The Adventures of Maria Von Alice

''' Chapter 1 '''

The sky boiled with new colors. I ran with all my energy up the mountain… The sphinx was after me. I grabbed my cape and reached the top of the mountain. I stared down and knew this was my end. Either way, I’d die. I prayed to my mother Persephone and whirled around to face the Sphinx. She pawed her way up until… I swallowed and held my knife tight. It was the only thing I had brought with me when I had run away from home. The only thing. My ripped cape flew around in the wind. The sphinx reached the top and licked her lips. “At last!” She cried and leaped at me. I did the only thing I could. I jumped off the mountain.

My throat was dry and bumpy. I sat up and shook my head. How long was I out? And…and how did I survive that fall? I looked a few feet away. There were bits of yellow dust on the ground. The sphinx. I backed away as far as I could with a broken leg and bloody face. Probably all my bones were broken. My bottom touched something on the dirt. I dug around and saw a blue hairbrush. It was cracked and buried in rocks. I picked it up. It was new, but it had been here a long time. There were strands of red hair tangled in the brush. In the sunlight, it looked brown. I put it in the dirt/rocks and lay down on the ground. I touched a clump of soil and it turned into a flower. I was so weak I couldn’t even pick my head up again. I lie down and fell asleep.

Somebody was shaking me. I woke up. The sky was dark now. I focused my eyes. I saw a boy looking down at me, kneeling over and shaking me awake. I blinked and sat up. I almost fell back down again but he grabbed me. “Let me go!” I protested. The boy let go and I dropped onto the ground again. “Ow,” I muttered. Then I got a good look at him.

He had pale skin and dark hair. Maybe blue eyes… no brown. Or black. I couldn’t tell. It was dark. Shadows bent towards him like they were trying to get his attention. “Who are you?” I asked. “Who are you?” He shot back, his eyes moving up and down. “Maria Von Alice,” I said “You?”

The boy shrugged. “Are you a demigod?” I sniffed “Of course!” He nodded, slowly “Then, who’s your parent?” I looked him in the eye “Persephone.” His eyes widened. “Who are you, then?” I asked. He took a breath. “Nico di Angelo, son of Hades.”

My day couldn’t get any weirder. “di Angelo?” I asked “As in Bianca di Angelo?” He looked… “She was my friend,” I said “So she’s your sister, right?” He nodded “Right.” We walked some more. “Where are you taking me?” I asked him. “Persephone has a kid?” He asked. Seriously, this guy wasn’t answering any of my questions. “Yes,” I said “Now are you going to answer me or no?” He gave me a smug smile “No,” “Then I’ll run,” I said. I ran. And ran. Wind blew through my ripped T-shirt. I fell in the mud, twice. Nico reached me and pulled me back. “Listen, little sis,” He said. “I don’t know what you’re planning, but you have to come with me.”

The Styx River churned and crashed against the shore. Nico grabbed a black rock. Obsidian. He pushed it together. It bent at his touch. He made a triangle, and then tossed it at the Styx. “Why’d you do that?” I yelled over the wind of the Underworld. “That was priceless.” He kept walking along with me. “Alright, Nico. Where are you taking me? You’re not a kidnapper, are you?” I asked. “Of course not.” He smirked. We walked past the Styx and through the gates to the Fields of Asphodel. Past it. And into the garden of Persephone. “Don’t eat anything.” Nico told me. “I know!” I told him. There were so many fruit. And flowers and flower beds. We walked past… and into the palace of Hades. Nico gestured toward the other path. “That’s Tartarus,” He said. “I know, but why are we visiting Hades?” I asked. He took my hand and dragged me inside.

The place was huge. There were skeletal guards all around and across the front. They had different weapons and had jackets from different type of war periods. I saw Hades and Persephone on their thrones with Demeter on hers (unplanned), talking. They did not notice us. I was about to…when Nico pulled me together. “Maria,” He said to me. “Bow down.” I did. He did, too. They noticed us. “Demigods,” Demeter observed. “Just what we need.” Before she could say more, I bowed to my mom. “Mother,” I said. “Look up, Maria,” My mom said. I looked up. She looked kind like I’d seen her before. Warm brown eyes, rich black hair. Like me. Hades was looking back and forth Nico and I. Persephone frowned at Nico. Her gaze softened when she turned to me. “Daughter, I’ve been waiting. Where were you earlier? Why didn’t you answer?” I must admit, my mother acts like a kid sometimes. I didn’t answer. All I could think was how my dad fell in love with this woman. “I could take her to her room,” Nico offered. “I could show her the gifts, too.” Persephone studied me. “Um… mom, is… is my dad alive?” I asked. It was a mistake. I knew I was Persephone’s only daughter and I were talking in front of Hades. “Love,” She cooed. “Where was your father last when you saw him?” Demeter looked pleased. “A fine man. Great family, wealth. Smart and rich. Nice house. Much better then this dump.” Demeter said. “And my daughter’s expected to live here.” “Demeter, please!” Hades bellowed. Persephone rolled her eyes. “Mother! I loved that place. Don let me stay there as long as a want. But I love this place more.” Now it was Demeter’s turn to roll her eyes. “Sure. It was a fine home until Hades had to destroy it!” My eyes were burning. I was outraged. Hades destroyed it? Why? What was his problem? I stomped my foot. “You destroyed it? What’s your problem?” I shouted. Nico pulled me out of the throne room.

My room was the room exactly like it was before when I’d last seen it, before it had been destroyed. Same walls, bed, etc. Nico pulled open a drawer. “You don’t want to make my father angry,” He said to me. Nico pulled out my clothes. “These don’t fit you anymore. You need new ones. He tossed them to me. “Pick the ones you’ll keep. Need only a few.” He left the room. I picked out 2 dresses and one sweater. The rest I shoved aside. My head was throbbing. Nico returned. He had a package in his hands. It was wrapped in black wrapping paper with one floating star moving around. He set it on my bed. I plucked off the star, tossed it up into the air in my room and named it Jim. I peeled off the wrapping paper, opened the box and revealed a black velvet box like a ring box, black clothes, and something shiny peeked out from under. Nico covered it up with the clothes. “Surprise present.” He promised. I opened the ring box and found a ring. It was entirely black, shaped like a flower. I put it on. “To help you control your powers.” Nico said. I went out of the room to change for my new clothes. I brushed my hair, washed my face, put on the black T-shirt, black sneakers, black ripped jeans, and black flower earrings. I even put Jim into my T-shirt, and he floated around. Back at my room, Nico pulled out a sword identical to his. “Stygian iron sword. You’re a worthy child of the Underworld.” He gave it to me. I grabbed it by the hilt. I hung it by my side. It was light. “Thanks,” I said.

“I’m a month younger than you.”

“Yeah,”

“Can I summon the dead?”

“With your ring.”

“I’m following you.”

“If you want.”

“Is there another place for demigods?”

“Camp Half-Blood. Has every demigod tool. Challenges. Cabins. Friends, activities. I visit once in a while.”

“Okay. Is there a Persephone cabin? If not, where do I stay?”

“No. No Persephone cabin. She doesn’t have kids. Then you stay at Hermes.”

“Can’t I stay in Hades?”

“No. Only your godly parent or else.”

“Then… Hermes?”

“Hospitality. They take in unclaimed or kids that don’t have cabins for their parent. Twenty cabins for minor and major gods and goddesses. Even the maiden goddesses. Anymore questions?”

“Yeah. Where are we going?” I asked. “Ever shadow traveled?” Nico asked.

'''Chapter 2 '''

Shadow traveling was awesome. Well, Nico had this idea of me adopting a young hellhound from the fields of punishment. My hellhound – Sammy was still young, 6 feet tall, and 620 pounds. Go figure. So we went shadow traveling to Camp Half-Blood. When we arrived at Half Blood Hill, a dragon coiled up a pine tree covered in Golden Fleece. “That’s Peleus.” Nico said. “Our golden fleece guard dragon.” Peleus the dragon was sleeping, so I decided not to bother. Nico and I walked down Half Blood Hill and reached camp. It was… breathtakingly beautiful. There were so many demigod challenges… and campers talked, fought and did much at once. It was a half-blood’s dream. “Hey, Nico,” a boy with green eyes said. “Who’ve you got with you? Looks like your twin.” He joked. Nico found a smile. “Hey Percy,” He said. “I’d like you to meet Maria, daughter of Persephone.” Percy raised an eyebrow. “Persephone?” “Yeah, Persephone,” I said. “You?” “Poseidon.” He smiled. “Percy’s got a lot going for him. His past… well let’s just say he’s a popular hero of Olympus.” Nico told me. “Whoa,” I said. “Can I have your autograph?” Percy laughed. “Sure, just now… I can’t find a pen. You and Nico look like twins.” It was my turn to laugh. “Oh yeah? He’s a month older than me. And we kind of do look alike…” I said. Percy nodded. ”See you soon, Maria. I’m looking forward to talk to you.” And he walked away. Nico nodded at me. “You just made friends with Percy. That’s good.” I walked along with him. “Time to meet Chiron.”

At dinnertime, I sat with Hermes’s cabin. Chiron was a centaur, activities director. We were having an awesome archery knockout after dinner. So far I had made friends with:


 * Percy, Poseidon cabin


 * Cleo, Aphrodite cabin


 * Chelsea, Janus cabin


 * Angeline, Athena cabin


 * Tess, Hephaestus cabin

They were pretty cool with stuff. After archery knockout, we left for our cabins. In Hermes cabin, I took off Jim and my cabin mates tried to convince me that drawing a smiley face on it would make Jim more approachable. I did with pencil so I could change the mood.