Life of a Legacy

It was a late summer's day and I was five.I was in the living room of our house in New York City that Mom made when Dad and her got married. The clouds were fluffy and white, the sky was a gourgous shade of blue and the sun was shining bright. On a normal day, I would be at the beach with my parents and we would be making sand castles that were fifteen feet tall. I would chase Dad and tackel him as Mom would smile in approval. That day was not the case. Mom was puting my blonde princess curly hair, that hung down to my back, into a pony tail so I could show off my wide sea green eyes. I was wearing a blue tee shirt with a large gray owl on it, a peace offering from my parents to my grandparants Grandmother Athena and Grandfather Poesidon. I had on dark denim shorts and gray sandals.

"Nara, hold still for a while please," Mom said.

"I don't like to stand still!" I protested.

"I know, but your ponytails keep coning out wrong. There," my mom finally let my hair go, satisfied that the ponytail came out right.

"About time! Where's Dad?"

"I don't-" she was cut off by Dad's screaming.

"ANNABETH! NARA!" he screamed.

Dad came in and began to talk in Ancient Greek, but I only managed to catch a little bit of it. Mom began to yell at him, not an angry yell though. It was more like, panic. I never herd my mom panic before and I hope I never have to again. Her eyes were wide and her voice was shaking, her forehead was scruched up like it always does when she's deep in thought and she was gripping my wrist as if she were ready to run somewhere right then and there. Mom's grip was so hard I had to wince for her to realize it. Mom let my hand go and picked me up. She was muttering something that I couldn't understand and sounded like she wanted to cry. Dad took me and Mom ran upstairs.

"Dad, what's going on?"

"It's going to be okay Nara." As soon as he said that, I herd a deep booming voice.

"WHERE IS THE LEGACY?" The voice was followed by the sound of a crash. Glass was falling and our celing collapsed. Something was thrown at our house.

"Mommy!" I leaped down from Dad's arms and ran to the pile of rubble that was once our stairs. Mom was standing on a large piece of concreate, that must of fell, and was easing her way down as quickly as she could. Her face was cut up and her and I began to climb towards her when she noticed me. Mom shouted at me to step back. Too late. BOOM! I was under some rubble and herd what distintacly souded like a car horn. The honking stopped as I herd something else get thrown at our house.

"NARA!"

"DADDY!"

"NARA! WHERE ARE YOU?"

"MOMMY!" I didn't think I was much help right then. When I looked up I saw a crack, it was large enough for my hand to fit. I crawled towards it and waved my hand.

"Percy! She's over here!" Yes, Mom saw me. Her stormy grey eyes where now staring at me with reif and fear.

"Nara, huddle up okay. Like an armadillo. We have to move the rock."

"What rock? Mom?" I was whining.

"Just trust Mommy, okay?"

"Okay." I curled up and coverd my ears. I herd roars and mortals screaming and swift shiwishing. This went on for what seemed like hours but was no more than three minuets. I began to pray to my grandparents and pretty much every god and goddess I could think of. I suddenly herd the soft sound of the ocean. I smelled stawberries and Daddy's fresh blue sugar cookies. I opened my eyes to see I was on in the Olympus throne room, which is strange because mom said the last time I was here I was a baby. I turned around to see the most shocking scene in my life: Athena and Poesidon standing side by side. He was wearing a blue hawaiian shirt with fisherman's shorts. Athena was wearing a white blouse and skinny jeans. Her hair was loose on her shoulders. I smiled at them and they smiled at me.

"Grandmother, Grandfather," I said.

"Nara," Athena said, "my, you have grown. You look more like your mother everyday."

"Hey, I have some of my genes in there too! Look at those eyes! Sea green," Poseidon beamed. Athena rolled her eyes and I giggled.

"Getting back to the point, we have a present for you. We would of waited until you where twelve but we decided the best time was now." She waved her had and I felt something on my right hand. I looked down to see a celeztrial bronze ring. It had an owl carring a trident carved into it. It fit my finger perfectly. I looked up and thanked my grandparents. Poseidon was the one who responded.

"Enjoy your gift, Nara. We will see you again." He waved his hands and I herd yelling again.
I blinked to see that I was being carried by Dad, his face was cut and blody. He was running and had a weird look in his eyes. I turned my head to see Mom was right by him with her dagger out and running. The mortal were all over the place frantic screaming something about an earthquake. I looked back and almost screamed. Five cyclopes, four harpies and three empousai where atleast fifty feet away. I turned to face Dad, I had to get answers, but I didn't have the strength to talk much.

"Daddy?" He looked at me with joy.

"Nara! Hold on sweetheart. We're going to be okay."

"I-I did this. They smell me. I'm sorry."

"Don't talk like that Nara, okay?"

"Percy! The water!" We had reached the waterfront. I was passed off to Mom and she put me on her hip, and the mosters were getting closer.

"Hold on," Dad yelled. He leaped over the railing and landed into the river. He swam back up, the monsters where ten feet away. They were the last thing I saw before Mom jumped into the river, holding on to me tight. We fell into an air bubble the size of a car and sank to the bottom of the river. As soon as we got to the bottom, well I actually don't know what happened. I was crying into Mom's shoulder as she tried to calm me down. The next thing I know, we're on a beach. I screamed. I needed to wake up. I needed to see my room in the Poesidon's cabin. I needed my parents.
***
"Nara, calm down. It's only a dream," I herd my mom say. I opened my eyes to see she had me huddled on her lap and Dad was sitting across from me on my bed. I had that nightmare again. I was eight now and I still had nightmares about when I was five.

"I'm okay Mom. What time is it?"

"12:15 am. You woke up screaming," Dad said.

"I'm sorry. Just a bad dream," I managed to say avoiding dad's eyes.

"Want to talk about it?" he asked. I just fell in Mom's chest and closed my eyes. I guessed they thought I was asleep becase Mom began to speak.

"She still thinks about it Percy."

"The monster chase? How do you know?"

"She's fifty percent you. That means that she drools and talks in her sleep."

"What does she say?"

"She calls for us. She shouts our names and kicks. She mumbles things like 'monsters are coming' and 'grandparents.' I don't know what else to do." I felt Dad wrap his arms us.

"Annabeth, we'll get through this," I could hear some doubt in his voice. Mom held me tighter and sobbed.

"Four years. We have been fighting this for four years. This isn't like The Second Titan War of The Battle with Gaea. This is Nara. Every day I look into her eyes and see them die a little more. Every day. She wants to get out and be in the real world. I know she does. I know how she feels. I can't do this to her. I can't," she said between tears.

"We'll figure something out. I promise," Dad tried to reasure Mom. She just held me a little tighter for a while. I feel asleep with the sound of my parents crying.
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I woke up in Mom's arms wrapped around me. I looked around and saw we were in my room. All of my walls that resemebled a beach scenary except for one: that wall had an assortments of sea shells that were begining to resemble a horse, I wasn't finished yet. I slipped out of Mom's arms and went to the bathroom. I changed into my bathing suit, a navy blue one peice, and put my hair into a ponytail. I scnuck into my parents room and barrowed one of Dad's tee shirts. Then I walked out to our living room, and I had to admit how simple it was. When we got here three years ago we my parents had the cabin transfered into a little cottage. It had had three rooms: my room, my parents room, and the living room, which consisted of a clock and a foutain. The clock said five am, so I grabbed my surf board and snuck out to the beach.

It was late August so the beach was still warm. I placed Dad's tee-shirt on the beack as if it were a towl and ran to the water with my board. I swam out until the beach looked like a distant boulder. Perfect I sensed a wave coming so I got ready to catch it. With some careful calculations, I dove just in time and rose up just in time to catch it and surfed it until I wiped out on the beach's shoreline. I swam back up to see my Dad have my board in one hand and his tee shirt in another and smiling. He was wearing a camp shirt and jeans and his hair was as messy as ever. I trudge out of the water and took his tee shirt and put it over my bathing suit, remebling a night gown. He put my board under one arm and took my hand in his other. We walked back to the cabins in silince until I couldn't take it any more.

"I herd you and Mom talking last night. What did you guys mean by 'we've been fighting this for three years?'" I asked. He took a deep breath.

"Nara, lets talk about this later."

"I want to talk about it now. You and mom have been putting up with me for three years, I don't want to burden you guys any more." We stopped walking. Dad got down to face me, I could see pain in his eyes. He placed his hands on my shoulder. His voice was close to cracking but had a soft sterness to it.

"Nara Jackson, don't you ever think that we just 'put up with you.' Your mother and I love you with all of our hearts. You are not a burden, you are our daughter. Please always remember that," he said.

I just hugged him. He picked me up and carried me on his hip back to our cabin and we got there just as Mom began to worry about us. She told me to get a shower and get ready for the day. I ran to my room and changed into a Camp Half-Blood shirt and some shorts. Mom ruffled my hair as I came out. We all walked down to the dinning pavilion and got some breakfast. I saw most of the campers take their bags to camp Half-Blood Hill and hugging each other saying good bye before they went home for the school year. All of the bags had one of three stickers on them: blue, white, or orange. Blue stickers mean that that camper will leave after brekfast, white ment you left after lunch and orange ment you left two hours before dinner was served. Mom told me that my aunts and uncles(athena's cabin) had put the system in place after the gods agreed to claim all of their children. I secrectly wished that I had a bag with any sticker color on it.

I had the choice of eating at either the Athena or Poesdion table. I usually just ate with my parents at the Poesdion table, but they were sitting with Chiron and Mr. D today, talking about something so I ate with my aunts and uncles. I would never admit it, but my favorite aunt was Aunt Mallery. She had straight shoulder length brown hair with story gray eye and she had freckled that splattered across her nose. She was sixteen and was my swordsmen training partner. I liked her the best because she didn't go easy on me to "spare my feelings," or something across those lines. She was leaving after breakfast so I ate my blue pancakes with her. After breakfast I raced her to the hill, which resulted with a tie.

"Haha, you can't win against a little kid," I teased her.

"Can it!" she teased back.

"Do you really have to leave?"

"Sorry Nara, but my dad is going to be scared silly if I don't come home. Maybe...maybe I'll come back for winter brake," she said. I knew she was about to say I could visit.

"Okay. Hey! Your bus if about to leave." I said. She hugged me before she took off down the hill.

"Stay wise and safe Nara Niece," then she picked up her bag and left me on the hill.

As soon as she boreded, I walked back towards the Big House. Chiron, who was in his wheelchair form, was setting up a game of pinochle with Mr. D so I pulled up a chair and sat next to Chiron. I did this so often Mr. D didn't give me a second look, he just ordered a satyr to be his partner. His partner was good at the game, but I always beat him badly. We played five games, all of them which I won. After muttering some Ancient Greek curse words(Chiron tried to cover my ears) he walked off and with the satyar. I was about to walk off when Chiron asked if I felt like a game of go fish, my favorite game ever. He pulled out a set of cards and shuffled them as I sat across from him. After we began, he began to talk to me.

"Your parents told me about last night. Do you have any threes?"

"Go fish. Yeah, I had a bad dream. Do you have any fives?

"Go fish. Then you dad told me about what you said on your way back from the beach. Do you have any twos?"

I handed him my two. "What are you talking about? Tens?"

He handed me his ten. "What you said to him. Any sevens?"

"Go fish."

"You feel like a burden? Aces?"

"Wouldn't you if you were in my place? Go fish," I said before I could stop. He put his hand down and motioned for me to stand next to him. I did and he looked me dead in the eyes.

"Nara, no one thinks you are a burden. Your parents are doing everything in their power to keep you safe."

"Chiron, it's because of that is why I am a burden. I'm the only thing stopping them from having a normal life. Sometimes I wish that I wasn't born," I said it before I could stop myself.

Notes

I hope you guys enjoyed it!