The Selection

The Huntress

Piper's POV
What has happened? I have been pacing back and forth in my room and neither Sparky nor Annabeth has come. Annabeth promised me that she would tell me about her life as the Queen of Greece married to King Perseus Jackson. Perseus Jackson. When I was small my father told me about the lineage of the Illea, King Zeus, King Poseidon, and King Hades. At that time, I desperately wanted to meet each of them, their Queens, Beryl Grace, Sally Jackson, and Maria di Angelo and their children too, Prince Nico and Princess Bianca, Prince Percy and Prince Tyson, and not to mention, Prince Jason Grace.

I shake myself back to reality. I can't think about it, can I? Anyways, I have Andy and Johana in my room, they came here to carry out the same rituals every day. But today Calypso did not come.

What if I accidentally collided with him? Hey, wait. Why do I have to worry about it? He has to face the music for what he had done. All these years, I have kept this hatred in the greatest depths of my heart, every time I think about it, the most heartwrenching memories come back.

I can't have it. Where is Annabeth? Where is Sparky? Where are Leo and Calypso? None of them has knocked on my door today. So, I decided to find it out myself. I step out of my room and into an endless corridor.

The palace is really beautiful, but the only thing that makes me terrified here is its greatness. It's like a... maze. With the girlish voices around me, I can guess that the floor is totally dedicated to the selection of girls. So, I won't find Annabeth here, I conclude.

Then her room must be on the floor above me. I walk until I find the stairs. I climb. When I reach upstairs, I find myself staring at another endless passage. Oh gosh! Why is this palace so big!

My stubbornness makes me move further. There are about a hundred rooms and it seems as if they are vacant. Why?

As if to prove me wrong, a mob of oddly dressed girls starts pushing their way towards the rooms. Are they also part of the selection? If yes, why are they looking so similar to each other?

It seems as if I stand apart from them in their black and white clothes. Then, they looked at me, I could feel my heartbeat in my mouth. About a hundred scary-looking girls, all focusing on you, that's a bad sign. So, I turn and make my way towards the stairs. It was really... awkward.

I start going downstairs but something catches my attention. I look out of the window near the staircase to see a breathtaking view of one of the most magnificent gardens I have ever see. But that's not the thing that caught my eye. I see a black figure with a sword, moving from one place to the other as if practicing to fight someone invisible. The figure's face and hair are covered with a black hood and mask, but I catch the electric blue color of the person's eyes. And there is only one person I know with these eyes.

I rush down the stairs towards the place where I saw the figure. In a hurry to meet him, I slip but thankfully at the last minute, I grab the railing to keep myself stable. I heave a sigh of relief and smile to myself.

I reach the garden with my gown a shade darker. No sooner than take a few steps towards the figure than the mask slips off the person's face and I see an unfamiliar face. No, he is not here. I whirl but then decide to see her practice.

Fighting always fascinates me. I like to be independent and brave and I think learning to fight for your dignity both with your words and your hands is really important.

But when I raise my eyes, I find myself staring at nothing. Before I can look around, a sword appears in front of my neck and my heart skips a beat.

I do the first thing that comes to my mind, I stab the person holding the sword with my elbow. But the blow was not enough to knock the person. I tried to snatch the sword, unfortunately, the person's grip on it is really tight.

Suddenly, the sword withdraws. I stay there, astonished. I turn to find a girl standing there deprived of her parka hood, revealing short black choppy hair.

I could feel her eyes scanning each part of my body. Then, she says, "You are a selection girl, right? "

"Yeah," I say.

"I have never seen a girl like you trying to learn something like fighting. I like your spirit. "She says, smiling. "Well, my name is Thalia, Thalia Grace. Nice to meet you. " She extends her hand.

I accept it with a smile. "Piper, Piper McLean. "

But then it hits me. Thalia. Thalia Grace as in Princess Thalia Grace.

"Your Majesty. " I bow. How could I do that to her? At this moment, I felt guilt weighing on my shoulder.

"Oh, come on. It's ok. And don't call that. I am Thalia and not a princess." She says.

"Anyways, I like your spirit. Wanna learn more techniques to fight and live in extreme conditions? "

I nod, exuberantly. I do want to be self-reliant and now that I am getting this opportunity, I will not let it go.

"So, I would like to tell you about my group. We are the huntress of Artemis or Diana as you can call us. We go to extreme parts of the world to help people around the globe. Would you like to join it? "

"Definitely! "

"But then you have to think about it. Since you are a selection girl, you have to quit this competition and it's gonna be totally anti-boys. So, if you do not have any plans of getting -"

"Thals, manipulating the innocent girl to leave the life of your beloved little brother! " We hear a voice from behind.

Princess Thalia, oh, I mean Thalia's electric blue eyes beam and runs towards the person who said the words. And to my surprise, I see blonde hair.

She gives the person a bear hug. "You won't believe, I found someone you would definitely like!"

She, with the person, makes her way towards me. I cross my hands over my chest. Here she is and I am wandering the whole palace to find her.

"Annabeth, where were you? You, Leo, Calypso, no one came to my room this morning. And Sparky, he is surely going to get it from me. Where is he?"I ask, furiously.

"Call down, Piper. They are -"

"Wait, you two know each other? I know Leo, I know Calypso, but who is this Sparky?" Thalia asks.

"Um... Thals, I will tell you later." Annabeth says. I see something in her eyes. Is she hiding something from me? Obviously not, why would she?

"Piper and Thalia I will answer all your doubts in Piper's room. Let's go!" Annabeth says.

~

Calypso greets us in my room. She is pretty surprised to see Thalia. There was a recollection of my encounter with the princess of Ilea. During that time, I sat in the corner of the room, regretting my actions.

"Piper, I like the way you tried. If you want to learn to fight, I will take care of that. And stop being guilty of the mistake you haven't done! " Thalia says, looking at me. I manage a quiet smile. She doesn't know what she did.

"Anyways Piper, everyone else and I were gone to a Council Meeting with the Prince regarding the selection. And that is why we were not able to talk to you."

Leo bursts into the room, breathless. "I got the news that there was a reunion party going on, here. So I came to have the food, where is it? Well, hello Thalia"

"Stop it, Valdez" Thalia says.

"There isn't any party going on. Why are you late and where is Sparky? "I ask.

"The meeting was freakingly boring. I slept through it. And about him, I don't know. He had a little more work to do. "

"Can someone tell me who is this Sparky?" Thalia demands again.

No sooner the words left her mouth than the door opens and a guy with blonde hair and gorgeous electric blue eyes covered by black-rimmed glasses enters the room. When his eyes meet that of Thalia's...