Our Family

Chapter 6

Annabeth flopped onto her bunk in Cabin 6 after her talk with Chiron. Her half-siblings were all chattering aimlessly as they enjoyed their free time before she would have to call lights out. Annabeth tugged her hair out of its ponytail and absently ran her fingers over her camp necklace with the five beads and her father's college ring while she sat lost in thought.

Percy Jackson. Who was this kid? Was he really as powerful as Grover seemed to think since he had told Chiron, who had packed up his things and left camp for almost a year to observe this new demigod at Yancy Academy? Did a Fury really come after him? And did he really ditch Grover at the bus terminal when—according to the satyr—they had been best friends the entire year? If he was really this idiotic, he was going to get himself killed.

After reporting back to Chiron what had happened, the centaur had sent Grover back out to look for Percy and protect him. Now that he was starting to realize who he was, he would be in more danger than ever. After locating him, Chiron wanted to talk to the boy and his mother about bringing him to Camp Half-Blood.

Annabeth couldn't help but think about who his godly parent could be. They knew it was his father, but who could be powerful enough for Hades to send a Kindly One after him? That fact alone reminded Annabeth exactly what Hades had sent after Thalia when he found out who she was. If they really had seen the Fates on the road, and Percy had killed a Kindly One . . . Could it be related to the Great Prophecy? What if Percy was another child of the Big Three?

It couldn't be Hades, since he was trying to kill Percy. That left Zeus or Poseidon, but Chiron and Grover wouldn't tell her anything else. She knew they both had an idea, but neither would speak to her about it and it drove her mad.

In the five years that had passed since Thalia's death, Annabeth had become one of Chiron's most trusted campers. Even though there were plenty of Athena children older than her, she had become camp counselor this year after the last one left because of how long she had been at Camp Half-Blood and her rapport with Chiron. There was almost nothing he wouldn't tell her, but for some reason he was keeping things close to his chest this time.

If this Percy Jackson was a son of Zeus or Poseidon, would he be the one to fulfill the Great Prophecy? And what would be her role in it? That question always bothered her after Chiron showed her the prophecy and told her she would be involved. What did it mean? Why wouldn't Chiron tell her?

Annabeth sighed, her fingers closing around the first bead she'd ever gotten—the pine tree. A cold fist encased her heart. Not a day went by that she didn't miss Thalia. She was one of the first demigods Annabeth had met, and she was family. She sacrificed her life so that Annabeth, Luke, and Grover could make it to safety.

It was nice to have Grover around and talk about Thalia every so often, even though he hadn't known her as long as Luke and Annabeth had. But he was the only one she could do it with, since Chiron hadn't known Thalia, and every time Annabeth mentioned her to Luke, he grew cold and distant. He had been like that ever since his failed quest to the Garden of the Hesperides, when he got that awful scar. He was bitter and angry, but he hid those feelings from everyone. Annabeth only noticed because she knew Luke so well, and it worried her how much he had changed and how he kept bottling up his feelings. He wouldn't talk to her anymore, no matter what she tried. It got even worse after their visit to Olympus on the winter solstice.

More than ever, Annabeth wished she had the chance to go out into the world and fight monsters. She wanted a quest, she needed a quest. She was more than ready, and Chiron knew it. Why wouldn't he let her? Why was she kept cooped up in camp, with the same routine day after day? It wasn't like she could go anywhere during the school year, since she and her father and his new family never got along well, and she put them in danger every time she came close.

When would she get the chance to prove herself?

Thunder rumbled overhead, and at first Annabeth thought little of it. With the amount of demigods at Camp Half-Blood who hadn't quite understood yet that names hold power, some god was always getting angry and warning them with a bout of thunder. But then the thunder intensified and she saw flashes of lightning outside the window. Camp Half-Blood wasn't supposed to have storms. Something was happening.

Annabeth raced out of the cabin and towards the Big House where Chiron was standing in full centaur form, staring up at Thalia's pine tree. Annabeth followed his gaze, but on the other side of the tree rain poured down too hard for her to tell what was happening.

"What is it?" Annabeth asked, her hand on her dagger at her waist.

Chiron's brow furrowed, but he was eerily calm as he said, "I think Grover found our missing Percy Jackson. But so did something else."

Screams ripped through the air from the top of Half-Blood Hill along with the roaring of something dangerous. The darkness prevented them from seeing anything.

That was why it was such a surprise when, a few minutes later, two figures stumbled down the hill and made their way towards Chiron and Annabeth. As they came closer, Annabeth recognized Grover, who was only semi-conscious and bloody. The boy supporting him had dark hair plastered to his forehead and was also bloody and shaking. They were both soaking wet. The boy managed to drag Grover and himself up the steps of the porch before he collapsed, what looked like a severed horn rolling out of one of his hands.

The boy's sea-green eyes stared blankly up at Chiron and Annabeth, and she instantly formed her own theory about his parentage. "He's the one," she told Chiron. "He must be."

"Silence, Annabeth." Chiron instructed. "He's still conscious. Bring him inside."

They brought him into one of the rooms in the Big House and Chiron and Argus started tending to his wounds while Annabeth helped Grover. When he was finally awake and coherent, she asked him, "That's Percy Jackson?"

Grover nodded, chewing on a soda can to get his strength back. "He killed the Minotaur. Without training or help, or even a weapon."

Annabeth's eyebrows raised. He took out one of the most famous—not to mention most dangerous—Greek monsters without even knowing who he truly was? She started imagining what he could do with training.

Little did Annabeth know exactly what he could truly do, and how her life would change with him in it. How Percy Jackson would become her family.

A/N: And that's the end of Our Family! I hope you liked it. I was inspired after reading another story like this so I wanted to create my own.

Thanks for reading and keep doing you!

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