New Hope Rewritten

Chapter V: Champion of the Hearth

Kairi

Getting claimed is pretty cool. Finding out you have a half-sibling is pretty surprising. Having Percy as your step-brother is fun. Sure, he gets kind of messy but I'm fine with that. I'm used to cleaning after the kids in the orphanage I used to live in. It's got to the point that I actually like cleaning so it goes well with Percy leaving clothes all around and leaving his bed unmade and exiting the toilet like a tornado was preoccupying it before.

I've only been here for a few days and I'm pretty happy here in camp. I'm learning a lot to defend myself and learning more about mythology that are true and how some are pretty good explanations for certain events in life that happen. Although I'm still not good at defending myself nor using my powers, I knew I didn't really have to rush since everything seems so peaceful and calm. Everyone's been really nice (except for that tough Ares girl and those constant pranks by the Stolls) and I really feel like I'm part of one big family.

I woke up early for gods know what but I knew it would be useless to go back to sleep as I was fully awake without meaning to. I grudgingly left my warm bed and checked if Percy was still sleeping. The sound of an audible snore was enough proof for me to know he was still out. I threw on a jacket that I found near Percy's stuff and hoped he wouldn't mind me borrowing it before heading out of the Poseidon cabin. The camp was really quiet and the sun wasn't even up yet.

I noticed a girl sitting by the fireplace. I walked towards her and smiled, "Hello, a lovely morning isn't it?" I asked.

She smiled and nodded, "Yes, I agree. Although it's rather cold so what are you doing so early in the morning?" she asks back.

I shrugged and sat down beside her, "Well, I could ask you the same thing."

"Touché, but I'm not a demigod. I'm a goddess."

I look at her in shock, "Oh... oh, I'm so sorry." I say, feeling my face get warm in embarrassment. I thought about who she could be, "Are you Hestia? Goddess of the home and hearth?"

She smiles, "Not many know of me. Nico, Percy, and a few others only notices me. The son of Hades found me first though."

I smile at the thought of Nico talking to Hestia, "He's a great friend. I think it's wrong to be judged just because of who your godly parent is." I say. "Percy's also a good example. When he went to Camp Jupiter with no memories, the Romans thought he would destroy everything since he was the son of Poseidon—or Neptune—but he does the exact opposite."

Hestia listens intently and I continue, "Nico isn't bad. So what if he's a son of Hades? He isn't a monster. He's a demigod like everyone else. I don't understand why everyone is treating him like he's a nuclear bomb or something."

The goddess rubs the top of my head in a motherly fashion, it felt really nice. "Some people are quick to judge without understanding. Those who are being judged often give up on correcting others and just learn to accept their fate. You're right; no one deserves to be judged." Hestia observes me and I felt like she looked into my very being. "I see you fitting to be my champion. Would you accept?"

That caught me by surprise, "Your... your champion?"

"You have a good heart and I see you've been betrayed a lot. I know a lot about you—I've even seen you as a baby. You are very loyal to everyone you care and you think that nobody should live a life like yours. You're very thoughtful to think of that, but why?" She asks.

I, a smart intellectual, reply with "I...uh..." Of course, I redeem myself and clear my throat while sorting my thoughts out. "Well, I've faced lots of hard things in life that I ended up doing this," I pull my sleeve up and show my wrist littered with self harm scars. "I realized how pathetic it was to do that. So instead, I help my friends and the other kids in the orphanage who go through the same thing as me. They don't self harm unlike me since I was able to stop them. I.. I often find myself picking up a blade every once and a while... No one knows but now I guess you do. I was told I'm not like the other kids in the orphanage. I was told that my mom disappeared and they all took pity on me. They said it was my fault I'm parentless... they... I..." I began losing control of the tears I held back for so long and without meaning to they began to cascade down.

Hestia wraps her arms around me in a tight, warm hug. "It's alright; you're here in the camp." The goddess holds me until I calm down.

"I'm not sure what being your champion means, but I'd like to be your champion." Hestia smiles at my answer and let go. Instead she holds my hand,

"I will bless you giving which would grant you certain abilities. Those include controlling and summoning fire as well as summoning food. I will also equip you with a sword but I'm sure Poseidon has also given you a sword. You'll also go on small missions for me as well as have access to my temple at any time at all."

"How do I get to your temple?" I ask.

"Just think about it and you will be teleported there. Oh, and you can travel in flames like how Nico can travel in shadows and Percy in water." She explains. Hestia touches the middle of my forehead with her index finger and as soon as she does, I felt a warm feeling rush all over my body.

I close my eyes and imagine a small flame on my palm. When I opened my eyes, there indeed was a small flame at the middle of my hand and I smiled, "This is so cool! Thank you so much!" I exclaim.

"My pleasure." Hestia watches as I play around with the fire. Hestia quickly became my favourite goddess, hands down. She is so kind and funny and understanding, she's like the mother I never had. We talked and shared laughs, it was really refreshing. When campers started to wake up, I say goodbye to her and walk back to the Poseidon cabin.

Percy was still snoring and the position I found him in was pretty funny. He was on the edge of his bed and is about to fall. Annabeth walks into the cabin and grins mischievously, "Watch this." I look forward with interest as to what the daughter of Athena plans to do. She took a deep breath and screamed, "PERCY!"

The boy jerks in surprise and falls of the bed in a loud thud. He scrambles up and gets out Riptide while waving it around, "WHAT!?" He shouts. Annabeth and I laugh, making Percy focus more and cap Riptide, "Meanie." He mutters.

"You were sleeping like a log." I point out.

Percy shrugs while scratching his head, "I like my sleeps, don't judge me."

I shake my head and laugh a little, "I won't." I then remember my conversation with Hestia and smile, "By the way, I'm Hestia's champion now. I can control fiiiiiiiiiiyyaaaaaahhh!"

Percy raises an eyebrow, "Prove it." He says. I wordlessly show them my palm and think of a small flame in the middle. Without another second being wasted, a small flame was conjured and as I thought of it vanishing it did so. Annabeth whistled while Percy was left staring. "That's so cool!" He exclaims.

What a wonderful way to get my day going.