Maria Sophia di Nero hummed to herself as she mused through her memories at Camp Half-Blood. She doesn't doubt that she misses the days she spent there, but the girl tried her best to bottle it up as much as she could. Maria's first summer at the camp was when she was thirteen, the year her father had passed away in an accident. Grover had brought her from her home in Los Angeles to Camp Half-Blood after that and there she had stayed ever since.
A small smile played at her lips when she recalled the first time she shot an arrow and joined in a game of Capture the Flag. Being true to her blood, Maria never did like sports and rough games – especially if it meant getting hurt or dirty. She'd much rather sit at the side-lines along with her half-brothers and sisters of the Aphrodite cabin. Besides, it was much more fun to watch instead of tackling other demigods and end up sprawled across a stretcher, being healed by one of the Apollo kids. But the main reason why she enjoyed watching them was because Maria could come up with a reason to watch Luke.
Luke Castellan, son of Hermes and the eye candy of practically all her half-sisters – not to mention some of her half-brothers, but then again, who's counting? Maria mused over the time she first met him. He was sixteen, she was fourteen, it was a bright and sunny day, and the birds were singing and the Ares kids were charging from every angle.
Flashback
Maria ran from the bloodbath between the Red team and the Blue team. Luckily for her, majority of the Ares cabin were on her side and most of the blue helmed demigods were too preoccupied with the War God's bloodthirsty children to notice a petite, unarmed brunette running into the forest. The Ares kids had made the strategy clear; they would provide a distraction while half of the rest guard their own flag, while the others target the opponent's flag.
The girl wasn't totally sure what had possessed her to participate in today's game, but now that she was brushing past the lush woodlands of Camp Half-Blood, she intended to come out victorious. Maria ran on for about a couple of minutes before she leaned up against a large shady tree and breathed. And unfortunately for her, she had absolutely no stamina.
"I think I saw someone head in around here," A voice said.
Maria quickly hid herself behind the tree and peeped through the side. The advantage of being small: hiding is far easier. Just a few feet away stood two of the Blue team's demigods. Armed demigods, she corrected herself as they passed her after a moment. She'd rather not get hunted down, thank you very much. Maria waited till they were out of sight before rushing towards another direction.
Is that what I think it is? The girl thought as she back-stepped a few times. A large blue flag waved from beyond two large pine trees, its gold trim reflecting the sun's rays, as if beckoning for her to go towards it. Maria glanced around nervously. She did not need to be ambushed out of nowhere. Hesitantly, she tiptoed towards the flag and reached out.
"Well hi there, Red team girl!" A cheery voice spoke up and without thinking twice, Maria whipped off her shoe and flung it at the person.
Strength, also not her forte, had he shoe fall right before the guy with the blue feathered helmet. He chuckled before twirling the bronze sword in his hand and stalked towards her with a grin plastered on his half-covered face. Grappling around in her pockets, Maria searched for anything that she could use to defend herself.
"Don't come any closer o-o-or I'll be forced to use this!" She stuttered as she held up the first thing that she could find in her pocket.
"What is that?" He peered at the small blue cylinder in her hand.
"I'm not sure…"
"Rival flag spotted! Red team members, charge!" A voice bellowed, making them both jump. Startled, Maria pressed down the top and transparent liquid squirted into his face. Taking advantage of his temporary blindness, the girl rushed away from the battling demigods and ran for the flag.
"Someone stop her!" Maria let out a small shriek when she saw two others from the rival team race towards her direction. The petite girl pushed on anxiously when she noticed the guy she tried to throw her sneaker at make a beeline towards her too.
Just as he was about the grab her arm, Maria launched herself forward and threw her own body against the Blue team's flag. The wind was knocked out of her when her small frame landed on the ground with a harsh thud, the bronze pole in her embrace. Almost at once, the clashing of swords halted and loud cheers of the Red team echoed throughout the forest.
"Well done, girly. We'll take it from here," An Ares kid grinned as he pulled the flag from her and marched towards his smirking half-siblings.
Wincing slightly, Maria tried to push herself off the ground. Her side hurt a bit since she landed onto the pole at an odd angle and she was pretty sure she'll have bruises tomorrow. A moment of panic washed over her when she felt a hand pull her to her feet. Looking up at the person, Maria's emerald green eyes met with a pair of twinkling sky blue orbs. He pulled off his helmet and grinned at her.
"You okay?" He asked as he handed he back her sneaker.
"Thanks," Maria gave him a warm smile as she pulled on her shoe. "Just a little bruised. But I'll be fine."
The guy laughed and ruffled her hair slightly. "What did you spray me with actually?" He asked. "It smelled kind of minty."
"Breath spray," she giggled and held up the small tube. "A must-have for every Aphrodite kid."
"The name's Luke. Luke Castellan, Hermes cabin." Luke introduced himself and held out his hand.
"Maria Sophia di Nero, child of Aphrodite." She shook it.
They exchanged shy smiles as they walked back towards the camp together. "You know, now that I remembered, you tried to hit me with a shoe."
*Flashback Ends*
The room door opened and shut behind her and Maria didn't spare them a glance as she continued to stare out at the ocean. Luke remained silent and joined her at the outside deck, both enjoying the calm ocean breeze as it caressed their faces.
"Do you remember when we first me?" She asked him, her emerald green eyes glancing up at his 6'1 height.
Luke let out a small chuckled and turned his back against the railings around the Princess Andromeda. "Of course," He replied. "How could I forget? You threw a shoe at me and nearly blinded me with breath spray."
A small smile played at Maria's lips as their eyes met and he tucked a stray strand of jet black hair behind her ear. Although she badly missed camp, Maria was always reminded of her love for the demigod in front of her whenever she looked into his eyes. And not once had she regretted her decision of dropping her former life when she followed Luke as he left to pursue his plans of destroying Olympus.
"I know you helped them," He muttered, his expression suddenly cold as he traced her jaw with his thumb. "Why?" His eyes pierced into hers in an intense gaze.
Maria pulled away from his gaze and headed back into the room as Luke followed her from behind. The girl nibbled on her lips as she kept her back turned from the demigod. She had already expected him to find out eventually and Maria had hoped that would've been much later. Earlier that day prior to Percy, Annabeth and Tyson's escape, she sneaked down into the makeshift jail Ethan had locked them in. It was her who gave them the idea of a distraction as she released them. "Think waves, Percy. This is your element." She whispered before heading back onto the deck. An unconscious Ethan was also her handiwork when she knocked him out so that Percy could escape.
"I promised Annabeth that I'd bring you home," She whispered as she wrapped her arms around her body like a protective shield. "This is wrong, Luke." She looked up at her love, eyes filled with sorrow as she tried to embrace him.
"This is home now, Maria!" Luke all but yelled as he pushed her arms away. "We can't go back now! Especially not when we're so close! All we need now is the Golden Fleece and Kronos will be resurrected!"
"Luke, please, I don't think we should do this anymore," Maria's voice cracked. Angrily, he turned towards her, eyes wild and burned with a hint of crazed fury. "Let's go back now. We can still- "She started to say.
"You said you love me," Luke hissed as he furiously gripped her arm, his nails harshly digging into her flesh. "And yet you've helped them! I trusted you!"
"Luke, you're hurting me!" The girl tried to pry herself from his grip.
His eyes flashed as he backhanded Maria. The sound of his hand colliding with the skin of her cheek resonated throughout the room. "Where does your loyalty lie?" He shouted at the cowering girl, his form towering above hers like a menacing foe.
Maria shook violently as she clutched at her stinging cheek. The force of Luke's slap had sent her sprawling onto the floor. Throughout the years she'd known him- and the years they've been dating, Luke had never once raised a hand to her. Sure, they've had their disputes and their arguments every now and then but he had never struck her before; until now. The bitter corrosion of betrayal ate through her heart; the emotional pain that clamped onto her chest was far worse than the blow that Maria had received.
"The question is where does your loyalty lie, Luke!" Maria yelled back. Tears streaming down her face as she looked him in the eyes. "It seems like all you care about now is taking down Olympus!"
"You know that's not true," Luke countered, the guilt of making her cry starting to replace the fury he had felt. "You're well-aware that I love- "
"That you love me?" Maria snorted before he could finish. "The fact that you've just hit me makes me doubt that very much, Luke."
Luke's eyes widened when he put two and two together. He had gotten so angry that he wasn't even aware that he had slapped her. His heart clenched when he saw the outline of his hand on her cheek, now an angry red; red because of him.
"Oh, gods," He said. "Maria, I'm so sorry." Luke tried to reach for the girl but she slapped his hand away before giving him a cold hard glare, tears brimming around her red-rimmed eyes.
"Save it," Maria hissed. "We both know where your heart truly lies." And she stormed away.
Three weeks later
Maria cried herself to sleep each night ever since their fight. She hadn't said a word to Luke even when he tried to apologize. The only times she ventured out of her room was for food or if the others needed help. Other than that, she caged herself within the confinements of the four walls of her room (doors locked, of course).
Today was no exception, it has been three weeks since she said a word to Luke and she could see the toll of it upon his features. A soft knock at her door caught her attention. Despite her obvious disappointment in him, Luke had spent hours in front of her door whispering apologies and sweet words across the wooden door. Unbeknown to the son of Hermes, Maria had heard every word, bitter tears falling from her eyes as she strained to choke down her sobs.
"Maria," Luke said as he sat down in front of her door. "Do you remember when I first told you that I love you?"
How could I forget? The girl thought to herself. It was her favourite memory. It was around early autumn nearly four years ago, when she was fifteen and he was seventeen, they had known each other for a bit more than a year and spent many moments together laughing about everything under the sun. It was one of the days back at camp that Maria dearly missed.
Flashback
Luke groaned softly when Maria wrapped the linen around the cut on his upper arm. He was training a while ago and got distracted when she passed by and the guy from the Hephaestus cabin that he was sparring with landed a lucky blow. Maria insisted on dressing his wound even though the ambrosia he'll be given in a while would heal it right up in a matter of minutes.
"There," Maria smiled, satisfied with the neat little bow she tied around his arm. "Your arm is wrapped up all nice and pretty."
Luke snorted and tweaked her nose and ruffled her hair. "It would heal later anyway," He chuckled as he popped a cube of ambrosia into his mouth.
"I know," She said in a small voice. "But I wanted to help. Even if it's just a little bit."
Maria looked up at him earnestly, a bitter smile on her lips when the feelings of never being able to help him washed over her mind. "I'm just going to go find- "
The rest of her words were muffled when Luke pulled her towards him, pressing their lips together in a gentle kiss. Maria's eyes fluttered close as the initial shock subsided and she pressed herself closer to him, kissing him back. The infirmary and the bustling of healers and the wounded disappeared from their worlds as they continued to press their lips together, sweetly and softly, over and over again. Their eyes remained closed as they parted for breath, resting their foreheads together and keeping in each other's embrace.
"I love you, Maria." Luke whispered just enough for her to hear before he leaned in once more.
*Flashback Ends*
"I meant what I said back then," Luke said, leaning his head against the door. "And I mean it even now. I love you, so much. What I did to you was unforgivable and I deserve all this and more- "
A soft click sounded above him and the door creaked open slightly. Maria had unlocked the door and made her way onto the outer deck of her room. Outside, Luke hesitantly pushed open the door. He peered in to see Maria leaning against the outer railings, the breeze gently blowing her hair and her eyes closed. Luke walked towards his girlfriend and gingerly embraced her from behind, as if afraid that she might break if he pushed too hard. He pressed his face into her raven hair. She smelled like how she always did – strawberries and cream.
"I'm sorry, Maria," He apologized again. "I shouldn't have hit you. There's no excuse for what I've done and I know I screwed up big time. But please, don't leave me."
"I can't go through this without you. Resurrecting Kronos, getting back at my dad; none of it means anything anymore if you're not with me. Please, forgive me." He confessed.
Luke choked back sobs as he buried his face into the crook of her neck, his arms hanging limply around her waist as if all the spirit in him was sucked right out of his being.
Maria felt him shaking as he silently cried into her neck, his tears socking into the material of her loose white tunic. She felt tears falling from her own eyes; she hated to see him in pain. Gently, Maria turned to face him and buried her face in his chest, throwing her arms around his neck as she pulled him closer. Luke pushed her chin upwards, sad sky-blue eyes and teary emerald ones met and they lean in slightly.
"I forgive you," She whispered.
They were now nose to nose and Maria could feel Luke's warm breath on her. "I love you." She heard him utter once more before they closed their eyes and pressed their mouths together, the night sky stars twinkled from above them as they kissed.
"I love you, too." Maria replied as she pulled out of grip slightly when they paused for breath. Luke's face broke into a loving smile as he embraced her once more, tighter this time, like he never wanted to let her go. His lips latched onto hers again. They were soft and gentle and Maria felt everything melt. Nothing matters to them anymore, nothing but each other. They can go through this together. And their great love for one another was what filled their hearts and minds as they kissed again and again until the sun rose in the horizon.