Chapter 5
Charis
❝He Will Slay You With His Tongue❞

"CHARIS?" WILL was taken aback upon his sudden entrance. He looked almost uncomfortable. "I thought you were waiting outside?"

"That's what you thought," Charis agreed, unmoving. He found satisfaction in watching the father and son squirm.

"How are you here?" Apollo blurted out, immediately flushing red afterwards when he realized how rude he sounded.

First thing he's ever said to him and it wasn't anything polite. Figures.

"I walked," Charis spoke dryly, before addressing Will. "Give us a minute."

Will frowned, glancing between them. "But his checkup isn't—" He faltered at Charis's sharp look. "I'll, um, go for a walk."

After the door shut behind him, the two with thousands of years of bad blood between them fell silent.

Charis had only seen Apollo two times in his current lifetime. Once after defeating Kronos and the last time was during the war with Mother Earth. And both times, the paths of the sun god and the cursed soul were divided from each other. They'd never spoken to each other, but Charis had noticed him from afar. How could he not? Apollo's appearance always demanded attention. His hair always looked as though it had been woven from gold and yet would be as soft as silk to touch, with dark shades that he'd pull down to wink at anyone he'd thought was attractive enough to be worth his attention and reveal his sky blue eyes he'd inherited from the ruler of the skies, but some would say that when compared to his father, his looked more bright, like a cloudless summer day. But Charis was wise enough to see the dark clouds lurking, smart to know that this was no angel, but a fallen one. There was arrogance in them; an ego that could only belong to a god.

It will be his undoing, the Fates whispered.

But the person in front of Charis was no god. He looked nothing more than a weak, fragile mortal boy. Any confidence he had left about his new appearance must have been diminished after catching a glimpse of his acne free son. He couldn't even meet the nineteen year old's gaze.

If Charis didn't loathe Phoebus Apollo with every bone in his body, he'd almost feel bad for the guy.

The son of Moros didn't know who was more surprised when the son of Zeus and Leto had the guts to speak, him or Apollo himself. "If you're looking for an apology, I—"

"Here's what's going to happen," Charis interrupted. "You're not going to talk. You're going to shut up and listen to me."

Apollo opened his mouth, most likely wanting protest at being talked to in such a rude way, but no sound came out. His eyes widened in fear.

"I'm supposed to be in university right now," Charis said, ignoring the former god's panic. "I'm supposed to be at Camp Jupiter, working toward getting my diploma, but instead, I'm stuck with you and getting roped into another prophecy I want no part in. But just because the Fates have deemed me as your protector, doesn't mean I have to be nice to you or be your friend. Stay out of my business, and we'll be fine. Otherwise..."

Charis let the threat hang in the air for a moment before releasing the charm and making his way out of the infirmary. Apollo didn't stop him. He ran into more of Apollo's spawn on his way out and gave them a nod of acknowledgment before continuing on his way to the dinning pavilion for dinner. He found it amusing when they immediately ducked out of his way.

He'd been at Camp Half-Blood for a couple of days now while Apollo was in a coma with almost no trouble. On his first day, Sherman Yang and Connor Stoll thought it'd be a funny prank to try and sneak into the Moros cabin to move his mattress to the borders outside of camp, and leave him for the monsters, but out of reflex, Charis stabbed Stoll in the upper thigh with the knife he kept hidden under his pillow when he felt an unwelcomed presence standing over his bed. Now everyone was avoiding him like the black plague. Well, almost everyone.

Meg McCaffrey was another soul who was unfortunate enough to have been blessed by Yang and Stoll's presence, but unlike Charis, she had been welcomed to camp after kneeing Stoll in the crotch. Maybe because it was less violent? Whatever the case, she had been adjusting to her new life well, except for the fact that she didn't seem to get the unspoken, but implied camp rule that no one was to bother Charis Grace. Then again, Meg didn't seem much like a rule follower.

Many people nearby stared as Meg sat down in front of Charis at the Moros table, but Charis was unbothered for the most part. He continued to take a bite of his steak and read his Stephen King novel, despite the eyes on him.

Meg decided she didn't like being ignored. She ripped the book away from him, finally earning Charis's attention.

He glared. "Hey!"

"You were supposed to be my partner for archery," She said. "You didn't show. Why?"

Charis scoffed. "Because I've tried doing archery for years, and I still can't hit the target. That class is cursed." He had originally thought that it was because of Apollo that all bow's and arrow's wouldn't cooperate with him, but he realized now, after Apollo having lost his powers, that it was just because he sucked.

Meg rolled her eyes. "That's being dramatic. You hit one target."

"I wasn't aiming for Chiron's rear end, Meg."

Meg raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I thought you did it on purpose?"

Charis and Meg had a simple relationship. She'd bother him, he'd tell her to go away, she'd continue to annoy him, he'd scowl at her which only fueled the fire. It wasn't that Charis didn't like her, he was just being cautious. After all, he knew that she would end up betraying Apollo. Honestly, if he hadn't been assigned to protect him, he'd might've respected her for it, joined her even.

Nico Di Angelo plopped down beside Charis with a reluctant Will following.

"Hey," Nico said, stealing one of Charis's french fries. Charis couldn't be bothered to tell him off for it.

He was even more surprised when three more people joined them at the table, including someone who clearly didn't get the memo that he wasn't wanted. If people weren't staring before, they definitely were now.

Apollo, feeling eyes burning into his skull, looked over and caught Charis's intense gaze. He swallowed nervously, turning his head away.

This prophecy had better be over quick, cause Charis didn't know how much longer he could go without strangling Apollo.

-

I can't believe I finished this chapter in one day, I honestly thought it'd take another week

I'm curious, what do u guys want to see in this book the most?? Any ideas? It could even be for a one shot.

I'm going on vacation tomorrow to the UK (I'm so excited) so I'm gonna be offline for two weeks. I posted on my message board a while ago of my new update schedule but in case you didn't see it, this story, A Siren's Odyssey (my Descendants fanfic) and Tick Tock (my Supernatural fanfic) are gonna be my main priorities. And now that I've updated enough times for Saving Grace and A Siren's Odyssey, Tick Tock is next when I get back, and I highly recommend you check it out! It has an amazing plot by @Winter326 and I can't wait to start updating for it! I'm even gonna be listening to supernatural then and now podcast on my six hour plane ride (ugh) so I get more inspiration and I don't completely die of boredom

I hope you liked this chapter, I think this is the quickest I've ever written something

I'll be posting pictures of my trip on Instagram when I get back!

Unedited.