CHANCE | luke castellan

BEST FRIEND TO PEGASUS

- Do you want to race to the lunch tables?; Luke asked. How childish. So childish that I liked it.
-I would like to.; I said. We both started running. At one point I looked to my left and Luke was gone. I looked behind me and he was quite far from me. But that was not a strong enough reason to slow down. I ran through the camp to the lunch tables. I finally arrived, it was a good exercise. I didn't even get too tired. I waited for Luke to arrive. He came running all sighing. He couldn't get air properly.
- You're really out of shape; I joked.
- It's not that...but...you...run...like...an animal.; he replied with a sigh, pausing to catch his breath. I was laughing.
- At least...I...made you...laugh.; he had a smirk on his face, which did not disappear even though he was without air.

When he finally came to his senses we sat down. Chris came and sat on my left.
-Greetings Luke. Great to see you Helen.; he greeted us. He said my name correctly, he remembered it. That made my already great day even better.
- How did you spend your day Chris?; I asked. Normally I wouldn't have asked, but Chris seemed like a nice person and I was actually interested.
- Terrible. I had to clean with pegasus.; he answered.
-Pegasus, I would like to see them.; I looked around at Luke. I can't believe he didn't take me there already.
- It's nice to see them, but there is a lot of cleaning.; Chris said.
- That must be a punishment for breaking Mr. D.'s wine; Luke said.
- The madman is getting old. He is always drunk. It was just one bottle, there are hundreds of them.; Chris was explaining. I just laughed.

-If you want, we can go see the pegasus after lunch.; Luke suggested.
-I would like to.; I answered.
- I would join you, but I'm sick of pegasus, I think I'll go to bed.; Chris said.

After lunch Luke and I went to the pegasus. There were two big pegasus and a baby pegasus in the area.
- Do you want to go inside to pet them?; Luke asked.
-May I?
-Of course.
Luke opened the gate and we entered.
-Do they have a name?; I asked.
-Peggy and Will, and the baby is Ell.; Luke answered. I started walking towards one of the pegasus, and he started walking backwards.
- It seems they don't really like me.; I said.
- Don't worry, they just need to get used to you.; Luke answered.
- Everything is fine, otherwise animals don't really like me.
- They don't know what they're missing.

- Maybe this will help.; Luke said as he took something out of his pocket. Sugar, I know it works for horses, but I didn't know it works on pecasuses as well. I took a sugar cube and headed towards one of the pegasus. At first he moved away and looked scared. I looked at Luke, and he just shrugged.
-Maybe this isn't for me after all.; I said handing back the sugar to Luke.
-I'm sorry.; He said.
- How did you know we were going to come here so you brought sugar?; I asked.
- I didn't know, but I am the son of Hermes, he answered. It probably had something to do with what was Hermes god of , but I just couldn't remember.

-If you don't want to be here anymore we can go somewhere else.;Luke suggested.
- Yes. Honestly, I'm a little tired.; I answered.
-Me too. We can continue tomorrow.
-I agree.

We headed towards Hermes' cabin. We were passing by Ares's cabin when I saw two older children making fun of a young child who was on the floor.
- What is happening there?; I asked Luke.
- Turn your head, just don't look. ; he replied.
- But that's not fair, why do they do that to that poor child?
- Children of Ares, they are simply like that. They trample all they can. They think they are special because Ares is their father. They are mean to anyone who cannot defend themselves. If you don't have glory, they destroy you.; Luke answered. That's probably why he doesn't like Ares, because of his children.
- Why would someone be such a horrible person?
-I've never been a fan of Ares' children, they're all the same. You know what they say, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.; he spoke. I could sense some kind of anger through his otherwise calm voice.
- Such bullies should be taught a lesson.; I muttered to myself.
- But don't worry, they won't touch you while you're with me, you have nothing to fear.
- Why don't they mess with you?
- They know better.
- Is it because of glory?
- Yeah, but don't bother with that. I'm here to protect you, I'll always be there to protect you,; he said looking into my eyes. I didn't answer anything, not because I didn't want to, but because I didn't know what to answer.

I couldn't sleep thinking about what I saw. I wasn't afraid, I just felt bad for not helping that child. Children of Ares shouldn't do that. They should introduce some rules to the camp.

I finally fell asleep, but I had a nightmare. Similar to the one when I was hanging from the cliff. This time I was in a desert, everything was dark. There was only a distant light."Helen, Helen" the light was calling me. I couldn't see what was in that light, so I started getting closer. The closer I was, the clearer it was to me. When I got close enough, I realized what that light was. That was my mom. I never had the chance to see her live, I only saw her in the pictures that remained. But I knew it was her, I felt it was her. I felt... some kind of connection. "Mom?" I asked anyway. "That's right Helen. It's me, it's mom." she answered. I wanted to cry, but I couldn't. I couldn't do anything, I wanted to hug her, but she was too far away. I have never missed her as much as at that moment. "What is my father's name?" I asked. She didn't answer me. I tried to get closer, but the faster I ran, I felt that she was moving away from me.
-Helen!, Helen!, Helen!: I heard someone calling me again, but this time it wasn't my mom. I woke up suddenly. I was breathing hard, and I couldn't get air. I touched my eyes and felt tears. I looked to my left and Luke was kneeling next to the bed.
- It's okay, nightmares. We all have them here.; He said.