Silver: The Untold Stories

the one with the breakdown

Annabeth Chase did a really good job at keeping everything she felt bottled up inside.

For years she kept her emotions toward Luke bottled up, until he himself had ruined it for her. Then, she kept her feelings for Percy bottled up inside until guilt ate at her from the inside out and she had to spill.

But when it came to Luna Ardelean, Annabeth was an open book. There was no hiding anything, there were no secrets, because Luna could read her too well. Annabeth felt comfort in her. Luna was her sister, maybe not by blood but by heart.

That's why even when she wasn't here, she had a hard time masking her feelings when it came to the girl.

Chiron and Mr. D each held their own end of the burial shroud, one that had been woven for Luna. They had already burned the rest of their friends, the other campers who had died just the day before, and now it was time to let go of Luna.

Artemis had bargained, taking Luna's body to burn it herself. She said that she was going to ensure that Luna's soul lived on in the stars, the same stars that she found herself staring at every single night. That left the camp with just her shroud to burn and mourn.

The shroud was absolutely gorgeous, a word that described Luna perfectly. It was woven from gray silk, a deep and striking gray that matched her eyes so well. In the middle of the shroud was a woven picture of the moon, a bow and arrow sitting in front of it to signify the girl's strengths. The most eye catching part of the shroud, though, was the border.

The edges of the shroud were woven with scattered lines of red, blue, white, and green. They intermingled with one another, crossing paths back and forth on the shroud. It was messy, but functional. These colors signified the powers that Luna had been blessed with, the power that coursed through her veins. The sight alone almost brought Annabeth to her knees.

Mr. D held the shroud above the flames as Chiron turned to face the campers that stood before him. Annabeth stood in between Percy and Grover, her hands held tightly behind her back. She dared to cast a glance down at Arrow, and the sight broke her heart. The little wolf sat quietly between her and Percy, his head bowed to the ground.

"Percy," Annabeth looked up as Chiron spoke to the boy beside her. "We presume that Luna would've wanted you to do the honors."

Anna could hear Percy take a deep breath. Their eyes locked for a second as the son of Poseidon shot her a small, yet sad, smile, before maneuvering his way toward the shroud of his true love.

It took everything in Annabeth to not break down at the sight of Percy standing beside Mr. D, his eyes glancing over the shroud before turning back to the came. Annabeth tried to balance her breathing, swallowing the lump in her throat and Percy cleared his own.

"What did I tell you? Luna Ardelean really was the most selfless person I've ever known," a tear escaped Annabeth's eyes, slowly trailing down her cheek as her bottom lip began to tremble. "Luna knew what was going to happen, yet kept it to herself. She lived with a secret that most people wouldn't have been able to handle, and she did it to ensure that we could win. Everything she did, she did for us. And, gods, it only makes me love her more. So from today on, when we fight, when he give a portion of our food to the Gods in thanks, we remember her. We remember Luna Ardelean for what she was: a hero, who never wanted to be seen as one."

Annabeth could feel Grover's gaze on her as she began to come undone in front of the entire camp. Percy took a step away as Mr. D and Chiron took hold of the shroud, lowering it into the fire. The flames nicked at the bottom of the shroud, and that's when the fire sob left Annabeth's mouth.

Chiron and Mr. D froze, the entirely of the camp turning to look at Annabeth. Percy turned, his gaze softening as he looked at Annabeth. She was coming undone, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

"Anna," the girl only shook her head at Grover, trying to contain herself. Her sobs mixed with hiccups as she shook her head, slowly backing through the crowd. Even Arrow had looked up now, the wolf's eyes sad as Annabeth looked down at him.

Percy made a move toward Annabeth when she screamed. Annabeth Chase screamed bloody murder as she threw her hands at Percy, hitting him. He backed away, eyes wide as Grover joined him at his side. The rest of the camp did the same, backing away from the daughter of Athena. Her screams turned into sobs quickly, and her feet carried her away from the rest of the camp within seconds.

She could hear the calls of her friends faintly in the distance, but it meant nothing to her. All she could hear were her own sobs as she ran through the camp, her destination in mind. She couldn't do this.

Within a minute Annabeth was bursting through the door of the now unoccupied cabin. Her sobs slowed for a second as she looked around. Pictures hung on the around the mirror, memories everywhere. The bow and arrow gifted to her by her mother sat in the corner, untouched. Clothes were still scattered at the end of her bed from the day before, and the sight of it all hurt.

Luna Ardelean's room was full of too many memories.

Annabeth screamed once again, grabbing handfuls of the clothing and throwing it across the room. She picked up the chair that sat at the desk, hurtling it across the room as it hit the wall with a bang, shattering into pieces. Annabeth turned around rapidly, her eyes coming into contact with her own reflection in the mirror. Bloodshot eyes and tear stained cheeks looked back at her.

That wasn't Annabeth Chase. No, that girl was far too broken.

She screamed again. her fist flying into the glass as it shattered. Shards of glass flew everywhere, many into the skin of her hand as blood leaked onto Luna's old desk. The desk she would never sit at again.

The door of the cabin flew open as Annabeth turned, coming face to face with Percy, Grover, Tyson, and Clarisse. 

Clarisse let out a small gasp, looking around the now destroyed room with tears brimming  her own eyes. Annabeth's gaze finally met Percy's, and they second they did she broke down.

Annabeth Chase crumpled to the ground, loud sobs escaping her throat. Percy and Grover immediately lunged forward, catching her as she clung to them, sobbing into their chests. Arrow entered the cabin, crawling his way between the two boys as Annabeth reached out, latching onto the small piece of Luna Ardelean that was left behind with them. Clarisse kneeled in front of the broken girl, exchanging a look of concern with Grover and Percy.

"I couldn't do it," Annabeth whispered out between choked sobs. She shook her head, burying her face into Arrow's coat. "I couldn't watch them burn it. If they burn it that means she's gone. Luna isn't gone, no, Luna can't be gone. She's okay, she's going to be okay, Luna isn't gone!"

Percy Jackson didn't know what else to do than hold Annabeth closer to him as the girl sobbed. He was breaking inside himself, the burning of the burial shroud bringing him close to the edge of a breakdown, but in this moment Percy had to become the leader he had been before. Annabeth Chase, one of the strongest people he had ever known, was breaking down right before his eyes, and he needed to be the strong one and help her get through this.

"I can't do this without her,"