Demeter's Destiny

I regretted letting Delilah and Adam make me up. I kept getting stared at throughout my walk to dinner. Some kids even sneered. I felt like shrinking into my shirt.

"Stop blushing Aubrie! They're just jealous," Delilah told me as she made a rude gesture towards some kids in front of the Ares cabin. They returned the gesture. I couldn't take Delilah's advice though, I hated being the center of attention. And kids kept staring. Then Regina and Rocky came up.

"Whoa Aubrie! You look awesome! I see Adam got a hold of you," Regina exclaimed. She grabbed Adam's hand and gave him a peck on the cheek. I didn't see that coming. Rocky kind of just gaped. Regina elbowed him in the ribs.

"That's my brother, the romantic one." Rocky's face turned red.

"Uff... Ow Regina. I was getting there. You look great Aubrie," Rocky said kind of breathlessly. I wondered how hard Regina actually hit him. I smiled back. We all continued on to dinner. When we got there I went to the front table while the others went to sit with their cabin. As the campers grabbed their plated and the food appeared they took them to the fire and threw some in.

"Rowan, what are they doing?" I asked my friend next to me.

"They are sacrificing to the gods. Each to their parent, or other god if they are praying for something in particular," she explained, "Oh you look really nice by the way." I thanked her and looked down at my plate of steak, potatoes, and peas. Finally I decided to pick it up and walk over to the fire.

"Well mom, whoever you are, I'm excited to know who you are. So, yeah if you could tell me that would be great," I said quietly, feeling weird. I scooped some of my potatoes in to the fire and then returned to my seat. I ate in silence, anxious for what was coming.

Instead of leaving ofter they were done eating everyone stayed seated, waiting. The fore suddenly roared brightly and the dimmed to a soft glow. Chiron motioned me up and then stood me in front of the table so everyone could see me. I looked over my audience nervously. My eyes dropped onto Rocky who gave me a reassuring smile. Then a pale gold glow washed over me. I looked up and saw a corn stalk floating above me. There were loud whoops and whistles from the Demeter table.

"Hail Aubrie Williamson. Daughter of Demeter, goddess of Agriculture," Chiron announced. He bowed and was followed by everyone else. I didn't know what to do, so I just stood there. Eventually Chiron gave me a shove towards the Demeter table. I stumbled over and was enveloped in the arms of my new family. Some gave me hugs other patted my back. I couldn't help smiling. There was 8 kids in the Demeter cabin. I had a family! Each of my siblings had varying shade of the blonde hair, A taller boy quieted everyone else and looked at me. He had light blonde hair with glints of red and hazel eyes. He extended his hand to me.

"I' Tyler. Head of the Demeter cabin. Welcome sister," he said and shook my hand, which then turned into a hug. Everyone joined in creating a Demeter group hug. Tyler ended the hug and we headed to the campfire to sing songs and eat s'mores. When we got there Rocky got my attention and patted the seat next to him. I looked questioningly at Tyler. "Go ahead. We'll walk back to the cabin together." I walked over to Rocky and plopped on the log next to him.

"You're lucky to be a child of Demeter. They're all so nice. When you're introduced to the Hephaestus cabin Leo throws a fireball to see how flame retardant you are," Rocky said, shuddering at the memory. I laughed at the joke, but the look on his face said he was serious. I cleared my throat.

"Wow, that's rough. I'm happy to know where I belong and who my mom is. I guess it makes sense. I've always have been really good with plants," I told him. That's when the Apollo kids started shushing everyone and began the first song. I just listened for the most part, but would jump in whenever I got the hang of it. It didn't feel very long before the night was done and I said goodnight to Rocky. I found Tyler in the back and we walked backed to cabin 4. I stopped outside the door and appraised my new home. The walls were made of dark dirt. Vines creeped up the sides, with beautiful flowers. There were plant boxes filled with all sorts of vegetables and grains. The one thing that worried me was the grass roof. All in all though it seemed cozy. I followed Tyler through the door. Inside everyone was sitting in their bunks getting ready for sleep. Tyler started introducing them all. He started on the left.

"Over here we have Damion," Tyler pointed to a deeply tanned boy with sun bleached hair and blue eyes. Damion raised his hand and rolled over on his bed. Next he pointed to a dirty blonde girl, " that's Brianna." Brianna waved and smiled. "Let's see that trouble maker is Evonne," Tyler pointed to a girl on the other side of the room with her white blonde hair in braids. The looked about 10. On the bed next to her was her older version. "That is Lisa, her older full sister," Tyler explained. "Over there is James." James had golden yellow hair like straw. Then in the next two beds were girls who were complete opposites. One was tall and slender with hair almost too dark to be considered blonde. The other was quite short and stocky with bleach blonde curls. "This is Melanie and Christy," Tyler said pointing to them respectively. They both nodded to me and then returned to their conversation. "Those two are nearly inseparable," Tyler explained and shrugged. He directed me to an open bed. "This will be your bunk. Brianna got you some pajamas for tonight. You can change in that room. Tomorrow I'll show you the inner workings of the cabin. Sleep tight Aubrie," Tyler yawned. I picked up the pj's on my bed and changed quickly. I slid into my bed and was asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Notes