Daughter of Wine

Callida

"Yo, Calli!" Leo knocks on my door. "We're landing?"

"Landing?" I sit up groggily. 

Leo opens my door and pokes his head in. My heart does a tippy-tap as I remember last night. His eyes have an extra sparkle of joy this morning as he grins at me. "Good morning, sleeping beauty." 

"Calli." Annabeth pokes her head in behind Leo. "We're about to land."

"Yeah, I got that." I rub the sleep from my eyes. 

"Hey, Calli?" Hazel is in the door now too. "I was wondering if you have an extra toothbrush? I forgot to pack mine."

"Calli!" Percy is in the hall now too. "Good morning!"

With the four demigods in the hall, it's pretty chaotic. 

"What's going on?" I hear Frank ask sleepily. 

"Good morning, everyone." I pull back the blankets and hang my legs over the bed, stretching my back.

"Oh, nice shirt." Piper chuckles, pushing in.

Leo laughs, and the others crack a smile. 

I look down. It's a green shirt that says What Athens in Greece, Stays in Greece.

"Chiron gave it to me." I mumble. I reach into a drawer and pull out an extra toothbrush. "Here, Hazel."

She takes it and scurries off down the hall. 

"Alright kids," I sigh. "Party outside my bunk is over."

Frank frowns. "Your bunk looks bigger than mine." 

"Early bird gets the worm." I shrug. "It's only a little bigger." 

Frank grumbles something to himself and goes upstairs. 

"I'm getting breakfast." Piper decides, heading to the mess hall. 

Annabeth and Percy head up to the top deck, hand in hand. 

Leo stays in the doorway, rubbing the back of his neck. "Good morning." 

"You said that." I grin. 

From above, Coach Hedge yells, "Thar she blows! Kansas, ahoy!"

"Holy Hephaestus," Leo mutters. "He really needs to work on his ship-speak." He backs away from the door nervously. "I'd better get above deck." He bumps into the back of the hallway, and runs up the stairs. 

He's definitely nervous. I am too, honestly. I'd almost kissed him last night. I can't believe it. A part of me is glad I didn't, since my head is a mess, but another part of me wishes I had. Ugh. No use worrying about it now. 

I play my music as I get ready for the day. Some Ricky Martin always improves my mood. I fix my hair, do my makeup, and get dressed in a camp T-shirt and some white shorts. I touch my camp necklace, looking at the beads for a moment. I hone in on the one with the labyrinth painted on it, and I remember what Reyna had said. I'm a protector. 

I don't know why this memory comes to mind right now, but it leaves an uneasy feeling in my stomach. Sure, when I led the army of half-bloods against the monsters that came out of the Labyrinth, I was thinking of protecting the camp. I flip to the next bead. The Empire State Building. I had almost died protecting my brother. 

I shudder. I guess Reyna got a better read on me than I thought. Maybe she was onto something. 

By the time I head up, I can hear the ship's landing gear extending. Looking around, I see we're landing in a field of sunflowers. I can't help but smile. The morning air smells of irrigation, warm plants, and fertilized earth. I love it. The sunshine feels warm on my skin, and I find myself stretching my arms and smiling, enjoying the feeling.