Okay, sorry for the delay, I had writer's block and I was on holiday, so I couldn't update due to lack of internet connection, but heeeere's the fifth chapter, guys! :) It will get more exciting; please review to give ideas or comments. Thanks!

Five: Rosalie

In my dream, I was standing in a huge room with a high ceiling and pillars at the entrance. The ceiling was painted, but the pictures were nothing like the ones you normally see in old buildings. The colours were garish, too bright and not old enough, and the images themselves were awful. Ancient monsters I had never seen before ripped the heads off heroes, their fangs and claws stained with blood. A king in robes stood at an altar, sacrificing a writhing baby, his face mad with hunger and eagerness. And at each corner – north, east, south and west –those fat kids in nappies blowing horns were replaced by little green evil things in yellow britches, brandishing the trumpets as if about to whack someone on the head with them.

The pictures made my knees feel weak, and if that wasn't enough, when my gaze left the roof, I saw a sight to make anyone scream for help.

A huge crowd of monsters filled the room. Some of them I recognized from monster-fighting class at Camp, (some Minotaurs which looked smaller than the original one, but still big enough to do some damage and a whole crowd of dracenae in armour) but also others I had not seen before.

They were making a lot of noise, but suddenly they all stopped talking or growling and the hall was silent. At first, I thought they had seen me and dived behind an urn near the wall, but then I realised they were all looking at the back of the room.

Another floor painted gold was raised up right at the back wall, making some sort of stage. In the middle of the stage, there was a podium with a microphone, and at the podium, a woman stood.

She was very tall and looked intimidating, even though she was far away. She had dark hair and olive-toned skin, and wore a black dress, but I couldn't look at her features up close as I was afraid the monsters would spot me if I moved from my hiding-place.

When the woman began to speak, I felt the room fade away from around me. Nothing else seemed important, just looking at her, doing exactly as she said.

'Good evening, dear friends,' said the woman, and her wonderful voice washed over me, making my worries disappear. The monsters murmured and stamped their feet.

'I am so glad you have gathered here today to join my…cause. This is an important step in the downfall of the demigods, and I am sure that you will all find it worthy of your support. The rewards will be great, and I promise you that no one will regret joining my army.'

The monsters mumbled quietly and the woman smiled.

'Good. Now, I assume that all of you were with that loser Luke Castellan when he attempted to bring down the gods? This will be a better planned attack, and our numbers will be way superior. We shall start, of course, at Camp Half-Blood -'

I was suddenly jarred out of the magic of the woman's voice at the mention of Camp Half-Blood, my home. She was planning to create an army of monsters to destroy Camp? They had to be stopped.

But I felt uneasy, as if coming out of the trance was a bad idea. Almost as soon as I wrinkled my brow, I heard the woman say, 'But who is this? A half-blood in our midst? She must be exterminated. Get her!' she fixed her eyes on me and I resisted the urge the scream. Instead, I ran for the exit, but it was as if I was wading through treacle; unable to move. I wanted to cry, but I knew if that if I was caught, the lady in black would tear me apart. Then I remembered that it was a dream, and pinched my arm, hard. I felt the ground opening up underneath me…

I sat up, drenched in cold sweat and shaking. I dragged a breath through my lungs, but breathing was a trial, as if I had run a marathon. Then it all came back to me – the room, the crowd of monsters, the tall woman dressed in black. I closed my eyes, trying to forget it all, and fell back onto my pillow.

When I came round again, it was much lighter, and I was no longer wearing my pyjamas, but a nightdress. I blinked in the sunlight and took in my surroundings. I was in the infirmary, a building I had only ever been in once before, after a nasty head injury in archery a couple of weeks ago. I was lying on a white bed with clean sheets and next to me, Chiron sat in his wheelchair with Evie and Percy by his side.

'Ah, Miss Harp, at last,' Chiron said. He sounded calm and he was smiling. 'I was beginning to get worried.'

'How – how long have I been out?' I asked slowly. My voice sounded like my throat had been filled with sand five centuries ago.

'About six and a half hours,' Chiron informed me. 'Miss Phillips here -' he gestured to Evie '- woke up to you shouting fitfully in your sleep around three in the morning. She told Percy and they brought you here.'

I sighed, but it was more of a troubled sigh than a contented one.

Evie rushed forward, her brow furrowed. She looked distraught. 'Are you okay, Rosa?' she asked frantically. 'I was so worried – I thought you'd been possessed or something!'

Now, when someone says that in the mortal world, you'd take them to the funny doctor's. However, in the world of monsters and gods, it has been known for people to be possessed by demons or visions, like Rachel, the Camp's Oracle.

I swallowed uneasily, remembering my dream. I should have told Chiron about it, (it would have saved a lot of trouble later) but I couldn't bring myself to recall the huge room, the lady in black, the monsters…

I shivered as if someone had tipped ice cubes down my back, and realised that Chiron, Evie and Percy were all looking at me.

'No, no,' I managed a smile, though it was weak. 'I'm just fine, no need to worry!'

I tried to sit up, but my head started to spin and Chiron put a hand on my shoulder. 'Steady, there, Rosalie. You're still quite weak. I'm going to keep you there for a while longer, until you're completely better.'

He handed me a small glass of amber-coloured liquid – nectar. I drank deeply, and even though the glass was small, it seemed to fill me up completely. It tasted of candyfloss at the funfair; my mom's hugs; laughter; sunshine; lemon-flavoured ice lollies; barbecued burgers…

It made me feel better. I closed my eyes briefly and sighed, less anxious.

Chiron smiled. 'Wonderful. I'll leave you with Percy for a while, dear, and I'll come back in half an hour or so.' He turned to Evie. 'I think you should go, Miss Phillips.'

'Okay, Chiron,' she replied. She sounded worse than I did.

'Thanks, Evie,' I called after her.

Chiron fixed me with a penetrating stare, and I felt like his eyes could search my soul. I blinked. He said, 'Are you sure everything's okay, Rosa?'

I half considered telling him, but something held me back. 'Yes,' I assured him. 'I'm fine.'

He nodded, more to himself than to me then turned slowly his back to me and Percy and wheeled himself out the door.

When we were alone, Percy sat down in a chair and looked at me. 'Rosa, I may not be a satyr, but I'm still pretty good at reading emotions. What's the matter?'

I could tell Percy, I knew I could. He was my brother, and I felt I needed to tell him what had happened. But I had been so terrified of the whole scene that I could hardly talk about it. And that woman…she had scared me more than the mass of monsters.

I met his eyes. They were greeny-blue, so much like mine, and they were concerned. I hesitated.

'I had a dream,' I began. 'Monsters…ceiling…evil trumpets…'

Percy frowned, confused. 'Evil trumpets?'

'Nappy dudes!' I shouted. 'In yellow britches!'

Percy laid a cool hand on my head, and patted me like I was a dog. He obviously thought I was still delirious, because he said, 'Don't worry, Rosa. Sleep.'

It sounded like such a good idea that I obeyed almost immediately. My eyes closed and my breath slowed, and soon I was deeply asleep.