That night at dinner his Dads sat at the head table with Jason and Mr. D –who kept calling Cesare 'Charles'—and he sat at the Hades table alone. The dining pavilion had no walls or roof, but it was on a hill overlooking the sea. Being so close to the water was already one of his favorite things about this camp. The BBQ was great and nymphs carried around trays of fresh fruit but he was already getting glances and hearing whispers. His Dads told him to expect this. He was the new kid at camp and unlike everyone else he didn't have to wait and wonder which god would claim him. Nico told him that sitting at the Hades table was sure to get him noticed and maybe even cause people to avoid him, but he shrugged it off. He wasn't going to lie or hide who he was.
At least he got to see the surprise and disbelief when Jason introduced Percy. His father's heroics had become the stuff of legend told around the campfire at Camp Half-Blood. Jason didn't introduce Nico but Cesare knew his Dad wouldn't want that and probably told Jason not to. When dinner was over everyone headed to the campfire where he sat under the Poseidon banner and he had to resist chuckling at the confused looks he was getting.
His dads joined Jason standing in front of the campers as the Apollo cabin led everyone in a sing-a-long. Jason and Percy sang very loudly and off key while Nico just looked at them with a faint smile on his face. Cesare couldn't help smiling either. The songs were fun, especially 'This Land is Minos's Land,' 'I Am My Own Great-Great-Great-Great Grandpa,' and 'Down By the Aegean.' The campfire seemed to like them too. Cesare watched as the fire swelled and turned different colors as they sang.
When it was over and Jason dismissed them for bed he went over to his parents to say goodnight and headed for cabin three. His eyes kept darting to the doors of Hera's cabin. Two nymphs were guarding them while the campers were away and he wondered if they watched over the doors at night as well.
"Hey!" The shout was right behind him and when he turned the girl with the pixie cut hair was walking up beside him.
"So, what do you think of camp?" she asked nicely. Up close he noticed she had really bright brown eyes that stood out against her short blond hair. With her small delicate features, she looked like a model.
"I'm Teresa, by the way."
"Cesare," he said shaking her hand. "It's nice. A lot more chill than Camp Jupiter," he smiled a little and her eyes widened.
"You were at the Roman camp?" she asked in surprise.
"Yeah, it didn't work out too well," said Cesare bashfully.
"You must be happy to be out of there."
"You have no idea. No guard duty, no uniforms, no rankings, or pecking orders. I've died and gone to Olympus."
Teresa laughed. "That's not completely true. Every cabin has a counselor they need to listen to."
"No problem, I'm the counselor and only member of my cabin," he grinned at her.
"Yeah, I wanted to ask you about that. You're staying in the Poseidon cabin and sitting at the Hades table?"
"Oh, yep, I knew that would confuse people…"
He stopped walking in the middle of the Green and Teresa stopped with him, waiting for him to explain. They were near the fire that burned in the center of the all the cabins and Cesare saw what looked like a young girl tending the fire. Teresa didn't seem to notice her and neither did any of the other campers who walked right past her as they headed for their respective cabins. She was gone in an instant and Cesare had to resist the urge to run back to his Dads and tell them he'd just seen her.
"Well?" Teresa asked with a little smile.
"Oh, um… Percy Jackson is my Dad, so that makes Poseidon my grandfather." She nodded in understanding at this and he plowed forward. "The other guy with him? That's his husband, Nico di Angelo. He's the son of Hades and also my Dad."
"Wait, so which is your biological Dad?"
"They both are." Her pretty brow wrinkled in confusion and he tried not to laugh.
"My Dad, Percy, did Cupid a favor a long time ago and Aphrodite offered him a favor in return. When he married Nico, they decided to ask Aphrodite for a baby."
An amused smile split her face and Cesare felt himself blushing.
"Are you saying that my mom made you?" she asked with undisguised skepticism.
"Yep," he said simply, rocking back on his heels. He'd been through the 'I was a magical baby' explanation before and the one thing he'd learned was that some people –even in a world of demi-gods and monsters—refused to believe him. That was their problem.
Teresa examined his face, looking for a joke that wasn't there and after a minute she smiled again. "That's pretty cool!"
"Yeah, I think so too," he said grinning, as he relaxed a little.
"Well, we should get inside before the harpies come out," she said.
"Oh, that does happen here, doesn't it?" he asked looking around.
"Yeah, bet Camp Jupiter doesn't have a curfew call like that," she joked.
"And even with that, this place is still less strict." They laughed before Teresa waved good-bye and ran off to cabin ten.
Inside the Poseidon cabin the hippocampi mobile, made by his uncle Tyson, turned in lazy circles and the fountain was slowly lulling him to sleep. If he wasn't the grandson of Poseidon he might have thought it was weird that the sound of water falling into a basin was so comforting to him. The magical sea breeze blowing through the cabin made him breathe deep. He was more relaxed than he had ever been and, without him even noticing, his subconscious mind became more fluid.
He dreamed he was inside a pristine white room. There were slender columns stretching up to the ceiling and a huge statue in the middle but he couldn't see it very clearly. Giant fans made of splayed peacock feathers hung on the walls. Pedestals around the room either held bowls of pomegranates or crystal vases of flowers. There was a minimal amount of furniture but it was at odds with the room, like it didn't really belong. A big chaise covered in green pillows and silk, a couple of overturned tables, and books that looked like they'd been tossed to the floor. The edges of his view were blurry but he could see two people standing near the doors.
"Mother, please!"
"No."
Someone yelled in frustration and stalked away.
"I am trying to help you, my love," the other one said gently.
"I don't need help, my sisters do!"
"And we are trying to do something about that. You just have to be patient. If you fell into the same trap-"
"All I have to do is get them out and it will fix everything."
"The fact that you think it's so easily solved proves you couldn't possibly win. No one has ever beaten her."
"I'll never forgive you for this!"
"Oh, don't be dramatic, dear. Look, I've brought you some more romance novels. Have you read Twilight yet?"
The next morning at breakfast he was getting more looks than usual and the glances from the Aphrodite table were the weirdest. They were bright, curious, looks backed up by giggles and whispers. Teresa looked at him with an expression like she was about watch something funny happen. Strangely enough it didn't really trouble him, he had a lot of experience with Venus children and if Aphrodite's kids were anything like that this wouldn't be that bad. Besides, Blaine wasn't here to make him feel guilty for flirting.
His mind started to drift to thoughts about Blaine and whatever was happening at Camp Jupiter but he reminded himself that it wasn't his problem. He sacrificed some of his scrambled eggs and bacon to his grandfathers and sat at the Hades table. Nico and Percy were at the head table again and this time they were watching him closely. Percy looked like he was about to burst out laughing but Nico looked confused and kind of worried. Cesare shook his head and tried to ignore them as he ate. His dream helped distract him. He couldn't remember all of it but he remembered the arguing and wondered if his mind was just making stuff up because he was curious about the girl locked in cabin two.
Breakfast was less structured than dinner and the campers came and went as they pleased. When he was done he waited for Mr. D to disappear before he went over to the head table to see his parents. Nico immediately started fussing over him, telling him it was okay if he wanted to go back to New York with them.
"Nico, when did you become such a mother hen?" asked Jason.
"Yeah, he'll be fine, Nico," said Percy.
"Did you see the way they were looking at him?" Nico asked.
"Cesare, it's kind of gotten out that you're a love baby," Jason said with a grin.
"Well, that was bound to happen," he shrugged. "I'm not worried," he said to Nico.
"Neither am I," said Percy.
"Which is why I'm the mother hen," Nico said, looking weary.
"I'll take care of him," Jason said. "Plus, Piper and Madison are coming back tomorrow. She can get the Aphrodite cabin under control."
"Your Dad is just worried that this and being the grandson of Hades will make it hard on you," said Percy before he downed an entire glass of orange juice.
"I can handle it," he said to Nico as he rose to leave.
"What are you doing today?" asked Jason.
"I was thinking archery."
"I hated archery," Percy groaned.
"That's probably why you were such a terrible shot," Nico said with a smirk.
"You were pretty bad with a bow," confirmed Jason.
Percy simply shrugged. "It's true."
"Good luck with the apartment hunt. Do I get final approval?" Cesare asked as he hugged them good-bye.
"We'll show it to you once we find one," Percy said, ruffling his curls.
The weather was perfect again today and he was wearing a brand new camp t-shirt that he hoped would help him blend in a little. On his way to the archery range Teresa fell into step next to him. She wasn't wearing an orange shirt like him, but rather a pair of jean shorts and a bright red spaghetti top.
"Sorry," she said sincerely, "everyone was curious about you and my cabin likes to gossip. Look at it this way, now you won't have a bunch of people asking you about it because everyone knows."
"The Aphrodite cabin just did me a public service, right?" he asked in mock gratitude. "Who would have guessed?"
She looked filled with chagrin so he smiled at her. "It's okay. It's not like it's something I'm ashamed of."
"You shouldn't be," she encouraged. "Your Dad is Percy Jackson and you were created by the goddess of love."
"Yep," he shrugged. He didn't feel any different for it but everyone always acted like it was a big deal.
"That's made you very popular with my cabin," she said.
"Really?" he asked, brightening.
"Yeah, so I thought I could be your wingwoman at least for today," she said.
"I need a wingwoman?" he asked, feeling entertained.
"Absolutely," she said confidently as she waved to two satyrs who walked past them carrying crates of strawberries. "How else will you know which girls are worth the effort? Pairing up couples is my cabin's specialty," Her tone was so haughty that he couldn't help but grin.
"Can you tell me which guys are worth the effort too?"
"You're interested in both?" she asked, sounding mildly surprised.
"I'm an equal opportunity kind of guy."
"That's the Aphrodite spirit!" she cheered as they joined the group at the archery range.
Archery was fun but he discovered pretty quickly that he was only an okay shot. Normally, he would have given up after discovering this and moved on to to something else but he was sizing up the guy running the range. A cute blond named Jeremy. Teresa caught him looking and started giggling.
"What?" he asked.
"You don't waste any time do you?" she asked as she aimed her arrow.
"You were the one who said I'd need a wingman today. I thought getting started immediately was the idea?"
"Wingwoman," she corrected. "And as your wingwoman let me inform you that Jeremy Matthews is a son of Apollo, so you're definitely on the right track. But, unfortunately he's already dating some Demeter girl named Alice."
Cesare dismissed it with a shrug. "I'm fine with just looking."
After archery Teresa pulled him into a volleyball game and when they weren't playing they sat on the ground on the sidelines as she pointed out details about everyone.
"Kate Whitmore, daughter of Athena," she said, nodding at a blonde girl on the court. "She might be a good choice but Athena kids are kind of a bunch of know-it-alls."
"I like smart girls," said Cesare as he leaned back on his elbows and watched Kate spike the ball over the net.
"We'll put her in the maybe pile," Teresa said in a business like tone.
"There are piles?" he asked, laughing.
After lunch they sat on the Green with Teresa's half-brother Andrew who was on look-out duty for cabin two. He was a year younger than Cesare with a slight build, short dark hair, and big blue eyes. He was also straight, Teresa pointed out with no shame or attempt at tact.
"So tell us about Camp Jupiter," said Andrew.
"Yeah, you said it didn't work out there. Can you talk about it?" asked Teresa as she filed her nails.
"Is this going to be become public knowledge too?" asked Cesare.
"I won't tell," said Andrew.
"I make no promises," Teresa said flatly.
"Ressa," Andrew chided.
"What?" she asked innocently. Andrew glared at her and she put the file down with a sigh. "Fine. I won't tell if you ask me not to but people are curious about you."
"It's true," confirmed Andrew. "You're new and kind of mysterious."
"Mysterious?" Cesare arched his eyebrow in disbelief.
"Yeah, you live in the Poseidon cabin, sit at the Hades table, your Dad is Percy Jackson, you're Greek but you've live at Camp Jupiter. All that makes you a welcome distraction from whatever is going on in cabin two," Andrew said, thumbing him in the direction of the bronze doors.
"So, you guys really don't know what she did?" he asked, ignoring the rundown list of why he was so mysterious.
"No," said Teresa.
"And our mother only spoke to Piper about it but she was clear that those doors need to stay closed. It was really annoying at first, everyone was so curious and we'd catch people poking around all the time but we have a good relationship with the Aries cabin and they helped us scare them off," Andrew explained.
"What if she didn't do anything?" Cesare asked as he thought about his dream. "What if Aphrodite has her locked up for another reason?"
"Like what?" asked Teresa.
"To keep her from doing something, maybe," he said shrugging
"Either way, she's in there," said Andrew.
"And we'll probably never know why, which is why Cesare will have to entertain us with stories of his life," she said happily.
"There's really nothing to tell," he said casually.
"You said it was strict there. How bad was it?" asked Teresa.
"There are just a lot of rules," he said, groping for the right words. "There's no room for error. It's like a camp full of Type-A control freaks. Everything is about discipline and military prowess."
"Sounds bad," Andrew said sounding sympathetic.
"They have so much stuff there, like in New Rome, but you can't really enjoy it until you muster out after your ten years of service."
"I've heard there's cool stuff there like coffee shops and stores but ten years of service?" Teresa just shook her head.
"So is that why you left?" asked Andrew.
"Pretty much," Cesare sighed. "It didn't help that I was the grandchild of the two bad luck gods."
"I don't-" Teresa suddenly went silent and the expression on her face contorted in annoyance. She was looking over his shoulder and when Cesare turned he saw two kids sneaking over to cabin two.
"Sorry, we gotta go handle this," muttered Teresa.
She and Andrew got up and jogged off in the direction of Hera's cabin. Cesare was about to follow but when he stood up a chill went down his spine. He didn't know why but he needed to go to cabin thirteen. It was almost like an invisible rope pulling him toward the black building. Looking back on it later, he wouldn't even remember the walk to the door.
Inside someone was waiting for him. He was tall and imposing with black robes that blended in with the darkness inside the cabin. He had shoulder-length black hair and bangs that framed his eyes, which glittered like frozen tar. His skin was so white that snow would probably look dark compared to him. Cesare had often imagined what it would be like to meet his grandfathers, but nothing could have prepared him for this. He shut the door and walked forward to kneel down in front of the god.
"I have wanted to meet you for some time." His voice was oily and the energy of his aura was intense, but Cesare was determined to make a good impression.
"I've wanted to meet you for a long time as well, grandfather."
"You look more like Jackson." He had no idea how to respond to that so he stayed silent.
"You sit at my table but you don't live in this cabin." It was a statement but he could feel disapproval in the air. Cesare stood and faced his grandfather.
"I try to honor bother you and Poseidon," he said. Hades scoffed but moved on.
"I know you have the sword. How did you come by it?"
A chill ran up Cesare's spine but he did his best to remain calm. "I-it was in Venice. Favonius said Cupid wanted me to have it."
"Indeed," Hades said with a sneer. "And you believed him?"
"I had no reason not to," he said, taken aback.
"Someone wanted you to have the sword but it wasn't Cupid. I don't suppose it matters since you'll never be able to master it."
"Can you tell me anything? Who is the boy I keep seeing?" He asked, even though Hades had just knocked the wind out of his sails.
"You would know the answers to those questions already if you weren't so busy denying who you are."
"I'm not-"
"You've never tested the limits of your powers. You've only ever used them to pull pranks. You're barely scratching the surface and I assume it's because you're afraid of what you'll find beneath."
Hades looked at him like he was waiting for Cesare to make an attempt at denial but his grandson said nothing.
"I came to tell you to give up the sword. It will kill you if you don't take it seriously."
"And if I wanted to take it seriously?" he asked. "How would I master it?"
Hades stared at him for a few second before shrugging. "You could try bringing the sword in here where you'd be able to boost your connection with the underworld. Then try to connect with the spirit attached to the sword, but it may still kill you," The god's voice was dismissive.
"Thank you," Cesare said.
"If you die, Nico will be devastated. And I will not be able to help you when you are sent to judgement. You've performed no heroic deeds and will most likely end up wandering the fields of Asphodel. It would be wiser to give it up. If you change your mind, leave the sword in this cabin."
Hades disappeared, fading into the darkness of the cabin until he was gone. The dinner gong rang and he knew he had to get back to his cabin for inspection, but he'd already made his decision.