𝓕𝓲𝓷𝓮 𝓛𝓲𝓷𝓮 // Clarisse La Rue

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓣𝔀𝓮𝓷𝓽𝔂 𝓔𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽

Clarisse and Florence woke up together in a tangled mess of limbs. They stretched and sparred before packing up camp and heading down another path, looking for any sign of demigods.

They find it easier than they thought it would be, an abandoned empty package of ambrosia and a torn up green t-shirt. They follow down the corridor before reaching a crossroad with two possible paths to follow, a dark earthy corridor wrapped in vines and one made of pure steel.

"We should go that way!" They say in unison, pointing to different corridors.

They do rock paper scissors. Clarisse wins. They go down the earthy corridor and after what feels like hours they find someone sitting down on the ground. She looks pale, deep bags under her eyes and blood pulls at her stomach, Florence only recognizes the girls when she sees the green eyes looking up at her.

"Daisy." Florence breathes. She drops to her knees and lets go of her dagger, Clarisse looks at her in confusion.

"Florence. Is that you? Are you real?" Daisy's voice was barely a whisper.

"Yes, it's me, I'm real." Florence's voice breaks when Daisy reaches out to touch her. "What happened?"

"Noah happened. He could sense it I think..." Daisy's voice is scratchy, like it's getting harder for her to breathe.

"Sense what?"

"That I finally understood Kronos was no better than the gods. That he could throw us to our deaths in this labyrinth like it's nothing, he didn't give a fuck when we lost Chris. He doesn't give a fuck about anyone, not even his own brother." Daisy sounds bitter in a way she never did before. "Like the gods, when our borders came apart, they did nothing. I thought Luke was the answer. But he's not." There are tears in Daisy's eyes and she groans in pain.

Florence scrambles for the packet of ambrosia in her bag but Daisy shakes her head softly.

"Poisoned blade. There's no escape." Daisy says, sadness in her words. "I don't want to die, Florence! I'm only fifteen! I don't want to die! I don't want any of us to die!" She's sobbing.

"Oh, Daisy." Florence pulls her into a hug and Daisy sobs harder Clarisse watches the scene in perplexion. She feels like she's intruding on something she shouldn't be witnessing.

"He's going to kill us all in the end..." Daisy's terrified, her body has started shaking. "He's looking for a way-"

"A way to what?"

"To speed up this war. To attack-" Daisy's voice cracks, something seems to dawn on her, like someone is stabbing her all over again.

"To attack who?"

"Tell Naomi I love her and I'm sorry."

Just as the words leave her mouth Daisy goes limp in Florence's arms, her green eyes once so full of joy are now lifeless. Florence closes them and says her prayers, begging for Daisy to find her way to Elysium.

Florence begins to cry when the vines gain a life of their own, wrapping around Daisy's dead body. Clarisse helps her up and Florence doesn't stop sobbing for a second. Instead she leans into Clarisse's embrace, her tears hitting the fabric of Clarisse's shirt.

Florence thinks amidst the chaos of emotions in her head how thankful for Clarisse she is in that moment. How willing Clarisse is to hold her when she falls apart. How she's solid and comforting without saying a word. How just being held by her is enough.

Florence cries until she has no tears left to do so.

꒰🕊꒱

They walk without saying a word, once they find a wider hallway, this time the walls lined with burning torches. They lay out their bedspreads but don't lay down. They make a fire for warmth and sit by it, Florence sits hugging her knees close to her chest, the right side of her body where the scar of Noah's sword haunts her like it's Daisy's ghost.