Wow. I am so not keeping up to my promise to get things going faster. I'm sorry,guys. I really am. I hope you like this chapter anyway.

Gaining Trust – Chapter 7:

Grandpa Hermes

As soon as the boys reached the dining pavilion, Jaden ducked under the nearest purple and white table cloth. Hearts pounding in their chests, they waited for the danger to pass. Voices could be heard beyond the table cloth. Angry voices. Still the boys remained hidden. Finally, after about ten minutes of hiding and relative silence, the boys emerged from their hiding place.

" Think we lost them?" Jaden asked almost as soon as the table cloth had fallen back into place.

" I think so." Tristan replied.

Silence was quick to follow as the boys looked around just to make sure. When they couldn't find anyone other than themselves, they turned back to each other.

" You really are fast." Tristan remarked, breaking the silence.

" I guess." Jaden replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

" You know, you boys are late." A strange voice called from behind the two seven year olds. Instantly, the boys turned around thinking that one of the Ares kids was behind them. Instead, they came face to face with a scruffy, black haired twenty-year-old. " Chiron's been looking for you."

" Oh, hey, Lee." Tristan said softly with a shy smile on his face. " We thought you were Magnar."

" Well, I'm definitely not Magnar. So you're safe. Though he did come by looking for you a few minutes ago."

" You didn't…"

Lee laughed, beginning to herd the two boys down to the beach. " No, Tristan. I didn't say anything. I just told him to go fight some of the dummies in the arena to calm down. Now, what was he after you for?"

" Jaden was protecting me from him. He head butted him and jumped on his foot. Then we ran off and hid."

" Sounds to me like you're quite a friend, Jaden; sticking up to the bullies. Keep it up."

" You're not angry with me?" Jaden asked, confused about why the young man was smiling at him when everyone else was angry at him.

" Why should I be? You're you, Jaden. You're not your father. People shouldn't treat you like him. I may have only heard the stories about your father, including all the things he did, but I already know that you will never be like him. You're still young. There's no telling what kind of person you'll be when you grow up."

" How do you know?"

" I know exactly what it's like, not being trusted. When I was young, people were afraid of me and my dad because we could turn into wolves. When I came here, people were still afraid of me. I'm still trying to get people to like me for who I am. I'm still an outsider, like you. But the others will see. You just have to give each other time to get to know each other."

" Can you still turn into a wolf?" Tristan butted in, despite having already heard the story.

" Not anymore, boys. Not anymore."

" How come you could turn into a wolf?" Jaden asked.

" Well…" And with that, Lee gave the boys the extremely shortened version of the story about the wolf of Camp Half-Blood. Before they knew it, the three of them were at the beach and standing in front of Chiron the centaur. And, because he was so wrapped up in Lee's story, Jaden didn't even seem to notice. " And that's what happened to the wolf of Camp Half-blood. Now I'll leave you two with Chiron and go sit on the docks for when you finish. Okay?"

After receiving a nod from both the boys, Lee turned to the centaur. Once he was dismissed from his task, he bowed low and retreated to the docks like he said he would. Jaden watched him leave before turning to his friend. Tristan, however, was on the ground kneeling to the man who was standing with Chiron.

" Hello, boys. Having a tough day, are we?" the man asked.

" I just want to know why there are bullies everywhere." Jaden sighed in reply.

" Can't say for sure. But I'll tell you what, Jaden, your uncles, Travis and Connor, know a few good tricks to deal with Ares' kids."

At that point, Jaden looked up at the man that was beside Mr Chiron. He had black hair that was greying and, Jaden noticed, he had the same blue eyes that his mother had always told him about; the ones that belonged to his father. In fact, the first thing he thought was that this man was his father, but the small smile on the man's face made him think twice about that idea.

But all the boy could get out of his mouth was the simple, " How do you know my name?"

The man's smile widened but the look of pure horror on Tristan's face wasn't easily unnoticed.

" Jaden. That's Lord Hermes. You shouldn't talk to him like that. He's a god." The son of Hecate gasped.

" It's alright, son of Hecate. He still doesn't understand." Hermes replied before turning back to face Jaden. " Jaden Castellan… you look so much like your father."

" You know my dad?"

" He was my son. And because of that, I want you to know that you will always have a place in my cabin. Remember that I am always watching over you. There may be times where you may not believe it, but I will be. And so will your father."

" Lord Hermes. Are you sure about this. The other campers…" Chiron started.

" The other campers will have to learn, won't they?"

With that, the god began to glow. At that exact moment, Tristan tackled Jaden to the ground. The next thing that the grandson of Hermes knew was that his grandfather was no longer standing in front of him and that the centaur was trotting back to the Big House. But even with Tristan helping him up and explaining why you can't look at a god when they start to glow, Jaden was aware of only one thing. If he wanted to know more about his father, he was in the right place.

Please let me know if this isn't going as good as what you thought it would. Your feed back is appreciated greatly.