| “ | Words. Words calm Ella down. Words, words, words... | ” |
–Ella, in The Son of Neptune | ||
Ella is a small, red-feathered, skinny harpy, whose eidetic memory gives her the ability to memorize anything she reads. She read parts of the sacred Sibylline Books of Rome before they were destroyed and can recite the prophecies from the books, making her a very valuable person. The first prophecy recited in the series was about the 3rd book, The Mark of Athena.
The Heroes of Olympus
The Son of Neptune
Hazel, her close friend
Ella is an ally of Percy Jackson, Frank Zhang, and Hazel Levesque who holds a number of secrets. She was first seen with Phineas and, like the other harpies, was cursed to eat only food from Phineas' table. Phineas claimed he wanted to capture Ella because she was the most annoying harpy, more persistent than the rest. The real reason Phineas wanted her was probably because she had read the Sibylline Books. Phineas said, "I was a king once, I could be a king again."
Ella was harassed by the other harpies; whenever she got food, the others would steal it and leave her with nothing unless she could get it to her nest on top of the Multnomah County Library, where she had made a cardboard shelter and lived surrounded by books. After the trio defeated Phineas, Ella said she would come with them. She told Hazel that she would not have any more blackouts after "sharing" with Frank. Once the group reached Grandma Zhang's house, she hid until Tyson found her, and took her back to California. She assisted Tyson in the battle at Camp Jupiter by shouting out advice.
The Mark of Athena
When a large banquet is called for in Camp Jupiter and the Greek demigods are discussing what to do, Ella spouts off the lines in the prophecy she read from the book. Frank gets very mad at her, and she is later taken away from Camp Jupiter for her protection to Camp Half-Blood.
Later, when the group tells Chiron about the Roman demigods getting ready to attack, he claims that both Ella and Rachel Elizabeth Dare are working together to discern more.
The House of Hades
Rachel Elizabeth Dare and Grover Underwood mention to Octavian during their meeting with the Romans in Manhattan that Ella has been murmuring lines from the Sibylline Books at Camp Half-Blood and that she is dating Tyson.
The Blood of Olympus
Ella is seen in Nico's dream feeding Seymour the leopard head Cheetos and later helps Reyna, Nico, Coach Hedge, Dakota, and Leila return to shore and deal with Michael Kahale with the help of Tyson and Rainbow. She, Rachel, and Tyson go with the Romans to Camp Jupiter to attempt to rewrite the Sybilline Books.
Personality
Frank, her acquaintance, helped keep her safe in The Son of Neptune.
Ella has a particular dislike for cheese, but has tremendous knowledge on a multitude of subjects. She likes cinnamon and Iris' macrobiotic jerky, stating that, in her words, "jerky is good for harpies". She reads a lot, memorizes everything she reads, and blurts out random pieces of knowledge word for word. Her home is lined with paper from books she has read. She is often helpful when there is trouble.
Ella is very unusual for a harpy. She is small, skinny, and weak, but extremely intelligent with an eidetic memory. She is eccentric with unusual speech. She refers to herself in the third person, often using memorized facts or passages from books to communicate instead of forming her own sentences.
Ella is anxious and high-strung, probably because she has been bullied for so long by the other Harpies, but now that she no longer stays with the other Harpies, she is gaining confidence. She is intelligent, creative, and resourceful, but often has trouble making herself understood because of her unusual communication style. Ella has a crush on Tyson.
Appearance
Although Harpies are generally described as ugly, Ella is an exception, with shaggy bright red hair and feathers as well as coffee-colored eyes and rounded face. She is rather petite compared to the other Harpies. Tyson the Cyclops describes her as very pretty. She is also described as really skinny and is called a "chicken" by Frank Zhang. She never had enough to eat so she's skinnier than others. She has a healed scar on her back, from when Phineas hit her with a weed-whacker.
Abilities
Ella's eidetic memory is unusual for a harpy; she can remember anything she has read or heard and speaks multiple languages. Despite her perfect memory for words, she has not mastered the subtleties of language, often jumping from one definition of a word to another, jumping from topic to topic in loose associations. For example, when Percy said to Ella that they were friends, Ella began to talk about the TV show Friends. Her greatest ability is that she can speak prophecies as she has read parts of the Sibylline Books; however, because she moves from topic to topic so quickly, the prophecies she recites are fragmentary.
Ella is smaller than the other harpies, but much faster, and looks like a blur when she moves. Like all harpies, she can fly and has sharp claws.
Relationships
Love Interests
Tyson
Tyson, Ella's boyfriend.
Ella has a crush on Tyson. She blushes when he is around and perches on his shoulder. Percy notices this and says "Tyson, you big charmer, you." Tyson says "Um... no", then Tyson whispers back loudly, "She is pretty." During the Battle, she gives Tyson advice on how to defeat his enemies, rather than hide. In The House of Hades, it is mentioned by Grover Underwood that Ella is dating Tyson.
Friends
Frank Zhang
Ella might have had a small crush on Frank; she gave him one of her feathers and blushed when he gave her a compliment. However, they are primarily friends.
Hazel Levesque
When her party first met Ella, Hazel was the only person who could calm her, and when Frank walked up to her she became scared. Hazel (having spent a lot of time with horses) walked up to Ella as if she was a scared animal and healed her wounds with nectar. From then on, Hazel helped calm Ella down whenever she becomes too scared or nervous.
Percy Jackson
Percy Jackson, Ella's friend, protector, and liberator.
Percy has the original idea that frees Ella. Upon meeting her, he thinks that Phineas' treatment of the harpies is terrible. During Frank and Hazel's simultaneous blackout, the two apparently struggle to hold a conversation. Percy is shown to respect Ella's immense knowledge and takes her feelings into account, as seen when he does not force her onto the plane.
Family
Iris
Iris (owner of R.O.F.L., where Percy, Hazel, and Frank find her) states that the Harpies (which would include Ella) are her sisters, and asks Frank not to kill them after prompting that they should seek Phineas for help on their quest.
Harpies
Iris, when helping Percy, Frank, and Hazel at R.O.F.L., asks that when they find Phineas, that they not kill her sisters, the Harpies, including Ella. Ella is not the same as her sisters. It is shown that she is more intelligent, more independent, and faster than her sisters. She is able to avoid Phineas and his weed-whacker (all except for one incident) because of her speed and agility. She is also shown to be picked on by the harpies, presumably because of her small stature, as shown when they steal the food Percy offered to Ella as a peace offering.
Trivia
- Ella's official artwork was released four days before her official release date.
- Ella is scared of planes.
- Ella does not like cheese.
- Ella's name is a play on the Latin word Aella, meaning harpy.
- Ella talks in the third person.
- Ella is scared of boats.