The Lone Guardian (A Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

Chapter 14

I woke up the next morning in my bunk in the Poseidon cabin with dry tear tracks on my face and no idea how I got there.

Suddenly, the events of the night before came rushing back to me and I realized I must have fallen asleep in my father's arms, meaning he must have carried me to my bunk.

"Thanks, Dad," I croaked, my voice still hoarse from screaming the night before.

I took a shower and got dressed, retrieving my armor from my tent before leaving my cabin. It's always a good idea to train in armor you're unfamiliar with when you know you'll be wearing it in battle. As I strapped on the black and sea-green metal, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was very light and fit perfectly to my body. I grinned and said a prayer of thanks for Hephaestus as I walked to the dining pavilion for breakfast.

When I arrived at the dining pavilion, most of the campers were eating already, some staring enviously at my armor, but, luckily, no one mentioned what happened last night and I was grateful. I sat down at the Poseidon table and looked at the hunters sitting at the Artemis table. Those who noticed me looking smiled slightly and nodded in greeting, except for Elizabeth, who grinned and waved enthusiastically with Alice, who it seems she's grown close to. I smiled and waved back before turning to my plate as blue pancakes appeared. I sacrificed a pancake for my father and devoured my food.

After I finished, I went up to the head table where Chiron was standing with some satyrs and Mr. D. Mr. D was flipping through a wine magazine, but looked up as I approached.

"Well, if it isn't Percy Jackson. To what do I owe this magnificent pleasure?," he said sarcastically. I blinked in surprise and grinned.

"I never thought I'd hear you address me by my actual name, Mr. D," I said with a smirk.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Peter Johnson," he replied. I rolled my eyes.

"I actually came to speak to Chiron," I said.

"What is it, Percy?," Chiron asked. I whispered my intentions quietly and he nodded before moving forward in his centaur form.

"Campers!," he shouted. The crowd grew silent and looked at him respectfully.

"Percy, here, has an announcement to make. Please give him your full attention," Chiron said and I stepped forward. All eyes turned to me. I ran my hand through my hair and cleared my throat before I began.

"Alright. Starting today, we will be focusing on training for battle instead of your regular camp activities. Thalia and some of the more experienced hunters will be archery trainers. And, girls, you do not have permission to injure the boys," I said and was interrupted by a chorus of "Awww" and "No fair" from the girls, as well as sighs of relief from the boys.

"Spear training will be taught by Clarisse," I continued and she grunted in agreement. "I will handle sword training, but will help out wherever I'm needed."

"Not archery I hope!," One camper shouted from the back, earning some snickers.

"Actually," I started as I took my bow off my back and carefully aimed at a passing bird in the sky before letting the arrow fly, "being blessed by both Artemis and Apollo has given me significantly improved archery skills."

The bird dropped to the ground as I finished and I smirked as the campers turned their heads back and forth between me and the bird with their jaws dropped and eyes as wide as saucers. I walked over to pick up the bird, the campers staring at me in awe and the hunters smirking with me, before tossing it into the sacrificial flames at the center of the pavilion in honor of the twin gods who gave me the skills to do that.

"So!," I exclaimed, causing a few campers to jump. "Once you have finished breakfast, make your way to the arena or the archery range and start training!"

Everyone gave shouts of anxious excitement and quickly finished eating in order to quickly get started on training. I soon arrived in the sword arena and began teaching maneuvers to use in sword fights to the demigods who had already arrived, starting with the disarming technique Luke had taught me so many years ago.

-Time Skip-

The next couple of weeks went by quickly as we trained, but the tension grew with each day that passed. All of us knew what was coming and it was obvious in the grim expressions each half-blood wore as they focused on their skills.

I hardly slept at night, the lines of the prophecy keeping me awake. Especially the last one, 'And joining the lost at long last.' I had my suspicions about what it meant and I knew I couldn't tell anyone. I didn't want them to worry about me when they should be focused on their training and I definitely didn't want them interfering. Interfering with prophecies never ends well.

Instead, I spent a few nights struggling to control my dyslexia to write everything I needed to say until I had a decently written letter. Once it was finished, I began keeping it folded in my pocket next to Riptide, waiting for the day I needed it, which came sooner than any of us hoped.

We were just about to start the day's training when the conch horn blew three times. The signal for an attack. The war had begun.

And it was the beginning of the end.