Chapter Text
"Our teams were divided by colors, and I was fortunate enough to be on the same team as Annabeth. In no time, I realized that having her as an enemy was a terrible idea.
The capture the flag game wasn't like the ones at school where we just had to run and grab some cloth that would be the flag on the other side of the court.
Actually, two flags were given to us, one blue and one red. Clarisse, the leader of the red team, seemed very confident as she taunted us from the other side of the pavilion.
Luke had handed me the sword, and we were all dressed in full armor. To be honest, I felt kind of ridiculous with that huge thing on my head and wasn't sure if I could move with so much weight.
I was about to follow the rest of the group towards the left side of the forest when Annabeth stopped by my side.
"You're coming with me," she said, looking somewhat unsure as the others went the other way.
"Okay, what's our strategy?" I asked after hours of silence, but she hadn't spoken to me since we entered the forest. "I mean, you have a plan, and if we're going to do this, I just think it would be good for me to..." She looked at me with that superior look that I was starting to get used to. "...know."
She crossed her arms, seeming to analyze the area. "Stay here."
A huge lake stretched out in front of us, but other than that, there was practically nothing around. And if there was someone else there, they would be a lost soul, and it was just the two of us, obviously.
"Okay, why should I do that?" The lake was completely away from the action, and if Annabeth wasn't planning to simply take me out of the game, it didn't make sense for her to take me there.
She took a cap out of her pocket and rolled her eyes at me, seeming a bit bored and impatient with my questions. "I have a strategy, and for it to work, I need you to stay right here," she said, rolling her eyes.
She disappeared into the trees as I sat on one of the rocks nearby. I don't know how much time passed, but my head was full of questions.
1. Why hadn't Annabeth told me the strategy if apparently, I was part of it?
2. Why was it essential for me to stay completely out of the game?
I stood up when I heard footsteps, three people were coming towards me, one of them was a curly-haired girl who smirked as soon as she saw me.
"Apparently, Chase is losing her touch since she put her weakest soldier to face us."
Okay, maybe there were countless reasons for her to mock me, like being short or being a newbie who didn't fully know the game's rules. But Clarisse's immense confidence that I was weak made my blood boil.
"Don't be so confident; small things can be scary too," I retorted.
She smiled before coming at me, clearly engaging in an intense battle against Clarisse. She advanced with her sword in a swift and precise motion towards my leg, but I anticipated her move and ducked, feeling the blade's wind pass above me. In an instant, I rolled to the side, narrowly escaping her attack.
Seizing the opportunity, I rose swiftly like lightning, my body flowing in precise movements. My sword found Clarisse's unprotected arm, a calculated blow that made her recoil with a cry of surprise and pain.
While she regained her composure, I was already planning my next attack. The skirmish was a frantic dance of strategy and agility. I focused on targeting her weak points.
But Clarisse was skilled and didn't easily give in. In a surprising move, she grabbed my armor and pulled hard, making me stumble clumsily. The impact was strong, but not enough to stop me.
I quickly recovered, feeling the urgency of the situation. As I got up, I heard the fast footsteps of our teammates from the blue team approaching with the rival team's flag. They shouted and celebrated, and Clarisse released my armor, throwing it to the ground.
"Not bad for a newbie," I jumped as Annabeth emerged from behind the trees with a smile.
"Were you there all this time? Was this your plan, to use me as bait, to embarrass me?" I asked, my arms aching, but I didn't care; I felt like shouting at her.
"I needed to know if you could handle the pressure and work as a team," she replied.
I felt my breath rise and fall from the recent fight, not sure who I was angrier with, Annabeth for putting me in that situation completely unprepared or Clarisse for the way she attacked me.
We were sent back to the dorms to prepare for lunch, but neither of us spoke on the way back."
