Sisters of Opposition

Kylie's father is Hades? I knew she was different, but it had to be a mistake. We were sisters, not half-sisters. We had the same father. Our mother never said anything different to us in all these years. Why would she lie to us? Then it dawned on me. She'd lie because she hated us. Why would she bother being honest with us about anything when she hated us for most of our lives?

I didn't know what to do. They were gonna separate us and Kylie and me hadn't been separated, ever, especially not since we ran away. But here at this camp, people were separated by who their godly parent was, not who their mortal parent was. I was kinda having flashes of reading Harry Potter and thinking of the Patil twins, separated by the Sorting Hat, one sorted into Gryffindor, the other into Ravenclaw. It wasn't the same, but it was similar. At least if we were at Hogwarts, we'd be able to tell the Sorting Hat we'd prefer to stay together. Here, there was no such option.

"Percy, that's a joke, right? That's a really bad joke, right?" I said, finally finding my voice. "I mean, isn't Hades the one who sent some of those monsters after us? And now he's claiming her as his daughter? What kind of sick twisted father does that?"

Percy had a sympathetic look on his face.

"Actually, Carina, around here, when it comes to the Big Three, it's not uncommon. There were debates on whether or not to kill me or my cousin Thalia or even Selene..." his voice trailed off and he got a faraway look in his eyes, "My point is, we were all born after Zeus, Poseidon and Hades vowed not to have any more children. Hades automatically tried to kill us for the vow being broken. Zeus and Poseidon even considered killing us to appease him and to curb any trouble we might cause by existing. Welcome to the life of a child of Olympus. Just because your parent is a high ranked god, doesn't mean you're safe."

"Are you serious?" I asked, my voice getting higher.

"Yes, he is," said Annabeth. "The gods don't always do things that we agree with. They don't have human emotions."

"But he tried to kill us and now he's claiming her as his," I pointed out.

"I knew it was going to happen, Carina," Kylie finally spoke up. "It's why Nico and I left the game and came here. He realized that I was more than likely a child of Hades like him."

"But why would Mom have a child with Hades, Kylie?" I asked my sister.

"Because she was furious with Zeus for leaving her with you. Think about it, Car. She's always hated us. It makes sense. She fell for Zeus and had you. He couldn't stay with her, he's the leader of Olympus! She realizes he's never gonna come back because he's with his wife, and she does something that will piss him off eternally... She has me with his enemy, his brother, Hades," Kylie said.

I wanted to argue with her, but my sister made sense. Our mother was spiteful like that. If she felt that Zeus had wronged her, she would go and sleep with the one person that would piss him off like nobody else could. In this case, that one person would be Hades.

"But how could he just nonchalantly claim you as his daughter after he's been trying to actively kill you for six months? How are you okay with this, Kylie? They're gonna separate us!"

"They're not the ones who've separated us, Carina. I love you, but we've always been separate. I've always been different from you, never fit in around you. We've tried, and you've always been good to me, but it's the truth. We've never been the same. This, it just shows what we've always known. It shows that no matter how much we tried to ignore it, there are just some things about both of us that neither of us knew, things that make us so much different from each other."

"You're my little sister, Kylie."

"I always will be, Carina. But this just showed us what we already knew, you are of life and light, while I am of death and darkness. We can never be the same. We will always be opposites. You can't tell me that you're surprised to learn that I am the child of the god of the Underworld after all of this time, Carina."

I just stood there looking at my sister. Were things already changing? She was standing by Nico's side. I was standing with Percy and Annabeth. She was always on the fringe of everything, now standing with the one person everyone in the camp had labeled the outsider. I had always been on the inside, with the popular kids, and I was being told that my father ran Olympus. Things weren't changing, my eyes were being opened. She was still my sister, but now she wasn't alone, she had someone else like her and I didn't have to be blind to her differences. I loved her, but I was free to be my own person.

"You're right, Kylie," I said, the words sticking in my throat. "We've always been different, but I would never leave you alone."

"I'm not alone anymore, Carina."

"But I will be in Cabin One."

"But only at night and for meals. Don't you see how popular you are already?"

"So, you'll be in Cabin Thirteen then?"

Kylie looked at Nico and something in my stomach dropped. I wasn't sure what had just passed between them, but I wasn't sure I was going to like it. When she looked at me, I felt like my heart might stop.

"Actually, Carina, no. I'm leaving camp tonight."

"What?! You can't do that, Kylie!"

"I can, and I am. I don't fit in around here. I'm gonna go with Nico and meet Hades. I'll see where things go from there. Maybe I'll come back to visit or even stay, but I'm gonna confront him first," Kylie said.

"He tried to kill you! Now you're gonna go to his house?"

"She's not going alone, Carina. I'll be with her," Nico said.

"You stay out of this. This is between me and my sister," I snapped at him.

Something in Kylie's eyes changed.

"Do not talk to him like that. Nico's just as much my brother as you're my sister. He's promising to do for me what you've done for years. Don't snap at him," she growled at me.

"You're gonna take the side of that freak?" I said before I could stop myself.

Kylie's eyes flashed and she punched the ground. Fissures opened up. I could see she was mad, and I knew I was the cause of that anger, her pain. I'd just pushed her away.

"If he's a freak, so am I, Carina! Keep that in mind! I've never been sunshine and daisies like you, don't get mad at him because we're alike! It's not his fault!" she shouted at me before turning to Nico. "Come on Nico, let's get out of here."

With that, Nico di Angelo walked out with Kylie following him. After what seemed like just a few minutes, they melted into the shadows. She was gone and it was my fault. I'd tried to protect her, but instead, I'd pushed her into the home of the god who'd been trying to kill us.

Percy put his hand on my shoulder. I was trying not to snap at him or hit him. It wasn't his fault I was an idiot. It was all on me. After a few minutes, I just looked at him with a look of embarassment.

"Come on," he said. "I'll walk you back to cabin eleven to get your things and then walk you to cabin one for the night."

Notes