✓ | The Crown of the Dead

Darth Vader Takes His Name too Seriously

Emmy wouldn't stop singing "Into The Thick of It" from the Backyardigans the second we walked outside, and I started to wonder if it was a good idea to bring her or not.

Aunt Hazel told each and every one of us to be overwhelmingly careful— making sure we were so careful that we didn't even step in the wrong direction. She told Emmy that if anything bad happened, to whistle. I didn't know how that would help us in a life threatening situation, but I trusted Aunt Hazel.

If we went over an hour without a text, Aunt Hazel would come rescue us, assuming we'd been kidnapped or something. The likeliness of that seemed... pretty likely.

New Rome was really nice, if that mattered. The houses were large and spaced apart, but still had a very typical suburban feel to them. The lawns were all freshly cut; the flowerbeds bright and cheery. It kind of reminded me of some perfect society, which was slightly unsettling.

Emmy said that Uncle Frank was over at Camp Jupiter, holding a class for some of the campers over there. I was a little surprised to hear he was still associated with the demigod world— that all of them were literally living in a town filled with demigod families.

Yeah. I couldn't imagine that.

"New Rome is actually pretty awesome," Emmy said as we all walked down the street.

A lady with a baby stroller stopped in confusion to peek at Blake's orange Camp Half Blood shirt.

"It's like being in Descendants or something. Everyone knows that they're demigods or legacies. We all go to school together. Legacies start going to Jupiter once they're sixteen. Demigods wash up there from super early ages, and it becomes their home. Some stay year round, others go back to their mortal families for the school year."

"This seems a lot more organized than Camp Half Blood," I noted.

"Hey!" Blake said, folding his arms across his chest. "Never forget your roots, okay? The Greeks are the ogs. The Romans copied everything they did— their whole religion, their art, everything."

"Copying doesn't matter when it comes down to who did it better," Emmy said with a smirk.

Blake looked extremely insulted. "That's just— that's exactly what a Roman would say!"

Emmy just hmph'd and continued walking.

"Emmy," I said, trying to catch up with her large strides. She was pretty tall.

"Hmm?"

"Do your parents ever talk to any of their old friends? Like the ones from the prophecy of the seven?"

Emmy thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Not really. They didn't even tell me about the prophecy. I learned it from the kids at school. Said kids also told me about Percy and Annabeth, and Leo, and Piper McLean. You're close, right?"

"Yeah," I told her. "Piper took care of me when my parents went missing. But I literally never knew the other people existed."

"Same. Other than Piper... I met her a few times. Leo Valdez, Percy and Annabeth Jackson? I doubt I've ever been in the same room as them."

"That's so weird... why didn't they stay friends?"

"Umm, trauma?"

I jumped at Luke's voice.

"What?" He said as I looked at him. "It makes perfect sense. All of these quests and monster battles and crazy prophecies are doomed to traumatize kids. Why would they constantly want to be reminded of that if they didn't have to?"

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're probably right."

"Thank you!"

"So," Emmy said. "Did you ever meet anyone from your parents' demigod days?"