Lassa

Next few weeks pass quickly, just like last year. I still occasionally get teased for my faith as do the other Christians at camp, but it isn't as bad as last year. Jesse leads a weekly Bible Study on Sundays until Percy and Annabeth get back, then Percy takes over. They thank Leo for the new Loft, and he makes a not so subtle sex joke, making Annabeth blush and lightly slap the back of his head.

Percy takes over my sword fighting lessons too. Thankfully, He's hopeless at Archery and Jesse isn't half bad at it, so he and I spend time together doing that.

The second week of June, Everyone has finally arrived at camp who's going to come. That means it's the first full Capture the Flag game we've had so far. It gets especially interesting when Percy is team captain of Blue, and Annabeth is chosen by her siblings to head up Red, making it extra competitive. So Percy and I team up with Jason, the Hermes, Apollo, Hephaestus and a few other minor cabins while Annabeth teams up with everyone else. I ask Percy if he's upset he isn't on the same team as Annabeth, but he just laughs.

"Heh. No. Winner of this gets to pick the movie for the next 4 date nights, and I can't take another Chick Flick."

"Okay, but just so you know I overheard her telling Piper if she wins you're watching Barbie movies with her for the next month." I smirk at him. "She says they're nostalgic for her." He groans.

"Oh gods please no. I had to watch The Princess and the Pauper with her once and got the songs stuck in my head for a month."

"Better be fast then." I say and take off to take my position in the creek. No sooner do I get there than does the horn blow, signifying the start of the game. Percy, Jesse, and a few others let out a war cry and run across the creek. I smile, raising the water around me and freezing it, making an ice wall so the Reds can't cross the creek.

They get here just a few seconds later, and already start trying to try and climb up and over it, slipping and cussing, making me laugh. This isn't a skill I've used in Capture the Flag before, so Annabeth didn't know to plan around it. It takes them a hot minute, but they eventually start to get over. I get my swords in my hand and take a defensive stance. The first to make the climb over is a boy I recognize as Jackson Wyles. He's a year round Ares kid with 4 beads on his necklace. He'll be well trained. His feet hit the ground and he smirks, thinking I'll be an easy target. I smirk back. I've got water bending and Percy's training on my side. Plus I saw Will's abilities have progressed to the point he can reattach severed limbs, so I don't have to hold back.

Jackson lets out a war cry and charges me with his sword. I stand in the part of the creek that isn't frozen, letting the water give me extra strength. He runs towards me and I dodge his strikes, rolling in the water. When He over commits to a swing, I do a roof block on my right arm, letting my arm and the arm guards I'm wearing reinforce my sword and get him in a blade lock while I use my left hand to swipe at his heels. He realizes what I'm doing and tries to jump over my blade, but doesn't do it fast enough. He screams as I slice through his Achilles Tendon and he falls into the water. He tries to get up, but now has to hop on one leg. Even so, he comes at me again and I have to use all my strength to block his sword strike. He's a typical Ares kid. Brute Force, bravery, and Strength, good with weapons and little else. But I'm a daughter of the Sea, the strongest force on Earth. Gritting my teeth, I encase my back foot with Ice so he can't press me back. In my peripheral vision, I see a few other kids starting to get over the wall. Running out of time, I blast the water we're standing in in Jackson's face with enough force to knock him back, then steel my nerves and Slice off his right hand and run.

"Sorry Jackson!" I yell as he screams a few choice names at me. "Will can reattach that!" I stop running as soon as I get in front of the other kids right as they jump off. Three on one. The first boy comes at me with his spear, and the other two try to sprint past me. I'm able to lean back and block the spear with my left sword and reach out with my right to trip one of the runners. The third makes it past, but The kid I tripped falls on his face with a cry of pain. I see blood oozing from his shins. The kid with the spear raises it to try for a strike, but I roll out of the way and onto the other kid's back, putting him into a blood choke that Annabeth taught me before he knows what's happening. Noticing under his helmet it's a first year a little younger than me I feel a little bad, but choke him out all the same. Right as I do the guy with the spear comes at me again and I reach up to block it with my arm guards. His spear goes through it like it's made of paper and I scream as it pierces through my right forearm. He pulls it out and runs off towards the flag. I hold my arm and run into the water, soaking it. It brings some relief but still hurts like Hell. This is creek water, doable but not nearly as good as Ocean Water, Nectar or Ambrosia. I rip off the bottom of my shirt and wrap it around the wound once it's manageable to take it out of the water. Not a second too soon either, Because I see that kid that slipped by me running towards me with the flag. But before he can get here, The water behind me melts with a huge splash and Percy sprints past, whooping and hollering with the Red flag in his hands. The horn blows, signaling the game is over and won. Chiron trots over and congratulates Percy, and while everyone else swarms him I go back to the creek and keep soaking my arm.

"That doesn't look good." I hear Jesse say from behind me. He walks around and kneels down. When he looks in my eyes, I see he has fire in them. "Who did this?" He asks in a low voice. "Rules are no maiming." I try for a smile, although I know it probably looks more like a grimace.

"I didn't know the kid. But it doesn't matter anyways. I sliced off Jackson Wyles' hand, so I can't exactly complain to Chiron." I say and he raises his eyebrows.

"You cut off his hand? That's brutal."

"Yeah, but I had to get him out of commission so I could take on the other three. One got past me. One I choked out. The other bested me."

"With a Spear?"

"Yeah. With a spear. I'm used to defending against swords."

"Well I guess we'd better fix that." He says, and I see a smile tug at the corner of his mouth. "I still don't like that a kid speared your arm. You breaking the rules doesn't make it okay for someone else to."

"True, but what I did is still vastly worse."

"Yeah. I guess. What do you think Chiron's punishment for you will be?" He asks and I laugh.

"Do you really think Jackson Wyles, Head counselor for Ares while Clarisse is away, is going to admit to a twelve year old little girl beating him in combat? No. He'll go to the infirmary and let Will reattach it without saying a word." I say, and stand up as I feel the wound finish closing.

"You good?" Jesse asks, reaching out to steady me.

"I'm good. I just lost a good bit of blood. Few hours and I'll be right as rain."

"Okay, well let's get you to the ocean. You'll heal faster there than the creek or anything the Apollo medics do."

"By ourselves?" I raise my eyebrows at him. "Jesse James, are you trying to take me on a date?" I tease. He laughs.

"No, I'm trying to make sure you don't pass out from blood loss. I've got three more weeks until I can take you on a date."

"You're really sticking to that, huh? My Dad's 1500 miles away."

"I'm holding to it, no matter how hard you make it. I told you, I'm trying to do this right."

"I make it hard?" He laughs.

"You make it nearly Impossible." He says, then turns around and bends over. "Hop on. You're pretty pale. You probably shouldn't walk the mile to the coast." He says. I smile and do as he says, then he straightens and starts walking that way.

"My hero." I tell him.

"I try." He smiles.