Daughter of Poseidon

Chapter 3

"A centaur. Half man, half horse? They're real, too. This all takes some getting used to, I know. We all went through exactly what you are." Sam explained with a grin.

"If I wasn't feeling better already, I would have thought that you were making that one up." I joked with him, before finishing off the glass of nectar. My body felt warm and almost entirely pain free. The biggest bruises were gone and my head now felt perfectly fine. This nectar stuff really was a miracle.

"You can thank Will Solace for most of it. He's the best healer in the camp. Here, you can wear these. We guessed your size on the remains of that wet suit." he pulled his hand away to grab a pile of clothes that was on the bench next to him. It seemed to consist of an orange t-shirt like his, a pair of black cotton pants, and a new pair of sneakers.

"Oh, thanks." I took them, realizing that the only thing covering me was a hospital gown. How embarrassing! Had a bunch of people seen me naked?

Sam recognized my expression, "Don't worry, the dude has a boyfriend. Besides, a girl changed your clothes after Will already worked his magic."

"Ah, okay." I sighed in relief. I rolled my head on my shoulders a few times to make sure I wasn't just fooling myself. The pain was gone! It was a little tight due to the new scar on the side of my head, but pain free. I tentatively touched it, and gave a start when I felt stitches and a seemingly bald patch.

"Was it that bad?" I whispered, feeling the wind knocked out of me a little at how seriously I had been hurt. It was so strange! I felt fine now!

"It was pretty bad. No worries though, Grace. You pull off an undercut well. Come on out when you're changed. I'm giving you a tour of the camp on the way to see Chiron." he winked at me, and then stood. The next moment, he was pushing aside a curtain of white cloth and was gone.

Slowly, I took a deep breath. Then, I got up and began to change clothes. As I did so, I thought about the day's events. Either I stayed here where I was accepted without condition, or I went back home to my miserable life under my mother's rule. It seemed like a no-brainer. I had a few friends back at school, but they could live without me. All I had ever wanted was to be accepted, and now here Sam was telling me that I was half a god! That there were more people like me! Who wouldn't choose this life?

Dressed to the nines in the bright orange shirt, I felt grateful that Sam hadn't given me armor like his. My body was still slightly sore, and I felt sure carrying heavy metal would only make it worse. Would I need armor though? I thought he said we were safe here.

"Sam?" I called, pushing my way through the cloth wall.

"Ah, there you are. You're starting to look like one of us already. Remind me later to get you fitted with a weapon. It's always a good idea to have it on you, just in case." he smiled when he saw me.

We left the infirmary and instantly we were in a different world. Or at very least a different time period. The camp was situated in a valley like Sam mentioned, with a lone pine tree on the top of the hill opposite from us. Something big was laying around its trunk that I could see all the way from here. As Sam took me around, we saw other kids in orange t-shirts and armor all around, one hell of a lot cabins off to our right, and one single big house to our left. The cabins each had their own theme from plants on the roof to one colored all black. Each had a unique look to it, and made me want to go look at them. There was a giant rock wall, with kids climbing it. Lava poured down and rocks tumbled towards them. It seemed very hard to do, but they made it look easy! Then, I saw what looked like a sword fighting arena. The campers were going all out, and I realized that the armor was very important. I noticed a white marble pavilion and a few benches around a fire pit. There was also a stream that ran through one part of the camp that ended in a lake. Some campers were having canoe races or swimming in the water. Finally, I spotted a forest that took up the largest portion of the valley. I was at a loss for words. It was amazing that this was all here, and no one else had any idea!

"Amazing, right?" Sam asked as we finally went up the steps to the big house.

"Yeah! Who would ever want to leave!" I laughed, feeling happier than I had in a long time.

Instead of answering, Sam just knocked firmly on the door. He took a few large steps back and advised me to do the same. Just before the door opened, Sam warned me not to stare.

"Why, hello! You must be the child who arrived on our shore yesterday. I am Chiron, this camp's advisor." Chiron said, stepping out onto the porch. His top half looked like a nice, older man, but his bottom half was mind blowing to look at. Instead of regular legs, he had the lower half of a white horse! I had been prepared for such a sight, but actually seeing him was incredible.

"Grace Lockwood, sir." I got out.

"Grace, it is nice to meet you at last. You spooked some of the other campers quite badly. They'll be as glad as I am to see that you're feeling better. Sam, why don't you go find Connor? We'll need a bed set up for this young lady." he told us, sending Sam away. He was so kind, that I nearly teared up again.

I said, "Thank you. I appreciate you letting me stay here."

"It is our pleasure. I take pride in making this place safe. The younger kids tend to stay just for the Summer, but we have a lot of older kids like yourself who stay here year round. Might I ask how old you are?" he explained.

"I'm sixteen." I answered simply.

"Sixteen. It's strange that you haven't been claimed yet. Percy won't be happy when he hears that the gods broke their promise." he sighed.

"Percy? What promise?"

"Perseus Jackson. He's a camper here. It's a long story, but all demigods are supposed to be claimed at 13. The rule was put in place so campers wouldn't go without their true homes for long. It's usually the age in which the monsters of our world begin to sense their presence, so it's hugely about their safety." Chiron explained further.

"But I wasn't. I don't know who my godly parent is. All I know is that it isn't my mom." I told him, feeling a pang of sadness. Didn't my godly parent want me to know I was theirs?

Chiron nodded, "I'm sure you will be soon. You're safe now, so there's no reason not to do so. I'm sure there was a good reason for it."

"I hope so. Does this happen often?" I questioned.

"No, not since Percy made them promise." he told me.

"Oh."

He changed the subject as Sam and another boy approached us, "I'll show you the introduction video for new campers after dinner. For now, I'll leave you with Sam. I've assigned him to be your guide for the first few days since he seems so eager to be around you. It was nice to meet you, Grace."

"Nice to meet you, too." I responded, just filled with more questions than answers. Had Sam asked to show me around?

"Hey, Grace! I've let the Hermes cabin know you're staying. Look who I found on the way back!" Sam announced, grinning and then gesturing to the taller boy at his side.

"Grace Lockwood, daughter of who the hell knows." I introduced myself, laughing nervously. My mind was still spinning at the prospect of Sam requesting to show me around.

The boy raised a hand for me to shake and another to move his almost black hair out of his face. His eyes were a sea green, and he had sort of a wild look to him where I couldn't tell if he was about to laugh or fight me. He radiated such a strong energy, that I might have guessed that he was a god if I hadn't been told otherwise. Being near him felt like standing outside during a storm. I should know.

He answered smoothly, "Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon."