The Court Going to Camp Half-Blood

Chapter Nine

Percy and Annabeth were listening to the conversation, and everything just seemed so familiar to her. She knew she had read about it somewhere, demon invasions, magic, pointed ears and elongated canines, she just couldn't remember from where. That was annoying her, and had been even since they came. She was thinking back to stories of pointed ears, of the creatures who lived in the forest, but what were they called? Not fairies, but close. Then it came to her. Fae. These people were fae. She mouthed the word, and saw Percy go to ask what it was, when Marion said,

"What's that?" and pointed to the shape coming out of the water.

* * *

Aelin snapped her head up when she saw it, and sure enough there was a humanlike figure rising out of the water. "Gods," she whispered when she saw it. "Puddle Demon," she said in answer, and went for her sword. As soon as its heart was visible over the line she slashed it in half through the heart. The figure wobbled like jelly but continued growing out. She shrugged. "Worth a try." She lowered her sword, and just waited for the figure to completely form. 

* * *

Percy saw the girl, not knowing if Celaena was even her name, slash through its heart, but it just kept coming. She didn't even see surprised. She stopped trying to do anything and they all just stood there staring at it. He surged forward to do something, anything, but was held back by Annabeth.

"They're just sitting there!" He argued, but she just put a finger to her lips and said,

"Wait." So he did, knowing that Annabeth had a plan. Athena always has a plan.

* * *

The thing fully formed and stepped out of the puddle, forming real features and tones and hair made out of something other than gross black puddle goo. Aelin ushered everyone behind her. She felt the makings of a protest, so she shoved Rowan, Fenrys, and Aedion behind her, not wasting anytime. The Puddle Demon™ grinned a creepy grin at her that made Aelin want to punch it in the face.

By this time it looked like a human, a creepy human with pure black eyes and hair, and very pale skin, but a human nonetheless. He launched herself at her, an arc in the air showing he was definitely not human, so in one move she unclasped her bracelet of death and put her hands up. Our from them created a heatless glow of light, so bright everyone else had to shield their eyes. The thing screeched, but Aelin just gave a grin herself, and formed a cocoon of light around the demon. She started tightening the burrito of light around the demon, and when it got too tight the demon just exploded into black goo. 

They were all covered in it, and Aelin made a disgusted sound, and tried to shake it off. Obviously it touching the skin didn't do harm, so the puddle goo is harmful, but the dead demon goo is not. Good to know, she thought. Then she remembered the two people watching them from behind the bush she had noticed long ago. It's like they forgot about her increased sensory system.

"You can come out now," she called without turning her head, picking her bracelet back up and clasping it back on with a shudder, and focusing on rubbing the dead demon jello off of her.

* * *

"You can come out now." Crap, Percy thought. They know. But how? Annabeth and him were trained to be silent and avoid detection for year, and they had, for years. But the girl flicking goo of a dead monster off of her seemed unfazed. 

Annabeth just started walking over, seemingly not caring that these people were obvious liars about who and what they were. Unless she had already figured it out. Unless fae meant something and was not just a random sound.

She stood in front of them, arms crossed, and when the blonde girl who he was assuming to be the leader of sorts raised an eyebrow, Annabeth just said, "Fae."

The girl just grinned and said, "Good job."

"What's your real name." Annabeth said, more a demand than question.

"Oh, I'm afraid Queen outranks camper, so don't give me orders unless you want me to burn you and your boyfriend alive from the inside out."

"Fine, your majesty," Annabeth said with mocking tones, which made Percy really want to nudge her to not mess with the queen, "What is your name."

"I have many names. And yet I am nameless. Which would you like? Celaena Sardothien is one of them, I wasn't lying."

"No, you were just covering the truth, I want all of them."

"Pushy, pushy. Where I'm rom that would get you killed. Good thing I'm a good person. However I'm not sure I could list all my names, but I will try and remember them all. The most famous name is Aelin Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius, although I doubt it's famous where you come from, then we Celaena Sardothien, as you know, Diana Brackyn, Lilian Gordaina, Elentiya, Nameless..." She trailed off. "I feel like there are others but I can't remember them."

"You posed as Ansel once," the silver haired dude said, with almost a laughing tone.

"Ah, yes. Ansel of Briarcliff. I posed as one of Madame Florine's dancers once to break you out of your execution," she said looking at her twin of sorts, " But I wasn't given a real name so I don't think that counts."

"Why all of those names?" Annabeth asked, truly looking intrigues, which she probably was.

* * *

Aelin was amused by this mortal girl and her curiosity she could smell from here. So she indulged her, not knowing what harm could come to them for giving their names up.

"Aelin Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius is the name of the Queen of Terrasen, my birth name, Celaena Sardothien is the name of Adarlan's Assassin, who I was for ten years of my life, Diana Brackyn was who I posed to be at gatherings so no one would know I was the most feared assassin and a teenage girl, Lilian Gordaina was who I pretended to be in the contest to be the past King of Adarlan's Champion, I won by the way, so no one would know I was the Celaena Sardothien, Elentiya was a name my friend gave me years ago, and I posed as Ansel of Briarcliff to get her attention, and because the Queen of Terrasen can't be seen at pit fights. And I posed as on of Madame Florine's dancers to help save my idiot cousin from his execution."

"Cousin?" Annabeth asked calmly as Percy spurted,

"Execution?"

"Long Story," Aelin said, and gestured for everyone else to introduce themselves. And so they did, and Aelin went on to tell the true story of their lives, leaving out some details she couldn't talk about, or weren't important enough to share. She relished in the Annabeth and Percy they had of them, growing after each story she told. When she was finished they pretended not to be dazed, and so Aelin just said, "Your turn," and so they told their stories, stories of titans and gods and demons and going to literal hell, and giants and death. When they finished, Aelin just grinned and said, "Well, neither of those sound fun. Now show us around. There has to be more to this world than a tiny little camp."