Annabeth

"That's right, Annabeth! Show that dummy who's boss!" Thalia shouted from her seat on the bench. She was watching me practice my knife wielding skills on a few dummies. Recently I've been training again, getting stronger and helping myself get a better chance of winning the Games, if I even get past the test.

I've been trying to get my mom to tell me what the Test to get into the Game is going to be, but she is as tightlipped about it as ever. I know she and Ares, who also helps run the War Games, have been discussing it, cause Ares has been making trips to the temple to help plan it. I was practically suffocating in my curiosity, but they were determined to not let me know even a tiny bit of the Test. I guess it's fair, because then I could formulate a tactic to help me pass the test, and prepare myself for whatever it would be. Other contestants would not get to know, so I knew that it would be unjust to only give me information. But that didn't stop me from wanting it.

To try and get my mind off of things, I practiced and trained constantly. I was intent on doing my very best in the Game, and hopefully win. Fat chance as it was.

I had two weeks until the Test. A few days before he Test is when people pour into Athens to watch the Game. Inns are filled to the brink, and streets imitate hives with people acting as hundreds of bees moving around in it. The stands in Athena's arena were being washed and the dummy and target supplies were being replenished. Athena was making sure her temple was polished and spotless. Many of the gods come to watch the Game, and Athena, like all the gods, loved to show off. Therefore my mother wanted her temple to be perfect.

Thalia and Piper were staying throughout the Game as well, and were going to keep my room occupied if I get into the Game.

That's another rule of the Game. All people who pass the Test and get into the Game have to stay in separate cabins. You've got a lot of restrictions if you become a Hero. "Hero" is the term we use for people who get in the Game.

So if I pass the Test and become a Hero, I'll have to stay in a cabin all by myself. Heroes are not allowed to go anywhere except for their cabin, and they can also go into their own personal mini arena behind their cabin for training.

There are other rules, too. For example, Heroes aren't allowed to talk with other Heroes. That law was made when one Hero got murdered because they could be with anybody, no restrictions at all. As a result, there are now certain visiting hours for your family or friends to visit, but no Heroes can have any contact with each other until the actual Game. Of course, every contestant is allowed to know who their opposing Heroes are, you can meet all the competitors at least a day before the Test, which is when all contestants have to be there. You could meet a fellow contestant a week before hand, it just depends on how early he/she gets to the Game. But once the Test is done, and if you have passed it, you are not allowed to have contact with the other Heroes. Make sense?

If you fail the Test, you go home, or you can stay and watch the Game if you like. The Game takes place four days after the Test results come in, and the Test results come in a day after the actual Test. So the entire span of the Game is about a week or so.

So there's a few details that you might want to know. Back to the present, I was currently slashing off the limbs of a dummy set before me, and Thalia was watching.

Piper was out visiting a daughter of Aphrodite that had come to watch the Game. The daughter of Aphrodite (I didn't know her name) was the daughter of a Lord in Greece, therefore she had special rights, meaning she was staying in Athena's temple. I had no idea why she had come so early, but I didn't really care. It wasn't my problem.

After a few more decimated dummies, I took a break. Panting, I walked over to sit by Thalia. She grinned at me and handed me some water, which I accepted gratefully. The hunter waited while I hydrated myself, then started a conversation.

"You're looking good out there, Annie. I think in no time you'll be a Hero, then show the other Heroes exactly what this girl can do!" She gestured to me, and I smiled at her.

"Thanks, Thals. It's a good thing Darryn isn't going to try out for the Game this year, otherwise nobody would have a chance of winning. You know, I was thinking, you should do the Game with me. Wouldn't that be fun?" I asked.

Thalia shrugged, "It'd be okay. But I want to just focus on you and the Game right now. And honestly, I heard the food you get in your Hero cabin is pretty dry and stringy. I prefer Athena's personal nymph cooks."

Chuckling, I looked up at the stands. Nymphs and satyrs were cleaning the seats, and they let me practice while doing so. But a week before the Test, I wasn't allowed to practice anymore. I had to train in one of the side arenas. They were smaller, and had less supplies, but they served their purpose.

"I wonder who the daughter of Aphrodite is, and what she's gonna be like," Thalia said, absentmindedly drawing a smiley face in the dirt with her toe.

I nodded, "Yeah, me too. I hope she isn't one of those annoying all-about-fashion girls. And if she is, maybe we can see if the closet in the bathroom can fit a person inside of it."

Thalia snorted, her electric blue eyes flashing with amusement. "I agree."

~-:-~

Two hours later, I was freshly bathed, full from a meal, and sitting in my room at my desk, sketching out a design for a house just for fun. Thalia and I were waiting for Piper, who spent the whole day with her sister, showing her around and making sure she was comfortable.

My bedroom had recently been cleaned, thanks to Silena Beauregard. I've mentioned Silena before. She was my personal charmspeaking-resisting teacher, and when I learned all I could from her, she became one of the cleaning ladies at Athena's temple. I didn't know why she wanted to stay, because being a beautiful and talented demigod, she could easily get a better job elsewhere. But she seemed really nice, and she and I have been friends for a long time.

Soon, the door to my bedroom opened, then slammed shut. I turned around in my seat to see Piper gasping, leaning up against the door. Thalia sat up from laying in her bed to stare at Piper curiously, her head cocked.

The hunter started slowly, "So... how did it go?"

She had barely finished her question when Piper said fiercely, "Horrible! Absolutely horrid! What a stuck up brat! Gods, I can't believe I'm actually related to her!" She made her way to Thalia's bed, then plopped down at Thalia's feet, looking utterly exhausted.

Thalia and I exchanged a confused glance, then I looked back at the eagle-spread form of Piper on Thalia's bed. "I'm guessing she's not a down-to-earth, humble girl?"

Piper groaned, rolling over, her dark braids covering most of her face. "You could say that again. I doubt she even knows what the word 'humble' means. She's possibly the most annoying and snobby daughter of Aphrodite I have ever met."

"Oh, she can't be that bad. I know you've met some pretty terrible Aphrodite girls." Thalia said, rearranging her pillows and laying back down again. After accidentally kicking Piper in the head, of course.

"Pfft. You haven't met this one," Piper said when she was done glaring at Thalia, who was smirking back. "I brought her to her room, and she didn't want it. She said the room was too small and that the bathroom mirror wasn't big enough. So she made the poor nymphs clean a whole other room for her, a bigger one. And during the whole tour I gave her throughout the temple, she kept saying 'oh, I would've done a different color with that,' or 'I can't believe Lady Athena actually lets this stuff go into her temple.'" Piper's voice changed as she impersonated her sister. She said it in a high and girlish voice that was incredibly annoying.

I smirked, "Is that what Miss Perfect sounds like?"

"No. She sounds more like: 'I can't believe you wore that, hon.'" Piper's voice now had a thick sweetness in it that I could tell was fake, and it had a bossy tone in it that went well with the snobbiness of the whole voice. "That's how it sounds. And if I do say so myself, it was a pretty good impersonation of her."

"What's her name?"

"Drew. Drew Tanaka."

Thalia sat up, saying, "Well, I want to meet her and see what she's like."

"Trust me, you would be lucky to never lay eyes on that glamour-girl," Piper stated. "When we were done, she said that it was nice to have me as her maid, seeing as I was trying to be polite so I did everything she asked. I told her I wasn't, and she totally ignored me and said she would call on me if she needed anything. That's why I ran back as fast as I could, so she couldn't stop me and ask for some more ice for her drink." Piper's eyes rolled.

I grinned at Piper, then stood up and walked over to sit by the other two girls.

We spent the rest of the afternoon talking, playing games, and laughing. Yes, I know, I was actually laughing. Ever since I broke down, I've realized that I do need to not let the Forbiddance Law (that's what we had started calling it) get in the way of my life. It's okay to not forget about it, and to grieve and be sad, but I needed to lighten up. Even though my laugh wasn't totally genuine, and even though I get restless nights full of nightmares that make me wake up panting, usually having me cry myself back to sleep, I was determined to hide it. I didn't forget what I had overheard Artemis telling Athena, though, and it made me sad, happy, and mad that Percy had said those things about me. Sad, because of course, we were split up. Happy, because I knew Percy really did think about me like that. And mad, because we were forbidden to see each other, even when we both thought that way about each other. It still tore my heart to think about Percy.

But I tried not to let people see how I was falling apart, and instead, avoided talking about Percy and focused on getting by each day. Thalia and Piper knew better than to bring his name up in conversations with me.

Dinner came around, and usually I just ate in my room with Piper and Thalia. Lunch is the time we eat with Athena. But today we had to dine with Athena and Drew Tanaka. We would all be eating together because my mother wanted us to get acquainted with the daughter of Aphrodite. I slipped on a pair of leggings and a light blue tunic, not caring to get fancy. After all, it was just dinner, and I thought Drew would be wearing something casual as well. Boy, was I wrong.

When Piper, Thalia, and I reached the dining room and we saw Drew, my jaw dropped, Thalia's as well. Piper snickered a little at our reactions, then went forward to take a seat.

Drew Tanaka was beautiful, I couldn't deny it. Her tan skin was smooth and unblemished, and her black hair fell in ringlets around her face, framing it perfectly. Dark, haughty eyes were accented with eyeliner, and her long and lush eyelashes flashed whenever she blinked. Her cheeks had a slight blush from makeup on them. Cherry red lips were fixed in a permanent, haughty, minuscule sneer. She looked at us as if we were mere and inferior servants, nothing more.

Drew's cream silk dress flowed around her body, the golden chain on her waist showing off her slim figure. And expensive looking ruby necklace hung around her neck, with golden bracelets along her wrists, and more jewelry on her upper arms. Large, bedazzled earrings hung from her ears. The neckline of her dress was quite low, showing off a profitable amount of cleavage. This only told us that she was trying to get attention, especially from men. I'm sure once we spend five minutes with her, I will be able to tell hundreds of more things about her that scream for attention.

Her excessive makeup, fine jewelry, and immodest clothing was enough to make me seriously dislike her. But when you throw her haughtiness in on top of all that, it made "dislike" turn into full out "loathing," even though I didn't know the girl at all.

Piper took a seat opposite of Drew, and Thalia hurried to sit next to her. That meant that the only vacant seat was the one next to Drew.

I shot Thalia a dirty look as I walked over to sit beside Drew. When I was sitting down beside her, I offered her a small, awkward smile. Her reply was a curl of her lip, heading downwards. It was what I expected, but it still made me grimace when Drew turned her studying gaze to my two best friends.

My mother seemed unperturbed by Drew's rude behavior, and she ordered the nymphs to start serving the food.

As the nymphs rushed around, putting plates of steaming roast lamb in front of all of us except for Athena, my mother began to speak. "Thalia, Piper, and Annabeth, I would like you to meet Miss Drew Tanaka, daughter of Aphrodite and Lord Tanaka of Argos. She will be staying for the Game, and I hope you three girls will make her feel at home here."

Piper, Thalia and I exchanged glances, but didn't say anything. Only when Athena's eyebrow rose and she gave us a pointed look did we quickly mutter rushed "of course"s and "nothing less" half-heartedly. Athena didn't seem totally convinced, but she continued nonetheless.

"Miss Tanaka, this is Annabeth Chase, my daughter; her friend Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus and Lieutenant of the hunters of Artemis;-" Drew wrinkled her nose a little in disgust at the mention of the hunters of Artemis "- and you've already met Piper McLean. Ladies, I have important business that sprang up unexpectedly that I have to attend to, so unfortunately I won't be able to dine with you this night. I hope tomorrow we will all enjoy a meal together, but for now, I will have to excuse myself." She nodded goodbyes to all of us, which we returned, then exited the room.

At once, Drew turned to me, saying in an extremely sugary voice, "So you're the one that's been on the latest news."

I frowned, then asked, "I have? About what?" I had no idea I had been or was being on recent news.

"Yes," she replied, picking around the food on her plate disinterestedly. "What with your assassination and the gods having a council just for you, you've been the main topic on The Demigod's Drachma."

My stomach lurched at the thought. The Demigod's Drachma was a gossip magazine, full of the latest fashions, fads, relationships, and just plain lies. Well, it's not totally lies. The author, a daughter of Aphrodite, takes true situations, then twists them all up, reproducing a gossip story that's barely recognizable to the main and honest source. I've only read one, and I was so disgusted by it that I've never laid eyes on another magazine. If I was in it, it couldn't be good. I was scared to find out what it said about me, but I had to know.

I bit my lip. "What, uh, exactly does it say about me?"

Drew shrugged, then started rambling, "Too much about you than I think you're worthy of. It talks about how you were brutally assassinated, then brought back to life because Hades pitied you and thought you were beautiful. Now that I see you in person, I would definitely not think the same way as him."

I raised an eyebrow and stared at her. Thalia was glaring at Drew as well as she kept talking, seemingly unaware of Thalia's death glare sent in her direction, "Then the gods thought that it was unfair how one demigod got to come back to life and all the others didn't get to. So the gods held a council about it. Then they decided to let you off. A horrible decision, really."

My jaw was dropped at the absurdity of it all, and Piper's reaction was equal to mine. Thalia was snorting into her food, no doubt thinking about how Hades thought I was pretty and let me go.

"Well, I can tell you that that is all lies," I said, digging through my food angrily.

"Ha," Drew said haughtily, "You're telling me? I knew it was from the start. I mean, how can one girl, especially one like you" -her eyes gave me a full-body look down- "be that important?"

Thalia squeezed her fists together, and she said dangerously, "I think she is that important, Tanaka."

"Um, I think you should address me as Lady Tanaka. Or Miss Drew, if you must," Drew said, peering down her nose at an outraged Thalia.

"Yeah, whatever," Thalia said.

Drew's eyebrows rose, "'Yeah, whatever,' what? What should you address me as? Or do you have such a short memory that you don't remember?" Drew smiled smugly. I wanted to punch that makeup laden face.

Thalia smirked a little and stared directly into Drew's two brown eyes. "Oh, sorry," she said, then redid her earlier statement. "Yeah, whatever, idiot."

Drew's jaw fell to the floor.

"Or I could do 'Yeah, whatever, Queen Garbage.' It really doesn't matter to me." Thalia said, nonchalantly picking at her nails. The forgotten steaming food lay out in front of us, and the nymphs who served were looking worriedly between the two girls bickering.

Drew's eyes narrowed in vexation, and she was breathing heavily. But she recollected herself and said in a sweet voice, "Hon, I think you're talking about Dumpster Queen over there." She smirked and pointed to Piper, who threw out her hands, saying silently what did I do?

"Have you seen her clothes? Gods, she looks like she could be a serving maid at a dirty tavern. I can't believe our mother lets her wear those things." She sniffed disdainfully, then turned back to Thalia, smiling complacently.

I stepped in, saying defensively, "Piper is beautiful, she could easily be a goddess!" It was true, and Piper cast me a grateful look, but Drew didn't give up.

"Yeah," the conceited daughter of Aphrodite scoffed, "The goddess of trash."

Thalia stood up abruptly, her chair skidding backwards. But I quickly held out a hand, telling Thalia to keep calm. Thalia huffed, reluctantly sitting down and giving Drew icy looks.

I rounded on Drew, intent on not letting this bully get the best of me and my friends. I said in an scathing tone, "Drew, my friends are worth ten of you. You would do well to remember that. Not only are they pretty without dumping makeup on their complexion -not that makeup helps your revolting face much- they are nice, selfless, and pure. You don't possess an ounce of any of those qualities. I would just shut your large, fat mouth if I were you. Only if you're smart enough to figure out how to close it." I glared at Drew, who looked shocked.

I knew she hated me now, and that I had made a bad enemy, but I didn't care. I was just too satisfied at the appalled look on Drew's face and the fact that I had probably just won the argument.

But Drew was determined, I'll give her that. She took a deep breath, then said, "Oh, Annabeth. I just remembered something else that was on The Demigod's Drachma."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't care what that thing says-"

"A man named Percy Jackson."

That stopped me. My mouth stopped making noises, but still hung open, frozen in time. I stared at Drew, who was now sneering so largely it was almost a grin. She had found something to use against me.

"Oh yes, a man named Percy Jackson. Apparently you two met, and became the best of friends. You saved each others lives, and your fondness for the other grew as time went by. The magazine even said you two became a couple. But you were suddenly wrenched apart." Drew made soft tsk tsk noises, but the smug smirk was still stuck to her face.