I Found Love- In Hell

1. I Love You Too

            The sound of arrows whipping through the air and the clank of metal grinding on metal greet me as I step outside. Breathing in deeply, I inhale the fresh mountain air. The smell of burning wood wafts up from the fire pit at the center of the valley, filling my nostrils with the usual smells of a new day.

            “Zoe!”

            I look in the direction of the fire pit. A slender girl, about twelve and no taller than 4’ 11”, waves at me. I wave back.

            “Hey, Hanna!” I call. The daughter of Hestia, goddess of hearth and home, smiles before kneeling back down and tending the fire, just as her mother does on Olympus.

            “How’s my favorite half sister?” A deep voice sleepily says behind me.

            “Tom, I’m your only half sister,” I say, spinning around to face him.

            Tom is standing in the doorway to our cabin, brushing his teeth. At nineteen he’s almost old enough to leave the camp, like most kids do once they reach twenty. His dark brown hair’s messy, sections sticking up in some places. His eyes watch me intently for a few moments before he leans past me to spit out his toothpaste into the grass.

            “Gross," I say, my nose scrunching up in disgust.

            “Don’t you have somewhere to be?””

            “Yes.”

            “Is he going to be there?” Tom’s usually bright violet eyes darken the same as mine.

            “He always is.”

            “He better keep his hands off you.”

            A rumble of thunder rolls across the sky, scaring a few birds perched in the trees into flight.

            “Stop it,” I poke him in the gut. “You know I’ll slice his hand clean off if he tries anything.”

            “Good.” The air of uneasiness brought on by my brother’s anger erases immediately, and the birds begin to sing.

            “I have sword fighting to get to, so…”

            “Go.” My brother slams the door to our cabin shut and I hear the click! of the lock.

            I make my way from the cabin square down to the valley where we do our training. By “we” I mean me, and the other demigods who live here.

            Ever since Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood defeated Luke on Mount Olympus, the gods saw how abandoned us, their children, truly felt. Camp Half-Bloods, similar to the original camp in New York, began to spring up around the country, making it easier for demigods to find a safe place to grow and train. The camps went from only summer to all year camps, and children are protected by their mortal parents until the average age of five, until they are brought to the camps.

            Another important change that occurred after Percy’s victory was the lifting of the ban that the Big Three, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades, couldn’t have children. It was decided that, with the proper training, we weren’t as dangerous as thought, with Percy as an example.

            That’s how my brother, Tom, and I were born. Our father, Zeus, protected us and cared for us from up on Mount Olympus until we were five. Then, our mothers brought us here. When I arrived at the age of five, Tom was eight. Now, eleven years later, I’m sixteen and he’s nineteen, we’re still the only children to be born to Zeus since the ban was lifted.

            I’m not even half way down the hill before someone falls into step beside me. I groan when I see his shadow dwarfing mine.

            “Hey, baby.” An arm slinks around my waist, pulling me close to my new companion. I peel the arm off and take a step to the side.

            “Don’t call me that, Julian.”

            At 6’ 3”, Julian’s one of the only people, besides my brother, that I have to look up to. At 5’ 11” I’m taller than most kids here. Sadly, he isn’t one of them.

            “C’mon, Zoe, loosen up. I’m just messing with you.”

            “Why don’t you go visit your dad, and never come back?”

            Julian stops and stares at me as I continue to walk. After a few moments of greatly appreciated silence, he runs to catch up to me. We reach the sword fighting area at the same time.

            “Pair up!” A son of Ares, god of war, yells. The moment my hand touches the hilt of a blade a razor sharp edge smacks the top of my hand. I grab the sword my hand is on and swing it at my opponent. Just as I suspected, it’s Julian. I swing my sword, and smile. This is one of the few times I can take out my annoyance at Julian, on Julian, and not get in trouble.

            “You know you’d miss me,” Julian says, picking up our conversation. I bring my sword down hard, aiming for his face, but he deflects my swing and dances away.

            “Me? Miss you?” I chuckle and dodge his sword. “I’ll miss you the day your father installs an air conditioning system in Hell.”

            “Nice comeback,” Julian smiles maliciously. I groan in frustration. Nothing I say gets to him, yet he says one little thing and I’m ready to hit him.

            “You’re. Gonna.” I get out between sword swings.

            “Yes? I’m gonna…?”

            I wait for him to raise his sword up. Just as he brings it down I grab the hand with the sword, stopping him mid swing. I knee him in the gut and when he leans forward, I elbow him in the shoulder. The sword falls out of his hand and slips into mine as he falls to his knees in pain.

            I crouch down in front of him, bringing our faces level with each other. I lean in, placing my mouth next to his ear.

            “You’re gonna lose.” I whisper, standing up. I take a step forward and kick backwards, sending him to his stomach on the marble floor. He rolls over on his back and, staying sprawled on the ground, looks up at me.

            His jet black hair sticks to his forehead, slick with sweat. Julian’s chest rises and falls rapidly as he tries to regain his breath. His smoky grey eyes lock on my violet ones. I toss his sword, and listen to it clatter on the marble floor. An evil smile sneaks its way onto his face.

            “I love you too,” he says, loud enough for the people around us to hear.

            “Ugh!” I turn and stomp over to the archery range, which is at the other side of the valley.

            One day, I think to myself, he’s going to need you, and you can laugh in his face.