At the End of the Road
1. Luke & Beckendorf : so we meet again
The sky is an endless spread of untainted azure, without a cloud in sight. Rows upon rows of elegant, well-constructed houses (Annabeth would love this place, he thinks wryly) border the wide, stone path the son of Hermes is strolling along, and their large, unblemished glass windows sparkle in the midday sunlight.
Elysium is beautiful, but this is not the destination Luke has in mind. Where is the River Lethe?
He spots the back of a tall man nearby, slowly ambling forwards as if deep in thought. His back is to Luke. He jogs up, deciding to ask for directions.
"Excuse me, sir," he begins to say, but trails off when the man turns around and stares Luke in the eyes.
"Luke Castellan?" he rumbles. His deep voice carries a hint of surprise, but is otherwise emotionless.
"Beckendorf!" Luke exclaims in recognition. But the spark of surprise quickly fades away, and his gaze drops to the ground. "Uh, listen..."
He knows what he wants to say. He knows what he should say. But for some reason—perhaps his pride—he can't get the words to form. Everything comes back to him in a rush—the Princess Andromeda, Percy and Beckendorf's infiltration, the greek fire that threatened his plans, the final confrontation, Percy's anguished and desperate escape... and the explosion that took Beckendorf's life.
"I was watching, you know," the son of Hephaestus says softly, interrupting his thoughts.
Luke jerks his head up, thinking Beckendorf is talking about the ship.
"It seems like you did the right thing in the end. Made the right choice. Became a hero. I still don't like what you did before, and what you did to Silena, but—"
Luke desperately wants to say something, but he's speechless. How does one respond to that?
"—but I forgive you. You had a change of heart in the end. You saved Western civilization. You saved... all of them." Beckendorf's usual hard expression softens, and he gives Luke a friendly nod—or at least as close to friendly as he can, given how they had last parted ways.
"I should go," he tells Luke, turning around and walking away. "Silena's waiting for me."
Just before he's out of sight, he pauses and turns to face Luke one last time. "By the way, the River Lethe's over there." He points a thick finger at a faintly glimmering stretch of water in the distance before he rounds the corner and is out of sight.
Luke is still standing there, frozen, but suddenly, he realizes he has yet to say anything.
It's too late though. Elysium is not his destination and if he doesn't know if he can face the son of Hephaestus again, after causing his death.
But he whispers the words anyway.
"I'm sorry, Beckendorf."
And he, too, walks away.
A/N: This is my first Percy Jackson and the Olympics fic, and I'd really appreciate feedback or concrit. Thanks and see you next drabble!