Stacey Pendragon-daughter of the sea

STACEY POV

Run, Stacey. Run!

I got up with a start, sweating and panting. It was the same nightmare again, of the night, 10 years ago.

I looked around and saw I was in the infirmary. Thalia was sleeping on the bed to my right and Nico on the one to my left. I wondered why when Sam and Percy came running inside, and saw that I was awake.

Sam ran and hugged me and was looking out of breath. Percy too looked relieved. "Are you fine? Do you remember anything?" Sam asked me at top speed. "Let her take a breath and relax, Sam" Percy added, laughing.

"Your fine?" he asked me, looking concerned. I shook my head. "Here, have this" Sam handed me a goblet of nectar. I quickly gulped it down. I suddenly felt even better and my head too wasn't paining that badly. "What happened to them?" I said, nodding towards Nico and Thalia. Sam shifted uncomfortably and looked at Percy. He too looked nervous. "Hello? I asked you something" I said.

"You were possessed by something. We don't know what it was. But then you started hissing like a...a...snake. Then you collapsed and were almost dying. Thalia and Nico managed to keep you, but it took a lot of their energy and they too collapsed. But their fine" Percy said. I could feel my mouth getting dry. Why does this snake sound familiar? Very familiar?

But before I could say anything, Annabeth came into the room, holding a sheaf of papers in her hand. "Your awake? Are you fine" she smiled at me. "What are those papers?" I asked her. "Um, these. They're...um..Actually, I was curious about you understanding the snake. So I did some research to find out how". "Its Parseltongue, right?" I asked her. She looks at me in pure shock. Percy and Sam stare at me. "How did you know?" Annabeth asks, with a catch in her voice. "I'm not a complete Seaweed Brain, you know" I reply, smirking at Percy. "Hey!" he protests.

Annabeth was still looking at me. Chiron entered at that very moment. He looked at me and smiled and asked me whether I was fine. Then he said,

"You have to decide who do you want on this quest. You can take two companions. And since she" Chiron winced at this. I felt he knew who she is, "has mentioned a child of Athena, it would be wise to take a child of Athena".

"Sam" I said immediately. I wouldn't go on my very first quest without her. She doesn't say anything, but I felt a delighted pinch near my elbow. I didnt know who to take as a second companion. I suddenly looked up at Annabeth and asked her a silent question.

She seemed to understand and said "I'll go with Stacey. Anyways, its ages since I got out of camp". "But, it says something about righting a wrong. You sure you want to go?" Percy asked her, concerned.

"It could be anything. And I can't stay at camp forever" she said. I gave her a grateful smile and she just nodded. "But what place will you start searching? You mentioned an it which would lead you" Percy asked.

"I don't know" I admitted. "We will just have to wait and search. You should leave tomorrow morning" Chiron adviced.

Then Chiron ordered everybody to go to bed and told me to stay in the infirmary for the night. Everybody said goodnight and went to their cabins and even I tried to sleep. But after tossing and turning for an hour, I just couldn't sleep so I went into the woods, knowing that I was breaking curfew. But who cares? I sat down under a tree and and kept thinking about the voice of the snake. I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I didnt notice him till he says "Hi".

I jumped up in surprise and saw Nico sitting next to me.

" Do not sneak up on me like that" I gasped, my hand over my heart as he laughed in a deep, rich sound. "Sorry, I didn't mean to" he replied after a while.

"It OK. But what are you doing here?" I raised my eyebrows at him as he shrugged and replied, "Couldn't sleep, what about you".

" Same as you" I said, he just nodded and sat in silence. I couldn't help but observe him. His eyes held a kind of sorrow and pain, and he didn't look like the social type. He could surely use my therapy.

"What are you looking at?" He suddenly asked, breaking me from my thoughts. "Have you ever pranked anyone?" I asked him and he just looked at me in pure confusion.

"Umm....no?" He replied, and I shook my head at him, clearly mystified. "By the ways, who are you? You are not a normal demigoid" he asked me.

"I am this" I said and thrust my hand out at him, the one with the mark. He looked at it and said, "What is this?". " A scar" "I know its a scar. I'm not blind" he sounded exasperated. "But what kind of a scar is that?"

I was about to answer when I heared screeching in the distance. Harpies. We looked at each other in fear. Nico quickly got up. I got up, but stumbled and Nico catched me. I felt my self going red. We looked back and saw the harpies having sensed us and were coming towards us.

We caught hands and started running towards the cabins, laughing all along the way. We finally reached the cabins and let go of our hands. We were panting and laughing at the same time.

"Thanks" I gasped at him. Even he looked red. Because of the running or something else, I don't know. He just nodded and saifd " Good luck on your quest". "I really need it" I muttered.

He entered the Hades cabin and even I entered the Poseidon cabin. Percy was not in the cabin. I felt something was wrong. Then I heared screeching in the distance and Percy bursted into the cabin with Annabeth. Looks like they too decided to go for a moonlight walk. They saw me in the cabin and stared for a long time. Then we all bursted out laughing. I just love camp.

Notes

HELLO, ONE AND ALL!!