Cecilia Holmes, Daughter of Minerva (Sherlock/Percy Jackson crossover)

Chapter 4

     I wiped my hands on my baggy blue jeans and then picked up the paint cans and the toolbox. The toolbox jingled and the paintbrushes banged against the inside of the cans as I walked up the stairs and pushed open the barrack door. Hazel and Greg along with the rest of the Fifth Cohort were inside the main room. Five of my fellow demigods were playing a card game at a picnic table we had brought inside, while the others lounged around, talking.

     At least, they were talking. Now they silently stared at me as I set the supplies in the corner.

     “Finished,” I stated, feeling a bit sheepish as I turned back toward Hazel and Greg.

Greg glared at me, but Hazel said encouragingly, “I’m sure you did a great job. I will report your completion of the task to Reyna in the morning.”

     I nodded. After a few moments of silence, I looked down at my hands and began to pick off the white paint. The silence ensued and I bit my lip. And then, without a word, I walked toward the door that led toward the girls bedroom. I shut the door behind me and sighed. A few minutes later, I heard the chatter starting up again through the door.

     I slowly walked over and sat on my bed, looking at the clock. 4:24. I had a few minutes until I had to start getting ready for evening muster. Leaning down, I pulled out my drawing pad. Grabbing a pen I kept under my pillow, I flipped open to my latest work: my battle strategies for the Capture the Flag game. I stared at them. I had thought through every set-up and every circumstance. There was no way the Romans would lose.

     And if I win… if I bring the flag over the dividing line… Maybe mom will notice me. I’ll give her the glory and maybe she’ll finally listen. I have to win. I have to beat those no good Greeks.

     I was beginning to think through another setup I hadn’t considered, when the door opened. Light streamed into the dark room and I sat up on my elbows. Hazel walked in. She smiled slightly and shut the door behind her.

     And then I remembered how I had blabbed to her the night before and became extremely embarrassed.

     “You’ve had a busy day,” she said gently, coming to sit on the edge of my bed. I nodded, continuing to draw on my notepad, though I couldn’t focus on it completely.

     “So busy that I haven’t been able to talk to you,” she said. I paused.

     “Listen,” I cut in before she went on, “I didn’t mean to tell you all that last night. I was frustrated and tired and I—“

     “It’s all right, Cecilia,” she interrupted, “I think it’s wonderful that you want to find your dad. We all eventually go on a journey to find out who we are. It’s just your time, now. But I won’t tell anyone, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

     “Thanks,” I said, relieved.

     “Do you know how you’re going to find him?” she asked. I hesitated. I didn’t know. I had thought up hundreds of schemes, but since I couldn’t leave Camp Jupiter, none of them would work.

     “No,” I sighed, sitting up. “But I do want to find him, Hazel. Not so that we can be reunited or any of that crap, but simply so I can have a last name. I don’t know how I’m going to do it, though. I’ve thought through every possibility. There just doesn’t seem to be a way.”

     Hazel was quiet for some time.

     “Have you tried praying?” she asked, and the question caught me off-guard.

     “Wh-what?”

     “Have you tried praying and asking the gods who your father was? Who knows? They might give you an answer.”

     “Why would they?” I said, coldly. “They’ve never answered me before.”

     Hazel looked me in the eyes and I met her gaze fiercely.

    “I think you’re special, Cecilia,” she declared. “I think you’re very important. You might be an outcast now, but I believe Camp Jupiter, Camp Halfblood, and Olympus will come to adore you one day. You have what it takes to be a hero.”

     Her words surprised me. I could hardly comprehend them.

     “You… you think I could be a hero?” I said, skeptically.

     “Yes, I do, Cecilia,” Hazel said, putting her hand on my shoulder. “But all heroes need help from the gods.”