daylight | percy jackson

tree comes back from the dead

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

BOOK TWO

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

❝ you're the first boy who's ever given me flowers. ❞

THEY ARRIVED in Long Island just after Clarisse, thanks to the centaurs' travel powers. Aria rode on the back of a centaur named Maurice, and the two chatted the whole trip.

"So let me guess this straight," Maurice said, still charging forward at full speed. "You're the daughter of Apollo, but you also have some powers of Hades cause your mom had an affair?"

"Correct," Aria replied, gripping on to the centaurs mane for dear life.

"Mama Silvers does not play," Maurice commented.

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 big house's rooms were overflowing with wounded. Aria's siblings, who were the best healers, had been working overtime performing first aid. Everybody looked weary and battered as they 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 honoured with a laurel wreath and a lot of celebrating around the campfire.

Nobody gave Annabeth or Aria a second look. It was as if they'd never left. She guessed that it 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, Aria 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.

Clarisse slid in on the bench Aria was sitting at.

"What do you want?" Aria asked, refusing to look at the Ares girl.

"I wanted to ask..." Clarisse's tone suddenly became nervous. "I admired your bravery on my quest...and I was wondering if you...maybe...wanted to be acquaintances?"