A Lit Candle

They arrived in Long Island just after Clarisse, thanks to the centaurs' travel powers. Percy rode on Chiron's back, but they didn't talk much, especially not about Kronos. He knew it had been difficult for Chiron to tell him. So he didn't want to push him with more questions. Besides, his mind was preoccupied with the little conversation he had with Y/N.

And to his relief, it wasn't what he feared.

"I know it happened cause we were both tired but...hugging my waist even after we woke up? Did you think about Annabeth for once? How would you feel if she went and hugged Luke like that?" she said.

"As if she doesn't want that already," Percy muttered looking over at the blonde.

Y/N sighed, "Okay here's the thing. She has a past with him, yes, but why are the both of you letting it come in between you? Just...just focus on the present!"

He looked into her eyes again, and she cleared her throat, shifting her eyes towards her friends in discomfort. Well, it did hurt to tell him to go back to Annabeth but she knew it would happen sooner or later. And she didn't want to get her hopes up. All that happened these few days felt like they were getting closer, even though she knew her friends were going to patch up again. She didn't want to feel hurt all over again. It was better to maintain some distance from Percy. He probably had no idea how his actions were affecting her.

When they got to camp, the centaurs were anxious to meet Dionysus. They'd heard he threw some really wild parties, but they were disappointed. The wine god was in no mood to celebrate as the whole camp gathered at the top of Half-Blood Hill.

The camp had been through a hard two weeks. The arts and crafts cabin had burned to the ground from an attack by a Draco Aionius. The Big House's rooms were overflowing with wounded. The kids in the Apollo cabin, who were the best healers, had been working overtime performing first aid. Everybody looked weary and battered as they crowded around Thalia's tree.

The moment Clarisse draped the Golden Fleece over the lowest bough, the moonlight seemed to brighten, turning from gray to liquid silver. A cool breeze rustled in the branches and rippled through the grass, all the way into the valley.

Everything came into sharper focus-the glow of the fireflies down in the woods, the smell of the strawberry fields, the sound of the waves on the beach. Gradually, the needles on the pine tree started turning from brown to green.

Everybody cheered. It was happening slowly, but there could be no doubt the Fleece's magic was seeping into the tree, filling it with new power and expelling the poison.

Chiron ordered a twenty-four/seven guard duty on the hilltop, at least until he could find an appropriate monster to protect the Fleece. He said he'd place an ad in Olympus Weekly right away.

In the meantime, Clarisse was carried on her cabin mates' shoulders down to the amphitheater, where she was honored with a laurel wreath and a lot of celebrating around the campfire.

Nobody gave Annabeth, Percy or Y/N a second look. It was as if they'd never left. But it felt good to be just one of the campers for once.

Later that night, as they were roasting s'mores and listening to the Stoll brothers tell them a ghost story about an evil king who was eaten alive by demonic breakfast pastries, Clarisse shoved Percy from behind and whispered in his ear, "Just because you were cool one time, Jackson, don't think you're off the hook with Ares. I'm still waiting for the right opportunity to pulverize you."

He gave her a grudging smile.

"What?" she demanded.

"Nothing," he said. "Just good to be home."

As soon as she left, his eyes searched for Y/N in the crowd, who he was awkward with at the moment. He knew he needed to tell the truth and it didn't matter how angry she was going to be on him, cause he literally had nothing to lose. It felt like she wouldn't talk to him anytime soon.

Oh, there she was.

Ofcourse.

Of-fucking-course, with Harris. He forgot how clingy that guy was when it came to her. He watched him slowly putting his arm around her, pulling her close. She didn't even flinch, rather, she cozied up to him.

Somehow it felt irritating. Why was she treating him different? So Harris is allowed to do that, but he can't even hold her....her waist when they were physically exhausted?

Oh right. Because of Annabeth.

It made him think. Y/N asked the right questions, didn't she? Cause it felt like he was messing everything up voluntarily. Out of all the questions though, one bothered him the most. Not because he was confused, but because he knew the answer to it perfectly. And it wasn't something pleasant.

No, in all of the situations with Y/N in the whole quest, he didn't once think of Annabeth's feelings.

Not. Once.

[ TIME SKIP ]

The next morning, after the party ponies headed back to Florida, Chiron made a surprise announcement: the chariot races would go ahead as scheduled.

Tyson wasn't too keen on the idea of getting back in a chariot after their first experience, but he was happy to let Percy team up with Annabeth. Percy would drive, Annabeth and would defend, and Tyson would act as their pit crew. While he worked with the horses, Tyson fixed up Athena's chariot and added a whole bunch of special modifications.

Well needless to say, with the help of Annabeth's plan and Tyson's new modifications, Athena and Poseidon's cabin won. Percy even announced Tyson as his 'baby brother' proudly. And winning meant both the cabins would split up the prize of not doing chores for the whole month.

But that also meant...

Percy looked over at the cabins that lost - Apollo being one of them. Y/N was covered in sweat and dust, panting out of exhaustion when her... close friend came ahead drinking water from a bottle. He passed the bottle to her, and she drank from the same bottle....even without wiping it clean. He heard her say, "Well, more work for us."

To which Harris responded with, "Okay you can heal me quick and in return I will do your chores. Deal?"

"Deal," she smiled looking at him.

That smile. He tried to recall the number of times she gave it to him. He did, but he felt bitter. A smile that she offered him only when they were able to overcome dangerous situations was offered so casually to Harris.

It felt like Harris was someone special to her. Someone....special. His eyes remained fixed on the guy who rested his arm on Y/N's shoulder while they were walking back from the arena.

"Stop it," he heard a voice beside himself, "Stop giving her a hard time." Grover was standing there with an angry expression. His words reminded him of Annabeth, who he realized had already left with Tyson.

"Don't you find those two...weird?" Percy asked.

"No," he said chuckling, "I am a satyr, Percy. What you're feeling is weirder." He blushed lightly and tried to shrug it off but Grover continued, "It literally feels like someone is holding a lit candle on my skin."

[ TIME SKIP ]

While, Percy was stuck in the camp with a letter mailed by a pretty pissed off Hermes from his father which just had two words written in it - 'Brace Yourself', Tyson left for an internship that Poseidon offered him. He almost teared up watching Tyson leave and kept wearing the wristwatch he got as a gift from him.

A storm raged that night, but it parted around Camp Half-Blood as storms usually did. Lightning flashed against the horizon, waves pounded the shore, but not a drop fell in their valley. They were protected again, thanks to the Fleece, sealed inside our magical borders.

The next morning, there was a banging on Percy's door. Grover flew inside without waiting for permission. "Percy!" he stammered. "Annabeth … on the hill … she …"

The look in his eyes told him something was terribly wrong. Annabeth had been on guard duty that night, protecting the Fleece. If something had happened —

He ripped off the covers, threw on some clothes while Grover tried to make a complete sentence, but he was too stunned, too out of breath. "She's lying there … just lying there …"

He ran outside and raced across the central yard, Grover right behind him. Dawn was just breaking, but the whole camp seemed to be stirring. Word was spreading. Something huge had happened. A few campers were already making their way toward the hill, satyrs and nymphs and heroes in a weird mix of armor and pajamas.

He heard the clop of horse hooves, and Chiron galloped up behind them, looking grim.

"Is it true?" he asked Grover.

Grover could only nod, his expression dazed.

Percy tried to ask what was going on, but Chiron grabbed him by the arm and effortlessly lifted him onto his back. Together they thundered up Half-Blood Hill, where a small crowd had started to gather.

He expected to see the Fleece missing from the pine tree, but it was still there, glittering in the first light of dawn. The storm had broken and the sky was blood-red.

"Curse the titan lord," Chiron said. "He's tricked us again, given himself another chance to control the prophecy."

"What do you mean?" Percy asked.

"The Fleece," he said. "The Fleece did its work too well."

They galloped forward, everyone moving out of their way. There at the base of the tree, a girl was lying unconscious. Annabeth in Greek armor was kneeling next to her, while Y/N was holding onto her, her hands caressing her shoulders.

"It healed the tree," Chiron said, his voice ragged. "And poison was not the only thing it purged." Then he realized Annabeth wasn't the one lying on the ground. When Annabeth saw them, she said to Chiron, "It… she … just suddenly there …"

Her eyes were streaming with tears, but Percy still didn't understand. He was too freaked out to make sense of it all. He leaped off Chiron's back and ran toward the unconscious girl. Chiron said: "Percy, wait!"

He knelt by her side. She had short black hair and freckles across her nose. She was built like a long-distance runner, lithe and strong, and she wore clothes that were somewhere between punk and Goth-a black T-shirt, black tattered jeans, and a leather jacket with buttons from a bunch of bands he'd never heard of.

She wasn't a camper. He didn't recognize her from any of the cabins.

"It's true," Grover said, panting from his run up the hill. "I can't believe …"

Nobody else came close to the girl. Percy put his hand on her forehead. Her skin was cold, but his fingertips tingled as if they were burning.

"She needs nectar and ambrosia," Percy said. She was clearly a half-blood, whether she was a camper or not. He could sense that just from one touch. He didn't understand why everyone was acting so scared.

He took her by the shoulders and lifted her into sitting position, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Come on!" he yelled to the others. "What's wrong with you people? Let's get her to the Big House. Y/N why are you just sitting there? Can't you-"

He realized that she wasn't listening. Her eyes were fixed on the girl. No one moved, not even Chiron. They were all too stunned.

"I thought....it...wasn't possible...for.." Y/N muttered. She didn't know what to feel. Ofcourse having the power to heal, she wanted everyone she cared about to survive. But.. this wasn't someone who was healed from an injury. This was someone brought back to life... from death.

The girl on Percy's shoulder took a shaky breath. She coughed and opened her eyes. Her irises were startlingly blue-electric blue. The girl stared at Percy in bewilderment, shivering and wild-eyed. "Who-"

"I'm Percy," he said. "You're safe now."

"Strangest dream …"

"It's okay."

"Dying."

"No," he assured her. "You're okay. What's your name?"

That's when he knew. Even before she said it. He understood what the Golden Fleece quest had been about. The poisoning of the tree. Everything. Kronos had done it to bring another chess piece into play-another chance to control the prophecy.

Even Chiron, Annabeth, and Grover, who should've been celebrating this moment, were too shocked, thinking about what it might mean for the future.

And Percy was holding someone who was destined to be his best friend, or possibly his worst enemy.

"I am Thalia," the girl said. "Daughter of Zeus."