Chapter 7: Traitor

The plot for revenge was a grand one. Each aspect of the plot was carefully interwoven with the grand plan, yet interchangeable enough to respond to unforeseen alterations in the tapestry woven by the Fates. At times the false hero felt like he was the spider, waiting in the middle of his web and watching each of the strings move in sync with the soft breeze of the future.

Other times he felt like he couldn't see the end of his string and he was but the spider in another spider's web.

Luke's plan accounted for many things. But the thing it didn't account for was the sheer hatred Eren Yeager held within him.

Luke looked at the sleeping demigod with a soft smile.

Cabin Eleven was still sleeping in. Claimed and unclaimed demigods shared each other's company, beds and when there wasn't enough space, even the floor was shared.

Luke was already awake, had been for quite some time. It would have been hard to fall asleep after the things he had witnessed in his demigod dreams.

Eren Yeager was lying on the floor, tugged away in a corner with his sleeping bag. Sleeping like a Medusa victim, unaware of the chorus of snoring demigods and the smell of teenagers who hadn't showered for a while. Luke made a mental note to inform his cabin that showering was free. That might help the new demigod feel a bit more at home.

Luke winced, realizing he was doing it again.

He knew the new kid had nothing but a tragic future ahead, but still, when he looked at Eren, the way he drooled and wrangled his pillow as he slept, it was hard not to feel a small pang of guilt.

There was something just so innocent about him. His features were so soft. A stark contrast to the future Luke knew that was ahead of him.

Luke steeled his gaze and hardened his heart. He remembered his vows, his own resolutions and the path that was ahead of him.

His eyes wandered past all the young kids and teenagers that were now sound asleep. All so peaceful and normal, a regular saturday.

Nobody knew they would be dragged into a war. None of them knew what kind of hardships the future kept from them, nobody knew that they were nothing but an afterthought in a tug of war between Olympus and the Titans. A huge family dispute and the ones suffering are of course the children.

Luke grimaced. He wondered how many were going to die because of his actions.

He sighed. He had made up his mind a long time ago. And although Cabin Eleven and everyone inside it were his family, it was still an awful reminder of how little the gods truly cared.

And if nobody was going to change that, he had to be the one. For all his self doubt and hatred for the gods, he knew one thing for certain.

If nobody did anything then kids would continue to be sent to Cabin Eleven, go through live knowing their divine parent doesn't care and die at the hands of some awful monster a few years down the line, if they were lucky to reach camp at all.

Luke exhaled. He saw the morning sun slip between the cracks in the ragged curtains and put on his mask, demanding him to start playing his part.

"Wakey wakey!" the son of Hermes banged on the side of the wall.

Around him groans and complaints answered him almost immediately. It was as if he had woken up a bunch of zombies, each and every one of them moving and looking around as if they had gone through a deep slumber, some even shunning the light that slipped through the curtain as if they were vampires.

Some of the campers, the ones that were a bit sharper than the rest, took the opportunity to snatch items and goods from each other. Pillows, snacks and other trivial items were hot at the moment.

Luke was certain that half of it all would be stolen back in the following hours, as is tradition within Cabin Eleven, while the other half would be stolen by another thief.

The counselor's eyes fell down back to the demigod that had retreated to the corner. Eren Yeager was looking around, his eyes unfocused and dazed. There was confusion in his gaze. Like he still couldn't believe where he was.

"Hey, you're the new demigod, right?" a voice asked, directed at Eren.

As if Eren had pulled out a 100 dollar bill, all the eyes in the Hermes cabin turned in his direction. Eren shrunk back under the attention.

"Y-yeah," Eren answered, his voice timid and a bit fragile.

Luke had heard about the breakdown from Annabeth. Personally, he hoped he would bounce back fast. He knew from experience that moving into camp could be an alien and lonely experience.

"Claimed or unclaimed?" someone else asked.

Before Eren could answer, another question was fired. "Wait, were you the one who fought the Minotaur with a pocket knife?"

"Where are you from?"

Luke saw the young demigod getting overwhelmed by the questions and piercing looks of his cabin mates and decided to intervene.

Carefully, he navigated his way to the demigod, making sure to not step on someone's sleeping spot.

"This is Eren Yeager," Luke announced, "he is unclaimed and will stay with us until that changes."

Almost everyone groaned. This time their response wasn't directed at Eren.

The previous questions rose again, like a Hydra, one question was answered and 2 new ones emerged from his cabin mates.

"Did he really fight the Minotaur?"

"He lost though?"
"What? No way, I heard the thing was lying dead on the hill!"

"Did he really cry?"

"Guys calm down," Luke said, giving Eren a relaxed smile. "I think Eren can clear up some questions later, for now, let him be. He is going through quite a lot." Luke clapped his hands together. "Besides, I want this cabin to be cleaned out by the end of this hour. If I find any more wrappers of bags you will be expected to buy one for all of us as well."

As expected, no one cared about the new demigod anymore. Instead everyone went into a frenzy, trying to both wake up, get themselves clean and try to find back their own garbage.

Luke turned back to the young demigod and offered him a hand. "First days can be rough, don't worry about it. The name's Luke by the way."

Eren took his hand and without effort Luke pulled him up.

"Thank you," Eren said, gratitude beaming off him. Luke noted he was the kind of person who didn't really bother hiding their emotions from others.

Luke gave him a pat on the shoulder, "See if you can help any of your cabin mates with emptying their trash. That might help you fit in and learn to know people."

"I don't belong here," Eren suddenly said. "I refuse to believe in the gods."

The way the demigod said it caused Luke to laugh out loud. It was a genuine heartfelt laugh that caused Eren Yeager to give him a disturbed look.

"I'm sorry, you said it in such a funny way. Sorry to say but once you'll start believing in them it won't get better."

"But I don't belong-"

"Don't think about that," Luke said, trying to reassure the young demigod by holding his shoulder a bit tighter. "Just for now focus on getting used to camp, learn the ropes, learn how to survive. Don't think too much about the gods, just keep moving forward and you'll figure things out from there."

Eren's frown started to fade. He answered Luke's smile with a grin of his own. "Okay, thanks Luke. I think I'll just focus on that. You're a great help."

"Don't worry about it," Luke let go of Eren.


Luke looked at the crowd, trying to see whoever would be the most suitable for a "live demonstration" for the latest sword technique he wanted to cover.

No one had recently pissed him off. So there was no easy choice there.

He scanned, looking for someone suitable when his eyes landed on Eren.

For some reason, while everyone was drenched in sweat, Eren was still standing. Apparently the kid had drenched himself in water to combat the heat. He was still holding the dummy sword in a way that made Luke feel he could go a few extra rounds before reaching his limit.

"Eren, if you could help me out?" Luke asked. Some campers snickered, others were too tired to even care.

Eren ignored all of that and stepped forward, his eyes focused on the weapon in his hand.

Luke motioned for the others to gather a circle so they could see the technique in action and from a better angle.

"What I am teaching you today is by no means an easy technique, so don't expect to master it. But this disarming technique might save your life one day, so watch!"

Hesitantly, Eren followed Luke's example and lifted his weapon. A bit clumsy, but more due to the lackluster balance of the weapon than anything else.

In slow motion, Luke demonstrated to all of Cabin Eleven the technique, making a great show of each individual twist and movement, focusing on the way his arm moved and how Eren's blade clattered to the ground.

"Now, let us try Eren, we both keep sparring until one of us pulls off the disarming trick." He challenged Eren with the cocky smile all Hermes kids had mastered.

Eren nodded, his mouth became a determined line and he lowered his stance. Holding the sword like Luke did.

Luke started slowly, beginning with some swings that held barely any force and some faint attacks to test the demigod's balance.

His defense held, although Luke could see that Eren was barely scraping by, using all of his focus and strength to not be pushed back.

Deciding that the poor kid had suffered enough, Luke decided to finally pull off the disarming technique.

As if possessed, Eren suddenly moved forward, his own blade swinging in a beautiful arc of its own.

Luke's sword rattled against the floor.

For a brief silence Luke could only look at his own empty hands. He looked at Eren who was looking equally confused. Eren stared at his own dummy blade, at his hands and then his eyes traveled back to Luke.

"Did I do that?" Eren asked. "How?"

"Interesting," Luke felt a grin break through. "Now that was something."

Eren himself looked like he still couldn't believe it.

What was that? Luke wondered. It was as if Eren Yeager had been a trained swordsman in that very instance. He wondered how far the demigod could make it as a swordsman, with the right guidance he could be up there with the likes of—

Luke averted his eyes.

Who was he lying to? He already knew that Eren Yeager would never become the skilled swords master he had the potential to be. He was just deluding himself.

The following rounds Eren's insight and amazing reactionspeed didn't appear again, instead the boy was forced to be on the defensive, being repeatedly disarmed in front of the whole cabin.

"Let's call it off," Luke let out a deep breath and wiped the sweat from his brow. "I think everyone here has a general grasp on how it works."

"No, not yet," Eren said, as he picked up the fallen sword again.

Unlike Luke who had been very conservative with his energy throughout the practice rounds, Eren Yeager had fought with the rage of a Fury, putting all his strength and rage into swings instead of making precise calculated movements. As a result Eren looked like he was more likely to impale himself on his own sword, then start another round with Luke.

Despite this the demigod challenged Luke. "Again!" he said, his voice short and winded. "I need to know how to do it."

"You're exhausted," Luke protested. "Don't overwork yourself."

"I need to master that technique," Eren insisted. "What if another monster were to attack me right now?" He spat out the last part with an unexpected angry tone.

"They won't get past the camp's borders," Luke calmly explained, trying to make Eren see reason. Besides, he was getting tired himself and although he didn't like to admit it, Eren was still giving him a workout. "You are in no shape to receive anything but a beating, nor will you learn anything new. Let's move this lesson to tomorrow, okay? I'll arrange something with Silena."

Eren nodded, shot Luke a smile. Then he dropped to the ground. Exhaustion finally catching up with the demigod who had been running on nothing but fumes of determination and anger. .


At the campfire Luke tossed in a few marshmallows into the fire. Offering them to the titan inside the pit instead of his father up above. It felt good to do that, a small act of defiance that made him feel more important, more alive and more real than anything he was doing at this camp.

He returned to his seat and started the attack on his own marshmallows. While he did that he made sure to keep an eye on all the campers, making sure none of them stirred up too much trouble.

Eren sat by himself. He had briefly talked with Annabeth, but she had left to her own family's spot a bit more to the right. The demigod was staring at the flames of the campfire, entranced by the bright colors that erupted from the flames.

"Hey," One of the Ares campers made his way over to where Eren was minding his own business. With her big posture and ugly demeanor Clarisse cleared a path straight to her target. The ones who noticed her only looked mildly annoyed at her, most were just focused on the sing along the Apollo kids led.

Clarisse came to a stop in front of Eren Yeager. She stood in front of him and said something. Luke didn't quite hear what she said but it did get a reaction from Eren. An argument started to rise between the two, one that got more heated with each exchange.

Luke hadn't seen Clarisse this invested in an argument before, mostly, she just chose violence as a first and only resort. Now however she was meeting Eren's arguments head on.

Shouting louder to make her point. Whatever their argument was about, now he could at least hear the final phase of it.

"I am just saying, maybe be a bit grateful you know?" Clarrise yelled, waving her arms. "We could have left you for dead out there with the Minotaur. Not everyone has a satyr guiding them to camp!"

"Oh wow I am so grateful," Eren replied in the same loud tone. "What an amazing birdcage I found myself in!"

"You know, I bet the Minotaur just stabbed himself with that knife because it couldn't bear to see your stupidity!"

"I bet you never even went outside the camp's borders!" Eren answered in kind. "Might be the best because with your smell you attract twice as many monsters!"

"I am not the idiot who fights a Minotaur with a butter knife and loses!"

Huh, Luke wondered what started that argument.

"Luke," Annabeth hissed to him.

Luke tore his eyes away from the drama unfolding right in front of his eyes and raised an eyebrow at Annabeth.

"You have to stop them." Annabeth's eyes were far too serious for an evening like this.

"Stop them?" Luke laughed. "Are you crazy? This is prime entertainment." Besides he hadn't seen Eren this fired up or passionate before. He figured that picking a fight with the Ares cabin was something that every camper had to go through. Something that would create lifelong memories of rivalry and friendship. In his eyes Eren could use a break from all the gloom and doom right now.

Wearing a smirk that wouldn't be misplaced on a devil, Luke moved through the crowds of demigods. All of their eyes were on the shouting match between Clarrise and Eren.

Names were thrown around and the bystanders loved every second of it, egging the two of them to get physical.

Luke came to a stop next to Eren.

The situation had gotten pretty heated. He had to find a way to make sure it didn't get out of hand.

"Eren," Luke said, his voice low enough to make it sound conspiratorial, yet loud enough to be picked up by everyone around him. "You have to defend the honour of Cabin Eleven now. Show her what you are made of."

He clasped Eren's shoulder and gave him a push towards Clarisse.

"I bet 1 week of desserts on Eren!" Luke said, raising his fist.

"What?" Someone protested, an Aphrodite camper. "Like no way, Clarrise is going to floor him. I bet 2 weeks of shower privileges that the newbie is out in a minute."

Luke stepped back to watch a betting war unfold. Meanwhile both Clarisse and Eren looked at the crowd that had formed around them, unable to comprehend what was happening.

Eren would probably go to bed with a few bruises but Luke was sure that, even though Eren didn't know it, years from now he would look back on this day fondly.

If only Luke had known how much this day had meant to Eren, and how the choices made today echoed until far into the future.


A/N I unexpectedly made a really long chapter. I realized I had never written from Luke's perspective before and I have to say it is quite interesting.

Just can't wait for the scene where Eren says: Hey Luke, it's been 4 years.

Anyway, share your thoughts. I just got 55 follows which is amazing! Thank you all.

-CaptainMoonShine-

(ps: it is 1 am right now, I'll spell check later, sorry no time for reviews.)

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