probably saved my life yesterday. We were supposed to go meet Grover after he discovered to powerful half bloods, but we lost them. Me and Annabeth went to find Thalia and Grover to tell them but then I saw them with a monster, Annabeth had disappeared into the crowd. I was big headed enough to thing that I could take the monster on myself. I couldn't, and the others came to help, then the hunters. Now Annabeth is gone. I know she's alive and I have to save her… but I don't know how. I… I snuck up to see the oracle this morning, but she wouldn't ell me anything. I don't know what to do"
Ingrid watched him put his head in his arms. She didn't understand some of what he was saying. She didn't recognize all the names. But what she did understand was that this boy, at least a year her senior, who was so confident with a sword was broken. For the first time since she found out she was a half blood, did she understand how dangerous it was.
"I can't say that you'll save her because I don't know" she said. "But I do know that you have a damn good chance"
In a white marble palace above the empire state building the goddess stared into one of the many mirrors in her home. For once, it wasn't out of vanity.
"Show me the girl" she commanded
Her reflection in the mirror shimmered and disappeared, to be replaced by one of a young girl. Her dark ringlets were messy and unkempt; her indigo eyes were intense with concentration. Her face was sweaty and dirty and her clothes… Ugh. And even worse, she was with them. Those hunters. Did she have no self respect? But there was worse to come. She had heard the whispered words of the hunters that the girl failed to hear.
"So" said the goddess to her. "They wish to recruit her do they?" she knew with out doubt that this girl would accept the invitation if offered. It was time to play the final card, and she never lost.
Aphrodite smiled to herself. "It ends tonight… don't worry, I won't let you ruin your life… my daughter"
da da dummmmmmm…. it would be more dramatic if I hadn't told u hu her mom was in the reviewy thing… again im sorry!! like reli sorry! school started but ill find time to rite the next chapter.