The Dark in The Daughter of Apollo¹ | l. valdez

My Frenemy's Old Home, Who Knew?

(Sol's POV)

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Will and I practiced archery together for another hour before it was time for my next activity: sword fighting.

Yay! Note the sarcasm.

I walked towards the sword arena, trying to conceal my reluctance. I'd literally rather be doing anything else. And to make matters worse, Percy was the teacher.

I was gonna die.

He started out by having us warm up and doing basic stretches. I took it a step further and stretched the muscles people didn't expect to get sore while you were sword fighting, like your hips and lower back.

"What are you doing?" Will hissed. It seemed Chiron assigned him to be my partner for the day so I could learn the ropes. "Stretching, what does it look like?" I hissed back.

"It looks like you're trying to break your back!"

I shrugged, "Nothing this training won't do for me."

He didn't get the chance to respond when Percy told us to go grab our swords. I made a mad dash over to the swords to avoid and it only took me a few minutes to find my sword, it was slightly longer than my forearm, bright gold, and there was a sun symbol on the hilt.

Oh, the irony.

I went against Will first, the battle lasted about ten seconds before I got Will to drop his sword and mine came up to meet his throat. Will was stunned to silence and I wordlessly moved on to the next person, a girl from the Hecate cabin. She lasted twenty seconds. I moved on once again.

The process continued and I let my mind wander. I pondered what my friends would do if they knew I was back in New York City, even after we all swore we would never set foot there again. I still had nightmares about what had happened here. I wonder if my friends did too-.

My sword came to a sudden halt and shocked me out of my head.

The first thing I noticed was the trident on the hilt of the sword.

No way, No fucking way. There's no way I could be fighting Percy right now.

But my head tilted up and I was met with sea-green eyes.

Son of a bitch...

I grinned nervously, "Is there any way I could somehow get out of this?"

Percy sent me a look of, 'Are you seriously asking me that right now?' before he leaped into an attack.

I yelped and scrambled backward. It seemed all of my fighting abilities that came when I was zoned out were gone, leaving me to fend for myself. I blocked his hits with sloppy moves, my technique doing nothing to save me from his blows.

I continued walking backward, parting a crowd that I didn't know had gathered. They followed us as Percy's attacks forced us out of the fighting arena and into a sunlit area.

The moment the sun hit my skin, I felt adrenaline rush through my veins. My eyesight became clearer, sharper and my ears picked up sounds I wasn't aware of, like the grass moving or how all the kids were holding their breath. Percy faltered for a moment, his eyes widening when he looked at me, but that hesitation was all I needed.

I launched a volley of my own attacks, using techniques that I swore I would never use again. And suddenly, the tables were turned, I was the one forcing Percy back. The crowd was dead silent as the fight continued and I used an opening twisting my sword around Percy's until it was twisted out of his grip.

His sword hit the ground. 

And all was silent. 

Annabeth stepped closer her face making no move to conceal her wonder. "I've never seen a demigod fight like that, how??" 

I absentmindedly cleaned my sword, my gaze turned towards the horizon, "I had a great mentor." The memory was bittersweet, but one I still treasured deeply.

Percy picked up Riptide, "Who is he"? 

I shook my head, "Was."

No one said much after that. I took that as an opportunity to continue, "He called me one day, said he needed help and to come to New York. I didn't know what was going on and he wouldn't tell me. So... I gathered my friends and we came here..."

I couldn't stop my shudders, "It... it was horrible... There was so much blood. So much violence. I immediately took my friends and we went back home. He caught me on the way out. I told him that he never told us war was involved when he offered to take us to New York. There were eight and nine year olds there and their expression when seeing that battle...it was awful. I stormed off before he said anything else."

I frowned, "But... the weird thing was... his eyes were gold... instead of their usual blue and I... I don't even know..."

At my last statement, everyone stared at me in uneasy. Annabeth was pale and Percy's hands were shaking. "What was his name," Annabeth finally said, her voice shaking with the question. I rubbed the back of my neck nervously, "Well... where I was from, we wouldn't tell each other our real names. We gave each other fake names. It's like... giving yourself a new identity, so you can start over, be a better person and stuff like that. He... he was a special case, he took on a fake name and also told us his real one. He trusted us enough to tell us his real name. I felt honored to know such a great swordsman... until... you know..."

I smirked humorlessly, "He was also one of the reasons that I heard so many things about Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, whether they were good or bad. In all honesty, with the stories he told, you guys honestly scared the shit out of me. At least until I met you guys, you're really not that bad-"

"Sol," Percy questioned, his voice unfeeling, "What was his name."

I shuffled uncomfortably, "His nickname was Tick Tock, but his real name...it was Luke, Luke Castellan."

Percy and Annabeth glanced at each other before looking back at me, "You know... You know Luke died, right? At the end of the Battle Of New York... he sacrificed himself..."

I nodded, a knot building in my chest and the back of my eyes burning. I bit my lip to try and keep from crying, "I know... yeah, I know..."

Percy looked at me sadly, "He died a hero... you should be proud of him..."

"I know... I am but... it doesn't make it easier."

My teeth pierce through my lip and I ducked my head down to hide my tears. Percy turned his sword back into a pen (which... awesome...) and he wrapped an arm around my shoulders as I tried to hide my tears. 

I said nothing and neither did he.

He just sat there with me as I grieved Luke all over again.

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