The End of an Olympian

07 | Dinner Conversations

Percy beckoned me to step outside. I did and he led me away from Lucy's room. I wanted to object, but he was right. She needed her family right now.

1317 words

Percy

I figured we'd better give the Starlings some room, so I led Lucius away. I knew how loyal he was to her (god of loyalty remember), which is why I trusted him to take care of her. I'm glad my trust was placed correctly. As we walked towards the dining room, I could feel the anxious energy coming off him.

"Don't worry. That guard won't be in a position to harm anyone else ever again. And your friend was not violated. We got there just in time, thank the gods."

There was a beat of silence that was interrupted by Lucius's nervous voice.

"You... you aren't..." he trailed off not wanting to voice the question.

"Mad at Lucy?" I guessed.

He nodded his head.

"No, of course not. That situation wasn't her fault. It doesn't matter why she was in the library, no one should be treated that way," I said matter-of-factly.

"Thank you, Percy."

"No need to thank me, Lucius."

We finally made it to the dining room and I sat down. I gestured for him to sit to my right. He hesitated for a minute, but not wanting to disobey or argue, he sat down. His posture was so rigid, so stiff.

I then turned to the servant to my left and asked, "What's your name?"

"Clara, my Lord," she answered.

The young woman seemed stunned that I would address her at all, let alone ask for her name.

"Clara, could you get Lucius a plate?"

She nodded and quickly went to grab another table setting.

"Sir, I don't need a plate! It's fine!" Lucius protested.

"What did I say about calling me 'sir'?" was my response to his objection.

"To not add it to the end of sentences," he quipped back smartly.

I caught his implication and the slight lift of the corner of his mouth. It quickly fell and he averted his eyes realizing his actions could've come off as rude. I just laughed a good-hearted laugh.

"Yes, I suppose I did say that," I commented with an amused tone. "What I meant was that you can drop all formalities around me, especially when it's just us."

He clearly didn't know what to say to that, so I just started serving food on my plate and the one Clara brought for Lucius. He suddenly snapped out of it and stood up so abruptly the chair almost fell over.

"Why are you serving me? I should be serving you!"

"Oh? So you're telling me what to do now, are you?" I questioned jokingly.

Lucius didn't pick up on my playful tone, though. His eyes grew wide and he instinctively took a step back causing him to trip over his chair and fall on the ground. I tried to not laugh, I really did, but one escaped me and then I was laughing so hard I fell out of my chair (obviously laughing harder upon meeting the floor). He tried to help me up but I waved him off.