Zeus' cabin seemed like a white marble box, with heavy, white columns in the front. This cabin was, without a doubt, the biggest and bulkiest of all the cabins. It has polished bronze doors that shimmer like a hologram, and have lightning bolts streaked down them. The dome-shaped ceiling is decorated with moving mosaics of a cloudy sky and thunderbolts. Another thing that surprised Drako was
"This is my humble home here in Camp Half-Blood," Thalia said.
"Not that humble, compared to the others, though," Drako said.
Thalia smiled a bit and entered inside. Drako followed near her.
The cabin has no furniture inside at all, described as looking like a bank. In only has alcoves with golden eagle statues and one intimidating statue of Zeus (Drako that it was Zeus) in the middle.
When I say that the place has no furniture means literally that. There wasn't anything there, not even a single bed.
Furthermore, that Zeus statue was weird. It seems like a glaring hippie that was teen feet tall and has sight of every place in the room.
No, there was a place on the room where Zeus glare didn't reach. It was the corner where Thalia was walking to, Drako could see that there were a sleeping bag and some photos.
Thalia has already left her package before on the room, Drako could see her copy of Aegis (a metal bracelet that expands into the shield) and her spear (a Mace canister that expands to form the collapsible spear).
Drako went near to Thalia to spoke to her but stopped when he saw the photos besides the sleeping bags. They were photos of three little kids, two girls and a boy.
At the left was a little girl with short black hair, she seemed to be around 12, that Drako didn't last to recognized. She was exactly a little version of Thalia.
At the right was the other girl, a young girl no older than six. She had curly honey-blond hair similar to a princess. She had stormy grey eyes, which amazed Drako as it was quite strange.
"She is… Annabeth, right?" Drako asked.
"Yeah," Thalia looked at the photo. "This photo was from back then when I met her for the first time."
"And he is…" Drako looked at the boy in the middle.
Drako was looking at the sandy blonde-haired boy with a mischievous smile. He seemed to have the same age as Thalia, 12 at that time. Now, he should be 3 or 4 years older.
Drako could see how Thalia's eyes saddened while looking at the boy.
"He is Luke."
So he was Luke, the "traitor".
Drako sat beside Thalia, who had been on a bad mood since Annabeth disappeared.
"Hey," Drako brought her attention. "Can you talk me about your past?"
Thalia hesitated, probably thinking whether she should tell Drako or not. They were actually almost strangers, as they had only been together for a few hours. Still, they were now partners, their past was no secret either.
More importantly, Drako had promised to help them rescue Annabeth. Explaining the current situation between them, Luke and Kronos, was almost necessary.
"It's a long story," Thalia said. "Are you sure you want to hear it?"
Drako nodded his head.
He was interested in Zeus' daughter, though not romantically for obvious reasons, and wanted to know more about her.
(Thalia Grace in the original novels was born in 1987, but I changed it into 1985 for plot reasons xD. Right now, they are 2004, so she should be 17 and not 19 like in the original novels.)
"I was born on December 22. 1985 to Zeus and Beryl Grace, a beautiful actress in her prime."
This was the first time that Thalia mentioned her mother, and she didn't have any good feelings towards her.
"As is the custom among the gods, my father left after my birth. I have few memories of the first years of my life, but I can recognize that my mother became very unstable at that time." Thalia didn't seem to like Zeus either. "When I was six years old, Zeus reappeared in the house. He seemed a little different, but at the time I didn't think much of it. He was very affectionate to me at that time, and he spoke Latin very often. It wasn't until years later that I realized it wasn't Zeus, but his Roman version called Jupiter."
She stopped for a moment, and a happy smile appeared on her face for the first time. It seemed she had remembered something beautiful for her.
"That same year my little brother, Jason, was born. "
It was obvious that Thalia loved her little brother very much.
"However, my mother became even more unstable when Zeus left her for the second time. She wanted him to take her to Olympus and give her eternal beauty. She fell into alcoholism and started doing silly things to get attention, which led to her career being ruined."
Drako understood what Thalia was saying, and he could understand why her mother went crazy.
For a mortal woman, getting the attention of the most influential God could become the most important thing in their lives. She only wanted attention and to be the most beautiful, so she went crazy when she saw that she could not get it. Her children were completely in the background.
"It was two years later, the incident that made me leave my home and run away." Thalia gritted her teeth in hatred as she said it. "Mother took us on a picnic when I was 7 and Jason was 2. At some point, she sent me to the car to get some things, and when I came back, I found her alone crying."
Thalia had her fists clenched while she was crying. Yeah, she wasn't holding back the tears anymore.
Drako rushed to hug her and she buried her head in his chest.
"She killed him! She killed my little brother!" Thalia cried as she screamed. "She killed him, Drako! She killed an innocent two-year-old boy!"
Drako simply held her tightly, indicating that he was there to support her.
Thalia finally calmed down a few minutes later, and wiped her tears on her T-shirt sleeve.
"That was the last straw. A few years later, after an argument with that woman, I ran away from home, never to return again."
Drako nodded his head. He probably would have done the same thing if he were in Thalia's situation.
"I was only twelve at the time, what could I do? Nothing really, but I soon found my father's help. He sent Amaltheia, the goat that took care of him when he was born, to guide me and help me survive."
"Why didn't he help you directly?" Drako asked.
"Ancient laws. The gods cannot directly help the demigods. The same thing happened to Percy, he was almost killed by a minotaur before he came to the camp for the first time."
Drako really couldn't believe it. The gods really couldn't help their children? What kind of nonsense was that?
"I followed Amaltheia, and she led me to a dragon cave where I found another demigod. He was a son of Hermes, and his name was Luke. It didn't take long for us to become friends, and we joined together to survive from the monsters that were coming for us."
Finally, Luke showed up.
"We followed Amaltheia for three more days, and she took us to a very dangerous house. There we found a son of Apollo, but it turned out to be a trap for demigods. I went there where I discovered my shield, and we barely survived because of that man's sacrifice. Before he died, he gave Luke a knife and a diary."
She stopped to look at Luke's picture, and sighed slowly.
"After escaping, we met Annabeth, a brave seven-year-old demi-goddess with blonde hair. Luke admired her courage and gave her his knife, promising that he would not fail her as his family had done."
Thalia unhesitatingly spat out the word "traitor."
"We switched places several times to protect ourselves until I ended up hurt in my leg. We were forced back to Luke's house, where we found his mother and Hermes, his father. She bandaged my leg, but Luke had an argument with his father and ran out of the house. We didn't hesitate to follow him."
That argument with his father... Drako had no doubt that Luke was beginning to rebel against Olympus at this time.
Thalia smiled a little bit once more.
"Soon we found a satyr named Grover," Drako recalled the goat playing with Nico. "He helped us a lot on the way to the camp. However, Hades discovered my existence and sent powerful underworld monsters to hunt us down."
"Why would Hades do that?" Drako asked out of curiosity.
Why would Hades try to kill his own nephews?
Thalia looked at Drako and asked, "Don't you know about the Great Prophecy?"
"I'm new to everything about you guys, remember?" Drako smiled bitterly.
"I'm sorry, I forgot," Thalia apologized. "So, let me recite this prophecy that marked a turning point in our mythology."
Thalia closed her eyes, trying to remember exactly what the prophecy looked like.
"This is a prophecy given by the Oracle over seventy years ago. Around World War II, when the sons of Zeus (America), Poseidon (Great Britain and the Soviet Union), and Hades (Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan) fought each other, other mythologies were also involved, the Oracle foretold of a future event that would end their affairs with mortal women for the next seventy years. The prophecy goes as follows:"
A half-blood of the eldest gods
Shall reach sixteen against all odds
And see the world in endless sleep
The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap
A single choice shall end his days
Olympus to preserve or raze
"The three main gods made a pact, not to have any more children with mortal women. However, it seems that Hades is the only God who knows how to keep his promises."
Hades, the so-called evil God, is the only one who keeps such a significant promise.
Zeus had two sons, Thalia and Jason, while Poseidon had one, Percy.
"I joined the Hunters of Artemis, so I'll never make it to 16. That leaves the only option to..."
"Perseus 'Percy' Jackson," Drako finished.
Thalia nodded. "That's why Hades, seeing that Zeus had broken his promise, sent those monsters. Finally, we were about to die because of some Cyclops. Luckily Annabeth is a daughter of Athena, and she came up with a way to save us from the situation.
"On the way, we met the Hunters of Artemis, and Zoë almost convinced Annabeth and me to join them. However, we were not willing to leave Luke. Zoë and I argued, and she finally told me that Luke was going to disappoint me just like someone disappointed her at the time. And she was right, so I joined her group later.
"Because of the Cyclops, the monsters had enough time to get close to us. When we were at the camp borders, the three furies and an army of Hellhounds attacked us, and I sacrificed myself to save my friends. My father turned me into a tree so that my soul would not go to Hades."
Drako listened quietly to Thalia's story. Without a doubt, she's had a hard life since birth.
At least she seems happy with her current life with the Hunters.
"I understand the situation better now. Luke and Annabeth, you're very fond of them both." Drako said.
"They are my family. I don't understand how he could do all this..."
You didn't know him that well if you don't understand his reasons. Drako thought.
Even with what little Drako knew about Luke, he understood why he might hold a grudge against the gods.
Drako stroked Thalia's head as he spoke. "Okay, thank you so much for trusting me and telling me your story. It's late, shall we go to sleep?"
Even though Thalia is physically 16, and was born 19 years ago, she shouldn't be older than Percy, who is 13. Although she's indeed more mature because of everything she's been through since she was a child.
"Yeah, I think so, too."
"And... where do I sleep?"
"Ah! Here, I got a sleeping bag for you before."
"Thank you?"
-----------
Okay guys, I suck so much. This chapter was supposed to be released yesterday, and yesterday chapter was today's.
Agh, fuck me. Anyways, order doesn't mean to much in this two, I'm a least relieved on that.
The next morning, after breakfast, Drako went with Percy and Grover to talk a bit since he didn't have anything to do. They sat in the meadow, watching the satyrs chase the wood nymphs through the snow. The nymphs had promised to kiss the satyrs if they got caught, but they hardly ever did. Usually, the nymph would let the satyr get up a full head of steam, then she'd turn into a snow-covered tree, and the poor satyr would slam into it headfirst and get a pile of snow dumped on him.
"I have something to talk you about," Percy said.
"What is it?" Drako asked.
"I saw Annabeth… and Luke," Percy started. "He tricked her and now she is trapped."
"How?"
"It looked like… like a cave ceiling collapsed on her."
Grover started twirling his finger in his shaggy leg fur.
"A cave ceiling collapsed on her?" he asked.
"Yeah. What the heck does that mean?"
Grover shook his head. "I don't know. But after what Zoë dreamed—"
"Wait. What do you mean? Zoë had a dream like that?" Drako asked.
"I… I don't know. About three in the morning, she came to the Big House and demanded to talk to Chiron. She looked really panicked."
Something sounded strange to Drako.
"Wait, how do you know this?"
Grover blushed. "I was sort of camped outside the Artemis cabin."
"What for?"
"Just to be, you know, near them."
What the fuck?
"You're a fucking stalker," Drako said.
"A stalker with hooves," Percy agreed.
"I am not! Anyway, I followed her to the Big House and hid in a bush and watched the whole thing. She got really upset when Argus wouldn't let her in. It was kind of a dangerous scene."
Argus is a one hundred-eyed giant, who acts as a security guard who serves to the Olympians. He currently works at Camp Half-Blood, often riding the demigod heroes to quests. He does not talk much, for it is said that he has an eye on his tongue, and does not want to show it.
Argus was created by Hera and acted as her servant. His great service to the Olympians was to slay Echidna, the mother of monsters, as she slept in her cave. Hera's personal task for Argus was to guard the white heifer, Io, a mistress of Zeus, from him. He kept her chained to the sacred olive tree at Argive Heraion until Hermes (in some versions Pan or Apollo) sang or talked to him until he was drowsy and then touched all of his eyes, putting him in a deep sleep which allowed the god to free Io.
"What did she say?" Drako asked.
Grover grimaced. "Well, she starts talking really old-fashioned when she gets upset, so it was kind of hard to understand. But something about being in trouble and needing the Hunters. And then she called Argus a boil-brained lout… I think that's a bad thing. And then he called her—"
"Whoa, wait, stop it there. How could Artemis be in trouble?" Drako asked.
More important so, why wasn't he informed of that?
"I… well, finally Chiron came out in his pyjamas and his horsetail in curlers and—"
"He wears curlers in his tail?"
Drako tried very hard not to laugh. Just imagining the centaur with that was really funny, even in this situation.
"Sorry," Drako said. "Go on."
"Well, Zoë said she needed permission to leave camp immediately. Chiron refused. He reminded Zoë that the Hunters were supposed to stay here until they received orders from Artemis. And she said…" Grover gulped. "She said 'How are we to get orders from Artemis if Artemis is lost?'"
Drako was alarmed.
"What do you mean lost? Like she needs directions?" Percy asked.
This boy is kind of dumb.
"No. I think she meant gone. Taken. Kidnapped."
"Kidnapped?" Percy tried to get his mind around that idea. "How would you kidnap an immortal goddess? Is that even possible?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, it happened to Persephone."
"But she was like, the goddess of flowers."
Grover looked offended. "Springtime."
"Whatever. Artemis is a lot more powerful than that. Who could kidnap her? And why?"
Grover shook his head miserably. "I don't know. Kronos?"
"He can't be that powerful. Can he?"
Drako wasn't listening to the conversation between the two boys. He was thinking really hard right now.
Who has enough power to kidnap a powerful goddess like Artemis?
Drako knew that she was really powerful, at least 2 or 3 times stronger than a Maou. She could be even more powerful than that!
Even if she is fighting against someone stronger than her, she can scape easily with her abilities.
Drako didn't doubt that she was within the strongest 50 beings of this world.
If someone was going to kidnap her, it needed to be a very strong organization or a very powerful being. Maybe one of the top 20 or top 10, or even more than one.
The question is: Who wants to kidnap her? Who is the enemy of the Olympus right now?
The answer was easy to find since they currently have an obvious enemy.
Kronos and his army.
Now, Drako new that Kronos is still in the process of reviving. So, who has enough power on that army to kidnap Artemis?
Maybe his right hand? Maybe they lured her into a trap?
That answer was unknown.
But, Drako was not stupid. Percy had a nightmare the same night as Zoë, that wasn't a coincidence.
"Percy, both nightmares are obviously connected," Drako said. "You both have to talk about them."
Over in the frozen meadow, a satyr skidded on his hooves as he chased after a red-headed tree nymph. She giggled and held out her arms as he ran toward her. Pop! She turned into a Scotch pine, and he kissed the trunk at top speed, "Ah, love," Grover said dreamily.
"Yeah, I've got to talk to Zoë," Percy said.
"Um, before you do…" Grover took something out of his coat pocket. It was a three-fold display like a travel brochure. "You remember what you said—about how it was weird the Hunters just happened to show up at Westover Hall? I think they might've been scouting us."
"Scouting us? What do you mean?"
He gave Percy the brochure. It was about the Hunters of Artemis. The front read, A WISE CHOICE FOR YOUR FUTURE! Inside were pictures of young maidens doing hunter stuff, chasing monsters, shooting bows. There were captions like HEALTH BENEFITS: IMMORTALITY AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU! And A BOY-FREE TOMORROW!
"Hey, that's no longer valid," Drako said, pointing towards the BOY-FREE stance.
"I found that in Annabeth's backpack," Grover said, ignoring Drako attempt to joke.
Percy stared at him. "I don't understand."
"Well, it seems to me… maybe Annabeth was thinking about joining."
Percy didn't look like he took the news well.
..................….
Drako didn't have anything to do, so he just went to visit the Camp Half-Blood.
There were different training fields in the camp, where the campers could train. For example, Drako saw Percy in the javelin-throwing class. That class was pretty boring for Drako, so he just went somewhere else.
Drako found something she had been looking for for a while, the Pegasus stable, but it seemed that two people were having an argument inside it.
Drako stepped inside the stable, but it seemed neither person was aware of their presence.
Two girls were arguing, and it was no surprise that one was a Hunter and the other a demigod.
Drako remembered this Hunter. She was one of the weakest in the group, even weaker than newcomer Bianca Di Angela. This was probably because she was a mortal turned into Hunter. She was also part of the group that hated Drako's presence within the Hunters' group.
He also recognized the other girl, although he didn't know her name or talk to her before. She was the leader of Aphrodite's descendants, Drako had seen her while they were dining the night before.
She had attracted Drako's attention as she was different from the rest of her siblings. While they were constantly looking for attention, she was a bit more reserved and calmer. That, in turn, gave her a special charm.
Drako stepped in when he saw that things were getting worse. "Hey, what's going on?"
The two girls went silent and turned to look at Drako. The Hunter let out a "Tch" and stormed out of the stable.
The other girl, Aphrodite's daughter, let a sigh out of her mouth while looking at the back of the Hunter.
She had long black hair and a pair of beautiful blue eyes. She was, without a doubt, a very beautiful girl. This was expected, as she is Aphrodite's daughter.
She turned to look at Drako again. "Thanks, we could have a fight here if you didn't stop it."
"Don't overthink it, I was just passing by."
"I get it, were you curious about the Pegasus?" She asked.
"Yeah, I've always been curious about it. I've liked the original Pegasus since I was a kid." Drako said.
The girl smiled a bit. She walked over to one of the winged horses and stroked its back.
"It's not really Pegasus, it's Pegasi. They're descendants of the original Pegasus." She explained.
"You seem to really like them."
"Yes, I love them." The girl said.
The two of them were silent for a few moments. Drako was simply admiring the horses while the girl looked at him curiously.
"I've seen you at the table with Thalia before, are you the son of Zeus?" She asked.
Drako turned to look at her. "No, I am not. My situation is a little special, you know? I'm one of the Hunters, and I'm not even human."
"What?"
Drako understood the girl's surprise. In the thousands of years of the Hunters' existence, no man had ever been part of them before. It was only natural they wouldn't believe it.
"That's right, I'm a dragon. Due to certain circumstances, Artemis has welcomed me into her group. But, as you can see, I'm not very welcome in the group."
"Yes, I've noticed," the girl smiled slightly.
"Why were you fighting?" Drako asked out of curiosity.
"Tch, those Hunters are always denying love and calling it useless," she said angrily.
As the daughter of Aphrodite, denying love was the same as denying her. Drako could understand why she was angry.
"I don't understand these girls. You can be against having relationships or whatever, but you can't deny what most people feel. I'm sure more than one of the people who disparaged him had been in love at some point in his life," Drako reflected.
The girl looked at Drako, surprised to hear his words.
"Weren't you one of the Hunters? Aren't you forbidden to fall in love?" she asked.
"The oath I took was literally 'I will turn my back on men'. I never swore anything about women," Drako winked at the girl who was looking at him with her mouth open.
Drako turned around and headed for the barn exit.
"Wait!"
Drako turned to look at the girl.
"My name is Silena, Silena Beauregard. What's your name?"
"Drako."
"Are we gonna talk like this again?" Silena asked hopefully.
"Sure! As long as the gods want."
----------------------------------
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So, talking of another character in Percy Jackson novels.
Silena Beauregard.
She is, without a doubt, one of my favourites female characters of this novel along with Piper and Thalia. I can't say too much because of spoilers.
Even with what little she appears throughout the novels, the impact that she has is so strong that can only make me love her!
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