Wow. I've been working on this for just over three weeks. And I only just uploaded it. Sorry for the wait guys!

Anyway, out of a total of 2 votes, Beckelena won. Because of this, I have decided to no longer do polls. Thank you to the 2 people who voted. Hope you enjoy!

I say it again, I do not own anything on PJO, HOO or Rick Riordan. I do, however, own Emilee Hudson and the mentioned Crystal Garcia, Alana Ford and Emily Vanguard. I also own the pegasi, Teleri and Baron.

Never Gone

Going back to her cabin after the funeral was probably one of the hardest things Silena could do. In fact, knowing that he was gone was hard to deal with. And the fact that she knew she had caused his death weighed heavily over her head like a storm cloud. But that little secret was hers and hers alone. The trek back to the cabin made her wonder what kind of girlfriend she really was to fall in love then leak sensitive information on an important mission which ended up costing her the life of the one she loved.

Drew had already taken the rest of the Aphrodite campers back before her, so that she had some time to herself. And that time to herself, though it made her think about what she had done to Charlie, made her think about the good times that she had had with him. The memories made her smile sadly to herself and the tears came fresh and fast to her eyes again. At least no one expected her to go to her next activity after such an ordeal, because as soon as she reached her cabin she made her way to her bunk and took down the last picture of her and Charlie.

It was from a week before Charlie had gone off to get Percy and blow up the Princess Andromeda. They had been riding the pegasi (Silena on a palomino mare named Teleri and Charlie on a bay stallion named Baron) and just enjoying the day. When they had landed to go have a picnic lunch on the beach, one of Silena's younger sisters, Crystal Garcia, had stolen the moment with her camera. Once they had managed to convince Crystal to leave, they had an enjoyable picnic lunch together.

With a sigh, Silena held the photo close to her for a few minutes before placing it back in its place on her wall. She looked up at all her other photos, remembering each and every memory that came with them. There was Fourth of July photos, birthday photos, Halloween photos, Valentine's Day photos, and everyday photos. And, for some strange reason, every smile on the many faces of Charles Beckendorf seemed to remind her that he was still there for her. And, for some strange reason, she believed that he was never gone.

She stayed like that up until dinner. By that time, it had been discovered that Percy had disappeared from camp... again. But she knew, somehow, that this time it meant that Camp Half-Blood was about to make their final stand. And that was when she silently promised herself and Charlie that she would make up what she had done by fighting with her friends and family for Camp Half-Blood… just like her love had done.

That night, she dreamed that she was riding her favourite palomino mare, Teleri, above the peaceful landscape that was Camp Half-Blood. There was no sound of demigods training with each other or pulling pranks and the climbing wall was completely still for once. The Sound sparkled with the light of the mid-afternoon sun. And it was peaceful enough that everyone would just be enjoying the day and relaxing.

But the peace was disturbed by the sound of metal being hammered into shape. The sound was coming from the forges. Curious about the disturbance in the peace, Silena gently spurred Teleri into making her way towards the forges. Before the mare had even landed, she was able to make out the black and brown coat of Baron. And she knew that the bay pegasus should still be in the stables, refusing to let any of the other campers, except Percy and herself, near him (she had been witness to a very painful kick aimed at a surprisingly innocent child of Hermes after news had reached the stables of Charles Beckendorf's death and had had to calm the pegasus before taking the injured camper to the infirmary).

" Thanks Teleri." She said once the pegasus had landed and she had slid off her back. " You've been a good girl."

With a final pat, the palomino pegasus trotted up to the bay and the two nuzzled at each other. Then, in a flurry of wings, the two had flown off into the sky and beyond the clouds. That meant that Silena was left alone with her back still to the front of the forges. But something she hadn't noticed was that the clatter of metal being forced into shape had become silence at the sound of her voice.

" Silena?" A hoarse sounding voice called from behind her, making her turn suddenly.

Standing behind her, his bare skin covered in grease, oil, the occasional scratch and scars from previous battles, was the very boy from all the photos that hung on her wall. He was wearing one of the forges aprons, but that didn't matter much to her. What did was that he was there. Before she could stop herself, she had run forward and leapt into his arms, burying her face into his dark coloured neck.

" Charlie! Oh Charlie. Why… why did you have to do that? Why? I've lost you forever, now." Silena cried.

" That's not true." Beckendorf sighed.

" You don't understand. I never wanted this to happen. I never wanted you to die." With a more softer tone she added. " I did everything for you."

" I do understand, Silena. And that's why I love you."

" but I… I had to. And now I've lost you. I should never have fallen for him."

" You haven't lost me." At this, Silena moved her head from his neck so that she was able to see into his deep brown eyes easily. " I'm always with you. And I always will be with you… where it counts the most. I will never be gone."

With that, the two fell silent, ready to enjoy the peace that had surrounded the rest of Camp Half-Blood. But even in a dream, Silena knew that she would never be able to hold her Charlie ever again. And the thought brought the tears back into her eyes. Especially when she realised that Charlie would not be there working in the forges when she woke up the next day. Gently, Beckendorf wiped the tears from her cheeks before sweeping his lips across hers.

" Do you remember those feathers we tied together? The charm you made with a feather from Teleri and a feather from Baron that day your sister took a picture of us the day we had that picnic?" He whispered in her ear.

" Yeah." She replied, still trying to settle her tears.

" Well, I found out that night that my sister, Emilee, and that Alana Ford girl from the Hermes cabin were with her. They know about the charm. So I left Emilee with a gift. Show her the charm. She'll know what to do. I'm just sorry I couldn't give it to you in person."

" I'll love you all the same, no matter what."

" I love you, too. Remember the charm."

Slowly, Charles Beckendorf began to fade into the forges around her. On the table behind him glittered something made of bronze, but as Silena took a step towards it to see what it was, the shadows moved to envelope it darkness. The shadows didn't stop there, however. They also grabbed at the daughter of Aphrodite and began pulling her backwards away from the forges. Pretty soon, as Silena kept on struggling, the shadows had engulfed Camp Half-Blood to a cackling darkness and she had woken herself from the dream turned nightmare.

By mid-morning the next day, Silena found herself in front of the Hephaestus cabin. In her hand was a wooden triangle surrounding two feathers – a golden white feather crossed over a brown and black tipped feather. The quills of both feathers were tied to the sides of the triangle with gold ribbon and cord while the tips of their shafts were tied to the bottom of the triangle with an almost invisible strip of bronze from the forges. Bronze sheets also covered the corners of the triangle, making it look like a triangular photo frame.

Gently, she raised one hand from the charm and knocked against the large metal door. The sound that resonated from within seemed more like a gong being struck… but it sounded melancholic as it rang throughout the metallic building. Within a matter of minutes, the door was opened by a dejected looking Jake Mason.

" Yeah, wha-" the son of Hephaestus cut himself off when he realised who was at his door. " Oh, hey Silena. What's up?" He didn't need to ask how she was feeling… his entire cabin felt the same.

" I need to see Emilee." Silena replied quietly.

" Emilee Hudson or Emily Vanguard?"

" Whichever one is friends with Crystal Garcia and Alana Ford of Hermes."

" That would be Hudson. Hold on and I'll go get her."

With that, Jake disappeared back into the depths of his cabin. Not long after that, the sound of banging and yelling emerged from the other side of the door. It made Silena wonder what exactly was going on in the cabin. But after a few minutes, a girl who was clearly affected by dwarfism exited the cabin, closing the door behind her. Aside from the smudges on her arms and face and the redness of her chocolate-brown eyes, she seemed a little bit happier than her older brother.

" You wanting to see me, Princess?" She said in a southern accent. Silena figured she must have looked a little bit more upset over being called a princess because the girl added. " Sorry. I call everyone princess… unless they're guy, then I call them prince. Can't help it."

" Just call me Silena, then." Silena replied with a sad smile.

" Sure thing. Now, what can I do for ya?"

" I had a dream about Charlie last night. He said that I needed to show you this."

The older girl held out the charm that rested in her left hand and received a gasp of remembrance as a response. Not only that, the daughter of Hephaestus had grabbed her free wrist was dragging her through camp and towards the forges. Silena wasn't sure if it was the demigod training or if Emilee was naturally like that, but this little person sure had speed on her side. In no time flat, the two of them were slowing down to go into the forges.

By the time they had actually stopped, they were standing in front of a set of lockers. Emilee rushed to the far right locker of the last row and worked furiously with the security that she had obviously placed on the thing. Why? Silena had no idea. But she didn't question it. Instead she watched as the girl inserted a bronze key into the lock and pull out an object carefully wrapped in cloth. As if she were holding the most valuable thing in the whole world, Emilee handed Silena the gift.

" I think he had this feeling that he wasn't going to make it off that boat so he made me promise that I'd give this to you. I'm the only one who knows about it even though none of us were here when he was making it." The daughter of Hephaestus said as Silena took the gift.

Carefully, the daughter of Aphrodite unwrapped the cloth to reveal a bronze, heart-shaped locket. Etched into the surface of the locket, in the centre of the heart, was the image of a dove carrying a small wrench in its beak. Slowly, Silena ran her fingers over the dove as new tears began lining her eyes. But then she noticed that the locket opened. When she further examined the locket, she found that one side of the locket's interior housed a small image of her and Charlie sitting on Half-Blood Hill. But it was the words in the other half of the locket that finally made the tears fall from her eyes.

" Thank you." She choked out as she closed the locket and placed it around her neck.

As she and Emilee turned to leave the forges, she couldn't help up think of the words that now hung around her neck. They were written in Greek, but she knew the reference well. It was part of the chorus to one of her favourite songs. But this time, as she heard them being sung in her head, she took the words in with a whole new meaning.

'Never gone, never far
In my heart is where you are.
Always close, everyday
Every step along the way.'

So there you have it. Hope you liked it and everyone was in character. Personally, I think the ending sucked. Review and tell me if I'm wrong.

Inspired by 'Never Gone' by the Backstreet Boys.