Climb (Percy Jackson x Reader)

thirteen

(Y/N) picks at her left palm, her gut sinking at Annabeth's averted eyes. She looks at the others—Percy, who leans back against the deck rail, his eyes trained on the waves; Clarisse, her arms crossed and jaw ticking; Grover, his hands stuffed in his jacket pockets as he stands beside Percy; and Tyson, who sits cross-legged on the deck floor—all of whom seem unsure about how to act around her. Annabeth stands on the other side of Grover, the satyr occasionally glancing her way with concern. (Y/N) sighs, and she moves to sit on a ladder rung that leads to the upper deck, facing them all.

"I think it's best," she begins, thinking back, "if I start by saying that before we left, I got my own prophecy."

Percy's head whips to her, his eyes wide.

"Basically, it said that I—well, Hope, if you wanna be specific about it—needed to bear a sacrifice." (Y/N) refrains from wincing at the pained look that shoots across Annabeth's face. "That, and that I needed to fall to join together who I now know are the eldest gods. Percy's prophecy said that their powers needed to combine. It turns out that they needed to combine . . . in me. So instead of going to the Underworld and receiving judgement, I was taken to Olympus to be resurrected. As part of it, each of the six gave some of their blood—ichor, whatever—to transfer their abilities to me. They didn't want to break their oath and intervene, even though I asked them to."

Annabeth shifts on her feet, finally meeting (Y/N)'s gaze. "So you didn't know what they wanted."

"No."

"But you knew you would die."

(Y/N) winces at the betrayal on Annabeth's face, the daughter of Athena not even bothering to mask her hurt. Sighing, she nods. "I did."

"And you didn't tell us."

"No. I didn't."

It is Grover who speaks up next: "Why?" he asks, his shoulders slumped.

(Y/N) swallows thickly, hugging her arms to herself. "I didn't want it to be real," she admits, her words meek and full of sorrow. "I wanted to avoid it for as long as possible. And then . . . when I got the prophecy, I—"

"You knew before then?" Percy interrupts, his furious words sending shards of ice through the girl's heart.

"I had a dream," she explains, rubbing her biceps, "and I thought that I could ignore it after what happened with the Minotaur. Things were so similar, and I figured that that was what my foresight was telling me. But then I spoke to the Oracle, and I kept having that dream, and I didn't want to worry anyone any more than I had to. I wanted to help you guys. And even if that cost me my life, I wouldn't let it hold me back. I don't think I would even have a choice in the matter. The Fates wanted me to be in that cave at that time, so I would have ended up there anyway. I thought it was better that I got to enjoy the last moments of my time with you all . . . with you. I didn't want you worrying about when I would actually go and then make you risk your safety for me."

Grover shakes his head, his eyes sunken. "We would have done that anyway," he says, leaning back against the rail. "That's what we do for the people we love."

(Y/N) nods, her heart twisting. "I know. And I'm so, so sorry." She takes a deep breath, sniffling quietly as she fights her desired tears. "I fucked up this time. I understand that. And it's no excuse, and I'm not trying to defend myself, but I truly did believe at the time that I was sparing you all from any pain. I had faith that you would get the Fleece. And then, my death wouldn't be an issue; you could have brought me back. I just didn't expect everything else to happen the way that it did. That's no justification, though. You do not have to forgive me. But I'll be better in the future, I swear."