( EMMELINE KINGSLEY )

-ˏˋ♥̩͙♥̩̩̥͙♥̩̥̩ ⑅ ⑅ ♥̩̥̩♥̩̩̥͙♥̩͙ˊ

♥*♡∞:｡."𝐖𝐄'𝐑𝐄 𝐆𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐂𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓" valentina whispered hastily towards emmeline as the two girls tiptoed outside of the aphrodite cabin trying to make it towards the beach for a late swim. it was currently half past one and the two girls were trying to keep up with the their tradition.

"we've never been caught" emmeline brushed off the worry with a flick of her wrist, the two girls passed multiple other kids who were out past curfew doing whatever they wanted. 

the two saw travis and connor stoll, the two boys who were a year or two younger than them sneaking into the dining pavilion, charles beckendorf on his way towards the aphrodite cabin probably to see silena and billie ng sitting by the forest growing small plants using her chlorokinesis

"did you tell marlene the normal time?" emmeline asked valentina as they finally felt their toes hit the grainy sand on the beach which stood on the border of camp half-blood. it was quite dangerous to be so far near the border considering one wrong move and they'd be in enemy territory but it was a risk they'd been willing to take for years.

"she's never told me the wrong time" marlene rhodes voice caught emmeline's ears making the girl whip around to see Marlene stood near the edge of the water, her hair tied atop of her head and her legs bare under the t shirt she wore which reached mid-thigh.

the small scars which littered her knees and below had seemed to heal much quicker than emmeline expected but marlene had always been the most gifted of her siblings beside will solace in the healing area. she cursed the girl for still letting clarisse drag her into battle practice whenever she was bored.

emmeline squealed slightly before rushing to marlene and throwing her arms around the girl pulling her into a air constricting hug, marlene was only a year older than emmeline and had been the first person at camp half -blood to show the girl around.

"gods, you're way too strong for someone so small" marlene laughed into emmeline's shoulder before valentina pulled the blonde off their friend.

"did we come here to talk or to swim?" valentina asked sarcastically as she removed the pair of denim shorts and camp half- blood t shirt showing her blue bikini underneath. emmeline rolled her eyes at her sister before also undressing and grabbing the girls hands.

"chiron would so kill us if he ever saw us" marlene laughed as the girls threw themselves into the water, the waves being stronger than night than usual but the water still being warm enough they were able to relax.

"𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥" grover said to emmeline as the girl trailed beside him towards breakfast "i mean you're usually looking.. alive- but today" the boy said as he looked down at the girls eyebags and messily braided hair.

"says you" emmeline retaliated as she looked the boy over, he was bleary-eyed and his shirt was inside out.

around three in the morning an aethiopian drakon had been spotted at the borders of camp, the three girls had been forced to return to their cabins. marlene however was forced to join her siblings in pursuit. the magical boundaries had kept the monster out, but it prowled the hills, looking for weak spots, it didn't seem anxious to go away until apollo's cabin launched a few dozen arrows lodged in the chinks of the drakon's armor, it got the message and withdrew.

"it's still out there," lee, an apollo cabin member, warned during announcements. "twenty arrows in its hide, and we just made it mad. the thing was thirty feet long and bright green. it's eyes-" he shuddered.

"you did well, lee," chiron patted him on the shoulder. "everyone stay alert, but stay calm. this has happened before."

"aye," quintus said from the head table. "and it will happen again. more and more frequently."
the campers murmured among themselves.

everyone knew the rumours: luke and his army of monsters were planning an invasion of the camp. most demi-gods expected it to happen this summer, but no one knew how or when. it didn't help that attendance was down, the camp only had about eighty campers. not even three years ago there were more than a hundred members but, some had died. some had joined luke. some had just disappeared.

"this is a good reason for new war games, "quintus continued, a glint in his eyes. "we'll see how you all do with that tonight ."

"yes..." chiron said. "well, enough announcements. let us bless this meal and eat." he raised his goblet. "to the gods."

emmeline and grover raised their glasses and repeated chiron before finding a place to begin eating their breakfast, the whole camp seemed sleep ridden as they groggily ate or dozed off over their food. tyson and percy slid onto the table joining the two.

emmeline smiled over at tyson making the cyclops blush before he noticed grover sitting slightly out of it, before shifting uncomfortably "i will go...um...polish my fish ponies." he lumbered off, leaving his breakfast half-eaten.

chiron walked over to the trio and tried for a smile. he probably wanted to look reassuring, but in centaur form he towered over them, casting a shadow across the table. "well, percy, how did you sleep?"

"uh, fine." i wondered why he asked that. was it possible he knew something about the weird Iris-message I'd gotten?

"and you emmeline?" his tone making emmeline slightly shrink in her seat, did he know how they'd snuck out? they were sure they blended in with the others when running back to their cabins.

"peachy" she hesitated but the eye bags under her eyes proved more than obvious she hadn't slept comfortably as she usually does "has my brother arrived?" she asked trying to change the subject.

chiron nodded curtly as he stared the girl down "this morning, after the attack. i'll do you a favour and not tell him of your nightly escapades" the mans words making her wince as percy turnt to give her a curious look. all emmeline did was nod in a thanking.

"i think you three might want to, ah, discuss matters. now if you'll excuse me, i have some Iris-messages to send. i'll see you later in the day. and emmeline back to your table" he gave grover a meaningful look, then trotted out of the pavilion.

emmeline watched as the man walked away before rolling her eyes ad continuing to eat, percy stared at her worriedly knowing how much trouble she'd be in for switching tables and staying even after being told but today she didn't seem to care.

"what's he talking about?" percy asked grover before turning to emmeline "and what "escapades" he said making quotation marks with his fingers.

emmeline stayed silent as grover chewed his eggs. "he wants you to convince me," the satyr mumbled distractedly. before percy could continue further somebody else slid next to him on the bench: annabeth.

"what escapade?" percy asked emmeline facing the girl again with a raised eyebrow as she ignored the boys blue eyes which always made her feel threatened. her apple juice seemed more interesting than answering his questions.

"she went to the beach last night, they do it every year" annabeth spoke up making emmeline shoot the girl daggers before percy turnt to her with wide eyes.

"that's on the edge of the border, are you crazy?!" his voice showed he was obviously worried but he tried to play it off as usual concern and not one that overwhelmed his being whenever he thought of the girl being in trouble.

emmeline tried waving off his concern as she picked up a spoon of porridge which she'd put berries from the demeter cabin into, the food being the only thing stopping her head from slamming into the table. annabeth probably enjoyed how exhausted the girl looked and that made emmeline avoid her eyes.

"grover's talking about the labyrinth." annabeth told the boy as percy's eyes widened even more once realising the girl was besides her. that's two people breaking the rules already, both of them ebbing his best friends.

everybody in the dining pavilion was stealing glances at the four and whispering. "you're not supposed to be here," percy said turning to annabeth.

"neither's she" annabeth argued as she pointed at emmeline who glared at the girl but didn't argue knowing she was right. she was just waiting for selina to drag her away. "but we need to talk," annabeth insisted.

"but the rules..." percy tried weakly, neither girl giving in.

half-bloods had to sit with their cabins. if mr. d had been there, he probably would've strangled both girls with magical grapevines or something, but mr. d wasn't here. chiron had already left the pavilion. quintus looked over and raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

"look," annabeth started, "grover is in trouble. there's only one way we can figure to help him. it's the labyrinth. that's what clarisse and I have been investigating."

emmeline's eyebrows shot up in surprise considering annabeth and clarisse were working together and hadn't ended up murdering each other yet.

percy shifted my weight, trying to think clearly. "you mean the maze where they kept the minotaur, back in the old days?" annabeth nodded.

"im guessing it's not under the king's palace in crete anymore," emmeline guessed. "the labyrinth is under some building in america."

annabeth rolled her eyes. "under a building? please. the labyrinth is huge. it wouldn't fit under a single city, much less a single building." annabeth said shooting emmeline a smug look.

if it wasn't considered wrong emmeline would've reached over the table and throttled annabeth till she was blue. the girl always seemed to get on her nerves especially around percy. and it seemed that the blonde across from her's proximity to the son of poseidon wasn't helping.

it'd always been like this between annabeth and emmeline, since they were kids even. since luke was around. but when luke was around he'd been able to keep the two civil around each other, he'd even been able to let them have moments they'd never admit happened though.

"so...is the labyrinth part of the underworld?" percy asked as he remembered his dream from last night of nico.

"no." annabeth frowned. "well, there may be passages from the labyrinth down into the underworld. i'm not sure. but the Underworld is way, way down. the Labyrinth is right under the surface of the mortal world, kind of like a second skin. it's been growing for thousands of years, lacing its way under western cities, connecting everything together underground. you can get anywhere through the labyrinth."

"if you don't get lost," grover muttered dejectedly "and die a horrible death."

"grover, there has to be a way," annabeth said. percy got the feeling they'd had this conversation before. "clarisse lived."

"barely!" grover said. "and the other guy-"

"he was driven insane. he didn't die." annabeth's words making emmeline look down at her food again, she knew who they were talking about.

"oh, joy." grover's lower lip quivered. "that makes me feel much better."

"eat your food, grove" emmeline told the boy softly as she patted his back and turnt to annabeth who was talking to percy.

"whoa," percy said. "back up. what's this about clarisse and a crazy guy?" emmeline honestly wondered how no one told percy anything that happened in camp.

annabeth glanced over toward the ares table. clarisse was watching like she knew what we were talking about, but then she fixed her eyes on her breakfast plate.

"last year," annabeth said, lowering her voice, "clarisse went on a mission for chiron."

"i remember," percy said. "it was secret." annabeth nodded.

"it was secret," annabeth agreed, "because she found chris rodriguez."

"the guy from the hermes cabin?" percy remembered him from two years ago. they'd eavesdropped on chris rodriguez aboard luke's ship, the princess andromeda. chris was one of the half-bloods who'd abandoned camp and joined the titan army.

"yeah," annabeth said. "last summer he just appeared in phoenix, arizona, near clarisse's mom's house."

"what do you mean he just appeared?" percy asked making emmeline finally speak up, she'd been informed on everything by annabeth through letters over the summer when she'd update her on luke. the only thing they'd been able to civilly speak about

"he was wandering around the desert, in a hundred and twenty degrees, in full on greek armor, babbling about string or something." percy now turning to her wondering how she knew.

"string?" he asked.

"he'd been driven completely insane. clarisse brought him back to her mom's house so the mortals wouldn't institutionalize him. she tried to nurse him back to health. chiron came out and interviewed him, but it wasn't much good. the only thing they got out of him were that luke's men have been exploring the labyrinth." the girl shivered at her own words.

"okay," percy asked. "why were they exploring the Labyrinth?"

"we weren't sure," annabeth said. "that's why clarisse went on a scouting expedition. chiron kept things hushed up because he didn't want anyone panicking. he got me involved because...well, the labyrinth has always been one of my favourite subjects. the architecture involved-" her expression turned a little dreamy making emmeline subconsciously smile.

sure she despised annabeth's beings but it was impulse for her seeing the girl so happy, something that was rare since luke's betrayal to the camp.

"the builder, daedalus, was a genius. but the point is, the labyrinth has entrances everywhere. if luke could figure out how to navigate it, he could move his army around with incredible speed."

"but it's a maze?" emmeline asked before percy had the chance

"full of horrible traps," grover agreed. "dead ends. illusions. psychotic goat-killing monsters."

"but not if you had ariadne's string," annabeth said. "in the old days, ariadne's string guided theseus out of the maze. it was a navigation instrument of some kind, invented by daedalus. and chris rodriguez was mumbling about string."

"so luke is trying to find ariadne's string," percy said. "why? what's he planning?"

annabeth shook her head. "i don't know. i thought maybe he wanted to invade camp through the maze, but that doesn't make any sense. the closest entrances clarisse found were in manhattan, which wouldn't help luke get past our borders. clarisse explored a little way into the tunnels, but...it was very dangerous. she had some close calls. i researched everything I could find about daedalus. i'm afraid it didn't help much. i don't understand exactly what luke's planning, but I do know this: the labyrinth might be the key to grover's problem."

"wait you think pan is underground?" emmeline asked as she stared at annabeth with squinted eyes

"it would explain why he's been impossible to find."

grover shuddered. "satyrs hate going underground. no searcher would ever try going in that place. no flowers. no sunshine. no coffee shops!"

"but," annabeth said, "the labyrinth can lead you almost anywhere. it reads your thoughts. it was designed to fool you, trick you and kill you; but if you can make the labyrinth work for you-"

"it could lead you to the wild god," percy said.

"i can't do it." grover hugged his stomach. "just thinking about it makes me want to throw up my silverware."

"grover, it may be your last chance," annabeth tried. "the council is serious. one week or you learn to tap dance!"

over at the head table, quintus cleared his throat. he seemed like he didn't want to make a scene but the two blondes at the table had obviously over stayed their visit.

annabeth looked at percy before standing "we'll talk later. convince him, will you?" she squeezed his arm a little too hard for emmeline's liking.

emmeline felt her annoyance for the girl grow again as she pushed herself up and slid her empty porridge bowl to the centre of the table, she was still in her pyjamas percy noticed in a camp half-blood shirt which looked way too big for her. like one he owned and had lost a while ago.

"relax grover" she told the satyr squeezing his shoulder before turning to percy "and don't do anything  stupid" her words reminding him of simpler times when the would go on quests and she'd always try and warn him from putting his life on the line.

𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫, quintus had everyone suit up in combat armor like we were getting ready for capture the flag, but the mood among the campers was a lot more serious. sometime during the day the crates in the arena had disappeared, and everyone had a feeling whatever was in them had been emptied into the woods.

"right," quintus said, standing on the head dining table. "gather 'round."

he was dressed in black leather and bronze. in the torchlight, his gray hair made him look like a ghost. mrs. o'leary bounded happily around him, foraging for dinner scraps.

"you will be in teams of two," quintus announced. when everybody started talking and trying to grab their friends, he yelled: "which have already been chosen!"

"awww!" everybody complained.

"your goal is simple: collect the gold laurels without dying. the wreath is wrapped in a silk package, tied to the back of one of the monsters. there are six monsters. each has a silk package. only one holds the laurels. you must find the wreath before the other teams. and, of course...you will have to slay the monster to get it, and stay alive."

emmeline had never really been one to fight physically but she always loved capture the flag and due to the amount of quests she'd been on she'd mastered using a sword and various other weapons. except a bow and arrow, that was her weakest point.

"i will now announce your partners," quintus said. "there will be no trading. no switching.no complaining."

quintus produced a big scroll and started reading off names. beckendorf would be with silena beauregard, which beckendorf looked pretty happy about. the stoll brothers, travis and connor, would be together. no surprise. they did everything together. clarisse was with lee fletcher from the apollo cabin-melee and ranged combat combined, they would be a tough combo to beat. marlene rhodes who was especially skilled with an arrow and valentina diaz the quickest in camp. annabeth was paired with garret, which neither looked too bothered by. quintus kept rattling off the names until he said, "percy jackson with emmeline kingsley."

"nice" percy grinned in emmeline's direction, the girl finishing off braiding her hair on the left side of her head, before she turnt to percy with a smile.

"lochness monster your armor is crooked" she said before she dropped her hair and began to redo the boys strap for him. her close proximity making percy's heart to begin to beat loudly in his chest.

it wasn't because he liked her he told himself, it was because she was a girl who was really pretty who was also really close to him, basically chest to chest.

"grover underwood," quintus said, "with tyson"

grover just about jumped out of his goat fur. "what? b-but-"

"no, no," tyson whimpered. "must be a mistake. goat boy-"

"no complaining!" quintus ordered. "get with your partner. you have two minutes to prepare!"

tyson and grover both looked at percy pleadingly. the boy tried to give them an encouraging nod, and gestured that they should move together. tyson sneezed. grover started chewing nervously on his wooden club.

"they'll live" emmeline told percy before giggling at the others two's expressions before grabbing percy's hand "we have our own lives to worry about"

𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 when everyone got into the woods, but the shadows from the trees made it feel like midnight. it was cold, too, even in summer. percy and emmeline found tracks almost immediately-scuttling marks made by something with a lot of legs. they began to follow the trail as quietly as possible.

both jumping near a creek as they heard some twigs snapping nearby. they crouched behind a boulder, but it was only the stoll brothers tripping through the woods and cursing. their dad was the god of thieves, but they were about as stealthy as buffaloes.

once the stolls had passed, they forged deeper into the west woods where the monsters were wilder. they were standing on a ledge overlooking a marshy pond when emmeline stilled. "this is where we stopped looking."

it took percy a second to realize what she meant. last winter, when we'd given up hope of finding him, grover, emmeline, annabeth, and him had stood on this rock, and he'd convinced them not to tell chiron the truth: that nico was a son of hades. at the time it seemed the right thing to do. he wanted to protect his identity. he wanted to be the one to find him and make things right for what had happened to his sister. now, six months later, he hadn't even come close to finding him.

"i saw him last night," percy spoke up causing the girls head to snap to him.

"what do you mean you saw him?" the worried tone in her voice was somehow still evident even as she whispered to the best of her ability, they were still in a game.

percy told her about the Iris-message. when he was done, she could only stare into the shadows of the woods. "he's trying to summon the dead? that's not good."

"the ghost was giving him bad advice," percy said. "telling him to take revenge."

emmeline understood nico's anger, how could she not. if anyone had ever taken garret or even selina, mitchell, valentina gods even lacy she'd go on a rampage. she knew she'd do just about anything to bring them back or see them again.

"spirits are never good advisers they've got their own agendas. old grudges they've never gotten over, they resent the living. they resent us" emmeline spoke up, her eyes trailing over the valley

"he's going to come after me," percy said. "the spirit mentioned a maze."

emmeline nodded hesitantly "that settles it. we have to figure out the labyrinth. we need to tell annabeth" she never thought she'd be saying those words, but here she was.

"maybe ," percy said uncomfortably. "but who sent the Iris-message? if nico didn't know I was there-"

a branch snapped in the woods. dry leaves rustled. something large was moving in the trees, just beyond the ridge. percy's hand instinctively wrapping around emmeline's wrist to make sure they both froze.

"definitely not the stoll's" she whispered. they shared a look before both drawing their swords.