Camp Half Blood

 I’ve been here for two summers and this is the first time I ever saw a goddess. I have spoken once to my father, Ares, god of war, but he is nothing compared to the girl walking down the hill by the strawberry fields.

She’s flanked by four other campers, one of them my friend from Apollo cabin. I take that as an invitation to join the group. I walk over and listen in to the conversation, trying to catch up. They are explaining to the new girl about our game, capture the flag, which is coming up at the end of the week.

We head for the Dining Pavilion to get dinner. I sit with the group and they are all asking the new girl questions that she is answering in detail, giving me no time to jump in.

“Where are you from again?” Asks an Aphrodite girl.

“Texas.”

“Right.” She drawls. “And your father let you come?” 

“Yeah.” The new girl says. “He actually insisted that I stay year round so I’m guessing he knows enough to want me to stay here and be safe.”

“Who’s your mother? Did he tell you?” A girl from Hephaestus asks.

“I don’t know. How do I find out?”

The Aphrodite girl smiles. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

When I finish dinner, I put a little portion in the pavilion fire as a sacrifice for my father. The rest of the group follows behind me but as we head for the amphitheater for campfire songs, they break off and I’m left alone. 

I sit just above the area where most of my own cabin is. They are all rowdy as they sing and stop their feet and clap. I hear a beautiful voice next to me and look to find the new girl sitting by me. I didn’t even notice.

She notices that I’m looking at her and meets my eyes. “Hello.” She says. “I recognize you from earlier.”

“I…” I swallow. “I never caught your name.”

“I’m Ella.”

“Gabriel. Cabin Five.”

“So…” Ella taps her bottom lip, thinking. “Your father is Ares.”

“Yeah.” I say.

“So you’re good with a sword and everything. You like fighting?”

I shrug. “Maybe a little.”

Ella smiles and turns back to the songs. As we’re wrapping up the night and people start to exit the amphitheater to head to their cabins I hear a gasp and turn. Ella was beautiful before but now…she’s gorgeous. She’s had a complete makeover and I immediately know what that means.

She has been claimed. Ella is the daughter of Aphrodite.

People cheer and the Aphrodite girl from earlier grabs Ella’s arm. “Come on, I’ll show you to Cabin Ten. You’ll absolutely love it.”

The next day, I see Ella sitting on the docks by herself with her toes dipping in the lake. I walk over and sit next to her. Her mother’s makeover still hasn’t worn off and her appearance is almost too much to bear.

“So you’re in Aphrodite.” I say.

“Yeah.” She slowly turns to me with a wary expression. “So that means I’m good at love and stuff?”

“I don’t really understand it.” I say.

“Great.” She throws out her hands. “Just my luck.”

I lift an eyebrow. “What do you mean by that?”

“I was excited for the ropes course and the sparring and the adventure. Of course I get stuck with the love goddess.”

“Just because you’re in Aphrodite cabin doesn’t mean you can’t do cool things. You might have to deal with madly emotional people but you will still learn to fight.”

“Really? Cause my fellow cabinmates don’t seem like the type to run off into battle.”

I bump Ella’s shoulder with mine. “You can spar with me if you can’t get anyone else to.”

She smiles. “Thanks Gabriel.”

The naiads in the water with their blue jeans and green t-shirts, smile at me as well and one of them waves and winks. I roll my eyes but wave back.

“They’re really pretty.” Ella says. “What are they?”

“Water nymphs. Naiads. They are terrible flirts so don’t encourage them.”

Ella laughs.

A second later, the naiads splash water at me and Ella, drenching us. They giggle, make kissing sounds, and swim away. I shake my head and roll my eyes again.

Ella grins and stands up then offers me her hand. I take it and she pulls me to my feet. “How about you teach me some swordplay? I’m making it my goal to one day beat you.”

I smile slyly. “Good luck, no one ever has. I’m really good.”

“Really?” Ella says with mock surprise. “A son of Ares, really good with a sword? I’ll have to see it to believe it.”

She follows me to the training grounds. We each grab a sword and face each other.

“Don’t even think about going easy on me.” She says.

“I won’t.” I promise.

Our swords clang with each hit and Ella is a natural. But there is still plenty to teach her and it’ll take a lot of time and practice together. For the first time in the two summers I’ve been here, I pray and thank the goddess Aphrodite.