The Forbidden Child

Chapter 12: Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Program

Percy POV

"What look?" Annabeth asked, clearly annoyed that Percy remembered such a detail.

"You know what I'm talking about." Percy knew what bothered his girlfriend. He spent years getting the same look she gave to Helena.

Annabeth sighed. "Fine. The fact that she could be a child of Hera's bothers me. First of all, it's just not right. She's the goddess of marriage. She's not known to have kids outside of Zeus. And second, if she was a child of Hera, why is she still undeclared?"

Percy knew Annabeth's issue with Hera. The goddess and his girlfriend has a feud that seemed to never end. Especially when he went missing before the war against Gaea.

"In some ways, she doesn't remind me of Hera at all. But the fact that it's a possibility bothers me. Hera always sent me obstacles to disrupt my life and Helena seems to be a new obstacle. As much I want to be nice, it's hard Percy."

Percy pulled her into a hug. He understood her struggle and wanted to comfort her. But they had to go back to their camp activities. He had to go teach pegasus training. Annabeth had to go to the arena to train. "It'll be okay. As long as we work together" Percy said before parting ways.

*****

Percy let the campers have a 5 minute break during training. It gave him enough time to think. What if Annabeth was right? What if Helena was a child of Hera? With the gods, anything was possible. But Helena was the nicest girl he's ever met, which made him doubt even more that she was a child of Hera's.

Percy sighed and thought to himself. If this is another work of the gods, he wanted no part. For once, he just wanted to rest.

*****

After the lessons and dinner, it was time for the sing along. Percy sat next to Athena's cabin. Everyone was singing out loud, the fire in the middle roaring and reflecting the campers' moods. Sitting next to his girlfriend and friends made him happy. It was another beautiful night.

Percy looked towards his friends. Helena was with the Hermes cabin. They were all laughing instead of singing. Percy chuckled. How typical. He looked towards where Leo and Piper were. Leo lit his finger on fire and started waving it side to side, almost like a lighter at a concert. Piper licked her fingers and put it out.

All of a sudden, Rachel, who sat at the front, stood up. The singing died down and everyone stared at her. The Apollo kids, who were leading the sing along, backed away as Rachel made her way down to the stage. Everyone held their breath. Was she about to spout another prophecy?

"I'm sorry to startle everyone. But I have an announcement, if Chiron allows me" She looked towards the centaur. He had a grim expression and nodded.

She took a deep breath. "I foresaw the future," she looked at Percy almost as if she felt bad for him, "and there must be a quest."