Percy Jackson, the Son of Olympus: The Sea of Monsters

| Chapter XXI || Long Live the Tree! |

Annabeth sighed. "Yes, but Luke already confessed in front of Artemis. That should be enough proof because she could explain it to Zeus, therefore that part of your plan isn't needed."

"Alright," Percy agreed. "Then we'll stay here until Artemis has delivered the Fleece to Chiron and comes back. I'll let her know, now, where we are." He closed his eyes.

"Artemis?" he asked. "Change of plans. We're waiting in a cabin on the ship-" he quickly sent her a mental map of where they were hiding, "—and we'd like you to pick us up from here. Have you gotten the Fleece to the camp yet?"

Almost immediately, he got an answer. "Yes, and I'm on my way now. What happened to make you change your mind?" she asked.

"Since Luke basically confessed to poisoning the tree in front of you, and it is much more obvious that it was him and not Chiron since we know he's alive, we don't need to trick him into confessing again in front of an audience. We're not going to go out where we can get caught again," Percy explained.

"Okay."

And just like that, Artemis appeared in the room with a brilliant smile on her face.

"How is the tree?" Grover questioned, "Um...milady." He looked down.

"As soon as I put the Fleece on the lowest bough, it started to heal," Artemis replied, her smile growing.

"That's wonderful!" Annabeth exclaimed. A smile grew on her own face and for a second, it seemed to Percy like the two girls' rivalry had ended, but then Annabeth turned to him instead with her smile, and Percy's heart deflated.

He was happy, too, of course, but inside, he frowned, because Annabeth hadn't thanked Artemis, like Grover and Tyson were, the latter of the two doing so by holding Artemis in a big bear hug. He was upset because if it hadn't been for Artemis, the Fleece wouldn't have gotten to where they needed it, and who knew how they would get out of their predicament.

Maybe some other time, then.

"Alright, now let's get out of here," Grover said. "Milady, if you could...?"

"Of course. Everyone, please join hands, and don't mind the spinning."

Everyone did as they were told, but just before they were about to go, Grover realized what Artemis had said. "Wait...spinning—?" He didn't get a chance to finish his question before a bright flash appeared, teleporting them out of the room.

As soon as their feet were on solid ground again, Grover stumbled away from the group, dropping Annabeth's and Tyson's hands and vomiting behind a bush. Percy grinned, dropping Annabeth's hand, but not Artemis'. He smiled at her and then turned to the left to see Thali's tree just above them on Half-Blood Hill. Just as Artemis had said, the dead branches were slowly returning, and it was getting greener by the minute.

Around them, the campers were gathered, staring up at the tree in awe and glee. Some had already left – that was clear enough to Percy – but those who'd stayed behind saw the heroes and immediately bunched around them, careful to avoid Grover and his puke.

The next second, Percy found himself hauled into the air onto the shoulders of the campers alongside his friends, and they were behind carried down the hill to the dining pavilion.

"Long live the tree!" they chanted. "Long live the tree!"

As they reached the Pavilion, they were set down, and Percy smiled up at Chiron, who'd cantered toward them.

"Welcome back," he said, smiling at them with pride. Annabeth's chest puffed up and she stood a bit straighter. Percy smiled at Artemis again, who went red in the cheeks, smiling back. They all returned their focus to the centaur.

"Congratulations for retrieving the golden fleece. You have saved the tree and our camp, and, as I understand, have cleared my name entirely."

"Yes." Percy stepped in. "Luke is alive, and he was the one to poison the tree. He confessed it in front of all of us."

"Thank you, my boy." Chiron grasped Percy's hands in his own and shook them. His eyes were misty but did not carry any tears – yet. "Now," he said, dropping Percy's hands. "I believe that you are hungry. Come and eat with us. I invite the five of you to dine at the head table, tonight."

He trotted the rest of the way to the Pavilion and climbed the short passage of stairs, closely followed by the five.

"I'm starving," Percy said with a grin and he and Artemins climbed the stairs to sit at the head table. Secretly, deep in his heart, he was glad to be at the head table, because it meant that he wouldn't have to eat alone, which was usually an issue for him.

"You're always starving," Artemis said, shoving him playfully before she sat down.

"You're right," he agreed. As if to prove a point, his stomach grumbled right that second.

"I'm always right."

***

Published: Tuesday, July 10, 2018

~CSP2708~