Issue #06. Helps From A Nice Friend

[Ch. 14]

"Wanna stay?" I asked the raven. Yes, the battle was quite far away from the present. It was far past, since that's all over and I'm all red and-

 Jamie, stop blabbering about the past. Think about the future. The bright future.

 Yeah, yeah... anyway...

"If you do tell Kronos about that first, I would think about it... since I don't want to get in trouble like the first time I met you." Saint Dane said after returning to his original form.

"Hey, I've already told him about that. I don't think that he disapproves about your staying, since you did help us by telling the other Olympians about Zeus attacking Othrys."

 Since we had cleaned up all the mess Zeus had made, I was thinking about getting my lessons right. You know, lessons about swordfighting, history, singing, and things like that... and now that I remember that I needed to learn things about the gift I got from Princess Twilight.

"Really?" He asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Don't you believe me?" I asked, trying not to laugh.

"Okay, then. What time do you want to learn about your six elements?"

"Anytime you want me to."

"Oh."

 He held out his hand at me, and I shook hands with him.

"Now I'm finally your mentor," Saint Dane said, a wide smile spreading over his face.

"Why does it matter?" I asked.

 He frowned. "Because you're so special, Jamie."

"Why am I special? Kronos says that to me a lot. Luke always talks about it. And now you? I want to know why I am that special to the people around me. I am not even beautiful. I am not smart. And of course, not wise like Athena kids. I am not strong nor sneaky. Why do people say that I am special?"

"Do you know who is beside the King of the Titans almost all of the time?" He asked.

"Me."

"And do you know who has the most power over the campers besides Kronos?"

"Luke, isn't it?"

"No, it's you. It's you, Jamie. Not Luke, not Percy, not Annabeth. Not the rest of the Olympians. But it's you. Being the girlfriend of that Titan? Well, that's quite a success, since no one is that lucky to be loved by someone that strong. Of course not me. Haha."

"So you're talking that I'm special because I am that guy's girlfriend?"

"No. You're special because you're kind enough to be every one's friends. Even me. Think about it: if you were another person, you wouldn't have thought about dating with the Titan who has recently started a war and ended by his 'death'. Because he was such a trouble with the other demigods."

"Oh."

"Do you understand now? Because if you still say that you're not that special to the ones around you, I would just have to bring Kronos over here and make him say something about what is different between you and the other demigods."

"I think I understand now. Thank you."

 He patted my head. "You know, sometimes it's hard to assure someone who is just perfect but doesn't recognizes that she is perfect or not."

 I blushed.

"Okay, then. We'll probably meet in your first lesson. Try not to forget bringing your watch and the gems when you come back."

"Yes."

 He was about to turn back before someone called his name far behind us.

 I looked at the man, the very boyfriend of mine. He was sweating - and I can't find the reason why. Aren't immortals supposed to be, like, perfect? Oh right, he often told me that he wasn't perfect like I thought him to be. Well, I don't care what he thinks of himself. What I want is enough time to spend with him. Together.

"Well, don't think that you can be the mentor of my girlfriend without my permission," Kronos said, smirking. Yes, that very smirk you'd get used to.

"Kronos-" I said, rolling my eyes.

"Oh, can't I even joke in front of you? I thought you liked my humor." He said, pouting slightly.

"Is that even humor?" I asked.

 Without answering to my question, he just laughed. No, not the cruel laugh you imagine when you think of this particular Titan who loves to destroy everything in this world and reconstruct again as his own. The very, warm-hearted laugh. Oh, he's such a boyfriend.

 He tackled me on my leg, and made me lie on his chest. Well... I don't get what he wanted back then, but maybe he just wanted to lie down and take a good rest... on the green grass?

 He closed his eyes and buried his nose in my hair. I laughed: half because he was so cute to do that, and another half because I just loved this space being with him, even if that meant me getting dirty. I rolled down the grass.

"It feels like something has already ended," I murmured, looking into his bright, golden eyes.

"Yes, I feel that way too," Kronos chimed in.

"Like, we won this first battle, but I feel like it's only the beginning, but also the start of an end."

"What does that mean?"

"Will we have no wars when we win this war?" I asked.

"I am not sure," Kronos said after few minutes of thinking. "But what we know is, we should stop them... what path they take, it won't be good - for us, or the whole world."

"I thought you liked to destroy things," I teased him.

"Really? Actually, I love to manipulate things."

"So you manipulated Luke like your own?"

 Kronos sighed. "Well, that was another matter. I thought like I had to win that war... even though I had another path to take. But... you know that people make mistakes."

"And you made mistakes a lot."

"Yeah, yeah. Cause I am the bad guy..."

"Hey-"

"Alright, alright. Say that I am not the bad guy anymore. But I was, more than twice. I tricked people. I tortured them. And you can't even ignore the fact that I am a psychopath."

"Probably, but to me, I think you don't have to keep thinking about the past. What is done is done."

"But they will still... hate me."

"Hate you? Well, let's say that you did make a lot of mistakes. That's the reason why they seem to hate you. But if you try to be better - like being kind, or honest - I'm sure they will think you're not the person they thought you to be."

 The golden eyes closed as Kronos held me close to him. He didn't say anything, so I glanced at him. The always-bright eyes flashed open, and he just stayed like that for minutes.

"So you will always believe me?" He asked, his voice tight with emotion.

"Yep," I assured him.

"... thanks," he breathed, holding me tight as if he never wanted me to get away from his embrace.