A Little More Than A Daydream

❂ Chapter Eleven ❂

"Oh no!" I covered my mouth with my hands, horrified.

Thalia looked even worse. Her skin had always had a pale green tinge to it inside the tree, but she was even greener than usual. Her usually bright green eyes were dull and clouded, and her clothes were baggy over her skinny frame.

I reached over and put a hand on her arm, but what I sensed didn't help me much. The poison had spread out through her system and was too strong for me to cure. I blinked back tears. Thalia had become a good friend over the past year, and it hurt to see her like this.

Thalia coughed "I'm fine. The tree-" She broke off into a fit of coughing before continuing; "The tree is doing its best to protect me."

"I wish I could help, but it's too strong." I whispered sadly. I closed my eyes and thought about warm and healthy things - the camp's strawberry fields, Hestia's hearth, cats purring, that sort of thing. My hand heated up and was accompanied by Thalia's contented sigh.

When I opened my eyes again, she looked a little better, but not by much. At the most, I had just relieved her of some of the pain.

"Someone poisoned me?" Thalia asked.

I nodded. "We don't know who did it. And the entire camp is in a state of chaos. Chiron is being blamed" I whispered sadly. "He's been sacked."

Thalia frowned. "Who would poison my tree?"

I pretended to think about her question, but instead I was wondering how much I could tell her. I wished I could talk to Luke about it, but he was too busy searching for another cure. Even though we both knew what the only cure was, Luke didn't like seeing her sick. He hadn't slept since she was poisoned.

"Well. I told you about Kronos, didn't I?" I ventured.

Thalia nodded. Her eyes looked better too now.

"Well, by poisoning your tree, he's also weakened the camp borders. But there might be another reason to..."

"I'm listening."

"He might want another chance at controlling the prophecy. What if curing you works a little too well, and you-"

"I come out of the tree" Thalia nodded thoughtfully. "And because I'm older than Percy, it means that-"

"You might be the one in the prophecy, yeah." I sighed.

"I'd like to say that I would never help Kronos. But, I'm not sure" Thalia confessed. "I have no love for Olympus or the gods, after the way they treated me and Luke, and all other half-bloods. But-"

I realized that the only reason Thalia was telling me this, was because I had gained her trust over the past year. "You're better than that, Thalia." I assured her. "You would never give into Kronos, because you know that however bad the gods are, the titans would be worse. Humans would cease to exist, and with them, we would cease to exist too."

Thalia blinked, and her eyes cleared. "You're right."

"Luke and I will stop at nothing to find a way to cure you, and neither will anyone else at camp. We won't let you die on us." I told her firmly.

I blinked and Thalia disappeared. In her place, a tree stood. Although, admittedly, a very sick tree. Pine sap oozed from a wound on the trunk, and I winced.

"We won't give up on you, Thalia. Don't give up on us" I whispered, knowing that she could still hear me.

"How is she?" A voice asked.

My head shot up, and I donked it on a low hanging branch of Thalia's tree. "Ouch!" I put a hand on my head. "Luke!" I turned and glared at the boy who had just startled me. "I've told you not to sneak up on me!"