Chapter 19

"What do you mean you won't bring her?" Zeus bellowed. Silence filled the room as they everyone waited for the one asked to answer.

"It means I will not bring her here." Artemis said, defending her hunters, specifically Zoe. Because of the recent Percy case, Zeus brandished her a traitor against the gods for treason.

"We will decide by vote-"

"No we will not," Artemis retorted, cutting him off. She stood up from her throne. "We will not decide anything by vote and I will not bring my hunter here and that's final."

"Calm down niece." said a little girl's voice outside the circle of gods. She stood beside a hearth with a stick in hand. She looked at Artemis without any signs of aggression towards her.

"Put down the bow and talk it out among yourselves," she gestured to her brethren before stoking the burning firewood as if it interested her more than the bickering gods.

There was silence among the gods. They were too surprised at the intervention of the normally quiet goddess. Artemis, who couldn't quite find her anger anymore, just slunk down on her throne again.

She let out a sigh of defeat in lost of her anger before speaking up. "Try something with my hunter and..." she held her breath, deciding if she wanted to cross that line or not. "...and I will not intervene on this war," she said, breathing heavily afterwards.

"What do you mean you won't intervene?" asked her brother, Apollo. He looked away from his phone for the first time upon entering the lyceum.

"It means..." Artemis paused. "I will not for you or anyone in this room,"

"Then it is as if you already betrayed us," said Athena but Artemis was more focused on her twin who looked at her gaping. She gave him a look before focusing on Athena.

"So don't be dumb enough to turn your back against me," she said, looking at the gods present with her, pausing slightly longer on Athena before continuing.

"You do what you want." said Ares. He looked much worse last month ago, after the ordeal. The only remaining injury he had was the severed finger. He will never do a bad sign on his right hand ever again. "All I want is that brat," he said spitefully.

"And lose another finger while you're at it." said Hephaestus. He held a small mechanical ball in his hand with some of its components still exposed. "Maybe by then you'll stop touching other people's women."

Ares didn't pay attention to what he said but when god of forgery turned to her wife, she turned away from him. He looked at her in disappointment fleeting moments before focusing on tinkering his devices.

Zeus looked among his brethren before stopping at his brother. "You have something to say Poseidon before I send everyone away?"

The asked god looked up when he heard his name called. He had been uncharacteristically silent in the last few weeks. The once-reserved and active god looks troubled ever since the Percy case. "No. Nothing important brother." He was slumped on his throne, looking uninterested with the current discussion.

Zeus gave him one last look before speaking up. "If no one has anything else to say then this meeting is adjourned."

The Olympians vanished in their own brilliant lights except for one goddess. Artemis remained seated on her throne, staring at the little girl that was the goddess of the hearth.

The little goddess that she wasn't alone inside the lyceum. Without turning she asked, "Are you sure you know what you're doing niece?"

"I-."She hesitated. Artemis got off her throne and shrunk down to normal size and approached her aunt. Hestia looked at her before gesturing to the half-log across from her. Artemis took this as an invitation and sat down with her.

"Now, what is it that you want to talk about?" she asked warmly. Artemis loosened up and relaxed around her. She always did when she was around her.

"It's just that..." she started. "Father always does what he wants every time he feels like it. And if he doens't get it, he turns everyone against you as if you were the real enemy," she said, her voice rising the longer she spoke. She quickly realized this and took a deep breath. She calmed down. "I always wonder what goes on in that thick skull of his."

Hestia eyed her niece. "Do you hate your father Artemis?"

Artemis was taken aback by her question. "W-what? No. I-it's just that..."She thought of how to say without her getting the wrong idea. "He's too selfish for his own good."

Hestia just stared at the fire for a moment before speaking again. "Everyone has their own flaws Artemis, even us gods- "

"He seems to have a lot of it."

She saw her glare for the first time before continuing. "But despite that he is still your father is he not?"

She stood up from her log and started walking away. "He has been for thousands of years already. You expect someone to change..." She looked over her shoulder. " but I guess that's only applicable to mortals right?"

"You still think of that after accepting a single male into your ranks?" she asked with raised eyebrows.

Fleeting images and memories of Percy in her hunt flooded her head. She shook all of it away. "Touche." Was all she said before flashing away, leaving Hestia on her own.

-XxX-

-Zoe-

"Move it girls. We're not that far off from camp now," I said to my hunters.

"We know." I heard Kestrel reply tiredly. Maybe walking the whole morning in this heat was a bad idea. The sun isn't a companion we would like the whole time we were travelling. Unforgiving rays of sunlight was the only thing it gave us and we had no right to say no to it. But we are fortunate enough for the morning to finally set over the horizon and enjoy the orange sky along with the cool breeze of the trees.

I glanced at myself and didn't even realize how sticky and sweaty I was. Have we been really walking for that long? I thought to myself.

"Umm Hey." I heard a voice call behind me. It was Reyna's. She suddenly appeared on our infirmary tent from a shadow - much like I did - and stuck around with us. A month has gone by since she came and so far she has shown her value to the hunters. From wielding a ladle to swinging a sword with deadly precision. She was good in everything she did. It was as if she was able to learn every weapon she held her hand on the spot.

But despite her being a valuable asset, she refused to join in with the hunt. She still had something to do and she wasn't interested in joining. She didn't even share how she got there and her backstory. But that didn't stop her from making friends with the other hunters.

"Sorry for asking suddenly but what's this camp like?" Reyna asked. Somehow she seemed nervous. "Can you describe the place?"

I would have asked what for but the look she had just made me comply. "It's a place where all Greek demigods gather, stay and train. It has a barrier that prevents monsters from invading, making it safer than any homes out there," I told her.

"Greek huh?" I heard her mumble out. I raised an eyebrow at her but she thought nothing of it.

At last, the familiar pillars and welcoming entrance came into view. The sign 'Camp Half-Blood' standing tall and polished, vines spiralling around its pillars.

We were greeted by motley looks from the campers - disdain, nervousness, and smug looks among other - and their activities director and local centaur, Chiron.

"Welcome back to camp hunters," Chiron greeted. He looked prim and formal in his suit that he wore all the time despite it only covering his upper half.

I nodded to him appreciatively. "How's the preparation working out?" I asked.

"Well..." He started galloping and I followed. As if on cue, all the campers that were staring at our arrival went away and did their own thing. "Everyone is doing their best and preparing for the worst. But.." He trailed off. There seems to be a tense mood in the atmosphere based on how the campers moved.

"Right..." I simply said. "So it is true that there's an entrance to the labyrinth here then?" I asked and he nodded. Upon passing by the Artemis house, I ordered the others to fix up the house whilst I checked the current situation of the camp.

He explained how the campers found a hole during the capture the flag and how Annabeth went to the Oracle of Delphi and asked for an oracle.

"What did the Prophecy say?" I asked.

Chiron took a deep breath before reciting the lines.

You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze,

The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise.

You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand,

The child of Athena's final stand.

Destroy with a hero's final breath,

And...

He stopped there and I raised an eyebrow at him. "And?"

"I... I don't know the next line," he admitted.

"What?" I went in front of him to stop him from walking any further

He pursed his lips as if he was hiding something. "Only Annabeth knows about it but she refuses to tell anyone."

"Where is she?" He pointed at a general direction and bolted off. It didn't take long to find her in the archery range, coaching other campers it seems.

"Annabeth." I called out. She peered over the shoulder of the younger camper. She said one last thing to her who turned to look at me first before walking to the exit. I took it as my cue to approach her. "Heya Zoe. I take it you have something to ask from me."

I greeted her with a hug. It has been a long time since we last met. "How'd you guess?"

She rolled her eyes. "Psychology and you have this urgent look."

I just sighed. "Do you mind if we walk?" She nodded. I let her lead me around.

"Where's Thalia?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I dunno. Sometimes she's training here. Sometimes she's just loitering around the camp."

I nodded. "And where's the entrance to the Labyrinth exactly."

"By Zeus' Fist. That's where we're going right now," she said. We passed by a few campers with majoring waving at her and glaring at me.

I matched her pace and whispered to her ear. "You're quite famous here."

"And you're quite infamous," she chuckled. I can't argue with that. Everytime we come for a visit, all we do is destroy them in basically everything. From their very own capture the flag to one-on-one weapons combat. Basically everything they were good at, we could do it better. Of course this was all done upon the supervision of Chiron.

On our way to the entrance, we passed by Thalia. Annabeth called it. We found her loitering around near the forest, seemingly bored out of her mind. She perked up when she noticed us coming her way.

She looked at Annabeth before giving me a surprised look. "I didn't know that you were coming?"

"Pfft. You don't know anything." Annabeth retorted to which Thalia regarded with a glare.

"Shut yer trap you nerd." She said playfully

"Nerd?" she said incredulously instead of being annoyed by it. "Is that the best you can come up with spark face or do you want me to keep insulting you?"

"No you... you... argh." With no comeback for the insults thrown to her, she resorted to the only thing she could do, violence. She rushed Annabeth who didn't have any time to react and grabbed her into a headlock.

Annabeth squirmed under her hold in a futile attempt to escape but Thalia overpowered her in any way. As much as it looked affectionate between two best friends, we still had important matters to attend to so I'll save Annabeth this time.

"Ahem." I let out a fake cough and both turned as if they just realized I was still here.

"Let go of me," said Annabeth as she struggled harder than earlier. She finally freed herself when Thalia decided that she had enough. Annabeth fixed herself up, looking more composed and relaxed than she was earlier. "Sorry about that."

I just shrugged. "It's fine. The hunters are rougher than that though."

Thalia looked like she wanted to test that with me but I just sent her a glare and she held a hand in surrender. "Alright geez. I was just joking around," she said. "What did you want with Annabeth anyways?"

Just like, Annabeth turned sober again as if she was forcefully brought back to reality. Thalia turned to me for an answer but I just waited for Annabeth to speak for herself.

"It's about the Prophecy," she finally said. "She wanted to know the final line to it."

"What there's more?" Thalia asked in genuine surprise. Annabeth looked like she wanted to punch her for once but she turned to me instead.

"I-I can't tell you...I forgot the last line," she said before heading into the forest.

"Hey wait," Thalia followed her and I chased behind her. We found her by a pile of rocks that had a crack in the middle of it. From a certain angle, it definitely looks like a fist. Look at it at any other place, it's like a pile of poo atop one camp's very own fist of Zeus.

"Annabeth," I called out. She was staring between the crack of the rocks. It looked like it was too small for anyone to fit in but looked deeper than it was letting out.

"This is the entrance if you're wondering." she said without looking at me.

"Which is useless if we don't know the full line of the Prophecy," I said in a harsher tone than I intended to do.

She gave me a look before turning away. "It doesn't apply to you so you don't need to know about it."

"So you do remember it," I said to her. "Why are you pretending that you don't?"

She walked along the perimeter of the fist her hand tracing along the rocks, ignoring me. I turned to Thalia for help

but she looked conflicted. At last, she gave me an answer but not the helpful one. She shook her head. "If she says that it won't affect the quest then I believe her."

I just looked at her. No surprise there. Of course she would take her best friend's side. So instead of getting bitter on both of them, I just asked the obvious question. "So would it?"

Annabeth perked up a bit. She wasn't as pressured as before at least. "Well," she said, looking thoughtful before her sadness came back as if she just remembered the last line again. "It's about..." she was holding back. She then just shook her head. "It's nothing. It's just about love after all."

"Love?" Thalia inquiried but before she could ask any further a loud horn sounded from the camp.

"That's dinner time. Let's go."

-XxX-

At the end of the day, I never found out the last line of the prophecy. Love is the only hint I got from Annabeth and as a hunter, it shouldn't concern me that much.

A picture of Percy suddenly passed by my mind for a second. I shook such thoughts away. That wasn't the way a hunter should think.

'Maybe you see him as a brother?' I said to myself, trying to convince any thoughts that said otherwise. 'He was with you for a long time and you watched him grow up. You're practically a sister to him'.

"Zoe?" A voice knocked away my train of thought. It was Reyna's. "You seem disturbed by something."

"I-" I hesitated. She knows about Percy and his relation to the hunt but I don't know how much I should confide with her. "It's nothing. How did you even find me?"

"Phoebe said that you seem to enjoy the view of the sea with Per-" She looked around as if checking to see if someone had heard her. When she was sure that no one did she continued. "With him."

Camp half-blood's beach was the closest thing to a sea and I really needed some time alone but I couldn't just send her away after looking for me. "Yea. Care to join me then?" I asked.

She looked to the sea first then back at me. "S-sure." She took a seat on the sand right beside me.

While she did that, I already retaken my spot earlier by lying down and just closing my eyes. Despite not being able to see, I could always picture the sea perfectly as the: sound of the waves calmly lap against the shore, a cool breeze gently passes by as if to say hello, even the distant cries of the campers sounded peaceful in the background.

Along with this, I could also picture a figure right beside me. It was a tall figure that had it's gaze focused on the waters in front of it. It didn't move and do anything, yet I could still hear ragged breaths coming from it. I wanted to raise an eyebrow at my own imagination when it suddenly spoke.

"Do you like Percy?"

I instantly sat up. The question caught me off-guard. I looked to my left and saw Reyna just blinking at me. "What?"

"Where did that come from?"

She just looked at me dubiously. "Do you really want me to point out everything?"

"I have no idea-"

"Firstly," she stared, holding up one finger. "You nearly attacked when I uttered Percy's name."

"I did not at-" I tried saying but she just continued on.

"Secondly," she said, holding up another finger. "I keep getting stories from your hunters that you guys were pretty close."

"He's close with every hunter," I retorted to which she surprisingly waited and listened to. She looked in thought for a moment before just shrugging.

"Thirdly." A third finger came up.

"Alright alright. I get your point," I said, interjecting her. I felt her gaze on me, a curious look on her eye. She waited for me to say anything.

I hugged my knees close to me. I don't know what I should say or anything that can convince her to think otherwise. Hades, can I even convince myself that I'm just looking out for him as a sister.

I perked up from my spot. I could hear someone coming towards me. It wasn't a hunter. We taught the hunters the art of stealth but just judging from the footsteps, it was the opposite of what we trained them to do. Reyna noticed it too but she stared with raised eyebrows.

I finally decided to glance back to check who our visitor is. It was a boy -maybe ten or eleven years old- who looked like he was too young to be here. Despite this, it felt like he was older than he was letting out. He had unruly black hair as if he just woke up and left it as is and a skin paled to white like he had avoided the sun since he was born.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Stop scaring him Zoe," Reyna whispered to my ear. I didn't realize how much the boy was trembling from my criticizing glare.

"Is there anything you need from us?" I asked in a monotone voice. I can't just lash out on the young boy who was just gonna following orders but nonetheless, he's still a male. "Or are you just gonna stare? I wouldn't recommend the latter."

Reyna nudged at my shoulder. "Zoe." she said loudly. She then went to the boy. "Hello. I'm Reyna. Did someone send you to come and find us."

The boy nodded. "They said that Zoe and the girl who isn't a hunter in your group had come to the big house.

"They?"

"Isn't a hunter?" We said in unison but of course he didn't pay attention to me.

"Some guys just ordered me to go here," he said.

"Do you know where they are?" asked Reyna. By then, I had already got up and brushed off the sand from my clothes. I saw the boy point in a general direction. I followed it and sure enough I could see four of them beyond the nearest cabin. I notice Reyna looking at me. At that moment, I knew we were thinking the same thing.

"Do you think you can introduce us to your friends..." Reyna paused, gesturing to him as if to ask his name.

"Nico."

"Nico," she repeated. "Do you think you can introduce us to them Nico?" she asked.

"But I know any of them." He said so but Reyna had already grabbed his hand, gently, and headed towards where the group was. I followed behind them.

They didn't notice us coming until they finally heard Nico and Reyna talking to one another. To say that they were shocked would be an understatement. The boy who first noticed us -a son of Hermes - looked from Nico to Reyna and finally to me. When our eyes met, I gave him one of my sternest glares. It was enough for him to stumble backwards to his friends. Like a pile of dominoes, one thing led to another. They were a stumbling mess.

"I didn't think you guys would order a kid to do what was ordered to you," I said with an edge in my tone. "You guys must be really afraid of us if you're avoiding us by that much."

"People who only know how to use other people are nothing but scum," said Reyna in a far harsher tone that I would expect from her.

Before any of them another voice called out. "Nico." She ran to the boy beside Reyna and engulfed him in a hug. "Where were you? I was loo..." she slowly stopped as if she finally noticed the situation around her.

"Am I disturbing something?" she asked, looking between us and the scared campers.

"We were just going," said Reyna. "Would you lead the way Nico? I'm kind of new here," she asked the boy kindly.

The boy just instantly nodded his head and led the way. The girl that just came looked between Reyna and Nico before going to his side, whispering something to him. I gave the campers one last glare before following them.

They're silent whispers turned into a normal conversation now as if they weren't hiding what they were saying from us anymore. They talked so naturally, making me question how close they actually were.

I turned to Reyna who just watched the two of them together. I decided to match her pace and to talk to her as well. "I didn't know you had that side of you"

"What side?" she asked in a genuine tone. She just displayed it earlier yet she seems oblivious to it.

"You weren't scared to trash talk those males earlier," I reminded her. "Or were you confident that you could take all of them on your own?"

Reyna just gave me a look before focusing ahead. "I just hate the kind of people who manipulate others to do their bidding."

"Are you sure it's not the latter?" I asked.

This elicited the slightest of smirks frome her. "Maybe."

We passed by a few campers on the way. They still gave us a look of disdain - not surprising there- but it was actually directed at us. The one who received most of it was the two in front of us, specifically Nico. I wanted to ask them about it but it doesn't seem right for me to ask the life of a boy.

"Are you perhaps his sister?" asked Reyna to the girl.

She glanced at our direction and beamed at us. "I'm Bianca, her sister," she said. She then pointed to her. "Your Reyna and..." she pointed to me but she didn't know my name. I took it as my cue to introduce myself.

"Zoe."

"Zoe" she repeated and looked in thought for a second. We already stopped walking.

"Ahh the leader of the hunters," interjected Nico loudly and unfortunately, upon instinct, I sent him a stern glare.

Reyna, being quick to react, nudged me on the shoulder and forcibly turned me away in the direction. "She's not used to male companies, that's all. She's not the leader but she's the centurion-"

"Lieutenant," I corrected her. I would have raised my eyebrow at her if she was facing me. The title she just gave me lingered in my head. Centurion?

"Lieutenant of the group. She takes charge when Di- I mean Artemis, their leader, isn't with them," Reyna explained to them while I just heard the boy coo in awe. While they were focused on that, I was focused on her slip up. Was she about to say Diana, the Roman form of Lady Artemis?

"That also means she hates any kind of male. So it's best not to get too close to her Nico," Reyna added. As much as I wanted to argue with her, doing so will just prolong the talk. I would rather just endure this and get it over with than having them talk behind my back, literally.

As I was thinking of that, Reyna gently grabbed me by the shoulder and pushed me along. We were on our way again but this time she was talking with them and I was on my own on the back this time.

"So aren't you a hunter too? You seem too nice to my brother to be one." said Bianca. "Not that you weren't nice to my brother at all," she added as if she suddenly remembered that I was here.

I just sighed at her tone. "Don't worry. That's a compliment for us hunters."

All three of them just gave me a weird look which started to get annoying. I feel like being treated like an alien. I wanna go back to the presence of the hunters now.

"I'm not a hunter," said Reyna, answering Bianca's question. "I thought about it but I still have my own things to do."

"Oh ok."

Its like they just played 20 questions with me just listening in the background. Time felt so slow that I felt like the two were just misleading us and they themselves didn't know where the big house was. After what felt like an hour, I finally caught a glimpse of our destination with Chiron, Annabeth and Thalia waiting outside, talking.

I felt Reyna turn silent and stiff in front of me. She was looking at Annabeth who was just chatting happily. Her sudden morose disposition went unnoticed by her new friends but not from me. She was hiding something and she definitely met Annabeth some before.

"You called for us Chiron?" I asked, breathing a sigh of relief. Holding myself back for that long was like poking at my sanity. Any longer would have been really bad.

Chiron nodded. "Would you like to go inside and have some tea."

"Yes I would actually." I said. I could easily see their stares on my back and the questions that must be roaming their head. But the sound of tea made instantly caught my attention and I definitely need it as I am right now.

-xXx-

"So you want me to join Annabeth for the quest in the labyrinth." I said. I took another sip of the tea. It smelled sweet to the nose and there was no hint of any bitterness in it. "Who's already coming with?" I asked Chiron.

Thalia has her down on the ping pong table which served as the main feature of the room we were in. This is also the table where the meeting of every head of the house occurs. Annabeth looked like she was analyzing me, waiting for my response.

Reyna, who was called in with me, just stood in the corner as an observer. She was the center of attention earlier when she greeted the wine god in roman so she tried to be as little as possible now. Dionsyus just thought nothing of it and just continued drinking.

"Only me and Thalia," said Annabeth. " We planned to take you and another one if anyone is willing." She sounded confident with her words.

"But not everyone wants to come to get lost in a giant maze now do they?" said Reyna, dropping her reserved behaviour.

Chiron -sitting in the middle- acknowledge her by nodding. "Getting lost in a maze isn't the same in getting lost in a city. At least the city has signs and names in it," said Chiron.

Annabeth looked back and forth between Chiron and Reyna before settling with Chiron. "I'm sorry but who is she Chiron?" asked Annabeth.

Reyna glared at her. "You can just ask me you know. I'm right here." she said. "My- I..." she tried saying something but she hesitated. She finally just gave up and just walked out of the room.

"What was that about?" asked Thalia with one eye peeking above her make-shift pillow-of-an-arm.

In that moment, everyone's focus shifted towards me as if they were expecting me to give out an answer but I was just as clueless as them. I shook my head at them. "I'm not sure but I have my suspicion. And..." I paused. "I don't think I can join. I'm sorry."

Upon hearing my answer, Chiron gave me a sad smile. "It's alright Zoe. You have responsibilities with the hunters after all." I nodded. I was grateful for understanding Chiron was. You don't need to say anything to him before he figures out what you're actually thinking.

Annabeth on the other hand took it harder. A sad, maybe even betrayed, look rested on her face. She wasn't looking at me but knowing her, I can already tell that she was disappointed with my answer. She was staring at the window where a bunch of campers were trying to climb the lava wall. If I didn't know any better, she was already thinking of someone to replace me.

I took one last sip from the cup before settling it down on its saucer. I noiselessly pushed the wooden chair back and stood up. "If there's nothing more to discuss then I'm heading out. I left the hunters for far too long already," I said all of this while facing Chiron only. I don't want to add salt to the fresh wound which was Annabeth's.

It took a second for Chiron to react and nod. Then he perked up and as if he remembered something to add. "Can you tell Reyna to wait for me. She's just outside this room," he said, regaining his smile.

I wasn't sure what he meant until I walked out of the room. Sure enough, Reyna was sitting on a comfy chair, reading a magazine titled 'demigod weekly'. "Are you done there yet?" she asked impatiently, her attention remaining glued to the article she was reading.

"I am." I answered her, closing the door behind me. She dropped the magazine and was about to stand up when but I held my hand at her. "But you are to wait for Chiron apparently though so you need to stay here a bit longer."

She grumbled something before slumping back down on her chair. She swiftly grabbed the magazine and started reading again.

"I'm going out first," I said to her. She just flipped the pages as if she was looking for something interesting to read, basically ignoring me. Not feeling wanted here, I opened the door and joined the outside world.

-Reyna-

This was just great. Not only do I get to stay behind for some questions but I had to meet her here. Not only did she destroy my home, got me and my sister captured and ruined everything, but she was also treated as a hero when she came back. Is this how everything is here? Come back from a quest, without them asking for details, and be considered a hero?

I carelessly threw the magazine at the table. My eyes hurt just from reading her 'heroic' actions and such. It was nothing but disgusting monologues and empty praises to me.

Getting bored of waiting, I started roaming around the place. For a house named big house, it didn't have much to explore. Other than empty infirmary and the closed off room, there wasn't anything worth going to.

The door finally flew open. Annabeth stepped out along with Thalia. Our eyes met for a quick second before she quickly left through the front door.

"Come in Reyna." Chiron's voice called out. I strolled in and stood in front of the door.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Aren't you going to take a seat?" He gestured to ones beside him.

I leaned against the doorframe."Those are reserved for the heads ain't it?"

He beamed at me like a father would. He tidied up the used mugs and settled it down on a silver tray. "Perceptive as usual. As expected from a Roman."

Not even a second passed when I had my sword out and readied. Crap. I didn't expect to be caught so quickly.

Instead of acting scared by my blade, he walked out of the room with the tray in-hand. "Follow me dear." His hooves slowly fading.

As much as I wanted to be as ready as a viper, he's peaceful nature suggested that he wasn't gonna hurt a small animal, let alone hurt me. Before I knew it, I was sitting in front of a grand wooden table that you see in the boss' offices. On top, it had the most ancient forms of technology:boom-box, a record player, and a box monitor of a mac. What I found even weirder -and I'm sure it's written all over my face- was that the whole room was covered in bronze and all he said was 'technology and demigods do not mix.'

"So," started chiron, breaking me away from my reverie. "How do you know about Annabeth?"

My body tensed up as if I was jolted. I tried not to show my distress but he had eyes as if they could see through my lies right now.

"Whatever you say to me right now," Chirons said. "We'll only be between the two of us. I swear on the River of the Styx." A loud thunder rumbled overhead and rang my ears.

"What was that?" I asked, sitting upright and being on high alert.

"It was just a seal." He trotted to a wheelchair on a corner then as if by magic, his horse legs and body disappeared to the wheelchair. "And whoever breaks said seal would receive unimaginable consequences."

His gaze then went back to me. "Or that's what the goddess of the river says."

I heard everything he said but I was still gaping at what he just did. "H-How did-" I said as I weakly pointed at him.

"I used the mis-"

"I know it was the mist." I said in a louder tone that I would have wanted. "But almost only children of Hecate have the ability to use them to such an extent. Let alone monsters."

His eyes widened. He rolled the wheels and stopped in front of me. Having him the same height as me wasn't as overwhelming as having as him stand in all fours but still overwhelming.

"I lived for a thousand of years and I've been called far more worse than a monster." He said. "I've taught hundreds of heroes and I'm not a true teacher if I don't learn anything from them too."

"I-i understand." I gulped. "What did you want to know about me?" My imagination then took me to a land where I saw Chiron cutting down enemies with his sword and his brethren. Blood filled the battlefield as blades opened more wounds than the rain could wash away.

"Reyna?"

I blinked. I'm back in the room. What was that?

"Reyna?" I heard Chiron call out again. He leaned over the desk and had a look of worry on his face. "Are you okay?"

I took a sharp breath. "I-I'm fine." I stuttered out even though I wasn't. Whatever I saw, it wasn't just a vision. It was a past event and Chiron was in it.

He looked uncertain at my words but soon rested his back again. "Do you mind if I ask if you have a mundane father or mother?" he asked.

"I don't mind." I said. I tried not to think of Chiron as the same savage earlier. It didn't fit in right. "My father was a mundane and my mother is the godly side."

"Ahh." he said, intrigued. "Do you mind if I ask who?"

I opened my mouth to say something but held myself back. I contemplated if telling him my real mom is a wise choice. He won't be able to do anything about it but it would give away too much about me.

"A daughter of a war goddess." Chiron said. Before I can ask how he guessed it, he pointed at something on top of me. I looked up and saw a miniature plumed helmet gyrating above me. It was rusty and worn out and definitely has seen better days.

I turned to Chiron for answers but he had his head lowered with a focused look. Then he snapped his fingers. "Bellona, the goddess of war. She's your mother right?"

I slowly nodded. "Yea."

That didn't go as plan.

"I see." He relaxed on his chair. "Though I'm surprised that she let herself know."

I perked up. Any information about my mother sparked my interest. "What do you mean?"

"Roman parents aren't always the..." he paused. "The best parents... " he added air quotations to it. "... and they value independence most for their children."

"Oh..." I lowered my head. It wasn't about her. Instead I found out that I might never even see her.

A loud horn suddenly blared outside. It was the same as the one during dinner time but it lasted longer before slowly fading.

"That's the curfew," informed Chiron. "You need to go. You can stay with the hunters' lounge if you like."

I shrugged. "As if I have another choice." Then I turned to him. "Do I?"

"You can stay with the Hermes cabin," he said. "But -"

"I'm staying with the hunters then." I stood up and went for the door. I stopped when I was midway leaving.

"How do you know that you won't use all of this against me?" I asked.

"Don't worry. I wont." He said with a smile. That smile radiated like the rays of the sun. The aura he radiated made me lose all of my doubts in him.

I went out of the house knowing that I didn't put up much of a fight. But even if I did, I knew that I didn't have a chance of winning anyway. Whether by words... or by sword.

I walked out of the house more confused than ever. I wasn't even sure if I should fear him or respect him. He didn't run this place with an iron fist and everyone sees him as an authoritative figure in this camp.

I can tell that much just from looking at everyone. They're all carefree yet motivated to train themselves for the camp. Only a true leader can create loyal members without asserting any force. Not only demigods but even the monsters that live here. I didn't even think it was possible to tame satyrs, nymphs and other monsters that I don't even know about to do your bidding.

Two campers just flew past me in fits of laughter. "It was just a prank Clarissa," said one boy before turning a corner, a smaller version of him following behind.

It didn't take long before an angry girl whipped past me with her spear out. The only thing out of place was the whipped cream covering her body. It was all I noticed before she stomped the same corner and disappeared.

I wonder if there's a roman camp just like this. I thought to myself as I calmly walked down the breezy path. Can I lead it the same way as he did?

A/N: Heyaa everyone. Sorry for the wait, especially to the ones screaming in the reviews XD. This was shorter that I hoped for it to be but I hope u still like it. Anyhoo I just let Reyna meet Chiron cuz I don't really rememeber them meeting in canon. Make her learn a few things from him before setting her off to the Romans. Any thoughts? just leave them in reviews section. On a side note, I'm thinking of moving my story to Wattpad. If it ain't a hassle for u guys, my user name there is BehindU. Give it a follow and I'll post my story there too shortly. Might even revise it a bit for it to be better. Tnx in advance guys. Have a brownie[::]

Nothing else to say but see ya guys

P.S.: Stay safe guys. We'll get through this Pandemic no problem.

P.S.S: To those of you who noticed, yea I changed my name

-Behindyu Out