*August 22 XXXX*
*Percy's Point of View*
"I've got it!" were the first words on Annabeth's lips the next morning. She ran up to me at breakfast, and grabbed my arm, ripping me out of my chair so swiftly that I was sure that my stomach had been left behind as she dragged me back to her cabin.
Once I stepped over the threshold, I got the distinct feeling that I was in the wrong place. Maybe it was a son-of-Poseidon-instinct, and this was the Athena cabin.
Annabeth didn't even let me regain my bearings before she was dragging me again, this time to the back of the cabin, where one of the beds was covered in papers and scrolls. The rest were neat and tidy, but not Annabeth's. I briefly wondered if she'd even slept, but judging by the bags and crazy look in her eyes, I concluded that she hadn't.
"Annabeth, what have you found?" I decided to use a calm tone with her, as she seemed ready to snap at any moment. I rarely wanted to deal with a crazy normal Annabeth, but a crazy sleep-deprived Annabeth was something of my darkest nightmares.
"I've found the thing that we need!" she exclaimed gleefully. She hopped over to her bed, releasing my arm of her death grip, and gathered up her multitude of papers.
"And what is that?" I asked. I was generally curious.
"The Golden Fleece, of course!" she said, shoving a particular scroll in my face.
I grabbed the scroll, holding it at a reasonable distance from my face so that I could actually read it. The text was old and faded, but I translated it pretty well. Also, the giant inked image of the golden fleece in the center was a huge clue.
As I read, I could feel my eyes widening. Hope was growing in my heart, a warm bubble of optimism. As I reached the end of the scroll, though, my bubble of optimism burst.
"Annabeth," I said, "How are we supposed to get this? Its last known sighting was somewhere in the Sea of Monsters. That's one of the most dangerous places for a demigod."
Annabeth sighed, and I could see her physically draining. "I know...but I thought...maybe a quest could be issued..." She seemed to be trying to come up with any excuse she could think of. I knew why of course. Thalia - the tree - had been a very close friend of hers, so she'd obviously want to do anything to save her.
"We'll take this to Chiron first, and then we can figure out what to do."
Annabeth nodded again, and I could see the need for sleep on her face. So I said: "First, you sleep, then, we'll talk to Chiron. I promise to wait until you're feeling better." I brought her over to sit on her bed, shoving aside the papers so that she could lay down. As soon as I'd tucked her in, her eyes drifted closed, and she went straight to sleep.
I went back to breakfast, hoping to get there before all of my food was gone.
As soon as Annabeth was awake and had some food in her belly, we ran to Chiron with her suggestion.
"Chiron!" I called out to the half-horse man as I saw him in the distance.
He turned, and the two of us sprinted the last little stretch of grass towards him.
"Annabeth, Percy, what brings you two here this fine afternoon?" he asked.
"Chiron, we think we've found a way to heal the tree. I've been up all night searching, and I found something that I know can help, if not, heal the tree," Annabeth explained, holding the scroll out for him to inspect.
Chiron was silent for a few moments after taking the aged parchment from his long-time student. "This may work..." he muttered. "It will be very dangerous, though, and we don't have an exact location as to where it is..." He looked up. "But I think that this is our best bet of saving the tree and ensuring our camp's safety. Thank you, Annabeth," he said, a small smile gracing his features.
Annabeth beamed with pride, taking the parchment back from her mentor and father-figure. I smiled as well, glad that she'd not wasted her time.
"So, will you send out a quest for the fleece?" I asked.
I was itching to do something for camp. Last year, when the campers had learned of my existence, it seemed that they were all jealous of me. They wouldn't show it, but I could tell they were. I knew that they didn't like how I'd grown up on Olympus, believing that I was given 'special treatment', so ever since then, I'd been looking for ways to help out. Maybe if I volunteered for this dangerous quest and helped save the camp, they'd accept me. I hoped they would.
Chiron nodded thoughtfully, "It will be difficult, but I believe that if we have volunteers, we should let this quest go forward."
I looked at Annabeth and smiled. Her smile mirrored mine. There was a chance for us, or someone, to save Camp. Good. At least we had something to cling to for hope.
The day continued on without any mishaps. Chiron had said that he'd announce the quest in three days time, and we would choose our quest-goers then. I felt like it should have been sooner, but Chiron just wanted a few more days to see if he could find the cure. That was his excuse anyway. I felt, deep down, that he was stalling because he felt like if he could find the cure, he shouldn't have to force his beloved students to take such a big risk.
Annabeth and I spent our entire day training and guarding the camp, making sure to keep ourselves and each other on high alert. We were both planning on volunteering, so we'd have to prepare ourselves for the outside world.
The next morning was troubling, though. Annabeth and I met up at breakfast, but when we looked over to where Chiron usually sat at the head table, we saw that he wasn't there. In his place, a ghoulish man sat, chasing a slice of toast across the table. I recognized him immediately. It was Tantalus, one of the ghosts from the fields of punishment, forever cursed to stand in a pond of water under a peach tree, but unable to eat or drink. His appearance caused questions to rise, and soon, I was too distracted to even eat my stack of blue pancakes. Where was Chiron? Why was this ghoul here? Shouldn't he be in the Underworld?
I glanced over at Annabeth, only to see that she was looking over at me as well, looking equally as confused as I was. I raised an eyebrow, asking a silent question: 'do you have any ideas?', but she just shrugged.
***
That night at Campfire, Tantalus rose to give a speech. "Welcome campers! As you may or may not know, I am Tantalus, and I will be taking over for Chiron as your activities director until further notice. Firstly, I'd like to announce that I will be re-establishing a few old rules and introducing a few new activities. Chariot races will happen once a month from now on, with grand prizes available to the winner of each race," he said.
A few murmurs of excitement and confusion rose from the crowd. Some were anticipating the new activities, while the other, more sensible campers were wondering why Tantalus was even there at all. I'm proud to say that I was one of the more sensible campers this time around.
"Also, I've just recently heard from my dear friend, Dionysus－"
"We're not friends, Ted," Dionysus interrupted.
Tantalus continued as if Dionysus hadn't even spoken. "－that you're having a little problem with your borders. Therefore, I shall be assigning a quest for the only thing that can save us: the Golden Fleece!"
I heard Annabeth let out an insulted gasp from beside me. If Tantalus was issuing the quest, then we probably wouldn't be able to volunteer. He would just assign it to any camper he wanted.
"The Fleece's magical power will only help, if not heal the tree back to perfect health. To get it, though, will be a dangerous task. That is why I will assign this quest to only the most skilled warrior in this camp. This warrior must be brave, courageous, and willing to give any sacrifice for the good of the camp! That can only mean one person!"
The crowd grew quiet as Tantalus paused, building suspense.
"This quest can only go to the daughter of the god of war, Hero of the Camp, Clarisse!"
The Ares cabin erupted with cheers, as did Clarisse's other friends.
I saw Annabeth grumbling next to me, looking quite disappointed. We both knew that Clarisse wouldn't choose us as her fellow quest-goers. She'd choose some of her cabin mates, most likely. I laid a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it comfortingly. "Don't worry," I whispered. "You'll get another chance. At least the camp will be saved."
She nodded, though half-heartedly. "I guess you're right."
I walked her back to her cabin after that, as Tantalus had nothing else of importance to say. I knew she didn't feel like joining in with the singing and other festivities, so taking her back to her cabin seemed like the best thing to do. She'd be able to sleep on it and figure out how to deal with everything going on in the morning.
***
As it turned out, not even a full night of sleep could take away Annabeth's disappointment. She arrived at breakfast sluggishly, her posture slumped. When Clarisse left on her quest, Annabeth hung near the back of the crowd, scowling at the dirt, where bugs were scurrying for safety from the scrambling feet.
I stood by her side, Tyson on my left. Clarisse soon disappeared down the road, and many campers left, but Annabeth, Tyson and I remained in place. It was silent between the three of us for a long time, the only sounds being the soft chirping of birds and a few nymphs who were chatting happily nearby.
"Annabeth, are you okay?" I asked finally.
She grunted. "Yeah. It's just－"
"The quest?" I interrupted. "I know how much it means to you."
She shook her head, causing tendrils of her blonde hair to bounce in front of her face. "It's not just that. It's also Chiron. Where could he be? And why is Tantalus, of all people, his replacement?"
It was just then that I noticed that her eyes were slightly red. It was almost impossible to see, but I knew that she'd been crying. Losing Chiron was hard for her.
"I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding. Chiron wouldn't just up and leave us, especially now. Not when we're so vulnerable."
Annabeth nodded, looking up at me. "I know. I'm still worried about him, though. I wish I knew where he went."
I wrapped my arms around her. I knew that Chiron had been like a father to her in many ways, as her own father rarely spent time with her after he married her stepmother. "I get it, Annabeth. I'm sure he's fine. Wherever he is."
***
Published: Saturday, January 7, 2017
~CSP2708~