The Chloe Chronicles: The Lost Goddess

Feelings weren't always something Chloe could control. She always felt so angry when her giagiá would yell at her, but she was powerless to do anything about it.
Silence erupted through the room once Nico finished telling his story. Chloe felt confused though. She had never met anyone named Maria in her life. She concentrated for a moment and then gave up as her memories came up with nothing.
She turned to the door, tears filling her eyes. Maria sounded similar to Maya. Could this Maria be...could have been her Aunt Maya?
"Chloe?" Nico said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Did I offend you?"
"No, it's just that....sometimes I think a lot. I'm just confused. Me and..." She swallowed a sob. "Emotions don't pair well. I don't know how to feel or think and...I just don't know if your Maria was my Maya!"
Nico frowned. "..I'm sorry? Maya? No..my mother, Maria. It's not possible you could have met her."
Chloe turned around facing him, a tear streaming down her cheek. "Is she-?"
"Yes." Nico said gravely. "She is dead. She has been for a very long time."
Chloe nodded, and sat up, hope filling her eyes. "She died when you were young?"
Nico hesitated and then nodded. "Chloe-"
"Listen to me please." Chloe said, pleading with him. "My Aunt Maya, she was the only one that ever watched out for me in this hell on earth. When my mother gave me up, she stepped forward and took responsibility for me. She said she would raise me as one of her own."
Nico offered her a small smile. "That's sounds like something my mother would have done."
"You know, she was the one who named me Chloe."
"Really?"
Chloe nodded. "It was because of my bright green eyes. I always thought I got them from my mother but now, I guess I might be wrong."
Nico stood up and motioned towards the door. "Your eyes..they remind me of emeralds."
"You have seen an emerald?" Chloe said, following Nico out the door,down the dusty hall. She sneezed and quietly excused herself.
"I have a few in my cabin. Don't tell anyone..they don't know."
Chloe smiled. That was the first secret anyone entrusted her with. "You can trust me. I won't tell anyone. I promise!"
Nico grinned for a moment and showed her to a row of steps. "Careful, there are a few nails sticking out of the boards here. I don't want you to fall."
Chloe held onto the railing and stared at the shields and paintings of famous heroes that hung on the walls. There was a Medival style painting covered with a few cobwebs of a young girl and boy. Her eyes buried themselves into Chloe's mind, and she saw flashes of them same girl, being burned at the stake. She gasped and stumbled backwards into a vase, knocking it over the side of the table, breaking the porcelain.
"Oops." Chloe said looking down. She paused for a moment, preparing herself to get struck but nothing happened. Chloe looked up confused.
Nico stood in front of her, wearing the same expression. "Is something wrong?"
"I just broke a priceless vase. Aren't I going to be punished?"
Nico frowned, realizing what she meant. He grabbed her arm. "Nothing bad will happen to you here. You're safe, don't forget that."
Chloe nodded and stepped carefully down the rest of the stairs.
"Being the oblivious demigod you are, I assume you didn't pay attention to anything around you as you were looking for me?" Nico said, stopping in front of the door.
Chloe nodded, and blushed softly. He can read me like a book. Of course, he knows me..a little.
"I can show you around later but I have a sword fighting class I can't miss."
"Okay. What should I do while you're in the class?"
Nico shrugged. "Explore. If you get lost just look for a dark place. I can find you there."
Chloe sighed. Exploring was a freedom she wasn't given often and she was willing to take it.
Once Nico said a quick goodbye Chloe stared up back at the old house, seeing flashes of flames and waterfalls. She ran away, screaming in her mind and wishing she could have been born normal.


Chloe found peace as soon as she was a few yards away from the big house. She attempted not to gape at the beauty of the place around her. There was a trickling fountain of water close to a place where horses were kept. Campers milled around with other elfish looking creatures.
Chloe tried to not run into a tree every five seconds, she was to easily distracted by the new things around her.
She walked by what looked like a large pink house and suddenly she saw a caravan of blonde campers, some of them wearing Grecian armor. Others held what looked like blueprints and weapons for the other campers.
Chloe had to smile. Maybe they are my siblings? There are so many of them! Will I be welcome?
"Hey Chloe!"
Chloe turned at the sound of her name and blushed. The boy she had met earlier, Andrew waved at her. Chloe shyly waved back and Andrew jogged over to her, two of his brothers with him.
"Hi." She whispered.
"Chloe, I would like you to meet my half-brothers. This is Marcus, and Steve."
The other two boys nodded at her and one of them held out his hand. He looked nothing like Andrew, except he had the same blonde hair and gray eyes. His eyes had smile wrinkles underneath while the other boy, Steve had freckles and dimples.
"Where I come from it's always polite to shake hands." Marcus said.
Chloe shook it gently and smiled warmly at the three of them. "You all are so welcoming," She said. "I'm not quite used to that."
Andrew laughed. "Well, us Athena boys are known for our wisdom, and manners."
"Athena?"
"Yeah, that's my Mom. Goddess of-"
"Wisdom, and battle strategy." Chloe blurted out. "Sorry...I do that sometimes. It's annoying."
Andrew grinned, putting a hand on her shoulder. Chloe blushed at the contact and hid her eyes.
"Please, at least you know who my mother is. Most new campers don't." Andrew said, moving his face closer to hers.
Chloe kept looking at the ground, shifting her weight back and fourth awkwardly.
Marcus and Steve snickered behind them.
"Sorry if Andrew is being to awkward. He was talking about this beautiful mystery girl all morning and he wanted us to meet you."
"Steve!" Andrew protested. He glared at his brother and Chloe laughed.
"I guess the mystery is solved now, isn't it?" Chloe said.
Steve and Marcus laughed.
"Ha, you're funny!" Steve said, slapping Chloe on the back.
"I like you Chloe. Andrew, you should keep her around."
"Marcus...." Andrew said. "She's new, let's not make plans for her."
Chloe grinned when she noticed Andrew was a slight shade of pink. She had never flirted before, maybe this meant she was doing well.
"So," Andrew said. "When are you going to start training?"
"Training?"
"Andrew! Steve! Marcus!" A female voice rang out. Chloe's eyes focused on a tall blonde girl, heading over to them, wearing full armor and a blue cape billowing around her.
"Uh oh." Andrew said. He turned back to Chloe and sighed. "That's Annabeth, my big sister. She's senior camp counselor to my cabin."
The older girl walked over to Andrew and put her hand on his shoulder "We're going to be late to swords class." She said. "Go back with your siblings."
Andrew nodded his head and sheepishly smiled at Chloe as he walked away.
"I'll see you around." He said quietly.
Chloe stood there silently and then Annabeth took off her helmet. Her grey eyes glinted in the sunlight as she surveyed Chloe, as if she were a threat. She was taller than Chloe, not by much and she seemed as if she had a lot of experience as a demigod.
"I'm sorry about Andrew." Chloe said bowing her head. "I just bumped into him earlier and he was just being friendly. It won't happen again."
Annabeth raised an eyebrow. Suddenly, Chloe caught herself tearing up, and she turned away, ashamed of herself. Annabeth smiled and touched her gently on the arm.
"It's okay. You don't need to apologize for anything. By the looks of your current state, I judge you apologized for things you didn't do..but still got hurt for it."
Chloe nodded and Annabeth put an arm around her shoulder. "It's going to be okay." She said. "What you need is a nice warm cup of hot chocolate. I know a guy who would be happy to keep you company."
"But, I have to wait for someone. He said he would give me a tour after his class!"
Annabeth nodded. "Okay. Don't worry, he'll be able to find you."
Annabeth started to lead Chloe through the thick crowds of campers. Some turned and stared as they walked by, one girl even shouldered Chloe on purpose as they neared what looked to be a training area. Campers were dressed in armor and had their weapons drawn, fighting each other.
Annabeth lead Chloe specifically over to an area that overlooked the sea. As the ocean breeze sweapt in Chloe breathed in deeply and sighed happily. Suddenly, she heard a whisper in her mind.
"Welcome home, my daughter."
Chloe looked around wildly to see if the man was anywhere close to her, but she only saw other campers.
"Okay Chloe," Annabeth said. "I would like you to meet my boyfriend."
The boy turned around and Chloe recognized him as the same boy she saw earlier in the mess hall with Nico. He smelled strongly of the ocean and had jet black hair. His armor gleamed in the sunlight and had a trident symbol etched into the middle below the neck.
The boy smiled and held out his hand.
"Hi, I'm Percy. Percy Jackson."

Notes