Estelle was born after Percy was betrayed and left Earth.
Theron stared at Estelle for a few moments before blinking back his surprise.
"Yes, please give a round of applause to Thalia and Estelle," the assassin finished.
This all had to be a huge coincidence, right? Sally had always wanted a daughter and the fact Estelle had Sally's mother's name and Paul's last name was no coincidence. Demigods don't get coincidence. And the more that Theron looked at it, the more he saw traces of his mother and step-father there. Estelle had Sally's warm chocolate hair, and Paul's dark eyes.
As the Hunters and Campers left to go back to their cabins, Theron walked up to Estelle.
"Hey, can I talk to you?" he asked.
Estelle looked confused for a moment but nodded.
"Follow me."
The two wandered into the forest until they came across Zeus's Fist. Theron was surprised that the pile of rocks was even still standing after all these years. Maybe the Hecate Cabin had something to do with it.
Theron sat down on one of the rocks and looked over at Estelle. She seemed wary, if not frightened.
"Who's your godly parent?" the Commander asked kindly.
"That's difficult," Estelle frowned, "You see, I wasn't born a demigod. I was born a Clear-Sighted mortal with two amazing parents, Sally and Paul Blofis,"
Theron's throat tightened as he heard this. Estelle was her sister.
"Then how are you at Camp?" the assassin asked, "Shouldn't the borders keep mortals out?"
"They do," Estelle replied, "But Poseidon decided to adopt me,"
"Why?" Theron questioned, "Why did he adopt you?"
"I don't know," the demigod shrugged, "I heard him say that this was a better way to keep me safe,"
Theron put his head in his hands and groaned.
"I know you're lying," Estelle said looking up at the Commander, "I know you know something about Percy Jackson,"
Theron felt like he was trying to swallow a mouse, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Please," Estelle looked close to tears, "Tell me something."
Neither person spoke for a moment, and Estelle sighed. She turned to go back to her cabin when the assassin spoke.
"He's alive," and with that, the Commander burst into flames.
Estelle stood, staring at the place Theron once stood.
He's alive.
Those two words brought so much emotion to the daughter of Poseidon.
Anger.
Sadness.
And most of all, Hope.
Theron flame-traveled into his room at the Chaos Cabin. He took deep breaths and sat down slowly on his bed. This made matters a lot more difficult. His younger sister was on Earth, and looking for him. The assassin sighed and laid down to go to sleep. He closed his eyes and drifted into the realm of Morpheus.
"Who's going to wake him up this time?" a feminine voice whispered.
"Not me! Scout and I woke him up last time!" another voice murmured.
"Let's take a vote," a masculine voice said this time.
More muttering.
Somebody opened Theron's door. The person walked slowly across the wooden floor, trying not to make any noise. However, Theron was an assassin. He trained himself to pick up on the sounds everyone else missed, even in unconsciousness. The assassin grabbed a dagger from one of his many hidden weapon hiding spots. The dagger flew through the air and almost cut the person's ear off. The unknown being gulped but continued to walk towards the sleeping figure. As he approached the bedside, Theron flew from the bed and tackled the anonymous figure. The assassin pinned him to the ground and put a dagger up to his neck.
The lights flickered on revealing a terrified Mercy, and the other laughing Commanders. Theron growled and Mercy disappeared in a breeze of sea mist.
Theron stood up, looked towards the other Commanders, and glared, sending them on another round of giggles.
"Where's Mercy?" Phantom asked, still laughing.
"He'll find himself in Hawaii," Theron replied, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
The Commanders doubled over in full-blown laughter.
"Oh, my...gods!" Hunter said in between breaths, wiping tears from his eyes.
"Let's get going, we're going to miss breakfast," Stardust said, walking out the door.
The Commanders headed over to the Dining Pavilion. Most campers were already awake and talking with their siblings or friends.
The Commanders walked over to their table and sat down, ignoring the stares that the demigods were giving them. Theron was about to summon himself some pancakes when an Iris-Message rippled into view. Mercy stood, looking very angry.
"THERON!" Mercy bellowed, gaining the camp's attention.
"Yes?" he replied in the same innocent tone that he gave Chaos yesterday.
"Why am I in Hawaii?" the son of Hermes asked angrily.
"Why did you try to wake me up?" Theron retorted.
"I didn't want to! They made me!"
Theron smirked, "It doesn't matter. You're probably fast enough to run on top of the water's surface. Oh, an while you're at it, can you stop at Camp Jupiter and ask them to send reinforcements? I have a feeling that Order isn't done with Earth quite yet..."
Mercy huffed, but nodded anyway, and swiped his hand through the IM.
Breakfast passed without much any important event, but Theron couldn't help but notice his sister's calculating eyes that would stare at him throughout the mealtime. The son of the sea couldn't help but remember Estelle's broken eyes when she brought up their lost hero.
Theron finished his breakfast and headed over to the arena, leaving the other Commanders to do as they please. He stepped into the arena to notice that Estelle was already there. SHe must have left earlier.
She held a Celestial Bronze sword in her hands and attacked a training dummy ruthlessly. After a few moments, she threw the sword at the ground and screamed in frustration.
"Stupid swords!" she screamed in fury, "Why can't I find one that's balanced!"
Estelle collapsed to the ground and started to cry. It broke Theron's heart to see his sister like this. The assassin sighed and walked over to the daughter of Poseidon, and cleared his throat. Estelle looked up.
"Oh, it's just you," she whispered, standing back up and dusting off her jeans.
"Can't find a sword, huh?" Theron said looking at the sword that was lying on the ground, "He had the same problem, y' know?"
"Who?"
"Percy. None of them feel right in your hands, do they?" the assassin walked over and picked up the blade, it was a kopis used for Greek soldiers who rode horseback into battle, kind of like Hazel's spatha.
Estelle sighed, "Nope. They're either overbalanced or underbalanced. Never just right,"
Theron hummed in acknowledgment.
"You know, after I met your brother, he gave me something," the Commander looked up and into the eyes of his little sister. Of course, she couldn't see him under his cloak.
"I thought you said you didn't meet him?" Estelle interrogated, looking suspicious.
"Yeah, well I lied," Theron walked back over to the demigod, and reached into the pockets of his cloak. He pulled out a ballpoint pen, and Estelle gasped.
"That's...that's not what I think it is, is it? her eyes were wide with shock.
"It is. He said that it brought back too many memories, and he wanted me to keep it. I never use it, though,"
Truth be told, Theron never realized why he kept the blade. Sometimes, when his ADHD was acting up, he would even twirl it in between his fingers. He hasn't uncapped it since he made Vortex and Serene.
Theron closed his eyes and whispered a prayer, one so quiet that not even Estelle could make out what he was saying.
"Παρουσιάζω τον Anaklusmos στον Estelle Blofis και μεταφέρω την κυριότητα της λεπίδας από μένα σε αυτήν.," (I present Anaklusmos to Estelle Blofis, and transfer the blade's ownership from me to her.)
Theron handed the pen to Estelle, who gingerly accepted the gift. When she held it, the trident mark on the cap glowed brightly for a moment, before returning to normal.
"Go ahead," the Commander said, smirking, "Try it out,"
Estelle uncapped the pen and Riptide sprang into full form, it's bronze metal glittering in the early morning light.
"Wow..." Estelle muttered, examining every inch of the blade, "No matter how many times they describe it, they will never come close to this,"
Estelle swung the sword and it glided through the air, making a SHWUNG sound.
"It's perfect!" she turned to Theron, "Thank you so much!"
Estelle gave him a hug. Theron stood there, shocked for a moment, before gently returning it. Tears brimmed his eyes as they melted into each other's embrace.
The hug only lasted so long, before the conch horn sounded.
The Romans had arrived.
A/N:
Words: 1,440
Published: July 3rd, 2019