GREEK TRAGEDY [PERCY JACKSON A.U] ✓

TWELVE: IN THE NIGHT

Henry sat on Althea's lap again at dinner, and she let herself feel okay for the brief time she was with her siblings. The bustling energy of the pavilion, with the campers chattering and laughing amongst themselves, made her feel at home.

    Despite everything that had happened in the past week—the prophecy, the quest, Lizzie's death—Althea found herself genuinely happy for the first time since she returned. And she felt so guilty, to be able to smile and act like everything was normal, when Lizzie was buried six feet deep.

    "Ally!" Henry poked her cheek, trying to gain her attention.

    She shook herself out of her thoughts and looked down at the boy on her lap. "What's up?" She asked.

    He rolled his violet eyes at her. "I said, I've been working on my powers. Wanna see?"

    Nodding, she replied, "Of course, bud. Show me what you got."

    Henry took a deep breath and screwed his eyes shut, puffing out his cheeks in concentration.

    The empty space on the table in front of him began to shimmer, and for a mere moment, Althea flashed back to how the altar on the island had done the same; she had to snap herself out of the memory.

    In what was once an empty place on the table suddenly appeared a bottle of wine, a Cabernet Sauvignon, to be specific—Althea recognized it as the most expensive bottle of wine to ever be sold.

    "Whoa, whoa, whoa, no you don't!" Pollux jumped out of his seat across the table from Henry and quickly grabbed the bottle just as the little boy began to reach for it.

    Althea looked at Henry incredulously. "How'd you learn to do that?" She asked, blonde eyebrows raised. It had taken her years to conjure even a glass of wine, let alone a bottle, and an incredibly, unbelievably expensive one at that.

    Henry shrugged. "Daddy sent me a dream and showed me how." He said simply.

    Pollux, Althea, and Maddie all shared a glance—their father rarely ever came to them in dreams, and if they did, it was never to show them a new skill to master.

    "That's great, dude. I'm really proud of you, but maybe don't summon anything alcoholic until you're older, okay?" Althea told him.

    Henry pouted, crossing his little arms stubbornly. "But Daddy told me to!" He whined.

    "I know, I know." She sighed. "But you're six. You still have fifteen years 'til you can actually drink it. Try to stick to Coke."

    Her little brother broke his sulky expression to grin at her. "Can I try again?"

    His older siblings all gave him a nod, and he focused once more. A two-liter of Diet Coke appeared where the bottle of wine had.

    Althea laughed. "Much better." She squeezed his sides, and the boy broke into high-pitched giggles, batting her hands away.

    Dinner was soon over, the eldest daughter of Dionysus not having eaten, and the campers adjourned to the amphitheater, where the regularly-scheduled campfire singalong was taking place.

    Pollux and Althea each held one of Henry's hands, swinging the boy between them as they walked to their cabin's designated spot. Percy joined them and took a seat on the bench next to the blonde, allowed to choose where he sat because he was the only one in his cabin.

    "Hey," He said lowly in her ear. "How are you feeling today?"

    She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Fine, I guess."