I became Supreme Lady of the Bathroom Part Two:
(Jason's Point of View)
Our next stop was blacksmithing. Luke and I fetched Phoebe an apron, gloves and goggles. Cody instructed his bear protector to help load some logs into the furnace, and a half-blood son of Hephaestus handed Phoebe some tools. She used one to hold a burning rod whilst she raised the hammer above the burnt end.
"Just take it easy,". I instructed. Bang! That went well. Bang! That went well again. The third bang sent the rod flipping across the air, and it set fire to a pile of jumpers.
"My jumper!" another complained.
Quickly, Luke and I escorted Phoebe away. She was not up for forgery again any time soon. We tried some more activities, but she failed at each and every one. She sulked in the forest.
"Is there a Greek God of disappointment?' she lamented as we ate some food at the lunch table.
"There's Oizys, but she's a goddess," Chris said. "And her whole thing isn't like disappointment, it's just failure,". His answer only made Phoebe sadder.
"You'll find out what you're good at," Cody encouraged, hoping to lighten her spirits. "It just takes time,". He was sitting with us. Akeda was eating some spare pieces of meat, and Tuasan was taking a nap in the shade.
"You just need to be patient," Luke comforted. "Now come on. Let's finish our food,". We got back to eat, but Phoebe was eating rather slowly, still in grief from losing her mother.
"Hey, Dummy," Clarisse appeared with her two closest mates. "Did you find out what you're good at? Or are you barely getting any attention at all?". When she saw Phoebe's disheartened face, her amusement grew, and I would not have it.
"Knock if Clarisse," I snapped. "Go bug someone else,".
"I'm quite surprised you're helping her, Jason. You think she's gonna be the one who's gonna …,".
Akeda barked and snapped, frightening her. Tuasna roared in her face, making her hair fly. But her two accomplices pulled out spears and
"Hey! Get away from my bear!" Cody shouted.
"Take your stinky animals away from here!" a girl cried. Cody, in tears, mounted his bear, and they dashed off into the woods.
"Cody! Wait!" I cried out. But he was too far gone. I sighed. We helped push up the tables and tidy the plates.
"What was that about?" Phoebe asked. "Couldn't they see Cody's bear was protecting us?".
"Tuasan can be too aggressive sometimes. The campers don't like her that much even though she was sent by the Goddess of the Hunt to protect her son,".
"Cody is more comfortable with us and animals than he is with others. Even his own cabin mates," Luke said sadly. "He's the only one of Artemis's children to have animal protectors, and that kind of made the other kids think he's her favourite,".
"But that's not fair," Phoebe said. "It's not his fault,".
"Campers are sometimes like that," I said. "Trying to compete for a god's attention, trying to win their favour. You shouldn't let what Clarisse said get to you, Phoebe,". She was still upset. It was gonna take more than words to brighten up her day. "I know what you need. I've got just the thing to make you feel better,".
Luke was about to object when we heard the sound of Mr. D's voice ringing in the air. "Oh gods. You take Phoebe, Jason. I'll handle Mr. D,".
Quickly, I grabbed Phoebe's hand, and we dashed away from the picnic area towards the horse fields. And the moment she saw the winged horses, her mother dropped. "You have Pegasus horses?".
"We sure do," I smiled. "This is my favourite part of the Camp. Be extra gentle," we entered the bright green fields, and the horses saw us. They neighed and brayed. One was attracted to Phoebe, and she stroked it.
"Horses were always my favourite animals growing up, but I love flying ones even better,".
"They're called Pegasus or Pegasi if you're referring to many," I said. "Get ready 'cause we're going on a ride,".
"Wait. What?" she blabbered.
"You needed something to make you feel better, and this is it?".
"Are you sure we're allowed?"
"Nope. We're not," I didn't like lying. "But Chiron won't know. If anything, Luke will be distracting him and Mr D, so we'll be fine,". I turned forward again, and Misty approached my palm, offering an apple. Her teeth munched and crunched, and I stroked her snout. "There you go, girl. Give me your hand, Phoebe,".
"Are you sure?".
"She won't bite," I promised. Phoebe held up her hand, and I placed it flat against Misty's fur. She brayed as she felt her hand stroking her fur. "She likes you," I smiled.
"She's beautiful," she said. "I once saw a flying horse when I was at one of my boarding schools. It was one of my favourite things to draw,".
Misty crouched, and I placed myself between her shoulder blades. "You promise not to go too high?" Phoebe begged.
"We'll be fine," I said. "I've done this loads of times before,".
"Okay," Phoebe took my offered hand and sat behind me. Her arms coiled around my waist, and I felt her breath on my neck.
"Take it easy, girl," I instructed. Misty spread out her wings, and with a mighty flap, we shot off the ground, Phoebe screaming.
"It's alright, Phoebe!" I shouted. "Just needed a boost. Misty, slow" Misty slowed down and below us was the sea and the camp. And in the distance was New York and Long Island.
After her moment of panicking, Phoebe's grip around me loosened, and her face left my back. "Is that New York?".
"It surely is,".
"I never knew it could be so beautiful,".
"Just wait till you see more,".
"Can we not stay out too long? I'd hate for you to get into trouble,".
"Don't worry about me. I've been in trouble before,".
"So you were in trouble for saving this camp?".
"Chiron forbade me to leave, but I disobeyed orders 'cause I was so desperate to get out. Now enjoy the ride," Misty carried us along the coastline.
"What if someone sees us?" Phoebe asked.
"No one's gonna see us. We're protected by the Mist, remember? We'll be fine,".
Misty carried us over the countryside, and we saw houses and colourful forests. And just below us, we could see the large grey building from only four days ago. "There's your school," I pointed down.
"My former school. Chiron and Grover got me kicked out,".
"I understand you're mad at them. but they were only doing it to protect you,".
Phoebe was silent. It had been so much for her to take in that her best and only friend was actually a half-goat man, her Protector, who had to lie to her for years. We flew over a bridge. "It's you! You're the rider I saw that day,"
"It was," I nodded. "I fly around these parts wondering what it's like to be free, to spread your own wings,".
"You've never left Camp Half-Blood, have you," Phoebe guessed correctly.
"We should head back," I steered Misty, and in mere minutes, we descended towards the fields. I helped Phoebe off.
"Thank you. I enjoyed it," she said gratefully.
"No problem. I always take a flight whenever I feel sad,".
"Does Clarisse always treat you that way?".
"Yes,".
"What's her problem anyway? She seems to enjoy taunting you more than me,".
"It's complicated. Anyway, there's another part of camp I haven't shown you yet. You'll love the people there," I grabbed her hand and pulled her again, going further and further into the woods.
(Phoebe's Point of View)
We walked a short distance till we came to a large camping ground of large white tents, each decorated with Greek symbols. Around, we could see other children demigods, but they weren't wearing orange tops like us or the other campers. "Who are these kids? Why don't they have cabins?".
"These demigod children of minor gods,".
"Minor gods?" I repeated.
"Gods who aren't as powerful as the twelve Olympian gods. Like Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft, Eris of witchcraft…,"
It was absurd. "But that's not fair. They deserve to have proper quarters, not tents,".
"It really doesn't bother them that much,".
"Guys, look! It's Jason!" cried a happy voice. We turned and saw a group of ecstatic children led by a teenager who looked sixteen years older.
"It's so good to see you again, Jase," a younger and shorter kid threw his arms around Jason. His hair was gold and bushy, and he wore brown and yellow clothing.
"So happy I could come to visit Pete. Good to see you again, Max and Keto,".
"We weren't expecting you today. And who's she?" the girl with the wavy black hair glanced wearily at me.
"It's alright, everyone. This is Phoebe. She's new,".
"Hi," I waved awkwardly.
"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. Name's Peter McScott," the kid shook my hand.
"Name's Max Hollary," Max introduced himself.
"Your camping tents look decent," I hoped I wasn't offending them.
"They're not the best quarters, but they do nicely," Keto had ice-blue eyes and wore white and blue. "When did you arrive?".
"A few days ago," I answered. "I'm still yet to be claimed by my father,".
"Oh, bummer," Max huffed. "I'm afraid you're not the only one with parent issues,".
"None of you are claimed?" I asked.
"I'm afraid not. As the children of minor gods, we don't mean anything to anyone," Keto said sadly.
"Don't say that, Keto," Jason consoled.
"Jason and his best friends are the only campers who pay their respect to us. Others like Clarisse ostracise us, so we don't bother leaving our camping spot,".
"I know the feeling," I comforted. "What do you guys do around her?".
"We do a lot of things. Come and meet our leader," Peter grabbed my hand and pulled me past some tents, Jason, Max and Keto behind us. We came to a large open tent, and inside were not one but two ginormous…
I gulped "Are those snakes?".
"It's alright, Phoebe. They won't harm us," Jason promised. They turned around, and I saw their yellow, fiery eyes.
"How nice of you to visit us, Jason," the female scales were as red as blood.
"It's always a pleasure, Harmonia," Jason bowed.
The other serpent stared at me. His scales shone like emeralds. "Who is your young friend?".
"This is Phoebe Jackson," Jason introduced. "She's been here a few days, and I brought her here to meet you all,".
"Come closer, Phoebe," the green snake ordered. I did not want to. "You have nothing to fear. I will not harm you,".
Swallowing my anxiety, I stepped forward, and he snaked around me. I felt the blood freeze in my veins. Then he stared deep into my eyes, and I became dizzy from their gaze. "I sense you are under stress, young one. You wish to know who your father is,".
"Yes. I'm trying so hard to find out what I'm good at, but nothing works,".
"You must have patience," Harmonia hissed. "And with time, all will become clear,".
I glanced at her, my brain ringing with stories. "If you're Harmonia …," I looked into the eyes of the green snake again. "Then you're Cadmus,".
"Yes. I am. We watch over the demi-god children of minor gods who aren't as powerful as the twelve main gods who don't allow us to intermingle with their children,".
"That's not fair," I agreed.
"But no one here, especially Chiron, can defy the will of Zeus. Still, we are happy here, and as of now, you are our friend through Jason. Children, perhaps you could show Phoebe around,".
"Absolutely," Jason said. They showed me around their camp, and I saw music players, kids practising magic tricks, and others perhaps playing tricks on each other. I somewhat noticed that the girl Keto was rather invisible to the others. But per Jason's advice, I dared not to ask. Max's father was the son of Hypno, the Greek god of sleep, and Peter was the son of Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams. We spent some time together, eventually taking up a yoga lesson with their snake leaders until it was time to head back to the main part of camp.
When we came back, Luke was waiting for us with Chris and the platters. "Glad to see you two had a great flight,".
"We sure did," I smiled. "Then Jason took me to meet the other demi-gods. They had so many talents. We're not in trouble, right?".
"Managed to distract Mr D and Chiron. Good thinking of how to lift her spirits, Jason,".
"Least I could do to cheer her up,".
"I've brought some burnt offerings for you guys to give," Luke held up two plates stacked with food and passed them to each of us.
"The gods like burnt mac and cheese?" I asked. Were offerings anything like back in the Ancient Greek times?
"It gets their attention before a prayer. Trying burning something you'll love the most, and you'll get the attention of the gods without failure,".
It was dark. I was in front of a makeshift campfire in a large pot, holding my bag of blue jellybeans. "Hi, Mum," I prayed. "I don't know if I'm doing this tight, but I hope you can hear me. I think you used to hate this. When the phone rang the night after you left me at a new school, I'd say that the people were awful. That I wanted to come home to you, to be in your arms. Well, the good news is … this isn't that call. I've made some lovely friends. One of them is called Jason, and he took me on an extraordinary flight. And Luke and Cody have made me feel welcome. You should have seen Cody's bear when it helped Jason save me from that Minotaur. I am trying hard to get my father's attention. I am hoping that he'll show. He can ignore me, but he cannot ignore you. I will make him come down here. I will make him see me. I will make him see us both,".
(Jason's Point of View)
Chiron and I were enjoying a happy talk together. "Jason, I take it Phoebe had a good day,".
"She did," I nodded. "I need to tell you…"
"I had a feeling you would take her on, Misty,".
He didn't need to spot me. "I'm glad you did. I hoped it made her feel better,".
I smiled. "What is it, son?". Chiron could easily tell when there was something I wanted to talk about.
"I know you and Grover are keeping something secret from Phoebe. I was coming to see you last night, and I heard you guys talking,". Chiron was not happy now. "Is it about her mother?".
"Jason, you have to understand …
"Chiron, if Phoebe's mother is alive. You have to tell her,".
"I don't know exactly for certain. Jason, she is not ready for the outside world. When I tell you this, you must promise me you won't tell her,".
I sighed. "Dad, please don't,". I begged.
"This is serious, Jason. And she must know nothing for now. She needs to be kept safe here. If we tell her her mother is alive, she will only do something rash,".
"Okay. I'll keep it secret for now. But it can't go on. She needs to know the truth," I was about to leave when Chiron took my hand again.
"One more thing,".
Exactly one minute, I walked out, and I saw Annabeth, Luke and Cody waiting for me. "I've got good news guys. We're playing Capture the Flag!".
"Yes!" Annabeth pumped the air. Cody high-fived me, and Luke gave me a squeezy hug.
"We're doing it!" Annabeth embraced me. "So, tell me, guys, how is Phoebe?".
"She's still working out what she's good at," Luke said. "And Jason took her on a flight,".
"Chiron knows, but he's proud that I was trying to make her feel better. Do you think by the end of this week, Phoebe could compete,".
"Not a good idea for a starter," Annabeth said. "But something tells me she might be the one I've been looking out for. We should get to bed, everyone. Goodnight, guys," she wandered off I walked back to my cabin with Luke whilst Cody went to his private spot in the woods with his bear and wolf.
(Phoebe's Point of View)
I was walking past the bathroom, owls hooting and crickets chirping in the dark. I was just glad there was torchlight nearby. I just turned the corner when I came face to face with Clarise. Oh great. I tried to turn and leave, but her two goons from earlier blocked me.
"Care to get out of my way?". I challenged. Clarisse grabbed my shirt, and the next thing I knew, I was being thrown to the floor in the bathroom, the entrance being blocked by my new tormentor. And I thought Nancy was bad enough.
"Every new kid shows up here, and they think they're special," Clarisse towered over me. "Do you think you're special?".
"Everyone is special in their own way. You're just not special because you're a bully," I spat. Her goonies pulled me up. "Let me go!" I tried to break free, but Ares's kids were too strong, being the children of the god of war and all that. Clarisse saw my pearl necklace and touched it. And she pulled it off.
"Give it back. That's mine!".
"Tell me you made it all up about the Minotaur, and I'll let you go and give it to you,".
"I didn't make anything. I have the horn,".
"Looks like you're gonna have to learn the hard way," Clarisse cocked her head, and her goons pushed me into a cubicle, and my head was over the toilet bowl.
"Let go of me!". I tried to wriggle free, but they pulled my hair. My stomach suddenly churned, and a swirling feeling engulfed my body. The body disappeared down the toilet. Every last drop. And then splash! In jets of three, water flew out of the toilet and pushed back my tormenters. I was miraculously unwet despite the entire bathroom now in a carpet of water and the very damaged cubicle I was standing in. Clarisse glared at me and fled with her mates. I stepped out, awestruck by what had just happened. Did I do that? I wanted to leave, but another girl was in the doorway. She was dark with long black hair in braids. She didn't look mean. She looked amused.
"I can explain," I said awkwardly.
"No, you can't," her voice sounded blunt.
"Wait. I know you,".
"No, you don't,".
"You were there in the infirmary when I was asleep. You were with Jason,".
"I was. I heard he took you out on a flight on his Pegasus today,".
"He did. It was fun,".
"I'm Annabeth,".
"Are you stalking me, Annabeth?"
"Yes. Jason is my best friend, and so if he's looking out for you, I have to look into it. And I was waiting for something like this to happen. Perhaps you could help me and my friends,".
"Do what?".
"Win Capture the Flag. You'd better get training with the boys," Annabeth bent down and picked up my blue pearl necklace. "I believe this is yours,".
"Thank you,". I watched as left, and I was dumbfounded.
The next morning, I told Luke and Jason everything. They were flabbergasted. Luke and I were walking through the fields, observing participants practising hand-to-hand combat. Annabeth and Jason were sword-fighting together whilst Cody was doing more archery practice. "Annabeth's the Head of the Athena Cabin. She's led our team to three straight wins, and it's been a long time since anyone has won a fourth. You know Chiron was so mad at Jason for leaving the camp and us for letting him that he grounded us,".
"But if he hadn't left the camp, I would have been killed. He saved my life,".
"Yeah, he did.
"Yesterday, he seemed kind of introverted, like he was too shy to say he was an unclaimed child. And he seemed to interact with the minor god's children better than anyone else. Like he understood them, and he seems to be more ostracised than anyone else in camp,".
"It's harder for him because … he probably wouldn't want me telling you this, but you'll find eventually. Jason isn't a demigod,".
"He's not a demi-god?"
Luke shook his head. "Jason is different from us. He's a human, but he's still like us. He's a touched child,"
I blinked. "What's a touched child?"
"A child who's touched by the power of the gods. One of the twelve main gods blessed him, giving him abilities we all share and making him one of us. He may not share immortal heritage like us, but to me, he'll always be the brother, Cody and Annabeth's love,"
I agreed that I would never change anything at all about him. "Who was the god that blessed him?" I asked.
Luke shook his head. "I don't know. Nobody knows. Even Chiron doesn't know, even though he's raised him his entire life. He's pretty much unclaimed, just like you and the others in our cabin,"
I felt sorry for Jason. To walk amongst these kids and not feel like one of them when you don't even know who allowed you to walk amongst them in the first place. "To grow up not knowing your real family, nobody deserves that. He's lucky to have you to look after him,".
"I am," Jason approached us.
"Jase, I'm sorry. I didn't think …,"
"It's okay. Phoebe was bound to know, and I'm glad you told her," he looked at me. "This pendant is all I have of my birth family,". I recognised his engraved bully-horn charm from the museum.
"You have no idea where you came from?".
"None," he shook his head sadly, slipping the pendant behind his top. Annabeth rubbed his back.
"When do you think the god who touched you will claim you?".
"Probably never. I've waited for twelve years, and still nothing. But I always keep telling myself if I could just find the demigod whose father or mother claimed me, then maybe that god would have all the answers I'm looking for,"
"You think my dad could be the god who blessed you?".
"I can't say for certain. But enough of this. We've got to get you ready for our fourth game of victory. And to do that, you need to train in combat,".
And that's the second part done. I hope you all enjoyed it. I give credit to the people who gave the ideas of the children of minor greek gods and goddesses. And they were very great friends with Jason too. The final episode chapter should come on either Friday or the weekend. And hopefully the next dragon Prince and Encanto 2 one. See you all soon. And thank you for your support. A week till Christmas. Hooray!