I think I definitely have my groove back. Just so you guys know, I will be finishing this story before I continue with any of my other stories. Hope you enjoy this chapter of Gaining Trust.

Chapter 13:

Exile

Jaden looked into the murky water of Wading River. It had taken him nearly two weeks to get to where he was and so far the only thing he could do was stare at his own reflection. To be honest, he had been like that for most of the afternoon – someone had even come over to see if he was alright about half an hour ago. But all he could do was stare at his face… or rather, the mark that Zeus had burned there.

Above his right eye, near the far corner, was a peace sign made up of a yellow lightning bolt, a blue trident and a black pitch fork. So far, because of that mark, ten people had turned away from him. The first time he was trying to get a ride into the nearest town. The car had stopped but the second the driver saw his face he drove off again. Once he eventually found a town, he got kicked out of a café by the waitress. Even just walking down the street, people would turn away from him like he was a black cat.

Then there was the old man. It was clear that he was a mortal – everything about him screamed mortal. But Jaden quickly found out that he didn't like tattoos. He had done a good deed and helped him across the road to his house. Unfortunately, as the man was giving him a small reward (having insisted on it in the first place), he noticed the mark on Jaden's forehead and started beating him across the head with his walking stick cursing something terrible about 'young people and their need to act cool'. Needless to say Jaden ran, but he did swipe the coins that the old man was about to hand him.

Realising that the sun was going to be setting soon, Jaden finally stood up. Pins and needles ran up and down his legs as blood began rushing back into them and he almost fell back down when he stood up. But after a few jumps and stomps to try and get feeling back into his legs, he picked up his Buzz Lightyear suitcase and started to head into the woods nearby.

By the time the sun was beginning to peek through the tree branches, Jaden had made it to his current campsite. It was small - just a bunch of sheets and rags that he had found in the streets and that he had stolen – but it served him well. The rags, he used as a layer of bedding while the sheets were mainly used as either a cover or a blanket.

In the failing light, he took his diary and a pen from his suitcase and leaned his back against a tree. Within seconds he was writing, in Greek, the day's events. The day included steeling a pack of batteries for the flashlight he stole a couple of days ago, some fruit, a loaf of bread, an old book that looked interesting, a new diary (only because the old one was running out of pages), two bottles of water, and sitting by the water.

Dinner was a banana and a slice of bread with a few mouthfuls of water.

When the night finally took over, Jaden called his sword to hand and, using the celestial bronze glow, began to train. Despite being exiled, he still needed to keep up his various skills. So far, he had yet to face any monsters (and he counted that as a blessing) but he wanted to be ready when they did come. Once practice was over, he curled up in his makeshift bed and somehow managed to fall asleep.

His dreams, however, had other ideas.

Connor and Travis made their way from the cabin area to the amphitheatre. There, they found the entire camp plus Chiron. They were all singing and enjoying themselves, even Chiron looked like he was enjoying the marshmallows despite being worried for Jaden. Combing his fingers through his hair, Travis turned to his younger brother.

" Who's going to tell him?" he asked in a whisper.

" I don't know." Connor replied.

" Hades, this is harder than getting into trouble for a prank that we pulled."

" The only difference is that this isn't a prank."

After a few more minutes of silence, Travis made up his mind. " I'll tell him."

" What?"

" I'm the eldest. It was my responsibility to get him to Olympus and back without much trouble."

" We were both responsible for Jaden." Connor corrected.

" Yeah, but…"

" I'll tell Chiron."

" Why you?"

" Because I was the one he trusted with that scroll."

" Fine." Travis then turned back to the Amphitheatre. " Chiron!"

Silence followed the older boy's call as all eyes turned to the back of the amphitheatre. Chiron sacrificed the toasted marshmallow that he was about to eat before making his way up to the Stoll brothers. Up close, it was clear that he was only taking comfort in eating marshmallows due to the amount of worry that he was keeping hidden for the now exiled son of Kronos.

" What is it, boys? And where is Jaden?" the centaur asked, fearing the worst.

" He's on Half-Blood Hill on the other side of Thalia's Pine." Travis replied.

" Peleus won't let him over the border." Connor added.

" Why is this?"

" Jaden's been exiled."

" What?!" Tristan exclaimed, standing up and looking as white as a ghost.

Chiron turned to face the campers in the amphitheatre. " All of you are to return to your cabins this instant. It is late and I suggest you prepare yourselves for bed."

Reluctantly, the campers stood up and made their way back to the cabin area. It was clear that they were unimpressed with the fact that they weren't allowed to stay up a little later than they had wanted. But they made no fuss as they followed their teacher's orders. Travis and Connor, on the other hand, followed Chiron up to the Big House.

" Tell me everything." The centaur ordered once the three of them were in the rec room.

Travis started. " We got Jaden to Olympus without any trouble. It was in the throne room that things got rough. You see, Ares wanted to destroy him but Hermes wanted to keep him alive. In the end, there was a full out argument over whether or not to kill him."

" Demeter, Aphrodite and Apollo were siding with Hermes. Everyone else, including Hades, wanted to kill him." Connor added.

" Not everyone. Poseidon was staying neutral, mainly because of that oath that Percy made them swear on the Styx."

" Either way, Zeus ended the trial by exiling Jaden from Camp Half-Blood. He also said that no one, god or demigod, was to help him and that the mark he bears was to tell all gods and demigods that he was banished."

" And what is this mark?" Chiron asked.

" On the right side of his forehead." Connor replied, pointing to the place on his own forehead.

" It's a peace sign but with a lightning bolt, a pitch fork and a trident." Travis explained. " Zeus shot him with a bolt of lightning, so he's kind of sore at the moment."

" Anything else I need to know?"

" Uh… yeah. When Hermes asked about Jaden getting his things from camp, Zeus said that we were to do it instead and that Jaden wasn't allowed past the border."

" Then I give you this list of things that belong to Jaden." Here, Chiron handed Travis a list. " Dare I say this, but you two are the best thieves this camp has ever seen."

Understanding what the old centaur meant, both brothers nodded their heads and slipped out into the dark camp. The harpies were out by now, patrolling the grounds for any roaming demigods, but they didn't seem to pay much attention to the fact that Travis and Connor were out and about. In no time at all, the older sons of Hermes had made it to their old cabin and were silently slipping into the back window.

Judging from the empty bed that they remembered once belonging to Luke, the men started their search there. And, as expected, the two of them ended up searching the entire cabin for Jaden's things. It was amazing how messy their cabin remained since the both of them had left to live in the outside world. In fact, it seemed even messier than they remembered… though that may have been because the bathroom was now as bright as the Apollo cabin in the midday sun.

" Hey, does Chiron's list say anything about a jar full of bones?" Connor whispered to Travis after nearly ten minutes of searching.

" Hold on… I think… Yes. Apparently, they're a gift from a son of Hades." Travis replied, sounding a little shocked at the thought.

" Okay then. Into the suitcase."

" Hey, I think I found one of Andi's lost kunai knives from the last time Griffin stole them." Travis whispered five minutes later.

" I remember that day. She was so mad."

" I know, right. Poor Griffin was hanging upside down on the climbing wall while wearing only a dress with nothing underneath when Chiron showed up to save his butt."

" That would have to have been the most humiliating death ever… if it had happened." You could practically hear the laughter in Connor's voice.

" Got that right. Guess I'll keep it and send it back to her when we're finished up here."

" Whatever. Which toothbrush did Chiron say was Jaden's?"

" I think… I think it was the blue and yellow one."

" Found it."

It took them half an hour to finish gathering Jaden's items (as well as any of their own belongings that they had thought they'd lost), during which they had also found Jaden's diary under his mattress. Upon first discovery of the diary, Travis wanted to keep it on the hopes of discovering more about their brother's life. But, of course, Connor had to grow up into a slightly more responsible adult and (after finding out that both Luke and Jaden owned the book) snatched it from Travis' hands.

" We are supposed to be gathering Jaden's things, not stealing them." The younger Stoll growled as he finished packing the suitcase.

" Since when did you start turning into Katie?" Travis asked as the two of them made their way back to the window.

" I have a right not to answer that."

" And I still have a right to order you around."

" What?"

" I'm your older brother. Now give me the suitcase and go tell Chiron that we're done. Go on, now."

" Jaden better have his diary with him when I get back."

" I was just going to take a peek."

" And here I would have thought that being married to Katie Gardner had made you learn to respect people's private thoughts."

" And he gets me again." Travis mumbled as he watched his brother make his way back to the Big House.

Shortly after arriving at Thalia's Pine, Travis was joined by Connor. Together they made their way across the border with Jaden's suitcase and over to the boy who was staring into his dog tags. Quietly, the older Stoll placed the suitcase onto the ground before his nephew.

" See you round, kid. And remember to stay healthy. It will do you great out here." He said, his voice emotionless.

" Also, remember who your grandfather is. If you need to, don't be scared to fall back on your blood." Connor added, giving Jaden a wink as he passed him.