The Wilted Hyacinth || Luke Castellan

" I know for certain that someone who doesn't know nature can be pretty scared of it. However, don't think about nature as just a place with a bunch of trees! " I said, guiding Percy through the forest and giving him a few tips before he started his quest. No one asked me to do it, but something inside me made me want to help him in case I wasn't able to in the future

"Think of it as a person with a heart and feelings because if you truly think about it then you will realize that it is indeed alive. Everything around us is alive, from the little leaves on the trees to the animals that make this place their home. They make it alive" I said, touching a tree with my hand before I looked at Percy who was just looking around confused at what I was trying to explain to him

" Nature can be a safe place to those who ask for it to be and those who dare to take advantage of it in a bad way have to face the consequences" I said taking a leaf from a tree and telling Percy to give me his hand. I had seen a wound earlier on it and I knew water would heal it in a minute, but you cannot always find water in a forest unless there is a lake somewhere. I put the leaf on it carefully, and he looked confused before I finally removed it and the wound was gone. He looked amazed for a moment looking at his hand before I pointed to the tree that was right next to me with a smile on my face

" That is called the 'Tree of Love'! You give it some love, and then it returns it to you" I said carefully touching the tree with a grateful smile before I noticed that its trunk was hurt

"Oh, you poor thing who did this to you?" I asked, kneeling on my knees before, my fingers carefully touched the cause of why the tree was hurting. Someone had cut a branch with their sword. Percy came and stood next to me before looking at the way where the missing brunch was before

" Who did this?" He asked looking at me confused before I started looking in my bag for my water bottle to give this poor tree some water because it would be days until it rained again here

" Someone cut a brunch with their sword, definitely without knowing the consequences." I said, showing him a ripped orange t-shirt with stains of blood on it. I looked at it confused trying to figure out to whom it belonged before putting it in my bag and continuing my teaching lesson with Percy through the forest

After lunch, I made my way to Chiron's office because I wanted to inform him of what I saw earlier, and instead, I came across Dionysus, who was drinking a co*ke and going through a magazine that he probably found in the real world. He gave me a look before he closed the magazine and yelled " Holly Loughty is here" I gave him an angry look before I sighed in disbelief

" You know me for ten freaking years, and you still can't get my name right! I mean tell me the truth Mr D, do you do this to seem cool or something like that because you don't?" I said, but before he was able to answer, Chiron entered the room

" Oh, Hyacinth, how good to see you! Is there anything wrong?" He asked looking at me with confusion, but his tone got serious when he saw my clearly upset look before I nodded

" Yes sir, and it is the 'Tree of Love' a demigod hurt it with their sword, and then I found this next to it" I said removing the ripped orange t-shirt from my bag and handing it to him

"I have no idea to whom it belongs" I said while he took a good look at the orange T-shirt trying to figure out if it had any clue of whose it was

" I was wondering if we could find the person who did it because this is really serious! The tree is a gift from the gods and when you don't respect something they give you then they take it as an insult, I mean it is clearly an ύβρις" I said and Chiron looked at me before he handed the T-shirt to Mr D, and walked towards me

" I know the rules of the mythic world Hyacinth, but right now we have more important things to focus on like Percy's quest! If the person's action was an insult to the gods, then I am sure they will take care of it" He said before walking away and Mr D gave me a look before he continued reading his magazine. How could Chiron possibly think that the damage to the tree is not as important as the quest? I mean, I just don't get it

I spent the other two days taking care of the tree and making sure it was able to continue its growth without hurting and because of this I was missing breakfast, lunch, and sometimes dinner. But I didn't give too much thought to it because the tree needed me to make sure it was okay when no one else did

One day I was sitting on the ground while making new arrows from fallen tree branches when I heard footsteps from a few meters away. I slowly picked up my bow from the ground and pointed at the way the sound came from. But then another footstep was heard from right behind me and I turned around ready to shoot the arrow at the person when I realised it was just Luke

"Easy little fleur it is just me" He said with his hands in the air showing surrender with a smirk when I lowered my bow

"Scare me like that again and I will make sure the arrow makes it to your eye" I said in a serious tone and the smile left his face quickly before he looked scared at me and then I smiled

"Alright I am kidding or not" I said sitting on the ground again before he handed me a paper bag and I looked at him confused

"I brought you some food because I noticed that you miss it almost every time" I smiled before I took it with a grateful look thanking him. He stayed like that before I gestured for him to sit while I continued doing my work

" Chiron said that you are taking care of the tree. I don't really like the fact that you spend more hours taking care of it than yourself" He said looking at me worried, but I didn't look his way and just continued cutting the brunch with my knife to make the perfect shape of an arrow

" It deserves it you know even if it sounds mad, but this tree helps everyone who is in need here, and now we have to do the same! I mean, not all beautiful things ask for attention" I said before I looked at him only to find him looking at the lake a few meters away from us

" I am really sorry for the other day, little fleur! I don't know what happened to me" He said now looking at the floor. I sighed before taking his hand in mine making him look at me

" Everyone has a little craziness inside them, if they deny it then they are lying" I said with a smile before he let out a small laugh

" I mean we are demigods after all" I said, and he looked at me with a small smile on his face, not saying anything. With his other hand, he cupped my cheek and looked into my eyes with his chocolate brown ones not daring to look away from mine

" Little fleur" He said, and I looked at him confused while he was looking at me with eyes that said everything

" One thing I desire the most in the entire world, both real and mythic, is to be able to call you mine. My love, my Hyacinth, my little fleur! I love your flaws, your mistakes, and your imperfections because these are what make you awesome. I love the way you laugh, I love the way you smile, and what I hate the most is when I see you cry. Please let me be a part of your present and future, and I promise that I will look for you in every lifetime, no matter what it takes" He said looking at me with so much love in his eyes and I smiled before I pulled him into a kiss. His warm lips against mine felt so unreal, like a dream come true as it was something we both desired to do for a really long time and it finally happened

"If I had a flower for every time I thought of you, I could walk in my garden forever"

The Wilted Hyacinth || Luke Castellan - Chapter 8 (2024)