I woke up the next morning and found a woman sitting by the fireplace, poking the fire with a metal rod. "Who are you?" I asked. She turned her face towards me. She had tight brown curls down her back and warm brown eyes. She smiled, which filled my heart with a feeling of security. I have no idea why.
"I'm Hestia, your mother." She walked up to me and cupped my head in her hands. "You are my first child. I am sorry I had to leave you when you were born, but it was for your safety. I vowed chastity for eternity, and there is no telling what the other gods would do to you if they found out I had a child." She smelled like fresh-baked cinnamon rolls.
"So… you're my mother?" I asked.
"Yes. I told Chiron that you were my daughter through an Iris message-"
"An Ira-wha?"
"Nevermind that. All that matters is that you are safe here." She embraced me, and then pulled away. "Do you see that ring you have there?" I nodded. "That is my gift to you. It is sealed with my blessing. As long as you wear that ring, you will be protected by me." I gave her a smile, and she kissed me on the forehead. "I must go now, and tend to the fire of Olympus. I haven't left in thousands of years, and I can only imagine the consequences of someone realizing I'm gone." She handed me a bag of golden coins. "Use these if you ever want to talk to me. Drop one in a rainbow and tell Lady Iris to direct you to Hestia on Mount Olympus." And with that, she walked into the fire and was consumed by flames. In a matter of seconds, nothing was left of her.
I put the gold coins on my dresser and put on some warm clothes. It was a chilly November morning. I played with my dark brown ringlets. (So that's where I got them from… I was wondering why both my parents had straight blond locks!) A young boy, about 14 years old, walked up to me. "C'mon," he said, "You're going to be late for breakfast!" He grabbed my hand and we started running towards the mess hall. (Which, in actuality, was an open-air pavilion. This place was so cool!)
There were a bunch of tables, clustered around a fire. Sitting at the tables were about 50 teens and children, eating their food. A goat boy walked up to me and led me to a table, while the boy who had taken me here went to sit at a table that looked like solid sunshine. "We don't have a table for you, yet." He said, "Hestia was supposed to remain a maiden for life, so we didn't think we needed one for her. So here, you can sit with Chiron and a pudgy black-haired man. He took me to a nice table and held out a chair for me.
"Thanks!" I said. He gave me a plate of Geek yogurt and strawberries. I was about to dig in when he slapped the fork out of my hand. "Hey!" I said, "What gives?"
"Sorry…" He said, and Chiron smiled. The pudgy guy rolled his eyes.
"You're supposed to make a sacrifice to the gods." Chiron said.
"I… I have to kill the goat boy?" I asked, startled. Chiron laughed.
"Satyr" the goat-boy corrected.
"No, of course not. You just put some of your meal into the fire." He pointed to some of the campers scraping offerings into the flame.
"Right." I said. I walked up to the flame and put two of the biggest strawberries in. The flame crackled with delight. It smelled astonishing, but I was able to tear myself away from the beautiful smell to return to my seat.
"I'll make sure a table be made for Hestia at once." Chiron said as I finished my food.
"Thank the gods," Said the pudgy man, "I don't want this brat sitting at my table for the next 50 years."
"Don't mind Mr. D. He's just angry because he can't have his precious wine." Chiron said.
"Mr. D? Wine? As in, Dionysus?" I asked.
"Shh!" The satyr said, "There's power in a name, you know."
"I see… So Chiron, what exactly is this eminent danger that I am in, being the daughter of a Goddess?"