𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐒

"I wasn't asking for your permission!"

    JUNE 3rd, 2008
NEW ORLEANS
LAFAYETTE HIGH SCHOOL OF ARTS

ERIS LEWIS DIDN'T GET SURPRISED OFTEN. Bring a demigod and falling into Tartarus changed that. There wasn't much that could surprise her.

But this was different.

Maybe Eris Lewis was cursed? Because it seemed every time one of her siblings died they came back to haunt her?

"Bianca," Eris breathed out in shock. Her body became stiff and rigid. "I..."

    There was so much she wanted to say. She wanted to tell Bianca that she was sorry, that she was still trying to find Nico, that she loved her despite not knowing her for long, how much she regretted not realizing they were related sooner.

   After finding out Bianca was her sister Eris couldn't help but spiral. Sure she and Bianca weren't the closest when she died but the simple knowledge that she had lost another sibling...Eris's heart could barely take it. Sure, it had been months since Bianca's death, Nico's disappearance, Percy's rejection, and cutting off all ties with her father and she was better now than she was before but even Eris had moments of depression.

    Bianca's face softened slightly, "Hi," she said softly, seemingly noticing Eris's rigid body language.

   "B-Bianca, I-I—" Eris sputtered.

    It felt weird to stutter, Eris hadn't stuttered in months but the surprise of Bianca's appearance sent her back to her old ways. She had tried multiple times to summon Bianca's spirit, she even tried to visit Bianca's house in Elysium whenever she went to the Underworld but Bianca never let her in. And now...

    Eris didn't know what to say. It felt like her lips were taped shut.

"I can't stay here for a long time," Bianca said quickly. "Nico is in trouble."

    That snapped Eris out of it. She had been searching for Nico for months. She had tried every where even going as far to lie to her moms about a school trip and having Jules Albert get her a plane all the way to Paris in search for him. Even though she was back in school Eris still looked for him whenever she had time.

"Nico?" Eris asked worriedly. "I haven't been able to find him! I've looked for him for months. No one has seen him—" she said a bit frantically.

    Bianca's transparent form flickered and she swore under her breath. "He's in trouble! Nico's doing something he shouldn't!"

    Eris frowned, "What do you mean?! Is he okay?!" She asked worriedly.

    "The labyrinth, Eris!" Bianca said hurriedly as her body slowly started to fade. "The labyrinth!"

    And then she was gone.

KATHERINE ROBINSON KNEW SHE WASN'T PERFECT.

She could be too cold sometimes and hated smiling. She didn't understand a majority of people's sense of humor. She wore the same seven pants suits and she wasn't the most affectionate person. But she loved her wife and most of all she loved her daughter.

Which was why she couldn't understand why her daughter was so insistent on packing up all her clothes and leaving the moment she got home. Had they done something wrong? Katherine knew she and Lena did their best to be the best foster-parents so why did Eris want to leave?

"Eris, honey, you can't just pack up your things and leave!" Lena screamed frantically as they watched slightly in shock as Eris shoved her clothes into a suitcase. "We can't just let you go! Is something wrong! You need to tell us!"

This type of behavior from Eris was completely new to Lena and Katherine. Though Eris had drastically changed since returning home in December (When she came home she had a look in her eye Katherine couldn't describe) she had never been defiant.

    Eris who was usually overly considerate and kind ignored their protest as she dug through her closet for clothes. Even Salem was meowing in protest as he followed Eris around.

    "I need to leave!" Eris said loudly, tossing the rest of her clothes in her suitcase and zipping it up. "I'll be back I promise! I need to save Nico!"

   "Oh for the love of— Who is Nico?!" Lena cried, clenching her long hair. "And where are you going?!"

    "He's my brother," Eris replied shortly. She grabbed her jacket and put it on. "And I'm going to New York. I need to go to camp."

    "Brother?" Katherine questioned. "What brother? What camp?Eris, you can't just leave! We're you're mothers! We can't just let you leave—"

    "I wasn't asking!" Eris snapped harshly.

   And the for the briefest moment Katherine could've sworn Eris's eyes turned red but thought it was part of her imagination.

Eris panted harshly, "I-I'm sorry...I didn't mean to yell I just," she ran a hand over her face. "I have been looking for Nico—my half-brother— for months," she said tightly as if trying to choke back tears. "And I heard there is a way I can get him back. But if I can save him...if I can get him back...I'll do anything. Even if I need to disobey you two." Eris grabbed her suitcase and started quickly walking towards the front door with Katherine and Lena not far behind her.

   "Wait, pause! Eris, slow down!" Katherine cried as Eris yanked open the front door. "You can't just leave!"

   Outside of their home a slick black limousine, the one that dropped off Eris when she first arrived to their house.

   "I have too!" Eris protested, "I...I'll explain later, I promise. Just....I have to do this. Please forgive me. I...I love you."

   I love you.

   That was the first time Eris had told them that she loved them. Sure, she showed them with her actions but actually hearing the words was something else.

   "Eris, just come inside?" Lena pleaded as Eris opened the limousine door. "We can talk about this—"

   "Don't you see," Eris gestured around her as she shoved her suitcase in the car. "I don't have time to sit and talk about it. If I want to save Nico, I need to get to Camp Half-Blood now! I don't have time!" She said frantically. She stared at them with tired watery eyes. "I...I'm sorry, but...I'll be back and I'll explain. I promise." She climbed in the car and shut the door. They could only stare as the car drove off.

    "Call the police now!" Katherine snapped harshly at Lena as she grabbed her coat.

   "Where are you going?" Lena cried, wiping her face.

    "We're getting her back!" Katherine said. "I'm not letting her just leave! Grab your stuff and get in the car!"

TWO DAYS LATER

PERCY JACKSON HASN'T SEEN ERIS SINCE FEBRUARY AT HER ART SHOW.

    And he'd be lying if he said he didn't miss her everyday. The last time he saw her she seemed fine. Better actually.

   A part of Percy still felt bad for rejecting her, but he didn't want to lie to her. He didn't know how he felt about Eris. He thought Eris was a great friend there were a lot of things to love about her like how she was sweet, caring, beautiful, and always smelled like sweet vanilla perfume.

   He thought Eris was a good friend, but romantically...he didn't know where he stood with Eris.

   He wasn't having that great of a morning at camp half-blood either. Annabeth had an attitude with him yesterday after seeing him with Rachel and everyone was acting different now that the war was approaching and every moment that went by the more weight he felt like he had on his shoulders. Being a soon-to-be savior of the world wasn't as fun as movies acted like he it was. He always felt like he was suffocating under the pressure.

   He shook his head and tried to wave it off.

   That morning there was a lot of excitement at breakfast.

     Apparently around three in the morning an Aethiopian drakon had been spotted at the borders of camp. The magical boundaries had kept the monster out, but it prowled the hills, looking for weak spots in their defenses, and it didn't seem anxious to go away until Lee Fletcher from Apollo's cabin led a couple of his siblings in pursuit. After 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 warned them during announcements. "Twenty arrows in its hide, and we just made it mad. The thing was thirty feet long and bright green. Its 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 rumors: Luke and his army of monsters were planning an invasion of the camp. Most of them expected it to happen this summer, but no one knew how or when. It didn't help that our attendance was down. They only had about eighty campers. Three years ago, when he'd started, there had been more than a hundred. 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!"

Once everyone started eating, Chiron and Grover came over to visit. Grover was bleary-eyed. His shirt was inside out. He slid his plate onto the table and slumped next to Percy.

Tyson who had came to visit shifted uncomfortably. "I will go . . . um . . . polish my fish ponies."

He lumbered off, leaving his breakfast half eaten.

Chiron tried for a smile. He probably wanted to look reassuring, but in centaur form he towered over Percy, casting a shadow across the table. "Well, Percy, how did you sleep?"

"Uh, fine."

Chiron opened his mouth to continue but there was a sudden loud whirling sound and murmured bursted out along the tables. They looked over only to find a long black limousine pull up to the outside of the front of the dinning hall.

They all stood trying to see what happened next.

The front door of the limousine opened only to reveal a tall skeleton dressed in an expressive suit. He walked around to the other side of the car and opened the backseat door. He held out his hand and a brown hand was placed into his. He gently helped the passenger out of the car and the whisperers only got louder when they saw who got out of the car.

Percy almost didn't believe his eyes because standing there was Eris Lewis.

Her glasses were gone and her locs were slightly curled as the fell down her back and were styled in a half-up half-down style. Her lips were painted with glossy brown lipgloss and when she opened her mouth a bit she revealed clear braces. She stood there in dark jeans and a white tank top with a thin brown cotton jacket. But most all she looked tired, as if she hadn't slept in days. Dark bags covered her under yes and her eyes lids seemed barely open.

"What's wrong with her?" Grover muttered. "Dude, she looks—"

    Eris Lewis looked pissed.

She didn't spare anyone a glance as the walked through the crowd of eating campers almost as if she didn't know they existed. She stopped in front of Percy's table. Her dark eyes focused on Chiron. The first words out of her mouth weren't her usual sweet: "Hi" instead it was:

"We need to talk," Eris said flatly, "Now."

Thank you so much for reading!

This story is at almost at 100k...wtf! Thank you!

How do you guys feel about this chapter? Do you like it? Hate it?

What do you think is going to happen next?

What do you think of Eris's character development so far? I tried to take it slow. She will continue to go through character development. Right now she's a bit rough around the edges. But please keep in mind she has to deal with two of her sister dying, her brother running away, her resentment to her father, and dealing with PTSD from Tartarus. I also plan to start talking more in depth about how Tartarus effected Eris.