Seven

The Lost Hero 

15 yrs.  

Another day, another disappointment.

The fun part was I got to ride on Blackjack. He was depressed since Percy was gone, so I got to ride him. Every day. It was both fun and torture, never riding a horse before—excuse me, Pegasus.

He could be very touchy about the title.

Oh, and he loved donuts. The pegasus was absolutely obsessed. And he called me Princess. No. Uh–uh. I did not want to be reminded any more of my relationship with my father. But no matter how many times I told the stubborn pegasus not to call me that, he neighed, said sure thing, Princess! And kept at it.

I wanted to strangle him sometimes.

"Charge!" I called.

And other times, I liked pretending I was a warrior riding into battle on my trusty (not so trusty, he dropped me in a waterfall) steed. But I had to act normal and professional and smart—all the things I wasn't—around the campers.

We landed in the middle of Camp Half-Blood, startling some campers. Will Solace came up and told me I couldn't keep making "emergency landings" because it could injure the campers. As usual, I brushed off the warning. It was only the twenty-seventh time he'd warned me that he'd take away Blackjack.

As much as the horse annoyed me, no way was I giving him up. . . he was my last connection to Percy. Besides a bunch of the stuff left in the Poseidon Cabin. But Blackjack was my last connection to Percy that I could keep by me at all times.

And Will knew that deep down, that's why he hadn't taken the annoying pegasus away after the third warning. But he said there would be a serious punishment at the thirtieth warning.

"Annabeth back yet?" I asked.

"Nope," he said. "She's still out finding the one-shoed man Hera told her about. She better not let anything happen to the flying chariot. . ."

I sighed. I should have gone with Annabeth and Butch, but she'd insisted I still needed to keep looking, in case Percy wasn't where Hera said he'd be. Which he probably wouldn't be, considering everything I'd heard about Hera's past.

In the distance I spotted the flying chariot. Will was about to get mad. It didn't look in good shape. Campers started to head to the beach where it landed/crashed, and Blackjack, eager to see if Percy was along, leaped into the air and soared at top speed to the shore.

"Stupid horse," I muttered as we crashed into the sand, spraying sand at everyone. "That's why you do something called slow down."

Pegasus! He insisted in my brain. Not horse! Hey, princess, you got any donuts? I'm hungry.

I rolled my eyes at how quickly he changed and watched how Will started complaining that Annabeth ruined the Apollo Cabin's flying chariot, but she seemed too distracted. There were three demigods with her.

A girl with choppy hair and kaleidoscopic eyes that seemed to shift colors. The boy next to her had brown eyes and curly chocolate hair. He was fidgeting with small pieces that looked like mechanical things.

And the third. Why. What was happening?! He was supposed to be in Camp Jupiter! But he was missing. And now, here he was, in enemy territory. Was Camp Jupiter preparing for war on Camp Half-Blood? And Jason was a spy?

He looked confused when he saw my exasperated, jaw-dropped, shocked face. Everyone seemed to notice my shock before I could process what my face must have looked like. Annabeth turned to where everyone was looking and raised an eyebrow as she walked over to me.

"Oh, this is bad," I muttered, locking eyes with Jason for who knows why. "This is bad, this is bad, this is really, really bad. Why are you not—you're supposed to—why—how—"

Annabeth came up and shook my shoulders, getting ready to slap me out of my hysterical moment. But I dodged her hand.

"Oh, Chiron!" I called quietly. "We got a situation."

Still on Blackjack, I flew into the sky and shot as fast as possible to the Big House. But not before shooting Jason a look. We came to a startled, long halt, crashing over a couple of bushes and grazing a couple of trees.

But we reached our destination.

And you tell me not to rush? Blackjack whined, catching his breath.

"I'll buy you some donuts later, buddy," I told him, petting his nose before marching up to the large porch.

Chiron was in his wheelchair form, sitting on the wrap-around porch and watching the strawberry fields. He glanced at me, hearing my footsteps. Then, seeing my still hysterical face, told me we should go for a walk.

I couldn't wait for his reaction.

His rear end shifted into the now familiar white stallion, and we began to walk, not too far from the Big House, though. I had a feeling Annabeth would send Jason up soon, so I needed to make this quick.

"I think it's time I become a little more. . . less mysterious," I started off. "Starting with, you know I ran away from my mom during Percy's second summer here. I wasn't being a moody, selfish child wanting my brother to come back—I mean, I did want him back, but that's not why I left."

Chiron was focusing his attention on me, making me uncomfortable. "And why did you leave?"

I fidgeted with my hands. "So, there's Greek demigods, right? You probably know there's Roman and probably Norse and Egyptian ones, too. Well, surprise, I'm a Roman! Daughter and Ambassador of Neptune. Neptune decided to scare my ten-year-old child self while I was sleeping and told me to leave. So I did. Because in horror movies, when the creepy voice tells you to leave and you don't, you usually end up dead. I think. I've never actually seen a horror movie."

Chiron just stared at me for a second, processing. But right when he opened his mouth to speak, my body felt like it was being lit on fire, stretched apart, and shredded and cut to pieces, then a flash of white clouded my vision.  It's safe to say I screamed at one point.  

When I blinked, I was in Neptune's underwater palace. Beside me was Allora Tyke and a boy with blonde hair and dark eyes that I'd never seen before. Great. Because I really wanted to look at my father after he had Agwe frame me for a bunch of crimes.

"Welcome, demigods," Neptune announced, and I looked to find him sitting in his throne chair.

When I first arrived, I didn't process that Allora was Greek. But here she was, in Neptune's palace. Not Poseidon. She was in a Roman god's underwater palace.

"My trident has been stolen. I have selected you three to find and retrieve it, based on your skills and connection to the sea. Be warned, if you find my trident and keep it for yourselves, you will face a punishment far worse than death. Agwe will see that you have everything you need before leaving tomorrow."

And with that he left. Wow. He'd gone from nice to rude to unbelievable. We didn't even get a choice in this—at least I didn't. I couldn't speak for my cousin or the blonde guy.

I found my way back to my old room and changed into a pair of midnight blue pajamas. The fish swam outside my window, making me feel small, despite the large room. And very, very trapped.

"I'm sorry, mom" I whispered, remembering how today was the day I was supposed to see her for the first time since I'd left. "Will I ever see you again? Or Percy?"

I laid down on the bed, not even getting under the cover. My thoughts took over, and I was glad I was asleep. Until the nightmares came. Too much death, crying, screaming, pleading, blood. It was too much.

I woke in a cold sweat just as Agwe opened the door. "It's time."  

A/N:  Since I went on a short small Hiatus, y'all get multiple chapters at once!  Enjoy!  Please vote and comment :)  

-Anne