Leo knew that late half-brother Charles Beckendorf had dated one girl from the Aphrodite cabin. The exception in the Aphrodite cabin, the one that wasn't shallow like the others. But he never knew what Silena Beauregard did to make her known to his fellow brothers and sisters. He tried asking around camp but they would always give him the same answer: She was Beckendorf's girlfriend. She died during the Second Titan War. When they started dating, the Camp rule - no boy and girl from different cabins should be left alone inside one cabin- came in handy. He also heard that the two were truly in love with each other.
Leo was getting impatient. One night, after working on the Argo II all day, as he and his brothers and sisters were getting to bed, he decided to ask who Silena was.
"Who is Silena Beauregard?" After he asked, the atmosphere in the whole cabin immediately changed. It turned to eerie quiet.
Jake was about to say something but Leo cut him off. "And don't give me the usual things you say. I'll only ask this once. I won't talk about it if you tell me." They all sighed in defeat.
"Silena's dad was an owner of a chocolate shop. That was how he caught Aphrodite's attention," Christopher said.
"Silena, as you know was a daughter of Aphrodite. Percy told us about how Beckendorf sacrificed himself to explode Princess Andromeda-" Nyssa started but paused for a while to let Jake explain.
"The boat where part of Kronos's army was." Jake said then Nyssa continued.
"He looked at her picture before they began their mission. We gave sad smiles when Percy was telling the story. Percy swore to him they'd get out of there alive. However, Beckendorf activated the bomb just as they were escaping. Unfortunately, he didn't make it out. He was going to college that year.
"The whole camp was devastated. Silena bawled her heart out. We all believed he'd get to Elysium - that he'd be waiting for Silena there. For years, they always stole glances from each other. They only got together earlier that year." Nyssa finished.
"Silena was the only one who called Beckendorf: Charlie. Even Chiron called him Beckendorf. Silena refused to do the whole 'Rite of Passage' thing they have at their cabin-" Jake was cut off by Leo.
"And Drew told her that her love life would be terrible and all that shebang!" Leo's half-siblings had surprised expressions. They all understood that Leo also had a serious case of ADHD. He couldn't handle listening patiently without interrupting and surely this was his new personal best.
"Yeah, and during campfire she would always sit next to us. Unless she has to sit next to her friends to plan something," Nyssa added.
"Other campers made us feel like pariahs, but not Silena! She was beautiful inside & out. Thanks to her the Hephaestus cabin had many firsts."
"Don't forget when it was my birthday, she skipped camp activities to prepare a party," Harley added.
Jake butts in: "She did that for all our birthdays. To the rest of us, we were only living for the sake of living. Heck, we don't even leave this cabin if it weren't for camp activities. But there was an only exception. Beckendorf had a reason to go out there, it was cute actually. He'd go out there, not to improve his skills but to sneak glances at Silena.
"Oh yeah! There was a time we had Arts and Craft and we needed partners. Haha, the two were partnered up by fate. His openness just rubbed off on us. Then Nyssa here, developed a crush on a certain Son of Apollo,"
"Cut it out! And yeah, maybe Silena did give me tips on guys. It helped a lot. I've been in camp since I was ten. My mom died while sending me here. A monster or two attacked us - I was too shocked to move and defend her. Most people gave me blank faces that time. When I was claimed, the whole Aphrodite Cabin scowled at me and maltreated me; but Silena took pity on me and stood by me. From that day on, Silena and I became best friends. Beckendorf was already here at that time too. I found out they liked each other when I saw them smile at one another," Nyssa said.
"I remember during the fireworks: she found out that I had a crush on this girl, so she asked her out for me. She did the same for Nyssa," Shane added.
"She did not! She dressed me up and made walk pass by the Apollo Cabin, some even had the nerve to wolf whistle. Silena thought he had a bit of a thing for me. She decided to make me test out that theory. It turns out she was right. Will Solace was pushed out of his cabin. His sisters made motion signals. He sheepishly asked me if I would like to go to the fireworks with him. I said yes. Did I mention she gave me a makeover? Those actually hurt a lot!"
"How come?" Leo asked.
"Aphrodite children tend to go over board when it comes to makeovers," Someone explained.
"Even the boys?" Leo added.
"Especially the boys, there was a time when there was a dance and some of the other guys asked for their help and they had muscle pains for two days. Luckily, it went away a day before the dance," Jake assured.
"How come you know all about this stuff?" Leo asked once more.
"We went through it." All the other boys said in unison.
"Wow! Hehe, well, on with the story!" Leo said, raising his hands up for emphasis.
Jake spoke again, "We didn't understand when she kept saying sorry to us. Actually, we felt sorry for her and our brother, not for us! We believed that they were meant for each other.
"We didn't understand why, until Clarisse and Annabeth told us that Silena was the traitor. But the reason she did that because Luke threatened to hurt Beckendorf! Luke wasn't at the right mind that time either. He was corrupted at the thought that his father resented him. He became a hero in the end. Thanks to him the war ended and Olympus preserved like the prophecy said."
Nyssa adds: "We thought Beckendorf had to wait a long time before he and Silena would be reunited. It turns out he didn't. He only had to wait for a couple of weeks. In the Elysium, they could be together.
"Well, a demigod's life is not really long. As cheesy as it sounds, but it's true Silena Beauregard did it all for love. She died a hero's death. She changed the camp big-time, believe it or not.
"Clarisse softened when it came to Silena. It was odd at first; Clarisse didn't like the idea being friends with a daughter of Aphrodite. Then Chris came and Silena gave her advice. After Beckendorf died, the Ares and Apollo Cabin started a fight. Silena told them to stop. Clarisse stopped - because the reason Silena used. She said and I quote 'Charlie's gone and fighting over some stupid chariot'. At least I think that happened. I'm not so sure we were busy getting ready with the weapons and we only heard rumors.
"I know Drew would never admit it, but deep down inside she idolizes Silena in her own way. Silena accomplished her mission as a daughter of Aphrodite: To spread love and make people realize the true meaning of it." By this time, Nyssa was tearing up.
The whole Hephaestus Cabin was tearing up except for Leo.
Leo was silenced. Silena was a girly version of Piper. Silena's life was less complicated since she wasn't the deuteragonist (or second most important character) of the story. Piper was the deauteragonist of their story; naturally, her life is way more messed up! Given the mood, he had to suppress his chortle.
Leo's siblings were silent too, each in their own reminiscing. Jake eventually yawned, infecting the others, as yawns usually do. After some stretching and small talk, the cabin started dispersing into their beds. Leo thanked his siblings for indulging him, for sharing with him something so close to their hearts. Nyssa and many others gave a wistful smile. It was alright; they understood that burning curiosity ran in the family.
Eventually, Leo plopped onto his bed. He didn't see what he was staring at, absorbed as he was in thought. That was all he needed, their stories told a lot about the real Silena. And this person was authentic, unlike other Aphrodite kids. She wasn't shallow, she didn't believe in the so-called Rite of Passage. Leo now understood why no one wanted to talk about her: they would be disrupting her peace and her name in the Elysium.
A love like that is rare to find, much more to keep, these days.
You're lucky if you find it. At this point, Leo swears to himself. 'Make sure you make that moment last. Cherish every moment, because if you don't you'll find yourself looking back- regretting that you never treasured those most important things. Living and loving with the people you care about.'
In this world, they were lovers. Yet as mortals, merely passing through.
Leo thinks Silena would've hoped for a Romantic ending. In a way, she did get one, though it isn't truly the end. As long as their hearts are together - the end won't ever come, right? She found true love and stood by it. Now, (everyone hopes) she must be truly happy, wherever she is.
Wherever she is, who ever she's with. But we all know she'd be with Charlie smiling at the love they found.
My older sister edited this for me and added some parts (most of the ending). I came up with the last paragraph.