Okay, so obviously I am terrible at posting. But I promise, I will get better. A lot more is coming your way! Enjoy

P.S. I do not own any Percy Jackson books, movies, or anything else!

Chapter Five

I heard birds singing, and felt the crisp morning breeze flowing into the cabin through the curtained windows. The sheets surrounded me, my body in a tight cocoon. A lot happened last night, and a lot of new information was processed. Hera has never claimed a child, so there wasn't a single piece of furniture in her cabin. Not even a bed for me to sleep on. Annabeth said I could sleep in the Athena cabin until mine was finished being renovated. I tried to decline - mostly because that's where Eric sleeps- but I quickly learned that she doesn't take no for an answer. After Hera left, Chiron and I sat down looking at maps of stars, and we realized there was a perfect zig zig directly over our calculations are correct, I have about 6 weeks before they aline. In front of my bed sat a grey trunk. I yawned, using all my strength to pull myself out of bed. The buckle clicked, sending the top flying open. Inside was a pair of shorts, a black tee, a chest plate, and a neatly folded piece of paper. Scratching my head, I opened the note and read the almost perfect print .

Meet me in the stables. We will start there.

- Eric

The thought of the stable made my stomach flip with excitement. I grew up riding horses, and the thought of mounting the beautiful creature gave me a thrill nothing else could. Throwing the note on the bed, I changed my clothes. The chest plate slipped over my head, the metal cold against my skin. My bracelet clinked against it. I had almost forgotten I had it on. It's glittering charms sparkled in the sunlight, as if magic was flowing through them.

Maybe they do, I mean, they're supposed to give me powers or something

My curls were still intact from last night, and the faint smell of vanilla drifted into my nose. Throwing my hair into a ponytail, I slipped on socks and tennis shoes. The front door creaked as I pulled it open, and sunlight spilled through the doorway. To my surprise, I was actually really excited for today. People were already up, dressed in full armour. Everyone had food in their hands, like they were just finishing breakfast. I wasn't hungry anyway.

Oh crap, where actually are the stables?

A guy was walking in my direction, and as he passed, I tapped him on the shoulder. He had black hair and sea-green eyes, and a smile but that made me feel welcome. He looked familiar.

He was the boy with Annabeth last night

"Hi, can you show me where the stables are?"

He smiled, "Hey, you're the new girl aren't you?"

"Is it obvious?"

"Nah, I'm Percy, nice to meet you."

"Estelle, but you can call me Stell."

"Cool, come with me. I'll show your where the stables are."

We walked a little, and awkward silence soon joined in. Then, Percy spoke.

"So, you have to save the world?"

"Yep."

"I've had to do that. There was a prophecy and everything."
"Really? How did it go?"

"Well, we're all here aren't we?" He laughed.

"True."

"There were seven of us. We went to Hell and back. Literally."

"So you had help?"

"Yes."

I lost hope again, but Percy noticed.

"But hey, if they chose you for this, then you're the one."

"I guess."

A wooden barn came into view, and horses neighed from inside. Percy grabbed the door and pulled it open, following after me. The smell of hay filled my nose, and excitement once again rose in my stomach.

"Well, this is the barn," Percy said, motioning to the building. He pet a horse on the nose. The name tag on the stall read 'Blackjack'.

"He yours?"

"Sure is. He's my bud."

Percy walked back towards the door.

"You good from here?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm meeting Eric."

His mouth formed and 'o' shape, and he arched an eyebrow.

"Ohhh, Annabeth said something about that. I'm pretty sure he has a thing for you."

I hope

I didn't reply, but the instant blushing on my face said enough.

"Alright well, I'll see you later."

And with that he shut the door behind him. Suddenly, I heard a loud noise from the other side of the barn, and I took of running. I entered a corral, with sand dusting my shoes. In front of me stood a magnificent pegasus with giant wings.

"Oh my lord."

She was angry, stomping and whining. Her back feet rocked the post that her lead was tied to. She was attempting to escape. Carefully holding out my hands, I made my way forward. She looked even angrier, and she started to back away.

"Hey, it's okay," I whispered.
"I'm new too."

At this point, I was about five feet in front of her. The back hoof still pounding the sand. Reaching my hand a little farther, I gently placed my it on the side of her neck. Those big, brown eyes softened, like butter in the microwave. She was gorgeous, her white coat shimmering in the sun. She stuck her head around my neck, as if trying to give me a hug. I wrapped my arms around her, accepting. Her wings slowly started to spread, and she squeezed me harder. Long rows of white feathers appeared. The sun bounced off the shiny wings and into my eyes, blinding me slightly. She kept hugging me tighter, so in return, I hugged back. Out of nowhere, she flung me on her back, and pushed up, her wings fully expanding. After a couple full pumps, we were in the air. High. The rope connecting her to the post snapped.

Uh oh

A scream rose in my throat, but nothing came out. Next thing I knew, she neighed loudly, and flapped her ginormous wings harder and quicker. Once we were high up, she tilted back and forth so I could adjust myself on her back. Her long, white mane flew into my face, whipping me. I collected the hair and hung on for dear life as the barn grew smaller. Soon enough, it was just a tiny brown dot. I whimpered and shut my eyes.

I hope Eric finds me

She neighed again, as if she were trying to tell me something. Opening my eyes, I peeked around and looked at the side of her face. The wind was strong and cold. My fingers grew stiffer from not only the bitter air, but from the death grip I had around her neck. She cocked her head and whimpered. It sounded as if she were trying to say something. She neighed a final time, and this time I understood. No, I mean, I literally understood what she was saying.

"Hey there!" She neighed, happy to see I finally cracked the language barrier.

I felt my eyes grow wide, my body still.

What in the world….

"I'm Amethyst, and you are?" she asked, as if she were waiting for an answer.

I opened my mouth, and spit out the only word I could.

"Stell."

She shook her head up and down, once again flinging her hair into my eyes.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Stell."

Dumbstruck, I stayed silent as we entered a group of clouds. The cold was no longer deniable and my body started to stiffen.

"Waaaiit, how can you understand me?"

Was she really asking me this? How am I supposed to know? I didn't even know until about five minutes before this that pegasus's are real, let alone the fact that I can communicate with one. My mind was still trying to wrap itself around the situation. I was riding on a magical, mythical creature. This is literally impossible, and then, I remembered. The bracelet. A silver horse charm hung from the chain, sparkling brighter than the others. Hera said this piece of jewellery would give me powers. Could being able to talk to make-believe creatures one of them? It had to be, there was no other explanation.

Pulling myself together, I replied.

"Um, I think it could be my bracelet."

"I thought it would be. There's some major power surging through it," She neighed.

Great, so that answers one question.

"Sooo, do you want to explain why you kidnapped me? Preferably, before I freeze."

She snickered, in a horse kind of way.

"Frankly, you looked fun to mess with . But tell me, why do you have a bracelet like that?"

I sighed, and explained everything that has happened over the past few days. Eric, Megan, the prophecy. All of the things that have completely changed my life. Some good, some bad. the whole story took about ten minutes, and my eyes teared up several times. When I finished, she said nothing. Just flew. And for a moment, peace and quiet was nice. An escape that I was in desperate need of. Then, she quietly answered.

"Wow. Sounds like it's been kind of rough."

Laughing, I replied.

"You have no idea."

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm the newest addition to camp. If you ever need anyone to talk with, looks like I'll be here for a while."

"Tha- that would be nice."

The sudden urge to hug her came over me, but then I remembered what happened the last time I did that. Yet, I felt this attachment to her. In the pit of my stomach, I could tell she and I would be seeing each other in the future. I rubbed her neck.

"So you only kidnapped me because I looked like a laugh?" I ask.

"Yes and no. No offence, you did look kind of nervous, so I wanted to see how you would react. And just to be clear, it was pretty funny. On the other hand, I was starting to get sick of being tied to that post. My theory is, if you're free, you're happy, and that post is not freedom. They've been trying to tame me since I've gotten here, but I still don't know what they want from me. Circus tricks are out of the question. They even brought in this boy with black hair. He was most definitely a son of Poseidon. Anyway, he tried to communicate, and it annoyed the crap out of me. But it seems as if I have someone who finally understands, on my side."

I hardly knew her, and this whole thing was kind of weird. But I felt this unspoken connection between us, and I knew Amethyst was right.

"I'll explain the situation to them."

"Thanks, I knew I could trust you."

We flew a little further, my body now completely numb. Except, I didn't care. And that surprised me. Shivering, I clung tighter to her mane, searching for the slightest touch of warmth.

"Are you cold?" She asked.

"Kinda."

"I can take you back now if you want."

"I'd appreciate it, but promise me one thing."

"What?"

"Don't bolt. I'll tell them what you told me. They'll learn to trust you."

I felt her sigh, and she bobbed her head.

"Okay, hang on."

Amethyst turned her body, her wings tilting in a diagonal line. I was happy we were going back, mostly because now my almost frozen body can return to it's normal temperature. Eric is going to wonder why I'm so cold.

"Oh fudge, Eric. I totally forgot I was supposed to meet him."

"Who's Eric?" Asked Amethyst.

"Um well. A friend? Trainer? Cute boy?"

"Ohhhh what does he look like."

Instantly, a mental image popped in my head.

"Brown hair, tan skin, incredible grey eyes."

"I think you're describing the guy who tied me to the post." she replied, bitterly.

My heart sank in my chest a little.

"Really?"

"Yeah, but it's okay. He was really gentle. It's the tied up part I don't like, not the people."

And just like that, my heart lifted.

"Well, I'm glad."

She whined, "He seems like your type."

Laughing, I replied, "I have a type?"

She scoffed and bobbed her head a couple more times.

"Um yes. You're both perfect."

On the outside I smiled, as a way to say thank you without speaking. On the inside, I was cringing. Perfect is not what I am. The clouds separated and once again, camp came into view. The brown barn showed up amongst the trees. Amethyst landed in the sand. Swinging my legs over, I gave her a quick hug. Out of the corner of my eye, I could make out a figure stomping towards me. Eric. He looked angry, but at the same time relieved. Stopping in front of me, he swiftly crossed his arms, as if waiting for me to talk. Not knowing what to say, I stood, silent.

"Where the hell have you been?" He asked, emotion filling his tone.

Shocked, I instantly held myself, as if looking for self-comfort. Yelling is not my favorite.

"Sorry, got a bit carried away."

I left out the part where I got kidnapped. Amethyst had been through enough, and she didn't need to be more uncomfortable on my account.

"What do you mean you got carried away? You could have gotten hurt!"

At this point, his face was a dullish red, and I realised he was truly upset. I didn't answer, just stared at the sand in front of his feet. The last thing I wanted to do was fight with him. He took a couple steps closer, but managed to keep his distance.

"I didn't know you were this irresponsible."

My head snapped up and I glared at him.

Oh no he didn't

"I'm irresponsible? I'm not the one tying up animals and leaving them there!"

I felt that was slightly unfair, but I didn't care. He started it. This week has been hectic for me and he knows it, so the fact that comment was made was just proof that maybe I shouldn't like him like I do. He looked confused, and then he glanced around me, to where Amethyst was standing. His eyes softened, but he still looked mad.

"First off, tying them up is a way to make sure they are safe and won't hurt themselves. Second, yes, you are irresponsible."

Hurt, I backed away. Standing next to Amethyst, I glowered at him.

"How dare you. Man, are you a hypocrite or what? I'm a lot of things, but irresponsible is not one of them. You were the one person who seemed to keep my world from tipping. Even when all of this was thrown on me, out of nowhere, you were there. Where's that Eric?"

Tears fall down my cheeks. He looks sorry, but before I give him the chance to speak, I hastily jump on Amethyst. He walked toward me, but immediately stopped when I held out my palm.

"What are you doing Stell?" he asked, placing his hands behind his neck.

Adjusting myself on her back, I shot him a look.

"Being irresponsible."

And Amethyst took off.