Solis

Chapter XIII

After that, there were no more updates about Percy. Everyone at camp was tense because news of Percy's quest had spread. The fights continued, even with Chiron trying to stop them. Ron understood that no one knew what was happening. He shared what he knew with his half-siblings. So, it wasn't his fault if he started feeling restless two days later. Luke wasn't around that much when Ron wanted to hang out, so he just found comfort in touching the bracelet beads Luke gave him.

Lee also had to step in to stop them for having a figth with other cabins. He was already stressed enough that made Ron worries about him. 

Three days had passed, and Ron came to the realization that it had been ten days since Annabeth left. He continued to listen to the radio, and whenever a newspaper was delivered to the camp, he wasted no time in getting one. 

Ron tried his best not to become too anxious. He would just occasionally visit Nyssa at the forge with Kayla and Austin, observing others as they worked on their weapons. Nyssa even showed him the half-finished bow she was crafting for him, apologizing for the delay due to other requests from campers.

Ron assured her it was okay and focused on distracting himself by examining the new weapons in the forge's collection. As the late afternoon of June 21st approached —the first day of summer solstice—He was distracting himself in a book about Atlas something when suddenly the cabin door swung open. One of his half-siblings appeared, slightly out of breath.

"They're here.“

On that day, Ron felt a rush of happiness he had never experienced before. He didn't know whether to cry or laugh; his emotions were all mixed up. He sprinted up the hill and embraced Roby and Annabeth tightly. It didn't matter to him that their clothes were dirty or that they smelled like the outside world. All that mattered was that they were alive.

A crowd gathered around them, cheering and bombarding them with questions. They wanted to know what had happened – if the war had truly ended, what occurred between Poseidon and Zeus, and so much more.

However, they noticed Percy was missing, and Annabeth must have seen their puzzled looks. "He made it, we all made it," she reassured them.

"We should celebrate!" someone shouted as everyone cheered.

“Prepare the shrouds!“

After Percy's return, the camp erupted in cheers, and the tradition of receiving shrouds and laurels followed. Ron dashed toward Percy with a beaming smile, placing a Spider-Man sticker on Percy's arm. "Thanks, Percy," he exclaimed before darting off to Roby—though the satyr corrected him, telling him that his name was Grover. Ron just happily stuck another Spider-Man sticker on Grover's cheek.

"It's sticking, it's sticking!" Grover exclaimed.

Ron burst into laughter, saying, "It's a sticker, a reward for you!" before joining his half-siblings for a sing-along.

As he was about to leave, Ron noticed Annabeth joining Grover, and he thought he heard her say something like, "I told you he wasn't mad at you." The words seemed to bring tears to Grover's eyes shakingly sticking the face of Spider-Man sticker on his reed pipe.

After a week, the bow Nyssa crafted for Ron was ready. He felt really excited and couldn't wait to show it to everyone.

"Look, look!" Ron exclaimed, proudly displaying his new bow. At first glance, it appeared to be a simple metal handle, but with a swift movement of his hand, the upper and lower parts of the bow emerged from within the handle, forming a symmetrical bow shape. Additionally, a string materialized between the two ends, completing the transformation.

Everyone jaw-dropped at that. 

Nyssa mentioned that she spent nearly four hours everyday tinkering with the bow while she worked on other weapons. Ron thanked her profusely and gave her a box of candies as a token of appreciation, the girl also told him. The girl also mentioned that she had been thinking about creating something similar that could easily fit in anyone's bag, so they wouldn't have to carry those weapons around all the time.

Austin and Kayla wanted the same thing too, and Nyssa gave them a thumbs-up—but Ron looked worried at her.

"Don't worry, Ronny. I have my siblings to help me this time.“ She winked, in the end the three of them watched Nyssa and her cabin mates to work with it. They also kept arguing what to add and what to remove— but Lee eventually found the three of them there and had to drag them out.

Capture-the-flag used to make Ron feel uncomfortable when he heard the announcement from Mr. D during dinner. But then Lee nudged him and said he could join Annabeth's team.

Ron was surprised, "Really!? I can!?"

"Of course. You have Austin, Kayla, and the others with you."

"But we're supposed to be the medics with Mr. Chiron..." Ron mumbled as he ate some vegetables and made a disgusted face.

Lee smiled, "I can't bear to see my little brother unhappy before I leave. You should have fun."

Ron stopped eating and looked at Lee with a sad expression, "Is school really that important?"

Lee sighed, "As much as I want to say it's not, it really is, Ron. Especially when you're aiming for a top university. But don't worry, I'll be back next summer."

"Not during winter?" Ron pouted.

"Sorry, Ron. But I'll leave Michael to take care of you guys if I won't be able to visit."

"Michael? No way! He's so short, how can he handle us?" As someone threw a piece of meat that hit Ron's face as it slowly fell to his plate.

"At least I'm not the youngest!" the short boy retorted. In response, Ron tossed a piece of barbecue at Michael's face.

Suddenly, a food fight erupted as other campers joined in. The chaos continued until Chiron raised his voice to bring a stop to the commotion.

Ron also had the chance to meet Percy again, the redhead was truly impressed by Percy's sword skills and strength, seeing him as a real hero when he teamed up with him for capture-the-flag, Ron alsostarted to understand the game better, and this time he wasn't on the wrong team anymore.

Ron, Kayla, and Austin continued their usual activities every summer, and then suddenly, the person Ron had been eagerly awaiting returned.

"Will!" Ron greeted, hugging the boy and accidentally causing both of them to tumble to the hill due to Ron's increasing weight. The blonde boy appeared somewhat a little scared of Ron's enthusiastic nature, especially when the redhead was accompanied by Kayla and Austin, who always insisted on including him in their games with the rest of the kids in the camp.

But the boy's attitude softened, especially since Ron always helped him with learning about mythology and Greek stuffs.

Even though Will didn't ask, he was surprised when Ron shared everything that had happened—about Percy, the quest, and the potential war that could have taken place, if Percy didn't succeed—causing him to gape in shock while the trio giggled at his reaction.

At the end of summer, Ron was there when they received their summer bead, which was a trident, symbolizing Percy's claim and his quest.

“The choice was unanimous,” Luke announced. “This bead commemorates the first Son of the Sea God at this camp, and the quest he undertook into the darkest part of the Underworld to stop a war!”

The cheering made Ron felt happy because the positive energy from everyone lifted his spirits. The tension and worry were gone, and the fights had stopped. However, he couldn't help but feel a bit sad because he knew that the next day, everyone would be leaving to go back home.

It was even harder for Ron since many of his half-siblings would be busy with school, leaving him alone in the camp. Lee's absence added to his loneliness, and even Michael had school to attend. Ron knew that only Luke, Annabeth, and his other friends, including the Stolls (like he wanted to admit that) would be there for him.

After the cheering, Luke gave the redhead his summer bead. The older teen stared at it for a moment before giving it to him.

“Ron.“

Ron, who was putting the bead onto the bracelet Luke had given him, looked up at him and said, "Yeah?"

"Can we make a promise?"

Ron slowly nodded, giving Luke a reassuring smile that always seemed to calm him. "Okay! But no promises about eating vegetables and drinking milk everyday," he added happily, showing him the bracelet.

“Okay, now?“

“It's perfect.“ Luke chuckled and knelt down in front of him and placed his hands on Ron's shoulder.

"Promise to protect yourself and Annabeth for me, will you?" His voice sounded somewhat serious and far away, but Ron was too absorbed in staring at the bracelet to really notice.

"I will!“

“Good.“

🔆

Ron was mopping the floor, slipping a bit on the wet surface, despite Lee telling him to be careful. Ron couldn't resist sliding again, earning a gentle scold from Lee while his half-siblings was busy packing up their belongings, Lee had assigned Ron, Kayla, Austin, and even Will to clean the cabin, knowing that a camp inspection was coming before they left which surprised the blonde boy.

Will still seemed a bit reserved, but Ron could tell he was gradually becoming more comfortable at the camp. As they tidied up, Kayla made a felt something under Austin and Ron's bunk bed and she took it out there appeared a helmet with a red feathered on the top of it, along with scattered trash, crumpled papers, and missing coloring pens and crayons.

All eyes turned to Ron, who sheepishly wiped his brow, saying, "Um, I might have snuck in the capture-the-flag before..." He confessed.

Lee was about to say something, but the Stolls suddenly appeared at their cabin's opened door, "Hey, Ron! Want to help put some rocks in Drew's luggage and take her make-ups?"

There was a moment of stunned silence before they realized their mistake and added, "Okay, bad timing. Sorry." before leaving.

That afternoon, a small group of campers lingered below the hill, waiting for the bus to arrive and take them. Ron stood at the top, waving to a few of his half-siblings below. They shouted back and forth, sharing laughs and encouraging Will to join in, although he kept shaking his head in refusal.

When he returned back at the camp, Annabeth was there seemed to be waiting him, she has a crossed arm and seemed to be thinking deep. 

When Ron got back to the camp, he found Annabeth waiting for him with her arms crossed, lost in thought. Ron approached her and waved his hand in front of her face, startling her. 

"Hi, Annie," he greeted, beaming at her. 

"Ron, I've been waiting for you," Annabeth replied.

“Something wrong?“

"Well, I want to talk to you about something..."

Ron tilted his head in curiosity, which Annabeth found adorable, but she quickly refocused on what she wanted to say. Taking a deep breath, she explained to him that she was going back home too. 

Ron's eyes widened in surprise. "Like... until next summer?" He squeaked.

"Yeah," Annabeth sighed, "I'm... I'm sorry, Ron." She apologized with a hint of sadness.

Ron felt a pang in his chest but tried to ignore it, forcing himself to be brave. He nodded at the blonde girl and managed a tight smile. "It's okay, I'll be fine! But make sure to protect yourself outside, okay?“

“—and don't worry Luke is here with me." Ron added.

"I told Chiron to, uh... ask if it's okay for you to leave the camp with me. Well, he..." Annabeth offered a sad smile.

"I understand. I trust Mr. Chiron's decisions, so don't worry," Ron replied.

"I don't quite get it, why wouldn't he—" Annabeth paused mid-sentence as they heard shouts of help along with a sound of the conch horn being blew.

They ran towards the noise and noticed a figure not that far away from, they're being pulled by Nymphs, and Annabeth let out a gasp.

It was Percy.