Flowergirl, Percy Jackson

016. You are Loved

Everything was going perfectly, until Percy smelt eucalyptus. 

Rachel was navigating the labyrinth with such ease you'd think she'd been born for it. Daedalus was many things, but not a liar - at least, he hadn't been when he told them a mortal guide was the best way to find your path through the maze. She barely stopped to look at the tunnels she was turning down, it was just second nature. And even Annabeth followed without complaint, because Rachel moved with such confidence it was hard to think she was lying, or making it up. 

Nico seemed happier, too. Since defeating Nico, he was . . .brighter. Less weighed down; he no longer held the weight of the world on his shoulders. While they walked, Lila had offered that he come back to Camp Half Blood with her - and stay, once the Camp was saved. 

Where would I stay? Nico had asked. There's no Cabin for Hades. 

It was a fair question. Even Lila was struggling to make the Camp feel like home after being unclaimed for so long. For the unclaimed, there was this sense that you were unwelcome. Not that you didn't belong, because you did - just that you weren't the same as everybody else, and so they didn't know what to make of you.

Lila has a sneaking suspicion at who her true godly parent is, and unfortunately, she doesn't think it will make her fit in more. More of an outcast, more like. Perhaps she should leave with Nico. 

It didn't matter. Things began to go very wrong very quickly, after Lila began pondering her parentage. Perhaps it was a sign that she should stop thinking about it. 

First, Percy recognised the way they were passing - California. Now, Lila doesn't know exactly what happened to Luke last winter, but she knows it was bad. She knows Annabeth cried for days and Percy pales every time he thinks about it. But perhaps that's what compels him to try on Annabeth's cap and walk toward the mountain. Not curiosity, but fear. Some people can't rest until they seek out all they fear. Until they can banish it from their minds. 

So they wait for Percy. Impatiently. Nico looks irritated, Annabeth worried, and Lila can't stop fidgeting - not that that's anything new. After what feels like an eon, he sprints back - screaming. Nico drops a boulder on the Kronos's head, and Rachel throws a blue plastic hairbrush at him. Lila can't even remember what order these things happen.

And then Percy grabs her hand and pulls her with him as they run, the horrors of Mount Orthrys waiting behind them, laughing, knowing that they are inevitable, no matter how far the demigods run. 

Lila has never felt such fear before. Not even when Kampe howled and lunged at them with poisoned blades. As much as Lila may have used the word before, she realises now that this is the true meaning of terror. Her muscles tense and clench up, her heart stills, and it's all that she can do to refrain from screaming. 

Demigod instinct has kicked in, as the group of five run through the dusty corridors. They run further and further, continually, until Lila's legs are aching. Still they cannot stop, just in case. Lila doesn't know if Kronos has followed. All she knows is they have to get away. 

After what feels like eons, Rachel collapses to the ground, her knees giving away. Her breath comes out in short, desperate pants as she gulps down the air. "I can't go any further," she gasps. 

Lila turns to Annabeth, who is panting - not from exhaustion like Rachel, but from the weight of her sobs. Tears run down her face, her hands shaking. She collapses onto the ground, sobbing heavily. Lila runs to her, placing a shaky hand on her shoulder. Hot panic threatens to climb out of her throat, but she swallows it, stifles it.