𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐃𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐘 𝐈 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐌, luke castellan

𝐗𝐈.

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐈.
could you just try to listen?

ᯓᡣ𐭩

𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐄𝐈𝐍𝐆 in the Princess Andromeda. 

It was fine when she was with her friends, but she didn't have them now. She was left with Luke, her ex-boyfriend who had betrayed everyone, his two giant bear-men accomplices and her old acquaintance, Chris Rodriguez, who had also betrayed everyone by joining Luke. And let's not forget, the pieces of Kronos that rested in a gold casket.

She hated knowing that there was no way she'd be able to escape, without Percy's powers over the sea, or Tyson's strength, or Annabeth's wits to match her own. She was helpless.

And what she hated most was the feeling deep down inside her that involuntarily pulled her closer to Luke, planting her in that ship, urging her to stay, providing her no escape routes, whatsoever. The invisible string that didn't seem to loosen the bond that tied her to him.

Long story short, she was screwed.

After Luke had left her in the stateroom, she allowed her eyes to roam around the room. There was a table in the center, filled to the brim with empty chip and candy packages, soda cans and some plates. The walls were adorned with paintings of artists she didn't recognize, making the somewhat dull room an intense array of color.

The gold casket taunted her, its gleaming color lighting up the whole room, the vulgar scenes displayed on it a cruel reminder of what resided in there. She turned her head in disgust.

Before she could examine any further, Luke entered the room again, a big, overflowing bag in his right hand, as he clutched the door handle with the other. Maisie could see its contents almost spilling out of it. They were replicas of what laid on the table in front of her.

He didn't say a word and neither did she. She simply watched him, her eyebrows pulled together, creating a small crease.

Luke made some space on the table by pushing the empty things aside, then emptied the bag on it.

"Are you mute now?" he asked suddenly, attempting to add some edge to his voice, but instead maintaining his soft tone with her.

"Are you an asshole now?" she shot back.

He looked at her, his expression not revealing any pain, a blank stare permanently etched onto his features.

"Is this how it's gonna be?" he asked.

"You chose this," Maisie responded, spreading her arms to vaguely gesture at the situation.

"I didn't choose for you to leave me."

"What were you expecting?" she asked, standing up now, angry. "For me to happily join you? To go against my friends and the place I call home? Maybe you don't know me at all." With every word, she cut the distance between them, standing in front of him.

"Don't you get it, Maise?"

"I've told you to stop calling me that," she said before he could get another word out. She didn't want to hear that nickname come out of his mouth, the way it rolled off his tongue so easily, like it was his birthright.

Luke pursed his lips. "You don't have to live like that. Having the gods ignore you, not care for you. You can get revenge for all the times your mother didn't listen to you."

Maisie's feet were planted to the ground, her lips shut, despite her attempts to throw out another insult, another reason why what he was saying was wrong. At the end, she simply shook her head and forced herself to walk back to the sofa. Luke sighed.

"Alright. Eat whatever you like," he said, absentmindedly pointing to the table.

"Am I your prisoner now?" Maisie asked, a look of annoyance adorning her otherwise calm features.

"I didn't chain you, did I?"

"You unarmed me. I might as well be chained."

His lips betrayed him, tugging at the ends in an attempt of a small smile.

"I'll be back." With that, he left the room, leaving the girl alone with her thoughts... And Kronos' remains.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

Maisie ended up eating some of the goods Luke had left, realizing she had an empty stomach since the previous night's dinner.

He checked up on her a couple more times, only for her to throw out insults, making no progress whatsoever. She could tell he wanted her to change her opinion of him, to regard him with more kindness, the way she did a year ago.

She wouldn't break.

She had to keep reminding herself of what he did, who he fought for, the fact that they were on different sides now. These reminders were what chained her to reality, destroying the possibility of her edging closer to Luke, forgiving him.

That night, she asked him to let her outside, and he did. She hadn't thought it would be this easy, but it seemed like Luke was weaker than she thought.

She walked the deck, encountering some late night entranced swimmers, swearing they were having a blast. They paid her no mind.

She was aware of Luke watching her from somewhere inside the ship; he wouldn't have left her completely unsupervised. He's not that stupid.

Maisie stopped at the west side of the ship, resting her forearms on the gunwale and looking up at the stars. They didn't shine as bright that night, considering clouds had hidden them. Zeus must be moody.

Maisie hoped Annabeth, Percy and Tyson were doing fine. She made sure to send a silent prayer to her mother to keep them safe.

The sound of footsteps pulled her out of her trance, making her turn to be greeted by Luke. He was walking over to her slowly, a hesitant smile almost tugging at his lips. Maisie turned her gaze back towards the ocean as he joined her, leaving them in silence for some time.

She broke it first, despite herself. "Are you seriously going to live here now?"

Luke turned to face her, his eyebrows pulling together. "At least I don't have to live in that crowded cabin anymore."

She couldn't argue with that.

"If you're going to start your speech about the unfairness of the unclaimed kids that crowd your cabin, you can save it."

"Isn't it convincing?" he asked, the smile that threatened to appear now fully showing.

"Just because I agree with you, doesn't mean I want to wage war."

"There's no-"

"You could come back to camp, Luke," she blurted out before he had a chance to voice his thoughts, quickly turning her stance to face him.

He stared at her, his head tilted ever so slightly.

"It's not too late. You can reverse this," she pleaded. Luke shook his head.

"I'm finally starting to change things. I'm not backing out now," he said. He looked at her another beat, then left her staring at his retreating body.

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dear reader!

hii