Chapter 40
"It's the Laurel of Tyche," Annabeth said, her voice changing slightly. She sat up a bit straighter and cleared her throat. Any second now, her voice was going to become super clear and she was going to use some sort of anecdote.
"Tyche?" Malcolm asked, interested. Yikes, maybe that gleam of knowledge in his eyes is just an Athena thing—Annabeth gets the same look on her face all the time.
Annabeth hummed. "She's the goddess of luck. There aren't a lot of myths about her, to be honest, but one of the most common ones is her laurel. The story goes that one day, a man was praying by the banks of Acheron. He'd just lost his wife and children in a horrible fire, and all of his possessions and money were destroyed, too. He had nothing left, so he wept and prayed to every god he could think of. For hours and hours, he sat there, on his knees in the shallow water. No god answered the call. None of the Olympians, none of the minor gods or goddesses—even the naiads paid him no mind. After a full day had passed, Tyche decided to take pity on the man and bestow upon him her special laurel, promising that it would change his life."
"And did it?" Malcolm asked curiously.
"It did. It changed the man's entire life. He got back on his feet, and turned his whole fate around," Annabeth recalled, and Malcolm started looking at the box as if it had a loaded gun inside of it. "Rather than lose himself at the river, he went on to become a well respected doctor. He spent the rest of his days helping people, and when his time came, he passed the laurel down to the next person who needed it."
"So the laurel makes its owner really lucky?" Malcolm finished, putting two and two together. "How did it end up at camp?"
"No clue," Annabeth said honestly, closing the box and putting it in her pocket. "Percy's the one who found out about it. He was just going to find it and take it for himself, but I beat him to the punch."
"In the name of fairness, she said," I grumbled under my breath.
Yeah, right.
There was nothing fair about that situation at all. Come on, though—you didn't really think I'd boost all of my stats without getting [LUC] up, did you?
I'm always scheming.
As Annabeth continued talking to Malcolm about Tyche, I ignored the bubbling feeling of annoyance sprouting through my stomach. In all honesty, that laurel should be mine. I did all of the work! I found the myth, I researched the goddess, hell, I even tracked it down to one of the camp storage units. Zeus only knows how a camper encountered it on their quest to the Gorgon sisters, but I'm not complaining. At least one thing came back from that quest.
Ha! I basically didn't even need Annabeth. The only reason I needed her was to talk to Chiron. She was his favorite camper! I knew she'd be able to get me it with minimal fuss. I could have gotten it myself, but that would've led to a lot of questions, waiting, and maybe even a game of pinochle with Mr. D— I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
Instead, my favorite blonde went to him and came up with this whole idea. The cabins, all coming together and fighting for eternal promised luck. Chiron ate it up.
My eyes glanced at the box again.
Observe!
Tiny little words sprung up all over my vision. I focused on the laurel.
— - —
{The Laurel of Tyche}
[Description]: A golden laurel blessed by the goddess of luck herself! Obtaining this laurel will grant the holder heavily boosted luck, though it will make situations involving bad luck exponentially worse.
[Effects]: Initial gain of [+][10][LUC] and then [+1][LUC] on every level up!
— - —
Ugh. I'd never have to upgrade my [LUC] again if I could get my hands on that thing. I wasn't too worried about winning, to be honest. Worst case, I could [Nike's Leap] to the top and call it a feat of strength, or something. I was just annoyed that Annabeth had to do me like that, though. If she ever comes to me for help, I'm doing the same thing! Well, probably not, but just let me dream, will you?
We finished up our chess game in amicable silence, and the three of us exited the cabin to go to lunch. I had Malcolm sitting on my shoulders, and he was commanding me around like I was some sort of minion to him.
"Forward, lackey!" He screamed, pulling my hair in different directions. "The mess hall awaits us! I must nourish my weary body after my victory!"
"You have got to stop letting him read all those weird myths," I complained to Annabeth, rubbing my forehead. Damn brat was going to rip some of my roots out.
"Ha! No way, Seaweed Brain. Unlike you, children of Athena need to keep our minds sharp," Annabeth teased, smiling at Malcolm. "We can't just rush in without a plan and blast water at anyone in our way."
We all laughed as we walked toward the dining pavilion, the sound of chatter and clinking plates growing louder. Just as we rounded the corner, a familiar face appeared.
"Percy," Piper greeted, her tone a little too casual, her voice laced with an awkward hesitation. Her eyes flicked to Annabeth, and for a split second, I caught something unspoken pass between them. Annabeth's expression shifted into a sour glare, her annoyance radiating off her like a storm cloud.
"Can we talk?" Piper asked, turning her attention back to me, though she still seemed hyperaware of Annabeth's presence.
"You know her, Percy?" Annabeth said, her tone clipped and sharp, her gray eyes narrowing at me in a way that made me feel like I'd just stepped on a landmine. Her reaction was way too intense for Piper to be just some random demigod.
"Uh, yeah, I do," I said, keeping my voice even as I glanced between them. Annabeth's gaze burned into me with a level of suspicion I hadn't seen since the night I came back from…well, you know. It was like she was waiting for me to say the wrong thing, but I had no idea what that was.
"Yeah, we can talk," I added, trying to break the tension. "What's up?"
Piper's lips pressed into a thin line, and her fingers fidgeted with the braided leather band around her wrist. Annabeth crossed her arms, her posture rigid, and didn't take her eyes off Piper for even a second. Whoa. Okay. There's definitely something going on here, I thought, feeling like I'd walked into the middle of a play without knowing my lines. The air between them practically crackled, but neither of them seemed ready to address it.
"Alone," Piper added, slightly nervously.
"Yeah, is everything okay?" I said, worry seeping into my tone. I gently removed Malcolm from my head and placed him on the ground.
"Let's go, Colm," Annabeth said forcibly, grabbing his hand and dragging him away.
"Bye Percy!" He waved, smiling at me as he disappeared into the distance.
"You okay, Pipes?" I asked, sizing her up. A stab of guilt pricked my insides. I just realized I haven't checked up on her since the quest.
Oh, man. She saw things that would scar most adults in a span of a week! We both almost died a few times! I had the benefit of [Gamer's Mind], but she was just a little kid who left home to a world she didn't know. Damn it. I'm starting to realize I royally fucked this one. Well…that being said, she wasn't there for too much of the action. Plus, the camp is the safest place around, so I don't think she'd be too scared —but still!
"No…" Piper said quietly.