𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐍𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐞 || PJO Fanfic

FOUR

Atalanta POV

I was in bed, the others wasn't. By others, I meant the rest of the Fourth Cohort. They'd been celebrating outside in Leila's room, whooping and yelling and screaming. It was very unlike the Romans to be so... free, but then today was the first time they had won War Games ever since I came. And I came when I was pretty young. Which meant they haven't won in... 11 or so years.

I've lost count, but I'm pretty sure I'm 17 this year, and I came at 6.

Like I said, they always blamed their bad luck on me. As if not letting me train or fight would take away their bad luck. I don't think it ever occurred to them that since Neptune "brought bad luck" and I was a daughter of Neptune, upsetting me meant upsetting my dad, which would probably bring even more bad luck to them. Stupid bastards. Only knows how to fight and fight and fight.

I mashed my head into my pillow, letting out a frustrated groan. Bad enough that I was the one who took the banner. Leila didn't even bother to say that she didn't do anything, and that somebody else gave her the banner. Stupid pig. What a liar. Not that I had expected anything else.

The Greeks wouldn't have acted like that. I thought bitterly. I crashed into my bed and fell asleep.

I fell right through the bed.

I kept spiralling down and down in darkness. The wind howled in my ears. I screamed, but no sound came out. After what seemed like ages, land appeared at my feet, and I fell onto the floor.

I got up and found myself at the entrance to Camp Jupiter. I remembered it from when I first came. In front of me was a lady. She had brown curls, and she wore a bronze breastplate over some sort of shirt, and a white roman toga over it all. She was beautiful, all right, and she had a strong aura. Goddess, then.

Beside her, holding her hand, was a small six-year-old girl. She had raven-black hair tied in two braids, eyes that were green like the sea, and a huge smile on her face. Her bright eyes shone. Who was this—

Oh.

Oh.

The lady was Athena, or more accurately, Minerva. The little girl... was me. The six-year-old version of myself. This was when I first came to camp Jupiter.

Minerva said something to the praetor at that time, but then the scene changed.

I was in an elaborately decorated room. I sat on a plushy chair. Minerva stood beside me, "remember, dear Atalanta, your father is the god of the sea. You have powers inherited from him, but I will teach you. You have my blessing."

"But, auntie, where's daddy?" The Young me asked.

"Oh, Atalanta... he's— at work. He's busy, okay? And I will take care of you. Your father doesn't deserve to have such a sweet child like you" Minerva tapped my nose and I giggled.

Minerva/ Athena has always taken care of me. I had never saw my father before. The god of the sea, Neptune. Aunt Minerva/Athena never told me why my father didn't want me. I guess I just assumed he didn't, or maybe he didn't like me anymore, and threw me out... either way, aunt Minerva/Athena had always been there for me, and I loved her with all my heart.

She was sometimes in Greek form, sometimes in Roman. I could tell, there was always a difference. But she never referred to my father by name, she merely called him "sea god". She rarely even talked about him. It didn't seem like they had a good relationship, so why Minerva/Athena took care of me in the first place was still a mystery to me.

I never saw the goddess after I was sent to Camp Jupiter. I recalled my first weeks at Camp. I wasn't exactly hated, but it wasn't that bad. I was brought here by a goddess, that was enough of a promotion. I was cheerful, nice, and I tried my best. Except for the fact that my father was Neptune, everything was fine about me. The teenager demigods liked me, because I was cute. But then I grew older, and I started to get bullied by the others... and I just wasn't the same. I used to talk all the time, laugh all the time. Now I just sat in corners and talked as less as I could. I bet you three thousand all the Romans hated me after all that.

But then there was Nico Di Angelo. I couldn't remember when he came, but when I found out he was a son of Pluto, when I saw he was like me too— hated, alone— I became friends with him. But he was different, he was strong and the Romans feared him. I wasn't. I showed my weak side, my fragile side, my stupid, clumsy side.

We became close friends, until Hazel Levesque, his sister came. He just stopped seeing me, I guess. We hung out less because he wanted to spend time with his sister. I could understand why. He told me he lost his real, like as in same parents, sister, Bianca Di Angelo. I guess I just hoped he could still hand out, because then we became so distant, that... I don't think he even considered me a friend anymore.

Every time he came to Camp Jupiter for errands, like bringing campers to Camp Half Blood, or visiting his sister, he never bothered to see me, never even glanced once at the Fourth Cohort table. I was slightly upset for that. My only friend. Gone just like that.

I heard he has a lot of friends now. I heard he's friends with Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase and the Seven and even Reyna, the former praetor. I was happy for him, but I was also jealous. Sure, he had bad times, sad times like me, but it all ended well, with friends and family and... well, a happy ending.

Me? I was forever stuck in this pit of sadness and loneliness. I never once imagined there to be some sort of happy ending for me.