They were the first heroes to return alive to Half-Blood Hill since Luke, so of course everybody treated us as if they'd won some reality-TV contest.According to camp tradition, the four wore laurel wreaths to a big feast prepared in their honor, then led a procession down to the bonfire, where they got to burn the burial shrouds their cabins had made for them in their absence.
Annabeth's shroud was so beautiful—gray silk with embroidered owls—Percy told her it seemed a shame not to bury her in it. She punched him and told him to shut up, while Marlowe died beside him laughing.
The Apollo cabin would have went all out making Marlowe's shroud, if it weren't for Michael Yew holding them back. In the end, the shroud was simple—bright golden silk with a sun and bow stitched in the center.
Being the son of Poseidon, Percy didn't have any cabin mates, so the Ares cabin had volunteered to make his shroud. They'd taken an old bedsheet and painted smiley faces with X'ed-out eyes around the border, and the word LOSER painted really big in the middle.
It was fun to burn.
As Apollo's cabin led the sing-along and passed out s'mores, Percy was surrounded by Marlowe, his old Hermes cabinmates, Annabeth's friends from Athena, and Grover's satyr buddies, who were admiring the brand-new searcher's license he'd received from the Council of Cloven Elders. The council had called Grover's performance on the quest "Brave to the point of indigestion. Horns-and-whiskers above anything we have seen in the past."
The only ones not in a party mood were Clarisse and her cabinmates, whose poisonous looks told Percy they'd never forgive him for disgracing their dad.
Even Dionysus's welcome-home speech wasn't enough to dampen anyone's spirits. "Yes, yes, so the little brat didn't get himself killed and now he'll have an even bigger head. Well, huzzah for that. In other announcements, there will be no canoe races this Saturday..."
Marlowe didn't listen to whatever else he had to say, and instead focused on the way the fire reflected off of Percy's sea-green eyes. Even while the flames changed color based on the emotions of the campers, his eyes seemed to never change. They were the same ones that she found herself getting lost in back when she first met him on the bus at Yancy.
When Percy glanced her way, Marlowe was quick to turn away and pretend she was listening to whatever Annabeth was rambling about.
Percy smiled to himself and turned back to the fire, thinking about his mom.
The sun was shining, the dew was evaporating off the grass, and Marlowe couldn't feel more energized. She sat on a wooden bench in Arts and Crafts, surrounded by her siblings from the Apollo cabin.
Laughter filled the air, along with any sing-alongs they could remember. Marlowe tried to learn the words, but all that came out were mumbles.
A ball of blue string laid out on her right, while a plate with macaroni and glitter was right in front of her. She kept her head down and her eyes narrowed on the table, while her tongue stuck out in focus.
YOU ARE READING
the lakes ✷ jackson
Fantasytake me to the lakes where all the poets went to die, i don't belong 𝖎𝖓 𝖜𝖍𝖎𝖈𝖍 a mortal girl is thrown into the godly world and forced to save everyone before its too late. [ percy jackson x oc ] [ percy jackson & the olympians ] [ the ligh...