OH, CHÉRIE!¹ percy jackson

015

❛015❜

THEY ARRIVED IN long island just after clarisse, thanks to the centaurs' travel powers. ivy rode on the back of a centaur named jamal, they chatted the whole way. although the knowledge of percy knowing about the prophecy remained in the back of her mind.

when they got to camp, the centaurs were anxious to meet dionysus. they'd heard he threw some really wild parties, but they were disappointed. the wine god was in no mood to celebrate as the whole camp gathered at the top of half-blood Hill.

the camp had been through a hard two weeks. the arts and crafts cabin had burned to the ground from an attack by a draco aionius. the big house's rooms were overflowing with wounded. the kids in the apollo cabin, who were the best healers, had been working overtime performing first aid. everybody looked weary and battered as we crowded around thalia's tree.

the moment clarisse draped the golden fleece over the lowest bough, the moonlight seemed to brighten, turning from grey to liquid silver. a cool breeze rustled in the branches and rippled through the grass, all the way into the valley. everything came into sharper focus – the glow of the fireflies down in the woods, the smell of the strawberry fields, the sound of the waves on the beach.

gradually, the needles on the pine tree started turning from brown to green.

everybody cheered. it was happening slowly, but there could be no doubt – the fleece's magic was seeping into the tree, filling it with new power and expelling the poison.

chiron ordered a twenty-four/seven guard duty on the hilltop, at least until he could find an appropriate monster to protect the fleece. he said he'd place an ad in olympus weekly right away.

in the meantime, clarisse was carried on her cabin mates' shoulders down to the amphitheatre, where she was honored with a laurel wreath and a lot of celebrating around the campfire.

nobody gave annabeth or me a second look. it was as if they'd never left. in a way, ivy guessed that was the best thank-you anyone could give them, because if anyone admitted they'd snuck out of camp to do the quest, they would be expelled. and, really, ivy didn't want any more attention.

later that night, they roasted marshmallows and listened to the stoll brothers tell a ghost story about an evil king who was eaten alive by demonic breakfast pastries. ivy didn't shy away from absorbing the utter happiness camp brought her. across the she could see clarisse giving percy grief about something, gabriel sat with his siblings talking with a lot of hand gestures since he didn't have his arm sling anymore, rae was annoying little will to no end. looking towards the hermes cabin section, ivy frowned when she didn't spot ethan.

abruptly, tobias plopped himself next to her, swinging his arm around her, "two quests on the bag, sis. we should build you a shrine in the cabin."

ivy laughed, shoving a chocolate covered marshmallow in her mouth, "i agree. make sure they get my nose right, though. i heard the nose is the hardest part to draw in a portrait."

"i'm glad you're home," he shook her shoulder, "olympus knows we all go half crazy when you're running to save the world."

the next morning, after the party ponies headed back to florida, chiron made a surprise announcement: the chariot races would go ahead as scheduled. they'd all figured they were history now that tantalus was gone, but completing them did feel like the right thing to do, especially now that chiron was back and the camp was safe.