Annabeth

The camp had never felt more foreign to Annabeth. She stayed in the cabin, mostly, working on school papers, talking with some other new Athena campers.

One particular young girl was fascinated with Annabeth's computer models of new buildings she was working on designing for a class. "But how does the support system work?" she asked, clearly intrigued. Annabeth smiled. The girl, whose name was Lillian, was fascinated by everything and eager to learn. She reminded Annabeth of… herself. A little headstrong, very smart, and willing to go the distance.

Annabeth just hoped that she wouldn't have as hard of a life as Annabeth had.

One night, Annabeth was lying on one of the empty bunks, sketching out a drawing of a fountain that she was designing to be put on campus. She held a penlight in her mouth so she could see without disturbing the other campers.

Her mind wandered, and she thought about how much Percy would have loved to help her. He would have wanted to go over the top, of course-put in flashing lights and explosions, if he could. But Annabeth thought he would love what she was designing; it was a modern look, just three simple pools and one main spout. No extreme decorations or unnecessary flourishes, just simple and beautiful.

Her eyes welled up a little bit. What wouldn't she give to have Percy lying here, next to her, right now?

"Annabeth?" a soft voice called out in the dark. She rolled over and looked towards the voice, turning off her penlight. "Yeah, Lillian?" she asked softly.

The sound of feet padding over to her was followed by the small girl plopping down on the bed next to Annabeth.

"I can't sleep," she whispered. Annabeth sighed. "Do you want to go for a walk? See if that helps?" she asked the little girl.

Lillian gasped softly. "Leave the cabin at night and walk around? Aren't we supposed to stay inside?"

Annabeth laughed to herself. "We'll be fine," she said. "Trust me, I've been here longer than you. I grew up here." Lillian reluctantly stood up and waited for Annabeth to get shoes on, then pulled on her own slippers and followed Annabeth out the door into the night.

"Come on," Annabeth whispered, leading her towards the amphitheater. They sat down on one of the benches and stared at the empty arena. "Do you guys fight to the death here?" Lillian asked. Annabeth laughed. "No, no. We don't fight to the death, ever. We have chariot races here." Lillian let out a sigh of relief. "I was worried."

Annabeth smiled. "Don't worry. Smart little girl like yourself, you'll be fine."

"I'm not as smart as the other campers," she muttered. "They all go to school and get straight As and they're gonna get scholarships to all these big fancy colleges and all I do all day is sit around and read."

Annabeth squeezed the girl's hand. "Don't you worry. I bet you're tons smarter than they are. Just because they go to school doesn't make them any better." She stared up at the moon and laid back, resting her head against the step behind her.

"Besides, smartness isn't measured in how much you can read or how many equations you can solve. Wisdom is far more important."

Lillian was quiet for a moment. "Well, what do I have to do to be wise, then?" she asked.

Annabeth thought for a minute.

"There's a quote, said by Socrates. Do you know who that is?"

"Mmhmm."

"Well, he once said, 'The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.' Does that make sense to you?"

Lillian looked over at Annabeth. "But if you don't know anything, how can you be wise?"

"Because you have to realize that there is so much that you don't know about this world. And not just scientifically or mathematically, but in other ways, too. You don't know everything about every person on this planet. I bet if you did, you would go crazy. The point is in recognizing that there's so much you don't know, and only then can you begin to appreciate the value of knowledge. Which is what wisdom is all about. "

"So it's like… realizing you're part of something much bigger than yourself," Lillian said. Annabeth nodded. "Right."

Lillian was quiet for a minute. Annabeth gazed at the stars.

"Was Percy wise, then? Because he knew he had to give up himself for a greater good?"

Annabeth whipped her head toward Lillian, eyes wide. "Who told you about that?" she demanded. Lillian shrunk away.

"Everyone knows about it at camp. It's the first story I heard when I came here."

Annabeth sighed. Of course the campers would talk. They could never not gossip, not tell the stories of their heroes.

"What else did you hear?" Annabeth asked, leaning back.

"Lots of things," Lillian said. "I mean, he's like the modern day Hercules, only better. I've heard all the stories about how you guys all went and returned Zeus' lightning bolt, and traveled in the Sea of Monsters, and beat Kronos. And the stories about The Seven, too."

Annabeth closed her eyes. Hearing Lillian talk about Percy, she could see him in her mind: Those sea green eyes, twinkling and bright, mischievous, but in an enticing way. The way his messy black hair would be in complete disarray in the morning, sticking up all over. The glint of Riptide as he fought, parried and slashed, destroying enemies as though he was born to be a warrior. And to be honest, he was always destined for greatness.

"Was it bad?" Lillian asked. Annabeth opened one eye and looked at her.

"When he... you know. Was it hard?"

"It still is hard," Annabeth said. She didn't think that she had wanted to talk about it, but once she did, the words came pouring out.

"It's like I lived my whole life blind and deaf until I met him, and then my whole universe was flipped upside down. He made everything better. If you ever find someone who you know you're meant to be with, you'll understand. He was my other half, a part of me. It was hard enough when he vanished for months, but I knew he was alive out there. The second time, though, watching him fall, knowing there was nothing I could do, knowing he was gone…" Her voice cracked. "It felt like my soul was being ripped from my body, and every day that I wake up and realize he's really gone, I feel that pain all over again."

Lillian didn't say anything for a minute while Annabeth dried her eyes and tried to compose herself.

"You don't know for certain that he's gone," she said. "If anyone could find a reason to fight for their life, it would be Percy. I don't think, after all the stories I've heard, that he wouldn't do everything in his power to come back to you."

"But is it better to have hope that's never fulfilled, or live with the knowledge that he's not coming back?" Annabeth asked. "I don't know which is worse."

"I think hope is what gives us strength, in the end," Lillian said. "Sometimes, it's all we have. But it's better than nothing."