an ego thing, pjo

an ego thing

IT'S NOT THAT I HATE YOU,
I HATE THAT IT HURT.

     There were two very distinct sides to Harper Castellan. Two sides that, though perhaps exceptionally different in size, made up exactly who the girl had come to be. Side A, the part of herself she broadcasted to the world, the side of herself that Camp Half-Blood was oh-so familiar with. And Side B, the part of herself she hid from the rest of the world, the part of herself that Camp Half-Blood had seen so scarcely that most even people doubted the existence of. But two sides nonetheless, and never had she struggled so much with the balance of them before.

SIDE A:
[ I'm the best thing at this party ]

Harper Castellan was the gods best creation since... well, themselves - or at least Hercules. The day she was born the sky must have sung, the trees must have danced, the entirety of the mortal and immortal world must have rejoiced. A daughter was born so much like Aphrodite herself that her mortality would be forever questioned - for no demigod had ever graced the earth in a way as ethereal as she.

The girl knew she was a divine creation. Knew she was all things good, brilliant, kind, powerful, beautiful, and so much more. Harper knew it, and she reveled in it.

She also knew that she had a bit of an ego, but there are some things you just have to let slide.

YOU'RE SOMETHING ELSE, CASTELLAN. The words had followed her through her childhood and until today, somehow always spoken with the same shake of a head and all too amused grin. 

She was something else, Harper Castellan, and she prided herself on it. She wanted to be something else, craved it. Wanted to be the best, wanted to keep everyone on their toes.

Underestimate her, sure. But you could only do it once.

YOU'RE SOMETHING ELSE, HARPER. Silena said it to her with the most sincerity that the Castellan girl had ever heard. To an eleven year old, hearing those words in such a way from someone you idolized was the best feeling in the entire world, especially knowing that they meant it. And Silena had.

Harper Castellan was an enigma - bright and vibrant and simply happy to exist, a breath of fresh air to a Cabin still seeking to establish themselves as something more.

She was something else, and Silena wasn't the only camper to mean it when she said it.

Percy meant it. Jameson. Mallory. Luke.

Each meant it for a different reason, but each meant it all the same.

YOU'RE JUST LIKE YOUR MOTHER, she had heard once at camp. And all Harper could think was good - why shouldn't she be?

Her mother was outstanding, and powerful, and cunning, if maybe just a little too much for her own good. With it all, the Castellan girl cared little for the derogatory reputation attached to the name Aphrodite. She knew what her mother stood for, she knew exactly what she was meant for, and she knew what her Cabin believed in.

Above all, Harper Castellan knew exactly who she was.

And oh, did she love it.

SIDE B:
[ and I wouldn't marry me either ]

Harper Castellan has spent every moment of the last four years doing whatever possible to keep the people of Camp Half-Blood from saying she was anything like her cousin, because he had always said it.