¹𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐒 ! - percy jackson

-001

Stella smiled back at her, "It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Jackson."

Sally began to pull out of the parking spot and looked at Stella through the rearview mirror, "Please call me Sally. So, your godly parent is Apollo?"

Stella's heart warmed at the mention of her father, "Yes! He's quite the character. The last time we spoke he was trying to convince me to start a slam poetry class at camp."

She heard Sally chuckle, "I bet you must be a great archer."

"She's the best at camp," Percy said before turning to her, "but don't tell Lee I said that."

Stella blushed at the compliment. She knew she had a gift, but sometimes she forgot others around her noticed. Percy noticed.

She began toying with her charmed ring subconsciously at the mention of archery. It was also her weapon, a bow and arrow. Apollo had gifted it to her when he had claimed her, and Stella never went anywhere without it. She had named it Iliaktída, sunbeam in Greek. It was a simple gold band with a sun in the middle, and as a weapon, it held an unlimited supply of celestial bronze arrows.

"My lips are locked, or else you'd be speaking in rhyming couplets for the next few days," Stella teased, and Percy laughed.

They settled into a comfortable silence, and Stella found herself drifting off to sleep. She wasn't awoken until Annabeth and Thalia were piling into the backseat next to her. Stella greeted them, glad to be reunited with her best friends.

There were several hours left to get to Bar Harbor, Maine, but as they continued on the road, a snowstorm caught up to them. Between the blizzard and the anxious energy bouncing off the demigods, nobody was talking except for Sally. She recounted several stories from Percy's childhood, each making Stella smile even wider.

It was almost nightfall when they arrived at Westover Hall. Thalia wiped the fog off the car window, "Oh yeah. This'll be fun."

Westover Hall looked like an evil knight's castle. It was all black stone, with towers and slit windows and a big set of wooden double doors. It stood on a snowy cliff overlooking this big frosty forest on one side and the gray churning ocean on the other.

"Are you sure you don't want me to wait?" Sally asked Percy.

He glanced at the backseat before he said, "No, thanks, Mom. I don't know how long it will take. We'll be okay."

Sally continued, "But how will you get back? I'm worried, Percy."

The love and worry Percy's mother had for him was evident. It caused a pang in Stella's heart that she tried to ignore.

"It's okay," Stella smiled reassuringly at Sally, "we'll keep him out of trouble."

Sally hesitated but said, "All right, dears. Do you have everything you need?"

"Yes, Ms. Jackson," Thalia said. "Thanks for the ride."

"Extra sweaters? You have my cell phone number?" Sally continued.

Percy tried to cut her off, "Mom—"

Sally persisted, "Your ambrosia and nectar, Percy? And a golden drachma in case you need to contact camp?" 

Percy unbuckled his seat belt, "Mom, seriously! We'll be fine. Come on, guys."

Stella smiled sadly at Sally as they piled out of the car into the cold night. She knew she should be thinking of their mission, but she could only think about how a mother could be so adoring of her child. They watched as Sally's car faded out of sight, Stella was slightly shivering.