Order of the Olympians

Order of the Olympians Chapter 3

Chapter 3

As soon as the goddess disappeared from view, the campers around Percy started moving again, causing him to jerk in his seat, startled.

Leo did a double take towards his friends with a crease between his brows. "Woah! How did you get over there? Weren't you standing over by Chiron just a second ago?"

One of the centaur's hooves pawed the ground in agitation. "Hecate?" he asked with a grim expression.

The four demigods nodded, and Annabeth relayed the information the goddess provided.

Clarisse was the first to respond. She stood and threw her arms up in the air and groaned in frustration. "You mean there is this whole other world of witches and wizards that we never even knew about?"

Her boyfriend, Chris Rodriguez, shrugged beside her. "And an evil wizard wants to destroy the world...I mean I guess we can't really be surprised anymore."

Clarisse shot him a hard look and grit her teeth. "Because a goddess wanted to keep her precious children all to herself, now a wack-job is threatening everything! Who knows, we could have gotten along with those guys if they'd just given us the chance!"

Will snorted. "Clarisse, daughter of Ares, did you just suggest that the goddess' first reaction should have been peace?"

"I can be peaceful when I want to be!" She practically howled at him, causing Chris to step in between his girlfriend and the son of Apollo.

Annabeth held up her hands, trying to pacify her two friends. "Guys, focus. I'm sure Hecate had a good reason for keeping us apart. Remember Camp Jupiter? The Greeks and Romans were part of almost every civil war battle this country has ever had. Every time the two sides met, there was bloodshed. Maybe she was just worried it would result in a similar outcome."

Of course Annabeth's words held meaning for everyone there, so Will and Clarisse mumbled their apologies to one another.

Percy scratched the nape of his neck. "Alright, so Hecate asked us to meet up at Half-Blood Hill at eleven tomorrow, so I would suggest we get some rest. I'm sure that wherever we're going, we will need to prepare."

Rachel surprised him by sniffling, then coming to wrap her arms around his waist for a tight hug. "You guys better be careful, or I will personally track you down and kill you," she muttered into his shirt, then wiped her eyes and hugged the rest of the four demigods. Percy was a little taken aback by the gesture, but touched nonetheless.

The head counselors all took their time shaking Percy, Nico, Annabeth, and Will's hands, patting them on the back, and giving them awkward goodbye hugs. When things had calmed down a little, it was only the four chosen for the quest, Chiron, Leo, and Calypso. Leo wouldn't make eye contact with Percy, and seemed to be crushing his girlfriend's hand.

Percy clapped a hand on his shoulder and shook him a bit. "Dude, you are the one person who isn't allowed to get emotional on me." The son of Hephaestus' eyes were drawn and mournful for half a second longer before Leo's familiar impish smile broke out on his face.

"Emotional? All I am emotional about is that you, sir, will be missing out on Super Sized McShizzle for who knows how long!" Leo's goggles fell forward onto his face at that, letting his long curly black hair spring straight up.

Everyone laughed, diffusing the tension around them, and gave the couple one last hug. As they walked back to their respective cabins, Chiron turned and shook each of their hands and promised to see them off in the morning.

Percy turned to his remaining three friends. "Alright guys...so let's get some sleep and meet back up in the morning. I'm not sure how long we will need to pack for, so just try to be as prepared as possible." They nodded and began walking towards their own cabins. Percy hugged Annabeth tight, and kissed her hard on the mouth.