The sound of feet crunching the autumn leaves woke Perseus from his afternoon nap. He had not been expecting visitors. In fact, he had not expected anyone at all for the last 2 years to enter this area. Perseus was curious as to who had come, after all, who would want to visit the mossy ruins of an old, crumbling castle.
"Over here Annabeth", called a hoarse voice called out as both teacher and student briskly walked through the ruins.
"Coming!", called out the camper, excited to be on her first ever quest. Barely a quest, this was a simple scouting mission that Chiron had asked her to take part in; just Chiron and her. For 9 years since she, Thalia, and Luke had made it too Camp Half-Blood, she had been waiting to get a taste of the outside world, past the swirling boundary. This was her chance to prove to Chiron that she was capable of going to the outside world by herself.
Perseus, an expert hunter, heard 3 pairs of feet walking relatively fast, heading towards the center of the ruins; a place where he himself had not dared to go. Perched on top a fallen pillar, he watched from the shadows, hoping to find who had come here.
"Maybe a quest, maybe searching for the entrance to the pit, or rather me.", he thought as he waited anxiously. Although he was trained by the very essence of darkness, he was in no condition to fend of 3 experienced swordsmen. His eyes widened in shock, then very quickly, turned to those of feeling hatred, as he watched the 3 demigods, no; a centaur and a demigod reach closer to the pit.
"So Chiron had the courage to show his face here after what he did to me", he thought as he subconsciously traced the faint scar on his cheek, a reminder from the pit to show him that he could be broken, that he was nothing compared to what he had seen down there.
Hugging the shadows, he silently crept to the edge of the pit, hiding in the shadows. The pull of the pit seemed to pulsate ever so slightly every time he heard the footsteps draw nearer and nearer; this was his time.
Chiron had sensed something off since he was on this routine checkup of the pit. Every three years, he was supposed to make sure the few entrances to the pit in North America were sealed and nothing had broken out, but this year, he noticed the pull of the pit was weaker, as if the pit had sent some of its evil energy back out, as if the pit had been fed up and returned something back. The moment he reached the grand door to the pit rooms Chiron knew something was wrong. Unable to expect what was to happen, he sent Annabeth first, into the dark room, her celestial bronze dagger illuminating the dark room.
Blinded by anger, the moment that Perseus had heard the door pushed open he threw himself at the door, charging with his broadsword made of ice. He had not even considered the fact that Chiron had been so low to send the demigoddess by herself into a room; into a room with a pit leading straight to Tartarus. Unable to stop his swing, his sword traveled towards the shocked demigoddess who barely had enough time to raise her knife to deflect the heavy blow, his sword deflecting off her blade, cutting deeply into her side. She moaned and slumped over unable to comprehend what had just happened. Dropping his sword, he left it sticking out of the poor demigod who had happened to get in his way. Stepping over her body, he pulled out his ceremonial dagger, a flat, fragile, triangle shaped blade inscribed with the words, "GOD SLAYER" in the old tongue. This had been a gift from Hyperion ,and the Titan of the light had the blade infused with poison, a single cut could spell the end for even an immortal. He barreled out the door and was confused to find no Chiron. Running through the ruins, he dropped his dagger and picked up a dusty bow and arrow from a suit of armor. Sprinting like never before he climbed to the top of a lookout post and spotted the centaur galloping towards the sunset, to a white van marked, Delphi Strawberry Service. Praying to Helios and Selene, he notched his arrow and drew back the enormous, decorative bow. The force requiring him to pull back the bowstring was intense, and he felt his muscles burning, desperately trying not to let go as he judged what angle to shoot at.
The moment he let go, the bow splintered into his hands, the arrow flying high and true. His prayer had worked. His arrow pierced the pink sky and rained down on Chiron, sinking deep into his back calf. Stumbling, Chiron blindly grasped for the van's handle and pulled himself in. He had purposely left the van running since he had got there, incase something like this was to happen. Slamming on the gas, the van spun around on the pavement, and fled down the hill.
Another opportunity at justice gone. His mother was supposed to be the goddess of balance and he could not even kill a mere centaur. Sighing, Perseus climbed down the spiraling steps of the outpost to retrieve his dagger, one of his prized possessions. Surprisingly, he found the demigoddess still alive, slumped over the doorway, desperately trying to stay awake.
He felt bad for her, she had no part in this; she had accidentally gotten in his way. However, he knew that she would not make it. His sword had pierced her waist from side to her bellybutton. Her orange and black shirt, soaked in drying blood, she merely stared at him. He knew that ambrosia could not heal a wound like this, this was a fatal blow. He thought about ending her right here, to put her out of her misery, but decided against it.
Grabbing her pale arm, he swung her over his back, carrying her to a nearby cemetery, built into the grounds of the castle. As her breathing shallowed, dark clouds began to close in, on the verge of rain.
A voice thundered, "PERSEUS!"
Perseus could not look up to meet the eyes of his mother; the clouds shifting to resemble her face. He hung his head in shame as he fireman-carried the innocent blonde to her grave.
Finally, Perseus looked up; his mother's face was on the clouds. She wore her war helmet proudly, her symbol of order and wisdom, and scowled down at him. He understood what he had to do, with no words said. His mother was the goddess of balance and order, this unfair action would not be ignored. As quickly as the clouds had gathered, they parted, clearing the sky for the pink-orange sun to set.
Bitterly Perseus thought, is this what she meant by "I will always be there with you" when she faded.
He set down the still demigoddess on the green hill of the cemetery, considering the consequences of his rash actions.
He had to pay, this was the only way to continue his mother's legacy and role of order. Holding out his hand to her he recited," I Perseus, firstborn demi-titan of Themis revoke my partial immortality for the life of this demigoddess." Thunder rolled in the valley as a heavenly light surrounded him and left towards the girl. Heaving, he fell upon his knees, weak, and looked towards the demigoddess who fluttered her startling grey eyes open, something he had not noticed before.
Perseus lifted her bridal style and carried her limp body towards his makeshift infirmary as she weakly protested, struggling against him.
Weeks after the incident, Chiron found Annabeth, who had been presumed dead, sleeping outside the boundary, propped up against Peleus, seemingly completely healed from the fatal blow she had received. Unable to comprehend, the first thing the next day, Chiron took Annabeth to the council to discuss what had happened.