"you could be the king, but watch the queen conquer"
-
Rosalyn Carter is the daughter of Aphrodite and the last thing Percy expected to find at Camp Half-Blood.
But he wouldn't want to fight deadly battles with anyone else.
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The trailer was dark inside until Percy uncapped Anaklusmos. The blade cast a faint bronze light over a very sad scene. Sitting in a row of filthy metal cages were three of the most pathetic zoo animals they'd ever beheld: a zebra, a male albino lion, and some type of antelope.
Someone had thrown the lion a sack of turnips, which he obviously didn't want to eat. The zebra and the antelope had each gotten a Styrofoam tray of hamburger meat. The zebra's mane was matted with chewing gum, like somebody had been spitting on it in their spare time. The antelope had a stupid silver birthday balloon tied to one of his horns that read OVER THE HILL! Apparently, nobody had wanted to get close enough to the lion to mess with him, but the poor thing was pacing around on soiled blankets, in a space way too small for him, panting from the stuffy heat of the trailer. He had flies buzzing around his pink eyes and his ribs showed through his white fur.
"This is kindness?" Grover yelled. "Humane zoo transport?"
He probably would've gone right back outside to beat up the truckers with his reed pipes, but just then the truck's engine roared to life. The trailer started shaking, and they were forced to sit down or fall down.
Grover talked to the animals in a series of goat bleats, but they just stared at him sadly. Annabeth was in favor of breaking the cages and freeing them on the spot, but Rosalyn pointed out it wouldn't do much good until the truck stopped moving.
Percy found a water jug and refilled their bowls, then used Anaklusmos to drag the mismatched food out of their cages.
Grover calmed the antelope down, while Annabeth used her knife to cut the balloon off his horn. She wanted to cut the gum out of the zebra's mane but decided that would be too risky with the truck bumping around. Rosalyn told Grover to promise the animals they'd help them more in the morning, then they settled in for night.
Grover curled up on a turnip sack, and Annabeth opened the bag of Double Stuf Oreos and nibbled on one halfheartedly. Percy sat with his back against the side of the truck, and he tried to ignore the fact that Rosie was sitting so close to him that their shoulders were touching.
The daughter of Aphrodite closed her eyes and tried her best to rest, but her mind refused to quiet down.
It was only June fourteenth. The solstice wasn't until the twenty-first. They could make it in plenty of time.
No matter how many times she repeated that to herself, the feeling of anxiousness didn't fade.
"Hey," Annabeth said into the stuffy space, "I'm sorry for freaking out back at the water park, Percy."
"That's okay."
"It's just..." She shuddered. "Spiders."
"Because of the Arachne story," Percy guessed. "She got turned into a spider for challenging your mom to a weaving contest, right?"
