The Chronicles of Four Kids and a Story Quilt

by Raiko Toho

Disclaimer: I don’t own Percy Jackson & The Olympians.

Summary: Annabeth writes a journal describing her life as a slave in the Titan war. AU, dark.

December 22, 2006. Kentavros Camp, Long Island, New York.

I’m Annabeth. I think writing this journal is a waste of time when there’s other stuff I could be doing, but Thalia insisted on a record, and she says I have the best handwriting. I say if she wants a record so bad she can write one herself, but I’ll do it anyway. I guess I should introduce us.

Thalia’s the oldest. We think she’s about sixteen. Her name means “festive,” and it really fits her. Thalia’s the toughest in our entire group, but when she’s not protecting us, she’s really knows how to throw a party.

I’m next oldest, but my name isn’t supposed to mean anything special, it just sounds nice. Everyone calls me the smartest, and I guess I’m the best at sewing, too. At least, that’s what Percy thinks.

Percy’s younger than me, but he always reminds me, “only by a few months,” since we’re both fourteen, or somewhere close. He doesn’t really like his name, because his mom said it’s short for Percival, which is too stuffy. I think it’s ironic, since his temper is the most explosive, the opposite of the image “Percival” brings to mind.

The last, and youngest of us is Grover, at twelve-ish. His name means “from the grove,” which makes sense, since Grover‘s the most in tune with nature. The rest of us kinda keep an eye on Grover, since he’s the littlest and just wants to sit around blowing on reeds all day.

You’re probably wondering why I keep mentioning what our names mean, but it’s because Chiron Kentavros, who presides over both us and the camp, says names are powerful. His name is made up, I think, but he tells us it means “teacher” in English. When I say I don’t even know what English is, he kind of smiles sadly and says I’ll figure it out when I’m older. Mr. Kentavros’s really nice; he even gave us a bunch of old, torn clothing for Thalia’s quilt.

Oh yeah, that’s why I’m even writing this thing. It’s her birthday-- Thalia’s, I mean. So, we all got together to make her a surprise present, since she doesn’t like the cold and we figure she’ll be the first one to get some other country where it snows. Trouble is, Thalia walked in on us picking out the cloth pieces, and we’re all awful liars. Now, the four of us all have a huge rectangle of cloth-- I though squares would look nicer, but the bigger the better-- and a few scraps to make one quarter of a story quilt.

The first block was sewn by Thalia-- her piece de resistance, literally. It tells how slaves from all over resist slavery on their camps. I think Thalia’s favorite part was the section on violent revolt. Some slaves actually turned weapons, like axes, swords, bows and arrows--whatever they could get their hands on-- towards their masters. Others took a more peaceful approach. One corner depicts a slave that’s running away by mailing himself to freedom in a box. Another shows someone pretending to be blind. We’ve all heard stories about slaves who got out of work by faking sick, and one of the most successful was the “blind” man, who miraculously regained vision when he was freed. Finally, Thalia used a fancy scrap of red-orange to show a slave resorting to arson. I heard companies don’t insure against fire damage because of so many attacks. Both Percy and Grover find this amusing. I hope they don’t suddenly decide to follow their example.

Percy’s polygon of woven organic fiber has to do with family. He has a picture of mother and child, with a heart floating over them to symbolize love. When you grow up in a world like this, it’s important to care. Below that, a pale slaver is dragging a man away from the one he loves, brutally separating the two. I don’t think Mr. Kentavros has ever done anything like that, and I know he always tries to buy families together, but some masters aren’t so kind. I guess we got lucky. Percy’s third image is a happier one, with two slaves holding hands, about to jump over a broomstick. It’s like a marriage tradition among slaves, since no priest will preside over a slave marriage when legally, we aren’t even seen as people. I suppose all our parents, if they got married at all, jumped over a broom in their ceremonies. I can’t help noticing that the guy is taller than the girl. I guess it really bugs Percy that me and Thalia are both taller than him, even if we are older. The last picture shows the epic struggle between two separated slaves who rebel against their masters-- at least that’s how Percy explained it to me. Anyway, these two slaves are sneaking out to see each other in the dead of the night. Who knew the Seaweed Brain could be so romantic?

Grover’s section is a representation of the Greek culture that was brought over to America. His pictures aren’t neatly separated like Percy’s or Thalia’s, but it’s artfully designed. Greek music and rhythms are shown with a few musical notes, a treble clef (I don’t know where Grover learned stuff like this, but it sounds pretty good), and a lyre, a traditional Greek instrument. He’s also sewn a book, for the Greek myths that we were told, and a laurel wreath, for the unique style of Greek entertainment-- the Olympics, recently renamed the Titanics.

And finally, my quilt block, with symbols to represent the grueling conditions of slave life. In the morning, slaves would wake up for a quick breakfast. I heard that in the old days, half-bloods got to eat barbeque and strawberries, with whatever drink they wanted. Now, we get a lump of mystery meat on old bread and a dipper of algae-growing water, which Percy doesn’t seem to mind. Then they’d work from dawn to dusk, either in fields or factories, with barely a rest for food. Most slaves started working when they were about seven years old, and kept working until they either died or managed to wrestle their freedom from greedy camp owners and run to another country. They didn’t even get a break after dark, with more chores to do, such as feeding animals, cleaning their clothes, splitting wood, or waiting on the camp master. Some half-bloods that garner the unfortunate attention of the overseers get picked for the gladiator pits. Luckily, us kids have a little more free time, thanks to Mr. Kentavros, so we get to make this story quilt for Thalia.

I don’t really know why Thalia wanted a record, except for other people to read or something. In that case, I guess if you’re reading this, you should know that being a slave is no walk in the park. With all the work and the living conditions, a lot of slaves live hard. That goes double if you have a master that likes to teach lessons with pain and a bronze sword, but remember that there are good things. Like the communities that grow in camps. Even though life is cruel, there’s always someone around to cheer you up. I got lucky, with a kind master and a great family. That reminds me. The surprise-- I hope-- party is coming up. Maybe I’ll write something else later, but for now, I get to go hang streamers.

“C’mon, Annabeth!” Percy shouted. I sighed and snapped the journal shut, its creamy pages bound in sturdy leather.

“I’m coming!”

Author's Notes:

Okay, some background for this story. Luke took over Olympus with the Titans, and enslaved all the half-bloods that didn't join him. Chiron was allowed to watch over one of the half-blood camps, as long as he didn't do anything like free all the slaves. The half-bloods just work in the camps, and the proceeds fund Luke and the Titans.

Trivia:

Annabeth is the best at sewing because her mother is Athena, goddess of war, wisdom, and crafts, I think.

It mentions in the British Percy Jackson site that Annabeth is thirteen and a half when Percy is still thirteen, so she's a few months older.

Thalia's name really means "festive," and Grover really means "from the grove." Percy's full name is still Perseus, but his mother told him it was Percival because naming your kids after Greek heroes is frowned upon by the Titans. To me, the image Percival brings to mind is stuffy and boring (like the Percy in Harry Potter).

Annabeth doesn't know what English is because after the Titans took over, they made everyone speak Greek. By the way, I don't think Chiron really means "teacher," but I guess it could be possible.

Annabeth is taller than Percy, as mentioned in The Titan's Curse.

The Olympics were renamed the Titanics, because the Titans didn't want it to be named after their sworn enemies, the Olympians.

Percy doesn't mind the algae in the water because he's the son of Poseidon, and he doesn't care how his water is. And, he's got kelp for brains, so what difference does a little more make?

This story was actually a school assignment about African American slaves. I actually wrote it based on Percy Jackson, so I just changed all the names and a few of the details.