Kassandra
"Move fast!" yelled the daughter of Bellona, smashing her fist into the volleyball that dared to approach her direction.
The six demi-gods opposite her scrambled to return the shot, but were ultimately too slow. The ball hit the sandy floor, solidifying her victory.
"That's 26 wins to Kassandra and 2 to Camp Half-Blood," muttered Chiron who was refereeing.
It would have been 28 to nothing, but twice she had let her opponents win on purpose. Once to keep them playing with her and the other time to try and get closer with one of the nature spirits. Her name was Aspen because she came from an Aspen tree, and she was just so...
She wasn't trying to be like any of the Olympians, those stories are disgusting, it's just that when she had aged to 17 after half a year there was a lot of weird 'stuff' going on with her. Auntie Artemis had helped her with some of her female issues, but she never received help on things like girls, what with the hunters oath and all that.
She would have asked her mother for help, but she hadn't seen her or gotten a hold of her to contact for a while now. Whenever she sent messages Hermes or Iris would always interrupt and move her attention away. And it's not like she could ask for help. One of the first things she had learnt in this world was the divide of the Greeks and the Romans.
Speaking of M.I.A parents, she hadn't heard from her father since getting here. From what she had learned from the campers he was with them at the massive battle she was babysat from joining, but that's all they'd say. She knew they were hiding something, but Chiron was adamant with not telling.
She didn't tell anyone, but she missed them. Spending a week together didn't feel like proper family time and she couldn't wait to have both her mother and father together again. Maybe she'd even get a younger sibling!
"Come on Kassandra, time for lunch," said Chiron.
Shaking out of it, she looked around to realise everyone had left the beach. Wringing out her ponytail since they were in the lake earlier, she began a jog to the mess hall.
When she got there everyone was already eating and chatting. Almost everyone was in bathing suits as Chiron had given them the day off to relax. Well, apart from one person.
Annabeth Chase was at the end of the Athena table, buried in papers and files. Ever since Percy had disappeared she hadn't been the same, constantly in a frantic state of panic. It had only been two days but already she already appeared to be so stressed. Kassandra had missed her dad for months, but such was the difference in time between mortals and immortals.
Maybe if she had achieved her true godhood she could have helped the daughter of Athena, but the daughter of Bellona had never achieved that.
According to Chiron, gods born into godhood instead of ascending were given a ceremony where they were given their titles by the fates themselves. Then they'd become even stronger, blah blah blah. Anyway, to have that she'd need both her biological parents. She didn't have that.
So even though she was technically a god with the perks of being freakishly enhanced and immortal, she still had hidden potential she couldn't wait to unlock.
When she looked around for someone to 'serve' her, she saw Aspen. Calling her over, she whispered into her ear, placing an order. In no time the same nymph ran off and returned with a plate covered with a dome. When it was removed, it revealed a fillet of cod. Salivating.
Kissing the nymph on the cheek, she graciously took the plate and winked at the blushing mess of the nature spirit. Aspen turned around and ran off. When Kassandra turned away, she too had dissolved into a blushing mess. What had gone through her head to think that was a good move?
With the plate of fish in hand, she calmed herself down and began to weave around the tables, attempting to forget that interaction.
"Hey, Annabeth!" she called out, ripping into the cod as she made her way over to the smarty.
"Oh, hello Kassandra," she said disappointingly.
The former huntress raised a brow to the girl.
"Have you slept at all since Percy went missing?"
"Yes?"
"It wasn't a question, and I'll assume you mean no. I think you should get some rest."
"I... I don't need rest. (Y/N) taught me how to make anti-sleep pills, my brain can manage without sleep for a few days. How'd you think your dad stayed up for weeks on end back when he was a demi-god?"
Kassandra slipped into the seat across the table from Annabeth. She'd take any information on her father she could. Even if that meant taking advantage of a tired Chase.
"What was he like when he was a demi-god?"
"He was great," she yawned, stretching her arms out. "He was my big brother most of the time and we'd talk deep into the night when he was working on some big project. He taught me a lot and was smart when he wanted to be, unlike seaweed brain. It's just a shame that he had such horrible... architectural... beliefs."
Her head slowly dipped down with every word until she collapsed on the table. Kassandra looked around to see if anyone had noticed. They hadn't. Sighing, she finished off her fish and shuffled around to sling the girl over her shoulder, carrying her out.
With Annabeth now hitting the sack and the rest of the day off, Kassandra decided to go back to her fathers cabin. It was where she had been staying recently and was pretty nice. She jogged up the porch and pushed the door open, leaving her wet footprints on the floor.
She passed by the office, kitchen, living room and the library before eventually reaching her fathers bedroom. (Y/N) obviously had a bed with her mother Bellona, but this was the bed he had slept in for countless nights serving Olympus and their children.
She stood at the door frame. Despite living here for half a year she had never actually stepped foot in the bedroom. It felt wrong for some reason. Everything had a fine layer of dust over it since she made sure no one cleaned the place. She was waiting for her father to return and give her permission. This had been his private space for thousands of years, barging in would be disrespectful.
Strolling downstairs, she threw herself onto the sofa. That's where she'd been sleeping for the last six months.
Snatching a scroll from the foot rest, she uncurled it and gazed intensely at the writing. On the night of her arrival, this had been delivered to her by Uncle Hermes himself. He told her to keep it secret 'until the time was right', which really confused her.
It was a prophecy, one about her apparently. She read it to herself for the hundredth time.
When patrons collide a child is created,
One to bring unity, as fate has dictated.
Seven demi-gods she'll guide, her direction true,
A loved one's hand will help pull her through.
Gods, she was in a real messy situation. Her dad would figure a way to work it out though, so she would too. The first step of that way; rest. A quick nap would be fine, right?
When she next opened her eyes, Kassandra was no longer in her own body. She was like an invisible spectator, lacking physical form. Looking around, she was in a cave. A dark one at that. She was dreaming. Hopefully it was one of those nice ones with Aspen where they-
She was cut off with the sound of rumbling. Something, or more like someone, entered the cave. They were huge, their silhouette the size of a god. They were concentrated on something at the end of the cave, where there was a dead end. It looked to be pure darkness.
But no, suddenly a golden light turned on. It was like an eye opening, blinking every so often.
"My Lady, we have her imprisoned."
"Good," hissed the response. It didn't sound very feminine, more masculine.
"What are your orders?"
"Secure her and hide her away. She must be kept imprisoned."
"As you wish My Lady."
And the dream ended. Short, but not sweet at all.
When Kassandra came around, she fell off the sofa and hit the floor, hard. She groaned and pulled herself up. How long had she been asleep?
Wiping her eyes of sleep, she squinted at the clock on her wall. That couldn't be right. According to the clock she'd slept through the day, night and half the morning. Running into the kitchen, that clock said the same thing.
If that was right, she was late to her archery lessons. She was the best archer at camp, being a god made you good at things like that, but there was always more she could learn from Chiron. Her father had learned everything from him, and so had practically every demi-god that had lived.
Stretching, she realised she was still wearing her swim suit. Probably not appropriate to wear to class.
"What to wear, what to wear," she thought to herself, admiring her two camp shirts and jeans. She had her huntress outfit, but that probably wouldn't be the best option. Slipping into her clothes, she grabbed all her gear and made for the door.
She almost fell for the second time that day when she barely noticed a package on the porch. It looked like a shoe box. Crouching down to make sure it wasn't some stupid joke, she picked it up and put it on her lap, sitting down in the rocker chair.
Kassandra had a bad feeling that when she opened it, she'd get a face full of whipped cream or something weird like that. But there was some weird voice in her head telling her to open it. Besides, if it was a prank she'd just get them back.
Popping the lid off, she peered into the box and PUFF. A cloud of gold glitter slowly descended as she stared off into space with a golden face. Shaking her hair free of glitter, she looked back into the box to see if there was anything else other than disappointment. There was.
A pair of beautifully crafted leather sandals with that smell of new shoes. Taking them from the box, she admired the craft. What really took her attention were the little wings on the side. They fluttered as if they were alive, and Kassandra suspected they might have been.
Setting the sandals down, she discarded her old ones and tightened them on. They fitted perfectly as if she was Cinderella. Checking the box again, there was a note. The writing was a little messy, but readable. She read it aloud.
"To my honorary niece Kassandra, I hope these sandals find you well. Last time I let the post send itself there was almost a war between China and Russia." She rolled her eyes, Uncle Hermes wasn't the most responsible god.
"The footwear is a gift I planned on giving you at your title ceremony, but since that won't be happening any time soon and you'll need them now, it's probably for the best."
What was that supposed to mean?
"I'm sure you'll learn what they do soon enough, so make good use of them. P.S, good luck with that nymph girl. You two look cute together."
She threw the letter onto the floor and stamped on with her fancy sandals before storming off to her lesson.
The lesson went pretty fast. Even though it was an archery class, she was practising a new technique her aunt had taught her. It involved concentrating energy into a very small, fine point and then creating something from that.
Skilled energy manipulators could create practically anything, but she had only learned the technique recently. The assignment from Artemis was to create a bow, but she was finding it irritatingly difficult.
The first step was easy, but after that, not so much. When she had that ball of energy, it was difficult to manipulate it. The furthest she had ever gotten was with making an arrow, but that wasn't really anything impressive. It disintegrated into ashes once it hit its target anyway.
The issue with a bow was that to make one the string had to be able to be pulled taut, obviously. Well applying physics was really hard. Every time she made one it would either snap or just stick rigid, which was infuriating.
Sure, she had her own bow, but it was the novelty of it that compelled her.
So for a couple hours she toiled away, creating bows that had no success and trying to shoot them. Every now and then she'd spend a few minutes calming down to see how many arrows she could fit on one dummy head.
"Do you have any tips?" a small voice asked from behind her as she produced yet another bow.
The energy in her hands dissipated as she turned around. It was a young boy and she could tell he was a son of Demeter. He was clearly nervous, but he was just so adorable.
"Well, I like to think of it as a sort of calming exercise sometimes."
She got down on one knee and put her hand on him, guiding him towards one of the targets.
"First, relax your shoulders," Kassandra instructed, her tone patient and kind. "Tension will only make your aim unsteady. Breathe deeply, let the air fill your lungs and calm your mind."
The boy did as he was told, feeling his shoulders loosen and his breath steady.
"Good," she said, a note of approval in her voice. "Now, focus on your target. See it not just with your eyes, but with your mind. Imagine the arrow's path before you release it. Visualise it flying straight and true towards its directed target."
He closed one eye as he stared down the shaft of the arrow.
"Don't force the bow," Kassandra continued. "Let it become an extension of yourself. Draw the string back slowly, steadily. Feel the power building, but do not let it consume you. You are in control of the weapon, not the other way round."
The boy's hands trembled slightly as he drew the string, but Kassandra's presence was calming, reassuring. She had seen the effect on plenty of people before, it was probably from her mother.
"Now," the daughter of (Y/N) whispered, her voice barely audible, "when you feel ready, release. Do not hesitate for too long though. Trust in yourself."
The boy let out a long breath, and fired. The arrow sailed through the air with great speed and stayed true to its path before embedding in the dead centre of the target.
"Yay!" shouted the boy, doing a little celebratory dance on the spot. Someone started to clap from behind them.
"Congratulations!" said Chiron, clip clopping over to them. "It appears Kassandra here takes after her father. Perhaps you should become a teacher like he was."
"After everything I've heard about him, I don't think that's the best career choice."
She scooped up her real bow and notched an arrow from a rack next to her, aiming the bow over her shoulder and behind her head. She released, and the second she did so grabbed another arrow and fired again and again and again until the rack was empty. The target ahead of her was hidden by the projectiles.
She patted the kid on the shoulder and ushered him along.
"So, how can I help?"
"We just got a message from Gleeson Hedge. Apparently he's found three strong demi-gods and needs us to pick them up. Apparently there are monsters with them, so I recommended you to go with Annabeth and Butch. It'll be a great learning curve for you."
"What did you do to convince Annabeth to ditch her search and go?"
"Nothing. When I asked if she'd go she just said something about a boy with one shoe. I worry for her if this search spirals out of control. Can you just keep an eye on her for me please?"
"Of course Chiron. When does this little mission happen?"
Chiron look up at the sky. He had a knack for being able to tell the time from where the sun was positioned.
"If I'm right, that'll be now."
"They're already ready and just waiting for me to say I'll come, aren't they," she huffed.
"Maybe?"
Kassandra and Chiron made their way to a clearing in the camp which resembled a runway. At one end of it was a brightly painted chariot with two pegasi attached to pull it. They had huge wings, she'd never seen wings that large on any animal.
"Finally, let's get going," said Butch. The son of Iris was a bulky person with a shaved head and a tough face. But when you got to know him, he was a really nice guy.
Next to him, Annabeth had her hands on her hips and glared off into the distance. Yeah, she was going to need to be watched.
"Where are we going?"
"Grand Canyon," said Chase in a monotone voice, her head still stuck straight forwards still.
Chiron nudged Kassandra's arm and she rolled her eyes at him.
"Alright then fun gang, let's go," and they took off down the road and then into the sky.
The trip wasn't as bad as Kassandra thought, and the view when they got there was nothing short of crazy. She had heard of the Grand Canyon before, but nothing could prepare her for how huge it really was. The earth truly was wonderful.
With the wind in her hair, she winced her eyes in the wind as a bridge came into view, one that spanned the chasm. Upon their descent, she could make out three figures, two boys and one girl. No monsters or satyrs in sight though
They came to a landing on the opposite end of the bridge to them, the pegasi nervously cantering across the glass. It looked to be cracking.
Whilst they were still moving, Annabeth leapt out of the chariot and ran towards the three with her knife in hand. What a way to make a first impression.
"You manage the pegasi, I'll make sure she doesn't gut them," sighed Kassandra, Butch nodding stoically as he always did in public.
The daughter of Rome jumped from the chariot and followed after Annabeth.
"Where is he?" yelled the mad daughter of Athena, threatening the three with her dagger.
"Where is who?" asked the boy in the middle.
Now she could see them all more clearly they really were an interesting bunch. The short boy had a grin similar to her uncles, ready to cause mischief at whatever chance he got. A little Latino elf with impish looks. He was scrawny for sure, but kind of cute like a teddy bear she'd cuddle with and squeeze when watching a scary film.
The taller boy was handsome, as in royal handsome like a prince. He had electric blue eyes and blonde hair, all unique features she hadn't really seen before. His eyes reminded her of Thalia. There was also a small scar on the corner of his lip which complimented his tanned skin and muscled body. He was almost perfect, but looked really confused.
Lastly, there was the girl. Kassandra straightened up when she saw her. Cherokee descent with chocolate-brown hair that was cut choppy and unevenly, she wore no make-up but already out shone the girls in the Aphrodite cabin. She may not have been as traditionally perfect as blonde boy, with a few imperfections like a pimple, but she was entrancing to the daughter of (Y/N).
"What about Gleeson? Where is your protector, Gleeson Hedge?" demanded Annabeth, shaking Kassandra from her ogling.
The Latino cleared his throat. "He got taken by some ... tornado things."
"Venti," blonde boy said. "Storm spirits."
He used Roman terms? From birth Kassandra knew of the Greek/Roman split, so she kept her mother a secret at camp. Hermes taught her about the Roman world, from imperial gold to camp Jupiter where her father was actually treated with greater respect. She wanted to visit the place one day.
Annabeth arched an eyebrow. "You mean anemoi thuellai? That's the Greek term. Who are
you, and what happened?"
Blonde boy told them a story, but Kassnadra was only half listening. Maybe this boy had more information about her father!
"No, no, no! She told me he would be here. She told me if I came here, I'd find the answer," said Annabeth.
"Annabeth," Butch grunted, making his presence known. "Check it out." He pointed at blue eyes feet. "The guy with one shoe, he's the answer."
"No, Butch," Chase insisted. "He can't be. I was tricked." She glared at the sky as though it had done something wrong. "What do you want from me?" she screamed. "What have you done with him?"
The sky walk shuddered, and the horses whinnied urgently.
"Annabeth we gotta leave. Let's get these three to camp and figure it out there. Those storm spirits might come back."
She fumed for a moment. "Fine." She fixed the blonde boy with a resentful look. "We'll settle this later."
She turned on her heel and marched toward the chariot.
Rebel girl shook her head. "What's her problem? What's going on?"
"Seriously," the elf agreed.
"We have to get you out of here," Kassandra said. "I'll explain on the way."
"I'm not going anywhere with her." Blue eyes gestured toward Annabeth. "She looks like she wants to kill me."
Butch hesitated. "Annabeth's okay. You gotta cut her some slack. She had a vision telling her to come here, to find a guy with one shoe. That was supposed to be the answer to her problem."
"What problem?" Rebel girl asked.
"She's been looking for one of our campers, who's been missing three days," Butch said. "She's going out of her mind with worry. She hoped he'd be here."
"Who?" Blue eyes asked.
"Her boyfriend," Butch said. "A guy named Percy Jackson."