Gracie Jackson

~ Part 1 ~

Look, I didn't want to be my parents' daughter, but I guess you don't always get what you wish for. My name is Gracie Jackson. Yes, you read that right, Jackson. As in the daughter of the famous Percy Jackson and the incredulous Annabeth Chase. As far as demigod descendants go I'm kinda pathetic. My older brother Luke is one of the two praetors that run Camp Jupiter, the Twelfth Legion of New Rome with the powers of Poseidon, and on the other hand, Luke's twin otherwise known as my sister Cleo leads the Hunters of Artemis by Thalia's side with the powers of Athena and the mist. At 17 they both already have their lives figured out and are the perfect example of powerful demigod descendants, while I have both the powers of Poseidon and Athena and still don't know what to make out of myself. I used to try everything to find where I belonged but the kids of New Rome acted as if I was some disease. They already didn't like the fact that the goddess Athena could have kids because of her Roman aspect Minerva so having Poseidon as a grandfather, the god of the sea, which the Romans never cherished, made it that much worse. But seeing as my 14th birthday was in a week, I figured I would never find something I loved. I guess It was clear I gave up trying, cause my parents came into my room to have a "chat".

    "Look, Gracie, me and your father have been concerned about you." Mom said. She reached out and took my dad's hand. "We think it's time you explore the greek side of your heritage."

    "You mean you're sending me to Camp Half-Blood?" I hadn't been to Camp Half-Blood or even the Northeast in years. I grew up in New Rome, which is hidden in the Berkeley Hills of California, it was my home.

    "Most demigods at Camp are around your age. I practically grew up there and met your father at Camp Half-Blood, it wouldn't sit right with me if you never got to experience it." I know I should have appreciated my mother's idea but she just had so many of them.

    "Annabeth, don't give her any ideas," dad remarked. He rolled his eyes sarcastically as he kissed her on the head. My parents' love for each other makes my heart ache for something more. "Gracie you are named after one of the bravest heroes your mom and I knew. You don't have to have special powers to be a hero. Also, I thought that you might not want to go by Gracie Jackson when you go to Camp Half-Blood. Me and your mom have a bit of a reputation there and when we sent your brother and sister there when they were 13, they were swarmed by campers asking questions about us and it was hard for them to make friends. I was thinking maybe you could go by Gracie Blofis."

    "Blofis?"

    "You know, as in Paul Blofis, your grandfather on the mortal side?" Dad questioned. I honestly didn't remember what my grandparents even looked like. I knew my parents traveled to New York every summer to work at Camp Half-Blood and see dad's mortal family, but me and my siblings always just stayed with Aunt Piper. Dad looked at me as if having a realization then continued on with his plan. "Wow, we really need to get you to New York. Anyways, we talked to Chiron and we've arranged for you to leave tomorrow. Me and your mother will arrive next week to run camp for the summer like we always do, but until then, we want you to get settled on your own. Maybe you'll find your passion there as your sister did."

    "I leave tomorrow? As in, Sunday, June 15th? And you are just telling me this now?" I asked. I stared daggers into my mom's eyes that look identical to mine except for the streak of sea green that ruins the image. Whenever I meet someone for the first time they always get thrown off by my eyes so I tend to wear my hair down over my face. I look exactly like a demigod descendant of Athena should besides the small trace of Poseidon. My mom looked like she wanted to speak but just then Luke and Cleo came barging into the room.

    "What's up my peeps!" Luke said as he came flooding in. Ironic since he can control water like my dad. Luke has our dad's sea-green eyes and our mom's thick blonde hair like me.

    "Luke, how many times do I have to tell you to knock!" Cleo said as she walked in behind him. Cleo is the only sibling that has dad's dark hair but she has the same startling grey eyes like our mother's that get stormy when she's deep in thought. "Sorry to barge in like that guys."

    "Cleo? What are you doing here, I thought the Hunters we're in Indiana?" I asked as I got up to hug her. I hadn't seen my sister in such a long time that it felt like forever. I never really could understand how she could swear off dating. Unlike most of Artemis' hunters, Cleo isn't immortal. She fights in honor of Artemis and swears off men but other than that she could pass as any dorky mortal girl.

    "We came to see our baby sis off to New York," Luke replied. He picked me up and squeezed me until I couldn't breathe.

"Luke put your sister down, you're choking her," Dad said sternly before ruffling Luke's hair and bumping him in the shoulder. He then turned to Cleo and embraced her in a hug.

After everyone said their hellos, they all herded out of my room to let me pack for the summer. Honestly, I was scared out of my mind. I remember when Luke and Cleo came back from their summer at Camp Half-Blood, Luke had immediately decided to stay on the Roman side and Cleo decided to join the all-girl group called the Hunters of Artemis and become a maiden. Luke told me her decision was made after she started dating this boy at camp and thought she was in love but later found out he was only dating her because she was a Jackson. That must have been the reason that dad wanted me to go under the last name Blofis. I spent hours packing clothes into my suitcase for the summer, taking things out and switching them for different clothes or just getting rid of them entirely. I couldn't stop thinking about how I would be lying to everyone there about who I really was. What if I found someone I thought I could trust and actually couldn't and they exposed who I really was? I eventually forced myself to stop asking hypothetical questions and just sleep. Although with sleep comes dreams so it sure wouldn't be peaceful.