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Clarisse had been sharpening her sword but it was proving difficult when her legs wouldn't stop tapping.
"Sil', why is this taking so long? I could be out training! I need to be training. Is this necessary?"
"Clarisse. This is super, super necessary. I need to figure out the perfect hairstyle for you. And can you stop being an Ares kid for like 5 minutes. You don't need to be training right now," Silena sighed, tugging on her hair.
Clarisse rolled her eyes. They were silent for a minute and she stared longingly at her siblings, who were sparring with the Hermes kids at the moment.
"You have such beautiful hair, you know?" Silena said, quietly. "I thought you were gonna be an Aphrodite kid or something because of it, when you first came. But, you were claimed quite quickly."
"Yeah, well. My father did tell my dad to bring me here, so. It would be sad if he'd forgotten," She laughed.
“I think a plait will look nice on you,” The Aphrodite girl hummed, lowly. “Why did Ares want you to come here?”
“Because he kept fighting with my dad about me. I don’t think it stopped though. My father sent me a letter about a month ago saying she was still fighting with him,” Clarisse shrugged and Silena tugged on her hair again, telling her to stay still, silently.
“How’s your dad, Silena? He sent any chocolates yet?”
“No, he says he’s saving that for a week or so that they can be for my birthday and Christmas. Even though I don’t celebrate Christmas and he’s an aethist,” Silena grumbled.
“Dads sure are something, huh?” She snorted.
“You’re telling me.”
They sat in silence for a bit longer and Clarisse started catalouging the moves of the duos sparring. The new kid, Luke, was doing pretty well. He’d probably done some fighting on his way here. Apparently, it was quite something. Not that he was willing to tell anyone. Annabeth was the one telling people, not quite grasping what should and shouldn’t be said at random moments.
There were also the two demigods who were assigned to a quest recently, along with one of their satyrs. A prophecy had Chiron fretting and they’d be sent to pick up some Celestial Bronze weapons, or at least some Celestial Bronze for the Hephaestus cabin.
“Okay, I’m done!” Silena nudged her as she snapped the hairband around the end of the plait one last time. Clarisse turned and her hair flicked around hitting Silena’s hand.
“Damn, even without a weapon, you’re dangerous.”
Clarisse laughed and shuffled to the side and back so she was next to Silena. The older girl blushed and her hair changed its colour to pink streaks that looked beautiful on her.
“Your abilities are so cool, Silena,” Clarisse sighed, slumping and resting her head on the other girl’s shoulder.
“It’s not that useful for quests though. Turning into a person doesn’t stop me smelling like a demigod. And monsters aren’t good for convincing. You’re so strong and cool. You’ll be perfect for any quest.”
“I’m not gonna get the chance to go on a quest,” Clarisse waved her hand. “There are too many Ares kids, I won’t get chosen. It matters here at camp. And you’re so amazing and popular. Everyone loves you.”
Silena smiled slightly again and rested her head on Clarisse’s, “Thank you, darling.”
-
The guilt was eating away at her. The last few months had been relatively nice, or as nice as they could be with the war raging on and her close friend dying on a quest. She'd finally started going out with Clarisse and it was so perfect, the only perfect thing at the minute. Clarisse was the best girlfriend she could ask for, they had sparring dates and picnic dates and Clarisse was determined to learn to understand makeup more because she wanted to be able to talk to Silena about it and it was just so sweet.
And yet, she was working for Luke. Clarisse and Luke had been relatively close, both the most dedicated to fighting in the camp and Clarisse and a few others were the only ones still around from before Luke came to camp. They'd introduced him, welcomed him.
Clarisse hated him. Annabeth had mixed feelings about him. Drew and Will refused to talk about him. Silena didn't know about the others. She didn't want to know about the others.
The Ares cabin were refusing to fight as well. They were going to lose. They were going to lose to Luke and he was going to hurt everyone. He'd promised that the people she cared about would be safe, but they weren't. Charles was dead. Clarisse would die if he got into Camp. Annabeth and Percy were on the front lines. Everyone was on the front lines. Except for the few Apollo kids who were scrambling around trying to heal everyone.
Without the Ares cabin, they would lose. The Athena cabin's war aspects weren't good enough right now.
She'd managed to get back to camp. Clarisse would be away, in the shed with the weapons, polishing them. The rest of the Ares cabin would be training. She knew this. Clarisse had told her.
It wasn't easy, purposefully changing her whole body. Sometimes aspects changed with her mood, her gender, what she was doing. Sometimes she did it on purpose, forcing her hair to be shorter to see how it would look or her legs to be longer so she could try on a new pair of jeans. No one else in the Aphrodite cabin did it. Her mum told her few could. Though, few could charmspeak and yet Drew had already managed that.
She'd seen the look Drew had given her as she left. Drew knew. Of course, she knew. It was sweet she hadn't told Percy yet. It was heartbreaking she hadn't told Percy yet.
Silena pictured Clarisse. Clarisse was one of the most beautiful girls she knew. Her mother was the goddess of beauty, her mother shapeshifted for beauty. If she could become anyone, it would be Clarisse.
She was just thankful Clarisse always wore a long plait. She was glad she introduced it all those years ago. It made it easier.
And then, she was taller. She was bigger. Her skin was lighter and more scarred.
She was Clarisse.
Silena only waited a minute before running to the the training grounds.
"Ares cabin," She roared from the entrance, glad she'd watched Clarisse all those time she rallied her siblings. "Get your armour. We're going to help."
The cabin cheered. They'd all been desperate to fight, the way Clarisse had been, but their pride was also hurt. However, if Clarisse was forgiving someone, the rest of the Ares cabin would.
Sherman Yang gave her a look before continuing to the Ares cabin to grab their armour. Some, who were already in all their armour, ran to get the chariots. Silena stood still before following them and slipping into Clarisse's armour. She knew it like the back of her hand. She'd helped Clarisse put it on so many times.
She vowed that she'd tell Clarisse about everything on the other side of this. It didn't matter what anyone else thought. She wanted Clarisse to know and to hear it from her.
Sherman Yang helped Silena with the skeleton horses but once they were there and knew to listen to her, they were easy. She'd always been good with horses and pegasi.
The Ares cabin brought banners and lances and weapons they certainly didn't need. Extras. Spares.
And then they charged.
It didn't take long. Skeleton horses are incredibly fast and Silena kinda understood what Nico was on about with his alleged skeleton summoning.
It was chaos when they got there. Six chariots knew to charge the monster army and Silena led the others to the drakon. Two were paralysed and two chariots were knocked over but the warriors sprung to their feet.
The horses breathed fire and everyone charged and the Ares cabin were so fierce in a fight. She wished Clarisse was here to see how all the training and work she'd put in was useful. That the Ares cabin was chosen for something important, something outside of camp that put their skills to use.
She yelled for the Ares cabin. Clarisse always did that. She saw Percy give her the side eye, before running over to tell her something.
Silena felt scared. That wasn't part of love or beauty or Clarisse. She felt slightly shorter, like the shapeshifting wasn't holding. Her eyes felt clearer again.
"You can do it! A child of Ares is destined to kill it!" Percy yelled and she made eye contact with him. His face changed.
"ARES!" Silena yelled, desperate to avoid him and she heard Percy yell after her. He knew. He knew. He knew.
A daughter of Aphrodite, who hardly fought, especially not with a spear, never stood a chance against such an ancient foe.
The drakon spat poison straight into Silena's face and she screamed and fell from her chariot.
Annabeth ran over as Ares kids already on their feet stood over her. She curled in on herself. Her face hurt so much, but she couldn't let them know. Not before Clarisse.
Annabeth placed her shaking hand on her shoulder, "Clarisse, we need to get your helmet and armour off. We need to treat the wound."
Silena didn't move and they started trying to unfasten the straps despite her awkward position. Even if she'd wanted to, she didn't think she could reply.
The pain was too much. She knew she wasn't Clarisse anymore. She was just Silena. And Silena was dying.
If only she'd been born to a different god. Poseidon came with healing from water. Athena and Ares kids had super endurance, and they would never be in the situation in the first place.
Her ear rang and she contemplated Aphrodite's uselessness.
And then she finally heard the screams.
Clarisse fell to the ground next to her, the Ares kids moving for her with a slight frown. "NO! Curse you, WHY?"
Silena was scooped into her girlfriend's arms and tears stung Clarisse's eyes. Silena refused to respond but one beautiful blue eye peered up at Clarisse, full of pain.
"WHY?" She demanded and Annabeth kept working on the armour.
The drakon roared and Silena felt the arms around her change. Sherman Yang held her, face full of worry which quickly turned to fear as Clarisse grabbed her spear and charged.
Silena only smiled. Clarisse could do it. She didn't really know what had happened. Her face really, really hurt. She could lift herself to watch, she couldn't really hear much anymore but Clarisse came back quickly.
Annabeth got her helmet off and they laid her on the ground. Clarisse pulled her head onto her knees as Annabeth, Percy, Chris and the Ares cabin stood around Silena's dying body.
“What were you thinking?” Clarisse said softly, stroking Silena’s hair.
Silena attempted to swallow and opened her mouth a couple of times, struggling to talk. She got there, her lips dry and cracked and bitten. “Wouldn’t… listen,” She chuckled, hoarsely, “Cabin would… only follow you.”
She reached her hand up and placed it on Clarisse’s face.
“So you stole my armour? You knew I was polishing the weapons and you gathered my siblings from training and led them into battle, pretending to be me?” Clarisse’s expression darkened and she looked away from Silena. “And NONE of you noticed?”
The Ares cabin stared at their combat boots and Sherman Yang looked at the sky, ashamed. Drew ran over and grabbed Silena’s hand. She looked terrified, unable to form a word.
“Don’t… don’t blame them. They wanted to… wanted to believe I was you,” Silena’s voice was weaker.
“You stupid Aphrodite girl,” Clarisse sobbed, tears falling freely. “You charged a drakon? Why?”
“All my fault,” Silena cried out of her working eye. “The drakon, Charlie, camp endangered-”
Clarisse cut her off before she began to ramble, “Stop it! That’s not true.”
Silena lifted the hand Drew was holding, the wrist of which she’d been covering. She shook her sister’s hand off, revealing a silver bracelet with a small scythe charm. The symbol of Kronos.
“You were the spy,” Percy said, his voice breaking.
Both Clarisse and Drew glared at him, though with tears in their eyes it wasn’t as bad as normal.
Silena attempted to nod. “Luke… was nice to me… we were all friends… he was charming. I wanted to stop, I did, please, Clarisse. He said he’d tell. He promised… he promised you’d all be safe this way. That… that he was… good. He lied.”
Annabeth let out a sob, her face chalky.
Clarisse dismissed the Ares cabin and they scrambled away.
“Forgive me.” Silena’s breaths were growing shallow and shaky.
“You’re not dying,” Clarisse denied.
“See…Charlie…” Silena was staring into Clarisse’s eyes and then they fazed away, looking through her into nowhere.
Clarisse pulled her close and sobbed and Drew shuffled close to her, crying silently.
Annabeth closed her eyes.
“We have to fight,” Annabeth’s voice was firm and brittle. “She gave her life to help us. We have to honour her.” It didn’t feel like she was talking to anyone but Clarisse. They made eye contact, and agreed to something silently.
“She was a hero, understand?” Clarisse said, wiping her nose with a glare. Drew stared at Silena’s hand, loosely holding hers. “A hero,” Clarisse repeated.
Percy nodded and offered Clarisse a hand. It was symbolic mostly, there was no way he could pull Clarisse to her feet. But Clarisse gently handed Silena over to Drew and climbed to her feet with her huge hand in Percy’s small thin one.
She grabbed a sword. “Kronos is going to pay.”