Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians but I guess you already know that!

Chapter 6

Andromeda POV

The next morning, I was the first person to get up. I lay in bed, listening to everyone else's deep breaths around me. The Hermes cabin was nice. Not above stealing something that belonged to you but overall pretty fun. Charles and Silena would get on with them like a house on fire.

Last night, the cabin counsellor Roxanne West had made me feel as comfortable as possible. She was a tall girl with red hair and blue eyes. She had immediately taken me under her wing and had told me to ask her about anything, no matter how stupid it may be.

At the campfire last night, all the campers from the war were there. I saw Jason, Piper, Leo, Calypso, the Stoll brothers, Katie, Clarisse, Will, Chris and many more war veterans that my parents must have known. They all had come with their children, I suppose, but with so many people, it was difficult to make out who was who.

The only people missing were Hazel and Frank but I guess they were at camp Jupiter.

Looking at the other cabins, I had seen one girl and two guys at the Poseidon table. They looked pretty laid back and easy going. They were goofing around. One of the guys reminded me of Luke when he was a kid. The girl was the oldest. She looked to be sixteen or seventeen. I think her name was Georgiana.

The Athena table had about ten people, six girls and four guys. To be honest, they seemed to be in complete contrast to the Poseidon table - or any table for that matter. While everyone else was laughing and joking, they all had a sullen look on their face and kept muttering among each other.

I wondered what was wrong with them. Malcolm, Mom's half brother seemed fine. He was laughing at something Conner Stoll was saying.

What could cause such a big difference in the Athena Cabin? Mom would always speak warmly of her half-siblings. How they were these geeks or mad scientists who liked a laugh as much as the next person.

I was interrupted from my thoughts by Roxanne. ''Rise and Shine everyone!'' she yelled. ''We are going to be late!''

With a lot of grumbling, everyone got up.

''Do we have to ?'' a kid of about ten whined.

''Yeah, we do if we want to get any breakfast, Jonathan.'' Smirked Roxanne.

You should have seen how fast the kid got ready on hearing the word breakfast. It was hilarious.

After breakfast, we had sword fighting. I was fidgeting with anticipation. I had got back my sword from Chiron and was dying to use it. I knew I had to hold back. It would not do to appear as though I had been training with a sword for years which is exactly what I had been doing. It might raise quite a few eyebrows.

I was on my way to the sword fighting ring when I saw a small girl, no more than eight, looking after the fire. It was Lady Hestia. I looked around to see if anyone was observing me. The coast being clear, I went to her.

''My lady,'' I whispered.

''Hello Andromeda,'' she replied, her eyes warm. ''And how are you enjoying camp?''

''It is wonderful!'' I exclaimed. ''However, I think that Chiron suspects something. I might have slipped up the first time I met him.'' I said sheepishly, rubbing my neck.

''I wouldn't worry about that my dear. It is fine. Mistakes happen. Well, '' she continued, looking behind me, '' you will be late for your first class so you better hurry. It was really nice talking to you child. It has been quite some time since someone has bothered to engage me in conversation.''

''Goodbye, my lady,'' I said, before jogging towards the arena. I skidded to a stop only to see that I was the last person to have arrived. And in the middle of the arena was Nico di Angelo. He looked exactly the same as in the pictures. Obviously, older. Dressed all in black, he made a striking figure.

''Well, I see we have a latecomer,'' he said, staring at me with pitch black eyes, so much like his father Hades.

Everyone went silent. Great, just what I needed – to be the centre of attention.

The Athena Cabin was there too – just my luck. They sneered.

''Well, since you are late, it is only fitting that you should be my partner in this round of the match.''

Whispering broke out. The Hermes Cabin looked worried. The Athena Cabin looked smug. I was not angry at Nico, far from it. It was the Athena cabin that was getting to me. How on earth am I related to them? I thought.

''Alright then.'' I answered fiercely. I was not scared of sword fighting. If I could face my Dad, then facing Nico should not be impossible. Also, if I lost, what was the big deal? I was the new kid any way.

A faint smile played on Nico's lips. He inclined his head towards me. ''Shall we?''

I stepped into the circle. ''Be careful Andy,'' whispered Roxanne. ''Nico is one of the best swordmen at camp, second only to Jason Grace. He is a son of the big three. His Godly parent is Hades. Please be careful.''

I nodded. Second best swordsman huh? That was my Mom's title. It was almost everyone at camp was refusing to aknowledge my parent's existence. They were all acting like everything had always been sunshine and daisies and that the campers had not fought in two major wars which had caused so much bloodshed. With a start, I realised that Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase did not exist anymore for camp. I suppose that only a few people knew about them - probably their siblings and some older campers until the younger ones figured it out on their own. It was an open secret and for some reason it made me furious.

Everyone parted to form a circle.

I unsheathed my sword. Nico unsheathed his blade too. It glinted in the sunlight. He lunged at me. At that time I let my instincts take over. I ducked, parried, dodged and lunged. Nico was really skilful. He was fast and he had years of practice. He had fought in two wars, after all.

However, I had been training too. I had been using a sword since the age of six. We circled around each other like hawks, looking for an opening. There was pin drop silence. I guess everyone was too stunned as to how I had not been defeated yet. I could feel everyone holding their breaths waiting for me to be disarmed.

I know I was probably blowing my cover but I didn't care. I was not going to back down from a fight. Especially with the Athena Cabin looking at me like I was some piece of dirt on the ground not worthy of their attention.

We continued for quite some time. We kept lunging and separating. It was like an intricate dance. Metal clanged against metal. Sweat beaded my brow. Nico swiped at my feet with his sword but he was just a millisecond late. I tried to find an opening but it was no use. Nico was too well protected. By now, I was sweating buckets and Nico was breathing heavily too. I was finding it difficult to attack as well as protect myself. One last time, I told myself. Lunge just once more and give it all you have.

We both lunged at the same time only to find Nico's sword at my throat and mine pointed at his heart.

''It is a tie!'' said Leo Valdez incredulously. A huge crowd had gathered. It was like the whole camp had come to watch the duel. Everyone burst into applause.

The Athena Cabin had their mouths hanging open in disbelief.

''Go Andy!'' yelled Roxanne.

''Well,'' said Nico smiling, ''I guess congratulations are in order, kid. You were amazing! How on earth did you learn to fight like that?''

I just smiled, speechless. I could not believe what had just happened. Looks like all those times getting beaten by Dad were worth it after all.

Well, so that was chapter six. What do you have to say about Andy's swordfighting skills and the camp's attitude towards the disappearance of Percy and Annabeth? Review and let me know!

The winner of the question last time was The Beloved Bookworm. No question this time folks, maybe next time.

Also, a big thank you to everyone who followed, favourited and reviewed this story. Thank you so much! You made my day!

Until next time,

-booklover1004