I Probably Said Something Wrong
Percy looked down at the ground for a moment, while several youths writhed in pain around him. Their bows and arrows were scattered everywhere, broken, useless. All of them were bruised and injured. In contrast, Percy was perfectly fine.
Even so, he watched them for a moment with a hint of guilt as he took in their condition.
Percy walked over to one of them and crouched slightly to be at his level, his gaze stripped of warmth.
"I am going to ask you something, and I expect you to answer truthfully. Or next time, I will not be so kind," he said, as he drew his black sword and drove it into the ground right beside the young man's neck.
The boy went pale when he met Percy's eyes.
Immediately, he nodded with all his strength.
…
"You let them escape!" Annabeth shouted, clutching her head in frustration as she stood in front of Percy, glaring at him with barely restrained anger.
Behind her was Chiron, who looked as if he had a splitting headache, watching Percy seriously.
"Just like that," Annabeth added.
"No. I gave them a good beating," Percy replied with an amused smile.
"Even so—"
"That is enough, Annabeth," Chiron said, stopping her.
He was seated in his magical chair, a sort of wheelchair that allowed him to fit his entire lower body into an expanded space. His expression was serious, and also somewhat worried. After all, more than a dozen campers had suddenly left alongside Luke, who had turned out to be responsible for stealing the Master Bolt and nearly starting a war because of it.
But he could not push Percy too far either. Even though Percy was at the camp, Chiron knew very well that Percy was the champion of another divine being. A being whom, at that moment, not even the gods themselves could impose their will on, due to a kind of contract.
For that same reason, even Dionysus avoided crossing paths with Percy too much, likely to avoid breaking the agreement by accident and suffering a punishment far worse than the one he already had.
"Are you certain about what happened?" Chiron asked him.
Percy still did not fully trust the man. Even so, he told him what had happened within his own camp, since in the end, it was his responsibility to deal with it. Well, technically, it was Dionysus's job. But Percy figured that the more campers left and the fewer children he had to look after, the happier Dionysus would be. At the same time, Percy did not want to be blamed for neglecting his duties, so he was walking a rather interesting tightrope.
"Yes," Percy said calmly.
"Very well," Chiron replied, preparing to leave.
Before doing so, he paused slightly and looked at Annabeth.
"Remember that they are already here, Annabeth," he said, and then he left.
For a moment, Annabeth showed a conflicted expression. Then she looked back at Percy. She knew him fairly well thanks to the quest they had completed together, along with Grover, putting their lives on the line.
"Why did you let them go?" she asked again, this time in a calmer tone.
Percy, who until a moment ago had been wearing a faint, relaxed smile, adopted an expression that was half serious, half thoughtful. He waited a few seconds in silence before answering.
"He said I was a mistake," Percy said.
Annabeth frowned, confused, but let him continue.
"Poseidon. The god of the sea. He said I was a mistake. Right in front of me. He said it to his brother," Percy continued, averting his gaze from Annabeth's eyes, as if he did not want her to see what was reflected in his own. "So I thought… what if they heard those words too? What if they were also rejected by their parents? Many of them do not even know who their parents are, because they were never claimed. So if I caught them… then what? Would they be punished by the same parents who do not even accept them properly?" he said, his expression serious.
Annabeth stared at him, her gaze and her voice trembling slightly as she spoke slowly.
"Do you… think what Luke is doing is right, then?" she asked, as if she feared the answer.
"I do not really care," Percy replied. "I am not like them. I do not live for the gods. I live for my family, my friends, and the man who was always there for me."
Percy's words were not random. There was a real conviction behind them, something that would not change for anything. Even the quest he took on to save Olympus, or whatever it was supposed to be, he had really done it to look for his mother. And while he was at it, complete the quest. After all, his teacher was obsessed with finishing any mission he accepted. Nothing more than that.
Even so, to be honest, he had enjoyed it quite a bit. Setting aside the fact that his life had been in danger several times, it had been a great adventure. His world had expanded enormously, and he had made friends along the way.
"I see," Annabeth said, looking down at the ground.
Then she suddenly lifted her head, her expression serious.
"I need to confess something," she said.
"You were the one who told Luke about what happened on the quest," Percy said, interrupting her. "I had already figured it out," he added.
"How…?" Annabeth looked surprised for a moment before shaking her head, still trying to explain herself so Percy would not misunderstand. "Yes, it was me. But do not get it wrong. I was just trying to show off. I mean, it was my first quest, and it was incredible. I just wanted to tell our adventure," she said, genuinely excited. "And I… I still believed Luke was family," she added, growing more and more sad, like a child holding back the urge to cry with all her strength. "I never thought he would betray us."
Percy looked at her briefly before gently patting her on the head.
"Well, if you think about it, there is a lot of family in the camp anyway. Now that I think about it, my father and your mother are technically uncle and niece. So should that not make me one generation above you?" Percy said with an amused smile. It was obvious he was trying to cheer Annabeth up in his own way.
Annabeth swatted the hand resting on her head, a light blush on her cheeks and annoyance in her eyes.
"The gods do not pass on human kinship," she said immediately.
"But using human logic, they would," Percy replied, clearly enjoying himself and refusing to drop the subject.
Annabeth glared at him before thinking of something.
"Then I hope you also consider the rest of the camp your family," she said.
That seemed to hit Percy. His smile shifted into a more forced one.
"We will see," he replied. After all, he hated the gods, not their children. Especially after his clash with Luke's followers.
"So, what was that about them already being here?" Percy asked, clearly trying to change the subject.
Meanwhile, the two of them walked out of the Big House together. The remaining campers were leaving as their parents came to pick them up, while others stayed behind, watching with faint envy.
Annabeth noticed it as she looked around. There had been a time when she had been one of those kids too, watching happy families reunite.
"I sent a letter to my father," she said directly. "I told him I was sorry for what happened and that, if he would accept me, I would like to spend the year there before returning to the camp," she said, lifting her gaze. The concern was obvious.
Percy looked her in the eyes, then smiled softly.
"I see. I was a little worried about leaving you here alone with Clarisse," he said calmly. "I was even thinking about asking my teacher to train you a bit, since it seems you really liked the tiara he gave you," he added with amusement.
From his tone, it sounded more like he was looking for someone to suffer through the training. Even so, he was genuinely happy for his friend.
Those words made Annabeth hesitate for a moment, but she quickly shook her head.
"I will try to reconnect with my family. I hope everything goes well," she said, looking toward the hill in the distance. There, the faint outline of a family could be seen waiting. Two small children, a man, and a woman.
Percy also looked in that direction and, watching closely, noticed that the man seemed to be holding the Aqua Land backpack Annabeth had taken from the amusement park.
"I… I should go now," she said, a little nervous, looking at Percy.
Percy gave her the most reassuring and gentle smile he could manage.
"I am going to miss you," he said.
Immediately, Annabeth turned completely red and punched him in the face, so suddenly that even Percy, with his reflexes, could not react in time. He froze, holding his cheek slightly as he watched Annabeth run away at full speed.
"And what was that for?" he managed to say, confused, rubbing his cheek while staring at Annabeth's retreating back, thinking that women were truly hard to understand.
"Well… time to go back to my teacher," he said with a happy smile. "I hope he did not miss me too much. After all, I am his first and only student," he added, heading toward his cabin to gather his things.
As he passed by the board he had made with all the suspects, he stopped for a moment in front of the one at the center. Luke was right there, surrounded by many other campers who had escaped with him, connected by different strings listing every justification for betraying the camp. Luke was marked several times with the words "Traitor Leader."
That made Percy let out a faint smile. He had figured out the entire plot a long time ago. Even so, he waited until the end of camp for everything to conclude, as if he had wanted to enjoy that place until the very last moment.
Then he whistled quietly as he went to collect his things.