The Girl He Forgot

Alexus

Chapter 1: Alexus

They say I am a traitor, and maybe I am. But I knew what I had to do.
"Mother?"
"What do you desire, Alexus?" The sleepy voice that haunted my nightmares spoke.
"I would like for you to not appear in their dreams."
"You know I cannot do that, Alexus. I must rise. I must reclaim what they have stolen from me."
"But you can. Give them a break. Better to make them feel like they have won, and then you spring your plan into action. Besides, I can keep watch over them on my own." I didn't actually want to help Mother. I needed to get out of this hellhole. And manipulating my way through was the only way to do it. I just had to do it right.
"You manipulate. I taught you well," she thinks she taught me, but she didn't, "Very well. But no shoes. I want to keep you in line."
Great. No freedom whatsoever.

"Mother, the world is so filthy nowadays. They have destroyed it. If I walk barefoot, who knows what will happen. I won't disobey you. I swear it on-"
"What have I told you about swearing on the river styx?" She interrupted before I could finish. My plan had worked perfectly.
"You told me it was worthless for it has too much to do with the unspeakable." I played along. I prayed my plan worked.
"You will wear shoes. But keep me updated. And I will know if you deceive..." Yes!
"Thank you, Mother. I won't disappoint. I will take my shoes off whenever I feel it reasonable"
And I left the pigsty with a silent smile on my face unnoticeable to Mother.

I feel I am obliged to tell you about myself. My name is Alexus. My name means "defender" in Greek, and to defend is exactly what I intend to do. I do not have a last name. I doubt anybody ever does. I have dark, brown hair but in the sunlight it seems golden. My hair is quite wavy and it doesn't require that much heat to straighten. In other words, I am the American dream. I have sea-green eyes, but I don't know who I got it from.

The pedestrians think I am weird because of the way I dress. I only have two outfits. A mustard yellow jumpsuit with white flowers on it and the other outfit is made up of different things. A skintight sky blue cropped shirt, a pair of navy blue sports leggings, a light blue blanket that I wrap around my waist to make a skirt with a giant slit in the middle so I can move around and I tie the skirt with a piece of lavender ribbon. It seems quite the look, but it isn't as bad as it sounds. I also have a slim, short, colorful ribbon that I wrap around the top of my head and pin it to the back using a black bobby pin.

I don't know where I got my clothes. But I have them. And I feel that is all that matters. I don't dwell on the past often, but I wonder where I came from. I think I am a half-blood (or demigod, whatever it is called) but I don't seem to die in battle with monsters. I am very skilled at sword fighting. I have three knives. An exacto knife, grey with a yellow bit at the bottom, a silver dagger with another yellow bit at the bottom used for healing wounds and a sword disguised as a backscratcher without the backscratcher part. It has a pink handle and it is split up into sections that have different powers. There is a little nub at the top and bottom. The top conducts lightning that I can bend at my will, and the bottom the powers of the sun. The four bigger sections are in order from top to bottom: air, water, fire and earth. The handle is a hot pink, not a nice pale pink. I never liked it, but never questioned it. I always assumed that it had a power I didn't know about yet.

As I was walking down the streets of Rome, I didn't think there was anything suspicious about anything. Such boring things. No action. No excitement. I flew to the beach. Did I mention I can fly? Well, I can fly. The beach was calm. Too calm. Too boring. I sprinted on top of the water. My feet brushed against the sea and I stopped flying and continued to run. I also forgot to mention I can walk on water (and no I am not related to or am Jesus). It turned into a glide and my skirt was flowing behind me, the wind blowing in my hair and my face broke into a smile. I laughed out loud, feeling victorious and free. Independence was my medicine. A dash of recklessness was good for me once in a while.

I saw a spot before me, growing and growing. I glided towards it at a jogging speed. The spot morphed into a ship. There was a dragon at the head of it. It was creaking to a short, scrawny boy. He looked like a Latino. Mexican complexion to him. I decided to introduce myself.

"Good morning!" I waved to him.
"Are you a monster?!" He screamed. I thought it was a stupid question, so I balanced it out with a smart one, "It depends! Do you think that smart people are monsters?"
"I would say yes, but Annabeth would kill me if she heard me say that."
"Would she hear you now if you said that?"
"Well, no."
"So say it."
"Okay. I think smart people are monsters because their words seem like growls when they're flexing."
"That is an interesting reason. I praise that. I feel you could be smarter if you tried. Or at least try harder. I don't know if you try hard or you don't at all but it looks like you don't try to your best ability." He stayed quiet for a while, but I stayed patient. I drifted closer to the ship and waited. At last, he said something, "What's your name? Are you a demigod too? Who's your parent?"

"My name is Alexus. With a U not an I. I don't know if I am a demigod or not, I have never been claimed. I have many powers, though I don't know who I got them from. As for my parents, I don't know who they are. I was brought up by Mother. I ask you the same questions."

"Name's Valdez, Leo Valdez," he spoke in a deep James Bond accent, then went back to its normal, childish voice, "My dad's Hephaestus and my mom was killed in a fire started by Gaea," The name "Gaea" bothered me in a way. The earth goddess was not somebody who would appreciate her name being thrown around without fear. Leo Valdez continued, "Who is Mother?"

"I'd rather not say." The boy thought nothing of my answer. No doubt blind to the fact that I was being suspicious. I continued, "Does your dragon have a name?" The boy smiled. "Finally! Somebody who cares about machinery! His name is Festus. It means-"
"Happy." I interrupted him.
"You're Greek?"
"Yes. My name means defender in Greek. Unfortunately I don't have much to defend. Mother doesn't let me speak of the gods. She thinks it is important to respect the older gods and goddesses." Once again, Leo Valdez remained ignorant. So I questioned him some more, "Are you by yourself on this ship?"

"No. I got my buddies on board. I'm the leader, though," I doubted that last part, "I got Jason, Hazel, Frank, Piper and Nico. I know I shouldn't tell you their names but you talk like a goddess and you seem cool."
"Thanks for the compliments, I think. I believe I have heard of your friends. Some of them anyway. I remember Nico. He was nice enough to talk to me when I was at camp. Him and another girl called Clarisse."
"You know Clarisse?"
"What did you not understand about the phrase "Him and another girl called Clarisse"? Was it "girl"?"
"Just confirming." He said that with a smile. It was like he knew he was an idiot, "D'you wanna meet the gang?"

"I could use some interesting situations in my life." I agreed. I flew onto the deck when he turned around. He was a bit confused about how I got on the ship but I told him I was used to climbing things that aren't meant to be climbed. This time, he chose not to be ignorant but let it go anyway.

Before Leo introduced me to the gang, the gang found us. Well, it was Nico, but he was still technically the gang, just not all of it. He froze, a wave of shock hit him, "A-A-Alexus?" he stammered. I could tell it would be weird seeing me.
"You recognise me still."
"You haven't changed enough for me to not recognise you."
"Quick with the quip as always."
"True" I allowed myself to smile. I could never be moody around this kid, despite his clothing and attitude sometimes. He was wearing black pants, black shoes, a skull T-shirt and a black aviator jacket. This dude was taking Hades to heart. Please excuse my slang. Nico Di Angelo is an interesting case. His last name means "angel" in Italian but if you don't know him, he seems like the devil. To me he was still this ten year old child that loves to play mythomagic, no matter how much he hates it.

Leo decided to break the silence, "Well, come aboard the Argo II. Where we have magical plates that give you whatever food you want-"
"Which you presumably took from camp"
"-and basically everything you could wish for because I built the whole thing myself!"
"An impressive job, but I would have added a couple of more adjustments to protect it from getting maimed. Mixing magic with technology has proved effective in recent endeavors."
"Man! I thought I liked you!"
"I have heard that phrase one too many times."
"When was the first time you heard that phrase?"
"Right now."

A/N this is the first chapter and my first fan fiction. I am open to constructive criticism, so please help me improve. I'll probably have the second chapter by tomorrow. Enjoy :)