Chapter Text
I was exhausted. Thalia was under a statue of Hera, unable to get out. Annabeth… oh gods, Annabeth. I couldn’t understand why life could be so cruel. Annabeth was on the verge of dying, and I was useless. Grover? Pep talking nymphs to be in a good mood, and that Leneus turned into a shrub. It was something small, and stupid. But apparently tons of satyrs hated him, so it encouraged them to keep on going.
He was barely holding on, like me. After he did all that, he went to go heal Annabeth immediately.
It should’ve been me, staying by her side.
Is this what the river gods meant when it said the Achilles’ heel is a curse, insteading of a blessing? I finally understood, the moment Annabeth started shuddering from the cold atmosphere, finally conscious again. The full prophecy was;
‘A child of the Big Three will watch all of their civilization fall,
the true curse there.
Their civilization will watch them leave to join someone else,
their essence going back in the air.
The sun watches the swift wind fumble,
As the old man of the sea falls to crumble.
Once and always a tree,
Will finally come back, just to be weaved into the prophecy.
The girl’s cycle shall restart,
Then till death shall do the two friends part.’
That’s what small paper said, the lines wrinkled up from how old it was. Seventy years, perhaps? Maybe even more.
The paper was securely rolled and tucked in my pocket. Annabeth was my civilization. I always thought it meant physically, like Manhattan itself. So I was correct in a way, but was missing a piece of the puzzle as well. Annabeth’s eyes widened, also understanding the prophecy as well as me.
“You get it too, don’t you, Percy?” Annabeth said, her voice barely above a whisper.
I nodded, smiling weakly. I understood the first line, because I’m just smart like that sometimes. The second line… will that mean we’ll win?
“Hows your ankle, Wise Girl?’
Annabeth frowned, and the ankle was still at a funny angle.
“Grover put a splint. It hurts so bad…”
I held her up, and stabilized her, as she closed her eyes, the high elevation of Olympus getting to her.
She passed out.
“No, no, no… you can’t die on me, Wise Girl. I won’t let you.” I mumbled, as I took multiple steps over to the palace.
I looked up, to see Kronos tearing Olympus apart. Exactly like he said.
“I told them, I would tear Olympus apart, piece by piece!” Kronos yelled at nobody in particular.
Pretty convenient how he had a demonstration. Next, we’ll get free Medea SP 50,000 sunscreen. He looked at Hestia’s hearth, and I could’ve swore that I saw Hestia’s face in the fire, shaking her head in disapproval.
“These flames would be great for when I cook all the mortals!” Kronos cackled.
I clenched my teeth. The last straw was when he broke Poseidon’s throne. A piece of coral fell off of the throne. Then another. Then the throne itself broke.
“STOP!” I yelled.
I gently lifted Annabeth off, and a wind nymph came to attend to her wounds, moving her out of the danger. Kronos turned. I knew I did something stupid. I had almost no stamina.
“Perseus Jackson. My formidable opponent finally arrives.” Kronos said, his golden eyes seeming like they were glowing from the hearth’s flames.
Was it just me, or was his entire body glowing?
“So… it’s either your life, or the girl dies. She can’t live without me.” Kronos said, his expression calm.
I was furious. He didn’t deserve to live. Even if a small fragment of Luke was truly there, it was too late.
“Never. Annabeth will live. If I’m here, she’ll survive with me. We’ll both make it out alive.” I said, mirroring his expression.
Kronos smirked. “Really? If so then– AAH!” He cried.
His body continued to flash random colors, and his eyes. I closed my eyes, otherwise I would burn. I was smart like that, obviously.
When the light dissipated, Kronos body was smoking. But something was off. His eyes were… blue? Wait. That’s–
“Luke?”
Luke looked up to his name being called. “Yes, it’s me!”
I raised an eyebrow, still suspicious, thinking it was a bluff.
“How would I know if it was you?” I asked.
He had a smug look on his face, but winced.
“Ow. The scar hurts. Anyways, your first quest, and you were in that car wash.”
He mimicked his old voice from that time, and my face paled.
“And tell Grover it’ll be better this time! Nobody will get turned into a pine tree if he just–” Luke cut himself off there.
That’s the exact point where he stopped.
I nodded. “So it is you. Also a question… what were you going to say to him?” I asked, stupidly.
Luke scrunched his eyebrows. Like he had something he couldn’t remember. “I… don’t know. After that, I blacked out.” Luke said.
I had to buy more time. Should I buy time, or kill Luke already, I had no idea. I just wanted to talk to my mentor one more time. My old mentor. Luke winced, and screaming in pain, grabbing his hair tightly to try and ease the pain, but ended up making it worse. The one thing I admired about him. He tried to ease everything to reassure others, but ended up hurting himself more. I came to help this time. “What’s going on?” I asked.
Luke cried, “Kronos! He’s trying to completely taking over! Percy, use Riptide and…”
Luke didn’t finish his sentence, I did.
I finished, his death sentence.
I held it out. “Where is the Achilles spot?”
Luke pointed, at a bare spot under his chest armor, and I poked it, and he screamed. His body glowed in a beam of light.
“Percy, close your eyes!”
I didn’t close them in time, like the intelligent person I was. (Haha, get it? Was? Okay, not so funny the fact I’m dying.) My eyes felt like they exploded, my body was disintegrating, even with the Styx trying to protect me. I felt the Styx’s power trying to protect my life force, almost like a game of tug of war, except with my life. But it was too powerful, so naturally, the light beam won. What? Not all main characters make it out alive. Especially in Greek Mythology. They literally all die, so dam it. The final thing before I saw before I closed my eyes, was her.
She limped over, and cried.
“Oh gods, Percy, Luke… why?” She sobbed.
Luke smiled, as I laid on Luke’s shoulder, exhausted. I was going blind. I couldn’t see her, as patches of white filled my vision. “We’re both sorry, Annabeth. But it has to be this way, if you wanted peace.” Luke whispered.
Annabeth hugged both of us, in her arms, as Grover stood behind her.
“Percy… Luke…” I smiled weakly.
“I may not be able to see you both clearly, but Grover…” I said, my voice cracking. Annabeth cut me off and shook me violently, as Luke winced from his own pain.
“You can’t die! You just can’t, Seaweed Brain! You too, Son of Hermes!” She cried.
Luke smiled, or at least that’s what I think he was doing.
“Annabeth… did you ever love me, or Percy?”
Ι smiled at her as well. “I won’t be mad. It was Luke all along, wasn’t it?”
Annabeth shook her head. “I– I loved Percy more. I’m sorry, Luke.”
Her eyes were filled with tears, as she held me close to her body, and my body grew more and more limp in her arms.
“Ah… I thought so.” Luke winced, as he closed his eyes.
I smiled. “If I end up dying… tell the Stolls ‘Operation 143’.”
Annabeth cried more. “No! Not that one! I couldn’t–” I smiled one last time.
It was the only thing I was good at.
“I’m sorry, Wise Girl. Till death do us part.” I closed my eyes, and Annabeth screamed, as soon as the Olympians came in, fully fledged in battle armor. At that moment, I finally understood. We won… but at what cost?
***
I finally woke up to green patches of grass covering me, and my vision was still hazy for a moment, before it cleared. Sunny meadows were everywhere. It felt like when I was visiting Disneyland for the first time. It was Disneyland and Dylan’s Candy Bar combined. At least, I think. I don’t even know what Dylan’s Candy Bar is. Travis and Connor stole from that shop, and called it ‘candy earth of the universe’. Like being dyslexic wasn’t bad enough. Hyperactive Travis and Connor? Forget it.
I had my own mansion, the doorplate saying; “Perseus Jackson”. No… this was a dream, right? I couldn’t have my own mansion. That’s only for dead people. Until it wasn’t. Ghosts surrounded me.
“Percy, is that you?” A girl in a black veil asked.
It was Silena’s outfit for Beckendorf’s burial rites. Could it possibly be her? Had I known, I wish.
“Silena, it is him.”
This time, I recognized the voice as Beckendorf instantly, and I noticed my vision getting better and better. “Hmph. At least he defeated my father.” Zoe Nightshade said. “Sure did…” I said weakly. Everyone’s attention turned to me, and they smiled. “Percy! Annabeth was out there!” Silena protested. I sighed. “Like my death was my fault…” “It clearly was.” Beckendorf chuckled. Micheal Yew rolled his eyes, yelling from afar, while strumming his own harp. “I could’ve carried the entire war with my healing, you know that?” The demigods cheered. “I healed more than you!” Lee Fletcher protested. “Now, now, everyone. Let us celebrate that the true hero has finally arrived.” A mysterious voice said from afar. The person walked over, and it was Luke. I guess he had made Elysium. He deserved it the most out of all of us. I was happy that they were so enthusiastic for the war ending. Luke was the last person I saw, before I joined them all completely.
“Oh, Percy… Welcome to Elysium.” They said in unison.
A sea thrift bloomed, in the midst of the patches of the emerald fields of flowers. The rose, lotus, tulips, sunflowers, sea thrift, and corpse flower stood together in harmony. There was a wilting pine tree from afar, but it withered completely once the sea thrift bloomed near the glimmering blue sea, as it thrived on the shore, independent on it’s own.
***ANNABETH***
I cried. My deadly pride ended up deadly to others. I hit the ground in anger, and I turned, to see the Olympians.
Denial.
I accidentally touched a piece of coral broken off of Poseidon’s throne, and it completely clouded my vision, almost making me go mad for a moment, before it disappeared. Zeus watched silently, as Aphrodite covered her face from the gruesome sight of the two boys. Poseidon looked like he was on the verge of tears. My mother looked at me and frowned, almost signaling to me silently, ‘I’m so sorry.’
Anger.
Hermes cried and screamed, since he loved both Percy and Luke equally in his own way. Apollo stared at Hermes, emotionless. It reminded me of some days the sun could be bursting with light one day, and a freezing blizzard in another.
My voice cracked. “Lord Hermes… Lord Poseidon…”
Poseidon stayed silent, as Hermes frowned.
“Why, Annabeth? You could’ve saved both of them.”
A harsh reminder of what could’ve been a love story, ended up as a tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.
The rest of the campers came from the elevators, cheering about their victory, but it went deadly silent as soon as everyone saw Luke and Percy. “That punk… dead?” Clarisse whispered, looking like she would break down.
Clarisse laughed suddenly. “Hah! I know he’s alive.. I just–”
Bargaining.
She crumpled to her knees. “No.”
Ares shushed her, as she cried. Miranda and Katie cried too, while Travis and Connor consoled them. What a rare sight, considering it was vice versa. I stared at Travis and Connor, and I broke.
Travis’ features reminded him of Percy and Luke. With Percy’s black hair, and Luke’s elfish features. It almost seemed… cruel. Thalia was seen with Hephaestus, as he lifted the statue of Hera off of her, and her screaming in agony from the pain. That made me cry even more, and it felt like my stomach was twisting from just watching her.
“Travis… Connor… Percy told me Operation 143.” I coughed out. Connor’s face paled. Travis punched a wall beside him. “Darn it, you stupid graecu–” Travis yelled at the wall. Connor shushed him. “Sorry about him. We just didn’t know… that he was serious about that.” I tilted my head, in confusion. “What was Operation 143?” I asked. Hermes shook his head in disbelief.
“Di immortales! That boy never learns.”
Poseidon was seen, his expression grim.
“But first… we need a shroud.” He announced, his voice booming, before it all went wrong.
“A shroud for the son of Hermes… and my son.” He said, as he broke down into tears, and Hera ran over to him, and he teleported away with Hera, as I thought Poseidon was getting consoled.
Dionysus snapped his fingers, making 4 shrouds. A shroud for Ethan Nakamura, which had a logo of swords under a set of scales. It burned with a charcoal scent. Silena also had a shroud, and it burned with a pink puff of perfume. Doves were on it, and a bracelet. Ares and Aphrodite and their children in the cabin lit it together. Both considered her a hero.
Luke’s shroud was next. Hermes, Travis, and Connor came up together, as Hermes unwrapped the shroud, and kissed his forehead, as Travis and Connor wrapped it up quickly. Probably from those toilet papering days when they constantly pranked others. The shroud lit up with a scent of ozone, almost as a reminded of his first and final mistake. Depression.
Finally, was Percy’s. I immediately went up with Tyson. Poseidon managed to come back in time too. His shroud was beautiful. A sea green, with a trident. I couldn’t help remembering his emerald green eyes, so dark they were like pools you could drown in.
“Wait.” I said, before they put the shroud in.
I unwrapped the shroud, so I could see his beautiful face one more time. I kissed him on the forehead, as I wrapped it again. Aphrodite cooed, and whispered to Athena,
“Your daughter’s so romantic! I just love a tragic comedy!” Athena gagged at Aphrodite, swatting her away, and I ignored her, obviously. I hated her guts almost as much as I hated Hera.
All that matters is that I fulfilled my promise to him. It burned with a sea salt breeze, and tears could be heard from other cabinmates. While lighting up Percy’s shroud, a boombox started playing, and I couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity of ‘Operation 143’. Travis was dancing, and Connor was too.
Apollo brought a microphone, and Travis starting singing. Only then did I realize Percy had asked Connor and Travis to play Stayin’ Alive, at his funeral. That was the stupidest operation that anyone has ever made. And my “to be” boyfriend was born out of stupid.
Oh gods, that stupid Seaweed Brain. He thought this would cheer me up when he died.
“Not helping…” I said aloud on accident.
“HUH?” Travis yelled into the mic, before he continued singing.
“NOTHING!” I yelled back. I decided to give in.
Acceptance.
I put on a smile, and limped over to Apollo.
“Hey.” I said, my voice weak.
Apollo’s facial structure was really perfect, no matter what, but I guess Apollo forgot about that godly power, since his face was red from tears.
“Oh… let me guess, your ankle?” He asked.
I nodded, as Apollo raised his hand, and I felt a surge of warmth go inside me. Healing. I always thought Apollo slacked off and flirted with girls and boys all day, but I sort of forgot he did healing arts too. My ankle suddenly came back to normal, and I winced from the pain, but it died out after a few seconds.
“You’ll stop limping in… four or five days?” He calculated.
He started counting his fingers, which I was really confused, since he should’ve known. Then he nodded.
“Yep, my estimation’s about right. If you want a better one, go visit my son, Asclepius. But he’s currently in Greece, so maybe another time.”
I smiled. “Thank you, Lord Apollo.”
Apollo looked up. “Lord Apollo… it’s been a long time since anyone called me that. Usually people call me the god of the sun, Phoebus Apollo, well whatever that means. Or just the Oracle. I don’t even have the power of prophecy! I just operate the oracle.”
I managed to smile at his frustration.
“Never would have guessed you would get so frustrated over a title.”
Apollo sighed. “Percy did. I’ll miss that guy.”
He glanced at me, and saw me frowning.
“Oh, sorry. Anyways, you should go dance with the other demigods now. I have some… other things I need to do.”
Apollo left in a golden burst of light, and I joined my other friends.
I danced, and danced for what felt like eternity, while Katie gasped, realizing something was wrong. Thalia was missing. I felt a sting of pain on her back, the small of my back. That area was Percy’s spot that held his life force. I wanted to cry just remembering it. But I had to move on. Could I? I couldn’t hold on. I ran out of the palace ballroom, and Athena noticed immediately, being the only Olympian not doing anything other than observing other people’s movements. Apollo was intelligent enough to know something was wrong, and played a fast tune on his lyre. I almost fell a couple times, since the floor was cracked. I finally made it to the edge of Olympus, where the rest was just sky. I knew what was going to happen. Thalia understood my feelings. “Thalia, don’t!” I cried. She was going too far. Thalia smiled at me, gently patting me on the shoulder. “Till death do us part, right?” I fell to my knees. No. She wasn’t… right? Percy and Luke’s death orchestrated the whole thing. Except…
“Percy wasn’t supposed to die.” The voice of denial whispered in her head. “Embrace it, denial. You need to understand to move on. It’s just one more life.” The voice of acceptance whispered back. “No acceptance! Percy’s just in a coma. Just be patient, and he’ll wake up!” The voice of bargaining yelled in her head. I covered my ears, but it didn’t stop there. “It’s all your fault, Annabeth Chase. Your mother would’ve expected better for you. Bargaining, stop making her feel worse!” The voice of anger growled. “You shouldn’t feel bad. You can always drown everything out, and rest for a while.” Depression whispered. All the voices made a discord of noise together, before I screamed, and all the voices went silent.
Thalia watched me break down, and she smiled. Why… why did Thalia have to be so cruel sometimes? “Thalia… don’t die. You’re the only one I have left.” I cried.
“Annabeth…” She smiled, as she cupped her hands on my cheeks. “I’m glad I did this to you.” She said. I wiped my tears. “Why?” I asked. It was wrong. She knows what I’m going through. Thalia cleared her throat. “I’m glad… because you’re finally venting out your feelings.” I clenched my fists. ‘Venting’ out my feelings? Percy and Luke just died. How was she so casual about someone dying? Unless… “You’re already used to death.” I said.
That must’ve been the reason. She died once, so she understood people’s pain. Except her method of coping was rather… interesting. It felt like she was reading my mind, with her cold icy gaze.
“You’re already used to it, aren’t you?” I asked. Thalia smiled. “If you really want Percy to come back… then someone has to go.” I shook my head. I was grateful enough for Thalia to be here. I didn’t want this to end up like a Romeo and Juliet tragedy. When she said that, it reminded me of when Percy thought I died, so he died. Just for me to be alive.
‘Ha, isn’t that just life?’ My intrusive thoughts said. I noticed some Olympians (Other than Athena) finally realizing that we were missing, and pacing around the ballroom trying to find up. Meanwhile Apollo couldn’t leave his position, even though he’s the most concerned out of the twelve. He continued singing, his voice echoing through the now sheer cold of the ballroom. Hestia’s emotions reflected the state of the hearth, and it nearly died out. I noticed a pattern in Apollo’s words while he was singing.
Fleece. Imp. Nymphs. Drachmas.
Hunter. Empathy. Realistic.
Fortuna. Overall. Romans.
Mindmelting. Everlasting.
Yell. Open. Underestimate.
Two. Winner. Ending. Love. Veer. Eleven
Opposing. Lies. Youth. Music. Parents. Ill. Absolute. Never. Sing.
I managed to pick up what he was saying. I listened to his words. One pitch higher than others made some words stand out from the rest. If I didn’t spell it out, (which was almost physically impossible for me, being dyslexic) I never realized his message. “Find her for me, you twelve Olympians.”
I noticed this, from the first letter of each word. A common, but smart tactic that nobody notices. Apollo, was asking the other Olympians to find Thalia. But.. why not eleven? Does that symbolize something? “You should go turn yourself in. It’s not good being here.” I said. Thalia smiled. “Smart girl. You got the message too, didn’t you?” I nodded. She knew that clearly.
We embraced one last time, before we went our own paths. Thalia returned to the ballroom, while I went to the palace doors, where Athena was waiting, and Apollo smiled at me. He gave me a silent message.
‘Thank you, child of Athena. We can’t lose anymore demigods from here on out, alright?’
I smiled back, and Apollo simply went back to his singing and lyre strumming, but the music had a more upbeat tune this time. Meanwhile Travis was singing California Girls with Miranda. I smiled watched the two. They’ve started to bond more often.
Hades had arrived with some ghosts, from Elysium. Deceased demigods. Beckendorf instinctively brought out some gears from his toolbelt, while Silena just laughed and danced along with Luke, leaving Beckendorf alone for a short moment, before Luke made him join the circle. Micheal Yew and Lee Fletcher were complimenting Will Solace. Zoe Nightshade and Bianca were sitting in a corner, talking to each other. I finally joined the crowd, with the others, but a certain ghost summoned from the dead caught my eye. “Care to dance, Wise Girl?” He smiled, bringing his cold hand out for me to take. I smiled back, as I replied, “Of course, Seaweed Brain.” I took his hand, and we walked into the ballroom.
His hand was awfully warm in mine, but I didn’t mention that. “Did you make it into Elysium?” I asked. He smiled, and nodded. “Yeah. It’s not the same without you though.” I hugged him, in front of everyone. I expected my hands to just go through him, but he had a physical body.
Percy hugged me back. “Sorry I took so long.”
I smiled. “So… about that kiss.”
Percy grinned. “What about it? The shroud wasn’t enough?”
Olympians were whispering and pointing at us now, but I didn’t care. Anyways, I dropped the subject.
“We all miss you, y’know.”
He frowned. “Look, I didn’t mean to–”
I snapped. “Didn’t mean to? You could’ve closed your eyes!”
“Annabeth…”
“...”
“...”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean for it to sound that harsh.”
Percy smiled. “Apology taken, Wise Girl. Now, shall we dance?”
Aphrodite smiled as me, as she flicked her wrists, so that we were in proper ballroom attire like everyone else. I was in a jade green dress, the sleeves cascading down my shoulders. Percy was in a simple navy blue suit. For some reason, Annabeth liked it simpler that way. Percy’s jaw dropped looking at me, and I laughed, since he accidentally dropped my hand in the process.
“Oh.” He finally said.
“You drool in your sleep.” I replied, while rolling my eyes.
He was still gaping, so I slapped him in the face to give him a reality check. “Ow!– I mean, you’re very beautiful.”
I grinned. “Thank you, now we can go.”
He took my hand again, and Poseidon smiled at him, while Athena simply sighed.
One final dance.
“This’ll make up for what we couldn’t do in middle school, right?” He said hopefully.
I smiled. “And what we couldn’t do now.” I guided him through everything, since he was horrible at dancing. He kept on stumbling every one in a while but he was improving at least. Once he got the hang of it, we swayed in the room, him spinning me into his arms for what felt like every second. We danced for what felt like hours, and demigods stopped dancing just to watch us, the spotlight shining. Poseidon was tapping his foot to Apollo’s tune, which the Muses started playing a classic.
I accidentally stumbled, and he managed to catch me in time before I fell face flat onto the floor.
“Dam it, Annabeth!” He yelped.
I giggled. “Sorry…” He sighed.
“Be more careful next time, alright?”
I frowned. There wouldn’t be a next time. I was having such a great time to the point where for a moment I forgot he died.
Luke smiled at me from afar, his ghostly self shimmering. “It’s about time for us to leave.” Percy said. I simply nodded. Sometimes, you have to learn to let go to truly love others. Percy and the others started shimmering, before they disappeared. “So much for till death does them part.” Clarisse snickered. I rolled my eyes.
“I have Thalia. It’s fine.” Thalia smiled from afar, hearing her name. Clarisse ended up sighing. “I still can’t believe he— he… you know.” I stayed silent watching her. I had never seen her so weak and vulnerable before. She would always put on this tough facade to protect her cabin. But this? It broke my heart the fact that she had a similar reaction to Chris Rodriguez going insane in the Labyrinth. She consoled him for what felt like days, almost never coming out of the attic. If Dionysus never arrived… I shuddered at the thought. Would Chris still be insane, and Clarisse would have false hopes?
I almost forgot one thing… Sally. Oh gods, what would Sally say? I left Clarisse, and ran over to Poseidon. “Drachma. Now.” I commanded. Poseidon’s face paled, realizing as well. “Sally.” He immediately handed it over. I yelled, “Stop, Chariot of Damnation!”. A puff of grey smoke came out, and the Grey Sister’s Taxi arrived. “Ah! It’s the girl with the boy eye robber!” Tempest said. I frowned. “Tempest– the ‘boy eye robber’, Percy, is dead.” The Grey Sisters stopped cackling, realizing the gravity of the situation. “Oh… where to?”
“Sally Estelle Jackson’s house.”
“Alright then, in the taxi you go!”
Annabeth went in the taxi, as a puff of smoke guided her in, and a smoke hand took the drachma out of her pocket, and Anger took the eye, and started driving as fast as possible. “Grief!” Wasp wailed. “So much grief today!” Wasp cried again. Anger smacked Wasp on the shoulder. “Silence! Let me drive.” So Wasp shut up luckily, and the entire cab ride was silent. Annabeth went out, feeling nauseous from the high speed, and the Grey Sisters cackled, before leaving a grey puff of smoke.
Sally Jackson’s apartment was the same. You could smell the waft of brand new baking cookies. And they were blue, or course. Jackson specialty. She noticed something was off. It was more… cold than usual. She walked in, to find Sally Jackson in tears. “Sally!” I cried. The mother turned, her eyes puffy from tears. “Did Percy actually…” I nodded grimly, and she hugged me. “Oh no, my dear… I’m sure he didn’t mean to.” I cried in her arms, and we were like that for a pretty long time, as Paul Blofis sat on the couch, with a grim expression on his face. The counter had a blue cake, with a small sign saying, “HAPPY 16th BIRTHDAY, PERCY!” being held up by a toothpick. It was carefully decorated, with edible pearls and cookie tridents. Thalia walked into the apartment’s kitchen, her face grim. “So I’m guessing she got the news.”
I nodded, still sobbing into Sally’s apron, as Sally patted my head.
“It’s been hard for me and Paul, taking this news.” She said.
“But he wouldn’t want us like this. We have to honor him.” Thalia protested.
“Perhaps you’re right.” Paul said. “Possibly… he could be watching us in Elysium.”
She nodded, and I wiped my tears, for what felt like the millionth time today. ‘Dam it, Annabeth, why do you have to be so sensitive?’ I thought.
“Let’s celebrate his birthday, and leave some burnt offerings for him… he’d want some.” I said, my voice still trembling. My throat was extremely sore from crying all day. They all muttered, before they all nodded in agreement. Great, now she was the Percy in the situation. Before, her and Chiron used to do the same thing, and Percy would be all confused. Now, Thalia, Paul, and Sally were doing what she used to do. She wasn’t used to that. After some suspense, Sally laughed. “Okay, now, let’s celebrate!” Paul laughed with her, and held a wine glass up. “To the gods, and Percy!” “To the gods, and Percy!” Me and Thalia said.
After that, we just had a birthday party, but it was filled with warmth, and maybe some baby stories about Percy. Sally explained she knew Percy was a demigod since he was born, since in kindergarten, he strangled a rattlesnake when he was 2. I laughed so hard, I almost forgot about all the pain. Mothers can do that sometimes.
This was what it was like… to have a family.
Acceptance.
Warmth surged through my veins, possibly just the cozy atmosphere of the apartment, and all it’s happiness getting to me. Perhaps… I could embrace the fact he’s gone. He may be gone, but the memories will still live.
I decided I should stay overnight. I was practically exhausted from running all the way over here. I walked up to Sally, and she turned to me.
“Yes, Annabeth?”
“..Uh, could I possibly stay overnight?” I asked.
Her eyes lit up at that moment.
“Stay overnight? You can stay as long as you want!”
I smiled. Sally Jackson, always looking at the positive side of everything. I walked into Percy Jackson’s room. It was simple, and empty. The sea green of the walls were freshly painted, and the scent of the room had a sea salt breeze, and it hit a little too close to home. It reminded me of this afternoon, where the shroud burned with the same exact scent. I almost started crying on the spot, but I managed to stay calm. I took a deep breath. I remembered Silena’s breathing exercises she taught when she was still alive.
“Breath in with your nose, and wait for five seconds. Then puff it at all out your mouth.”
She once said. That was her way of coping. I thought Silena was the best person I could rely on. My partner in crime. Before I found out… the charm. The drakon. I choked out a small sob.
“Get yourself together, Annabeth Chase.” A cold and steely voice said. I turned, and Athena was there. “Mother.” I became cold and steely as her. She was calculating my every movement.
“You can’t keep blaming yourself for everything.” Her gaze softened.
“Take care of yourself. Parent’s orders.” She winked. I relaxed my shoulders.
“Oh… thank you.” I said, and she smiled.
“You dropped something on the way out of Olympus.” She flicked her wrist, and a blue Yankees cap appeared in her hand, and Athena tossed it to me.
“Sweet!” I cheered. “Thanks mom. I dropped it on the way.”
Athena winked. “Don’t mention it. The Grey Sister’s Taxi is pretty fast, after all.”
I nodded, not listening at all, but pretending I understood, as she somehow connected velocity to calculus in Latin. Curse you, dyslexia! Athena’s eyes widened as if she got a new obsession. ‘Oh gods, please don’t do this on a daily basis…” I pleaded silently. Luckily, Athena heard my thoughts and left muttering about Athens and Ithaca. I flopped onto Percy’s bed, practically inhaling the scent of his pillow. I organized everything into sections, and I noticed a wilted flower on his windowsill. Moonlace. My heart broke seeing it. Did he actually still like Calypso? I threw it away immediately, into the gardens. I didn’t want it near Percy. A single petal fell on his desk, and I noticed a notebook with a peeling piece of paper that took me a few minutes to try and read since it was in Ancient Greek. ‘τη ζωή μου’ or, ‘MY LIFE’ with a small label that said; “DO NOT TOUCH UNLESS YOU’RE PERCY” with a smiley face next to it. Instinctively, I opened it, and was greeted with a ton of pictures (and luckily English) writing.
“June 3rd 2006.
Today, I arrived at Camp Half-Blood. I met this really beautiful girl named Annabeth, though she was pretty dense.” I smiled, reading it. “I never knew I made that much of an impression on you, Seaweed Brain.”
I continued to read. “Grover is a goat thingy. I am now traumatized. There’s this really cool guy named Luke, and I’m one hundred percent sure Annabeth is obsessed with him.”
I blushed. Was I that obvious? There was a picture of me laughing, swatting Percy away from taking a selfie with me in it. Another picture, with Luke and Percy together, clanging their swords, with Chris Rodriguez in the back, with Grover. Annabeth smiled. Those were the good times before Luke… you know. My heart skipped a few beats, as I flipped to the next page.
“August 18th, 2007.
My mom made me another blue cake, which I appreciate… but the best part about my year? Traveling to that one place with the sirens.” There was a huge blotch of blue ink, almost as if he was thinking about what to write next. “I got to see Annabeth’s dreams, but it made me sad I wasn’t in her vision. Well, next time, I’ll make sure I am. But this disturbing feeling keeps lurking on my back. Like, I don’t want to be almighty and all that. I’m just one Percy. Annabeth sees me for who I am. Not just my reputation. Anyways, I have secondhand embarrassment going to school, seeing my teacher’s pet guinea pig, and I wonder if that could’ve been me. She keeps looking at my back almost as if she’s trying to see if i’m still partially guinea pig. I mean… I’m not complaining if she keeps looking at me like that.”
It ended there. It was basically a rant, combined with his humor. I loved his style of writing. It’s just… why has he never shown this side of him before? Tear stains were on the page. A picture covered some of it. A picture of me, sleeping on his shoulder. It was during the Fourth of July, and I got really sleepy, so I wanted to sleep, and used him as cushioning. I never really thought of it. An arrow pointed at the picture saying, “Grover took this picture secretly”. I just chuckled, a stray tear coming out of my eye.
“Oh, you idiot.” I said.
“A guinea pig wouldn’t be much different to what you were before.” I giggled at my own comment, it echoing in the empty room. I clung onto the notebook. I’ll read more tomorrow.
“I love you, Percy.” I said, looking out to the sky.
I let go, and fell asleep.