Young Writers Society

   Leia hurried up to her room and stuffed clothes and books into her bag. As she packed, she wondered what the new camp would be like. Would it be like a regular summer camp? What made it so Greek? When she finished, she ran downstairs and slung her bag over her shoulder. "I'm ready!" she exclaimed.

     Her parents smiled. "Now, when our ride comes, don't freak out, okay?" Her father said. Leia cocked her head to the side. What would be surprising? Wouldn't they just take a cab?

     But they didn't leave their driveway. She stood, confused, as her father gave a whistle like he was hailing a cab. A few seconds later, a black bird spiraled downwards. "How is that going to carry us?" she asked her mother. But her mother just smiled.

     As the black animal got closer, Leia could tell it was no bird. It had wings, but it was too big to be a regular bird. She could make out hooves, two ears, and a tail...was that a horse?

     The creature landed and shook out its mane. It whinnied toward her father, as if talking to him. They seemed to be having a conversation, Leia mused.

      "Blackjack says he's getting pretty old, but he can call on Guido and Porkpie if we want him to." Leia's father translated. Her mouth dropped open as she stared at him. Was the pegasus talking to him?

     Man, I get that a lot! Someone said. Leia glanced around, but no one was there. 

     "Who is it?" she asked bravely. Her father just laughed. 

     "No one except Blackjack, Leia." he answered. She slowly turned toward the pegasus. 

     "You're...talking to me?" she asked it dumbly. He shook his head and snorted.

     Who else, princess? The trees? It answered snarkily.

     "But how do I hear you?" Leia replied. The black pegasus trotted back and forth and neighed.

     It's an ability of Poseidon's children. Even if you only have a little of his blood, you still can do this. Now are we going anytime soon? He asked her. 

     Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Leia got on. Then Blackjack gave a whinny that seemed to echo off of the trees. Moments later two other pegasi came flying down. One was cream colored and had a white mane, and another was deep brown with a black mane. Her parents climbed on, and they took off.

     Where to, princess? Inquired Blackjack. 

     "This...Greek camp that my dad used to go to. What's it called, anyway?" Leia asked.

     The name's Camp Half-Blood. When I was young, I could fly anywhere for hours. Boss used to come to me all the time and ask for rides. You wouldn't believe where I went! Mount Olympus--

     "Yes, yes, alright!" Interrupted Leia, cutting off his speech. Blackjack shook his head, annoyed, and his sleek black mane flew into Leia's face.

     I ain't gonna take that kind of stuff, princess! He said to her in an indignant tone. She rolled her eyes as they continued flying.

     Soon, they had reached their destination. As they descended, Leia's eyes widened as she took in the camp. A huge wall of volcanic rock was in the center of the camp. It shook as three campers scaled it and lava poured down from the top. There were some cabins in a square formation, each one different from the next. They were the weirdest collection of buildings Leia had seen in her life. A large house towered over them, its roof painted baby blue. There were more strange areas, but Blackjack landed before Leia could observe them.

      As she dismounted, a boy around Leia's age ran up to them. "Hi!" he exclaimed, a grin spreading across his face. "I'm Festus. Who are you?"

     "I'm Leia," she answered. "Are you a camper?"

     "Yes, I am!" Festus beamed. "My dad was one, too. He's a son of Hephaestus. My mom used to be a Greek goddess, but now she isn't. She's famous, too! You might know her; her name's Calypso." His curly brown hair bounced as he skipped.

     "The real one, from the myths? No way!" Leia replied. "Who's your dad?"

     "He's Leo Valdez. My dad was in this big quest, when he was a teenager! He was dead once, but then he came back to life. He says he named me after one of his best creations. It was this huge metal dragon."

     Dragons, Leia mused. "Nice name. I don't think I'm named after anything in particular. My dad is Percy Jackson, and my mom is Annabeth Chase."

     Festus' eyes grew big. "Are you kidding? They're the biggest heroes of this camp! My parents are awesome, but man!" he said admiringly. Leia grinned as they started to walk off.

     "Leia!" her father's voice called out. She sighed and turned around.

     "What is it?" She asked him. 

     "Where are you going?" He demanded, catching up to them. 

     "I wanna take her to see my friends!" Piped up Festus. Leia's father turned, startled, seemingly just noticing him. 

     "Well, okay. Just stay away from the climbing wall!" he cautioned her as they left.

     "The climbing wall?" Leia asked Festus. He pointed toward the volcanic rock tower. 

     They were heading toward the large baby-blue-roofed building. As they entered, Leia saw three other kids talking and laughing as they played Monopoly. The characters seemed to move by themselves, she noticed. 

     "Sammy! Stop moving the pieces!" Someone exclaimed. An African American boy with almond-shaped eyes grinned as the pieces shifted around.

     "Hi guys! I want to introduce you to my friend here, Leia. She's the daughter of Percy and Annabeth!" shouted Festus. Three pairs of eyes glanced over at her, and she suddenly felt uncomfortable.

     "So cool!" shouted a girl. She came up to her and offered her hand. Her skin was a light brown, and she looked like she was Cherokee. A feather dangled from her braided hair as she offered her hand. "I'm Silena Grace, daughter of Piper and Jason. My mom's a daughter of Aphrodite and my dad's a son of Jupiter, the Roman form of Zeus. You've got nice parents!" she said. Leia shook Silena's hand. Silena's eyes were changing colors, and she was startlingly pretty. Well, she's got Aphrodite genes, thought Leia.

     Although Silena had been the only one that came up in the first place, it started a domino effect. The African American boy came up to her.

     "I'm Sammy, son of Hazel and Frank. Hazel's a daughter of Pluto, Roman form of Hades, and my dad's a son of Mars, Roman form of Ares." he introduced himself. 

     "Hello. I'm Bianca di Angelo. My dad's Nico di Angelo, son of Hades and my mom's Melody, daughter of Apollo." The girl had blue eyes flecked with brown and dirty blond hair. She smiled, but her eyes looked far away.

     Meanwhile, Sammy had crept back to Monopoly. Mischief glinting in his eyes, he focused on the board and flicked his hand forward.

     "SAMMY!"