Prophecy

Y/N wanted to think that Percy took the news well, but his expression clearly defined his distaste for the situation.

The truth was, Percy wanted to strangle the Hunters of Artemis one eternal maiden at a time. The rest of the day he tried to keep busy but was worried sick about Annabeth. He kept messing up in any activity he joined.

At the top of Half-Blood Hill, Mr. D and Argus were feeding the baby dragon that guarded the Golden Fleece. Then it occurred to him: no one would be in the Big House. There was someone else...something else he could ask for guidance.

His blood was humming in his ears as he ran into the house and took the stairs. He'd only done this once before, and he still had nightmares about it. He opened the trap door and stepped into the attic.

Over by the window, sitting on a three-legged stool, was the shriveled-up mummy of an old lady in a tie-dyed hippie dress. The Oracle.

Percy made himself walk toward her. He waited for the green mist to billow from the mummy's mouth like it had before, but nothing happened.

"Hi," he said. "Uh, what's up?"

Percy winced at how stupid that sounded he said a little louder, "I have a question. I need to know about Annabeth. How can I save her?"

No answer. The sun slanted through the dirty attic window, lighting the dust motes dancing in the air.

He waited longer.

Soon he got angry and said, "All right, fine. I'll figure it out myself."

That night after dinner, Percy was seriously ready to beat the Hunters at capture the flag. It was going to be a small game: only thirteen Hunters, including Bianca di Angelo, and about the same number of campers.

Zoe Nightshade looked pretty upset. She kept glancing resentfully at Chiron like she couldn't believe he was making her do this. The other Hunters didn't look too happy, either. Unlike last night, they weren't laughing or joking around. They just huddled together in the dining pavilion, whispering nervously to each other as they strapped on their armor. Some of them even looked like they'd been crying. Maybe Zoe had told them about her nightmare.

One team had Percy, Y/N, Beckendorf, and two other Hephaestus guys, a few from the Ares cabin (though it still seemed strange that Clarisse wasn't around), the Stoll brothers, and Nico from Hermes cabin, and a few Aphrodite kids. It was weird that the Aphrodite cabin wanted to play. Usually, they sat on the sidelines, chatted, and checked their reflections in the river and stuff, but when they heard they were fighting the Hunters, they were raring to go.

"I'll show them 'love is worthless,'" Silena Beauregard grumbled as she strapped on her armor. "I'll pulverize them!"

That left Thalia and Percy.

"I'll take the offense," Thalia volunteered. "You and Y/N can take defense."

"Oh." Percy hesitated because he'd been about to say the exact same thing, only reversed. "Don't you think with your shield and all, you'd be better defense?"

"Well, I was thinking it would make better offense," Thalia said. "Besides, you've had more practice at defense."

"Yeah, no problem," he lied.

"Cool." Thalia turned to help some of the Aphrodite kids, who were having trouble suiting up their armor without breaking their nails.

"Wow, you gave in quick," Y/N chuckled, amused by their interaction. Although they weren't having long conversations as they did before, things were a bit calmer between them. Well, to be clear, Y/N wasn't seeking him out anymore. It became clearer than ever to Percy how exactly they'd been behaving with her as Annabeth went missing. Y/N was never there with them whenever they were having fun but was always there for them when they got into trouble. With Annabeth gone, and their little fight, he slowly began to understand why she preferred to spend time with Harris.

"Hey...you-" Percy got interrupted as Chiron's hoof thundered on the pavilion floor.

"Hm?"

Percy turned to look at her. Y/N's eyes looked dull. She looked like she didn't get much sleep. He should've asked how she was doing. But...her eyes were still really pretty.

He snapped out of his thoughts as Chiron started the announcement and said, "Nothing."

[ TIME SKIP ]

"Percy!" Chiron pleaded.

Well, Camp-Half Blood lost and it was because of both Thalia and Percy. They had a little spat and were now ready to have a full-on fight. Y/N watched them from a distance. She didn't want to get in between their fight and look like some kind of messiah, saving the day by stopping her two friends' fight. They had some issues and they needed to sort it out - in what way was none of her concern. To be honest, her mind was too busy worrying about Annabeth. She already lost her aim a couple of times which made her mood bitter. She was in no mood to resolve the fight.

Percy was about to hurl it at Thalia when he saw something in the woods. He lost his anger and concentration all at once. The water splashed back into the creekbed. Thalia was so surprised that she turned to see what he was looking at.

Someone... something was approaching. It was shrouded in a murky green mist, but as it got closer, the campers and Hunters gasped.

"This is impossible," Chiron said. I'd never heard him sound so nervous. "It... she has never left the attic. Never."

And yet, the withered mummy that held the Oracle shuffled forward until she stood in the center of the group. Mist curled around their feet, turning the snow a sickly shade of green.

None of them dared to move. Then her voice hissed inside their head. Apparently, everyone could hear it, because several clutched their hands over their ears.

'I am the spirit of Delphi, the voice said. Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python.'

The Oracle regarded him with its cold, dead eyes. Then she turned unmistakably toward Zoe Nightshade.

'Approach, Seeker, and ask.'

Zoe swallowed. "What must I do to help my goddess?"

The Oracle's mouth opened, and green mist poured out. They saw the vague image of a mountain, and a girl standing at the barren peak. It was Artemis, but she was wrapped in chains, fettered to the rocks. She was kneeling, her hands raised as if to fend off an attacker, and it looked like she was in pain. The Oracle spoke:

'Six shall go west to the goddess in chains,

One shall be lost in the land without rain,

The bane of Olympus shows the trail,

Campers and Hunters combined prevail,

The Titan's curse must one withstand,

And one shall perish by a parent's hand.'

Then, as they were watching, the mist swirled and retreated like a great green serpent into the mummy's mouth. The Oracle sat down on a rock and became as still as she'd been in the attic as if she might sit by this creek for a hundred years.

[ TIME SKIP ]

Dionysus later called the council of cabin leaders to discuss the prophecy. Since almost all of the Apollo cabin members were not in the camp, Thalia suggested that she should attend. As the meeting started, everyone started talking about the prophecy and its meaning. Y/N quietly observed everyone. She was just waiting for the right moment to talk, that is when the members would be selected - who should be out there to help.

She has been training a lot and her healing abilities improved a lot. She just knew, that whoever got selected, she has to be in there to act as a healer. That was what she was good at. Well, apart from that she also improved a lot on other grounds - practicing hymns, archery, shock waves, etc.

And as expected, she was included in it. Y/N could only feel pity for Percy. It must be killing him inside cause he was the only one who was thinking about Annabeth all the time. Currently, she was sitting along with Zoe and Bianca, trying to explain how Phoebe cannot be cured as quickly as they expected her.

"How are you going to heal us then if you can't even heal Phoebe?" Bianca asked.

Y/N sighed. This was the result of a foolish prank from the Stoll brothers. Centaur blood is like acid and they sprayed the inside of that Artemis Hunting Tour T-shirt with it. "Look, for the time being, I can make sure it's not so painful for her. But even to heal it with my power, it's gonna take weeks."

It's a lie.

At the most, she could heal Phoebe in two days. Of course, she would prepare everything to make sure Phoebe is healed within a week. With the members of Apollo cabin missing, no one is there to tell them the truth anyway. And no one knew to what extent she improved. This was the only chance to include Percy. Besides, she was sure that Zoe wouldn't wait to see how better Phoebe's condition gets after taking the medicine. Before they could realize it, they would already be out to help Annabeth.

She couldn't help but be selfish about it. If she knew Percy even a little bit, she was sure that he wasn't going to stay in the camp anyway. He would sneak out once again. God knows how, where and what he could be doing alone. It would be better to include him than to do nothing, knowing he was about to be kicked out of the camp again.

"She will live," Zoe said. "But she'll be bedridden for weeks with horrible hives. There is no way she can go. It's up to me... and thee."

"But the prophecy," Bianca said. "If Phoebe can't go, we only have five. We'll have to pick another."

"There is no time," Zoe said. "We must leave at first light. That's immediately. Besides, the prophecy said we would lose one."

"We can include Percy, you know. I swear you won't have to deal with him in any way."

"The prophecy said we will lose one," Zoe looked straight into her eyes and said, "We both know you don't want that."

"How are you even sure it's gonna be him?" Y/N asked in a tone filled with annoyance.

"No, I know that if six of us go, one is bound to..." she cleared her throat, "There's less chance of that if only five of us go."

Bianca was silent. "You should tell her the rest of your dream."

"What dream?" Y/N asked.

"No. It would not help."

"But if your suspicions are correct, about the General—"

"I have thy word not to talk about that," Zoe said. She sounded really anguished. "We will find out soon enough. Now come. Dawn is breaking."

As the girls sprinted down the steps, Y/N stopped and turned to her left. She could swear she heard someone breathe. Bianca yelled, "The lights of the Big House are on. Hurry!" And she followed her out of the pavilion.

Percy was almost caught. Y/N had a good sense of hearing. He almost made a sound when Y/N turned to look at him.

For a moment, he couldn't look away. They were standing so close to each other and her eyes...were glistening. Oh, she was trying her best to not cry on the spot. She tried her best for him, didn't she? His eyes couldn't help but go down to her lips.

Thankfully, Bianca called her at the right moment. He almost forgot the position he was standing in.