A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I hadn't been intending on continuing this, but here it is. I haven't read the Percy Jackson books in many, many years so I apologize if I have gotten anything wrong. Feel free to correct me if that does happen. Anyway, please review and I hope you guys enjoy! :)

Chapter IV

Even though I was thankful to get back on my feet, I wished that I could have had another day to relax in the camp's health lodge. Compared to the Hermes cabin, it had been silent and roomy. I would have given almost anything to be back there and to escape all this clutter. I didn't understand why empty cabins like Zeus and Hades remained empty while the Hermes cabin was just about overflowing with people and their belongings. Not only was it over capacity, but the other campers that I shared this cabin with were a rowdy bunch. Multiple times this evening, I had been splashed with water, fallen on, and had acted as a landing platform for various items, none of which were very soft.

The air began to grow stuffy around the bottom bunk where I had been laying on a sleeping bag, I had been trying to sleep for the past hour, but soon abandoned the idea; it would be impossible until my cabin mates had calmed down. Why hadn't Mr. D let me stay with Percy? From what I had been told, there was more than enough room in his cabin, especially since he was the only camper who lived there. Apparently there were strict "camp procedures" that Mr. D needed to follow. I usually didn't mind rules, but not when they caused me to lose sleep.

A pillow sailed across the room and hit me in the face.

"Not again," I groaned to myself, and flung it across the room, not caring where it landed.

"Pillow fight!" somebody called and the entire cabin joined in.

That was it. I grabbed my sleeping bag and Greek mythology book from my backpack at my bedside and dodging pillows, I made my way to the door. Immersed in their battle, no one noticed my exit. Outside I could still hear the commotion, but once the door was shut, the sound was deadened.

I spread my sleeping bag out on the grass, thankful for the warm spring night. With the light that spilled out through the cabin windows, I was still able to make out the letters on the book's pages. My head was filled with tales of heroes, prophesies, and the gods. It was a hard book to put down, so I did not.

I felt my shoulder being jostled and I was brought to consciousness.

"Alethia? Earth to Alethia."

I groaned and flopped over in my sleeping bag. "What?" I demanded.

"It's time to get up." Through the blinding morning sun, I made out the shape of Percy's head.

"Why are you here? What are you doing?" I slurred.

"You're the one who's sleeping outside," Percy countered.

I sat up and rubbed my neck which was still sore from the ground and my book that I had used unintentionally as a pillow. I must have fallen asleep while reading.

"It was too stuffy in the cabin," I explained. Deciding to sleep under the stars was turning out to be a decision that kept getting worse. Not only was I sure that I looked frightful with my bed hair, but the pages of my book were soggy with dew as well.

Percy shrugged. "I was just coming to show you where you can get some breakfast before we start with your training."

"Training? What for?" I asked.

"You didn't think we wouldn't teach you how to defend yourself, did you?" Percy teased. I supposed it was normal for campers here to learn combat. I, on the other hand, did not think so or even want to learn.

"I can't fight," I protested.

"That's what the training is for."

"No, I am incapable of fighting."

"Why? You aren't still feeling sick from your wound?"

"I can't kill anything. I can't even squish bugs when I find them inside my house." My house. A twinge of homesickness coursed through me.

"You sure killed a few monsters with your car last week."

I grimaced at the memory. "That was different."

"How so?"

"I- I… It was self-defense," I sputtered.

"Alethia. That's exactly what the training is for. We're not trying to turn you into a cold-blooded killer."

I sighed. "Alright. I'll try training." I threw my hands up in defeat and climbed out of my sleeping bag.

"Go get ready," Percy said. "I'll wait for you, but only if you won't keep me waiting for too long."

I laughed. "I won't take too long. I promise." I gathered up my sleeping bag and headed back into the cabin. Thankfully, the cabin was almost deserted, so I didn't have to deal with too many of my crazy cabin mates. I tied up my hair attempting to make it look neater and not like I had forgotten my hair brush. There wasn't a mirror in the cabin, so I wasn't so sure how well my plan worked.

Slightly less sleepy, I ran out of the cabin in what seemed to be record time by my standards. I thought that Percy had been only teasing me when he said that he would leave me behind, but I was apprehensive to put him to the test. I hated the idea of having to roam around camp by myself, probably getting myself helplessly lost as well. Thankfully, Percy was still waiting near the cabin.

"Off to breakfast, then?"

I nodded and walked with him as he led the way.

The clatter of the dining hall grew to a loud roar as soon as I opened the large doors. Campers of all ages were gathered around tables that were scattered throughout the room. I froze for a moment, taking it all in. I was more than grateful when Percy dragged me out of my stupor and led the way, weaving between the tables until he approached one and sat down. Following suit, I sat down in between him and a girl with wavy blonde hair.

"The newbie's awake!" The girl exclaimed.

Percy nodded. "Everybody, meet Alethia. Alethia, meet Annabeth and Grover." I waved to the two of them.

"Hi," I squeaked. I wasn't sure if they could hear me, so I smiled at them too, hoping to pass as being friendly.

"I'm a daughter of Athena and Grover is a satyr," Annabeth said.

"A satyr?" I remembered reading about them in my book last night. "Is it true that your legs are goats?"

Grover's face lit up. "Yeah! Want to see?"

"Sure," I said uncertainly. "If you don't mind, that is."

Grover laughed. "Of course I don't mind! It's not every day that a girl asks to look at my legs."

I could feel my face turn red and I regretted ever asking him.

"Relax, newbie," Annabeth whispered to me. "He's only messing with you."

I tried to smile back at her, but was sure that it only appeared too strained.

Grover lifted his foot onto the table and pushed back his pant leg. It was true; his leg was that of a goats. Instead of a foot, he had a hoof and his leg was lined with fur.

"Cool," I squeaked and Grover put his leg back under the table.

The conversation returned to what it had been before Percy and I joined. It appeared as if they were debating the meaning of some riddle.

"Truth and her bringer will be the only ones who can uncover it," Annabeth repeated over and over again. "This makes no sense. What does 'it' refer to? How do we know when the truth arrives?"

"The truth has got to be something big since the Oracle took the time to tell us about it. My guess is that we'll know it when we hear it," Percy said.

"That still doesn't give us any clues about what the truth is or what 'it' is," Annabeth said, resting her forehead against her hand.

"Could you repeat the prophecy again?" I asked.

"Truth and her bringer will be the only ones who can uncover it," Percy said.

"Would it make sense for 'it' to be the truth?" I suggested.

"Truth and her bringer will be the only ones who can uncover the truth," Annabeth mused. "It fits, but so does just about everything else. 'It' could really be anything."

"It seems too simple. Everyone who brings truth also uncovers it. We don't need a prophecy to figure that out," Percy added.

I ran through the words once more in my head, but they seemed to make no sense.

Percy slammed his hands down on the table. "I give up," he announced.

Annabeth smiled jokingly at Percy. "So, Seaweed Brain. You have been out of camp recently. Tell me which mysterious truths you have brought back with you."

Percy laughed. "All I've brought back to camp is Alethia here." A mischievous glint appeared in his eyes. "Which is more than I can say for you, Wise Girl."

Annabeth's smile fell from his face and Percy grinned in victory.

"Your name; Alethia," Annabeth started slowly. "It means truth in Greek."

Grover seemed to jump straight out of his seat and scampered away, weaving between the chairs. "I have to tell Mr. D," he shouted back at us.

I knew what Annabeth was suggesting, but I didn't like it one bit. I couldn't have a prophecy about me. I was nobody. Not a single person here could have possibly known about me before I arrived. I was certain that they had the wrong girl.