The Werewolf King - A Percy Jackson Fan-Fic

Chapter 3: Swords and Skills

Chapter 3: Swords and Skills

            Today was bright and the weather was perfect.  I woke up to see people tidying up the cabin. Since I didn’t really have much to do, I just straightened my bed and snuck outside. Annabeth showed me Percy’s cabin. I decided to head there. As I drew closer, I could smell the sea. I saw Percy tidying up his cabin. ‘Hey.’ I greeted him. He turned to me and smiled. ‘How’s your second day in camp?’

‘Great.’ I lied.

‘Listen, tonight’s Capture the Flag. Do you want to be on my team, the Blue team?’

‘Conner’s already asked me and I said yes.’

‘Great.’ Percy said, ‘I have a feeling you’re going to be a great team member. I’ll take you to the armoury and get a weapon for you after breakfast.’

‘Thanks. I figure it’s breakfast time now.’ I groaned.

‘I know what it’s like to get claimed. I’ve been claimed myself and being a daughter of Phobos is almost as unlikely as a son of Poseidon. Phobos is a big jerk and it’s hard to believe he fell in love with anyone,’ said Percy

‘You know Phobos?’ I asked.

‘Yeah. I even fought him once. I think you’re gonna be quite a powerful demigod.’

            After breakfast, Percy took me to the armoury. We tried a lot of different armour, in the end; I chose the lightest one and the closest one that fit me. It was still quite big but it would have to do. Then Annabeth took me to the shed at the back of the Athena cabin, where all the weapons were stored. Nothing really struck me as my type. Until something glinted near the back of the cabin. I went over a pulled it out. It was a thin sword about three feet long and very well balanced. It was like the swords from The Three Musketeers. The hilt was set with rubies and the double-edged blade was gleaming bronze and silver. ‘That’s a unique blade. It’s called Lykos Olethros, Wolfs Bane. Lykos for short. It was forged during the last civil war,’ said Annabeth, ‘It’s got a coating of silver around it so it’s good to harm werewolves. The blade is celestial bronze so it’s deadly to monsters.’

‘Same as your blade?’ I asked.

‘Yeah,’ replied Annabeth.

‘So, which team are you on for Capture the Flag?’ I asked as I looked for a sheath for the sword.

‘Red team,’ replied Annabeth not really paying attention, ‘We have Ares, Athena, Aphrodite, almost all minor gods and Dionysus. Blue team have Poseidon, Hermes, Apollo, Hecate and Hephaestus. By the way, you press the red jewel to turn it into a ring. Press jewel to get it back into a sword. What team are you on?’

I tried it and it worked. ‘Cool.’ I commented. ‘Oh, yeah and I’m on the blue team. Conner asked me yesterday and I said yes. So I guess that’s too bad.’

‘Yeah, too bad.’ Annabeth said. ‘Well, we’re going to bash you up tonight, but if you stay near the left flanks, I’ll make sure you don’t get pulverised too badly,’ giving me a mischievous smile.

‘Thanks, but I’m more of a defender. I always play defending when I used to play Capture the Flag. But I know that this Capture the Flag is different so I might change roles.’

‘Well, good luck.’ Annabeth replied.

            We went out and Chiron came trotting up to me. ‘There you are Artemis. We finished your cabin. You can move in anytime from now.’ I thanked Chiron and went to check it out. It was quite cool, pretty much just pitch back with different types of phobias painted to the walls. Inside was nothing like it. It was clean and simple, with simple bunks and spaces to put clothes and all that. I quickly fetched my backpack from the Hermes cabin and dumped it there. I quickly said goodbye to Annabeth and left for the sword arena for my first sword lesson.

            Percy greeted me as I entered the arena. I already had my armour on. It felt really heavy and bulky and I couldn’t move really well. Especially my breastplate kept on digging into my chest. We practised some basic thrusts and stabs and then moved into partners. And apparently since it was my first time here, Percy was going to be my partner and apparently he is a very good swordsman.

            I kinda hoped Percy would go easy on me since it was my first lesson. But he didn’t. Every blow I got more battered and bruised. I started learning his style and I seem to have a natural sense of sword fighting. He was really good. I didn’t seem to have a chance against him. It was in our last round when I seemed to sense something, and I got a sudden burst of strength. I was like I just had a mountain of sugar. My vision cleared and I could sense his attacks. I got past his defenses and slammed the butt of Lykos into his groin. He double over and I hit the hilt of my sword on his, disarming him and pressed my sword against his throat.

I stepped back and let Percy get up, ‘Yep. I’m glad you’re on my team for Capture the Flag.’

I smiled and started to help pack up.

            Tonight, after dinner was Capture the Flag. It was still quite bright so it was perfect condition to play. Percy said that I could go scout for the flag on the right, while he scouted to the left. ‘All heroes gather!’ shouted Chiron across the gathering area ‘The whole woods is fair game. All weapons and magical items are allowed. No maiming and killing people. The river is the border.’ After those words, we left for out positions. Percy positioned me near the border on the right sides. He introduced me to Leo, a son of Hephaestus and then a conch horn sounded and the game began. Leo led the lead, running fast. We crossed the lake and entered enemy territory. I kept a sharp eye out for any red, the flag.

            We met our first red soldier in a clearing. I stepped into battle and I must’ve looked fearsome for she stepped back. I slashed and blocked with my sword and I faltered when I saw an image in my mind. It was her running in a pitch black… tunnel? It was only for a second but she knocked me down. Luckily Leo stepped up. I managed to recover and helped. She didn’t stand a chance. We knocked her out and continued on our way, and continued on our way. We ran for a long time without being disturbed. We kept to the shadows within the hearing of distant battle. Leo didn’t really speak much to me but we kept a steady pace. We found five defenders defending the flag and we crept up to them. I knocked two out before they even noticed that we were there and Leo and I dispatched the rest. I snatched the flag and started to make our way back. ‘Lead the way Leo. And watch my back please.’ I asked.

‘Sure thing. I’ll lead the way.’ Leo replied with a smile and took off. I ran to keep up with him. We were more attentive since we had a red flag. We were joined with Percy halfway and he helped defend me. We bolted past the boundary line and all blue soldiers burst into cheers. They carried us to a platform where Chiron bestowed us with laurels.

            Campfire was awesome that night. All of the blue soldiers were in high spirits. Even the red team didn’t really take their defeat very seriously. We were all joking about, saying that they were going to win next week and generally having a good time. I managed to meet up with Annabeth. ‘Great game.’ I said.

‘Yeah!’ Annabeth replied ‘I had a feeling that you would be a great soldier in that game. Too bad I couldn’t crush you.’

‘I’m not sure if you could even if you did manage to fight me.’ I shot right back. Annabeth laughed.

‘Well goodnight.’ She said.

‘Goodnight.’ I replied and we left for our cabins.