gone girl.
━━━ chapter four
❀
Throughout the journey, Amaryllis and Percy barely talked to each other. It wasn't awkward though – both of them realised the other needed some time to process their thoughts and feelings.
It must have been hours before the raft finally brought them in the beach of Camp Half Blood. Percy helped her step out of the raft like the gentleman he was and he blushed when Amaryllis chuckled at his gesture.
She was still wearing the white sleeveless chiton and the flower crown she always wore in Ogygia. She felt pretty stupid, but despite her protests, Percy told her she could change later. As they walked in the Camp, Amaryllis felt pretty emotional. Not much had changed, in fact it was just like she remembered it. She hadn't noticed it was empty until Percy mentioned it, but when they saw smoke rising from the amphitheatre, he grabbed her hand and started running towards it.
They stopped in their tracks when they heard Chiron's voice. Once they realised what he was saying, they looked at each other in horror.
They were just about to interrupt Percy's funeral.
They came back on the theatre and since they were all looking forward, no one noticed them. Amaryllis understood how intense the situation was, however she couldn't help but stifle a laugh. The situation seemed to be so ridiculous, like a scene from a sitcom from the 80s.
She stopped laughing when Percy squeezed her hand, nodding at the direction of a blonde girl who was burning his shroud. She'd recognize Annabeth everywhere, even if she looked terrible. It seemed like Percy's supposed death had wrecked her. She was about to make a speech, when she finally noticed the two demigods.
"He's right there!"
A bunch of other kids crowded around them and clapped Percy on the back, ignoring Amaryllis completely. Some were looking at her suspiciously, like they were trying to guess if she was about to start murdering people on the spot. Others were whistling at the fact that Percy's hand was still holding hers – when she realised it, she immediately let it go, her cheeks burning from embarrassment.
Chiron cantered over and everyone made way for him. He was still looking the same, even after four years. She hoped that he'd immediately recognize her, but his focus was on Percy as well.
"Well, I don’t believe I’ve ever been happier to see a camper return," he said with a smile and only then did he finally notice the girl, who had taken some steps back to give space to all the campers who were giving high fives and hugging Percy. "Hello, dear. Percy, won't you introduce your friend?"
Before he could open his mouth to speak, he was interrupted by Annabeth, who had shoved her way through the rest of the campers. "Where have you been?!" she yelled at Percy and hugged him tightly.
"I'm sorry. I, uh, got lost," he cheekily replied and Amaryllis rolled her eyes.
"Lost? Two weeks, Percy? Where in the world-"
"Annabeth," Chiron interrupted her and she finally realised she was making a scene. By that point, everyone had forgotten about how happy they were to see Percy and just stared at Amaryllis with curiosity.
She took a breath to calm her nerves, before taking a step forward and waving awkwardly with an equally awkward smile. "Hi. I'm Amaryllis Kalomiri and I'm alive. Surprise!"
People immediately started whispering. "Gone girl" was the words that left most kids' mouths. She hadn't realised they had created a special name for her. Surprisingly, it felt a bit comforting to see they hadn't all forgotten about her.
Annabeth was frozen at her place, staring at Amaryllis like she was an alien. Chiron seemed equally shocked as the rest. For the first time, the Centaur didn't seem to know what to say. "We're all more than happy to see you're alive and well, Amaryllis," he finally smiled at her and she let out a breath of relief. She was half expecting him to be mad at her or scold her for some reason.
"Perhaps we should discuss all this somewhere more private, shall we? The rest of you, back to your normal activities!"
Without hesitation he picked up Percy, Amaryllis and Annabeth with an incredible ease, threw them on his back and galloped off toward the Big House to talk privately.
❀
First thing Annabeth did the moment Chiron let them off his back was hug Amaryllis. Words couldn't describe how relieved she was that her best friend hadn't completely disregarded her. "I missed you so much," she said. "I thought- We all thought-"
"That I was dead?" Amaryllis smirked when they let go of the embrace. "You can't get rid of me that easily, Annie."
"Evidently," she laughed and nudged her gently with her elbow. "Idiot."
"I'm afraid I have to interrupt you," Chiron said, sitting back in his wheelchair. "Amaryllis owes us some answers about her disappearance."
His tone wasn't accusatory, but it still made the girl's heart beat a little faster. She instinctively touched Calypso's necklace. "I was sleeping and in my dreams I heard a- a male voice, telling me 'It's for your own good. Remember that'. When I woke up, I was in Ogygia."
"Calypso's island."
She nodded and then proceeded to tell them about what Hephaestus had told her. She knew that her lack of information about what had happened could have been considered suspicious, that was part of the reason why she was so anxious. However the Centaur listened to what she was saying, not once interrupting and when she was done, he nodded like he had experienced a similar situation before. She wouldn't be surprised if he had, considering how many heroes he had trained in his life.
"It was a god's doing," Annabeth said what they were all thinking.
"Sometimes the gods work in mysterious ways," Chiron agreed and, as if he could read her mind, he added, "I believe you. However, you came back in difficult times, where everyone's trust is being tested constantly. Some of the other campers might not believe you."
"You mean that they'll think she's working for Luke?" Percy asked in a defensive tone. "That's ridiculous! I can back up everything she's saying."
"Not everything," the Centaur said and sighed. "As I previously said, I do believe you, Amaryllis. I just can't lie to you and tell you that everyone else will as well."
Amaryllis pressed her lips together. She had came back at the Camp, just to be considered a potential traitor? "So much for a warm welcome," she muttered angrily and stormed off. She heard Annabeth's voice calling her name, but ignored it. She needed some time alone to calm herself down, the situation being very overwhelming for her.
Outside of the Big House there were many campers, seemingly waiting until someone got out so they could find out what was happening. She rolled her eyes, completely ignoring them and wanting to get away from everyone.
"Lilly, wait!"
She stopped dead in her tracks. There was only one person who called her by that name, the only person that she didn't mind being around in a moment like that. She turned her head, only to find a blonde boy running towards her and almost throwing her down with the force in which he hugged her.
Will Solace, her half brother, was probably one of Amaryllis' favourite people in the whole world. She had always been the closest with him in Apollo's cabin and she remembered how so many people thought they were biological siblings, due to how inseparable they were. His smile was contagious and soon enough, both of them were laughing with joy.
"I can't believe you're here!" he squealed excited. "I immediately recognised you, but then Chiron took you and- Lilly, I think you're about to break my ribs!"
"You're a healer, aren't you?" she teased him after she let go, ruffling his golden hair. "You'll find a way to survive your favourite sister's hug."
Some of the other children of Apollo, the ones who recognized her at least, circled around her. She hugged everyone, even the ones that she didn't know that well. It ended up being a group hug, where everyone was laughing at the fact that no one seemed to be able to breathe, squished against each other. She thought she needed time alone to calm down, but all she needed was to feel like she was twelve again, surrounded by all her siblings.
"Look at Will," Kayla laughed after they let go of the hug. "He's already trying to make a patient out of poor Amaryllis."
The blond blushed. "I'm just making sure she's not injured!"
Sensing that Amaryllis was uncomfortable with the other demigods that were still staring at her, Lee Fletcher yelled at them to stop being insensitive and then turned to the girl, looking like a worried mother. "Where the hell have you been?" he asked the question no one else dared ask. She assumed he became the new head counselor of their cabin, because everyone seemed to shut up when he was talking.
She sighed, though her smile couldn't be wiped off her face. She was truly happy, being with her siblings again. "It's a long story. I'll tell you another time."
Michael Yew interrupted Lee before continuing. "Gee. Let the girl take a breath, you're all circling around her like animals."
They all nodded and eventually, returned to their normal activities. Everyone left, besides Will and Lee. "You're sure you're okay, kid?" the latter asked. Nothing had changed – he still made sure everyone knew he was one of the oldest demigods at the Camp.
"Yes, thank you for checking," she smiled at him. "I need to have some time alone right now though, if you don't mind."
"Yeah, sure. It must be overwhelming, coming back after so many years," Will said with a serious look. "We'll talk later, okay?"
"Okay, kid," she mocked Lee, who chuckled but still gracefully gave her the middle finger before taking the youngest and leaving her alone.
Amaryllis made her way to the Armory, a metal shed around the side of Athena's cabin. Her mood was immediately elevated when she realised not everyone was suspicious of her. Sure, she'd might have to deal with some stares from the Ares cabin, but if her siblings trusted her and had her back, she would be alright.
At first she thought she was alone as she entered the Armory. She wanted to see if her old sword, Alalá, was still around. When she remembered who helped her name it, she felt her heart drop.
"It means 'war-cry' in ancient Greek," Luke said to her. It had been three days after she first got to the Camp and she had been too scared to ask anyone to help her pick her weapon. Annabeth had told her that Luke could help her. She seemed to think he could do literally anything.
That was the first time they met. Amaryllis looked amazed as Luke spinned her new sword around. "A badass name for a badass fighter," he told her before winking and giving it to her.
"But I don't know how to use it. What if I hurt someone?" she asked him with her big brown eyes.
He gave her a bright smile. "I'll teach you everything you need to know, don't worry."
She guessed she should probably find a different name for it after everything that had happened. She didn't want to have the slightest thing that reminded her of him. Of course to do that she had to find it first.
"Who are you?" she heard a male voice and startled, she jumped, accidentally dropping some daggers on the ground.
"You scared the crap out of me," she complained and glared at the boy who was now laughing. He seemed to be around her age or perhaps older by a year or two. He was a much taller, mixed guy and what drew Amaryllis' attention was his smile. He had a pretty smile – suddenly, she wasn't so annoyed at him anymore.
"I'm sorry," he said sincerely and he made his way next to her, getting the daggers off the floor and on the table. "It's just that I'm pretty sure I haven't seen you around before."
"Oh," she guessed he wasn't in Percy's funeral, or at least he hadn't noticed her at all. "I'm Amaryllis." He looked at her expecting something more and then she remembered that part of your identity, perhaps the most important thing you could mention at the Camp, was who was your godly parent. "Daughter of Apollo."
He extended his hand and she shook it. "Jake Mason, son of Hephaestus. So what are you doing here?" he asked her with a kind smile. She was pretty sure that if he kept making eye contact with her while smiling, she would start blushing.
"I'm looking for my sword."
"Oh, I can help. I know my way around the Armory pretty well," he offered. "What does it look like?"
"It's made from Celestial Bronze, has a white and gold coloured leather grip. Oh, and it transforms into a gold ring with a-"
"-A dark green opal stone?" he asked. He was looking through a big box and after a minute, he finally got up, holding a ring.
"How did you find it so quick?" Amaryllis asked excited and took the ring from his hand. The moment she touched it, it transformed into her good old sword. If it wasn't a deadly weapon, she'd probably hug it.
Jake shrugged. "I had seen it before. But..." he seemed hesitant to continue. "It was in the box where we keep the weapons of the campers that... you know..."
"Died?" He nodded. "Oh, well. Don't worry about it. I'm obviously alive," she joked.
"And holding a sword," he pointed at it, the edge of it being very close to his stomach.
She immediately made it transform back to the ring and she wore it on her ring finger. "Sorry, sorry."
"Don't worry about it," he chuckled but his face dropped when he checked his watch. "I have something to do now but I hope I'll see you around more, Amaryllis."
"It was nice meeting you!" she told him as he was leaving. After he left, she let out a sigh. Just being around that guy had her so nervous, she could only compare that feeling to fighting a monster.
She looked at Alalá. "The renaming ceremony will have to wait," she muttered and made her way to the Training Grounds.
❀
During dinner Chiron made sure to announce Amaryllis' return officially. She normally didn't mind being under the spotlight, but seeing everyone staring at her didn't feel great. When she noticed Jake looking at her from Hephaestus' cabin's table, she felt a little better.
"What are you smiling about?" Will asked her, as she was cutting her steak. The food didn't seem as tasty as it was in Ogygia, but she didn't feel like mentioning it.
"Nothing."
"You know, rumour has it that you and Percy Jackson are..." Kayla didn't complete her sentence, she just winked suggestively.
Amaryllis felt herself blushing. "Not true."
"Hell yeah!" her half sister seemed too enthusiastic about that. Everyone in the table looked at the girl with a raised eyebrow. "Sorry, I just had a bet with some girls from the Aphrodite cabin and it seems like I won."
"You're betting on my love life?" Amaryllis laughed.
"Yeah and what about it?" Kayla shrugged and the conversation ended up being a debate between Austin and Nia on who was the best Greek hero. She wasn't sure how they ended up talking about that, she wasn't paying much attention anyway.
She had completely forgotten that every night the half-bloods offered a portion of their food to the gods as a tribute. When it was her turn to burn the rest of her steak in the pavilion fire, she almost didn't. She certainly didn't want to give any offers to the gods after everything that happened, but she finally did it, not wanting to cause a scene.
After the tributes, Percy approached her while she was talking with Kayla. He seemed to barely register the other girl's existence and he seemed exhausted, even though she hadn't seen him in the Training Grounds.
"Can I talk to you for a second?" he asked her and the blonde girl nodded, ignoring her sister's smirk.
They went a little further away, where they could talk privately. "What's wrong?" she asked softly, seeing that he wasn't in the best mood.
"Nothing. I just thought I'd come say goodbye," he said.
"Why, where are you going?" It came out a little more panicked than she wanted, but he thankfully didn't comment on it.
"Remember what I told you in Ogygia about the Labyrinth?" She nodded. "Well, Hephaestus made me realise that we needed a mortal that can see through the Mist to guide us. So tomorrow me and Annabeth are going to go find-"
"Rachel? The mortal girl you accidentally almost killed and then ended up saving your life more than once?"
He seemed quite impressed. "Wow, I really told you everything about my life, didn't I?"
Amaryllis shrugged. "I didn't mind. You have an interesting life."
"That's one way to call it," he muttered, more to himself than her.
Amaryllis found herself remembering Hephaestus' words. He said that she would be important in the future, so what if she was meant to help Percy find Daedalus? Going back to the Labyrinth would be dangerous, especially considering Kronos' army would be also searching for the inventor. At the same time, Grover and Tyson, Percy's Cyclops half brother, were missing as well. It was a very important quest and Amaryllis was surprised to realise that she had already made a decision.
"I'm coming with you." She raised her hand to stop him from talking, before she continued. "I'm not finished. I've thought about it and... I don't think it was a coincidence that they let me free when you ended up on the island. I just feel like... I owe you somehow. Like there was a reason everything happened when it happened. So I'm coming and it's final."
"Mar, no," he sighed. "You don't owe me anything, okay? And you just came back at the Camp, I-"
She thought of how happy she felt when she was around her siblings. She hated the idea of leaving them again so soon, but at the same time, every voice in her head was violently screaming that she needed to join that quest.
"Look, I'm tired of not being able to make my own decisions," Amaryllis insisted. "For four years, I was completely dependent on the gods and that... didn't go well. So now I made my decision. I'll be coming with you, whether you want it or not."
Percy sighed. "Can I talk now?"
"Sure."
"Don't you want to go visit your mother?" he asked her and for a moment, she was surprised that this was his biggest concern.
"I can do that after we're done with the quest," she hesitated before answering. She couldn't believe she was doing that either, but it felt right. It felt like she needed to go to this quest, like it was part of her journey. No one would be able to understand that, no one but her.
"I- Fine. If you have a death wish, tag along, sunshine. I guess we'll need as much help as we can get," Percy said, his hand going through his black hair. "But it's not even my quest, it's Annabeth's. And in the moment, she's angry and refuses to talk to me so..."
"I can talk to her," Amaryllis said.
"Okay," he covered his yawn. "We leave first thing tomorrow morning."
❀
She found Annabeth sitting alone in the amphitheatre, with a book in her hands. She seemed to be way too focused on whatever the pages were saying, because she barely noticed Amaryllis, until she sat next to her.
"Hey," the curly haired girl said softly. She didn't look angry, like Percy had described her. "I was just about to come looking for you."
"To say goodbye?"
"Did you talk with Percy?" Her face immediately dropped. "Great. Did he also tell you what his amazing plan is?"
"That's what you're angry about?" Amaryllis asked and the daughter of Athena send her a furious glare.
"Yes! It's the first quest I'm actually leading and I'm so useless that we need a mortal's help?" She sighed. "It's ridiculous."
Amaryllis did partially understand the girl's frustration. She remembered that ever since they were children, Annabeth always dreamt of the first quest she'd lead. At the same time, she was a very proud person – Percy should have known that her ego would get wounded when he suggested asking for Rachel's help.
"For the quest to succeed, we'll need her. Otherwise, your first quest will fail. Isn't that a risk worth taking?" Amaryllis told her.
"I guess," she muttered, before it dawned on her. "Wait, did you say that we'll need it?"
Amaryllis shrugged. "I decided to tag along."
She thought about it for a moment. She didn't protest immediately, like Percy did, which was promising. Perhaps she thought that if Amaryllis was there, she wouldn't have to speak with Percy. "You've been gone for too long. Are you still in form?" she finally said.
"Wanna test me?" Amaryllis challenged her and turned her ring to a sword, swinging it around easily.
Annabeth smirked at her friend's attitude. "I missed you so much."
"It's good to be back."
𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒.
▊amaryllis, percy and annabeth; soon to be the most iconic trio ever
▊also i thought i should mention that in this fic annabeth is not only completely uninterested in percy, but she's also aroace! it's my personal headcannon for her so yeah <3
▊&& jake mason and amaryllis 👀 it'd be unfair to make percy have ten different love interests and not give my girl some action as well! we all know which ship is endgame either way 💅
▊also i added a graphic gallery in my other book and i was thinking of adding one in this one as well. so if anyone would like to make a graphic for this story, like a cover, moodboards, gifs etc, my discord is nottgrass#1412. you can send it there and ill add it to my gallery, with credits ofc! <3
❛ gone girl. ❜
( part 𝒐𝒏𝒆 of gone girl series )
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