Thorn In My Side

Rosemary

- remembrance -

"Remember when she first got to camp?"

Katie nodded as she packed dirt around the flower.

Tricia spun her pencil in her hand. "What do you remember about it?"

Katie pretended to ignore the question.

Her friend sighed, "Katie, what do you remember?"

Katie stood up and wiped the dirt off her hands, "She was too young to be brought into all of this."

The daughter of Iris tilted her head, "She was nine, sure that's young for a half blood, but we have some campers who are seven or eight."

"That isn't what I meant, she was too young to be used by the gods. She was too young for what happened to her."

"What did happen?"

She hesitated for a moment, this wasn't something that everyone could know about. But this was Tricia, she would bug her until she knew, then never speak of it again. Katie sighed, "Her mom died, she left and that broke her heart. She lost her home and found another, here at camp half blood. But she also found Luke and once she found him she trusted no one else, except me, the Timere siblings, Silena Beauregard, Beckendorf, the Stolls and Annabeth."

The names seemed to echo around the greenhouse. The name of a traitor. The name of a warrior. The name of an innocent. The name of two heroes. The names of the fallen.

"She was wary, and for good reason, she lost her mother because she was unaware of the lengths some would go to get what they want. And when Luke left she fell apart all over again. He left her alone, she had us but she relied on him so much that she couldn't do anything but wait for his return. Luke came back for her as promised, he took her away. She came back later and urged others to join their cause. But in the end it was all for nothing. He would not listen to reason, he thought he was protecting her. It was all too much. He broke her, Tricia, Luke Castellan broke that little girl's spirit."

"But it wasn't just Luke, it was all those things."

Katie grabbed the watering can and began to water the plants, "I don't know, but I blame him."

"But you and Luke..."

"There was no me and Luke." She snapped.

Tricia looked like she wanted to argue but at that moment Bella walked in. "Hi guys, what's up?"

"Hey Bella, we were just talking about the plants Katie keeps finding." Tricia said without a second glance at her, it was a total lie, but for a good reason.

Bella smiled, "So... Have you found any leads on the mystery then?"

Katie smiled, a much better topic, "No, but it's funny, I feel like the flowers mean something..."

"Like a message?" Tricia asked as they walked out of the greenhouse all together.

Katie nodded reluctantly, "Maybe..."

The daughter of Iris stopped walking suddenly, "Didn't you say something about a missing plant book a while ago?"

"Yeah, but I found it. Remember?"

"Can I see it?"

"Why?"

"It could be a clue."

"Anything could be considered a clue." Katie pointed out.

"Everything is a clue."

"Oh really?"

Bella and Tricia nodded.

"What about that blade of grass?" Katie challenged.

"The thief could have stepped on it."

"And water bottle left on the dock?"

"Well it has nothing to do with any of this." Tricia said reasonably.

"Then how is it a clue?"

"It's not part of the mystery, there for we know we won't find any leads there." Tricia explained.

"It's a clue that it's not a clue, but it is a clue because it tells us it's not a clue." Bella summed up.

* * *

She stood up and got in line with her plate, what would she pray for today. When her turn she scraped a portion of her food into the flickering flame. No prayer. No request.

Then she turned and walked back to her spot.

She put her plate on the table and was about to sit down when she noticed a plant on her seat. She froze. "Hey guys," Katie said, turning to her siblings, "Did anyone see someone put this down?" She held up the plant, they all shook their heads and returned to their plates of food. How was that possible? She placed it in her pocket and hurriedly finished her meal.

* * *

As expected, she found yet another hole in the garden bed. She gently planted the rosemary and gave it some water. Then she left, she didn't want her mind to be clouded by some dumb prank, she had to make a choice.

* * *

She lay in the middle of the strawberry field on her back. Eyes closed. Arms spread out. Enjoying the sun.

"Hey Gardener." A familiar voice said.

She opened one eye, "Hello Stoll."

The eldest of the Stoll brothers grinned his stupid troublesome grin as he sat down next to her. "So, what's on your mind?"

Katie sighed, "I'm not even sure any more..."

He looked concerned for a moment, then his usual smirk returned. She had probably just imagined his concern. "Well, I have lots of big decisions ahead of me."

She sat up and raised an eyebrow, "What kind of decisions?"

"My mom wants me to go to college."

"My dad wants me to go too."

He grinned at her and her heart fluttered, "Maybe we could go together...." he let his statement hang in the air.

"Maybe in an alternate universe." She scoffed, "Like I would want to go with you. We hate each other, remember? Nothing will ever change that."

For just a moment Travis Stoll looked upset, then he forced a laugh, one that sounded fake. "Oh right." There was a hint of sadness in his voice.

Katie silently yelled at herself, that was harsh. "Well, I just mean.... it would be hard to get in the same one... but if we both tried, I'm sure we could......"

He shrugged, "You have a point, I'm sure it would be better if i'm on the other side of the country."

"No..."

"That way, you won't be expecting anything to happen." He had that annoying sparkle in his eye, it made her want to hit him. Then he stood, "See you around gardener."

Katie watched him go silently, then she flopped back on the ground. Why did it have to be his difficult?

She opened her eyes and stared at the sky, it wasn't difficult because she didn't like him. She spread out her arms and her fingers brushed against something.