𝔸ℕ𝔻ℝ𝕆𝕄𝔼𝔻𝔸 ℕ𝕀ℂ𝕋𝕆𝕄𝕐ℕ has always felt out of place. Her past wasn't the same as others' pasts, her name wasn't the same as others' names. But the most striking difference was that Andromeda was half god. She never asked to be a demigod, she...
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"betrayer"
OF COURSE, SINCE THEY WERE THE FIRST DEMIGODS TO RETURN TO HALF-BLOOD HILL ALIVE SINCE LUKE, THEY WERE TREATED LIKE CELEBRITIES. Andromeda felt like a millionaire.
First, Andromeda was brought to the infirmary. Percy placed her gently in the bed. He stayed with her while the doctor looked at her spine. He bandaged it and gave her some painkillers, and then she was sent on her way.
She obviously went to change her clothes after that, having been dirty. She threw her ripped clothes in the trash, which made her sad because she really liked the purple cargo pants she had been wearing.
According to tradition, they were awarded laurel wreaths and a feast in their honor. Then they were lead to the bonfire where they burned the burial shrouds that had been prepared for them by their siblings.
Annabeth's shroud was beautiful. It was gray silk with gold embroidered owls. Percy told her it was a shame they didn't get to bury her in it. Annabeth punched his arm and told him to shut up.
Percy's was...a bit different. The Ares cabin had volunteered to make his since he didn't have any siblings. It was an old bedsheet with a border made out of smiley faces with X'ed out eyes. In the middle of the sheet was the word LOSER, written in huge letters.
Andromeda saw in Percy's eyes that he enjoyed burning it.
Andromeda's shroud was made of white velvet with a blooming cherry tree in the center. The material was soft, and she found herself running her fingers over it while she waited for her turn to burn it. She fed it into the flames and watched them engulf the soft fabric.
All the while, Percy was staring at her, thinking about how her hair glowed in the fire light, and how her eyes seemed to turn to gold whenever she looked into the flames.
The Apollo cabin led the sing-along, and s'mores were passed around. Andromeda was surrounded by her cabin mates, who were congratulating her and asking how she made it out of Tartarus.
She smiled at Grover and his satyr friends, who were all marveling at his new searchers' license. And Percy watched as her smile grew when Grover was hugged by all his friends in congratulations. The council had called Grover's performance on the quest "Brave to the point of indigestion. Horns-and-whiskers above anything we have seen in the past." Andromeda was proud of him.
The only ones who didn't seem to want to party were Clarisse and her siblings, who glared at Percy. It seemed like they would never forgive him for dishonoring their father, and that was okay with Percy. But Andromeda glared at Clarisse anytime she looked at Percy funnily.
