Because Nothing Lasts Forever

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Alice didn't tell anyone what had happened, not even Rose or Lizzy. That was between her and Percy, and she knew it.  She wasn't going to betray his trust, not now, not ever, and that was a fact.

But after that night, she never saw Percy the same. Even though he covered it up well, Alice could always see that look in his eyes. The old, sad, haunted look. Sometimes it would seem to mostly disappear momentarily, but it was always back a second later. It was like a shadow; hardly noticed, always there.

~°~

Lizzy was worried about Percy and Alice. Alice acted different around Percy. Only slightly, and if she hadn't known Alice so well herself, she probably wouldn't have noticed. But Alice seemed to act. . . gentler. Like Percy was a fragile piece of glass. But Percy was the strongest person Lizzy knew. Wasn't he?

Lizzy dismissed her doubts, but she sill watched. She wanted to help with whatever was going on, but she felt helpless to do so. It obviously wasn't any of her business, so why should she intrude?

Lizzy may be technically a few thousand years old, but she has the heart and mind of a child. She does only what is needed and right. When someone asks how she can be brave enough to do something, she just replies, "It was the right thing to do."

She just doesn't understand why people think the way they do. If something is wrong, why do they do it? Couldn't they just do the right thing? She doesn't understand why anyone would do what is wrong, so she stands up for what is right.

Lizzy had a strong sense of right and wrong. In fact, it was her fatal flaw. She couldn't stand it when things were unfair, and always did the right thing. But even if it is good to have the right kind of sense of right and wrong, she had it to such an extent that that's all she saw. Everything was white and black. Right and wrong. Left and right. Up and down. Inside and outside. Beginning and end. It stops her from seeing the whole big picture.

While there may be a left and right path to choose from, there is usually a middle one that Lizzy doesn't seem to see. It was right to stay out of other people's business. It was wrong to intrude on it. But maybe, just maybe, the right thing to do wasn't either of those choices. Maybe it was somewhere. . . in between.

~°~

Rose quickly brushed her dark red hair.

She, like Lizzy, was worried about her brother and sister.

But she, unlike Lizzy, wanted to help. And she was going to.

Rose's fatal flaw is different than Lizzy's. When Rose sets her mind to something, she won't give up. She will fight for what she believes in until the moment of her death. Her fatal flaw is her strong will.

She wanted to help her brother and sister. She was going to help them. She was willing to pay any cost to make sure that everything was okay.

~°~

Percy sighed and mentally cursed himself for letting Alice see him like that. To him, the change in how she was treating him was obvious. He muttered some Greek curses as he went to go train the campers for the next battle.

Percy knew that Lizzy and Rose had noticed the change between them. He wasn't concerned about Lizzy finding out anything, because he knew her well enough that she wouldn't go into other people's business. It was Rose he worried about.

"Oh, hi, Percy," said a voice next to him. He glanced next o him and saw Rose.

"Oh, hi," he replied. "I was just thinking about you actually."