I didn't follow Percy and Annabeth after that incident, mostly because I couldn't stand the smell that had plastered itself to poor Annabeth. Besides, I guessed Percy wouldn't want me hanging around him all the time his very first day of camp, so I drew myself away and returned to the Hermes cabin where talk was already circling about the toilet show. Word spread fast. Luke sounded heavily concerned when I walked in, asking me if I was alright, if Percy had been hurt but I just shrugged and grinned up at him. "Clarisse got a face full of toilet water. Nothing could make this day any better." He seemed satisfied after that, though I couldn't explain to anyone what had actually happened and suggested that maybe it was just a fluke, or perhaps one of the naiads had decided to turn the joke on Clarisse instead. This seemed to satisfy everyone and they didn't pester me anymore. It felt cramped in the cabin so I decided to just go for a walk and find somewhere comfortable to sit and listen to my music for a while. I stayed away from the beach and the lake because, you know. I did eventually find a neat little spot in the shade of a few trees between the cabins and the mess hall, so I settled myself at the trunk and pulled on my headphones in order to chill and drown out the world. No one bothered me there, too busy with their own stuff and I actually almost felt a little peaceful as I twisted my bracelet around my wrist. In a few hours the conch sounded for dinner, so I got up and made my way over where Luke then called to me.

"There you are, I was starting to get worried. Where'd you go?"

"You know, I was around." Shrugging, I went to the table where my brother was already sat, though amongst the mass of voices and jostling bodies, I had no idea where he was actually sitting, I could just feel that he was close. I chose a place and sat down, Percy happening to be directly opposite me and he leaned over in order to ask if I was okay, if I was having any trouble getting around and what the heck was going on. I answered his questions blandly, telling him that I was fine and he'd find out soon enough, but warned him not to start eating until everybody else started because knowing him, he'd probably fill up his plate and dive straight into it before the offerings were made, and the last thing I wanted was for him to piss of the gods. I'm not sure if he totally believed in them yet. Heck I'm not sure if I did either, but at the very least I couldn't deny that myths and legends were real, so why not the gods too? It was probably more a point I didn't want them to exist, because I didn't like their methods. When the food came out, I could smell barbeque and immediately brightened, because the barbeque was always excellent.

I had to smile when Percy asked his drink to fill up with blue cherry coke, because honestly it was a genius idea and it was something that referenced mom that didn't make me want to scream or burst into tears. Lifting up my own glass, I murmured for a blue chocolate milkshake, because it was one of my favourite things to drink. It was thick and creamy, and absolutely exploding with chocolate. What more could I ask for? Food was being passed around and one of the wood nymphs – I knew they were wood nymphs because one of the Hermes kids had told me and described them to me – had touched my shoulder to signal that she was there and asked me what I wanted, listing off everything that she carried on her platter. It all sounded good, so I politely requested a little of everything before thanking her. Her body smelled wonderfully of fresh pine, and I think she liked my manners because I felt her hair tickle at my cheek as she leaned in and filled my plate but left plenty of room for the barbeque.

Luke piled up both mine and Percy's plate, then helped me find the ripest strawberry and apple slices as well as a piece of my cheese, moving them to one part of my plate so that I could easily find them. As I'd warned Percy, he made sure not to immediately start eating, though I could sense his confusion as everyone started to get up and toss part of their meal into the flames. The smell was admittedly pretty good, not like smoke at all so I could understand why the gods liked the smell. After that was all done, Percy asked me who I'd made my offering to. "Hermes, of course. We're staying at his cabin, plus he also saved my life so I kind of need to show him my gratitude." Percy blanked, clearly not having been told that I'd almost died after I ran too far from him and the minotaur. "Who did you make yours too?" A stupid question really, but I wanted to avoid having to tell Percy about my encounter with a monster outside the barrier.

"Dad." I scowled at him, growing bitter and didn't ask anything further. I ate in silence but thoroughly enjoyed every last morsel because you just couldn't help it. The food here really was the best. At the end Chiron brought everyone's attention to Mr D by stomping his hoof loudly on the ground, calling for quiet as Mr D then addressed us all in what I had learned to be his usual blasé and nonchalant attitude of sheer dislike for children.

"Yes, I suppose I'd better say hello to all you brats. Well, hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture the flag is Friday. Cabin five presently holds the laurels." In response the Ares cabin all cheered and howled like animals whilst thumping their fists and stomping their feet, creating a rather awful cacophony of sound. "Personally, I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have a new camper today. Peter Johnson." I snorted into my drink. "Er, Percy Jackson. That's right. Hurrah, and all that. Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on." Dismissed, everyone rose to their feet in order to head over to the amphitheatre and I managed to collar Percy, slinging my arm over his neck.

"Don't worry, he called me Libby Jepson when he introduced me. It's nothing personal." Percy didn't care, and I could feel him practically bubbling with awe and excitement as we sat down for the sing-along. I didn't sit on my own this time, sticking with Percy but I couldn't help but notice how much he seemed to like it here. I mean, I have never heard my brother sing in all my life but he joined in with the songs after learning them and I'm pretty sure he almost made himself sick with the amount of marshmallows he ate. I could hear him continually going back for more and of course, he'd always bring me one too, toasted to perfection. Things felt better now that Percy was here, though I had no idea what would happen to us now. We'd probably end up living here at camp all year round like Luke and some of the others, because clearly we wouldn't survive on our own in the normal world, and without mom…well. Let's just say there is no way in hell I'm living with Smelly Gabe Ugly-ano. I think I'd rather get eaten by a monster.

I worried about what the future had in store for Percy and I, but for now, I didn't bring up my concerns because for the first time in his life, Percy was fitting in, and he was having fun with kids just like us. We weren't ostracised or avoided, we weren't labelled as bad kids or anything, we were just normal, and we relished that feeling. Having little to do myself, I mostly just went to check out what Percy was doing and listen to how he was getting on. Grover had now returned, thoroughly scolded by Mr D and his elders, or something like that, though at first I had been hesitant to accept him as my guide. I still felt angry over what happened, and he knew it, because he was constantly bleating nervously whenever he was around me, even though he repeatedly tried to apologise. I felt bad, because I knew Grover blamed himself too, so I did my best to hide my resentment towards him but as Luke had repeatedly told me, I make a lot of faces and I couldn't always help it. Gradually however I got used to Grover's presence, and he seemed adamant to make everything up to me somehow and went out of his way to help me. He'd describe to me in rather vivid detail everything that was happening, especially when it concerned Percy.

So that I didn't cramp Percy's newfound rep, I didn't tell him or let him know that I was listening in on his activities, always standing so that I was out of sight whilst Grover gave me steady reports as I listened. The only times we were actually meant to be together in the same activity was when we were learning Ancient Greek from Annabeth, who turned out to be the daughter of Athena which explained a lot about her, as well as learning more about the Greek myths from Grover. As it happened, Percy was just as terrible at archery as I was, and I had to laugh when Grover told me that Percy had accidentally fired an arrow that caught itself in Chiron's tail. At least it wasn't just me, then. It was probably childish of me but I was rather glad I wasn't the only one inherently bad at archery, as I at least had the excuse of not actually being able to see my target. Foot racing was also not another one of his strengths, as it happened, which didn't exactly surprise me but apparently this activity was vital for all half-bloods because, you know. We often had to outrun monsters. I was fast enough, but the problem was that if I moved to quickly I wasn't able to sense my surroundings as well, so in my first race I had ran headfirst into a tree and came away with a nasty bump on my head that made pretty much everyone laugh. It wasn't the nasty, mocking laugh that I usually heard though, they just thought it was funny and in light of the fact that I could take a joke, I laughed too after the throbbing had died down and the wood nymph instructor helped me back onto my feet. Currently Percy was now wrestling, and I had to wince every time I heard him get slammed down on the mat by Clarisse, Grover describing to me what was going on. "He's um…he's doing his best, and it's pretty good! Though it's just that Clarisse has had more practice and she's really strong…you know…daughter of Ares and all."

"I get it Grover, thanks. Percy's always been kind of scrawny, so wrestling may be a bit tough for him right now. Maybe he'll have a growth spurt or something in the next few years then he won't get squished like a bug so easily." I'm his big sister, I'm allowed to be mean about him. Anyway I was silently rooting for Percy, listening with absolute attention to how he was doing and always felt disappointed when he didn't succeed. Just give it time. Once he's found his feet and had some proper training, I bet he'll give Clarisse a run for his money. Or maybe we'll just take her back to the toilets. Anyway I could kind of guess that as the more Percy failed to be suddenly amazing at something, his spirits continued to wilt. He was desperate to know who our dad was, but nothing so far gave any indication of who he was. Luke had told us both that our dad was probably Hermes, and I had to agree that made sense, though I really hoped it wasn't because then I'd have to hate the guy I owed a favour to, and also…I kind of didn't want to have the same dad as Luke. That would just feel weird.

When it came to canoeing on the lake, however, Grover practically bleated with elation to tell me that Percy was winning and doing really well, and I settled with satisfaction. Okay so canoeing, it was something right? I mean he could always use the paddle as a weapon if push comes to shove. From that little bought of success, Percy went back to being pretty much an average newbie camper. I tried to keep up his spirits, telling him that it didn't matter who our dad was, because we had each other and I would always be there to annoy and pester him until he was sick to death of me. He'd complained as I'd tousled his hair, but deep down we both knew that we were devoted to one another. We'd always have one another's back, and beyond that, nothing else really mattered. I was glad to have a brother like Percy, and as he continued to struggle to find some kind of talent or anything, I secretly cheered him on. Sword fighting was another activity we had together, though it had already been established that I did not have the skill of an expert swordsman like Luke. Considering I couldn't actually see my opponent, I usually came away bruised and aching like hell. The sword felt awkward in my hand despite the fact it was small, heavy in my grasp and I couldn't follow what Luke was demonstrating, even when Grover tried to explain to me what he was doing. Even slowed down, Grover struggled to figure out most of the time exactly what Luke was doing, so I was just blindly waving my sword around hoping to actually make contact with the other person, though usually they just side stepped my wild movements then smacked me with the broadside of their sword. I really hated it. The further we progressed the angrier I got, frustrated with my own inadequacies as I was basically just handing myself over to be pulverised like a slab of meat. I'd always had quite a temper, but when you're bruised all over and could barely move without something hurting, it didn't exactly help things.

There was too much noise and my head was soon killing me as my ears throbbed with the ringing of clashing blades, my eyes pulsing with heat and achiness as I was once again smacked repeatedly by my opponent who I'm pretty sure was younger and smaller than me because they were giggling constantly with glee at having such an easy target. I didn't even want to just swing at them in case I accidentally cut off their head or something, so I just awkwardly tried to block until a rather hard swing came at my leg and I felt it burst with pain which told me I could expect another lovely bruise there in a few minutes. I cursed sharply and loudly, making several of the younger kids gasp as the kid then hit my hand which made me naturally drop the sword. Flinging out my wrist I tried to shake off the pain as I continued to curse, only later realising it had been in ancient Greek and above me the sky rumbled darkly in warning, but I had had enough. I stomped away even as Percy called after me and raced over, but he knew better than to try and interrupt me when I was having a temper tantrum. He wisely stayed back and warned anyone that tried to follow that if they did, I would probably murder them. Like I said, I was glad to have a brother like Percy who knew me so well, because I was free to leave even though you're not supposed to abscond from your activities. I was too tired and hurting to care, and I'm pretty sure my fingers were broken. Scuffing my foot against the ground, I hissed again before going to find somewhere quiet and secluded to try and calm down.

My eyes were hurting like crazy and my head felt like it was about to explode, so even halfway towards where I usually went to hide from people, I considered turning around in order to go to the infirmary. My head was soon spinning and I became completely disorientated, bumping into trees and everything in my way as I staggered and struggled, no longer sure of where I was. In the end, I decided to just lay down on the ground without a care in the world. Someone would come across me eventually then I could ask them for help. It wasn't the first time I'd gotten totally lost, I just hope it wasn't Clarisse who found me. Closing my eyes I tried to take deep breaths but the pain didn't lesson, and it was getting to the point I wanted to just rip out my eyes from their sockets just to make it stop. A droning ring was constantly blaring in my ears, so much so that I thought I was going to be driven crazy by the sound. I have no idea how long I was there for, sprawled out on the ground with my face turned towards the sky, but when the sound of hooves thundering across the ground started to vibrate through my back, I reasoned that Chiron must have come looking for me. "Lily? Are you alright my dear?"

"No." I told him bluntly as my mood was as sour as spoiled milk. "I'm in pain and my head hurts like crazy, and my eyes are killing me and everything just really sucks right now." Forcing myself to sit upright, I tried to stand but my head swam just as I tried to rise and unbalanced me once again, so I sank back down. "Why am I like this? I mean…can't your ambrosia and nectar fix me? Is there anything that might be able to cure my blindness? Surely there has to be a way right?" I dreaded to ask, but I also wondered if perhaps one of the gods might be able to heal me. "I mean…maybe my dad could do something? He kind of owes me all things considered. The least he could do after being such an absent and neglectful father is to give me the ability to see so that I can stand a chance in the outside world." I heard Chiron shift in front of me and could sense his unease, meaning that there was something he didn't want to tell me. I listened as his large form knelt then lay down near to me, joining me on the floor which I figured to be rather unexpected, because Chiron didn't seem the type to just chill with one of his campers when they were having a moment.

"You see Lily…there is nothing that will be able to cure your blindness. I am sorry."

"How do you know? Surely there's things that can work all kinds of magic. I mean, Apollo is the god of healing, right? And then there's Asclepius, there's plenty of gods with that kind of power." I reasoned but Chiron told me once again that it was impossible. I didn't understand so I demanded he tell me why it couldn't be done, growing angry once again but wincing as my anger seemed to only flare the aching sensations in my head and eyes.

"Your blindness is not something that can be cured because it was not a natural occurrence." Again Chiron faltered, but now he had said enough that told me that there was something I didn't know, something to do with me going blind that he didn't want to tell me, but it was too late. He'd said too much, and now I wanted to know it all, so I demanded once again that he told me what he knew. "It was when you were first discovered. Grover already knew Percy was a demigod, he contacted me to come and take a look because Percy had a very strong scent, and so once I was in New York, I also contacted your mother. When she knew who I was, she told me that Percy was not her only child between her union with a god, but you were also. At the time you were not yet at Yancy Academy, but when we met you it was also clear that you were also the offspring of a god. In our correspondence, your mother also warned me that you were unable to see, and it was because of an accident that occurred when you were a child." An accident? What was he on about? As far as I could remember, I just woke up blind one day.

"That's impossible. If something like that happened, my mom would have told me."

"No, not if it meant protecting you. I do not know all the details, but your mother did tell me that it happened when you were at the beach, in the place where you always went to visit during the summer whenever you could. Montauk, was it?" Dimly, I nodded my head, getting a sickened feeling in my stomach. "Well, it was there that something happened to you. Your mother did not tell me much, but apparently a terrible storm suddenly came in that day whilst you were playing in the water, and just as you were leaving, lightning struck and almost killed you. You should have died, but clearly your godly heritage protected you and kept you from dying. Your mother was not entirely certain what had happened because she hadn't been looking, but according to her, you were blind from that moment forwards, with scars around your eyes that never faded." My stomach dropped.

"You know something else." I said with certainty, getting the feeling that there was still more. "You know more than you're letting on. Tell me Chiron. I deserve to know the truth." He sighed heavily, sounding like he knew he was going to regret telling me, but was unable to deny the fact that I did deserve to know.

"Your blindness cannot be cured because it is a curse. One of the gods must have been angry with your father for some reason, and punished him through you. It is because it is a curse no craft of ours can cure you, and no god would be willing to heal you other than the one that caused your blindness in the first place." The truth hit me like a bus, and I felt a deadly chill sweep over me as I processed Chiron's words, knowing instinctively who was to blame for the way I was.

"It was Zeus, wasn't it?" Chiron said nothing, but that was all I needed to hear to know I was right. "Zeus blinded me for life because he was angry with my dad over something?" Rage exploded within me and I shouted, too frustrated to care about anything as I threw my fists down onto the ground and felt a violent yet small tremor in response which startled Chiron, and I felt him look at me quickly. I didn't care, I didn't even notice. I figured it was just Zeus making the ground shake because he could hear me cursing him in my head. "So that's it? I'll never get my sight back? I'm stuck like this forever because of some petulant and selfish god that attacks defenceless children because he's in a temper?!" The sky rumbled deeply and I could almost swear I felt the air darken around me as Chiron hurriedly clamped his hand over my mouth to silence me and shouted in Greek up at the sky to apologise to Zeus for my blasphemy, excusing that I was just upset and didn't mean it. Of course I bloody meant it, but I saw reason and knew that if I carried on shouting profanities at the sky, Zeus would probably send another lightning bolt and finish me off for good this time.

"You must take care with your words, Lily. The gods only have so much leniency."

"I don't care." I muttered hoarsely, rubbing my temples as they continued to ache. So I was cursed to be blind, and this was also probably why I had such terrible headaches all the time. I knew it then that I hated the gods, but none more than Zeus. If ever I meet him, I would probably end up dead because I'd just scream insults at him in the feeble hope that I could at least make his ears bleed before I was blasted into a thousand pieces. Chiron tried to console me after that, making a whole bunch of promises which I doubted he could keep, but I didn't want to stay mad at him, he was still my favourite teacher after all and he at least had a genuine love for his students. He helped me back to my feet and took me to the infirmary where I was given treatment to help ease the pain and I even managed to sleep for a bit, waking up around dinnertime. I was sullen and withdrawn, not even bothering to go and eat as I snuck off to be alone, though after the conch had sounded to signal it was bedtime, I still hadn't moved. I remained hidden and alone, thinking deeply over what Chiron had told me and tried to think back to the time when I had first gone blind, and the more I tried to remember, the more glimpses I began to recall. It was like the memories had been suppressed and buried, but now I was ripping up the boundaries and digging them out by force, clawing at them to try and know the full truth of what happened that day. So engrossed in my own thoughts, I didn't realise that someone had come looking for me until I heard Luke's voice calling my name, coming closer to me.

"There you are, I thought you'd be somewhere around here."

"Go away." I snapped at him, folding my arms and hiding my face in a plain display that should have told him that I had no interest in talking.

"Ouch, that was hurtful." He joked and came to sit next to me, making me scowl to myself as I felt his body brush against mine as he made himself comfortable before then relaxing back against my tree. He didn't say anything for a long time, though I knew he wasn't going to leave me alone. Since he was the counsellor for Hermes cabin, it was his job to make sure everybody went to bed on time and when I hadn't returned, he'd gone looking for me. "Percy was pretty good today in sword practice. He even managed to disarm me." Okay so despite my mood, I couldn't help but look up and feel a burst of surprise and pride for my brother. "Yeah, it's true. We were all shocked, and it was a pretty excellent move, though he couldn't do it again afterwards. I think it was maybe a heat of the moment thing and trying to repeat it just wasn't going to happen. I'd like to get him a balanced sword, because I think he could be really great given the proper tool and practice. Don't tell anyone I said this, but he could be a natural." Thank god. I was worried that Percy would end up pulverised like me but if he had managed to hold his own against Luke of all people, then I didn't have to worry about him too much from now on. Like I said, time and practice, and he might make something of himself here. "So, anything you want to talk about?"

"Are you going to leave me in peace if I say no?" I felt his grin.

"Nope." Grimacing, I slowly sank my head back against my arms as they hugged my knees, withering slightly as my thoughts turned away from Percy and to what I'd learned today. Usually I wasn't the sharing kind of person. I mean, I'd had enough adults and school counsellors trying to break through my walls and tell me what was wrong with me to last a lifetime, but I guess Luke was different. He might understand. Genuinely understand, because like me, everyone at this camp had issues mostly to do with their godly parent, or at least one of the gods. Besides Luke was easy to talk to, and I felt a strong bond of trust towards him that began to unravel my defences so gradually that I didn't even notice at first.

"My blindness is a curse from Zeus. That's why my eyes will never heal. Chiron told me today after I stormed off from sword training." I think I'd shocked Luke, because there was no way he was expecting that and he didn't answer for a while. I don't know what kind of response I expected from him, however as I considered his presence beside me, I felt him stiffen and I could have sworn he was angry, which was strange because I didn't figure Luke as an angry person. I mean sometimes he'd say something and he'd be bitter, usually when talking about the gods or his father Hermes, but that was understandable and I agreed with his sentiments. However now when he spoke I could hear the genuine rage and sadness despite the fact that his voice was soft and gentle when it was directed towards me so I could tell that his anger was not for me, but for the gods.

"I'm really sorry, Lily. I wish I could fix this for you." Touched by such stirring emotion and candidness, I felt a little more settled and even managed a weak smile at him.

"Thanks, but unless you can persuade the Big Guy Upstairs to lift the curse, or have a power greater than him, then I'm stuck like this. Forever." Now I deflated again, angry tears starting to gather so I swiped at them in annoyance. I hated the fact that Luke had seen me cry so much. "I'm not usually a crier, I never cry this much. This really sucks, I hate feeling so useless. I'm going to have to live here for the rest of my life, aren't I? I'll be the blind old crone that can never go past the magic boundary otherwise she'll get eaten by the first monster that crosses her path. I'll probably have to work at the camp shop until I'm old and grey, I'll be the camp mascot by the time I die." Beside me I felt Luke shift before his arm then placed itself around my shoulders and he moved in a little closer to comfort me. Admittedly, I rather liked the feeling of his muscular arm wrapped around me because it was incredibly reassuring, and I wondered if this was what it felt like to have a dependable big brother to rely on and turn to when things were at their worst.

"Maybe not. I mean, we just have to figure out a means to help you work without sight. You've got excellent reflexes, and you're pretty good and sensing where stuff is. If we can just work on honing those senses then I bet you'll be able to hold your own." Luke said to me, and the way he said it made even me believe that there might be hope yet. He had that kind of effect on people. "Tell you what, during free time from now on, you and I can train together one on one. I'll help you at least master the basics, then we'll work on getting you into shape. Who knows? Maybe you'll end up being the greatest fighter ever. With your spunk alone, I think you'd even give Hercules a run for his money." Now I laughed, knowing he was messing with me but I felt better that he was able to joke around and make light of the situation, because that was what I desperately needed. He's right. I can't just sit and mope. I have to figure out a way to turn my weakness into an advantage. Giving up before even trying was definitely going to result in failure, so I have to try.

"You really think you have the skills to turn this kid into a prized warrior? I think you're overestimating yourself there Luke." I teased him back, smiling as I nudged at his side playfully whereby he squeezed me firmly in reply.

"Sure I can. Not sure if you've heard, but I am pretty awesome." I had heard, and I didn't disagree, though I didn't tell him that. "So it's a deal. Tomorrow the training begins. Come on, you're going to need plenty of sleep to be ready, because there is no way I'm going easy on you. I want you in top shape, so sleep is a must." Getting up, Luke then grabbed my hands and pulled me up onto my feet before then escorting me back to the Hermes cabin. "I told you that you can talk to me about anything any time, Lils. Next time, don't hold it in by yourself. Percy was pretty worried when you didn't come back. Are you going to tell him?"

"No, at least not yet. He's got enough on his plate without having to add one more worry to his mind." Glancing towards Luke, I felt my cheeks warm slightly as he continued to hold my hand as he led me back to the cabin. "Um…would you mind not mentioning any of this to him? Or anyone, for that matter? I think only Chiron knows the truth, and I want it to stay that way."

"Of course, I figured that was a given. Don't worry, no one will hear from me about it." Grateful to hear it, I sighed softly and let Luke pull me lightly through the dark, glad that he couldn't see my expression. At least I wasn't crying anymore, so that was something, though now I had so much more on my mind than ever before. I was glad that everyone else was dead asleep when we got back, Luke placing his hands on my shoulders to steer me through the maze of sleeping campers to my spot in the corner where Percy was snoring lightly next to my vacant sleeping bag. Whispering goodnight to me, Luke then ruffled my hair and told me to have pleasant dreams before he then disappeared back to his own bunk, leaving me to settle down. Beside me Percy snorted and rolled over, his hand brushing against mine so I smiled to myself then settled down, deciding that there was nothing I could do tonight about my problems, and that tomorrow the real work would begin to become someone more independent and competent.