Children of Olympus: Selection.

Prologue*

I stepped out of my private jet and onto the empty runway. I nodded my thanks to the pilot before walking through the lobby of the airport, keeping my head down. I couldn't draw attention to myself.

The main streets of the province of Japan were crowded with people going about their normal everyday lives. I smiled at a small child that ran past with their mother, but otherwise I avoided eye contact with the people around me.

The closer to the center of the city I got, the more people that walked. These were the rich, the twos and threes. I blended right in, straightening to my quite unimpressive height of 5'3". It didn't matter though. Being tall in this instance probably wasn't any better than being short.

I took a right and smiled softly as the bell rang above me as I pushed open the door to the city's central office. My hands shook by my sides as I entered the shortest line, farthest from the camera.

My eyes scanned over the crowd around me. There were a few older people around, but for the most part it was largely girls between the ages of 16-18  with parents, friends, or alone.

"How may I help you?" The lady at the front desk asked me. Her brown hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, and she didn't look up from her computer to talk to me. "You're here for the selection correct."

"Yes, ma'am," I responded quietly, slipping the sign up sheet out of my pocket and sliding it across the table.

The lady looked it over. "There's no picture attached. Do you need one taken?"

"That would be lovely. Thank you."

She nodded and led me back into a separate room where no one was around. I took a seat on the stool in front of the black backdrop and smiled softly at the camera. The lady took a few images before showing them to me.

I hated looking at myself. I never thought that I looked any good, and these pictures were not an exception. My blonde hair fell over my shoulders, framing my face. My sea-green eyes sparkled a little, but that was probably from the bright light flashing in the back.

The best picture was the third one though, and I pointed at that one before thanking the lady again and leaving. As I headed back down the street, I sighed in relief. That was step one done. Now came the tough part. Waiting.

The plane was waiting right where it had been before. "That was a short pit-stop your highness."

I nodded, "No one knows I was here."

"No one knows," the pilot nodded.

I sighed in relief and took my seat in the back, bracing myself for the flight home.