His Return

26. Jenny's Song

His Return
Chapter 26: Jenny's Song
Location: The Outskirts Of Athens, Greece

"Life Puts Us In Seemingly Impossible Situations. How We Handle Our Circumstances Is What Defines Us And Makes Us What We Are."

•••

They had only just began settling into the new lands, and Perseus could already see that time was dawning upon him.

They ran far. For a day and two nights, in the hopes of losing their pursuers.

Their running brought them here; a place just outside the margins of Athens.

It was a small city, appearing to be deserted, but he knew that looks could be deceiving. He did not like the idea of laying camp in such an open, vulnerable environment.

Ahead there was a wooded landscape not that far away. That's where they were headed right now. Demigods were tired, logically, after walking tirelessly for many miles. Their commander understood their need for rest, and he intended fully to grant this to them.

Gods and demigods marched ahead, he himself falling behind, his mind racing so much that he could barely form complete thoughts.

So many things had gone wrong in the last few weeks, and now everything was catching up with him. All the decisions that he'd made; good, bad and indifferent. All had lead him here.

He thought about Noland; how such a small child could possibly be a traitor. This, at least is what Perseus perceived it to be. He found it quite weird that Noland would to take his leave of absence at the very moment he was being ambushed. He just couldn't wrap his head around the fact that this little boy had out witted him, though was the perfect decoy. There are few people in the world, no matter how intelligent, who would look at a young child and believe that they would be the one to cause their downfall.

Of course, along with the disbelief, guilt came racing behind.

Guilt for what he had done to Malcolm Pace.

Killing an innocent man.

Regardless of what the facts pointed to at the time, Perseus could now see that it was all a lie. The pieces of the puzzle were starting to come together, though most of it was yet to find a correct fit.

The only thing he could believe was that Noland saw the skeleton army raiding cabins and put two and two together. For a young child he was quite clever. It was around time for breakfast when Perseus had called the order. Campers were already at the mess hall, so they wouldn't have known what was happening. Noland saw them on his way to breakfast and decided that he'd plant it in the nearest cabin, in someone's bunk. Unfortunately, the one he chose was Malcolm Pace's.

In all fairness, Perseus did nothing wrong. He only had the camp's best interest at heart, and he realised something.

He did not hate Camp Half Blood. He understood that now.

But by no means did that mean that he had forgiven what they had done to him. He still held great disdain for his old home.

That camp made him the famous 'Percy Jackson.' The son of Poseidon and many other titles that he didn't care to list.

They made him, they killed him, and the Pit granted him a rebirth.

A new start.

Somewhere along the lines, his old life snaked it's way into his current, thus bringing him back to Half Blood Hill. It brought with it old memories and emotions that he believed were long behind him. It obstructed his marriage and his stayed like a parasite in his mind; never wanting to leave once inside.