chapter XIV

🌷 Daphne didn't want to interrupt Percy and his mom's reunion. She told him she'd stand outside of their apartment and wait for a few minutes before knocking on the door and coming up to join them. Her wrist was still aching. She wondered if his mom had a plaster for her, or something.

Nerves were gracing her blood. She hadn't met one of her friends parents before, and she didn't know how to make a good impression. She also realized that Percy was the first one of her friends to actually have a good relationship with his mom, so she really couldn't mess this up.

Daphnes perception of time was too off for her to be certain that enough time had passed when she started climbing the old stairs of their apartment complex, heading over to the door and rapping loudly on it.

No answer. Daphne frowned with worry, her nerves being shot since Olympus. She knocked again, louder and more urgently until -

It swung open. Behind the door was certainly not Percy or his mom - it was a slimy looking guy who regarded Daphne with an air of disgust. "What the hell do you want, kid?" in all his ugly glory stood Gabe Ugliano. "I'm not looking to buy any cookies-"

"I'm Percy's friend." she blinked at him. "Just, uh, came to get him."

Gabes face turned an ugly shade of purple at her daring. "Wh- you - he hasn't been home for a month. Now go-"

Daphne glimpse behind him into the apartment. Garbage was ankle deep on the carpet and the sofa had been reupholstered in beer cans. Dirty socks and underwear hung off the lampshades, and something told Daphne that this wasn't what their home usually looked like. It was probably a result of his gross stepfather having the house to himself.

In the middle of the living room was an obnoxious poker table where three of his big, goony friends were too busy gambling to notice her.

Percy and his mother came out of where she assumed his bedroom was. She was a kind looking woman, but was obviously very beautiful beneath age lines and tired bags beneath her eyes. She smelled like peppermints and candy.

Gabe turned, and when he saw Percy his cigar dropped out of his mouth. His face got redder than lava. "You got nerve coming here, you little punk. I thought the police-"

"He's not a fugitive after all," Percy's mom interjected. "Isn't that wonderful, Gabe?"

"Hello, Miss Jackson," Daphne scrambled with her words to greet Percys mom. If his step-dad wasn't guarding the door, she would've hastily offered her hand to shake. "I'm Percys friend -"

She tried to side-step him and walk into their apartment, bumping into the table beside the door as she did. Big mistake. Gabe stepped closer to her, his clothes reeking old old beer and dirt, subsequently pushing her out of the door. She stumbled back, affronted but choosing not to fight him - it wasn't worth it. Still, her eyes winced terribly as she hit her broken or sprained or just really bruised wrist on their doorframe.

Percy must've noticed. He stepped forward like he was going to hit his stepdad if he stepped any closer to Daphne, but she was already a few steps away from him and out the door. "Hey, I'm going, alright? Percy - take your ti-"

Slam.

All Daphne could hear was muffled shouting coming from the door. The last thing she saw on his face was a look of pure anger.

Don't do anything impulsive, she begged inwardly, but she already understood that it was to no avail. It was like trying to ask a dog not to bark, or ask Annabeth not to take the lead with any sorts of quests.

She sighed and sat on the steps, a few paces away from the apartment so she didn't listen in to the argument. Her hand sat on where her knife was, however, just in case things went sour. As she waited, she hummed the song Grover had played on his reed pipes.

From inside, Gabe looked back and forth between Percy and his mom. He didn't seem to think Percy's homecoming was so wonderful.

"Bad enough I had to give back your life insurance money, Sally," he growled. "Get me the phone. I'll call the cops."

"Gabe, no!"

He raised his eyebrows. "Did you just say 'no'? You think I'm gonna put up with this punk again? I can still press charges against him for ruining my Camaro."

"But-"

He raised his hand, and Percy's mother flinched.

For the first time, Percy realized something. Gabe had hit his mother. He didn't know when, or how much. But he was sure he'd done it. Maybe it had been going on for years, when he wasn't around.

Percy was shaking with rage and horror. A balloon of anger started expanding in his chest. He came toward Gabe, instinctively taking the pen out of his pocket.

He just laughed. "What, punk? You gonna write on me? You touch me, and you are going to jail
forever, you understand?"

"Hey, Gabe," one of his friends interrupted. "He's just a kid."

Gabe looked at him resentfully and mimicked in a falsetto voice, "Just a kid."

His other friends laughed like idiots.

"I'll be nice to you, punk." Gabe showed Percy his tobacco-stained teeth. "I'll give you five minutes
to get your stuff and clear out. And take your little freaky friend with you - after that, I call the police."

"Gabe!" Percy's mother pleaded.

"He ran away," Gabe snarled at her. "Let him stay gone."

Percy was itching to uncap his sword, but even if he did, the blade wouldn't hurt humans. And Gabe, by the loosest definition, was human.

Percy's mother took his arm. "Please, Percy. Come on. We'll go to your room."

He let his mom pull him away, his hands still trembling with rage.

His room had been completely filled with Gabe's junk. There were stacks of used car batteries, old clothes and a rotting bouquet of sympathy flowers with a card from somebody who'd seen his Barbara Walters interview.

"Gabe is just upset, honey," she coaxed him. "I'll talk to him later. I'm sure it will work out."

"Mom, it'll never work out." Percy broke. "Not as long as Gabe's here."

She wrung her hands nervously. "I can ... I'll take you to work with me for the rest of the summer. In the fall, maybe there's another boarding school-"

"Mom..."

She lowered her eyes. "I'm trying, Percy. I just... I need some time."

A package appeared on Percys bed. At least, he could've sworn it hadn't been there a moment before. It was a battered cardboard box about the right size to fit a basketball. The address on the mailing slip was in his own handwriting:

The Gods
Mount Olympus
600th Floor,
Empire State Building New York, NY
With best wishes,

PERCY JACKSON

Over the top in black marker, in a man's clear, bold print, was the address of our apartment, and the words: RETURN TO SENDER.

Suddenly Percy understood what Poseidon had told him on Olympus.

A package. A decision.

Whatever else you do, know that you are mine. You are a true son of the Sea God.

He looked at his mother. "Mom, do you want Gabe gone?"

"Percy, it isn't that simple. I-"

"Mom, just tell me. That jerk has been hitting you. Do you want him gone or not?"

She hesitated, then nodded almost imperceptibly. "Yes, Percy. I do. And I'm trying to get up my courage to tell him. But you can't do this for me. You can't solve my problems."

Percy looked at the box.

He could solve her problem. He wanted to slice that package open, plop it on the poker table, and take
out what was inside. Percy could start my very own statue garden, right there in the living room.

That's what a Greek hero would do in the stories, he thought. That's what Gabe deserves.

But a hero's story always ended in tragedy. Poseidon had told him that.

He remembered the Underworld. Percy thought about Gabe's spirit drifting forever in the Fields of Asphodel, or condemned to some hideous torture behind the barbed wire of the Fields of Punishment- an eternal poker game, sitting up to his waist in boiling oil listening to opera music. Did he have the right to send someone there? Even Gabe?

A month ago, he wouldn't have hesitated. Now ...

"I can do it," Percy promised his mom. "One look inside this box, and he'll never bother you again."

She glanced at the package, and seemed to understand immediately. "No, Percy," she said, stepping away. "You can't."

"Poseidon called you a queen," Percy blurted out. "He said he hadn't met a woman like you in a thousand years."

Her cheeks flushed. "Percy-"

"You deserve better than this, Mom. You should go to college, get your degree. You can write your novel, meet a nice guy maybe, live in a nice house. You don't need to protect me anymore by staying with Gabe. Let me get rid of him."

She wiped a tear off her cheek. "You sound so much like your father," she said. "He offered to stop the tide for me once. He offered to build me a palace at the bottom of the sea. He thought he could solve all my problems with a wave of his hand."

"What's wrong with that?"

Her multicolored eyes seemed to search inside him. "I think you know, Percy. I think you're enough like me to understand. If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself. I can't let a god take care of me... or my son. I have to... find the courage on my own. Your quest has reminded me of that."

They listened to the sound of poker chips and swearing, ESPN from the living room television. "I'll leave the box," Percy said. "If he threatens you ..."

She looked pale, but she nodded. "Where will you go, Percy?"

"Half-Blood Hill."

"For the summer... or forever?"

"I guess that depends."

They locked eyes, and Percy sensed that they had an agreement. They would see how things stood at the
end of the summer.

She kissed his forehead. "You'll be a hero, Percy. You'll be the greatest of all."

Percy took one last look around his bedroom. He had a feeling he'd never see it again. Then he walked with his mother to the front door.

"Leaving so soon, punk?" Gabe called after him. "Good riddance."

Percy had one last twinge of doubt. How could he turn down the perfect chance to take revenge on him? He was leaving here without saving his mother.

"Hey, Sally," he yelled. "What about that meat loaf, huh?"

A steely look of anger flared in his mother's eyes, and Percy thought, just maybe, he was leaving her in good hands after all. Her own.

"The meat loaf is coming right up, dear," she told Gabe. "Meat loaf surprise."

She looked at Percy and winked.

The last thing Percy saw as the door swung closed was his mother staring at Gabe, as if she were contemplating how he would look as a garden statue.

Daphne walked up to him with worry shooting across her features when Percy left. "Hey, is everything-"

"It's fine." he said hurriedly, trying not to let her see how misty his eyes had become at finally being pried away from his mom.

"We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, Percy." Daphne said. He nodded, seemingly deep in thought as they left the apartment complex. But her nerves were too shot to stay quiet for so long.

"Hey, I got this for you," she started shyly. As she tried to walk through the door, she managed to swipe the bag of candy (which for some reason were all blue?) which was sitting on the table besides it. Percy's mom must've left it there as a welcome home gift for him, if he ever did get home. "Please don't be sad. I know it's hard leaving your mom, believe me. But it's not just me going home."

And maybe, just maybe, he believed her. Maybe Camp Half-Blood was his home.

He took the candy bag from Daphne's outstretched hands and fished out a blue jellybean. "Here. I owe you." he said instead, trying to brush past the sincerities. He was terrible with his words. The less he had to use the better.

It was okay. Daphne understood.

She smiled, "Why don't we go double or nothing?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well...I bet you a blue jellybean you can't jump over that fire hydrant."

(He couldn't.)

And so, they finally made it back to camp. Daphnes nerves were teetering on the edge of insanity as the cab pulled up into an empty field and let them go looking a bit clueless. She had been a bit too nervous to speak for about an hour now, watching the sun dip beneath the various mountains.

Daphne caught her breath as they looked up at Half-Blood hill. Thalia's pine tree stood proud and strong, undamaged and beautiful.

"That's her, isn't it?" she murmured. Percy didn't have to tell her yes to know it. They walked up the hill, trudging through the dirt and mud which must've washed the grass with dew.

When they reached the top of the hill, Daphne placed her hand on Thalia's tree trunk, as though she was feeling for the heartbeat of her friend inside. Percy didn't know if she ever felt what she was searching for, but she looked less longing and more peaceful when she pulled away with a sigh.

She surveyed the hills behind them one last time, as though taking a look at nature before her life changed forever.

"Are you ready to go in?" Percy asked her awkwardly. They'd been standing there for a while, but he didn't want to interrupt her moment with...the tree.

"Yeah," she exhaled softly. "Okay. Let's go."

The walk was sweetly quiet aside from the gentle buzzing of bees and the delicate tweeting of birdies from the treetops. It gave time for Daphne to gape at some parts in awe, though she'd need her full tour of the camp later. But the sights couldn't be denied of their beauty. She was particularly entranced with the lapping of the strawberry fields and the way the sun turned the sky a watercolour painting of oranges pinks and purples.

Pegasi and satyrs combed the fields. When the half-goats noticed Percy and Daphne, they began to yell out to them and ... cheer? A small satyr started clapping so loudly that his father had to hurry him away into the forest. The pegasi roamed freely, stretching their wings which Daphne had to take a second to marvel at.

Dryads came from their trees to smile at them and wave. Daphne waved back, though it wasn't even her quest to begin with.

The camp must've been at the mess hall, because their walk to the Big House was quiet. On the porch sat a portly man who looked like he was one handsome but had chosen to stray from his looks, lounging back lazily reading the new edition of 'Wine on Wine: do you know your grapes?' and drinking lemonade.

Percy lead Daphne up to him as she faltered, slightly nervous and confused about what to do.

"Uh...hello, sir." Percy started. "We're back-"

"Peter Johnson is here!" He yelled out to nobody in particular without flicking his eyes up to look at him.

Daphne blinked at him, taking a step back and thinking that he was genuinely crazy. "Who's this?"

Percy sighed. "Mr D."

"And D is for...wait-"

"Yeah."

"Seriously?"

"Yep. The almighty Greek god D-"

"Daphne!" came a voice from behind them. She could hardly turn her body to see who had shouted it before Daphne was swung off of her feet, the arms of an older, stronger boy enveloping her in a hug.

It hurt to admit that she couldn't fully recognise his voice, but somehow in his hug, she knew who it was.

"Luke?" she laughed, still not having been put down by him. "Oh my gods! You-"

"Aren't fourteen anymore?" he teased her. When Luke put Daphne down, she almost staggered back at his appearance. His mischievous grin had all the same mirth and attractiveness in it, but his eyes had darkened and almost missed its old sparkle of kindness. A new scar was long and jagged over his right eye, and his blond hair was the same as always, cropped short but tall. His old pinched face had thickened into a sharp jawline and a killer grin. "Grover came and told me as soon as they got back. I didn't believe it at first but now -"

Daphne beamed. The reunion had gone a lot better than she expected. Less tears and awkwardness, more grinning. She could always rely on that with Luke. They were practically a family. "Now I'm here!"

Yuck. It was weird, watching her friends grow without her. There was something so familiar about him, but so different too. A deep kind of sadness, maybe.

"And now you're here." he grinned. "And you, Percy! You made it out of the underworld alive, dude, and you brought Daph with you."

Luke clapped Percy on the shoulder. He had slunk into the background as they shared their moment, awkwardly as though he didn't want to be seen. His mind seemed elsewhere where he said, "It was nothing."

Daphne snorted. "Percy, you're ridiculous. Luke, he did so much stuff, it was awesome. I don't even know where to begin-"

"Ah, Percy, you're back!" and old voice boomed. Daphne looked toward the source and saw a middle aged man with haunted brown eyes joining them on the porch. His wheelchair was covered in paint. "Ah, forgive my appearance. The Apollo and Ares kids had an argument in arts and crafts, and I had to step in. Now I take it all went well with the end of the quest? Annabeth and Grover have already filled me in up to your visit to the 600th floor."

Percy nodded. "Yeah, uh, I saw Zeus and my dad. He agreed to pardon me, 'cause it was Ares-"

"Oh, blah blah blah," Mr D interrupted him. He yawned from his chair. "Now, do we really need to know what happened after the brats survived? The quest is over now, Peter somehow survived and found his new friend Darcy - leave it all for your little campfire songs later."

The man with frazzled brown hair frowned. "Darcy?"

"Uh, I think he means me." Daphne piped up. The man snapped his head towards her, as though he hadn't seen her before as she slunk into the shadows (wow, shocker! Somebody didn't notice Daphne!). "My name's actually Daphne. I'm a half blood and they, uh, found me on the quest. But Annabeth and Grover already told you, so I don't know why I'm repeating it now..." she trailed off when she got nervous, okay? He was staring at her like she was a criminal.

The man studied her carefully. "Yes, I remember now. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, Daphne.

She beamed. "Thank you. It's so beautiful-"

Mr D coughed something which sounded a lot like 'suck up!'.

They all turned to him. He looked up from his magazine innocently. "What?"

The man shook his head and looked back to Daphne. "Of course, you are welcome to stay for as long as you need. Many campers prefer not to leave, and considering what you've been through, you may find it prudent to stay too. My name is Chiron."

Daphne blinked. "It is?" That didn't seem right. Last she heard, that dude was a horse.

A faint smile appeared on Chirons lips. "You'll get the hang of it around here soon enough. I've already heard a lot about you from your old friends. Perhaps you would like to take a tour around camp now, and we can talk later? We'll have to find you a guide-"

"I'll do it, Chiron," Luke said, grinning brilliantly at Daphne. "Come on, we have some stuff to catch up on."

She had sort of hoped that he wouldn't have offered so that she could spend more time pestering the literal God who was grumbling about adding more 'little brats' to camp than they needed. But she just smiled gratefully at him and turned to Percy. "I'll see you later?" she offered.

"Yeah," he said. "See you later."

Daphne hopped down from the wooden porch. Luke was always taller than her, but now it was very obvious. She had to squint against the sun when she looked up at him. He walked with a purposeful laziness, not so the tensed way they used to.

She wanted to ask about his years at camp. Ask about his scar, about what his father was like. As they were walking away from the big house, the bustle of the camp was coming into sight. She was almost overwhelmed with the colours of the trees and flowers which enveloped the land, all sorts of cobbled winding pathways leading to places like an archery station or, far beyond what Daphne could see, the cabins.

Instead, she said, "Was this place everything we dreamed of?"

And for the first time, it felt like Luke was calculating his response. She thought it would've been quite an easy question to answer, but the way he caught his tongue made her frown. "Yeah. Sort-of. It's safe. But the gods..."

A dark shadow crossed his eyes again. Daphne frowned, "What about them?"

"Watch out!" someone yelled. A second later, a basketball bounded over to them fiercely and Daphne, relying on her reflexes, scrambled to catch it.

Ouch. Bad choice. She dropped the ball as soon as it was thrown into her hands, shooting hot pain flaming along her wrist.

"Lee," Luke frowned. "I thought Apollo kids were supposed to be good at basketball."

The ball bounced away and a blond kid rushed over to pick it up. "Sorry, dude. We were trying out Cabin 9's new catapulter. Hey, new camper?"

Daphne grimaced through the pain. She didn't trust herself to speak without her voice wavering.

"Lee, meet Daphne Everlark." Luke clapped her on the back. "I was about to start giving her a tour around, but-"

"Your wrist." Lee immediately said.

Luke frowned. "What?"

He rolled his eyes."Not you. Can I see?"

She shyly held her wrist up to him. He inspected it closely, the basketball still under his arm.

"That's a broken wrist right there," he nodded."How long you had this?"

Daphne honestly couldn't quite remember, but she didn't question how he knew. "Uh, a day, I think."

"Ambrosia? Nectar?"

Daphne blinked in confusion. "Bless you?"

"That means no," Lee sighed. He was pretty good-looking with wavy blond hair and a deep suntan. "Come on. You can start your camp tour at the infirmary. I'll take you both there since Luke is obviously too immature to handle young campers."

Daphne felt slightly offended but still followed after him. Young camper? She'd been on the streets for years, and he couldn't have been more than a year older than her. She was sure she had more years of experience than him from his unscarred arms and eyes which still glittered with a childish innocence.

"I didn't notice, Daphne," Luke frowned and said apologetically to her. "Guess I was just a bit caught up - I mean, you're here again. You're alive."

She knew how he was feeling. She hadn't left the euphoric feeling of looking at camp with a sense of awe. As they waded their way through, she knew why.

It was everything she'd been dreaming of.

The weather was just as warm and comforting as Grover had described. The grass was lush and dewy, like rain had been falling the night before but the air was cleansed of its cold grip over the camp. An ambience of the camp consisted of faraway voices laughing and talking, shouting and training. She could hear the trickle of the small rivers which flowed here and there, the buzzing of fuzzy bees and the fluttering of butterflies. The naiads and dryads were giggling with each other, noises as gentle as soft leaves falling in the first stages of autumn. She could hear arrowheads piercing targets made of straw, swords clanging together. Above the trees she saw the air to be clean and fresh, all despite for a string of fog which lifted from a place she assumed was a forge. Metal clanged against each other there, and fires crackled.

Nobody paid them much mind as they walked through camp. It was something which made her feel instantly comfortable, not as though she was an insect being peered at from under a microscope. The pathways were rows of cobbles which fell into clumps of dirt, but were evenly paved out with wooden lanterns to guide your way. They twisted and wound past all sorts of obstacles consisting of simple boulders and clumps of trees to patches of flowers and archery or training courses.

Everybody she passed was wearing a bright orange shirt with a black printed pegasus on the front. CAMP HALF-BLOOD was displayed over it and somehow, they managed to make it look interesting and stylish.

Daphne took a deep breath in and smelled sweet sycamore, the perfume from blossoming flowers which littered the evergreen grass, burning logs and fresh pine. Even with the invasion of the different earthly smells, the air was clear and clean. After breathing the musk of the underworld for quite some time, it was a welcome change.

A few people smiled at Luke or Lee as they passed, but a couple more waved at Daphne with friendly looks. Other campers would blatantly ignore them, but Daphne supposed you couldn't have them all. The people who waved were doing it purely out of kindness, and she wasn't sure she'd ever seen such a large group of people working in harmony together.

A few people came past lugging massive swords or bows and hunks of scrap metal being pulled by a cart. Once or twice, Daphne tripped over a tree trunk which had been winding through the pathways, hidden by moss and dirt. She admired how the camp allowed them to grow without pressing any force against them, and instead adapted to the trees too.

They waded through the camp, though Daphne caught the feeling this was just the outskirts of it. She'd have time to delve into the sights later as Lee lead them up to a house which looked familiar to the Big House, but with more windows, only one floor and a balcony which hung off the side of it. White lace curtains hung on every open window, winding fresh oak running up the walls.

They walked in and sat Daphne down at one of the white beds which lined the wall. She would've thought it was a bit extreme, but there were only three other people in there at the time, each being tended to by sunny looking campers. One of them had burns all up their leg which the healer tutted that he 'should've been more careful scaling the lava wall'.

Luke looked out of the window and stared at the lake beside the horizon as Lee went rifling through the cabinet beside the bed. Though the infirmary was a strange mix of rustic and sterile, it sort of worked.

He handed her a small square of something he called ambrosia, and warned her not to eat too much otherwise her insides would burn up. It kind of looked like lemon squares, only less cakey, sweeter, and more creamy. It certainly tasted different, however - sweet and honey-like, with a certain tang of buttered popcorn.

"We have pudding cup versions, but those are really for people who are comatose," Lee told her.

Daphne nibbled on the side and felt crazy for feeling almost instantly refreshed. "Do you get a lot of comatose people here?"

He grinned cheekily. "Enough to wanna keep some pudding cups spare."

Sure enough, Daphne's bruises seeped into her skin as though they were never there. The pain in her wrist dulled to a small ache before disappearing completely. She watched as it fixed itself, marvelling at the magic behind it. If she'd had the ambrosia squares while on the run, she wouldn't have quite as many stories to tell.

It was the best thing she'd tasted in a while. Suddenly, Daphne felt conscious over herself. Now that her mind wasn't fixated on the ache of her wrist she realised just how dirty her clothes were and how matted her hair had become again.

"You have a cabin yet?" Lee asked.

Daphne shook her head. "I don't know what you mean."

"Cabins are assigned by godly parents," Luke came forward and explained. "Annabeth must've told you, but I'm Hermes. Lee here is Apollo. I take it you haven't been claimed yet?"

Again, Daphne shook her head. Luke sighed, "Yeah, sounds about right. Don't hold your breath, Daphne. Sometimes it never happens to any of us."

She frowned. "How is that fair?"

Anger flitted over Luke's eyes. Just for a second, but Daphne didn't catch a glimpse of it. He wondered if maybe, just maybe, she shared the same beliefs as him. "It's not fair. That's the deal with them."

She went to nibble on the ambrosia square some more, but Lee knocked it out of her hands before she could.

"You trying to get your insides burnt out or what?" Lee rolled his eyes.

"Aren't you a ray of sunshine?" she snorted, jumping up from the corner of the bed. She suddenly felt extremely refreshed and ready to take on the rest of her day. She turned to Luke, "So, where to next?"

౨ৎ ˖ ࣪⊹ 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆
🌷🪷🌊

ʚɞ wanted to include percy letting go of his momma because that's just the closure he needed.!

I have a load of beef with the TV show but when Percy, Grover and Annabeth hugged at the end... yeah. I'm not ashamed to say i cried. My life was leading up to this and i love them so, so much. 💗

How did you find the show?? Let me know!!<3