After a very uncomfortable sleep that night, Percy literally dragged me out of bed and jerked me onto my feet due to 'important matters.'
I asked him how 'important' the matters were that I had to be dragged from my comfortable haven of a bed, but he didn't respond. That left me groaning, and reluctantly dressing in my everyday clothes for the events that would follow.
I met Percy outside once I was in my regular jeans, boots and camp T-shirt. It was then that he told me that I had someone to meet. Someone I'd never met before, someone to tell the prophecy to. Oh, I bet that'd be dandy.
He grabbed me by the hand and led me to a middle-aged guy in a wheelchair with thinning hair and deep brown eyes. His eyes were so much more intense than Phillip's. He brought a comfortable presence to me, like I could trust him instantly and tell him my whole life story without letting up.
"And who's this?" He inquired in a deep, but comforting voice.
"This is Amathwen, my baby sister," Percy replied quite proudly. I was glad that he was proud of me, but I had to rain on his pride for a moment of correction.
"I am not your baby sister, Percy," I corrected, smirking. "I'll have you know that I'm almost your age!" I elbowed him in the ribs.
Percy rolled his eyes, but wore a slight smile. "Amath, this is Chiron, our camp director. He's a centaur."
I studied over Chiron, arching an eyebrow. Mythology class had told me that centaurs were horse-human hybrids, but this guy appeared to be full human. I didn't seem to notice what Percy saw in him.
I glanced up at my half-brother, but he only stared ahead in awe. Once I turned my gaze back to Chiron, I was staring in awe, too.
Chiron's wheelchair sat empty, and only a pair of fake legs stayed. From the waist up, he looked normal. But from the waist down, the withers of a white horse started, and the rest followed. He held a recurve bow that appeared to be made from the finest oak tree there was.
"Now, Percy. You come to confront me for..?" Chiron urged.
Percy straightened up again. "Amath received a prophecy from the Oracle. This could mean a new quest," he stated, with hidden excitement. I'd learned quickly that he loved quests.
Chiron nodded his understanding. "What was this prophecy?" He inquired.
Percy's eyes were instantly trained on me.
I made an attempt to remember the prophecy. It took some hard thinking, but I could think of enough.
"It said somethin' about.. five demigods going west.. Poseidon, Athena, and Hephaestus.." I pondered in thought.
"Go on," Percy urged.
"A satyr to come and go as pleased.. a gift from the gods come by trees.. to save a mother so richly loved.. to return again, separated by blood."
I shuddered a bit at the last line, but tried to hide it.
Chiron pondered in thought. "Five demigods from three cabins. This calls for a meeting."
How the meeting went, I don't remember. I was too slank down in my seat (because everyone was staring directly at me) to remember barely anything. But I later found out that the travelers would be: Me, Percy, Sophia, Leo, and Phillip. Oh, and Ren, too.
While Phillip and Leo made things in their forges for the quest, Sophia was a little.. overly excited. She couldn't sit still for one second, and was always checking up on the Hephaestus boys to see how the blades were coming along.
"Amath, do you know how to work a sword?" Sophia inquired, during a pause in her running about.
"Uhh.. no." I admitted, watching her jumping up and down with excitement.
Sophia put on her shocked face. "Oh, we can't have that! You gotta learn to handle a sword, girl!"
I'd never heard her talk like that. I guessed she was a little too enthusiastic about the whole thing. Oh, this should be fun.
Sophia checked on the boys one more time to come back with a glittering blade that she said Phillip had made for me to carry around. I couldn't help but blush a little bit, but that was wiped away when Sophia started my training.
At first, it was pretty easy. She taught me how to parry and how to look for any distractions in an opponent, which was softening in the muscles and looking away. But it was when she saw that I had a feel for it, then she got serious.
She started with a smack on the ribs with the flat side of her sword. I winced, but that was about it. It was then that she put on her challenging look.
About one millisecond later, I was dodging stabs from her blade in every direction, flailing my blade around aimlessly. I hadn't expected to be turned on so quickly. I jumped from side to side to side, slashing with my blade this way and that, eyes closed.
My eyes opened quite wide when Sophia jabbed me in the gut with the butt of her sword, sending me stumbling back a few feet.
I laid on the ground groaning for two minutes at the least, before I found Sophia looking down at me. "I think you still have a lot to learn."
"No," I stated sarcastically. She smirked teasingly, and offered a hand to help me back to my feet.
The quest started tomorrow. I literally didn't know how I'd survive five minutes of it.
I guess I still had a lot to learn.
After Sophia taught me the ropes a little better, Leo had finally finished his masterpiece in the forges.
Sophia was awarded with this rad-looking bow from him, that she treated like Olympus's finest jewel. It looked like it could literally shoot ten arrows at a time. I lost count of how many times she told him thank-you.
Phillip had made both me and himself a blade, and they were almost identical. Only our names were carved on the hilts. I think that was the only way to tell them apart. I found that good, so I wouldn't accidentally pick up his blade one day and embarrass myself.
After quite a long day, I returned to my cabin with Percy to find someone else in there.
A huge-looking guy, with broad shoulders and a brutal-looking face. He was tinkering with something carefully until he looked up at me, and the first thing I noticed was his one (now wide) calf-brown eye.
"Percy.. there is a girl in here!" He exclaimed. I backed a step, confused for a moment here.
Percy reassured him with a pat on the back. "This is our sister, Amath. Amath, this is Tyson." He introduced. I gave a little wave.
Tyson's one big eye turned from confusion to excitement. I found myself caught in a rib-crushing hug. "I have a sister! I have a sister!"
Percy saved me from every bone being broken in my body. "Indeed. She only got here.. what, two days ago?"
I nodded.
"Right." Percy grinned brightly. "Well, we've had a truly long day. You two can get to know each other in the morning. Lights out!" Percy crashed on his bunk.
The quest started tomorrow. Oh, what joy.
