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Chapter Quote:

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”

~Charles Dickens

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Chapter 3: I Speak Nonsense

Shiloh 

First thing I did upon entering the stables was trip over air.  I have that awesome ability.  Luke grabbed me by my arm, preventing me from completely falling on my face.  I thanked him with a sheepish smile; he returned it, if only with a small one.  This Luke had changed completely from the one I used to know.  It still took some getting used to.  He used to be my boss.  I kept expecting him to tell me what to do.  Not that he was all that strict when he used to be cabin leader but still.

I went into the tack room to get some grooming tools when I heard a yelp from the main hall.  Dashing outside, I found Luke being chased around by Black Jack who had someone escaped from his stall.  I entered Black Jack’s thoughts, attempting to tell him to knock it off while at the same time chasing the Pegasus around trying to get him under control.  The Pegasus didn’t hear me over his cursing thoughts.  Black Jack called Luke a multitude of insulting names, ranging from “Pegasus abuser” to “stinking, stupid horse dung” and other names that should’ve made me wash that Pegasus’s mouth out with soap.  Somehow, I got in front of Luke just as Black Jack ended his third round of rearing.  His hooves came down towards my head.  Luke’s arms wrapped around my waist, hurrying to get me out of the way of the angry Pegasus’s feet, but he was too late.  The last thing I remember is Black Jack’s hooves connecting with my forehead and thinking: “That bruise is going to look weird.”

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Luke 

I cursed myself royally and out loud for not getting Shiloh out of the way sooner.  The force of Black Jack’s hooves slamming down on her forehead actually made me lose my grip on her.  I stumbled back and fell on my butt.  Shiloh slumped to the floor in a heap, her blonde hair spilled over her face, hiding the blood from her new cut.  I tried to hurry over to her but the moment I stood up, Black Jack head-butted me in the stomach, sending me flying into the stable wall.  He then stood protectively over her body, staring at me with malice; if Shiloh hadn’t been there, the Pegasus would’ve killed me by now.

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Percy 

“Do you think he’s okay?” Annabeth asked for the fiftieth time in the past ten minutes.  We were watching the kids practice archery.

I sighed. “Annabeth, I’m sure Luke is fine.  Shiloh is very capable of handling him and anyone else that tries to hurt him.  Don’t worry.  We’ll find a way for him to gain approval from the rest of the campers.  I promise.”

“But what if we don’t?!  He’s like my brother, Percy.  I can’t go through losing him again.  Between you and him… one of you is going to be the death of me, I swear to the gods,” she mumbled. “I worry about both of you way too much.”

I wrapped my arms around her waist, resting my head on her shoulder. “You have a right to worry about us, since I have a tendency to get into trouble, and he has a tendency to be easily manipulated.  But you don’t need to.  We’re both at camp.  We’re both safe.  Luke is being carefully watched by Shiloh.  You really don’t need to keep worrying over us,” I insisted gently.

She turned her head so she could look at me. “Yes I do, Seaweed Brain.”

I kissed her on the nose.  As I was about to give her a real kiss, Black Jack entered my thoughts: Yo boss!  We have an emergency!

What is it? I demanded immediately.

Guy that tried to take over the world with Kronos is here and I might’ve knocked Shiloh out.  Okay I did knock her out but not intentionally.  Come help her so I can knock the dude out.

I bolted towards the stable with Annabeth shouting after me, hot on my heels.  She caught up to me just I entered the stables.  Shiloh was in a heap on the floor, a small pool of blood next to her head.  Her blonde hair covered most of her face, meaning I couldn’t see the extent of her wound.  Black Jack was standing protectively over her, wings outstretched, eyes glowering at Luke.  Speaking of Luke, he was cornered by the black Pegasus, obviously wanting desperately to get to Shiloh but not able to.

“Easy Black Jack, he’s okay,” I assured, slowly walking up to the Pegasus.

Uh boss?  This guy tried to kill you.  Need I remind you of that?

“No, you don’t.  He’s a good guy now.  Let me see her.” Black Jack backed up, allowing for me to examine my half-sister’s head.  I rolled her over gently, moving her hair back gingerly.  Meanwhile, Luke crawled over to us, warily watching the black Pegasus who kept pawing the ground as if he wanted to charge the demigod.

Two distinct hoof-shaped bruises were on Shiloh’s forehead.  If this had been under better circumstances, I would’ve laughed.

“We need to stop the blood on her head.  Anyone-”

Annabeth was cut off by Shiloh groaning.  Luke lifted his hand as if to cup her face, but he dropped it.  Luke was seriously starting to freak me out.  First he was all “I’m going to destroy the world” and now he’s like “I don’t want to hurt anybody even if they hurt me.”  I didn’t know what to think.

“Shiloh?” Luke whispered.

No answer.

“Let’s get her to the infirmary,” Annabeth insisted.  Neither Luke nor I hesitated.  I let Luke carry her.  Annabeth grabbed a clean towel from the tack room, ran it under water, and then placed it on Shiloh’s head.

“Put me down,” Shiloh groaned softly.

“Shi, you have a concussion I’m pretty sure.  We need to get you to Chiron,” I told her.

“I’m not going to allow myself to be carried as if I’m a damsel in distress,” she argued weakly. “Put me down.”

“All right, I’ll put you down,” Luke replied, beginning to walk.

“Promise?”

“Yeah.  I promise I’ll put you down once I get you to the infirmary,” he answered.

“That is not what I had in mind,” she grumbled. “Should’ve that one seen coming.”

“I think she has a bigger concussion than we think,” I remarked as we walked outside into the bright sunshine.  Black Jack trotted behind me, keeping a careful eye on Luke.

“You don’t say?” Shiloh mumbled in response. “Creating… good sentences does not easily… come to me.”

“Coherent you mean?”

“Shut up.”

I grinned.  No matter what state Shiloh was in, she could always say ‘shut up.’  Luke carried her all the way to the infirmary where Chiron was tending other injured campers.  While I entered with my friends, Black Jack stayed on the front porch.  I’m pretty sure he was waiting to trample Luke when I wasn’t looking.

Chiron came cantering over to us as fast as the infirmary would allow, meaning he really walked to us to avoid knocking anything or anyone over.  He demanded what happened as Luke placed Shiloh on the bed.  Luke explained what happened, looking completely helpless, hopeless, and regretful. “I should’ve stopped it,” he said. “I should’ve been the one that got injured.”

Gold eyes said something right.  Shocking. Black Jack commented.

Stop eavesdropping! I replied.  Black Jack only snickered.

“I’ll give her some ambrosia and nectar which should revive her and help heal that cut and bruise by dinner time; the concussion might take a little longer though.”

“And stop punishing yourself, Luke.  I knew what I was doing,” Shiloh said softly.

“She kind of goes in and out of consciousness,” I explained to a bewildered Chiron.  The centaur inquired if Shiloh could get up.  She responded by attempting the request.  If it hadn’t been for Luke’s lightning fast reflexes, she would’ve fallen out of the bed.  I cringed at the bruise.  The colors of blue I saw belonged to the night sky and the deepest part of the ocean, not on my sister’s forehead.

After being fed ambrosia and nectar, color started to return to Shiloh’s face.  Her blue eyes sparkled again with curiosity.  She kept trying to crack jokes but her concussion still prevented her from creating big, coherent sentences.

“We must allow for Miss Carter to get some rest.  Percy, Annabeth, Mr. Castellan, leave her for now.  Go to your activities,” Chiron ordered.  A look of hurt flashed over Luke’s face when the centaur called him Mr. Castellan when before he went AWOL on us, Chiron used to call him by his first name.  However, Luke obeyed.  With one final glance at a sleeping Shiloh, we left the infirmary.

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Luke 

I felt like absolute crap.  My first chance to prove I have changed and then bam!  Shiloh gets injured while being alone with me.  Rumors would start flying, blaming me for hurting her.  I just knew they would.  Percy and Annabeth kept reassuring me I had no blame in the incident, that Shiloh knew what she was doing.  Just because she knew what she was doing doesn’t make it right…

“I’d rather be in the pits of Tartarus than seeing the campers at dinner and the campfire tonight,” I mumbled.  To be honest, the campers scared me.  After all I’d done to them, I’m pretty sure they’d like to roast me over the bonfire tonight.

“Say that again and I will kill you,” Annabeth warned.

“Don’t tempt me.”

“Luke, Percy and I told the campers what you did and how you helped us save Olympus.  If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be here.”

“No, if Percy hadn’t handed that blade to me, we wouldn’t be here.  He decided the fate of Olympus, not me.”

“Who told me to give you the dagger?” Percy countered.  Damn, since when did this guy become a lawyer?

“It doesn’t matter.  They won’t forgive me, Annabeth.  Clarisse will make sure of that.”

“What are you saying about me Castellan?” Clarisse growled from behind us.  The three of us turned around to face the grouchy daughter of Ares.

“That-”

“That he remembers seeing you fight the drakon in the battle and thinking that was one of the most incredible things he’s ever seen,” Annabeth interrupted me.  Why was she doing that?

“Didn’t Mr. Blue Eyes have gold eyes then?” Clarisse objected.

“I did, but I could still see everything Kronos did,” I replied.  She glowered at me although, I detected a slight hint of pride.

“Remember what I did to that drakon if you know what’s good for you.  Just avoid me Castellan, and I might approve of you being here.”  With that, Clarisse stalked off.

“She hasn’t changed,” I noted.

Percy laughed. “You’d be surprised.  She and I can actually have a conversation that doesn’t end up with us trying to kill each other.  Come on, I’ll help you with the pegasi.”

With that, we headed to the stables again.

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Shiloh 

Someone kept pacing up and down in front of my bed.  It annoyed me because with each step they took, it sounded like a gong being hit right next to my ear.  I voiced my strong opinion they should stop walking.  Breathing sounded like a good idea too, although I’m not sure if my brain told my mouth to say that or not…

“Shiloh!  You’re awake!  Finally.  Thank the gods,” Luke murmured.  At the sound of the shy demigod, I opened my eyes a crack.  He sat down on my bed. “How are you feeling?”

I turned over onto my back. “Better.  Brain still isn’t functioning as peachy as it usually does which you can see as I just said peachy…what about you?”

“What about me?” His eyebrows scrunched in confusion.  It was cute.

“Are you okay?  You looked about ready to puke when you carrying me to the infirmary.  Was I really that heavy for you?” I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

He rewarded me with a smile. “No, not at all.  You’re quite light for your information.  No, it’s just that the blood and the bruise and having it be all my fault, I felt like sh- like crap.  I’m so sorry.”

“Luke, don’t beat yourself up over that.  I’ve had worse injuries than this.”

“You have?”

“I probably shouldn’t tell you.”

“Was it during the war?”

“Possibly… sort of… kind of…yes,” I rambled.

“Tell me.”

Sighing, I explained, “I was near the Manhattan Bridge when some monster with a hell of a bow shot an arrow straight through my arm, tearing muscle and shattering my radius and ulna.  Naturally, it was my right arm so I had to fight left-handed which I can do, but I’m not the best at.  Why did I tell you that?  You look sick again.”

“I understand now why Midas decided to send me back to camp,” he remarked, putting his head in his hands.

“Is it really that bad for you?”  I didn’t even realize I’d put my hand on his knee to comfort him until I saw my hand with my own eyes.

“You have no idea.  I look at all the campers, knowing exactly who was here before I turned and who’s not here.  I know exactly what campers are dead because of me.  Midas knows the campers will never approve of me being here again, and he knows how unimaginably sorry and regretful and remorseful I am towards my actions.  I knew it would be hard coming here but this… this is nothing I imagined.”

“Luke, if the campers truly hated you, they would’ve killed you by now.  Mark my words on that.  Let me lay out the things you have working for you.  First off, you have the most powerful demigod on your side: Percy Jackson.  Second, his kick-butt girlfriend is on your side.  Third, you have the powerhouse couple supporting you which consists of the two people just mentioned.  Fourth, Grover is on your side, a.k.a. Lord of the Wild, the Chosen One of Pan, and a member of the Council of Cloven Elders.  Fifth, Chiron is supporting you.  The campers may think he’s off his wheelchair for that, but they respect his decisions.  Sixth, Dionysus hasn’t blasted you into a million pieces.  Seventh, you have me.  I never knew you well before, but you’ve been nothing but nice to me during all of our conversations.  I know what you did.  You tried to kill my brother, his girlfriend, Thalia, and countless of others.  But what I know that the other campers don’t is that you regret those actions more than any of us can possibly comprehend.  You will be staying here,” I promised.

“You just made a full speech without messing up.  I think your concussion is getting better,” he observed.

“Thank you, but don’t change the subject.  Do you understand what I just said?”

“Yeah… you really think I stand a chance?”

“I wouldn’t be giving you false hope if I didn’t.  Now, let’s go get dinner.” Just as I said that, the conch blew, alerting everyone dinner was ready.  Luke helped me up, making sure I didn’t trip over anything.  My world spun as if I’d just come out of a washing machine.  Thank the gods Luke kept a hold of me.  I managed to get to the dining pavilion without any more injuries or tripping.  Turning towards Luke, I made the gun-like gestures and said, “I’ll see you in a bit.  Sit by me next to the campfire?”

“Sounds great.  I’m going to go find Travis and Connor, see if they’ll let me sit with them.”

“Of course they will.  Now get going.” I gave him a light shove.  He smiled at me before going to his table.  Grey eyed Luke suspiciously; his gaze turned towards me.  When it did, he got up from the Hermes table and came over to me.

“What in Hades name happened to your head?”

“Uh, Black Jack tried to kill Luke; I stood in the way.  Black Jack couldn’t stop himself from coming down on my head from his rear.  I’m fine now.  Concussion is going away.”

“You should’ve let Black Jack kill him.  Are you forgetting all that he did?”

“Stop thinking that way Grey.  Luke’s not a bad person anymore.  He’s trying to redeem himself.  If you had seen the way he was talking to me in the infirmary just now-”

“He is a master of deception.  He deceived all of us, including his best friend who happens to be a daughter of Athena.  If he can trick her, he can trick anyone.”

“Give him a chance Grey.  Please?” I begged.

He let out a long exhale. “Why do I argue with you when I know I’m going to lose?”

“Because you’re obstinate and headstrong.  I’ll see you later.  Be nice.”

“I will, I will!” He protested, walking back to the Hermes table.  I went to my table and sat with Percy.  Once I’d made an offering to the gods, I began to trough down on my food.  Percy and I chatted about Luke being here again, what activities we had tomorrow, how we were going to help Luke get used to camp again, and other things.  I periodically glanced over at the blonde demigod.  He sat at the end of the Hermes table, flanked by Connor and Travis.  The Stoll brothers were cracking up about something.  Their mirth was contagious, and soon, everyone at the Hermes table laughed along with them (or possibly at them.  You never know), including Luke, even if it was only a big smile.

Luke caught my eye; his smile changed to one of reassuring.  I winked at him to let him know I’d been right.  He stuck his tongue out at me.

“Shiloh?” Percy interrupted my silent bantering with Luke.

“Hmm?” I turned to him.

“Do you like him or something?” My brother looked cautious.

“Percy, did you hit your head?”

“Very funny, Shi.  I’m being serious though.  Do you?”

“I can’t.  You know that.”

“But Aphrodite-”

“I know, Percy.  That’s why I don’t like him like that.  Promise.”

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