The Pharaoh's Wife

The girl Hen had met in the Big House was strange, and mysterious. Her bright green eyes were intriguing and her curly black hair was sort of cute. Camilla brought him back to their cabin and Hen claimed the top bunk.

Ryan was already asleep on his bed, snoring.

Hen lay on his back and thought about his day. It had been the oddest one yet. Why did he tell Ariadna to call him Henry? She was a bit demanding, but she seemed to have good intentions.
His newfound siblings were really nice, but there was something off with Ryan. He might’ve gotten claimed by Hebe, but he definitely didn’t seem like his brother.

When Hen fell asleep, he luckily had no dreams.

In the morning he and his siblings went to the Dining Pavilion to eat breakfast. The whole time Hen wondered about what his school would think of his absence, and what his dad would think. “Will my dad know I’m here?” He asked Camilla and Rasha. Ryan was sleeping in, of course.

“Probably. If he knew your mom was Hebe, he would be expecting you to disappear. The camp will probably send him a letter too.” Camilla explained.

Rasha had short black hair, clearly a new haircut. “Today we’re going to have you start training. After we eat, we’ll head for the arena.”

“Alright.” Hen shovelled food into his mouth, and they left the table.

They headed back to the cabin and the group saw Ryan heading towards breakfast. He mutter a sleepy “‘Sup.”

Rasha rolled her eyes. As soon as they go to back to the cabin, Hen picked up his sword, hefting it in the air.

“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.” He paused, unsure where to go.

Camilla was holding a long gold sword, and Rasha held a bow and arrows.

“Okay, we’re ready. Let’s go.” Camilla led them to the arena and they chatted along the way.

“Did you see what Drew was wearing?” Rasha and Camilla gossiped. Hen didn’t feel very obliged to join in, seeing that he was the new camper.

“Oh my gods, it was so tacky.” They chortled together. Hen rolled his eyes. Girls.

Once they got to the arena, butterflies fluttered in his stomach. Hen really wasn’t ready to swordfight. But, he knew he could never shoot a bow and arrow or slice monsters to bits with a glorified steak knife.

The arena was filled with straw dummies sporting Greek armor. A couple other kids also wearing orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirts were either fighting each other or jabbing at the dummies.

His sisters led him to a corner of the arena, and beckoned over an older boy with light brown hair, and a mean scowl. “Hen, this is Mark, a son of Ares. Mark, this is our brother, Hen.” Camilla introduced them.

“I’ll be showing you how to swordfight, since my dad’s the god of war.” Mark whipped out his own sword and lifted it in the air as if it were as light as a feather. “Let’s start, shall we?”

Hen was dripping with sweat, and his lungs felt like they were burning. Mark pushed him harder. Finally, the sun was set high in the sky, and Rasha and Camilla came and showed him to lunch. Hen was beat.

At lunch he noticed Ariadna sitting at her table with her siblings, and Lou Ellen. So, she was a daughter of Hecate. She had powers over the dead, from what he had heard the day before.
After he finished his meal, and gulped down Gatorade, and learned the cups gave him whatever nonalcoholic drinks he wanted, Hen walked towards the Hecate table. It didn’t hurt to be friendly.

“Ariadna.” He called out to her.

Her green eyes glanced up at him. “Oh, hi Henry.” She smiled, and nodded at him.

“How was your first day?” Hen asked.

“Boring. You?”

Hen chuckled. “Tiring. Have you ever fought with a sword?”

“Nope. And I never want to.” Ariadna crossed her arms. Hen shifted on his feet, and realized he was awkwardly just standing next to her table. “Do you want to head over to the cabins with me?” Ariadna asked, probably noticing his uncomfortableness.

“Sure.” Hen quickly agreed.

They strolled out of the Dining Pavilion together and headed towards the formation of cabins.

“So…” Silence filled the air, as Hen tried to make conversation. “How was your first day?”

“You already asked that.” Ariadna snapped.

Hen was dismayed. Was she mad at him? “Oh. Sorry.”

Ariadna shook her head. “No, it’s okay. I’m…” She paused for a moment, thinking. “I’m easy to anger, I guess.”

Hen nodded, understanding.

“How old are you? Not to be nosy, or anything.” Ariadna added the last sentence quickly. Their footsteps fell in unison, and Henry smiled.

“You can never tell with Hebe’s kids.” He quoted what Ryan had said the day before. “I’m thirteen. You?”

“Fourteen. Son of Hebe, huh?” She remarked.

“Yeah. It’s not as exciting as being a kid of Zeus, but it’s not as dreary as the life of a mortal, I guess.” They both snickered at this comment.

“Well, here’s my stop.” Ariadna joked. They stood in front of a medium sized stone cabin that was surrounded by a greenish aura. The symbol of Hecate was above the door.

“Bye, see you at dinner.”

As Ariadna was opening the door, she turned back and smiled at him. “You too.”

Hen nearly skipped back to his cabin, with an idiotic grin on his face. She likes me. Or, at least, I hope she does. That annoying pessimistic voice at the back of his brain kept nagging him.
He swung the door open and surveyed where he wanted to live for the rest of his life. But, the cabin wasn’t the same.

Clothes were strewn all over the floor. Ryan’s sheets lay in a pile on the bottom bunk, shredded. The umbrella they had borrowed from Athena’s cabin was ripped up. The floors were scratched.
Hen cautiously stepped inside. “Um, hello?” He called out, leaving the door open, just in case.

The light from the door was blocked by a shadow, and Hen spun around, hoping it wasn’t a monster.

“Henry, come with me.” It was his sister, Camilla.

Hen obediently followed, not wanting to argue with Camilla. She sped walked to the Big House, never pausing. He nearly had to run to keep up.

“Camilla, what happened?” He asked. His sister wouldn’t answer. Her eyes were straight ahead, determined to get to the Big House.

She rapidly knocked on the front door, too polite to barge right in. “Chiron.” She yelped, her eyes getting watery. Hen wondered what was wrong. “Mr. D, open the door. Please.” She begged. Hen began knocking also. He could tell the situation was urgent.

Finally the door open. The director of the camp, Mr. D, was grimacing. “What?” He scowled.

“Mr. D, something awful has happened. My-” Camilla was stopped short.

“Cameron, Harry, if you have a problem, tell Chiron. I need to get to the next level of Pacman.” Mr. D huffed and went back to playing his arcade game.

Camilla raced to Chiron’s office, and Hen followed her, like it was a game of tag. “Chiron!” She exclaimed when she saw him sitting at his desk.

“Camilla, Henry. What can I do for you?” He asked, gesturing for them to sit in the chairs.

Hen’s sister just shook her head. “No.” She gasped. “No time.”

Chiron looked bewildered, and Hen was also confused. “Camilla, explain.”

She took a deep breath. “Alright.” She said slowly. “Rasha went back to the cabin after swordfighting, and I went to eat lunch. Ryan was still napping last time I saw him. Rasha was supposed to be in our cabin, but when I got back, the cabin was in ruins. I rushed to the Dining Pavilion to check and see if she was there, but she wasn’t.”

Hen was still puzzled. “Wait, what does that mean then?”

Camilla glared at him. “It means Rasha and Ryan are missing.”

Notes

Oh no, another cliffhanger? Sorry...I'll update soon.


Or will I?









Just kidding, I have this all planned out.