When they returned to camp the next morning, Mr D had been about to explode with rage until he saw the smile that glittered on his daughter's face when she wandered up to the pavilion.
And for the next couple of weeks, things seemed normalish. They rotated through activities, sang campfire songs and Cressida was even able to drag Pollux out of bed.
It was the last day of summer, but Pollux was staying. After Cressida had told him that they couldn't avenge their brother if he stayed in bed all day, he was instantly on his feet, Clarisse promising to keep an eye on him and make sure he didn't overdo it with training. Annabeth was sticking around to make sure Chiron was ok and would leave shortly after to head back to San Francisco and the private school she'd be attending.
Percy was also heading back to Manhattan, but he was only doing so with the promise on the River Styx that Cressida would come to his house for his birthday.
The three of them were sitting together on Half-Blood Hill as they talked about it, Cressida drawing pictures in the sand as Annabeth said she'd keep an eye out for somebody that she refused to name. Luke.
Even in her semi-vegetative state, Cressida knew of Annabeth's reluctance to speak of her ex-friend. She'd shut out any talk of him lest they open up a huge box of hurt, worry and anger.
"Annabeth?" Percy asked after a time. "What was the rest of the prophecy?"
Annabeth fixed her eyes on the woods in the distance and didn't say anything.
"You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze. The dead, the traitor and the lost one raise," Percy recited. They'd raised a lot of the dead. They'd saved Ethan Nakamura who turned out to be a traitor and they'd raised the spirit of Pan, the lost one.
Annabeth shook her head like she wanted him to stop because the words physically pained her.
"You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand," Cressida continued this time. "It turned out to be Nico and not Minos like we'd originally thought. Nico chose our side and saved us."
"And the child of Athena's final stand - that was Daedalus," Percy said. "And we know what the last two lines meant. The purple demigod shall turn the tide, and the fallen shall come from both sides."
Cressida shook her head. "It wasn't me," she muttered, fidgeting with the heart-shaped charm on her bracelet, the one that Castor had put there on her very first quest three years ago. "It was Castor." She was staring at the sand as if she was trying to find the strength to say what she needed to say. "He changed everything; he changed the tide of the battle when he fell."
Percy only reached to squeeze her hand before he turned back to Annabeth. "But those other two lines -"
"Percy-"
"Destroy with a hero's final breath. That makes sense now. Daedalus died to destroy the labyrinth. But what was the last -"
"And lose a love to worse than death." Annabeth had tears in her eyes. "That was the last line, Percy. Are you happy now?"
"Oh my gods, Books," Cressida exhaled, the fact that the battle was over and her magic had faded, meaning that Annabeth would feel all the pain about Luke that she made her numb to. She scooted over to let Annabeth rest her head on her shoulder.
"Oh," Percy said dumbly. "So Luke -"
"I didn't know who the prophecy was talking about. I – I didn't know if..." She faltered helplessly. "Luke and I – for years, he was the only one who really cared about me. I thought..."
Before she could continue, a sparkle of light appeared next to them, like someone had opened a gold curtain in the air. "You have nothing to apologize for, my dear."
Standing on the hill was a tall woman in a white dress, her dark hair braided over her shoulder.
"Hera," Annabeth said darkly as they all rose to their feet.
The goddess smiled. "You found the answers, as I knew you would. Your quest was a success."
"A success?" Annabeth said. "Luke is gone. Daedalus is dead. Pan is dead. How is that –"
"Our family is safe," Hera insisted. "Those others are better gone, my dear. I am proud of you."
"My family isn't safe. My brother is dead," Cressida said venomously, her eyes simmering as if they were about to burst into flames.
"And that is unfortunate, but such are the ways of war. There are always casualties."
"Casualties?!" Cressida exclaimed, enraged as she took a step forward as if she was about to tackle the goddess, only for Percy and Annabeth to hold her back. Both of them were angry, sure, but not as much as Cressida had the right to be as her eyes flamed.
"You're the one who paid Geryon to let us through the ranch, weren't you?" Percy spat.
Hera shrugged. Her dress shimmered in rainbow colours. "I wanted to speed you on your way."
"But you didn't care about Nico. You were happy to see him turned over to the Titans."
"Oh, please." Hera waved her hand dismissively. "The son of Hades said it himself. No one wants him around. He does not belong."
"He's the one that saved your precious family!" Cressida shouted.
"Hephaestus was right," Percy growled. "You only care about your perfect family, not real people."
Her eyes turned dangerously bright. "Watch yourself, son of Poseidon. I guided you more than you know in the maze. I was at your side when you faced Geryon. I let your arrow fly straight, though it was not my fault he managed to move out of the way. I sent you to Calypso's island. I opened the way to the Titans' Mountain. Annabeth, my dear, surely you see how I've helped. I would welcome a sacrifice for my efforts."
"Oh, I'll sacrifice something alright," Cressida promised, her eyes still on fire as Percy held her back (which would've been a lot harder if he was shorter than her), knowing that he'd never be able to take her on a date if she wrestled the Queen of the Gods to the floor because only she would wrestle the Queen of the Gods to the floor and he wasn't sure that her father would be able to save her from the consequences of that.
Annabeth, however, was as still as a statue. She could've said thank you. She could've promised to throw some barbecue on the brazier for Hera and forget the whole thing. But she clenched her jaw stubbornly. She looked just the way she had when she'd faced the Sphinx – like she wasn't going to accept an easy answer, even if it got her in serious trouble - well less trouble than Cressida would get into if she was given her way with Hera.
"Percy is right." She turned her back on the goddess. "You're the one who doesn't belong, Queen Hera. So next time, thanks... but no thanks."
Hera's sneer was worse than an empousa's. Her form began to glow. "You will regret this insult, Annabeth. You will both regret this very much."
And Percy covered Cressida's eyes as he averted his own gaze and the goddess turned into her true divine form and disappeared in a blaze of light.
The hilltop was peaceful again. Over at the pine tree, Peleus the dragon dozed under the Golden Fleece as if nothing had happened.
Percy hesitantly let Cressida go as the light faded and they opened their eyes. She looked murderous; downright homicidal as the fire in her eyes flickered as she struggled to get a handle on her fury.
"I'm sorry," Annabeth blurted. "I -I should get back. I'll keep in touch. Take care, Seaweed Brain," she said before jogging back down the hill, not looking back once as she left the two of them alone, she just needed a minute alone.
"I would call you Drama Queen but I'm afraid that you'll kill me instead of Hera," Percy said nervously, getting no reaction out of her.
"I thought you were dead for two weeks because of her. She almost got Nico killed and us by extension. She's the reason Castor is dead, and she called him an unfortunate casualty?!" she raged as her spear appeared in her hands and she ran it through a tree.
Argus honked his horn down at the road, trying to summon Percy who flinched at the sound.
"Shit! Cress, I gotta go. Are you going to be ok?" he wondered apprehensively.
"I'll be fine once I hit something. I think I'll go spar with Pollux. Papa only knows how angry he'll be once he hears what that woman said about Castor. Papa only knows how angry Papa will be when he finds out what Hera said."
"But I'll still see you for my birthday?"
"I swore on the Styx. And I pity the person that tries to keep me from that."
"And don't get me a gift."
"Again, try and stop me and not only will I hit you, but I will get you an I-heart-New-York T-shirt instead."
"And I'll take it gladly," Percy said as he kissed her cheek and suddenly some of her fire went out. "See you in two days, Wine Vine."
"See you around, Fish Face."
And she pulled her spear from the tree as she spun it and started heading for the sword arena. "Oh, Polly!"