Adventure begins

New life

What a day! The plane has just landed, and my dad is helping me unload my bags. We got here at the beginning of summer, (thankfully) so school must have gotten out about a week ago, I'd say. The Florida sun is blazing into my eyes. A bead of sweat drops from my forehead, and I pull my sun hat over my eyes. My Auburn hair is steaming on my back! My dad walks up to me, putting his hand on my back, "A new beginning, huh?" He says, wrapping his arm around me. "Ya, I guess so" I reply, looking out over the sandy beach. We walk into our new home. It's perfect. It border lines the beach, so every time I step outside, I can see the ocean, and the people running and swimming... I walk up the stairs into my new room, my suitcases dragging behind me. Wow! It's wonderful! I even have a porch! I begin to unpack, looking out my window as I do so. I see two girls walk by, giggling. I heave a sigh. I don't know anybody here, let alone have any friends. I never even knew my mother, and all I have ever had is my dad. I begin to unpack. I hang up the posters and photos all across the walls. Now, I put away my books and sketch pads. I look around the room. My bed is already there, and so is my vanity. I go out onto the porch. The salty breeze smells great. The sun is right in the middle of the sky. Putting my hair into a ponytail, I jump off the porch, landing in the sand. I wander through the crowds. The ocean waves are rippling onto the beach. I sit down on the sand, pulling out my mythological book. I open to the first page, where it names all the gods (including the minor ones). "Go to the forest", a voice says suddenly. I look around myself, but no one is anywhere near me. I'm confused, but I head toward the forest slowly. All the trees are either Palm or Beech. The sand has turned into grass now, and sounds if people chattering has died away. I wonder if my dad is worried. Suddenly, a hear someone humming in the distance. I'm beginning to get a little nervous, but I keep walking. The humming gets louder and closer. Eventually I can see a blonde head coming into view. I keep running, and my heart is racing. A couple more feet and I'll be there. "Who are you?" I call out. The girl turns around, clearly surprised. "Uh.. I'm Stephanie" the girl stutters. "I'm Sadie" I say. After all. She told me her name, it would be rude not to tell mine. "Are you expecting something?"I ask her. She seems a bit jittery. "No, I'm good" she says. I look at her suspiciously. "Do you have a dad?" She asks suddenly, which takes me by surprise."Uh, um,yeah of course" I blurt out. "A mom?" She questions. "Well, no" I sigh. She gets a knowing look in her eye. This Stephanie girl is beginning to freak me out. "Well, bye!" I say as I dash off. "Wait!" Stephanie calls, but I keep running. That was odd. I look behind me, but she didn't follow. Whew! Thank gods. I climb a near by Palm tree and jump onto my porch. The minute I walk inside, my dad comes in. "Oh good, you're up here" he breathes heavily. I wonder how long I had been gone. Probably not too long. Once I finish unpacking my clothes into my closet, I sit down on my bed, thinking of what the girl had asked me. Why would she care if I had a mother or not? Maybe she wasn't feeling well. Oh well. Chances were I would never see her again. It's not like it mattered. I begin to unpack again. At the very bottom of my suitcase, I had a bow and an empty quiver. I know we aren't allowed to carry weapons, but I left the arrows at home, so what harm could it do? I put it in the back of my closet. I had always loved the bow and arrow. It's not like I love to hunt, in fact, I hate hunters. No, I just like to shoot targets, just in case. It's always been a habit of mine. The quiver looks pitiful without anything in it. I stuff some sticks into it. It'll do for now, until I have time to carve some arrows. 'Everything is about to change Sadie, everything, is about to change' there's the voice again! Though, it seems kind of familiar... oh well. It's probably use in my head. I hear a girl scream outside. What now? I jump off the porch to the outside. The screaming is coming from the woods. I felt nervous about going back, but I knew I couldn't just let that girl face that danger, whatever it was, alone! I dashed into the forest, with all the speed I had in me. Soon, another girl came into view, who looked strangely like Stephanie, except she had bangs, and the blonde hair was a little lighter. "What's wrong?!" I shout between pants. "It's a.... it's a.... AN ANGRY GRIFFON!" She screeched. I looked up to see a horse, or what looked like a horse, maybe an eagle? Or a lion? No, it was all of them?!?! I had heard of this mythical creature! Only, I never thought that it was real. It did seem quite angry. The creature screeched. I noticed we were in some sort of ritual circle, full of torches. I grab one of them and swing it high over my head. The griffon screeches one last time before flying into the air. My body falls to the ground, making contact with the soil. I saw a blurry figure coming towards me, then everything went black.

I open my sleepy eyes, finding myself in a large white room. "Hey, you okay?" A voice says over my head. I can see the dawn light filtering through the windows... wait, DAWN LIGHT? How could it already be morning?! My dad is going to freak when he finds out I'm not in my room, if he doesn't know already. "How long have I been out?" I ask the girl I Had saved. "Three days" she says. "What?!" I say, shocked. She looks at me sadly. "What's your name?" I change the subject quickly. "Hannah" she says. "Daughter of Apollo" she adds. "Wait... who?" I ask. This just got interesting. "This is Camp Greek-blood" she says. "So, the gods, are real?" I question her. "Yes, and your one of us to!" She chirps. "What? Who's my heritage? Which God? Why? Wait, how?!?!" I stutter. Hannah laughs. I look up at her. "Don't worry, everyone has the same reaction!" She chuckles. I can't help but smile at her positive attitude. "Come with me, I believe Skythe will wish to see you" she says as she walks out the f the room. I hurry to catch up with her. Once I get outside, my breath catches in my throat. All sorts of creatures and humans are training. Some were using swords or daggers, others with large sticks or spears. "Bow and arrow!" I can't help noticing the bows and arrows on hooks. "I take it you like the bow and arrow?" Hannah asks me. " Yeah" I say. Hey, there's Stephanie! "Hi Stephanie!" I call out to her. She looks over her shoulder, then walks over to me. "Hello Cecelia! We were all expecting you" Stephanie says. Um... interesting? "Here comes Skythe now!" Hannah says. A centaur is galloping towards us. "Hello Sadie" the centaur says to me. "Are you Skythe?" I ask. "Yes, that is me" he introduces himself. "Tonight we will welcome you at the bonfire, and we will see if your godly heritage will flame you" he informs us. I nod slowly. "Now, you better start training" Hannah says. I pick up a bow and a quiver full of arrows. I find an empty target and begin to shoot. Most of them are either on the bullseye or very near it. I feel right at home here. A boy walks past the target, clearly unaware of me shooting. I miss him by an inch. "Oh my god! I'm sorry!" I walk over to him. "Would you watch where you're shoot-" he stops abruptly as he turns to face me. He stands there for a minute. "Now if you'll excuse me, your in the way" I break the heavy silence. He steps out of the way, and I begin to shoot again. "What's you name?" I ask him when I notice he hasn't gone away. "Oh, I'm Jackson, son of Ares" he says. Another guy walks up. "Hey, who's this?" I feel kind of uncomfortable around so many guys. "Oh this is my friend, his name is Peter, son of Hermes" Jackson introduces his friend. "Oh" I reply blankly, turning back to the target. "What about you? I don't remember seeing you around here" Jackson asks."I'm Sadie, and, well I don't really know what God I'm related to yet" I reply to his question. "Well then, come with us and we'll show you" Peter says. I can't help rolling my eyes as I follow them. There is a big fire surrounded by seats and benches. It seems that the whole camp has come to greet me. "Welcome Sadie. I see you found your way all right" Skythe says. I smile and nod, walking over to an empty seat. The only people I know are Stephanie, Hannah, Jackson, and Peter, though everyone looks warm and inviting. "Ahem" Skythe clears his throat. Everyone looks his way, "This is Sadie, and now it is time for her to find her godly parent" he nods towards me. I step forward cautiously. Everyone looks at me encouragingly. I continue to walk forward until I am right in front of the fire. "What do I do?" I ask. "You wait" someone from the crowd replies. So I do. I look into the flames. Nothing happens. Maybe whoever my parent is doesn't want to claim me. I must say, I'm kind of disappointed. Suddenly, the flame whooshes, growing higher. Everyone gasps, including me. Is this my godly parent giving a sign, or am I in danger? Then, an arrow flys out of no where, landing right in between my legs. The flame dies down again, and the arrow disintegrates. I look around uncertainly. Skythe looks baffled. "But... it doesn't make sense!" I hear him murmur under his breath. "Do....you know who my parent is?" I ask quietly. He nods his head slightly. "Who?" I ask. Skythe gets up and walks over to me. Then he faces the stunned crowd. "Everyone, meet Sadie , daughter of Artemis"