Solis

Chapter XVI

Ron noticed that someone seemed to be avoiding him for the past few days, and it turned out—It was Annabeth herself, and he didn't know the reason why. Whenever he tried to talk to her, she would make excuses about being busy working on chariot designs with Percy. Even when he spotted her and called out to her, she would quickly disappear. Ron even suspected that Annabeth was using her Yankee cap to stay away from him.

Ron felt extremely confused and couldn't make sense of the situation. He struggled to keep his frustration in check nowadays. He decied to just observed Lee and the others working on chariot drawings. When they asked to use Tommy, Ron agreed, but he warned them to be cautious since the pegasus had a bit of an attitude.

Whenever they had to clean the stable, Tommy would always act grumpy at Ron as if he annoyed the pegasus. Tommy even attempted to nibble on Ron's clothes and hair and while Ron was cleaning Tommy's wings, the pegasus would playfully flop them around to irritate him. Ron shook his head, trying to focus. His thoughts should be less about Tommy and the chariot, and more about Annabeth and the camp.

"Ron-ron, are you alright?" Kayla asked while working on coloring the chariot design.

"I'm just confused," Ron replied, his gaze fixed on the drawing. 

"Confused about the drawing, or... I mean, Lee sketched them, but we get to choose the colors and details," Kayla clarified.

"No, no—not about that. I'm talking about the camp, Annabeth ignoring me, and Chiron not allowing me to leave," Ron explained wearily. "And then there's Luke," he added, handing Austin a yellow-colored pen.

"What about him?" Austin asked focused on coloring the drawing.

"He left without a word, and Annabeth won't tell me anything," 

“Like anything?“ Kayla asked, putting some doodle designs on the side of the chariot.

Ron nodded and absentmindedly colored his palm with a black pen. "I'm letting them be, because the more I ask, the more secrets they'll keep. I'll just try to enjoy my time here..."

"You're not suuure, maybe they're doing it to protect you, like Lee did in the past," Kayla said with a shrug, still putting a lot of doodles. Ron winced at the reminder. "Gee, you don't have to bring that up." he replied.

Kayla and Austin giggled when the redhead tossed them the leftover color pens.

The next day, they had already forgotten about the talk. Lee was still determined to work on the chariot they were making. He was just adamant on the designs of the chariot, because Kayla added many doodles on it, and Austin and Ron attached wings and flames to make it resemble a rocket chariot.

The campers still train though, Percy joined them in the arena and Ron watched him thrashes the swords of his half-siblings.

“Hey, Percy.“ Ron greeted as he walked beside shin towards the archery where Kayla and Austin were waiting for him. “Where's your brother—?“ 

Suddenly, Percy stopped in his tracks and glared at the redhead, catching him off guard. "Look, he's not my brother, alright? We're not related in any way. Just because he was claimed."

Ron raised an eyebrow. "What's the problem with that?"

"You wouldn't get it," Percy replied, attempting to walk faster toward the archery range, but Ron managed to catch up with him.

“Okay. But can you tell me why Annie's ignoring me?“

“I don't wanna talk about her right now.“

“Why?“

"It's a bit complicated.“

“Is this about your brother?“

Percy turned around to face Ron, aware that he had annoyed him to the highest level. “You know what, forget about it.“ he gave up, then walked away towards the archery range leaving Ron behind who shrugged.

Ron went after Percy and saw him attempting but Percy didn't know how to use the bow correctly. Ron decided to help and show him, even though Percy didn't want an eight-year-old teaching him. Despite this, Percy wasn't upset, just feeling a bit embarrassed.

“So, do you know where Luke went?"

Percy appeared to be tense by that, "Annabeth didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what—"

"Ron! Lee was looking for us!" They were interrupted by the sudden voice of his half-sibling. “We're making the chariot now!“ 

"I'm coming!" Ron shouted back, giving Percy a tired look.

"I'll just find Annie and talk to her about it, thanks. Tell your brother I say hi."

"Tyson." Percy hesitated "That's his name." 

Ron offered a gentle smile and nodded, said goodbye, and quickly headed towards his half-sibling—Agatha who were now chatting with Kayla and Austin.

🔆

"Colleb, Jasmine, remember, no mimicking. Just have your bow and arrow ready in case something happens," Lee instructed as they inspected their golden chariot but the only thing is the funny doodles that trimmed in there (Kayla designed them). They were getting ready for the chariot race, and Ron, along with their other half-siblings, felt nervous.

"And if they hit the chariot, just jump on the pegasus and escape. No dying!" Ron chimed in.

"We'll be okay," Colleb reassured, giving a nod to Lee.

"Make sure you two stay safe," Lee sighed. "Now go on."

They quickly joined the other campers who were in the spectators. The satyrs and dryads were also there to watch, and Ron ended up sitting next to a sweaty satyr who seemed quite enthusiastic.

"Y-you smell funny!" the satyr commented.

"Thanks!" Ron replied 

“Tantalus announced as the teams began to assemble. A naiad had brought him a big platter of pastries, and as Tantalus spoke, his right hand chased a chocolate eclair across the judge’s table. “You all know the rules. A quarter-mile track. Twice around to win. Two horses per chariot. Each team will consist of a driver and a fighter. Weapons are allowed. Dirty tricks are expected. But try not to kill anybody!” Tantalus smiled at them like they were all naughty children. 

“Any killing will result in harsh punish-ment. No s’mores at the campfire for a week! Now ready your chariots!”

Ron looked down and observed the chariots being lined up, but he spotted some weird birds in the trees. They were screeching loudly, and although some campers were focused on the chariots, Ron found it hard to ignore the strange birds. He resisted the urge to reach for the bow in his pocket.

As the chariots were getting ready, the screeching sound came again, and this time every camper seemed to hear it. All eyes turned to the weird birds, and Ron noticed his half-siblings gripping their bows tightly, clearly feeling nervous.

“Charioteers!” Tantalus shouted. “Attend your mark!”

The crowd erupted in cheers, but Ron and his half-siblings let out heavy sighs when their chariot was rammed by the Stolls, causing it to flip over. "YOU STOLLS WERE UGLY!" Ron shouted, his frustration evident. However, his panic grew as Tommy and the other Pegasus panicked too and crashed into Hermes' chariot, causing them to flip as well.

Ron and his half-siblings cheered, clearly showing their satisfaction. 

However, just as Ron was about to shift his attention to other teams, relieved that his two half-siblings had safely maneuvered through the track, his eyes caught something soaring into the sky. His eyes widened as he looked up.

"Uhm, guys..." He tried to call their attention and everyone must noticed it too because everyone screamed.

In the sky, there were a thousand birds, and now that Ron was focused on them, his sharp eyes realized that it wasn't just any bird. He had read about them somewhere in a book. "Stymphalian birds!“ Ron exclaimed as they all swarmed and then dived in their direction.

They all screamed as they were attacked. Ron couldn't shoot properly, and Austin beside him and the others was moving around too much, making it hard to get an arrow ready. Something bit him on the arm, and Ron tilted his body to grab an arrow from behind him. He stabbed the bird, and it exploded into dust.

But there were so many of them, and one of Ron's weaknesses was being in a tight space with enemies too close. They ran in different directions to escape from the spectator area, and Ron even tripped as the birds kept biting him and tearing his clothes. Someone grabbed his hair, and he stabbed at it with another arrow. "Not my hair, you—" he was relieved that Lee wasn't there to hear the enxt. 

Ron and his half-siblings manage get out from the spectator to the tracks, all of them bleeding from the bird attack. Suddenly, loud music started playing as the stymphalian went nuts. They started flying in circles, running into each other like they wanted to bash their own brains out. Then they abandoned the track alto-gether and flew skyward in a huge dark wave.

Now that it was clear, his half-siblings drew out their archeries. “Now!” They heard Annabeth shouted. “Archers!”

The eight of them worked together, shooting arrows to take down as many of the birds as possible with each shot. Despite their small group, they managed to bring down a significant number of the Stymphalian birds with just a single arrow each.

Ron, Kayla, and Austin all slumped onto the cabin floor, exhausted from the battle. Agatha and Aundrey came over to help them, attempting to move them to the side. Ron was very drained and his body ached—he also felt quite hungry.

After cleaning up, they went to dinner and tried to lift everyone's spirits. Ron played the lyre tiredly and mumbled the lyrics of the music, trying not to doze off there.

Mr. D the one who first left and Ron was about to follow him to return back to cabin when Austin dragged him down again.

When the last song was over, Tantalus said, “Well, that was lovely!” 

He came forward with a toasted marshmallow on a stick and tried to pluck it off, real casual-like. But before he could touch it, the marshmallow flew off the stick. Tantalus made a wild grab, but the marshmallow committed suicide, diving into the flames. 

Tantalus turned back toward them, smiling coldly. “Now then! Some announcements about tomorrow’s schedule.” 

“Sir,” Percy said. 

Tantalus’s eye twitched. “Our kitchen boy has some-thing to say?”

Ron heard some snickers from the Ares and he tried to glare at them despite of him already dozzing off on Austin's shoulder.

“We have an idea to save the camp.” He heard Percy said and that woke up Ron, the redhead jumped and felt like his body just regained his strenght. A sense of somethingg, its lingering and emitting from the flames as its getting stronger.

“Indeed,” Tantalus said blandly. “Well, if it has anything to do with chariots—”

“The Golden Fleece,” Percy said. “We know where it is.” The flames burned orange. Before Tantalus could stop me, Percy blurted out his dream about Grover and Polyphemus’s island. Annabeth stepped in and reminded everybody what the Fleece could do.

“The Fleece can save the camp,” she concluded. “I’m certain of it.” 

“Nonsense,” Tantalus said  “We don’t need saving.” 
Everybody stared at him until Tantalus started looking uncomfortable. 

“Besides,” he added quickly, “the Sea of Monsters? That’s hardly an exact location. You wouldn’t even know where to look.” 

“Yes, I would,” Percy said. “30, 31,75, 12,” 

“Ooo-kay,” Tantalus said. “Thank you for sharing those meaningless numbers.” 

“They’re sailing coordinates,” Percy said. “Latitude and longitude. I, uh, learned about it in social studies.” 

Even Annabeth looked impressed. “30 degrees, 31 minutes north, 75 degrees, 12 minutes west. He’s right! The Gray Sisters gave us those coordinates. That’d be somewhere in the Atlantic, off the coast of Florida. The Sea of Monsters. We need a quest!” 

Everyone sat up attentively at the mention of the word "quest." The campers could sense the urgency and importance of it, feeling that the camp was in need of it.

“Wait just a minute,” Tantalus said.

Ron joined the chant along with everyone else, as they all expressed their desire for a quest. The flame grew stronger and higher as they chanted. Finally, Tantalus gave up, and they all cheered.

But Ron was relieved when Tantalus announced that the quest would be taken by Clarrise instead of Percy. This meant that Annabeth wouldn't be going, and Ron could focus on talking to her first, and tell him what was really going on—However, as usual, the campers started a fight and takes sides—even began throwing marshmallows at each other. Ron had to duck to avoid getting hit, but accidentally bumped into Kayla's head and her head hit Austin's head.

“Silence, you brats!” Tantalus shouted that made all of them stunned.
 
“Sit down!” he ordered. “And I will tell you a ghost story.”

Tantalus started sharing his own story—how he got banished by the gods for stealing nectar and ambrosia just to learn the recipe, and how he tricked the gods into consuming their own children during a feast. Even though they were already familiar with the story, hearing it directly from Tantalus sent a shiver through them, rendering them silent. Some Aphrodite campers were on the verge of tears, but they tried their best to remain composed.

“Oh, the gods punished him in the afterlife,” Tantalus croaked. “They did indeed. But he’d had his moment of satisfaction, hadn’t he? His children never again spoke back to him or questioned his authority. And do you know what? Rumor has it that the king’s spirit now dwells at this very camp, waiting for a chance to take revenge on ungrateful, rebellious children. And so…are there any more com-plaints, before we send Clarisse off on her quest?” 

Silence. 

Tantalus nodded at Clarisse. “The Oracle, my dear. Go on.” 

She shifted uncomfortably, like even she didn’t want glory at the price of being Tantalus’s pet. 

“Sir—” 

“Go!” he snarled. 

She bowed awkwardly and hurried off toward the Big House. 

“What about you, Percy Jackson?” Tantalus asked. 
“No comments from our dishwasher?” Percy didn’t say anything.

“Good,” Tantalus said. “And let me remind everyone—no one leaves this camp without my permission. Anyone who tries ... well, if they survive the attempt, they will be expelled forever, but it won’t come to that. The harpies will be enforcing curfew from now on, and they are always hungry! Good night, my dear campers. Sleep well.”