I'm surprised to find out that someone here knows me. By the looks on Hazel and Frank's faces, they are pretty surprised too.
"You know her?" Hazel exclaims.
"Yes," Nico says cautiously. "We met a couple months ago."
"Really?" I ask, excitedly. Maybe he will be able to help me remember.
"You were there, remember?"
"I guess I was, but I don't remember it. In fact I don't remember anything since those crazy people showed up and told me I was a...what did they call it? A demigod."
"That's unfortunate."
I study Nico a little closer. Something looks strangely familiar about him. Images pop into my head for just a fleeting second. Was I remembering something?
"You seem familiar," I say.
"I don't get that a lot. I prefer to stay away from people. Well, living people anyway."
I don't like the implications of that. It sounds like Nico talks to dead people for fun. Weird.
"OK."
"I'm a son of Hades."
"That makes more sense."
We head over to the mess hall to eat since it's about dinner time. As we eat, Nico tells me everything I forgot. He talks about Camp Half-blood and how I'm really a Daughter of Pan. He talks about the quest I went on with two famous demigods named Percy and Annabeth (apparently they were looking for me now). He even admits that he screwed up and caused me to fall in the half-gone labyrinth where I wandered for almost eight months (I can't believe I don't remember that). He also talks about Noah who turns out to be my destiny and someone I've never met. In all, I have had a really exciting nine months.
I sigh. "That sounds interesting, but I don't remember any of it. It's just gone."
Nico asks, "How did you lose your memory?"
I shrug. "I have no idea. The last memory I have is of waking up here."
"Well, we kind of know what happened," Hazel says. "You were fighting a monster and then you tumbled down a hill. We found you lying, unconscious at the bottom."
I rub my stomach. For some reason I feel like it hurt there. Like a camera, something flashes in my mind. An image of me toppling over the hill. Did I just remember something?
Standing, I mumble something about going to the bathroom. I stagger over to it and slip inside. Then, leaning over the sink, I close my eyes. Remember, I whisper to myself.
Manticore. Dr. Thorn. Hill. Labyrinth. Propechy. Percy. Annabeth. Noah. It all comes flooding in. I remember the past nine months. Well, most of it anyway. The details are still fuzzy.
I see memories of being stuck in the labyrinth. I'm scared. I don't want to remember what it did to me. I want to forget again. I had a moment of peace.
Noah. He was the only thing keeping me sane. He promised he would find me. I don't want to forget that.
I stare into the mirror. It almost seems as if someone else is in the mirror. So much has happened in nine months. So much has happened that shouldn't have happened to me or anyone else.
I decide not to think about it. Instead, I head back to the dining room. Sitting down, I take a sip of water to clear my head.
"Are you okay?" Hazel asks.
I nod. "I'm fine."
Should I tell them I remembered? Truthfully, I don't know them very well, but they did save my life. Besides, I'm going to leave soon anyway.
"I remembered," I say.
Hazel, Nico, and Frank look at me. "You did?" Hazel exclaims. "That's great!"
"Yeah. I guess Nico's retelling of my life really helped."
"You don't seem very excited."
I take a deep breath. "Maybe it was better I forgot. I've seen terrible things that no one should see."
"You mean the labyrinth," Nico says.
I nod. Nico continues, "It wasn't so bad when I was in there."
"It's changed. Now it's a hiding place for monsters."
"Oh. Last time, I was running away from Percy because of Bianca-"
"Who?" I ask.
"Bianca, my sister. She died a few years ago. Anyway the labyrinth wasn't so bad."
"I'm sorry about your sister."
"It's fine. I'm over it."
I don't say anything. I can tell Nico is definitely not fine.
Hazel interrupts, "Well now that you have your memory back, we should go see the praetors."
"The who?"
"The praetors. They're like our camp leaders."
I finish my water and follow them out. Time to go see the praetors-who ever they are.
