Astrid Rees

"“Just hold me for a while, why don’t you?”"

- Astrid to Juniper Astrid Rees is a thirteen-year old Greek Demigod, the daughter of Aphrodite and Vincent Liebeck. She is one of the Wakeners and one of the main characters in Shadow of Olympus.

Early Life
Born as Astrid Liebeck, Astrid was taken to the nearby orphanage by her father and abandoned there, never knowing who left her on the doorstep or why they did what they did. Growing up, she was a loud and proud child, who was never afraid to speak her mind. She clashed with the other kids, argued with the adults, and was isolated for most of her childhood. It didn't help when the other kids labeled her as weird due to her inability to sit still, focus, and read. When she was around 6 years old, she had laryngitis for a good few months and was bullied so badly, she refused to speak ever since. Due to not being able to speak anymore, she forced herself to struggle through English so she can communicate with others. Sometime after that, she picked up woodcarving as a hobby and continued doing it ever since.

Meeting Alex
It was a year before the events of the Shadow of Olympus that she unknowingly encountered her half-brother, Alexander Till. It was during a school trip with their then-schools in a museum and a Cyclops had managed to sneak in. After it managed to get Astrid separated from her school, the Cyclops cornered her in a room and almost got her if it wasn't for Alex, who had followed them. The two Aphrodite children made a break for it, made the Cyclops fall off a railing, and hid for hours before a staff member coaxed them out. The two parted ways and didn't meet each other again until years later