mastermind - percy jackson

i. endings

"he'll be okay"

Cassandra Regalia used to be able to count on one hand, the amount of days she truly cherished.

Having lived for two thousand years, a day—only twenty four hours— just passed too quickly for her to cherish.

You might have noticed the use of the word used.

Ever since Percy's fifteenth birthday party, when she came back looking like she needed to be in the ICU, she started to cherish every single day that she woke up breathing.

But she valued the good days even more.

Of course no day was perfect, but the good days were better than most.

When her symptoms took the backburner and allowed her to resume more normal activities. 

Most of the time this consisted of a walk around camp with one of her friends, or Iris-Messaging her family, or other friends. 

Today she simply chose to catch up on sleep.

It seems dumb. A girl who is cursed with constant sickness choosing to sleep during one of her good days, but even though she mostly just laid in the infirmary all day, she rarely got a good nights rest.

She woke up almost every hour, either because she was feeling so sick she couldn't sleep, having a nightmare, or someone else entering the infirmary.

Plus, it wasn't like there was anything else to do.

Drew was continuing her training for the war, Annabeth would be making battle strategies with her siblings, and Silena would be spending every second she got with her boyfriend, Charles Beckendorf before his mission.

This mission was perhaps the most dangerous mission of the summer. Percy and Beckendorf would be trying to make it onto Kronos' monster cruise ship—the Princess Andromeda, and blow it up.

Cassandra knew that if she remained awake during the duration of the mission, she would just end up worrying so much, she would make herself sick.

Falling asleep was easy. 

Waking up when her feet hit the black marble of Mount Orthys on the other hand, was not.

The hollow laugh echoed through the throne room as she scanned the room for the source.

"Kronos" She said, her teeth gritted.

"Cassandra" The voice of the Titan lord of time replied. "Long time, no see."

"I thought you'd given up" Cassandra said with a shrug. "I made it pretty clear the last time we talked, that I wasn't joining the Titans."

"Perhaps you just need another push in the right direction" The Titan theorized. "I doubt you truly support the gods after all they've done" He continued on. "The curse you've been given, your prophecy which you still don't know the contents of, deathly situations, your friends deaths..."

"That isn't the gods fault" Cassandra protested.

"Still defending them I see" Kronos noted. "I've already explained the curse, but your friends deaths, those are what truly confuse you."

"What? I'm not confused."

"No need to deny it" Kronos assured. "Let me ask you, why was Zoe Nightshade on that quest?"

Cassandra was quiet for a moment before mumbling, "To save Artemis."

"Ah, maybe you doubt the gods more than I thought" The Titan said. "But yes, Zoe Nightshade lost her life, saving that horrible moon goddess."