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chapter sixteen ˏˋ°•*⁀➷
016. Lacking Letters and Chariot Racing Take Two
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Cassie wanted to curl up in her bed and just pass out.
At last they were home after a short trip of riding the centaurs. The brunette hit it off with her centaur pretty well.
The duo would make stupid jokes together and plan new weapons the centaurs could used for later.
There was an awkward silence between Chiron and Percy the entire journey back. Cassie would ask one of them about later.
On a positive side, Clarisse had arrived not much before them.
Cassie was excited to be home, but gods did she want a nap. All this sea travel and constant moving made her miss her warm comfy bed.
She was really woken up when her centaur started jumping excitedly. She may have fallen off . . .
Apparently, Chiron's relatives could not wait to meet Dionysus. Some rumors that he threw the wildest parties were going around.
Much to their disappointment, Mr. D would rather turn them into dolphins than celebrate.
He was forced out of the comfort of the Big House, as the campers crowded Half-Blood Hill, making him grouchier than normal.
The past two weeks had been rough. It was evident with the now burnt arts and crafts cabin.
Cassie cursed under her breath. For once she would have gone to the lesson to make a bracelet or two.
According to Will some Draco Aionius, huge lizards with explosive breath had destroyed it. The Apollo kids were dealing with the stress of taking care of everyone.
There were so many injured that even the Big House was running out of room. And it was pretty big.
Other campers had cuts and bruises littering their skin.
For once, Cassie got to the tell The Will Solace to get some rest and not overwork himself. Normally it was the other way around.
She threw her arm around the younger blonde boy as they watched Clarisse approach Thalia's tree.
Right when her sister put the Fleece on the lowest branch, everything seemed to light up.
The moonlight shone through the clouds and a refreshing breeze swayed the grass.
The fireflies' glow brightened, the sweet smell of strawberries filled the air, and the sound of the waves crashing again the shore became more apparent.
Suddenly, the pine needles rose, changing from deathly brown to vibrant green.
Cheering erupted from the campers as slowly but surely the poison was being removed from the tree. New power replaced it.
Chiron decided the tree must be guarded 24-7 to avoid something like this happening again. Until he could find some monster to protect it of course.
He'd place an ad in Olympus Weekly as soon as he could.
While the centaur was busy muttering about that, Cassie had joined the rest of her siblings to carry Clarisse on their shoulders.
They brought her to the amphitheater where Chiron gave her a laurel wreath and at the campfire there was tons of cheering.
Cassie didn't expect anything. She was just happy her friends and sister were back safe.
Their reward for helping was that no one brought up them sneaking out. If someone did they'd have to be expelled.
But to be honest, neither of the three wanted extra attention. It was good to be a normal camper for once.
Later that night, Cassie found herself leaning on Annabeth's shoulder as they roasted marshmallows.
The Stolls were telling some spooky story about a wicked king who was eaten alive by demon breakfast pastries.
The daughter of Ares couldn't stop laughing because of how stupid it was. Annabeth's shoulder would shake as Cassie died of laughter.
The blonde would glance down and smile, amused by her amusement.
Meanwhile, Clarisse shoved Percy from behind to get his attention.
Subtly she whispered, "Just because you were cool one time, Jackson, don't think you're off the hook with Ares. I'm still waiting for the right opportunity to pulverize you."
Percy forced a tight lip smile.
"What?" Clarisse questioned.
Percy shook his head. "Nothing. Just good to be home."
༻ ─── •✧💢✧• ─── ༺
Sadly, the party ponies had to leave for Florida the next morning.
On a more exciting note, Chiron had a surprise announcement that the chariot races would be happening as scheduled.
All the campers thought the races would be history after Tantalus' firing, but it felt right to redo them.
Now the camp was safe and Chiron was back.
In addition to the chariot races, the former and better activities director made an adjustment.
"The maximum riders is now three." The centaur informed, sending a smile to Cassie, Annabeth, and Percy.
They all shared a look of mutual agreement. That prize would be their's, no doubt about it
This time, Tyson didn't feel like getting back in the chariot after what happened last time, so he became their designated pit crew.
That left the trio to decided their roles. Obviously Cassie was defending. Percy decided to drive and Annabeth would help the daughter of Ares.
Percy went off to work with the horses while Tyson fixed and added to Athena's chariots. Cassie couldn't name all the new features even if she tried. (Which she didn't)
The next two days were filled with training. The three agreed that if they won, they would split the prize between the Athena and Poseidon cabins.
Cassie would also get some but her cabin was competing separately so she wasn't winning for them.
The prize of no chores would mostly go to the Athena cabin which was much bigger. Cassie and Percy didn't really care for the prize.
The daughter of Ares' winning nature kicked in.
༻ ─── •✧💢✧• ─── ༺
The night before the race, Cassie went to bed early. She wasn't waking up at the crack of dawn without at least eight hours asleep.
Even that wasn't enough but knowing Annabeth, she would just barge into Cabin 5 and drag the brunette out of bed.
Cassie couldn't tell if she liked it better when Annabeth didn't dare set foot in her Cabin, or now when the blonde randomly walked in whenever.
But she was too busy sleeping to wonder about that, that is until a noise woke her up.
The brunette groaned, rubbing her eyes. What idiot was knocking on her Cabin's door at 1 in the morning. So much for beauty sleep.
She looked around and all of her siblings were still asleep. How they didn't wake up to the constant knocking was a mystery to Cassie.
She got out of bed, tugging on her black oversized sleep shirt. Her red plaid pants dragged along the ground as she walked to the door.
The daughter of Ares opened it slowly, and of course the idiot was Percy.
"Kelp Head, why are you here? Did someone die?"
Percy didn't make some sassy reply, telling the girl something was off.
"What's wrong?"
The son of Poseidon visibly swallowed before stretching his hand to her.
There was a red envelope in his hand. Cassie lightly took it from him.
Percy spoke up for the first time. "Hermes talked to me about . . . Luke. He told me to give that to you, I got one too."
He held up a ripped open blue envelope.
"Mine was from my dad so yours is probably from . . . yours. I didn't know if you'd want to read it or not."
The son of Poseidon scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, waiting for her reply.
Cassie didn't say anything. She flipped the envelope over.
The terrible chicken scratch was definitely Ares'. With difficulty from the bad writing and her dyslexia the brunette eventually read:
Cassandra Carter
c/a Camp Half-Blood
Farm Road 3.141
Long Island, New York 11954
Well it was for her, so she might as well read it. Maybe the bastard had something good to say but her hopes weren't that high.
Cassie shook out of her thoughts, remembering Percy was still waiting in front of her.
"Oh, uh thanks Perc. I'll probably read it later. Right now I'm gonna go bury myself back in my blankets. You should get some sleep too."
The brunette gave the son of Poseidon a side hug and waved goodbye before sitting back on her own bed.
She might've lied but it wasn't a big one. Of course she was gonna read the letter right now.
Cassie turned on her bedside lamp which was quite dim. It only lit her part of the room. Just enough that she could read without ruining her eyes.
The daughter of Ares opened the envelope. Inside was a folded piece of paper.
She didn't know what she was expecting but it definitely wasn't a short letter in her father's writing.
Brace Yourself.
You're more important than you think.
Also still waiting for those sunglasses I was promised because I kept your girlfriend alive.
༻ ─── •✧💢✧• ─── ༺
This time when Cassie woke up she was even more disturbed.
Instead of shaking her slightly, Annabeth decided that pushing the brunette onto the ground was a better way to go about it.
Cassie let out a groan as she hit the floor with a thud!
"Fuck you." She let out, already knowing who had pushed her. She predicted this would happen.
Annabeth smirked but rolled her eyes, "Language, Carter. There's children around."
Cassie raised her middle finger, cuddling into the blanket still on the floor.
The blonde had the audacity to laugh and the daughter of Ares swore time slowed.
The melodious giggle from Annabeth's lips washed away any annoyance Cassie had felt.
"Well at least have the decency to help me up, Brainiac."
The daughter of Athena grabbed the brunette's hand and pulled her to her feet.
"There. Better?" Annabeth raised an eyebrow, small smile on her face.
"Much. Now let me go back to sleep."
"Nope! Come on Warpath."
Then Cassie found herself outside with the rest of the campers. How they all willed themselves to get up this early was a mystery to the brunette.
Annabeth's hand was intertwined with hers as she dragged the daughter of Ares over to Percy.
The son of Poseidon was laughing at something Grover said. Cassie smiled. It had been a while since all four of them were together happily.
It was so different compared to the anxious atmosphere surrounding them. All the campers were watching the sky, anticipating another Stymphalian birds incident.
None showed up. It was the perfect day. Especially for a second attempt at chariot racing.
The grass was green and healthy, the white columns of the cabins shone in the sun, and dryads dancing graceful in the woods.
But it made Cassie remember the letter her father had wrote. She let out a scoff, drawing Annabeth's attention.
"What?" The blonde asked.
Cassie just shook her head, placing her head on the daughter of Athena's shoulder.
"Nothing blondie. Parents."
That told Annabeth all she needed to know. She left Cassie to her thoughts, while still be used as a pillow.
Brace Yourself.
You're more important than you think.
What's that supposed to mean. Why should she "brace herself".
And why does everyone keep telling her "she's more important than she thinks".
What importance? And why should she brace for it.
Also no way in hell was her dad getting her sunglasses. He had his own and it's not her fault he has trashy taste when it comes to glasses design.
And Annabeth was not her girlfriend!
'Stupid fathers and their stupid brief warning!'
She deserves to know more than that. He made it seem like her life was on the line.
What is she bracing for? Why is she important?
Her dad better have a good explanation next time she saw him. And Cassie had a feeling it would be soon.
༻ ─── •✧💢✧• ─── ༺
Annabeth and Percy brought the chariot onto the track. The brunette was busy getting weapons they probably didn't need.
Tyson had done a lot of changes on the Athena chariot and dam did it look good. The carriage glowed when the sun reflected of its bronze reinforcements.
The wheels were perfectly lined with magical suspension so they cruised without a bump. The rigging for the horses was amazing.
With the smallest tug the team turned without the chariot unbalancing.
Cassie's favorite part was the two javelins he had made. Their shafts had 3 buttons.
The first made the javelin explode on impact and release a razor wire. That could easily tangle and shred an opponent's wheels.
The second made a blunt bronze spear head appear that could knock a driver from his carriage. And even though it was blunt, it didn't hurt any less.
The last button formed a grappling hook that could pull or push their enemies' chariots.
They were totally gonna win this. Cassie knew for a fact, but Tyson warned that the other teams had their own tricks up their togas.
Annabeth went to go check all the weapons Cassie was piling. She sensed that Tyson and Percy needed some time to talk brother to brother.
The blonde chuckled when she saw the pile of weapons.
"Carter, we're not gonna need like half of these."
Cassie rolled her eyes. "And how do you know that? The more the merrier."
The daughter of Athena laughed. "And where exactly do you plan to fit all these."
"You're holding them!" Cassie shrugged.
"Uh huh sure Warpath. Did you forget you could just summon them into your hand."
The brunette's silence gave Annabeth the answer.
"You're such an idiot you know."
"Yeah but a hot idiot."
That caught Annabeth off guard. The blonde didn't know how to reply.
Was it a lie necessarily? No. But would she admit that out loud? Also no.
Cassie smirked at the daughter of Athena's flustered hesitance.
"Kidding of course. Don't think to hard about it Brainiac."
The brunette patted Annabeth's cheek with a wink, before walking to put the weapons she stockpiled away.
"Carter!" The blonde blushed bright red.
Cassie just laughed, disappearing out of sight.
Annabeth rolled her eyes, but the smile never left her face.
She glanced to where Percy and Tyson were still talking.
Percy had a new watch and looked speechless while Tyson was on the verge of tears. The two hugged and Annabeth took that at her sign.
"Percy! Come on!" She yelled.
Chiron was waiting at the starting line, ready to sound the conch. Cassie came running towards their chariot.
"Tyson . . ." Percy's voice faltered.
"Go. You will win!" The cyclops encouraged.
"I—yeah, okay, big guy. We'll win this one for you." Percy got into the chariot, the girls following after him.
Chiron blew the conch and the race was on.
They shot down the track, the horses already pros. They went so fast that the trio would've fallen out if they hadn't been holding tight.
The chariot glided smoothly, wheels working beautifully. By the first turn they were already a chariot-length ahead of Clarisse.
But to be fair, Cassie's sister was busy fighting the Stolls and their strange javelins.
"We've got 'em!" Percy cheered.
"You're gonna jinx it." Cassie yelled back.
And he did.
"Incoming!" Annabeth cried out.
She chucked her first javelin, grappling hook style. It blocked a net from the Apollo cabin.
Michael grinned and just as Cassie went to throw, he threw a javelin into their right wheel.
The weapon shattered but snapped some of their spokes. It was a miracle their chariot didn't loose a wheel or collapse.
Percy sped up and they were keeping up with Apollo. Hephaestus was right behind them.
Meanwhile Ares and Hermes were losing speed, too occupied fighting.
The chariot shook and Cassie knew one more hit and they tip over.
So when Lee yelled from his chariot: "You're mine!" Cassie did something either very smart or super dumb.
"You wish," she scoffed, taking the second javelin. Aiming it right at his chest, Cassie threw it.
Down tumbled Lee who took Michael with him. Their horses headed straight for the crowd. Campers dodged the ponies who jumped over the bleacher corner.
The chariot flipped over and was dragged along for the ride.
Percy kept their chariot up and running through the second turn. That was pretty skillful considering the wobbly right wheel.
Cassie was silently cheering as they passed the finish line. One lap to go.
The axle wasn't doing to well though. It creaked with each slight movement. The shaky wheel lost them speed, not matter how well the horses were doing.
Hephaestus was on their tail.
Beckendorf grinned and he pressed a button on his chariot's control console. Cables sprang from his mechanical horses and latched onto their back rail.
Annabeth let out some curse words in ancient greek. She took out her knife and tried to slice the ropes.
"Can't cut them!" she announced.
The Hephaestus chariot was just about ready to run them over now.
"Switch with me! Take the reins!" Percy ordered.
"But—"
"Trust me!"
Annabeth gave in, moving past Percy to the front. Cassie grabbed onto the son of Poseidon, pulling him next to her.
The daughter of Ares summoned her sword and Percy uncapped Riptide.
"On 3! 1..., 2..., 3!" Cassie shouted.
Both her and Percy slashed and the cables snapped.
They tipped forward while Beckendorf's driver manage to pull next to them.
Beckendorf drew his sword and made a jab towards Annabeth. Cassie blocked and parried it away with her own sword.
If anyone wasn't too careful they'd be shocked by red electricity.
Percy was busy blocking any hits Beckendorf made at Cassie. The brunette too distracted keeping a certain blonde safe.
At this rate they'd never make it. They had to disable Hephaestus' chariot and somehow get it out of the track. But they also needed to protect themselves.
As nice as Beckendorf was, if your guard was down it would be a nasty trip to the infirmary.
They were basically tied with Clarisse advancing from behind. She caught up pretty well.
"Hey Risse!" Cassie called, waving.
Annabeth yanked her forward handing her the reins.
"Don't get distracted!"
Cassie sighed and Beckendorf locked eyes with her.
"See ya, Cass! Here's a little parting gift!"
A leather pouch landed in their chariot. The floor started smoking green.
"Greek fire!" Annabeth warned.
Cassie groaned. "Fuck this."
"Cassie!" Percy scolded, still exasperated himself.
They were going to explode in ten seconds.
"Get rid of it!" Annabeth demanded, but neither could.
"A bit busy driving the chariot here Chase and you know avoiding crashing, killing is all."
"Not you Carter!"
But Percy couldn't do anything either. The Hephaestus chariot was staying with them to make sure their present exploded.
Beckendorf was jabbing and slashing, keeping Percy occupied. Annabeth was trying to deal with the driver.
If any of the three let their guard down, someone would get cut.
The son of Poseidon tried to kick away the pouch but it got stuck.
Then finally the Kelp Head remembered his new watch.
He didn't know what it would do but Percy was able to punch the button on it. It changed in the blink of an eye.
Swirling, it expanded like those old-fashioned camera shutters. A leather strap fit around Percy's arm and then he was holding a shield.
It was atleast 4 feet wide and had a soft leather inside. The outside had engravings but no one had enough time to look at the designs.
All that matter was Tyson's gift worked. Percy used his shield and clang! Beckendorf's sword shattered to pieces.
"What? How—"
He never got to finish his sentence because Percy used his new shield to knock the son of Hephaestus. Beckendorf managed not to fall out but not when Cassie retaliated.
The daughter of Ares had handed the reigns back over to Annabeth.
She poked Beckendorf in the chest with the back of her sword sending him out of his chariot. He landed in the dirt.
"See ya, Beck! That was a little parting gift."
Cassie smirked in triumph, forgetting all about the fire. Percy was focused on lashing at the driver.
Annabeth yelped, "Cassie! Percy!"
The Greek fire was sparking and Cassie's shoe caught on fire.
"Aaaahh!" The daughter of Ares shrieked.
She stomped and the fire on her foot was extinguished. Percy scooped up the pouch with his sword and flipped in like a pancake at the Hephaestus driver.
He screeched and made the smart choice of diving out of the chariot as it was set aflame. The horses short-circuited.
They pulled the burning chariot toward Ares cabin's chariot and the Hermes chariot. The two barely manage to swerve out of the way.
Annabeth held the reigns, pulling for the last turn. Cassie suspected they would capsize and end up losing.
Percy would've agreed and Annabeth would've scolded the two to have more faith in her.
Because sure enough she got them across the finish line and the camp burst with applause.
Annabeth slowed the chariot and they were tackled by their friends.
Cassie's siblings wrapped her in a hug. That wasn't a common sight, especially with Cabin 5.
The brunette beamed as her siblings chanted her name. Even Clarisse disregarded her loss to cheer Cassie on.
Annabeth who was busy being crowded by her own siblings couldn't help but look over to the daughter of Ares.
The wide grin on Cassie's face and the sparkle of pride in her eyes, brought a big smile onto Annabeth's lips.
"Hold up! Listen! It wasn't just us!"
The crowd wouldn't quiet down but Annabeth yelled loud enough to be heard.
"We couldn't have done it without somebody else! We couldn't have won this race or gotten the Fleece or saved Grover or anything! We owe our lives to Tyson, Percy's . . ."
"Brother!" The son of Poseidon finished. "Tyson, my baby brother."
Tyson flushed and the crowd roared.
"Yeah you loser better not say anything—"
Cassie was interrupted by Annabeth grabbing her and planting a kiss on her cheek.
The campers got even louder after that. Percy and the Stolls whooping while smirking.
Cassie's face turned bright red but she didn't get the chance to say anything because she was picked up onto her sibling's shoulders.
Annabeth, Percy, and Tyson were being carried as well toward Chiron. They were placed on the winner's platform and given laurel wreaths.
Cassie took in the cheering of the crowd with her arm wrapped around the daughter of Athena and a dopey smile on her face.
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ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ author's note
Who missed me?! Because i'm backkkk... for now 🥲
My schedule's still a mess but should clear up hopefully half way through November or beginning of December!
Should i have posted this? probably not because i haven't written anything else 😅
I've been focusing on opening a moodboard shop which you should check out if your interested.
But now my attention is back to writing whenever i can! 😁
No promises when the next chapter will be out but hopefully less than 2 weeks :)
Act 2 comes to a close next chapter!!! yayayayay!! 🤩
Thanks for reading and sorry this was so late! i couldn't deprive you guys any longer...
oh and AAHAHAHAH the first Cassibeth kiss sorta. so cute!! 😍
but yeah this was long so byeeee
—Just Another Overthinker