Letters to Luke // Thaluke

Epilouge

Thalia slumped against her pine tree and held her head in her hands. She didn't have to be strong now - there was no one here to be strong for. The tears she had been holding back for so long didn't come though. She let her thoughts wander instead as she watched the stars twinkle dimly in the night sky. In the back of her mind, she wondered if they understood her pain.

This was where it all started to go down hill. Where she lost five years of her life. Where Luke let his grudge against the gods go too far.

Why, why, why were the Fates so cruel? They hid her brother from her for years. They took Luke from her. They were the reason this second war had come around, why half her Hunters were in the Underworld, why so many demigods and nature spirits lay dead around her. They were why Thalia was hurting so much.

And she was sick of it. She didn't want to hurt anymore. She didn't want to pretend to be strong. She didn't want to say "I'm fine," when really she just wanted someone to hold her and whisper in her ear that it would be alright.

The way Luke used to.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when Jason sat down next to her. He wrapped one arm around her shoulder and pulled her a bit closer to him. For a moment they were silent, looking at but not really seeing the mortal side of the hill.

"Are you okay, Thals?" Jason asked, rubbing her arm.

Thalia hestitated. She almost gave him her usual "I'm fine," and hid behind her normal mask of no emotion. Almost. Instead, she shook her head and choked back a sob. "I'm tired, Jase. Of the hurting. Of losing people. Of the wars. I just want it to stop. I want him back, so it can be the way it used to be."

Jason hugged his sister a little tighter, and brushed her black and blue-streaked hair out of her face. "It's gonna be okay, Thals. You'll see. It'll get better."

Thalia studied her brother. With his blonde hair and blue eyes, she could almost believe it was Luke saying those words to her. "No, it won't," she said sadly. "Please. I can't take anymore lies."

She stood up and brushed herself off. Then Thalia started down the hill, wrapping her silver parka a little tighter around herself and headed back to Cabin 8, where the rest of her Hunters were waiting for their lieutenant.

***

Jason watched his sister go, her silver parka standing out against the black of the night. He could tell Thalia was in a lot of pain, though her blessing of Artemis had healed most of her physical wounds. He could see her silver glow fading, even if she couldn't.

Thalia Grace was broken beyond repair. She was dying.

Jason was suffering too, especially with the loss of Leo. Pipes helped, and they shared their sorrow with the others. But Thalia had been carrying her burden for so much longer and now she wasn't capable of carrying it at all.

Jason knew she needed help and he would get her it, he vowed silently, as he watched make her way to the glowing silver cabin.

***

The next day, when Jason saw Thalia leave her cabin for a walk, he went and knocked on the door. A little girl who looked about seven answered it. Though she was young, the Hunters must have trained her well, because she looked at Jason with a face of distaste.

"Who are you?" she asked, glaring up at him.

"I'm Jason Grace, Thalia's brother," he told her. "Who are you?"

"I'm Amy," she said uncertainly, twisting a strand of brown hair around her finger. "What do you want?"

Jason bit his lip, then knelt down to Amy's height. "Do you notice how Thalia looks a bit unwell?"