𝑨𝒓𝒎𝒚 𝑫𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔

I . 1

   The Hermes cabins' once bustling nature had now been silenced, transformed into nothing but a shell of what it used to be. The Uprising had hit all of the cabins at camp, but the Hermes cabin had been anything but lucky. With the cabin consisting of mostly unclaimed half-bloods and children of the lesser Gods, the cabin had been practically empty for the past few weeks, most of its inhabitants had either joined the rebel army or were actively fighting against them. It's safe to say that it's been pretty depressing around here.

   My name is Ariana Grant. I am the sole child of Astraea, the Goddess of innocence and purity. I arrived at Camp Half-Blood just a week after my ninth birthday, and I have been staying in the Hermes cabin for the past five years.

  It was early December when, unknowingly to me, my fate had been sealed.

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   I was jolted awake by the sound of the breakfast conch sounding. Ugh. It was early morning, the warm air ghosting my face. The barrier around camp allowed it to regulate its weather, keeping the cold winter air out, and replacing it with a year-round warmth. Someone had entered the cabin just as I was rolling off of my cot, there were simply just too many campers in the Hermes cabin for us to all have a bed. “Chiron wants us all at the dining Pavillion, he has something to discuss with us.” Nicholas Carter, son of Hermes and the most recent head counselor, he had attained the title after his brother, Luke Castellan, left to be a part of the rebel army.

   Due to there being no bathrooms in the cabins, I resorted to changing under my blankets, being too lazy to walk to the communal bathrooms. I ended up wearing white jeans shorts and my old pair of Converse, along with the standard orange camp half-blood t-shirt. I listened to the two older boys that hadn't left yet as I brushed my hair.

“What do you think Chiron needs to talk to us about? He can't possibly send out another quest.”

   “Relax, he's probably just updating us about the advancements in the war.”

   I stopped listening after that, all everyone wanted to talk about around here was the stupid war. I mean, we're just kids, why should we have to worry about this? I quickly put on my shoes and left, not wanting to hear anymore.

ꕥ

   The walk-through camp was quick, just as it had been for the past five years, once you've been here for as long as I had, you tend to tune most things out. The smell of food brought me out of my head, and I was suddenly reminded of how hungry I was.

   Chiron had waited until everyone was finished with their breakfast to speak up. “As you all know, Kronos’ army is still at the large, with wearbouts unknown to us. With the recent discovery of our very own Labyrinth entrance, the war council has decided to send out a quest. We will be sending a group of demigods into the Labyrinth as spies, the quest will be simple: find the location of the rebel army and relay any information that you may have back to the war council.” Murmurs started to permeate through the Pavillion, quickly being silenced as the centaur spoke once again.

   “We realize that what this quest entails can be very dangerous, so although we urge you to join, we will only be taking volunteers,” The noise around me went silent, volunteers? This was finally my chance to leave camp, Chiron had never permitted me to go on a quest before, and now I can just volunteer. The voice of Nicholas brought me out of my stupor, “I'll go, as a son of Hermes, God of travelers, I can easily navigate the unknown and lead the group to Kronos.” Chiron nodded in approval, his face morphed into something akin to regret as he watched me shoot up out of my seat. “Me too, I'll go.” Chiron stood there for a moment before he silently admitted defeat. “Very well then, anyone who wishes to volunteer for this quest, meet me at the Big House at sundown. As I walked towards the Big House, multiple emotions were running their course through my body, the most prominent being regret. I had heard stories about the underground Labyrinth, some amazing, like how the Labyrinth stretches across the whole of earth, including the underworld and Olympus, though, the most recent story about the maze is that of the traitor son of Hermes, Chris Rodriguez, who went mad after his brother had sent him into the Labyrinth.

   I was now standing face to face with the outer walls of the Big House, dread filled me as I hesitately walked through the open entrance. There stood Chiron along with five other familiar faces.

   Of course, there was Nicholas who had been the first to volunteer, next to him was Stephan Reynolds, son of Sekhmet, and if I remember correctly, was close friends with Nicholas. Sharing the loveseat were Maia and Raven, daughters of Amphitrite and Khione, who both briefly paused the conversation to acknowledge my presence, in the corner of the room stood Olivia Nakamura, by her lonesome, she hadn't spoken much to anyone, not since her younger brother, Ethan, left to join the Titan Army.
Chiron cleared his throat after noticing my arrival as if he had been waiting for me. “I suppose that this will be all of you, I commemorate each of you for your bravery.”

   Bravery isn't the word that I would use.

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Authors Note: Ariana will be the narrator for all of part 1, there will be 3 parts to this book, thank you to EMISQUADTodor for proofreading this for me!! Thank you to anyone who read this and don't forget to vote if you enjoyed it, see you next time!