Heliophile - Apollo

1.5| We Capture A Flag

The next few days Ana settled into a routine that felt almost normal. Each morning Percy took Ancient Greek from Annabeth and they talked about the gods and goddesses in the present tense, which Ana knew for a first-timer was kind of weird.

Meanwhile, Ana was thinking about everything that was happening. Ana thought about the fact that the Hermes cabin especially Luke, the Aphrodite cabin, the Hephaestus cabin, and the Apollo all looked happier and more radiant.

Ana knew it was because of her father and she thought about all of the demigods in the past that she wished she could have helped. The ones that came to mind were Theseus the son of Poseidon, and Perseus the son of Zeus who basically only noticed him when Zeus needed something from him, and even then always compared him to Hercules the sexist jerk. Another one that came to mind was Achilles who deserved better than having his love ripped from him because of Apollo.

Ana was brought out of her thoughts by Percy rotating through outdoor activities, looking for something he was good at, and noticed that he was exceptionally good at everything that involved water.

That afternoon everyone had sword fighting and almost everybody from cabin eleven gathered in the big circular arena, where Luke would be the instructor. The group started with basic stabbing and slashing, using some straw-stuffed dummies in Greek armor. Percy's reflexes were good, but almost all of the practice blades were too heavy for him.

They moved on to dueling in pairs. Luke announced he would be Ana's partner for the demonstration. Ana heard someone tell Percy "Luke and Ana are the best swordsmen in the last three hundred years."

Luke and I showed thrusts and parries and shield blocks the hard way. By the time they were done both Ana and Luke were drenched in sweat which was pretty standard for them.  "Okay, everybody circle up!" Luke ordered. "If Ana doesn't mind, I want to give you a little demo."

The Hermes guys gathered around. Luke told everybody he was going to demonstrate a disarming technique: how to twist the enemy's blade with the flat of your own sword so that he had no choice but to drop his weapon. "This is difficult," he stressed. "I've had it used against me. No laughing at Ana, now. Most swordsmen have to work years to master this technique."

He demonstrated the move on her in slow motion. Sure enough, the sword clattered out of her hand. "Now in real-time," he said after she'd retrieved her weapon. "We keep sparring until one of us pulls it off. Ready, Ana?" She nodded, and Luke came after her. Somehow, Ana kept him from getting a shot at the hilt of her sword which was unbelievable as Ana had rarely beaten Luke.

My senses opened up. Ana saw his attacks coming. She countered. She stepped forward and tried a thrust of her own. Luke deflected it easily, but Ana saw a change in his face. His eyes narrowed, and he started to press her with more force.

Ana tried the disarming maneuver. Her blade hit the base of Luke's and she twisted, putting her whole weight into a downward thrust. Clang. Luke's sword rattled against the stones. The tip of her blade was an inch from his undefended chest.

The other campers were silent. Ana lowered her sword. "try again Luke" For a moment, Luke was too stunned to speak. Then his scarred face broke into a grin. "By the gods, Ana. Show me that again!" So we went at it again and just like before Ana hooked her sword under his and sent his sword clanging to the floor.

Friday afternoon, Ana was sitting with Grover and Percy at the lake, resting from Percy's near-death experience on the climbing wall. Grover had scampered to the top like a mountain goat, but the lava had almost gotten him. We sat on the pier, watching the naiads do underwater basket-weaving, until Percy got up the nerve to ask Grover how his conversation had gone with Mr. D.