𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐃𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐘 𝐈 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐌, luke castellan

𝐈𝐕.

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐕.
where do we go now?

ᯓᡣ𐭩

"𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐒' domain lies under the city of Los Angeles," Chiron explained, as the selected campers stood in a circle, waiting for Percy to choose two of them.

Maisie stood next to Luke, occasionally jabbing him in the ribs, making him constantly grab her wrist.

Chiron continued his monologue, but Maisie was eager to see who Percy would pick. She knew the chances of him picking her were low, but she didn't mind.

"I have selected our most compelling candidates, from which you will choose two to join you on this quest and ensure that we succeed."

"Annabeth," Percy said once Chiron was finished, with no hesitation.

Maisie smiled, turning to Luke, who immediately understood what she was thinking.

"I knew it," she said, still smiling. From the moment she saw the two interact, she knew they'd become good partners and hopefully friends.

Annabeth looked taken aback, although Maisie was sure she was celebrating in her head. She'd been waiting for this for years.

Luke smiled at her before shushing her, since Chiron spoke again.

"Customarily, one waits to at least hear a name or two before choosing."

Maisie suppressed her giggle.

"This thing, Zeus' master bolt, we need to get it back, right?" Percy asked.

"Yes."

"And it's gonna be hard to get, yes?"

"Extraordinarily."

"And if the mission required someone to push me down a flight of stairs for it to succeed, you'd want someone who won't hesitate when they do it."

Chiron couldn't argue with that. He turned to the campers.

"The first quest-mate shall be Annabeth Chase!" he announced.

Maisie sent a proud smile toward her sister.

"Now, on to the other candidates."

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

"I guess we never stood a chance, did we?" Maisie asked Luke as they were leaving the ceremony.

Luke turned to her and smiled.

"Did you want to go on a deathly quest to the Underworld?" he teased.

"Now that you say it like that..." she replied, making them both laugh.

"He'll be fine with Annabeth and Grover, though," Luke said.

"Yeah," Maisie agreed. "I just hope Annabeth doesn't kill him from frustration."

"Nah. She'll like him."

"Definitely." Maisie slipped her hand in Luke's and they walked toward the cabins, the warm June air surrounding them.

When they reached cabin eleven, they went inside, where they found the Stoll brothers, scheming for some prank.

They greeted them and Luke went to his bunk to get the shoes he wanted to give Percy.

Maisie followed him, when a thought crossed her mind.

"Hey, I need to go do something, wait for me before you go to Percy," she told Luke, not giving him time to respond, and rushed out of the cabin.

She made her way to her own cabin where she found Annabeth already packing.

"Hey, Annie."

Annabeth was so focused on fitting all her clothes into a small backpack that her sister's voice startled her.

"Are you nervous?" Maisie asked her.

Annabeth sighed. "At first I was excited because I'm finally going on a quest. Then it dawned on me that the quest takes place at the Underworld, which freaked me out," she explained.

"Hey." Maisie sat on Annabeth's bed, gesturing for her to do the same. She placed her hand on her sister's shoulder in an attempt to calm her down.

"You are by far the strongest, bravest demigod here. If anyone can survive the Underworld, it's you," she said, flashing her a reassuring smile. "With your wits and a little luck..."

Maisie got up and searched through her own things until she found what she was looking for.

"What's this?" Annabeth asked when Maisie sat back next to her.

Maisie held a bracelet, which looked an awful lot like those friendship bracelets kids made.

"I know it might be silly, but..." Maisie turned the bracelet over in her hand. It was made of multiple colorful beads and a bronze charm that depicted an owl, one of Athena's symbols.

"I made this when I was very young, before I even knew what I was. My dad said I'd have mom close to me whenever I wore it. And... in a way I have. I've worn it on every quest or dangerous journey I've been through and it felt like Athena was by my side," Maisie explained, then shrugged. "It might be bullshit, but it's my lucky charm now. So, I want you to have it for your quest."

Annabeth looked up at her, almost teary eyed. "Thanks, Maise," she said and leaned in to hug her.

Maisie held her sister close. She was kind of terrified about this quest, but she had to appear like the calm one. Obviously, she wasn't the one going, but she wouldn't be able to stand it if something happened to Annabeth.

She made herself pull away, giving Annabeth one last encouraging smile.

"Take care of each other out there."

───────

dear reader!

my favourite sisters

shorter chapter sorry 😞