The Forbidden Daughter | PJO Book One

six

ARIANA CUTS OFF A HEAD

Ariana was tired. Since their bus had decided to explode due to a kindly one kindly attacking them, they had been forced to walk through the woods of the New Jersey river bank.

Grover was shivering and braying, his big goat eyes turned slit-pupilled and full of terror. "Three Kindly Ones. All three at once."

Ariana was still in shock herself. This was the first time she had been allowed to leave Camp Half-Blood since she was brought there and already they were being attacked by a monster.

Annabeth kept pulling them along, saying. "Come on! The further away we get, the better?"

"All our money was back there." Percy reminded her. "Our food and clothes. Everything."

Ariana couldn't be bothered reminding both of them that she still had her backpack; to be fair it was sitting on her back already, clearly visible.

"Well, maybe if you hadn't decided to jump into the fight -" Annabeth began to say.

"What did you want me to do? Let you get killed?" Percy scoffed.

"You didn't need to protect me, Percy. I would've been fine."

"Sliced like sandwich bread," Grover put in, "but fine."

"Shut up, goat boy." said Annabeth.

Grover brayed mournfully. "Tin cans... a perfectly good bag of tin cans."

They sloshed across mushy ground, through nasty twisted trees that smelled like sour laundry.

After a few minutes, Annabeth fell into line next to Ariana and Percy.

"Look, I..." Annabeths voice faltered. "I appreciate your coming back for us, okay? That was really brave."

"We're a team, right?" Percy proposed.

Annabeth was silent for a few more steps. "It's just that if you died... aside from the fact that it would really suck for you, it would mean the quest was over. This may be my only chance to see the real world!"

The thunderstorm had finally let up. The city glow faded behind them, leaving them in almost total darkness. Ariana couldn't see anything of Annabeth except a glint of her blonde hair.

"You haven't left Camp Half-Blood since you were seven?" Percy asked her.

Annabeth shook her head and began to explain. "No... only short field trips. My dad.."

"The history professor?"

"Yeah. It didn't work out for me living at home. I mean, Camp Half-Blood is my home." She was rushing her words out now, as if Annabeth were afraid somebody might try to stop her. "At camp you train and train. And that's all cool and everything, but the real world is where the monsters are. That's where you learn whether you're any good or not!"

Ariana nodded in agreement, fully understanding the daughter of Athena.

Percy turned to look at her. "When was the last time you left Camp?"

Ariana froze for a moment. Everyone at camp knew not to ask her personal questions, her childhood was a touchy subject.

"I haven't." She mumbled. "I was brought to Camp Half-Blood when I was only a baby. Around one, Chiron told me, the only place I've known is Camp Half-Blood."

"Since you were one.." Percy whispered in amazement. Then he said. "And you still haven't been claimed?"

Ariana once more shook her head. "No."