I'm alive! It's been 10 years (to the day!) since I published this story. I have not stopped loving Julia, and I still think her story is one worth telling. So here I am! This time, I cross my heart and hope to die, I will finish the story one way or another. If I go more than a month without an update, I give permission to harass me (ya know, harass politely) about it. I have a comprehensive outline (it's almost 10,000 words...) and almost 100 pages written so far (not in order though). So, worst-case scenario, I'll clean up that outline and publish it along with the written scenes so that you know how the story is meant to go. But I plan on finishing it properly! Anyways, onto the boring nitty-gritty...

-I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, or Trials of Apollo or the characters, places, etc. therein. (obviously, this is a fan-fiction)
-For this story, I have adopted the common fanon dating of the Battle of Manhattan (The Last Olympian) in the summer of 2009. However, like in Riordan's own work, there will likely be anachronisms.
-I tried really dam hard to make sure that this story fits seamlessly into the established canon. However - I am a human with a fallible memory so please just suspend your disbelief if I made a mistake. There should be no major ones. :)
-Every rule has an exception, and that exception is in regards to the companion books. I will be picking and choosing elements from those that are 'canon' within my story. Additionally, Riordan himself has some inconsistencies. When this occurs I choose the version of events that best fit my story.
-Occasionally I will be using dialog from the series - again because this story is canon-compliant. If there is a scene from the books that also takes place in this story, I will be keeping the dialog (but not the narration). Take this note as a blanket citation for these instances. #plagarismisbad
-And finally, thanks for reading and giving me a chance!

18 August 2009

My name is Julia Zafer. I'm what you call a half-blood: half-god, half-human. I live at a place called Camp Half-Blood, which is the only safe place for demigods like me. You see, the Greek gods are real - which is awesome because I exist. But with the gods, come the monsters - which is not awesome, because they try to make me not exist.

And now, I had just arrived at Camp Half-Blood after one of the worst days of my life.

I sat on my bed in the Hermes cabin, blissfully alone. I left Olympus as soon as the council dismissed us, taking a chariot back to camp with Travis and Connor, not wanting to be in Manhattan a second longer. As soon as we got back, the Stoll brothers took the rare opportunity of a vacant big house to go and explore the attic undisturbed.

In the 10 minutes they had been gone, a few other demigods had arrived back, all of whom looked as exhausted as me. I was just about to lie down in my bunk for a well-deserved nap when Travis and Conner burst back into the cabin and shooed everyone out.

"Sorry, guys! But we need the cabin to ourselves. Go play in the woods or something."

I made sure to glare at both brothers as I walked out.

Not interested in entering the woods, I instead went looking for Pollux. When I decided to leave early, I had asked him to come back with me but he chose to stay with his father. By now, I assumed that Mr. D had returned to camp, excited by the reduction of his sentence.

I didn't have to look long. He was sitting on his bed inside his cabin, flipping through a booklet.

"Hi," I said softly, alerting him to my entrance. "Is your arm feeling better?"

He set the booklet next to him and looked down at the sling. "I'm not back up to 100% but Austin did a really good job. Hopefully, I'll be able to use it again in a day or two."

"I'm glad." I sat next to him and glanced at the booklet. "What were you reading?"

He sighed and handed it to me. "It's stuff for college. With… everything that's happened, I never even applied." When he turned to look at me, I noticed that his eyes were watering. "We were supposed to start college today. We had all these plans of what we would do. Now, everything feels empty. How can I move on from camp without him?"

I tried not to let the comment sting. "Pollux... I'm turning 18 in February. I never planned to leave camp... but maybe we could move on... together?"

Pollux smiled at me, "Thank you, Julia."

He leaned over to hug me and I wrapped my arms around him. I felt him start to let go, but I wasn't ready to let go. As I clasped him tightly I asked, "Pollux, if you don't mind… I think I need a friend a little longer."

I felt his good arm tighten around me. "Always."

As the day went on, the rest of the campers arrived back at camp. It was the late afternoon when a knock sounded on the door to Cabin 12. "Come in," Pollux called out.

Malcolm was at the door. "Hey, guys."

I stood up to greet him. "What's up?"

"Chiron's told us to gather at the campfire before dinner. We're going to burn the shrouds."

Pollux stood and walked up next to me. "Let's go."

We walked out of Cabin 12 and made our way to the amphitheater. Since nobody was sitting according to cabin, the three of us made our place towards the back. We had just sat down when someone sat down next to my left.

The three of us turned to see Drew, looking worse than I had ever seen her. The usually so-well-put-together daughter of Aphrodite was without make-up or jewelry of any kind. Her eyes were rimmed with red, her cheeks streaked with tears.

"Hey, girl!" She said, trying to sound cheerful. "What a day, huh?"

"At least it's over now," Malcolm interjected, saving me from a response.

I turned to look down at the pyre. There were too many shrouds. I noticed that Silena's had been made by both the Aphrodite and Ares cabins.

"Aren't you going to light Silena's shroud?" I asked. "You're the counselor now."

Drew glared at me. "No. Silena betrayed us. Mitchell is lighting the shroud with Clarisse." Drew turned away in a clear sign to stop the conversation. The four of us watched in silence as the rest of the shrouds were lit.

Too many demigods had died. Today in Manhattan, last year in the Battle of the Labyrinth, and the demigods who died as a part of Kronos's army. Too many dead kids.

Nobody's mood had improved for dinner. We were seated by cabin this time, so I sat with Travis and Connor. We largely ate in silence, until Juniper came in and tackled Grover, and dragged him off for a romantic date. I couldn't help but smile at the cute couple and tried not to think about my own past relationship with Castor.

"I'm going to bed early," I said to the Stolls when I finished my dinner.

I walked back to Cabin 11 and immediately collapsed on my bed, finally succumbing to the emotional turmoil of the past few weeks. A few other campers had chosen to turn in early as well, and everyone was thankfully quiet.

I would have fallen asleep quickly if Connor had not burst into the cabin at that very moment.

"Code Percabeth everyone!"

That got our attention. Throughout the years, Travis and Connor had instigated a complex betting pool about multiple camp couples, and even I had not escaped (though I was proud to have the honor of causing the most losses). But Percy and Annabeth had by far the most interest, and therefore the most amount of money riding on their relationship. Everyone except Clovis got up and followed Connor back to the dining pavilion. Travis, Clarisse, and a few others (I was surprised to see Malcolm and Drew still there). Annabeth was laughing and put her arms around Percy's neck.

"I am never, ever going to make things easy for you, Seaweed Brain. Get used to it."

Then she kissed him. Almost immediately, Clarisse interrupted their moment, "Well, it's about time!"

She led a surge of campers forward to lift Percy and Annabeth onto their shoulders.

"Oh, come on!" Percy complained, "Is there no privacy?"

Clarisse ignored him. "The lovebirds need to cool off!"

"The canoe lake!" Connor shouted.

We cheered and rushed down the hill, and I could hear Percy and Annabeth laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. I laughed as we dropped them into the water. It felt good to do something so absurd, for no other reason than to have fun.

After a few too many seconds, I noted, "I don't think they're coming up any time soon."

Travis chuckled, "Probably not. But who cares! It's time to settle the bets. Everyone who participated come to Cabin 11!"

About fifteen minutes later I was only three drachmae richer, having made quite a bit from the pool at large but having lost most of it to more specific bets with Drew. I scowled as I gave her the majority of my winnings.

"You should never bet against a daughter of Aphrodite when love is on the line!" She gloated. I rolled my eyes at the reference.

Once the excitement had settled and the other campers had returned to their own cabins, the demigods of Cabin 11 were finally able to go to bed. I tossed and turned for what seemed like an hour before falling into an uneasy sleep.

"Wake up, Julie! It's time for the meeting."

I groaned and turned over, keeping my eyes closed. "I did my job already. We won, didn't we? I don't need to go to any more war council meetings."

Travis prodded my shoulder. "Are you sure you want to miss your first meeting as a counselor?"

My eyes shot open and I sat up so quickly I saw stars. "What did you say?"

Travis gave me a genuine smile. "I know you've wanted this since you were claimed. You deserve it."

I gave him a playful shove. "I'm getting up. I'll be down to the Big House as soon as I get dressed."

I hurried to the bathrooms and threw on my camp t-shirt and shorts. When I made my way into the rec room Chiron, Mr. D, and nearly all of the counselors were there, along with other children on 'minor' gods like me that I recognized as the oldest or only child. I sat in an empty chair between Drew and Katie and waved across the table at Pollux, who had chosen to take a seat on the small couch against the wall.

When the last of the counselors made their way in (Percy and Annabeth, together, for the record), we began our meeting.

"The first order of business," Chiron started, "Is to introduce you all to Rachel Dare, the new oracle."

Rachel waved, and I looked her over with interest. I had never actually seen the old oracle since I never felt the desire to sneak into the attic. And the one time she left had been the one year I wasn't at camp. That being said, I was happy to have a living, breathing person as the oracle again.

"I'm happy to be here!" Rachel said with a smile.

"The reason we are here, however, is to discuss the future of Camp Half-Blood."

"Geez, that sounds so ominous," Connor scoffed. "We're just talking about new cabin assignments, right?"

Chiron nodded. "Indeed. I anticipate an influx of new arrivals today, which will put a strain on Cabin 11's capacity."

"We already have twice as many campers as bunks, so even with people being claimed more often we're overflowing," Travis agreed. "After talking it over with Chiron, we decided it would be best to have claimed campers without a cabin yet to stay in cabins besides Hermes until they have a cabin of their own, and continuing to have the unclaimed campers stay in Cabin 11."

Chiron added, "Does anyone have any objections? Or are there any of you who are willing to volunteer space?"

Annabeth was the first to speak, "We have some extra bunks in Cabin 6 that we could use as overflow."

"And I don't think there would be a problem letting campers stay in the extra bunks in Cabin 12. Right, father?" Pollux asked.

Dionysus waved his hand. "Not if makes this meeting end sooner."

Percy said excitedly, "It's only Tyson and me in Cabin 3, so we have spare room too."

"Cabin 5 is full," Clarisse said, "We have space on the floor but that's it."

"Same," said Katie.

"Us, too," said Will.

Before the other counselors could speak, Chiron held up his hand, "I think we should have enough room between Cabins 3, 6, 11, and 12. We can discuss where to put more campers should the need arise."

"How should we determine who stays in which temporary accommodations?" Jake asked.

"Well siblings should stay together," Annabeth answered, "So we start by putting the largest family groups in the cabins with the most extra space, which are probably Poseidon and Dionysus."

Butch spoke up, "Iris has the most claimed campers."

Annabeth nodded in agreement. "You all should fit in Cabin 3."

"Sweet!" Percy said. Then he turned to Nico, "Nico! You could stay in Cabin 3 too if you want!"

Nico ducked his head. "I think I'll stay in the Big House for now."

Damien added softly, "There are only two children of Nemesis," he looked over at Clovis, "And three of Hypnos."

"You can stay in Cabin 12," Pollux supplied. Then he turned to me, "Julia, what about you?"

"Nike is always at Athena's side, so it would make sense for me to stay in Cabin 6." I looked at Annabeth. "If you approve." She nodded, and I avoided looking at Pollux.

"Is everyone spoken for?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah," Butch answered. "But don't we need to decide the order of the new cabins too before we start building them?"

"Well Hades should be 13," Will said. "Since he is one of the Big Three."

Nico looked up in surprise. Will gave him a small smile and continued, "And after that, we should prioritize those cabins that currently have the most campers. Iris, 14. Hypnos, 15. Nemesis, 16. Nike, 17."

Butch, Damien, and I nodded in agreement. Clovis nodded in his sleep.

"Well if that's everything…" Jake made to stand up, a few of the others following suit.

Instead of doing the same, I slammed my hand down on the ping-pong table.

That seemed to get everyone's attention. "What?" Travis asked annoyed.

"There's one very important thing we haven't discussed." I turned to face Chiron. "What about the demigods in the Titan army?"

"What about them?" asked Katie.

"Are they going to be allowed back?"

"Of course not!" said Drew. "They're traitors! Why should they be allowed back?"

"Because not all of them are bad people," answered Annabeth. "Why shouldn't they get a second chance?"

"Because they almost destroyed us!" Drew replied. "Silena was spying on us for years, she told Luke all of our plans!"

Clarisse glared at Drew, "Silena was a hero!"

"Getting Cabin 5 to come to Manhattan barely begins to make up for the pain she caused!" Drew shouted back. "She knew what Luke was planning with the Labyrinth and in Manhattan. And instead of warning us, she let the Titan army invade TWICE and got sixteen of us killed." She looked at Will, "Lee and Michael," then she turned to Pollux, "Castor," then to Jake, "Beckendorf," she turned to look at each of the other counselors in turn. "Sixteen dead demigods. And you expect us to forgive and forget, to let traitors back into our camp!" Drew looked me dead in the eyes and said, "It was a demigod who killed Castor, wasn't it? Should they be let into camp? Would you like to sit at the campfire and make s'mores with the person who killed him?"

Drew didn't need to use charm speak to convince the majority of the counselors, I could see it in their faces. But in this, I couldn't agree with my friend, no matter how right she may be about my personal feelings.

"We all have friends who died. But we also all have friends who joined the Titan army." I said quietly. "Like Emily, my bunkmate from Cabin 11. She wasn't a bad person. She was just abandoned and led astray. Everyone here knows that Luke wasn't all wrong." The other demigods shifted uncomfortably, and I purposefully ignored Mr. D. "That's why your wish was so important, Percy." I spoke louder, with more confidence, and met his eyes before looking around the room, "Don't forget, part of that wish was for the gods who joined the Titans to be forgiven. Why should we not extend that same forgiveness to the demigods?"

"She's right," Will said. "If we don't forgive them, what type of people are we?"

Drew rounds on me. "You of all people should want them to stay away. You lost your brother and your boyfriend. Why aren't you supporting me!"

"Because it's the right thing to do," I answered.

Drew crossed her arms and looked away.

Chiron sighed. "I had not wanted to discuss this today, not when the wounds are so fresh. But maybe it's for the best that we speak on it now when there will likely be some of those demigods arriving here along with ones who are newly discovered. Mr. D and I have already discussed this and decided. We are choosing to move on from our differences in order to move forward together and heal. This issue is not up for debate."

"That's not fair!" Drew exclaimed.

Katie and Jake joined her in protest, while Percy, Annabeth, and I shot back. Then Mr. D stood, and we all fell silent.

"Chiron told you that this issue was not up for debate, and I've been in this meeting too long. I proclaim it adjourned." He stood and walked out, beckoning Pollux to follow. He did, but not before shooting me a sympathetic look.

Annabeth stood, "I guess that's it then?" She looked at Chiron who nodded. "Well then, those of you moving cabins should spend the day getting settled. Everyone else, attend your normal activities if possible."

She walked over to me, "Once you gather your stuff, just come over to Cabin 6, and I can show you your bunk."

It didn't take long to gather my things.

As I looked up at the carved owl on the front of my new cabin, I wasn't sure exactly how to feel.

I liked Cabin 11... even though it was always too full, there was always someone to spend time with. Even in the midst of the war, it was comforting to know that you were never alone. Every night, without fail, at least one of us would wake up to nightmares. Sometimes they would be about the war in general, but more often those children whose godly parents had gone over to Kronos would be plagued with messages from their parents, urging them to abandon camp and join the Titan army.

It's strange, now that the war was over, I looked back almost fondly on those times when I would wake up in the middle of the night to comfort Damien after hearing him plead with his mother to leave him alone, or Butch after hearing him cry over the safety of his mortal mother. We were so close – we children of the 'minor' gods. Now, we will all go our separate ways: our own cabins, our own tables at the dining pavilion.

I walked through the doors to Cabin 6, fingering the seven beads on my necklace. The walls of the cabin were covered in blueprints and battle maps – where there weren't bookshelves of course. Each bunk was neatly made, with only minimal decorations on the walls for each camper.

"Julia!" I turned and noticed Malcolm working at one of the desks in the back. "What are you doing here?"

"Annabeth told me to come over once I finished packing my things in Cabin 11."

He gave me a blank stare.

"Cabin 6 is my temporary assignment until my own Cabin is done."

"Oh! Well, in that case, I can show you one of the empty bunks. I'm not sure when Annabeth is coming back." He led me to a bunk and I placed my things down. "Do you need to unpack?"

I looked down at my duffel bag. "No. I don't want to get too comfortable."

He frowned. "Are you sure? You know we'd never make you feel unwelcome."

I smiled at him softly. "I know. But even so, this isn't my space. I'll be fine for a week or two."

He held out his pinky finger. "Promise?"

"Promise."

The next morning, I realized that I had slept through the night for the first time in years.

NEXT TIME OF VICTORY IS SWEET, SOMETIMES: CABIN 17

Julia finally has a cabin of her own. So why is there such a bitter taste in her mouth?