Young Writers Society

    Leia knew that whenever her mother asked her father for help, then things were getting seriously bad.

     Mostly because her mother actually needed her father's help.

     And as Leia followed her mother through camp, she worried.

     "Why is this so serious? I mean, it's just a poem, right?" Leia asked. 

     "Leia... how do I explain this? Thea's mother, Ella, was a harpy who could remember just about anything. Every book that Ella read, it was in her memory. She was extremely smart. Once, when I was seventeen, Ella gave me a prophecy. It was from the Sibylline Books, which Ella had read. I had to find the Athena Parthenos."

     Leia thought back on the hardcore mythology lessons her mother had given her. The Athena Parthenos... wasn't it that forty feet tall statue of Athena that had been missing? Generations of Athena children had failed, up until her mother. 

     "... The statue was guarded by Arachne, the first spider, a victim of my mother's pride. I had to face her down, and Arachne, I got the Athena Parthenos and kicked her into Tartarus, but that cursed monster dragged me in with your father in tow."

     Leia shuddered. If Ella had given that prophecy that had gotten her mother and father into Tartarus... how dangerous would the one Thea gave be?

     Her mother suddenly stopped, causing Leia to slam into her. She sheepishly smiled as they both regained their footing, then followed her mother into the Poseidon cabin. Her father and Uncle Tyson, the Cyclopes, were in there with three other Poseidon children. They were listening, enraptured, to their big brothers' tales, when Leia's mother cleared her throat.

     "Percy, I need your help. Leia here..."

     That was all that needed to be said. A look of alarm crossed Leia's father's face as he jumped up and made his way over to them, Uncle Tyson continuing the story behind him. "What's wrong, Annabeth?" he asked her worriedly.

     "It's Thea," was all Leia heard as her parents' voices dropped to a whisper, fervently discussing the matter at hand. She fidgeted with the hem of her shirt as she waited. Something was definitely wrong, but what was it? 

     "Leia?" Her father asked her, startling her back into reality.

     "Yeah?" Leia cautiously asked.

     "You know how I told you about retrieving Zeus's most powerful lightning bolt, the Golden Fleece, and everything? All those quests?"

     "Yeah?" Oh no.

     "Well, you're going on one."

     The news didn't fully register until a few seconds later. "What?" she practically screamed. She wasn't actually going on a quest, was she? She wasn't a full-blooded demigod, but...

     "What Thea told you, it was a prophecy. And if she gave it to you, then it means you have to go on it. We don't want you to, but... well, if there's one thing I know, it's that you can't change prophecies, no matter how hard you want to." Her father gave a shaky laugh.

     Leia stood there, mouth agape. She was shocked. Yes, it was honorable to go on a quest, according to her parents. But it was also dangerous. It was possible she wouldn't come back. And now...

     She could get killed. She was only ten, but monsters didn't have mercy. They would rip her to pieces, regardless of how old she was.

     Leia took a deep breath.

     "I'm going."

     Her parents looked a little surprised that she didn't have some traumatic fit, but they nodded. Her mother hugged her like she wouldn't let go. "I know that you wouldn't be able to turn it down. Your father's fatal flaw was loyalty. He would do anything to protect his family, even if it meant endangering the world. When I was captured by a monster, he sneaked out of camp to find me. Your father was a--a very loyal friend."

     Leia nodded. "Will I have any friends to go with me?" she asked hopefully.

     "Yes, you will. The standard number is three per quest, which means you can choose two others. Once your mother chose me, Tyson, and Grover, a satyr friend of mine, to go along, making four people, but it was risky. It would work better if you only had two of your friends." Leia's father answered.

     She bit her lip, struggling to choose. "Well--I--"

     Suddenly, a few red feathers drifted down to the ground as a harpy landed in front of them. She had red hair, just like Thea, and red feathers. She was skinny and her eyes darted around, as if nervous. "Ella!" Leia's mother exclaimed. The harpy smiled thinly as she fluttered over to Leia's parents.

     "Ella has news for her friends. Ella's daughter and Ella talked about prophecy--Ella's friends' daughter is allowed to take four people. Four people only. Four people." Ella repeated. 

     Leia smiled. Perfect. "I know who I'm going to pick!" she announced. Her mother raised an eyebrow and smiled.

    Before her parents could say anything, she dashed off toward a pink cabin in the distance. A few minutes later, she arrived, panting, at the door.

     Leia knocked twice, and the door opened. A girl with fluffy black hair and brown eyes appeared in the doorway, tapping her perfectly manicured fingernails in annoyance. "What do you want?" the girl asked.

     "I... I need to see Silena." Leia managed to say. The girl rolled her eyes.

     "You want to see her?" She asked in disgust. 

     Just then another person shoved in front of the girl. Silena smiled at Leia apologetically. "Buzz off, Cameria!" she called over her shoulder. Cameria gave one more look of disdain and disappeared into the perfume-loaded cabin.

     "What do you want?" Silena asked Leia. She cleared her throat.

     "I've been sent to go on a quest by my half-sister, and I want you to accompany me."

     "Me?" Silena asked in surprise. "But what good will a daughter of Aphrodite--"

     "Plenty of good!" exclaimed Leia. "Remember your mother? She saved the other six people on the quest, including my parents, a countless number of times!"

     "Well, if you say so." sighed the daughter of Aphrodite. "I'll go."

     A few seconds later, a voice came flooding through the doorway. "Silena! Are you still trying to make yourself look good by digging through a dumpster?"

     Giggles came from around the cabin.

     Silena shouted back, "Well, it's impossible to make someone look good when they're digging through your makeup collection. Explains why you look the way you do."

     Silena waved quickly, and ducked inside, slamming the door.

     Leia stared in admiration at the door for a moment, then turned and ran. She had to go gather her friends--she was going on a quest, after all.