The Curse of a Broken Heart

Chapter 1

McKenzie's POV

"Thank you," I say to the boy who blocked the arrow that was going to hit me with his bronze shield. I couldn't see his face, but I could see his curly dark hair. Like mine, but short.

The shooter of the bow flees, and I just see a glimpse of blonde hair as he runs down hill. The boy who saved me quickly replies.

"No problem." He says easily as he turns to face me, and I gasp a little as I realize who the boy is.

"Watch out next time," Leo Valdez says, and flashes be a dazzling smile.

Leo Valdez just saved my life.

As I recover from my shock, I realize that my team is winning. I can hear the whoops and yells of my friends, especially Piper who is yelling the most. They haven't gotten the flag yet, but I can just barely see the blue colors of my team advancing toward the flag pole, knocking out anyone else who dares to stop them.

I take a kick at a small rock and push it around with my foot. I kick it too hard, and it tumbles down the hill I am stationed at. This is torture.

Of course my team made me stand guard at the edge of the flag's area. The flag's area is a little clearing next to a stream that most people playing Capture The Flag are fighting in. I smile as I watch a slightly bloody Percy dip his hand into the water and take it out, healed and his cuts all gone.

My cabin really underestimates me, I think as I watch Piper push down a confused Leo, he is on our team. I laugh as Piper quickly picks him up, realizing what she has done, then running for the flag as fast as she can. But before she gets there, another girl meets her. Annabeth Chase blocks Piper's way, and begins to sword fight with her. As fast as I can, I run down the hill, being careful not to hit my knife against my leg too hard.

By the time I reach the flag area, Leo could have easily grabbed the flag. But he isn't in sight, and I have no time to wonder where he is. The boys on the red team see me ahead of them, and one shoots an arrow at me. I recognize his blonde hair and metal arrow, he is most likely the boy who tried to shoot me earlier.

I take out my knife just as the boy pulls out another arrow. As he shoots it, I spring into action, moving the blade of my knife just in time to deflect his arrow. The boy gapes as I pull the sword out of another girl's hand and turn it on him.

"You could have killed me," I breathe, not shouting purposely for effect. As a tall, red-headed boy nears the flag pole, I turn around and pick up the arrow I deflected and throw it at him, scaring him enough to run.

"I...I didn't..." The boy who almost killed me begins, but I cut him off.

"Go away, now!" I yell and slash at his poorly made wooden armor, cutting of the string that held the entire piece together. The armor falls to the ground, and he runs away as quickly as he can, his poor legs only taking him four feet before he trips over a rock. He scrambles to his feet and runs, and I pick up his armor and tie the the string back together. I put it on and run to the flag.

A black-haired girl stops me, her sword glinting in the sunlight. This sword is celestial bronze, and I panic a little before slashing at her sword. She smiles, her face looking evil. She hits my arm with the handle of her sword, and I wince at the strike. I compose myself, then do the same to her wrist with my knife handle. Her sword drops, and I run to the flag pole and grab the flag. As soon as I do, I hear the cheers erupt around me.

"McKenzie! McKenzie!" The blue team shouts as two girls lift me up on their shoulders. I've finally done it, I think as they continue to cheer while marching back to the cabins. I've finally proved my cabin that I am capable of more than just Aphrodite's beauty.

I still hear the blue team boasting about their skill to the red team as I walk into my cabin with Piper. I laugh and Piper runs to hug me.

"You were amazing! I knew you could do it!!!" Piper yells and I smile. Piper was the only person in the Aphrodite cabin that understood that I was more than just a pretty face, she felt exactly the same.

I'm glad that Piper is back to her regular self, after she defeated Gaea, all she did was eat and sleep. The horrors she saw were too much to bear for her, Jason told me. I let her have her space for about a month, but she is fine now, and I couldn't be happier.

We shower, change, then walk to eat dinner. As we walk, I see Leo walking toward us. I fix my hair, then realize its too late, he is already here.

"Great job, McKenzie." He smiles, and I blush, murmuring a thank you that is lost in the crowd of people walking to get dinner. He and Piper begin to chat, and I think about Leo. I definitely like him, everything about him. Of all the five years I've been here, I've liked nobody. But he came and changed that. The one thing I was sure of when he came back from defeating Gaea was that I've liked him since I first laid eyes on him. Everything about him was amazing. His curly dark hair, his wonderful laugh, his dazzling smile, and his beautiful eyes. His eyes were a dark brown, but they always had a mischievous sparkle in them.

As I count the things I love about him, I hope he likes me back. I don't know if he does...I may be the daughter of Aphrodite, but he is hard to read. I ponder these things as we eat, barely saying a word to anybody except Piper. I try to come to terms with my girly self, I hardly ever feel this way about anybody. But there he is, I can see Leo from where I'm sitting.

How do other girls do this?!!