Daughter of Poseidon, the Girl Who Lived

34. I come home

The days simply flew by after that. We played Capture the flag one day, the Ares cabin teamed up with Poseidon, Hades, Nike, Hebe, Tyche, Apollo, Hephaestus and Hermes against the Nemesis cabin, who had teamed up with Demeter, Iris, Hypnos, Aphrodite, Dionysus, Zeus, Athena and Hecate.

The game of friendly rivalry was a fun refresher. Since we were on different teams, Hattie and Harley had spent that day messing around and mocking me and Peter, who, of course messed around and mocked them back. They thought for sure they would beat us and I was eager to prove them wrong. I actually had the chance to catch Hattie near the end of the game, but SOMEONE from the Hecate cabin pushed me down in the mud before I could get close to her. That was one bloody hell of a backstabbing, we were on the same team for Athena's sake! You cannot look past the fact that I'm a wizard for even a second?!

But their face looked very sour when their action gave Hattie the opportunity she needed to catch Nemesis' flag. That face they made when the currently most talked about wizarding demigod held up the flag and beamed as it became blue with a green trident was a fine consolation prize, I tell you.

Another day we had a race call the 'three legged death race'. You compete in pairs and tie your legs together. I ended up with Harley as Hattie and Peter had already teamed up together. The race took place in an underground maze called 'the Labyrinth'.

I first thought we had an advantage when Harley told me it was he who made up the game and created all the various traps. But then I heard what kind of traps could be expected, or where you could expect to end up. (Anywhere.) There was a reason the game was called a death race.

"Oh, but don't worry, Drake. Nobody has even died yet. And they were able to reattach Paolo's limbs." Harley had said.

But why were they DEtached to begin with?! Also you could easily make out the disappointed tone in his voice as he said no one had died yet, even though he tried really hard to hide it.

To my relief, nobody died this time either, but the Apollo kids in the infirmary sure had their hands full for the rest of the day. And of course, Hattie and Peter had been the first pair to return with three golden apples and claimed victory.

Annabeth was a little annoyed at loosing both those times, but not for long. She and Percy had both been over the moon since their engagement.

Next up, however, was the chariot race. That was when I was sure I could not loose to Hattie, (it would have been a tiring pattern) because this time, we would be on the same team. It was apparently a tradition for Cabin 6 and Cabin 3 to team up, started by Percy and Annabeth, no surprise there. Someone told me it was actually a fitting tradition since the chariot was one of FEW things Athena and Poseidon had successfully created with a joint effort, and now their children continue to do so.

The day for the chariot race was also the day Peter had to temporarily leave the camp. Someone named Timmy Stank, or something, (some muggle hero from what I understood, I don't know) had asked him to assist him in some matters in Germany.

I volunteered to help him with his bags. Not because I wanted to get rid of him, but the time it took for us to go from Cabin 6 to the Half Blood Hill was my last chance on some one on one talk with my brother until he would come back.

"So, would it be better to use a sword or a spear for the race?" I asked him as we moved towards the statue of our mother.

"The spear," Peter responded. "The sword is more practical in close combat, while the spear gives you a bigger range and that is more useful when your opponents are standing in other chariots."

I hummed.

"Hey! You will do just fine," Peter assured me, sensing my nervousness. "Just remember what we have practiced. And go for the wheels. A destabilized opponent is easier to handle." He winked at me.