OVER THE past two days, Chiron had offered a spare room in the Big House to Luna to distance her from any chaos that could lead to an outburst in the girls powers. The spare room was very small, it only had room for a mattress on the floor and storage space, but Luna would rather that then to be back in the Hermes Cabin.
It was a holiday, of some sort- if you were an optimist.
She hadn't heard from Clarisse, or any other camper, in two days- she stayed at the Big House with Mr D for her short stay away from any commotion. Of course, Dionysius disagreed with this plan, however Chiron knew the Ares kids would want revenge on Luna for hurting Clarisse. She would go to the Pavilion every evening to collect her dinner, receiving stares, but Luna was told to come straight back to the Big House.
Her time at the Big House reminded her of Yancy, and the amount of times she would get put in the 'reflection room' to separate herself from the other kids- though, the Big House was much nicer. Mr D kept her company too, which he didn't like at first, but Luna decided that playing Pinochle was the only source of entertainment.
Luna had been practicing with her magic too, finding some old witchcraft books from the Attic- though, she decided to ignore the Oracle who scared her to death. Luna had discovered that she was able to chant spells, which sounded weird the more she thought about it- but she had managed to open and close doors with her mind. That's a bonus, she thought.
She spent the afternoon playing card games with Mr D, who was quickly frustrated by the amount of questions Luna had asked him in the space of five minutes.
Dionysius scoffed, "You make me want to start drinking again, kid."
A rumble of thunder bellowed from a distance, as Mr D rolled his eyes and went to take a stroll outside. Luna tried not to smirk, and put her cards down on the table. The game never usually lasted long, due to Dionysius' short temper and Luna's theory of him making up the rules as they played so he could win.
"This will never stop being weird." A familiar voice said from behind her, and Luna could've sworn it was Percy, however she figured it was just another camper outside. The voice spoke again, but clearly this time, as if whoever it was was right behind her, "Wait, is that-"
"No way." A girl cut him off in disbelief, as Luna turned around quickly.
Directly in front of her was a mist which glistened with the reflections of different colours. Luna frowned, she could've sworn that she could see Percy and Annabeth within the mist... how was that possible? Luna's eyes swelled with tears, though she looked around for any campers that could've set this 'prank' up- she figured that Clarisse would seek revenge sooner or later.
"Luna?" Percy questioned in confusion, his eyebrows furrowing in disbelief.
Luna frowned, her voice trembling with emotion, "Percy?"
"Grover, get over here!" Annabeth called, watching as Percy stared into the Iris Message. Tears ran down Luna's face as she stood up and walked to the front door of the Big House- however, nobody was around to pull a prank like this.
"Wait, wait, wait." Annabeth called to Luna, "Don't go! This is real."
Luna walked back into the frame of the mist, sitting down on her chair and wiping the tears that fell from her face. Percy was crying too.
"This is crazy." Luna rubbed her eyes, "Percy, you're in a colourful mist."
"It's an Iris Message." Annabeth corrected softly.
Luna continued to panic, "You're alive? I mean... how is that possible? Percy, you fell 630 feet."
"I could ask you the same thing." Percy's voice broke, "You supposedly got poisoned to death."
Luna had to much that she wanted to say, but she was speechless. The only question that left her lips was, "Are you okay?"
"Apart from the monsters, yes." Percy explained, "We're in a truck on the way to Vegas. We're gonna find Hermes, get into the underworld, retrieve the bolt and mom, and we'll be to camp soon. I promise."
"Gods, Percy." Luna managed to say, and she realised she couldn't stop smiling, "I... I thought you didn't make it."
"Me too." Percy reassured, "But, I'm here now... and I'm okay."
Annabeth asked curiously, "What are you doing in the Big House? Where's Chiron?"
"Chiron's holding camp together. Everyone thinks we're going to war, so the cabins are taking sides." Luna explained, "I'm staying at the Big House for now... to stop the fights."
"Fights?" Percy questioned in concern, "Lu, what fights?"
"It doesn't matter anymore. I'm okay now." Luna reassured before continuing, "On a positive note, I got claimed yesterday morning by Hecate. Turns out I'm some sort of witch."
Percy's face lit up, "That's great, Lu, honestly." He paused, "Wait, what Cabin are you staying in?"
"I was staying in Hermes." Luna replied with a shrug, "But I'm better off here for a few nights."
"Luna, you're okay!" Grover exclaimed as he walked into the frame.
"Hi, Grover." Luna gave a small wave, before asking, "Do you need any help?"
"You'll be safer at camp." Annabeth explained, "Besides, Grover found out who stole the bolt. We found out that Ares knew who the thief was but was covering for them. So, who would Ares cover for other than..."
"Clarisse." Luna realised, and a part of her heart dropped to her stomach.
"You have to tell Chiron, he has to arrest her, and find out what she knows." Percy insisted, "There's more to this than just the bolt. It's something much bigger."
"Okay." Luna nodded, before asking, "Wait. You met Ares? Like, the God, Ares?"
"Do you know another Ares?" Percy questioned sarcastically, as Luna stuck up a middle finger. He explained, "Well, compared to the Chimera on Monday and Medusa on Sunday, could've been a lot worse."
"Medusa was Saturday." Annabeth disagreed, "No monsters on Sunday. Monday, you died in the river."
Percy agreed, "Right. So, then-"
"What's going on?" Luna interrupted with a chuckle, "And when did Grover become the third wheel?"
"Funny." Percy deadpanned, "Anyway... Please tell Chiron about Clarisse-"
"Wait, Luna, you know how to play Pinochle?" Grover interrupted curiously, as he squinted his eyes to see the cards on the table behind Luna.
"Not really." Luna replied, "Mr D has been trying to teach me... but I don't understand card games and he still can't get my name right. So... no. Maybe you could teach me when you get back?"
"Yeah." Grover smiled, before suggesting, "We should get going, it looks like we'll arrive any minute now... and the people driving this thing aren't very nice."
Percy nodded, "Bye, Lu."
"Don't do anything stupid, Percy." Luna said.
"I never do stupid things." Percy shot back, "And I should be saying that to you."
"Annabeth, look after him, would you?" Luna asked, smiling slightly.
"Of course." She smiled, "It's nice to know you're okay. So stay that way, okay?" She turned to Percy, "Come on, Seaweed Brain-"
The mist faded away, leaving Luna alone in the room. She wiped the tears from her cheeks, and left the room before Mr D could return- she figured it would be a bit awkward if he saw her crying.
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Fanfictionˋ°•*⁀➷ Luna Ugliano doesn't fit in. Like a puzzle with half the wrong pieces. Although, she accidentally finds out the reason for her differences involves the Greek Gods.
