The Second Funeral

Annabeth cleared her throat.

She couldn't believe she was standing in the same spot doing the same thing only a few years later. Speaking at Percy's funeral.

Though she refused to let Chiron call it a funeral. She actually had refused to attend at all until he bribed her with approving another search team.

Percy had been missing for a month. A miserable month. No clues no leads no nothing. Even though feelings of hopelessness crept into her thoughts all too often, she drew the line at holding a funeral. She wasn't that hopeless.

But Chiron insisted, saying they could call it a "ceremony in Percy's honor" though that didn't sound much better. Part of the bribe was giving a short speech. So here she was, staring at a sea of sympathetic faces holding their breath. It was so quiet. She couldn't remember a time when camp had been so quiet. She took a breath.

"I know this looks like a funeral but it's not." She said flatly. "Chiron bribed me into saying a speech. So here it is."

She paused. She hadn't planned what she was going to say.

"Well I know there are some new campers that didn't get the chance to know him, so I guess I can talk about who he is. Um… he's the son of Poseidon - obviously. Born and raised in Manhattan. Been here at camp for a couple of years. Did a lot of um …" she smiled to herself, "… crazy stupid quests. He's reckless. He's loyal. He's a pretty good fighter. He did plenty of heroic stuff that's for sure."

"Actually, a few years ago, I spoke at his funeral. He went missing after an explosion, presumably dead. Just like this. I was here saying all these nice things about him and I look up and he's standing right there." She pointed and a few campers looked at the empty spot. "I was so mad. Just like Percy to crash his own funeral. I wouldn't be surprised if he showed up right now"

The crowd listened intently. Annabeth frowned. Did they really know him like she did? She'd like to think she was the only person who could truly understand him. Who could appreciate his greatness and love his flaws. That only she had reason to truly grieve his loss, but that wasn't true. The entire camp felt the impact of his sudden disappearance. You could feel it in the air.

It was confusing to know what to feel. Frustrated? Sad? Defeated? Worried? It was the not-knowing that killed her. Whether he was dead or alive or somewhere in between, she had to know. She was scared to find out but she had to know. Or else she'd be caught in this limbo. Percy now consumed her every waking moment, nothing else could compare. Nothing else mattered - her career, her family, her well-being, her sanity.

"We were close- me and him- as I'm sure most of you know. We spent a lot of summers together, saving the world and all that." There were a couple of light chuckles.

"Let's be honest, he was everything to me. I see that now. And I know I haven't been the most pleasant person to be around and I'm sorry about that. Really I am. It's just I can't… I can't accept it I guess. Ever since he was 12 it's like the fate of the world rested on him and finally, he thought it was over. The stupid prophecy was over. Now he could just live a somewhat normal life and not constantly be fighting some evil force. Stop fighting our parents' battles. He was so excited." She blinked away the blurriness.

"It's not fair. He's a good guy. He's just a kid. Like all of us."

She paused. She was finding it hard to take a breath. She didn't want to break down in tears in front of the whole camp. But she had one last thing to say.

She looked up at the sky, "I'm talking to you all now. I'm begging you. If you help me find him I will do anything. If I get him back I'll give you all I have, my life, whatever."

"But if you all had anything to do with this or know anything about his disappearance, I will find out. And I will get him back. And the next time you need my help you ask someone else." She pointed angrily at the clouds. She felt a bit silly but also justified in her anger. And she could finally breathe.