𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬; percy jackson

02

ISABELLE WAS ANGRY WITH THE SATYR, AND MADE SURE TO LET HIM KNOW.

While Percy was occupied with Chiron showing him around, a task which Isabelle ensured would take at least another twenty minutes, she hurried off to find Grover.

Though there was no need for Annabeth's Yankees invisibility cap with Percy distracted, she still kept it in hand.

After finding Grover, she put on previously mentioned cap and creeped closer. When she was two to three feet away from him, she squatted down and grabbed his ankle swiftly.

Grover, as it seemed, couldn't hide his obvious fright. His loud scream was probably heard across the whole Camp Half-blood. He looked around him while breathing fast, but there was no one in sight.

Isabelle couldn't hold in the wild laughter anymore, she took off the cap and stood up to reveal herself. "Okay, so funny" Grover breathed out, relieved that there's no evil spirit haunting him. The girl tried to reply but her giggles didn't make it easy for her to speak.

"I don't get why Annabeth's trusting you with her things, with this thing especially" he shook his head with a hint of sarcasm in his voice as his face expression lightened. "Come on, don't be grumpy, it's a harmless invisibility cap" Isabelle snickered. "Oh I'm convinced that you can make anything dangerous" Grover answered.

Isabelle's smile slowly faded as she remembered her purpose in coming to find him in the first place. "You mischievous little satyr" She pointed a finger to his chest as he rubbed his neck with a guilty smile.

"Come on, you know that you need to talk to him" He tried to talk her into it one last time. Isabelle sighed and shook her head blankly. "Look, I didn't want to tell you but... his mother..." Grover's words sounded so serious that it caught her full attention.

"Huh, Sally? What about her?" A soft smile creeped onto her face as one of her favorite people was mentioned. She was the only one who Isa talked to about going off to Camp Half-Blood.

"She's gone" Isabelle froze as soon as these words left Grover's mouth. "What, what do you mean gone?" The devastation was apparent in her eyes, she took a few steps back. "But, wait, I have this theory" He wanted to explain that he doesn't think she died, but only that something took her. But Isabelle was out of sight in seconds after hearing the news.

The girl remembered the summer afternoon vividly,  the afternoon when she came to Sally about strange things happening around her and Percy. The fateful day when she found out what her and her friend were destined for.

"Percy's different, Isabelle," Sally had said, her voice gentle but serious. "He's a demigod, just like you. But it's not safe for him to know yet, it's not the time for him to face that world yet, however, I think it's your time to be aware for the sake of you both."

Isabelle could feel the weight of those words again, the sense of responsibility that had settled over her shoulders that day. The girl promised herself to protect him as best as she could, until their time came.

What she didn't know, was that her time would come much sooner. Months later, when her own demigod powers began manifesting more obviously, Sally Jackson was the one to get her to Camp Half-Blood safely, knowing that the young girl needed to be trained and protected.

A cold breeze made Isabelle shake on her way, as if she was on the front porch of the Jackson apartment again. The air thick with unspoken worries. "I'll make sure Percy gets there when it's his time," Sally had promised, her kind eyes filled with both warmth and fear. "But you need to go now, you have your own path to walk, Isabelle. It's important" Before she could finish, the black haired girl wrapped her hands around her tightly.

Isabelle blinked a few times to blur the sudden wave of nostalgia out. There was one thing which she needed to focus on now. Her new determination was to find Percy instead of hiding from him, he needed comfort. She knew how strong his bond was with Sally.

Isabelle passed by the armory and the arena while speed walking with the hope of bumping into Percy by the cabins. Then she saw him standing with Chiron by the wooden arrows which showed directions to all the different buildings and places.

Her heart leaped into her throat. Isabelle already saw him today, but it wasn't in her plan that she'd be searching for him later the same day. And here she was. She slowly paced towards the two when he suddenly looked around as Chiron kept on explaining something. His blue eyes locked with hers. She had imagined this moment for months, seeing him again, explaining everything. But now that the moment had come, she felt a rush of nerves.

She didn't stop, she kept going closer and he carefully watched her with widened eyes. She had no idea what his reaction will be and the suspense was eating her alive.

"Excuse me, sir, is this the last stop?" Percy asked, his voice tinged with disbelief, when Isabelle was close enough to hear. Chiron followed the direction of his eyes and was met with the young black haired girl standing by them.

"I'm sure that Isabelle can show you the rest, your cabin" He smiled for himself. She nodded respectfully as Chiron walked off. Percy stared at her for a few more seconds quietly.

Then, when Isabelle wanted to break the silence with an explanation, he took a few steps towards her, making her unsure of what he's trying to do.

She held her breath with confusion, expecting him to push her with anger or something, but instead, he threw his hands around her waist and buried his face in her shoulder.

"Bel" he whispered her nickname quietly as Isabelle froze, being caught between relief and guilt. She hugged him back lightly, while brushing her hand against his back in an attempt for a comforting gesture.

"Is this real?" He suddenly asked, making Isabelle chuckle, he chuckled with her. "It is real, dummy" She said as he gently pulled away. "Can never be sure in this world of magic" Percy exaggerated with his hands which made Isabelle smile.

"But, wait, why are you here?" He started realizing and putting the pieces together like a puzzle. "I never wanted to disappear from your life, but I had no other choice" Isa sighed while sitting on a nearby stump as he hesitantly sat across from her on the grass.

"Had no choice." He murmured. "What do you mean you had no choice? If Grover hadn't came, i'd be completely lost, maybe eaten by a monster... or by Nancy Bobofit" Percy scrunched his eyebrows. "I didn't know what happened to you, do you know how worried I was? No calls, no messages, no nothing" His eyes were flickering with hurt.

"Look, my power started to show earlier than yours, Sally—your mom—she knew that it wasn't safe for me in the mortal world anymore, if it was up to me, of course I'd take you with me, but Sally didn't want you to get exposed to this world so soon, she loved you, she couldn't say goodbye yet" Isabelle tried explaining her situation.

"Wait, my mom knew?" Percy breathed out. ,,She knew why you left? She knew that you were okay?"  He shook his head. "I know that this is hard to hear but I really want to be honest about everything from now on. She only did it to keep you safe, Percy, it's a motherly instinct" Isabelle tried hard to keep her voice soft but steady.

"Wait and, your mother is a goddess?" Asked Percy, . "I'm the daughter of Athena" Isabelle nodded. "Makes sense, miss smarty-pants" Percy joked, even in a situation like this.

"There's so much that we need to talk about, but now, I need to show you the cabin which you'll be staying in" Isabelle stood up and he followed.