𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 ... percy jackson

000.

MADHOUSE
— prologue

i'll still love you...

── SEPTEMBER 7, 1952. Lucas Meadows was never meant to meet Christine Monroe, let alone fall in love with her, but here he was, a fool, helplessly in love.

Their meeting was accidental— Lucas was on a mission, a quest, sent directly from his camp. He donned his silver dagger and the same charming smile he always wore, feeling nothing but confident.

He'd lost his partner ages ago, left behind at the sight of pretty women serving cocktails at the bar, but Lucas was clear on his mission. They were meant to investigate the Lotus Casino— camp had originally sent out someone weeks ago, but the kid never came back, so they decided to send out two of their best. That way, the mission could go two ways, either they found their camper and got the information, or they didn't find their camper, probably fight a few monsters, and head back home. Lucas really hoped they'd go with the first option.

Normally, demigods were advised to stay away from such a place— the possibility of staying forever was far too tempting, but Lucas' mother was the goddess of love, after all, and Lucas knew more than anyone how charming life could be... so he thanked his mother for his own sort of magic, his "charm speak" as others were calling it, and he happily made his way through the casino, avoiding any unwanted setbacks.

And he was really close to his goal, merely steps away from finishing his mission, when everything started going wrong.

He didn't mean to get distracted, he really didn't. But, when a mop of blonde hair and a dazzling smile caught his eye, he couldn't help himself.

Besides, Jett, his colleague, was well on his way to figuring out how the layer of the lotus eaters worked, so he didn't really have any reason to be worried. Not yet, at least.

So, he marched on over to the blonde beauty he'd seen barely a minute ago— and wanted to literally jump off a bridge the second he spoke to her.

When he first tried talking to her, he couldn't even find the words to say 'hey'. He just stood there awkwardly for a few seconds, completely unlike himself.

And it went just as terribly the rest of the night, but the girl— Christine— found it ridiculously charming (though she would never admit that out loud).

So, maybe his mission wasn't a total success— it definitely hadn't started out as one, but Lucas managed to make something nice out of a pretty messy situation. Jett had found their lost camper, in the end, and Lucas was forced to go, but he was sure he'd never forget that gorgeous smile that had graced his presence. He just hoped he'd get to see her again sometime.

She was everywhere.

Christine Monroe was like a plague that followed Lucas, and he wasn't sure if that was his mother's doing or just pure fate.

He'd see her blonde hair when he glanced at the sun, her blue eyes when he gazed at the sky, her melodious voice when the birds would sing their morning songs. He'd see her when he closed his eyes, he'd think of her constantly, and it was starting to drive him mad.

He'd been so distracted recently, he'd made a fool of himself in training, something that greatly hurt his pride.

So, he decided he must put an end to it— he must find her and beg her to take this ridiculous enchantment she'd placed on him off, because he was getting tired of this practical joke his mother seemed to have been pulling on him. He would march right back into that stupid casino and demand his sanity back.