The Untold Story of Annabeth Chase

Chapter 20

The following year was weird at first, but I got used to it fast. I got settled into my new schedule and made friends with the other year-rounders. There were only about twenty of us, which was a big change from the one hundred we had during the summer.

At first I had been worried about blizzards interrupting our lessons, but the magical boundaries of Thalia's tree apparently kept out weather as well as monsters. We discovered this in October when there was supposed to be a really bad storm. We were all huddled in our cabins, waiting for the thunder and lighting to start, but nothing ever happened. We cautiously peeked our heads outside our cabins and saw that the storm clouds had gone right around the valley. It wasn't even cold. Chiron and Mr. D spent the next few months experimenting; learning to control the weather and the boundaries. They had let the snow fall slightly in the winter, but no blizzards. Pegasus riding was made difficult because it was freezing cold so high in the air, and canoeing became perilous because we were all being so careful to not fall into the chilly water. Silena told me it had been much worse in previous years before the boundaries, so I didn't complain.

Luke and I still went to visit Thalia, but less and less in the winter because as soon as anyone stepped foot outside the boundaries, they got the full winter experience. The first time was the worst. I hadn't been expecting it, and I didn't know exactly where the boundary line was, so I stepped past it without even thinking. I was immediately frozen by the cold and jumped back inside the boundary line, which was quite a shock for Grover standing behind me. After that we only visited the camp half of the tree, where the cold was bearable. I hoped that was where Thalia's face had been, otherwise it would be pretty awkward. Grover and I also discovered we could make a game out of the barrier. We loved to stand with one foot inside the boundaries and one foot outside, so half of our bodies were warm and the other half was freezing cold.

I still felt guilty about my family, but I barely thought about them anymore. One February night I had the dream of them being suspended over the pit, which hadn't happened for nearly six months. it was such a shock that I woke up screaming and crying, and I forgot where I was until Skye ran over to check on me. She tried her best to calm me down, but I was still pretty shaken up, so I waited until she fell back asleep and snuck out of the cabin.

I headed for the sword arena because I knew no one would be practicing at six in the morning. I sat in the corner for a while, sobbing about Thalia and my family and everything I hadn't let myself sob about in the last six months. Then I heard a noise. I stood up and Luke appeared in the doorway of the arena.

"Luke?" I sniffled.

"Sorry, I just came in to practice..." Luke seemed flustered and surprised to see me cry. "What's wrong?"
I tried to take deep breaths and explain, but I broke down crying again before I could even get a word out. Luke rushed to my side and sat me back down in my corner. He asked me again what was wrong, and I ended up telling him everything. I told him about leaving my family, my awful stepmother, and the dream of them in the pit. I left out the dream I'd had when I first got to camp, when him and Thalia had joined them up there.

When I was finished, Luke put his arm around me. "Annabeth, we all have messed up families. It comes with being a demigod. What you did wasn't wrong. It was definitely a lot better than what I did to my mother."
I nodded, still crying. I knew he was right, and I shouldn't get worked up about this. They were just dreams. But the voice in that pit.... He had seemed so sure of himself. He had everything perfectly planned out, and he had already begun to put it in motion.

And his next victim was sitting right next to me.

In April, a new camper showed up. She was two years older than me, with stringy brown hair that she always kept in a bandanna. She was muscular and mean-looking, but she seemed kind of overwhelmed at first. I could tell she had just found out who she was, and I knew how difficult it was to accept.

Her name was Clarisse la Rue. Grover told me she had been brought by a satyr named Gleeson. When I giggled at his name, Grover snorted. "Yeah. Laugh. He loves an excuse to yell at someone. He'll get along great with Clarisse."

I spent free time with Luke that day, and we talked about Clarisse.
"What cabin is she in?" I asked.

"Hermes." Luke didn't look up. "She's undetermined."

"Why's she undetermined?" This concept was still upsetting to me. Why wouldn't the gods want to claim their children?
"Because the gods are busy," Luke answered bitterly. "They don't have time for their children. If you don't already know who your godly parent is, you'll probably never be claimed."
I knew it annoyed people when I asked this many questions, but there was one more thing I'd been wondering since I got to camp. "Why do all the undetermined kids go to Hermes?"
"I don't know." Luke said impatiently. I got the feeling he had asked this question before and hadn't gotten a good answer. "Look, I have to practice in the arena." Without another word, he stood up and walked away.

In the days leading up to the summer, Clarisse was claimed at the bonfire.

We were in the middle of my favorite demigod campfire song when there was a flash of red light. It got so bright that we all turned away and shielded our eyes, and when we looked back there were gasps and some muffled laughter. Clarisse was standing in front of the campfire holding a bright red spear, with an entire animal pelt draped across her shoulders. It was dark brown with tufts of beige, possibly a hog or a boar, and Clarisse looked stunned and slightly disgusted.

Chiron didn't look surprised. He simply knelt in front of Clarisse. I noticed all the other campers were doing the same, so Luke and I followed their lead.

"You divine father has chosen to reveal himself to us," Chiron announced. "All hail Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares, god of war."

Everyone stood up and clapped and cheered. Clarisse looked slightly overwhelmed, but she didn't resist when Aaron and the other two Ares year-rounders lifted her on their shoulders.
I still hadn't gotten an answer about why they did that so often.

Clarisse's new siblings raised her high and paraded around the pavilion. The rest of us trailed close behind, cheering. It was a fun celebration, but the shouts and cheers of twenty teenagers and one tiny eight-year-old quickly died out in the huge, lonely valley.