Decisiveness & Terror// [Percy Jackson OC]//Book 4

{Chapter Five}

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"Some nights, I stay up cashing in my bad luck/Some nights, I call it a draw
Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle/ Some nights, I wish they'd just fall off"
- Some Nights (fun.)
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DOUBT COMES IN

THE WAR COUNCIL had been moved to the fighting arena since so many people were involved in the decision making. They were holding off until Arya was awake. All in all, it was about a half hour before everyone was in their proper place and ready to talk about the various matters at hand.
   
Arya was seated besides Charles and Travis, she was cracking her knuckles slowly and one at a time waiting for the meeting to start. She had a feeling that a lot of people were going to be mad at her.
   
Annabeth started by recounting what happened to her and Percy in the Labyrinth and where the entrance was. For the first time, Aryas head wasn't hurting, and she had a funny feeling that she knew exactly why.
   
"Luke must have known about the Labyrinth entrance," Annabeth said. "He knew everything about camp."
   
Arya licked her dry lips, and trailed her eyes upwards to meet Annabeths, feeling like she would be the least likely to judge her, "He did. We had discovered it together years ago."

Annabeth's face dropped and her eyebrows furrowed together. The hushed whispers started from all different directions. It took a lot form Arya to not look at them.
  
"What are you talking about?" Lee asked.
  
Arya took in a deep breath, "We stumbled into it one morning, same as you two. We got out and Luke was all excited. He said that if my rules never got lifted, that one day we would navigate the maze together as a way to sneak me out."
   
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Chirons disappointed look that appeared for less than a second. She knew saying this would be bold, but she was trying not to hide things anymore.
   
"And why didn't you say this sooner?" Conner asked her.

"It didn't cross my mind." Arya stuttered out, for the first time looking around to see the same look of dismay on her friends faces.
   
"Arya?" Selene asked carefully, "Are you withholding information from us?"
   
"No! I swear, I phrased it wrong. I just- when I say it didn't cross my mind, I mean the memory never surfaced, it's like it wasn't in my head." Arya said almost pleadingly.
   
"You remembered now." Clarisse pointed out.
  
"Yeah, it only resurfaced when I woke up."
   
"Arya you have to understand how this looks." Clarisse said.
   
Aryas face dropped. She was teetering on thin ice anymore, and now, even her closest friends were struggling to believe that she was on their side. Her loyalty was in question to everyone that mattered to her, and she had never felt a harder punch in the stomach. She knew dragging out her choice was going to have consequences, but now it was affecting everyone.
   
"I know." Arya responded lowering herself back down into her seat, not knowing what to say to get them to believe her.
  
"I will vouch for her." Chiron spoke up, all heads turning to him. "I have good reason to believe that Kronos had been blocking the memory from her head so that we would be delayed in finding the entrance. It would explain the headaches, everytime the memory should have been remembered, instead she was pulled from thinking it by a head pain."
   
Everyone's shoulders seemed to relax at the realization, none more than Arya's who mouthed a strong thank you to her mentor for coming to her aid. As quickly as the accusations came, she was forgiven by everyone, and the matter of her loyalty was forgotten.
   
Forgotten by everyone but Arya. She would never forget how badly it stung to have the people closest to her, start to turn on her all at once. It rocked her to her core.