Mystery Iris Messenger

Three

Will came back with Nico and Renya. They piled into the infirmary. Nico's hands were bruised and Renya's face was red in anger. Percy tried to keep his eyes at his lap, but Renya wouldn't let him. "Hey, Jackson," she said with an alien like soft tone, "I'm staying here for a while. None of those Greeks are going to touch you while I'm around, understand?"

"Yes," Percy mumbled which seemed to be enough for Renya who nodded. Will did some last minute check ups on him before leading him back to Cabin 3. On their way, Percy noticed the glares. He heard the faint whispers. Maybe they were all in his head; the voices that placed layers of guilt, one after the other on to his mind. The voices that were worse than all of the campers accusations.

Will had sent Nico to get the most skilled child of Hecate. A girl with choppy brunette hair walked in. She huffed, glaring at Percy, before saying a spell of some sort. Then the voices that followed them, minus the ones in Percy's head, were silent. He let out a sigh he hadn't realized he was holding.

"Now remember," Will began, "three meals a day. Nico, Renya, or I will bring you food from each meal. The silencing ward will be on 24 hours a day. Us three will make sure to get the rumors down the best of our abilities." Then Will's tone got sweeter, "You didn't kill the demigods who died, Percy. It's war. People are bound to die."

Percy nodded, but didn't listen. With the silence of the outside, his insides were screaming louder than ever. He wanted them to leave quickly so that he could do as he wanted. Much to his luck, the other three had training before sundown so they couldn't stay.

With a skeptical look from each, they all left. Percy breathed in deeply before walking over to his bed. Underneath his pillow, he pulled out a small green case. Opening it, he pulled out the small blade. Rolling up the we've of his shirt, Percy pressed the blade to his arm, carving in everyone's name who died.

Numbness over took him quickly. Pretty soon, his mind was on autopilot. Only when he reached the last name did he pull his tear filled eyes away from his blood covered arm. Leo Valdez, he wrote, allowing the first of the tears to fall. Percy half-assed his way through cleaning the cuts, not caring if he got an infection and died. It'd be better off that way.

He crawled into bed already half asleep. He didn't care that it wasn't even dinner time yet. Someone would wake him up to bring him food. Percy didn't care if they saw the bandages or the cuts. All Percy wanted to do was sleep.

~~~

Apollo arrived at Camp Half-blood unannounced and against his father's commands. He, unlike the majority of the other Gods, wanted to give the demigods a thank you for saving them. Again. More specifically, he wanted to apologize to one demigod in particular for making him go through this even though he himself had no say in the matter.

His eyes scanned over the crowd of demigods that had huddled over to him upon his arrival. He took in all that had survived, noticing that some of his own children were missing. Through the crowd, he didn't notice the raven haired son of Poseidon. Apollo forced himself to stay focused on the demigods in front of him.

"I just wanted to say thank you all," Apollo started. "You all played a major roll in winning the war. Yes we lost friends, siblings, and people we didn't even know, but their sacrifice will earn them a high place in the Underworld. One day we'll see them again.

But let's not mourn them as if they were an elder family member who lived a long, boring life. Instead, let's celebrate them to honor the hero they were. Dying doesn't show weakness. It shows strength. The strength of mind control and not running away in fear of death. They embraced it, knowing that it was for the greater good.

I don't want to stand up here talking while you all should be eating dinner. So I will take my leave by saying once again, thank you. For all you have done. Whether you fought in both wars or just one. Thank you. The other Gods don't appreciate you all, but I do. So remember that."

With that, Apollo dismissed the campers back to their meals. He noticed one pair of eyes lingering on him. Will Solace. He walked over to him. "Why aren't you eating?"

"Oh, I'll eat," he shrugged, "I'm just taking food to Percy first." That name sparked something in Apollo. Something of worry. A tug in his stomach that he didn't know how to explain. Was something the matter? Was he hurt? Shut up, Apollo, he told himself.

"What happened?" Apollo blurted out. Will just shook his head slightly with a small frown. Apollo, slightly angry now, walked a little bit away before going back to Olympus.

"Father?" Apollo began nervously, unsure of how to approach the situation. "Have you heard anything about Percy Jackson? I was just down at the camp and my son, Will, was acting as if something was wrong with him."

"If my son were hurt, I would know about it," Poseidon butted in. Apollo nodded, knowing that it would be no use to argue. Still, he couldn't shake the thought of Percy being hurt. He didn't know why he cared, but he did. Percy always has had a soft spot in him. Sighing to himself, Apollo went into his personal room.