Rite Of Passage

This is a work in progress, I am working on it very hard.

Rite Of Passage
Marie Williams stood around, her dark brown eyes scanning over the unbelievable scene. She had been here before – But not physically. In a dream.

There was a clear blue sky, a lake so turquoise it seemed like it was made of aquamarine, and an assorted kind of cabins. There were horses with wings, half human, half goats, and many kids in tangerine orange t-shirts.

She stepped forward – It must be a dream. She pinched herself, and winced. Definitely not a dream.

A man in a wheelchair came over. “Hello, Marie. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood.” He had a deep voice. It seemed really familiar. “I am Chiron, trainer of the demigods. And you are a demigod.”

--

Marie woke up, the taste of sugar cookies sharp on her tongue. Hearing the words “Spontaneous combustion” and “Claiming” she sat up. Her head was throbbing painfully, but it didn’t stop her from asking, “Where are we?” The man who called himself Chiron shook his head. “Manhattan, New York. More specifically Camp-Half Blood.”

Marie got up, and was helped out the cabin. Outside of the medical tent, there were a few curious campers. One of them stepped up. She had blonde, curly hair, and piercing grey eyes. She wore an orange t-shirt, jean shorts, and white flip-flops.

“Hey, I’m Annabeth. Welcome to camp…” She looked at a piece of paper in her hands. “Marie. Welcome to camp, Marie.” Annabeth stepped forward and took her hand – Maybe she would show Marie the all-exclusive tour to this place.

-

Annabeth took her arm and led her away from the small mosh pit of people that had gathered.

“Well, I know you’re a demigod. And your parent is a woman. That means we could be sisters.” Annabeth smiled. “I’m a daughter of Athena… You only have a few possibilities: Demeter, Athena, Aphrodite, Iris, Hecate, Nemesis, and Hebe. There are fewer female goddesses that have children because Hera doesn’t have affairs, and Hestia and Artemis are chaste.”

She stopped talking long enough to take a couple of deep breaths. Marie pounced on the chance to talk.

“But… Athena was always chaste. Swore to never have kids, I thought.”

Annabeth shrugged. “She falls for men that are intelligent. Her kids are born like she was: Out of her head. Well, lets start the tour.”

They walked around. On the male’s side, the cabins seemed strange: One like a bank, another smelling like seawater. Another had a crude red paint job, and another glowed so bright it hurt to look at. One made her want to fall asleep, another one bustling with smokestacks. One was made of sleek black obsidian, and one was a wooden, old time type with crusting brown paint.

“You won’t be staying in any of these. They’re for the male’s kids. Your godly parent is a woman, not a man.” She shrugged. “Most demigods have a man as a parent. My boyfriend, Percy, does. Apollo and Hermes have the most, though. The goddesses are way more picky.”

Annabeth led her to the other line of cabins. There was a large fire in the middle of the cabins. Annabeth whispered into Marie’s ear, “Hestia’s the goddess of the hearth, one of the six children of Kronos. But she gave up her Olympian-ship to Aphrodite or Dionysus.”

The goddess’s cabins were more toned down than the guy’s were. The first one was large, yet stunningly graceful. One had a grass roof, another a picture of an owl. “That’s Athena’s cabin,” Annabeth told her, proudly. “Thought so.” One seemed normal, but when clouds passed over the sun, it glowed silver. One was bright pink – like a Barbie dollhouse come to life, and the last one had weird stones all over it.

“That’s the rock wall, with lava for extra speed. That’s the lake, with the flirty naiads,” she rolled her eyes. “They always try to flirt with everyone. Oh look, time for lunch.”

Annabeth took her to the cafeteria – although it looked like the Parthenon – and led her to a table. “Sorry, you have to eat with Hermes, at least until you’re claimed.” Marie shrugged. “It’s okay. I should get to know more people anyway.”

Annabeth let out a reluctant sigh. “Okay… But if you need help, you know where I am,” she said, pointing a finger to a table filled with kids that looked like her. With that, she walked away.

---

Marie was immediately descended on with questions. “Where are you from?” “What’s your name?” “Is Hermes your parent?” The last one came from a boy who sounded slightly wistful asking it.

Marie shook her head. “Nope. My parent’s a woman, not a man.” She smiled shyly to the boy who had asked it. “Oh, cool. I’m Travis, and this is my younger brother, Conner. We’re the twin sons of Hermes.” He smiled back at her, drawing an ‘Ooooo!’

from the rest of the table. He blushed, and got up.

“Come on, guys. Time to honor the gods.” Travis led the line, Marie brought up the back. A girl in front of her was looking over her shoulder. She was giggling.

“Hi! I’m Adriana. Just wanted to tell you, Travis has it bad. And you showed up a week before the fireworks, too. It’s the biggest couple thing of the season here. Has anyone told you that you’re really easy to talk to?” Marie smiled.

“Yeah, I guess so. And thanks for the info.”

“No problem. Now put something in the fire as a offering to the gods… They like the smell of it.”

So Marie did. She dropped in some meat and a buttered roll and made a silent prayer. ''Whoever you are. Claim me. Please.''

-

Later that day, Marie had moved into the Hermes cabin. It was kind of cramped, but nobody really minded. She had spread her purple sleeping bag on the ground, along with a pillow, a flashlight, and two changes of clothes. That was all. She had gone to archery practice (luckily she hadn’t hit anyone with an arrow), tried to climb the rock wall (she got up three feet), and canoeing with Adriana (they nearly tipped it over).

After they had dinner, when Marie had prayed again, something strange happened. She had just been standing there, talking to Adriana and another girl, Megan, when she was engulfed in a pink flame.

Her jeans and t-shirt turned into a long, white, toga-style dress. She had on gold colored sandals, a golden necklace with sapphire, turquoise, and opals. He light brown hair had small braids going down either side. Her makeup was perfectly applied, and her arms had golden bangles. She glowed the color of a strawberry.

Her eyes widened. “What’s happening to me???!?” Chiron stared at her, making sure it was true.

“Hail, Marie Williams, Daughter of Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Beauty, Lady of The Rose.”

The camp got down to their knees and bowed.