chapter XVII

🌷 Daphne was sick with worry. Her arm was shaking when she lifted Percy's glass closer to his mouth, unconscious and heating up in the infirmary bed. Golden light was seeping through the window, shining upon them both.

She'd been sitting beside him in the infirmary for the whole day, from the moment she had awoken and was told my some of her very nervous looking cabin mates that they found him half-dead on the outskirts of the woods.

"You wake her up," Travis whispered, elbowing one of his sisters.

"Why me?" she hissed back. "You're the one who was awake in the middle of the night like a little creep and saw him laying there!"

Daphne winced, opening her eyes groggily. "Whasgoinon?"

Her cabin mates fell quiet, which instantly concerned her. The Hermes kids were anything but shy. Daphne pushed herself up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Uuhh...guys?"

"Erm..." a young boy who couldn't have been nine started forward and broke the quiet. He was friends with one of the Hermes kids, a son of Aphrodite. For a second she wondered why he was in their cabin, but their nervous faces told Daphne that something wasn't quite right. There were a few kids still snoozing sleepily on the bunks, so he was whispering to her. "We had to wake you up. They found your friend - I can't remember his name, but - he looked really hurt. Outside the forest..."

Daphne snapped her body up. Through her mind, she repeated the words Luke had once told her: "I'll let you in on a secret. One of the funnest things you can do in camp is sneak out into the woods and look for something big to fight."

Her body went cold. She groaned as she stood, considering she was sleeping on the floor for the last time before she could steal someone else's bunk when they left for the school year. The Hermes cabin parted for her as she pushed her way through them, heart pumping in her ears.

She was still in her plaid pink pjamas but she never thought to change. The nymphs and dryads were together, some gossiping, crying or calling for help. A body was being lifted by two satyrs onto a stretcher as another blew a conch horn panickedly.

But Daphne couldn't hear it. She forced the crowd to part, ready to see Luke half-dead looking up at her, ocean blue eyes paled and glassy, blond hair matted with blood -

Instead, she met sea green. Percys face was ashen and sweaty, a large sting on the back of his hand blistering, bleeding and purpling in the starshine. The deep bags beneath his eyes were bruising red. Blood was trickling from the side of his mouth, and the clothes he was wearing earlier were dirty and slashed, but not by claws - from the looks of it, by a sword.

He looked dead, and for a second, she though he was.

"What happened?" she demanded one of the satyrs, voice cracking. Hot tears were welling down her cheeks.

They were wordless as Daphne tried to help to lift him. But her arms were shaking so much, she wasn't providing much help. The galloping of hooves from behind her snapped her attention away from his body for just a second to see Chiron, his tail in curlers, full stallion form. He paled when he looked down at him, and muttered some sort of ancient Greek prayer.

Annabeth wasn't short behind him, but words failed her. Her hands clasped around her mouth and she went almost as pale as the moon.

"What happened, Chiron?" Daphne demanded of him, all thoughts of Luke gone. "He- he looks so -"

"We must get him to the infirmary," Chiron interrupted her and - in a moment of great surprise of her - whisked both Daphne and Annabeth onto his back. Before they could question it, he was galloping away, following the stretcher his body was still on.

Don't be dead, she inwardly begged. She didn't want that to be the last time she saw his green eyes.

He woke and realised that he was sipping something that tasted like liquid chocolate-chip cookies. Nectar.

Daphne looked over to him as his eyes flutter open. She saw the deep ocean in them again and felt herself visibly deflate from her stress, dabbing the washcloth against his forehead. "Idiot." she greeted him with. "You - Percy, you idiot." Her eyes were stinging, and she wanted to envelop him in a hug.

He seemed to realise where he was - propped up in bed in the sickroom of the Big House, his right hand bandaged like a club.

Argus, the bodyguard of the camp who had eyes littering all over his body, stood guard in the corner. Annabeth was looking out of the window, deep in thought, and Daphne was by his side, holding his nectar glass. The sunshine was drinking over her, warming the dark curls which hung around her face, dancing over her eyelashes. Her lips were red and chewed, shadows of tears on her cheeks. He didn't know what to say for a minute, chalking the reason for his mouth feeling so dry down to the sting of the pit scorpion. Then, smartly, he said:

"You're on my arm," he groaned.

She blinked in surprise, moving back for a second, but stopping herself short when Percy snickered very weakly. "Ha ha. Got you."

Daphne shook her head in disbelief. "You- I can't believe you. Your brain is full of bubbles." she murmured, shoving the spoon of pudding into his mouth before he could reply.

Annabeths head swung back to his. "You're so lucky," she hissed, but her own thoughts were seeped in relief. "You were green and turning gray when we found you. If it weren't for Chiron's healing ..."

"Now, now," Chiron's calm voice said. "Percy's constitution deserves some of the credit."

He was sitting near the foot of Percy's bed in human form. His lower half was magically compacted into the wheelchair, his upper half dressed in a coat and tie. He smiled, but his face looked weary and pale.

"How are you feeling?" Daphne asked quietly, scooping some of the pudding from his chin with the spoon. Lee must've been right - there really was a lot of comatose kids at camp.

"Like my insides have been frozen, then microwaved." Percy said grimly, trying to push himself up. He wobbled on his arm, Daphne having to grab him and lean him back into his pillow gently.

"Apt, considering that was pit scorpion venom." Chiron nodded."Now you must tell me, if you can, exactly what happened."

Between sips of nectar, Percy told them the story.

He told them about how Luke - her sweet, dearest friend who protected her like an older brother - had lured him into the woods and set a pit scorpion on him. How none of it was accidental, the shoes and the tricks being a plot to drag Percy down. How he was being manipulated and lied to, and how Luke was the Lightning Thief. That he was serving the great Titan of time, Kronos.

The voice in the pit of the underworld, Daphne realised. The voice which shook her to her very core, the voice which was almost haunting her as she slept. The voice which she understood, though it was deep and old and ancient.

The room was quiet for a long time.

The same Luke that had fought off a venomous snake from Daphne as she slept, not even a few months ago to her. The room was spinning. Her older brother Luke. The one part of her family that managed to keep them together - to stop Thalia and Daphne from killing each other and help them get over their silly little spats, to carry Annabeth when the nights were too long. To always offer to take the first watch and give them his coat when they shivered.

"I can't believe that Luke ..." Annabeth's voice faltered before her expression turned angry and sad, resigning herself to the truth. "Yes. Yes, I can believe it. May the gods curse him.... he was never the same after his quest."

Daphne was speechless. Percy was sure he saw a slight tear slide down her cheek, but she brushed it away and kept herself busy by adjusting his cushions or holding up the glass. Her bottom lip wobbled and she couldn't fool him. She was destroyed. Unlike Annabeth, she wasn't given the chance to debate loosing him.

If only their quest didn't happen, she wouldn't have trusted him. She would've shaken her head and claimed him a liar. But somehow - after knowing him for a fortnight, Percy Jackson wormed his way into her heart, taking a place beside the rest of her family, and she knew he wasn't lying.

"This must be reported to Olympus," Chiron murmured. "I will go at once."

"Luke is out there right now," Percy frowned, trying to push himself up again. "I have to go after him."

Chiron shook his head. "No, Percy. The gods-"

"Won't even talk about Kronos," he snapped. "Zeus declared the matter closed!"

"Percy, I know this is hard. But you must not rush out for vengeance. You aren't ready."

He didn't like it, but part of Percy suspected Chiron was right. One look at his swollen and bandaged hand, and he knew be wasn't going to be sword fighting any time soon.

"I just... can't believe it." Daphne shook her head sadly. Before Percy could reply, she fed him some more of the pudding ambrosia. Annabeth sat beside her, but offered no comfort. She, too, was almost in a state of her own as she stared into nothing.

Seconds passed, and that was that. Luke was a villain and a murderer and a thief, and Daphne couldn't believe it. But she knew it was true.

"Chiron... your prophecy from the Oracle ..." Percy started slowly. "it was about Kronos, wasn't it? Was I in it? And Daphne?"

She glanced up in confusion. Why her?

Chiron glanced nervously at the ceiling. "Percy, it isn't my place-"

"You've been ordered not to talk to me about it, haven't you?"

His eyes were sympathetic, but sad. "You will be a great hero, child. I will do my best to prepare you. But if I'm right about the path ahead of you ..."

Thunder boomed overhead, rattling the windows. Daphne jumped, memories of lightning not being so fond. Especially today, when everything about Luke...

She had just gotten home. She had just returned - for one month. One happy, childish, peaceful, blissful and dreamy month had passed. She woke up with Luke in her cabin, him guarding her stuff while she was away from the cabin. And all that time between shared grins and tales of old nostalgic memories, he was planning to kill one of her new best friends.

"All right!" Chiron shouted. "Fine!"

He sighed in frustration. "The gods have their reasons, Percy. Knowing too much of your future is never a good thing."

"We can't just sit back and do nothing," Percy protested, his feeble voice trying to shake with anger.

"We will not sit back," Chiron promised. "But you must be careful. Kronos wants you to come unraveled. He wants your life disrupted, your thoughts clouded with fear and anger. Do not give him what he wants. Train patiently. Your time will come."

"Assuming I live that long." he grumbled. Daphne understood the sentiment more than any other.

Chiron put his hand on Percy's ankle. "You'll have to trust me, Percy. You will live. But first you must decide your path for the coming year. I cannot tell you the right choice...."

Daphne got the feeling that he had a very definite opinion, and it was taking all his willpower not to advise him.

"But you must decide whether to stay at Camp Half-Blood year-round, or return to the mortal world for seventh grade and be a summer camper. Think on that. When I get back from Olympus, you must tell me your decision." he finished.

Percy wanted to protest, wanted to ask him more questions. But his expression told them all there could be no more discussion; he had said as much as he could.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Chiron promised. "Argus will watch over you."

He glanced at Annabeth. "Oh, and, my dear... whenever you're ready, they're here."

Daphne looked up at them. "Who's here?"

Nobody answered.

Chiron rolled himself out of the room. Daphne heard the wheels of his chair clunk carefully down the front steps, two at a time.

She still sat beside Percy, but turned her head to face Annabeths as she studied the ice in Daphne's lemonade on the side.

"What's wrong?" she asked her, eyebrows creasing.

"Nothing." she sighed. "I... just took your advice about something."

She pointed toward the crest of Half-Blood Hill. Next to Thalia's pine tree, at the very edge of the camp's magical boundaries, a family stood silhouetted-two little children, a woman, and a tall man with blond hair. They seemed to be waiting. The man was holding a backpack that looked like the one Annabeth had gotten from Waterland in Denver.

Her dad, Daphne recognised.

"I wrote him a letter when we got back," Annabeth admitted. "Just like you suggested. I told him... I was sorry. I'd come home for the school year if he still wanted me. He wrote back immediately. We decided... we'd give it another try."

"That's great," Percy said cluelessly. "Isn't it?"

Annabeth wasn't convinced, though. She was looking at Daphne like she would burst into tears. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Owlie," Daphne managed a smile, but her heart was clenching. Luke had gone, and now Annabeth. But her friend looked pretty cut up about it, enough for Daphne to swallow her feelings. "That's really great. I'm happy for you."

"I can stay," she offered immediately. "And we can-"

"No," Daphne shook her head. "Honestly, Annabeth, you'd think I'm a ghost, I won't disappear if you leave me alone for a while. But you need to let me come visit, okay?"

Annabeth hugged Daphne quickly and pulled away before she started to cry. Annabeths watery eyes met Percy's. "Don't do anything stupid." she told him.

"I'll try not to," Percy hummed like talking would've caused him immense pain. He still looked green from the scorpion venom.

"Iris message me as soon as you get there," Daphne made her promise, standing up and walking Annabeth to the door. They gave each other a last hug which felt fleeting though they held onto each other for a while.

"I will," Annabeth murmured, head nestled in Daphne's hair. "Call me when you need anything. I'll come back instantly-"

Daphne grinned and pulled away. "I promise, Annabeth, jeez. Now don't keep your family waiting and blame it on me. I need to be in their good books if we can have sleepovers."

They smiled at each other and parted.

Daphne watched her walk up the hill and join her family. She gave her father an awkward hug and looked back at the valley one last time. Annabeth touched Thalia's pine tree, just as Daphne had, then allowed herself to be lead over the crest and into the mortal world.

Daphne sighed and turned her back on the door, stumbling over to Percy's bed again and sitting beside him. It was very quiet. "Do you need anything else?"

"Yeah." he pushed himself up again. "Help me up. I want to go outside."

"Percy, that isn't a good idea." Daphne sighed, looking back at him hesitantly.

Surprise surprise, Percy didn't listen to her.

He slid his legs out of the comfy bed. Daphne caught him before he could crumple to the floor, a wave of
nausea rolling over him.

Daphne started, "I told you..."

"I'm fine," Percy insisted, being overly annoying the way he usually was. He persisted and managed a step forward. Then another, still leaning heavily on Daphne. Argus followed them outside, but he kept his distance.

By the time they reached the porch, his face was beaded with sweat and Daphne's with worry. His stomach had twisted into knots, but they had managed to make it all the way to the railing.

It was dusk. The camp looked completely deserted. The cabins were dark and the volleyball pit silent. No canoes cut the surface of the lake. Beyond the woods and the strawberry fields, the Long Island Sound glittered in the last light of the sun.

"What about you?" Percy interrupted her train of thought. She looked over and found him staring at her. She was embarrassed about how she must've looked, surveying the camp in awe. "Are you going home too?"

Something sad flashed past Daphnes eyes. "No. I can't."

"Why not?" he asked confused-like. "Won't your mom or dad want to see that... you know, you're alive?"

Daphne didn't reply, and Percy felt as though he'd overstepped. "I didn't mean to say it like that. I just meant..."

He trailed off, but where he would've lead was obvious. They were ignoring the glaringly obvious detail about Daphne and her entire being. The fact she was a dead girl walking.

A couple seconds passed, and the tension in her shoulders was released with a sigh.

"It's okay," she murmured, leaning over the rail lazily when she probably should've been supporting Percy to lean too. "But going home isn't an option. It never has been. My dad..."

She looked like she was going to say something but thought better of it. Percy didn't want to pry.

"Well, he's better off me not being there," she decided. "All I caused him was pain. I just hope that because it's been a few years, you know, he'll... be better."

She lifted his Nectar for him to sip. Curiously, she asked, "What does it taste like?"

"My mom's blue cookies." he told her like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Are they blue because they're mouldy?"

He smiled. "Uh, no. I just like to eat blue food. It's... I don't know. But me and my mom do it with everything we can."

"That's so cute." Daphne tipped up the glass for him. "Don't drink too much, or it'll burn out your insides."

He hastily swallowed the nectar and watched the glass nervously, like it would spontaneously combust. "What about you?"

"Hmm?" she looked up from the glass as though she was deep in thought.

"What does it taste like for you?"

"Oh. Well, I don't actually know - I only had a little bit once when I knocked my arm in the lava on the climbing wall. But whatever it tastes like, I don't think I've ever tried it before."

Percy frowned."Really? That seems pretty sad."

"It's funny how magic works sometimes," Daphne played with her curls. "Don't worry, it's not all bad. It happens to a lot of us actually. I just can't wait until the day I find out what it actually is."

They watched the coast of Long Island Sound together.

Daphne asked Percy what his plans were, and he admitted that he wasn't sure. He supposed Chiron wanted him to stay and train, but Daphne could tell it wasn't where Percy's heart was. He also admitted that he felt bad leaving her to be in camp alone with Clarisse, but Daphne could only laugh at this.

"Gods, Percy, I'll be fine. Yknow, I think you're just worried about me surpassing you in swordsmanship."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," Daphne nodded. "And I'd be willing to bet a jellybean on it, too."

Percy and Daphne sat comfortably together. The coo of the crickets was oddly calming.

"You should go home," Daphne advised him."Live with your mom. Kick out your pig of a step dad."

"Oh, uh, I don't need to."

Daphne blinked."Did your mom lock him out?"

"Yeah, you could call it that.

She pursed her lips to hide the ghost of a smile tracing them. "You really won't try anything silly during the school year, will you? At least... not without sending me an Iris-message?"

Percy managed a smile. "I won't go looking for trouble. I usually don't have to."

"When you get back next summer, we'll ask for a quest. We get approval and find Luke and his plans with Kronos. But if we don't get approval, we'll sneak off and do it anyway. Sound like a deal?"

He grinned at her. "Deal."

The sun was setting along Long Island Sound, and Daphne was home.

౨ৎ ˖ ࣪⊹ 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆
🌷🪷🌊

     ʚɞ  And that was ... the end of the Lightning Thief!! Early chapter to thank you guys for 10k reads, WOOO :D

   I'm thinking about writing a cute little one shot to read before the Sea of Monsters is published. It won't be completely in a timeline or whatever, but it'll be cute. What about the gang playing Mario kart or something?<3