Daughter Of Lightning - Book 3 (A Percy Jackson x OC Fanfic)

CHAPTER 9

(Ella's POV)

"You've got Ares on your bad side." Thalia reminded Percy as we walk to the cabins. "You want another immortal enemy?"

"Thalia.." I started to say but then stopped myself knowing she was right.

"Sorry," Percy said. "I couldn't help it. It's just so unfair."

Thalia stopped by the armory & looked out across the valley, toward the top of Half-Blood Hill. Her pine tree was still there, the Golden Fleece glittering in its lowest branch. The tree's magic still protected the borders of camp, but it no longer used Thalia's spirit for power.

"Percy, everything's unfair." Thalia muttered. "Sometimes I wish..."

She didn't finish, but her tone was so sad I knew exactly how she felt.

"We'll get Annie back." I promised. "We just don't know how yet."

"First I'd lost you Nora...now I've found you only to find out that Luke is lost," she said. "And now Annabeth—"

"Don't think like that." Percy said.

"You're right." She straightened up. "We'll find a way."

Over at the basketball court, a few of the Hunters were shooting hoops.

One of them was arguing with a guy from the Ares cabin. The Ares kid had his hand on his sword the Hunter girl looked like she was going to exchange her basketball for a bow & arrow any second.

"I'll break that up," Thalia said. "You two circulate around the cabins. Tell everybody about capture the flag tomorrow."

"All right. You should be team captain." Percy said.

"No, no," she said. "You two have been at camp longer. You guys do it."

"We can, uh...co-captain or something."

She looked about as comfortable with that as I felt, but she nodded.

As she headed for the court, Percy said, "Hey, Thalia."

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about what happened at Westover. I should've waited for you guys."

'"S'okay, Percy. I probably would've done the same thing."

She shifted from foot to foot, like she was trying to decide whether or not to say more. "You know, you asked about my mom & I kinda snapped at you. It's just...I went back to find her after seven years, & I found out she died in Los Angeles. She, um...she was a heavy drinker, & apparently she was out driving late one night about two years ago, &..." Thalia blinked hard. I placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry." Percy said.

"Yeah, well. It's..it's not like we were ever close. I ran away when I was ten. Best two years of my life were when I was running around with Luke & Annabeth. But still—"

I stepped away from Thalia & looked off at the strawberry fields when she said that, trying to fight back tears.

"That's why you had trouble with the sun van." Percy asked.

She gave him a wary look. "What do you mean?"

"The way you stiffened up. You must've been thinking about your mom, not wanting to get behind the wheel."

"Yeah," she muttered. "Yeah, that must've been it."

She trudged off toward the court, where the Ares camper & the Hunter were trying to kill each other with a sword & basketball.

"I'm gonna head off too. I'll see you at dinner I guess.." I told Percy quickly while looking away to avoid eye contact. Before he could ask me what was wrong I'd already left..

The cabins were the weirdest collection of buildings you've ever seen.

Zeus & Hera's big white-columned buildings, Cabins One & Two, stood in the middle, with five gods' cabins on the left & five goddesses' cabins on the right, so they all made a U around the central green & the barbecue hearth.

I made the rounds, telling whoever I could find about capture the flag.