Jamie led the new girl, Petunia, to a bed in the Hermes' cabin. "They'll take care of you here. You okay? Nico was kind of intense."

"Are you sure I'm safe here?" the girl asked in a whisper. She looked haunted, and if Nico was right, there was good reason to believe that she actually had been haunted.

"We'll keep you safe. Nico too. He's a good kid." Jamie looked down at the flowers tucked into Nia's shoelaces. "What kind of flowers are those?"

"Anemones, for good luck and protection against evil. Said to have been made by the falling of Aphrodite's tears."

"Earlier you said that a broken mirror was a bad example of superstition?"

"Bellflowers were born from a broken mirror, I believe that was Venus's mirror. I can't remember right now." She sat down, exhausted, on the bunk.

Jamie glanced at the Hermes' girls. "You should try to rest. Just, word to the wise, keep things you value extra close to you. If it goes missing, tell Connor. He's your cabin leader. Cassie Dellaro is also someone you can trust, but she's in New Rome right now. I have to get back to my cabin."

Nia nodded, then held out a flower.

Jamie hesitated then took it. "What is it?"

"It's just an aster. It symbolizes tiny beginnings from which great things proceed."

Jamie straightened up. "Like meeting someone new?"

She nodded.

"Okay. Seriously, try to get some rest. I'll find you later and answer any questions you might have." Jamie looked at the flower in his hand. He turned and walked back toward the stairs, forcing himself not to look back at Nia. The girl was just a slip of a figure, but something about her vulnerability and quirkiness was endearing.

He shook his head. He couldn't be thinking about that, she didn't need that. She needed stability and safety.

He paused once he was outside of the Hermes cabin, looking around. Camp was bustling. Connor was organizing some sort of party for the week after next and the Athena and Ares cabins were recruiting cabins for capture the flag.

Mitchell gently punched Jamie's arm. "Dude, who was the girl?"

"Petunia Green. Nico thinks she's a daughter of Persephone. Trouble is brewing," Jamie told him and shrugged a little. "Lacey in your cabin?"

"Yeah, she's getting the stuff ready to redo my hair." He ran a hand through his blue hair. "My roots are starting to show."

"Yeah, my hair is getting a little out of hand. I'm starting to look like a girl." Jamie stretched. "How goes the romance search?"

Mitch shook his head. "I don't know. The attention is kind of cool, but it isn't making things easy. I just…" He glanced around. "I feel like I made a bigger mess than the one I started out with."

Jamie frowned a bit. "Meaning?"

"I don't know. It's even more confusing than before. If I were to ask someone about it, I'm pretty sure they'd say it's a sign that I'm not ready for it. But I'm a son of Aphrodite. How could I not be?" Mitch started walking toward the Aphrodite cabin and Jamie followed.

"That's like asking me why I don't know the secret to youth even though I'm a son of Hebe."

Mitch snorted. "Maybe there's a flower for that."

Jamie smiled. "Heard about that, did you?"

"Flowers in her shoelaces?"

"Anemones, and bellflowers. She gave me an aster." He spun the flower between his fingers like he had seen her do with the bellflowers.

Mitch shook his head. "Weird. Kayla said she seemed to be a little crazy."

"Kayla's crazy, dude. She's not exactly a reliable source for judging crazy." Jamie didn't like that Kayla was already telling people that the girl was crazy.

"True," Mitch confirmed.

Lacey looked up as they came in, she already had her hair-cutting station set up. "Which one is first?"

Mitch jabbed his thumb toward Jamie. "Him. He's just getting a cut."

She nodded and pointed to the chair. "It is pretty long for you."

"I'm starting to look like a girl."

"Something wrong with that?"

"For me, yes." Jamie sat and relaxed.

"He was telling me a bit about the new girl."

"Which one?"

"Petunia Green, she got here about half an hour ago," Jamie told her.

"What's she like?"

Jamie wasn't sure how to answer. "She's quirky. She's a plant person. Scared Nico, who thinks that she's a daughter of Persephone. Which is a truly terrifying prospect if Hades knows."

Lacey nodded. "I'll see if she needs clothes later. Did she have anything?"

"Not really. She had a mostly empty backpack. Ripped open by monsters. She had a sweatshirt, and a couple other things, but I don't really know. I wasn't paying attention to that." He almost winced as she started cutting his hair.

"How short do you want?"

"I don't know. Short?"

She laughed a little, and then kept cutting. "We'll have you human in just a bit. Mitch, can you get the razor, and put the guard on it?"

"Which one?"

"The purple one."

He started working on that. "I think Jamie might have a bit of a crush."

"Ooh, on the new girl? Or on Ria? I saw them talking on a few occasions."

Jamie rolled his eyes. "Stop it. Neither. I have no crush on anyone. I'm worried about Petunia. She seems…fragile. I have a bad feeling, and her arrival just seems to have made it grow."

Lacey leaned on his shoulder. "So you like me?"

He stopped himself before words came out.

She threw back her head and started laughing. "That's a no."

Rachel Dare poked her head in. "Jamie, you're needed in the Big House."

Lacey cleared her throat. "Five minutes."

"Make it two." Rachel disappeared.

Mitch handed the razor over to her. "Now would be a good time to start praying, Jamie."

Jamie wondered nervously what could possibly be going on that he was needed.

—~~—

Chiron and Nico were sitting near each other, looking concerned, when Jamie entered the living room.

"You sent for me?" Jamie asked, staying in the doorway.

Chiron beckoned for him to come closer. "It's about Ms. Green."

Jamie felt his heart pound slightly and internally scolded himself. "What about her?"

Chiron looked at Nico.

Nico took a deep breath. "The monsters that she's been facing…the ones she described…they're some of my dad's go-to monsters for when he's feeling especially nasty. I wouldn't be surprised if he also sent the furies after her. It's bad enough that it's summer, but with Petunia appearing…if she does any sort of display of power then my dad will probably make a personal visit to see to her destruction. If that happens, someone needs to be looking out for her."

"Not just that, but…the patrol we sent out found her keeper's body. Seeing something like that could be traumatic for anyone," Grover said as he entered. "Grady has been protecting her for two years. Her father had terminal cancer so he didn't want to pull her away from his side. Almost a month ago, we got word that her father had died and they were heading our way. Something had happened, but Grady was going to report it in person."

Jamie slowly nodded. "Why me?"

"Because you've already started establishing a base with her, and you're shaping up to be one of the best fighters this camp has ever produced. Your training with Percy and Annabeth has progressed very well. And you're diligent."

Jamie frowned a little, feeling slightly panicky at the idea of spending time alone with her. "But…she's already scared, me protecting her would just scare her even more…she's fragile…she shouldn't even really be at camp. Regular training might break her. She's in…serious mourning. I don't know what do with girls!"

"Better figure it out quick, then," Nico said in an almost teasing tone.

Jamie shot him a glare. "She wouldn't be nearly as scared if you hadn't pounced on her the moment she appeared."

Nico glared back. "It was kind of a shock. I never expected to be able to sense who she was a daughter of, or how much my father wanted her gone. Besides, she was scared the moment she saw me. She knew who my father was instinctively. From what she squeaked out about her journey it sounded like she'd faced monster after monster, her own sort of war. She's lost her father and her best friend in the course of one month…" He seemed thoughtful, almost sympathetic.

"Just be her friend, Jamie. Protect her. Look out for her. Talk to her. The rest will sort itself," Chiron finally said. "If you're up to the challenge, that is?"

Jamie sat down, mulling it all over. He'd been so bored this summer, and something different was finally happening. And Petunia wasn't exactly an eye-sore, she was really pretty. Would probably be even prettier if she smiled.

He remembered the solemn look on her face as her gaze had darted to him on their way to the big house. How she had stopped to pick flowers even while outside of camp's borders and with multiple weapons pointed at her. Her rattling off the flower names and symbolism, and guessing that the best flower for him would be the Lotus.

He pulled the flower she had given him out of his pocket. She'd called it an Aster, said it symbolized something about small beginnings that are followed by great things.

Could he really protect her? Did he really have what it takes? Would she be okay with him protecting her?

He remembered how haunted she had seemed, how he had decided she needed safety and stability. He was stable, and could keep her safe…

"Okay."

Chiron nodded slowly. "Let us know if you see anything out of the ordinary around her."

Jamie nodded firmly. That was how he became her personal, secret bodyguard.

—~~—

Jamie looked around nervously but still didn't see her. "She came, right?" He asked himself, running a hand nervously through his hair. It was the night of the party Connor was organizing, and everyone was bathed in the glow of lava from the broken rock wall. It gave the whole party an unreal feeling, and made the fact that everyone was dressed to the nines even more special.

"You look nervous, not a party person?"

He jumped and turned toward her soft voice, relaxing a bit and letting out a nervous laugh. "No, I'm okay with parties."

Petunia just nodded a little and turned to watch everyone. "They all seem pretty excited. I guess I'm not used to being around this many people, or maybe this is a rare occasion here at camp?"

He nodded. "Yeah, um, we don't really get to dress up in anything other than swimsuits or armor."

"Ah," She whispered. She had flowers braided into her hair, which was pulled up with only a few loose strands brushing her shoulders and framing her face. Her dress made her look even smaller.

He felt like a strong breeze might break her. "How's life in the Hermes cabin?" He'd been making a point of hanging out with her, practicing in the arena and archery ranges with her. Just…talking with her. It could get awkward because she was perfectly happy to just enjoy his presence and he would get nervous about being around her, but lately she regarded him with so much kindness in her eyes. Combined with her quirky tendencies of communicating with flowers when there were others around, he hadn't been bored in quite some time.

She had a hint of a smile. "Weird."

He was scrambling to find something to say and was about to ask what kind of flowers she had in her hair, just to hear her talk for a bit, when she turned to him.

"So, who were you looking for? I could help you find her." She had a kind look on her face, even if she still didn't smile.

He wanted to be the one to make her smile again, but he was taken aback at her offering to help him find…her.

She nodded after a moment and looked back over the party. "Right. Mind my own business."

"Uh, no…I…" He was failing. He was failing miserably. "I was looking for…"

She looked at him, innocently.

"Well, you. I didn't want you to be alone." He vowed to punch himself multiple times for adding the last part.

"Oh, that's very kind of you." She gave him that look that was almost a smile but not quite, then continued watching the party.

He mocked himself in his head and glared accusingly at his hands. "So, what kinds of flowers are the ones in your hair?"

"Lily-of-the-valley," She almost whispered.

He waited a moment. "What do they mean?"

"Depends on who you consult, but I always like the meaning 'return of happiness'. I guess…I'm just trying."

"Trying…?"

She nodded as if that was the answer. Their conversations often consisted of vague responses like that. Half the time she would just whisper the name of a flower that she knew she had explained the meaning of before.

But…return of happiness…he wanted to facilitate that. And not just because Chiron had assigned him to protect her. He wanted to be the one who finally made her smile again.

The upbeat song that had been playing ended and Stacy Krivkov from the Apollo cabin came over the speakers. "Next song is a slow dance."

Perfect! He took a breath to ask Petunia to dance.

"Find your special someone." Stacy bounced off the stage toward her boyfriend.

Shoot. Why'd she have to add the last part? Now it would be awkward if he asked Nia to dance.

Nia glanced at him. "Well that makes things awkward for those who don't have someone special. How are friends supposed to dance together now? Or what if siblings wanted to just dance together? Awkward."

He smiled, laughing a bit. "Come on. Let's dance."

"What?" She looked surprised. "But…"

"Come on, you're not going to leave me hanging, are you?" He teased gently. "You should be dancing. So dance with me."

She slowly nodded, and took his hand.

He could just barely make out a blush on her cheeks in the glow of the lava light. He pulled her a little closer than would probably be normal for friends. If anyone wondered though, he could just say it was because she was so small. So small and holdable.

And in the fire-like light, she was probably the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on.

Now if he could just pull out that elusive smile of hers…