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Thalia couldn’t even tell the years apart anymore. The longer she was near Artemis, she felt like she was becoming even more immortal. If that even was possible. Ever since her rift with Percy and Annabeth enlarged, she hadn’t returned to New Athens. She was placed on solo missions for Artemis which meant months away from civilisations, and no way to communicate.
She didn’t even know what day or year it was. She had been instructed to return to Camp and wait for the rest of the hunters. “Thalia.” Chiron greeted her with a warm smile. “It’s great to see you.”
“You too, Chiron. Lady Artemis told me that the hunters are on their way.”
“Cabin 8 is waiting for you. In the meantime, rest a bit.”
“I am fine.”
“I know. But the lake is exceptional this time of the year.”
Thalia left her stuff in Cabin 8, took a quick shower and decided to go to the lake. Although it was July, the Camp wasn’t as cramped as it used to be when she was younger. With New Athens being safe and open for demigods, their mortal families and legacies, it wasn’t necessary to stay in Camp. How different times were? She spotted a lot of younger campers in the fields enjoying the sunny, but not too hot day. They were playing, not fighting or training themselves to exhaustion. It had surprised her how they all seemed to be at ease.
She reached the dock which sadly, was already occupied. Thalia froze, as the guy sitting at the end of the dock looked a lot like someone familiar. “Percy?” she asked as she continued walking.
“Not Percy.” He turned and answered. Thalia’s blood ran cold as she realised that he was Percy’s kid.
“Holy shit, Charlie? You are a carbon copy of your dad.”
“He’ll disagree with you, Thalia,” Thalia remembered how Charlie and Zoe used to call her auntie Thalia when they were toddlers. They were too old for them to call her that anymore. “He still believes I look like Mum.” Yes, that sounded like Percy. But Charlie looked so much like Percy except from his grey eyes. That were identical to Annabeth’s. Even the mention of Annabeth, made Thalia feel bad. The last time they met, she messed things up, and they hadn’t talked since. It was just a year ago, wasn’t it?
“She misses you,” Charlie confessed. “We thought you died a while ago.”
“I haven’t been away that long.” She replied a bit more defensively than she should.
“Well, the last time you saw me I was 14. I am 19.” Thalia gulped as she felt her throat closing. 19? There was no way she had disappeared for 5 years. “But I guess time is different for you.”
“I’ve been busy. I thought it was just a year.” She couldn’t believe it. She had lost touch with her mortality. Was there any of it left? “What have I missed? What are you doing? Zoe, Theo, Lana?”
“I’m playing hockey for Harvard. Zoe is double majoring in Architecture and Engineering at MIT,” Thalia smiled as Zoe was always her favourite and she was still the most like Annabeth. “Theo graduated early and is coming to Harvard with me, and Lana is starting high school in the fall.”
She remembers that the last time she had showed up Zoe and Charlie were supposed to go to high school. “2 kids in Harvard and 1 in MIT. Impressive even for Percy and Annabeth.”
“I am mostly there to play hockey for another year.” He admitted.
“Only two years?”
“Well, I am wickedly smart, and I’ll finish my computer engineer degree in two years so I can go play hockey in Providence.” Thalia chuckled as Charlie had Percy’s cockiness. And Annabeth’s perfectionism.
“Bruins?”
“Yeap.”
“I thought you wanted to become a doctor.” She said a bit confused. Charlie was pretty adamant about becoming a surgeon the last time she saw him.
“I love hockey too much to do anything else. And my mum wants free season tickets in TD Garden.”
“That sounds like Annabeth.” She laughed. “How are they?”
“They’re thriving. But I don’t know how they’ll handle having only one kid at home.” He chuckled. “Mum is somewhere around here. Do you want me to come and get her?”
“I don’t know if-“
“Thalia?”
Annabeth’s voice was still the same. Thalia didn’t know if she had the guts to face her, or even look at her sister’s direction. Because even after all these years, she considered Annabeth her sister. “Hi, Annabeth.”
“Bianca and Zoe are waiting for you.” Annabeth turned her attention to her son. “I can’t promise that they won’t leave without you.”
“My girlfriend wouldn’t leave without me,” Charlie said dramatically as he got up. “But Zoe would. It was great to see you, Thalia. Bye.” He picked up his phone and started walking away. Bianca was Nico's kid, wasn't she? Details seemed very hazy inside her mind. Wait? Was Charlie dating Nico's kid? Percy would be thrilled.
Annabeth sat at her son’s vacated spot on the dock. She looked older. But she wasn’t 17 anymore. Thalia did some calculations and guessed that Annabeth was in her late 40s. She could be her daughter. Her kids were older than her. “I missed you.” She confessed as Annabeth stared in her direction.
“Me too.”
“Charlie told me that you thought I had died?”
“You were gone for 5 years. Artemis wouldn’t reply to my prayers.” Annabeth said with a stiff voice.
“You prayed for me?” Annabeth wouldn’t answer, but her expression said it all. “I’m sorry for worrying you.”
“It’s fine. It’s stupid considering how our last meet went.”
“I’m sorry for Zoe as well. I heard she’s in MIT.”
“Yes, my little overachiever. We’re fine. All of us. I promise.”
Thalia noticed how happy Annabeth seemed to brag about her kids. She still thought Annabeth was 7, and needed her protection from the monsters. No, that was 40 years ago. ‘I am supposed to be 53’. She told to herself. “I should have tried to keep in touch with you.”
Annabeth shook her head. “You couldn’t do it. No matter how hard you tried. You are immortal, Thalia. You’ll die long after I am gone. I couldn’t expect that you’d keep in touch with me.”
“I shouldn’t have asked Zoe to join the hunters without talking to you first. I just felt like Zoe was my friend and I started talking without thinking what I was doing. You have abandoned the demigod lifestyle. How long has it been since you’ve held your dagger?”
“A long time, Thals.” Annabeth paused like she was thinking about what she was going to say next. “I felt like you threatened my kid. After I accepted that things wouldn’t be the same with us, I learned to ignore you. Harsh, I know. But it was the way I could cope with your absence. And you showed up and tried to take my sweet girl away, I just lost it. I realise that I overreacted, and I shouldn’t have acted like that because you were doing your job. Recruiting hunters. I just didn’t want to lose anyone else.”
Thalia felt like she couldn’t breathe. “You haven’t lost me, Annie. I’m right here.”
“No, you aren’t.” Annabeth said with her eyes becoming glossier. “And it’s fine. I can’t blame you. You had to do it. And because you did, I am able to have the life I have built with Percy. I just miss you too much. You’re gone, but not dead. Which makes it even more difficult.”
Thalia hugged her as tightly as she could. She hated causing Annabeth any pain. “I’m so I can’t do better.”
“It’s fine. Just stay safe more me. And send a sign that you are still alive every once in a while.” Annabeth laughed.
“Will do.” Thalia smiled. “I thought Charlie was Percy.”
“He gets that a lot. He only has my eyes and wits. The rest is 100% Percy.” She replied.
“So Percy with your brain. That went well.”
“Definitely.” She laughed.
“How are you doing? Work wise? Have you been named the ‘Architect of the Century’ yet?”
“Not yet. But I have a lot of work. And amazing projects. Just this year, I travelled in Stockholm, Dubai, London, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, Doha, Malaysia and Singapore for work.”
“Percy’s still a stay-at-home dad?”
“Not exactly. He’s been coaching a swim team for the past three years. And in September he’ll coach the swim team at Yale.”
“That’s amazing. Took him long enough.”
“I know. But, between Charlie’s practises with the Program, Theo’s classes in Columbia twice a week, Lana’s busy schedule and Zoe’s competitions he preferred to wait and be there for them. He really stood by my side and let me do my thing.”
“Never doubted him,” Thalia confessed. Truthfully, she had never doubted Percy’s ability to help Annabeth have the career she had always wanted.
Annabeth’s phone started ringing, “Give me a sec.” She told to Thalia as she answered the call. “Yes, bug? I’ll be there in 5. Yes, we’ll get MacDonalds on our way. Bye, love.”
Thalia stood up as she knew Annabeth had to leave. “That was Lana. We’re going to Montauk for the weekend, and she doesn’t want to get too late there.” She smiled. “If we were staying here, I’d invite you over for dinner.”
“No, it’s fine. I have things to do around, anyway. It was great to see you.”
“I’m glad we managed to talk. I would have regretted not seeing you again and leaving things the way we did.” Thalia leaned in and hugged Annabeth. “Don’t be a stranger, Thalia.”