starshine- luke castellan x oc

love

I spent the rest of the afternoon in the infirmary. Luke left shortly after our conversation, having counselor duties to attend to. I slipped in and out of sleep, not having any dreams. 

After what seemed like hours, Chiron came to pay me a visit. 

"Gabrielle, you're in sorry shape." He joked. 

"Yeah." I sat up, the action sent a pain thorugh my chest. 

Chiron stood beside my bed, placing a hand on my shoulder, "Do you want to talk about your dream? Selena told us it seemed you were having a bed one." 

I hesitated, scared I would give myself away if I said too much. 

Luke had explained to me that the dreams I had been having weren't dreams, but rather messages from Kronos himself. He had had similar ones before he had joined the cause. It meant Kronos saw me as worthy, and wanted me in his army. It made me feel good, I had to admit. 

"I was fighting someone, a friend. She cut me, and that's when I started to hurt. That must be what Selena saw, to know it was a nightmare." 

"A friend?" Chiron questioned. 

"Yeah... Abby." I couldn't help but be truthful to the centar. I had known Chiron for a very long time, he was like the father I never had, and in times of fear he always knew how to calm me down. 

"Miss Bloom, sometimes our dreams aren't really just dreams. Sometimes they are glimpses into the future. Apollo, god of prophecy, he sometimes give us a look into what is coming to give us a chance to change our minds. You know better than me, is there something in your future that you might regret?" Chrion explained my dream to me. 

"Well.... I don't... I don't know." I stuttered, lamely. 

"I would be mindful of the choices you make, Miss Bloom. I've only seen something like this happen once before; when an injury sustained in a dream travels to reality, that's a sign it will happen in the future. You were woken up before the end so its hard to say, but I think that wound is pretty fatal." Chiron left me to think about his vague message. 

I knew I should've been thinking about the fight with Abby, or the distressed Artemis holding up the sky, but the only thing on my mind was where to find a good chestplate that would match my outfits. 

I am my mother's daughter. 

***

When I was free to go from the infirmary, Luke and I went for a walk along the lake. He told me of the plan to leave camp once Percy's quest was finished, and what the next step was in the war effort. 

"What's wrong, Elle? You seem like something's on your mind." Luke took notice of my silence. 

I debated telling him what Chiron had said earlier that day, I didn't want to worry him. Chiron didn't always know what he was talking about. However, one look into Luke's brown eyes and I was spilling everything. 

"Chiron came to see me. He said that my dream wasn't a dream, that it was a gift from Apollo; a prophecy of sorts." 

"Okay?" Luke furrowed his brow. 

"He said that it was Apolla giving me a chance to change my mind about the future, and that because my dream injury came through to reality, that its going to happen in real life... and he thinks its going to be fatal."

"Fatal?" Luke whispered.

I took his hand, giving it a squeeze, "Chiron doesn't always know what he's talking about." 

"Elle, be serious. As much as I don't like it, he's usually spot on. Do you... do you regret this? Joining us? I don't want to make you do something you don't want to do." 

"No." I answered immediately, "I don't regret it. I'm not joining because you're making me, I want my revenge. I want to prove myself."

"Okay, If you're sure. I'll do anything I have to, Artemis will be the first to pay." He promised me. 

I wrapped my arms around him, ending the conversation. I didn't want to point out that if I didn't join, we'd be on opposing sides, and that alone was enough to make me join Kronos, even if it was the 'wrong' side. Even if it would be my demise, I'd rather die being with Luke than alone. 

He was my home. 

"What does it feel like?" Luke whispered into my hair.

"What?" 

"You said you could feel it, what does love feel like?" 

I thought about it, it was hard to put into words what other's emotions felt like. I had spent so long with the hunters, and the only emotions they felt were jealousy and pride. Love was a refreshing change. 

"Warm." I finally answered. 

It was true, Luke's presense brought me a warmth that I didn't know I was missing. Even as the bitterness of the unknown that lay ahead of me crept in, he made me feel safe.