𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐗𝐕𝐈𝐈𝐈.
that was the night i nearly lost you

ᯓᡣ𐭩

𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐄 𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐍 and Maisie was back at Camp Half-Blood, as a ritual, repeated every summer without fail.

The atmosphere wasn't as it usually was, playful and carefree, but it felt like something sinister was looming over them, inspiring uneasiness.

But Maisie wasn't backing down. She made her way to her cabin to greet everyone, at least whoever was left. A lot of the campers left at some point, wanting to focus on school or just not wanting to get involved with the war, which made Maisie feel a bit miserable for staying. But, she couldn't leave camp to defend itself. She had to help. It was her home, after all.

Not only was she one of the oldest campers, so, more experienced, she also still had secret ties with the enemy, meaning she had the best chance at surviving this. Something no one could know.

With a sigh, Maisie dropped her bag of limited things on one of the beds in the cabin, after having said hello to the three other Athena kids that were currently there. Annabeth was nowhere to be found, so Maisie made her way outside, wandering about, hoping to find her sister.

"Can't stay away from this place, huh?"

Maisie startled, turning around on the stone path she was walking on to meet the source of the voice.

"Ronan!" she exclaimed once she saw him, walking up to him to pull him into a friendly hug, glad to see a familiar face.

"Hey," he said when he pulled away, a smile adorning his features.

"How has it been here? Hectic?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

Maisie and Ronan had no bad blood after everything. They never would, because Ronan was simply too good. He wouldn't be able to hold a grudge even if he wanted to. Maisie was beyond glad for that.

"You have no idea. We're basically at war with the Ares cabin."

Maisie scoffed. "Typical."

Ronan hummed. "It's fine. Everyone's been training non-stop. We're ready for anything."

"I hope so." She sighed. "Kronos is gaining too much power. I'm honestly kind of scared. Who knows what's gonna happen?"

"Hey, don't worry," he reassured. "Kronos has an army, but we have one too. We have help from so many people."

"Yeah. You're right," Maisie replied with another sigh, but she wasn't so sure she believed herself.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

Maisie finally saw Annabeth at dinner that night.

After they greeted each other with as big smiles as they could muster, Annabeth's tone got serious.

"Percy was at the Princess Andromeda," she revealed, making Maisie's eyebrows shoot up in curiosity, but also in worry. "They blew it up," Annabeth continued, watching for her sister's reaction.

Maisie's instict kicked in, sending worry to her heart. If the ship had blown up, that meant everyone inside it had died. She paused, considering this. Could Luke have died? She'd seen how powerful he'd gotten, with Kronos taking over his body. He was practically invincible. A simple explosion couldn't have been the thing to kill him.

Maisie shook these thoughts out of her head. Instead, she opted to linger on another part of Annabeth's statement.

"They?" the older girl asked, tilting her head.

"He was with Beckendorf," Annabeth replied, and Maisie nodded at the familiar name of the son of Hephaestus. Annabeth let out a long sigh. "He didn't make it."

Maisie's face fell. She wasn't close to Beckendorf, but a loss of one of the campers was horrible. It was always horrible, no matter the circumstances, no matter the person. 

"Oh. That's terrible," she said, eyebrows pulled together, genuinely showing sorrow.

"I know." Annabeth's expression matched her sister's. Maisie reached out to take her hands in hers. She looked her in the eyes, trying her best to reassure her.

"Which is why we'll do our best. Honor him. Make sure his loss wasn't for nothing."

Annabeth attempted a weak smile.

"Yes. We will."

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

Maisie couldn't sleep that night.

It had become a usual thing for her, not sleeping. And when she finally did, her mind was plagued by nightmares.

That night, she dreamed of Luke.

She was back at the Princess Andromeda, which hadn't been destroyed in the dream. Maisie was walking on the deck, wandering alone, when she was stopped abruptly by someone grabbing her shoulder from behind.

Maisie gasped, turning around to fight off whoever had their hand on her. However, she visibly relaxed when she saw Luke's face staring back at her, the one she'd gotten so accustomed to over the years.

But something wasn't right.

His gaze wasn't tender, like the one he always gave her, but, instead, it was cruel and sinister.

"Who are you?" he asked, and Maisie felt her world slipping beneath her feet.

"Luke," she urged. "It's me. What are you doing?"

Luke frowned, removing his hand from her shoulder. "I don't know you. What are you doing on my ship?"

He brought his other hand forward, the one that held Backbiter, raising it.

"What are you doing? Luke," Maisie pleaded taking a couple steps back. Luke's steps matched her own as he walked dangerously close to her.

"I don't like stowaways on my ship," he said, his voice dripping venom, as his hand came up higher, wielding his lethal sword.

"Luke, please," Maisie tried desperately one more time, but to no avail.

Luke swung, his sword finding her instantly.

Maisie awoke, tears already staining her cheeks, as she tried to catch her breath.

Out of all her bad dreams, that must have been the worst so far. She'd dreamed of joining Luke, of him killing others she held dear, but never her.

This was different entirely. And it terrified Maisie.

She had to trust herself, her gut and her feelings, trust them to know that something like this could never possibly happen.

She prayed she was right.

───────

dear reader!

i'm so excited to finish this