Annabeth Chase and the Titan's Curse

Chapter 1 - I room with my friend the former tree

The pamphlet sat on my bed, taunting me. I could barely look at it, yet I knew it was there. I couldn't put it out of my mind. One moment, it seemed like the most appealing thing ever, the next, it disgusted me.

It was a brochure for The Hunters of Artemis, immortal maidens who followed the goddess of the hunt and aided her in her quests. That part I was alright with, I mean, an eternal girls club? Who wouldn't want that?

The part I wasn't so keen on was having to give up the company of boys. Forever. That's it. No turning back.

Some times, that also seemed appealing. I wouldn't have to worry about my feelings any more. But then I think of Percy or Luke, and I just can't. I hate myself for being so weak, but the heart can't be denied what it wants.

Maybe it was for the best. I mean, if I no longer had the choice, would I still think about it? Would it leave my mind completely? Or, even worse, would it plague me worse than ever?

So, I was sitting on my chair, glaring at the pamphlet, not for the first time, when I heard the door opening. I dived for the pamphlet and stuffed into the my bag, but not before Thalia saw it.

She scowled as I buried it from sight, and trust me, her scowl is fierce enough it make little kids cry. Her nose would screw up and her electric blue eyes go dark, matching her choppy black hair and punk clothes. Half of the kids at school were afraid of her, which made it hard for me to make friends as I couldn't just leave her. She was still adapting to life after spending the past six years as a tree.

Oh yeah, I forgot to add, she was a daughter of Zeus that sacrificed her life for me, Grover and Luke, but her father took pity on her as she was dying and turned her into a pine tree. Last summer, Percy and I went on a quest to find the Golden Fleece of legend and save her tree from being poisoned by Luke, but the magical qualities of the Fleece worked too well. So, now Thalia is back in human form.

Just an average day for a demigod.

"Have you done your homework?" she asked, pointedly ignoring my flushed face and my obvious hiding of the pamphlet. Once, the Hunters had approached her with the opportunity to join them. She'd refused as she said she couldn't leave Luke, and had been on bad terms with the Hunters even since.

"Yeah," I said. "Why, do you want me to do yours?"

Thalia grinned and I sighed. For a girl who could face down an entire army of monsters, homework seemed beyond her. The only type she'd willingly do was Ancient Greek, and that was more revision for us than anything else.

"You really should be doing it yourself," I told her sternly. "What if we get tested on it and you fail because you don't have a clue what the test is about?"

She shrugged.

"It's not like going to school is really that important," she scoffed, flopping down on her bed. We shared a dorm, luckily for her, but not so much for me. My side was neat, all my books stacked up in straight rows, my clothes hung up in their racks and my stationary set out on my desk. Hers look like she had whipped up a storm in the room, which I can say from experience, only looks a little worse than it did now.

"Besides," she continued, reclining back with her eyes shut. "I'd just use the Mist to persuade the teachers that I didn't fail. No biggie."

I sighed again. There was no real point in arguing with her. She always got her own way. I guess it came from being a daughter of Zeus. He always got his way too. Especially with women.

"I can't wait to get back to camp," she muttered to herself as I picked up her books and got started on her homework. "Back where everything makes sense."

I coughed. A camp of kids with gods for parents that fight with actual weapons and go on quests to save the world. That made sense to her, not Pythagoras' theorem. 

It was lucky that the camp was so close, just over the hill. When there was a monster attack, which was not as uncommon as you'd think, we could just run there and wait for it to cool over. Not that we did though. Thalia always insisted on battling the monster. And won.

Then again, when you have a spear that zaps electricity and a shield that has the head of Medusa set in it, it'd be hard to lose. She used the fights as a way to keep her insanity in between the long lessons and piles of homework. We'd only had minor damage so far, such as a classroom going up in flames and the boy's bathrooms exploding. Nothing the Mist couldn't fix.

I just tried to keep on top of everything. Such as keeping Thalia from bashing some kids, doing her homework plus my own, keeping in contact with camp and worrying about my dad and his new home.

I shook my head to clear them of troubling thoughts as I started on Thalia's homework. It was Modern History, usually one of my favourite subjects, but I had a hard time concentrating. My dyslexia didn't help either, so I mistook autonomy for autocracy. I was just struggling through the emancipation of the serfs in Russia in the nineteenth century when I heard a familiar male voice say my name.

I spun around and came face to face with Chiron. The centaur was leaning forward, but I couldn't see his lower body half so I knew it was an Iris-Message. I was about to greet him when I saw the serious look on his face.

Thalia practically jumped off the bed, the wide smile on her face that slipped immediately off when she saw Chiron's face. She'd only met Chiron when she came back from being a tree, not having made it to camp her first time, but she and the centaur had really hit off. Chiron trained her harder than practically anyone else, even Percy.

"What's wrong?" she asked urgently, fiddling with her bracelet. I hoped she didn't accidentally open it. I'd seen the face of Medusa many times before, but it still gave me the creeps.

"I have a mission for you," Chiron told us. "I need you to leave as soon as possible."

"Both of us?" I asked, frowning. It had to be something important for two powerful demigods to be called on it.

"And Percy," Chiron added. "I need all three of you."

"Oh Styx," Thalia mumbled. She seemed to realise what I did. It had to be something pretty big. And dangerous.

"What is it?" I asked. "What do you need us to do?"

"Grover has sent out the distress call," Chiron told us and I could see and hear the worry he was feeling. "I think he's found a powerful half-blood."