Hey, I know you're probably really angry at me because I promised that I would update in a week an it's been two but I promised that before I realized how much I had to work and this is the first time I've been able to type up the chapter. I'll try and update again soon but I can't make any promises but I can promise that I'm getting far in writing the story down and do plan to have it done before Christmas.
Disclaimer, I don't own the Percy Jackson series nor claim to.
Don't tell Hades this but I really hate ghosts. Especially ghosts that are running the ship you are travelling on and said ship is about to crash.
Before we get to that, there are some things we have to go over. About two weeks ago, two new campers arrived at camp. Charolette, age 15 and Mary, age 9 were full-blooded sisters and daughters of Hebe, goddess of youth. Since they were children of a minor goddess they were put in the Hermes cabin, the cabin I'm staying in since I'm unclaimed.
Before they came the only other person in the Hermes cabin who wasn't a child of Hermes, my self not included, was Clovis a son of Hypons, the god of sleep. It was honestly nice to have someone else who wasn't a Hermes child because I would mean someone I could connect with more, since Clovis wasn't a help because he was practically never awake.
When I first came to camp two years ago Thalia shared the Hermes cabin with me for three months. During this time she became the unsaid leader of the unclaimed. Mark, the Hermes cabin councillor, couldn't watch all his siblings as well as the unclaimed or children of the minor gods so there was always a unsaid leader of all the non-Hermes kids in the Hermes cabin. When Zeus claimed Thalia, the spot dropped down to me, so when Charolette and Mary came it was my job to show them around and get them settled in.
Three days after Charolette and Mary first arrived it was the monthly archery competition between the Apollo cabin and the Athena cabin. It was a private competition so only those two cabins showed up and Chiron, who was the judge. The only reason I was invited was because I was an honorary Athena cabin member, which is ironic, for the competition.
You see, the Athena cabin had one less member then the Apollo cabin, so they were allowed to invite one person from any other cabin. As soon as they first saw me with a bow they made me the permanent honorary member. For this competition I brought along Mary and Charolette in hopes of it helping them settle in more and met new people.
"You guys can sit on the bench over there and watch if you want." I suggested to them. I made sure they made it over they're safely and were okay before joining the Athena cabin in a quick warm up.
"How are the newbies settling in?" My favourite Athena camper Malcolm asked. Malcolm was like family to me, which he technically is since, biologically speaking, he and I shared a mom making him my brother.
"They're… fine." I replied not really sure of what to say.
"You don't really sound all that convinced about that." Mal pointed out.
"I really didn't, did I?" I sighed. "They're shy and really timid around other people. They won't speak to others unless absolutely necessary and even then it's not about a whisper. To be honest, I think they're scared."
" Of whom?" Malcolm asked. "There's no one to be afraid of here besides of angering a god or child of Ares."
"You're a prime example." I relied before realizing how bad that sounds. "Charolette and Mary are the most wary of males and people who are older then them. I think the wariness has something to do with their past and I have a very good idea of what may have happened."
"What so you think happened?" Malcolm asked as we finished our warm up and started to put on our equipment.
"It's not hard to figure out. They're child of Hebe, who are know for their youthful beauty and it is most likely that someone from their past may have tried to taken advantage of their youth and innocence because of their beauty."
"Do- do you mean like rape?" Malcolm lowered his voice so the other campers didn't overhear.
"No, I don't think anything ever went that far. I was thinking more along the lines of suggestive touching. They flinch ever so slightly when they're touched, especially with makes and people older then them. They barely ever speak as if afraid of being punished for speaking loudly or out of turn or saying something they were suppose to suggesting they were abused. The only people, besides each other, that they don't act like that around are Chiron and me who they seem someone what comfortable with but they aren't completely open or relaxed with us. I honestly don't know if they'll be able to settle in here at camp."
"You don't know that for sure."
"Mal, I'm good with this kind of stuff." I tried to keep the annoyance out of my voice. Gods, I hate it when people question or underestimate me. Sadly that happen a lot here at camp unlike at home with the Hunt where everyone trusted me and knew just how good I was. "I may not be the best at talking one on one with most people until I know them really well which is hard since if I can't talk to them how can I get to know them well, and even then I'm still not good with the whole you tell me something personal I tell you, but any ways I am good at observing people and from what I see they're not going to settle in any time soon. I don't think camp is the right place for them."
"It's going to have to be. This is the only safe place for them." I can't wait to see his reaction if he ever finds out about the Roman camp or the Egyptian and Norse gods.
"Malcolm, use your brain." I knew my voice was snappish but I really didn't care. "They're female, they can join Artemis' Hunt."
Malcolm looked at me as he strapped his quiver to his back. "You know what, I think you should talk to Chiron about this, if they don't settle in soon. Even if I think Artemis' Hunt is a bit sexist, oh don't look at me like that, you know they can be, the Hunt has done good for many females. If they aren't settling in then the Hunt would most likely be the best place for the,. Now lets stop talking about this and get on with beating the Apollo cabin."
The way the archery competition worked was that the winning cabin from the last competition went first, shooting at all five targets before the next person, from the losing cabin went. Within your cabins you shot in order of importance, starting with the cabin councillor and ending with the newest camper. In the case of this competition Kayla, the cabin councillor for the Apollo cabin went first followed by Margaret the Athena cabin councillor. The game ended with Amelia of the Apollo cabin and then me since I was only an honorary member of the Athena cabin.
To help distinguish what cabin shot what arrow the Apollo cabin used grey arrows while the Athena cabin used grey. When it was finally my turn I summoned my bow and quiver before whiling the arrows to turn grey. I was glad my quiver had a never-ending supply of arrows because, besides my dagger, I used my bow the most.
Walking up to the first target I notched an arrow, aimed and fired. My arrow just missed the black bulls eye but that's just the way I wanted it. Couldn't be too good at archery or else people would start to ask questions, questions that I couldn't answer. I moved onto the second target this time letting my arrow hit a bit farther away from the centre target. The third and fourth targets went the same way, my arrows just missing the bulls' eye or getting close to it.
Finally, on the last target I knew I was going to get the bulls eye mark. My pride wasn't going to allow me to miss it. I notched an arrow and pulled back the string and was about to fire when my bowstring disappeared from between my fingers. There was a sharp sting in my check before something warm slid down it, blood. What the Hades just happened?
Well there you go. I'll update as soon as I can but it may be awhile before my updates become regular. Please leave a review or comment on what you think of the story so far because I love hearing from you guys and I'm sorry if it seems like a slow start but this is all important for future chapters.
Thanks for continuing to read my story and special thanks to the guest reviewer who has continued to asked me to update and I thank you so much for your continued support and I am so happy to know that you really like my story.