Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO series. I only own my own ideas, and the materials, weapons, and characters that I put into my stories.

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry... School has been kicking my butt. Also, sorry for the weak beginning I was in a rush! Though at the beginning I was debating whether you would get a book from the Apollo cabin, or the Athena? In the end I chose Apollo because they are more literature where as the Athena cabin would probably have more historical books? What do you think?

I ate breakfast with the Hermes cabin, and when we were done, we headed over to archery range. Halfway there though, I was able to sneak out of the group and hide behind the big house, reading a book (some Apollo kids had loan me) in solitude.

The wind playfully tossed my hair as I turned a page. The sweet smell of strawberries filled my lungs and for once, my racing heart was at peace. That was until I heard soft foot steps from the side of the house. I looked up and my dull green eyes met cloudy grey ones. For a moment he stood there and I sat there in silence, neither one of us able to find the confidence to speak.

"So now you're stalking me?" I say to Malcolm coldly.

"How do you read, aren't you dyslexic?" He asks, ignoring what I said earlier.

I turn my head to the side, not completely understanding his question. "What?"

He rolls his eyes as he plopped down on the soft green grass next to me. "Demigods brains are hardwired for Ancient Greek, therefore the majority of us are dyslexic or find it difficult to read."

"Oh," I said quietly. "I guess I've gotten use to it. I've been reading for as long as I can remember..." I trail off. We sit in the quiet and watch the white clouds roll across the sky.

"Sorry for being an ass to you earlier," he mumbles. "I'm not use to being proved wrong."

I laugh loudly and nod at his apology. Again, I found us sitting in silence. A random thought appears to me and I say, "Who do you think my parent is?"

"Well," he scratched the back of his neck. "You like to read... Apollo maybe? Do you like poetry?"

I snorted. "God no."

"Gods," he corrected. "How's your archery? Are you good with a sword?"

"Gods," I repeated. "And I guess we'll never know. I snuck away before we got the the Archery range."

He cocked his head to the side. "Why?" He asked. I shrugged and we carried on a comfortable conversation for another hour till we heard the lunch bell. Malcolm excused himself and I told him I'd head over there in awhile. Instead of going, though, I decided to stay where I was. Too many questions would be asked of where I ran off to and besides, I wasn't hungry to begin with.

However, Malcolm didn't return after lunch. I figured he had activities to attend to and wouldn't have time to drop by. I wasn't affected by this. He had only been showing kindness because I was new here; nothing more. The thought of me being here made me think of my real home at St. Mary's Orphanage. A wave of sadness washed over me and I let it sink in that I most likely would never go back there. Ms. Vanderbilt had been as close to a mom as it would get and now I didn't even have her. My vision became fogged with tears, but as soon as my emotions resurfaced, I pushed them back down.

No, I told myself, emotions are for the weak, and I am not weak. And for sometime, I thought I wasn't. I had gone through so much, and none of which a small child should have to go through. I was a robot. Nothing could get through my hard, impenetrable wall. Yet there were little things that caused cracks in my stone walls; like the reappearing thought of being alone. And I know it might have appeared to you that being alone didn't bother me, but it had its moments. Yes, there were children in the same position as I was, but why us? What did we ever do to deserve to be unwanted?

Maybe I was wrong about orphans not always having trust issues or wallowing in our sorrows, because the more time I spent here, the more I noticed I pitied myself. I didn't want that. I shouldn't have that. I made an oath that day to stop pitying myself; that was what made me weak, and I was not weak.

Soon the golden sun began to sink turning the sky a fading orange color. I heard the dinner bell and decided I shouldn't skip another meal. On the way to the dining pavilion Malcolm ran up next to me.

"I didn't see you at lunch; you shouldn't be skipping meals." He scolded. I watched him with amusement as he pushed his blond hair away from his face.

"It's cute that you're worrying about me, but I'm fine. I got caught up in my book, that's all." I lied. He shrugged and we departed to our separate tables. I gathered the food I wanted and walked with the Hermes cabin to a line in front of a fire. I quickly caught on that they were offering the best part of their meals to the gods. I rolled my eyes when it was my turn and put the food I didn't like into the fire. Along with that I muttered bitterly, "Screw you."

While I was walking away I heard the person behind me scream and turned around just in time to see a roaring flame reaching for the heavens. Then I was angrily yanked to the side by someone.

"Amara what the hell did you do?" He loudly whispered inches from my face. When I tried to pull away his grip tightened.

"I just made it quite clear that I didn't like being ignored," I snapped back.

He groaned and let go of my wrist. He pushed all his hair pack with both hands. "What is wrong with you? Why are you so defiant?" He exclaimed frustrated.

My eyes widened, but I quickly narrowed them. "Excuse me?"

He said, "You can't just challenge the gods!"

I looked at him and muttered, "Unbelievable." I looked up at him, my eyes burning holes in his head, and spoke in a steady voice, "Get out of my way." Then pushed past him.

I ate in silence and got the occasional stares while I gave the occasional middle finger. I snickered quietly when Malcolm would try to steal glances but got caught in the act. He would blush and look down, then continue a conversation with the person across from him, a girl with blonde princess-like curls.

After dinner, I walked back to the Hermes cabin, showered, and rolled out a sleeping bag (their counselor had given me) next to the door. As soon as lights out had been called, I was overcome with a heavy sleep. However my dream was different from the ones I had before. At first when I had opened my eyes I panicked. I wasn't in the Hermes cabin, in fact I found myself in a place that I'd never seen before. I tried to call out but I uttered no sound. Confused, I decided it would be best to take in my location.

I was in a mountain range in gods know where. The sky held no stars, no clouds, and no moon. The soil below me was a dark black color. It was pitch black, and the only source of light was coming from a small, wilted tree that was barely hanging onto life. It gave off a strange glow that made everything around me feel powerful.

"The Acacia tree is a very strange plant, indeed. The only plant in existence that can bring things to life or cause death. It's name means 'thorny tree' which in fact was a warning to those who stumble upon it. One prick of a thorn causes death, but drinking from it's stem can be an elixir. Fascinating, isn't it?" A man's voice said. My eyes search the darkness but only could find bright gold eyes standing behind the tree.

"You will retrieve it for me," his voice is stern. If I had had a voice, I would have laughed in his face and told him to take a hike.

He chuckled and said, "Amarantha, dear, I don't think you fully understand, you don't have a choice. Laelaps is controlled by my master and won't stop till he's hunted you. Believe me, the gates of your precious camp won't hold him for long. We have insiders who will summon the beast in time, and he will kill you along with other innocent people. Are you willing to be the murderer of hundreds?" An icy feeling settled in the pits of my stomach. The death of hundreds, his words repeated in my head. Could my stubbornness really do that? I silently agreed and waited for him to continue.

"Good. Listen closely child of death, you will get the elixir of life and bring it to me." I could almost see his smile in the darkness. "A child of death bring me the elixir of life... funny. What might your father say?" My blood began to boil and I grew impatient.

"Let me warn you, this will not be an easy task. Your deadline is the first of December. Don't be late." He laughed insanely and stepped to the side. Laelaps stood behind him and lunged at me. His teeth ripped me out of my dream and I woke up panting. Today was November twenty-fifth, five days till my deadline.

I grabbed the nearest backpack I could find with all the necessities in it. I changed into a black v-neck shirt, blue jeans, and grabbed a jacket on the way out. I crept silently out the door and sprinted over to the Demeter cabin. I knocked urgently on the door and prayed that Katie would answer it. She would know what to do. To my disappointment a girl with similar black hair, but green eyes answered the door.

"What?" She said sleepily.

"Where's Katie?" I panted out of breath.

The girl gave me a confused look. "Katie went home yesterday, is there something you needed- can I help?" I shook my head and muttered an apology before running to the armory, grabbing the first sword that felt somewhat manageable, and then making my way to the front of camp.

From the moon's position, I judged it to be around two o'clock in the morning. Good, no one should try to stop me, I though to myself. Suddenly, I heard footsteps behind me. I swung around pointing my sword at the intruder. Amused grey eyes stared back at me. I lowered my sword and blushed. Then I noticed that he also had a bag with him and a sword in hand.

"Where do you think you're going?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He shrugged, "wherever you're going."

I groaned, "I don't need your help!"

"Yes, you do. You don't even know how to use a sword, you need me." He rolled his eyes. I thought about it for a second and remembered the man saying it wouldn't be easy. As much as I hated to admit it, I would need him.

"Fine," I snapped. He smiled and walked up next to me. Together, we soon were two silhouettes that blended into the darkness.

A/N: leave a review! And by the way, I didn't have time to proof read this or edit it but I needed to get it up because I promised! Also, I totally made up the thing with the Acacia tree... haha sorry. It's not real. Please keep reviewing! Next chapter soon.