Y/N always looks so peaceful in her sleep. I wish she'd feel like that awake.

It makes me so mad that our ancestors changed this.

Why would they drag us into this? Why would they kill all these demigods?

Piper.

Jason.

Luke.

Ethan.

Drew.

Silene.

Charles.

Bianca.

Annabeth.

And so many more. I wonder how many thousands of lives the gods have killed. I wonder how many lives they created to destroy.

I hate them all so much.

And they're gonna kill Y/N too. I bet there's nothing I could do to that either.

Why are we so twisted? Why do we have to live like this?

Puppets. That's what we are.

I wonder what would happen if we were all humans. Like we were never introduced to Greek history. Maybe I could have lived out with Annabeth. Maybe we could have had that family we've always dreamed of --

No.

There's still fate. Annabeth would have died anyway, probably by cancer or some other illness.

But I still have a chance with Y/N. Maybe, just maybe, we can have our own family. Our own little story. Didn't she say that her life was one big movie?

And didn't I say we were only at the beginning?

I watched Y/N squirmed uncomfortably under the bed sheets.

"Can't sleep?" I asked, pulling her onto my chest.

"Just worried," she replied, burying her head into my chest. "Gods, I wish our plan wasn't so complicated.

I smiled. "Nothing ever is, when you're a demigod," I said.

Y/N -- gods, she looks so cute -- rolled her eyes. "Why do I have to be a demigod?" she whispered. "Why us?"

"Fate," I answered, unsure. "I guess it was fate that brought us together, wasn't it?"

Y/N shook her head. "Enough with the fate crap," she said. "I liked it better when you never believed in it."

"Then how did we meet?" I asked. "We would have never met if we weren't demigods."

"Chance," Y/N said. "It's always chance. Endless possibilities, one outcome. I could have easily become the top student in my class, but I didn't. If only I got that one answer right, I would have been the best."

I chuckled, my chest rising up just a little bit. "Don't you know about the Three Fates?" I asked. "Our fates are never ours. They belong to those above, those ranked higher than us mortals. It's basic Greek mythology."

Y/N, who always seems to beat me in my own debate, closed her eyes. "Our fates were always ours," she countered. "They belong to us, and us only. Even those gods and fates or whatever can't control it." Y/N opened her eyes again, and those E/C orbs bore deeply into mine. "We can always change our fates. You don't have to think. Just do."

I held her back. Jeez, she's way too skinny. I could feel her individual ribs. But she's gained a few pounds since we found each other. "You're quite the motivational speaker," I said. "Are you sure you're not a child of Apollo in disguise?"

Y/N laughed for just a second, her smile disappearing as fast as it came. "And you, sir," she replied, "are -- are -- are..."

Y/N yawned loudly, crunching her eyes shut.

"I'm quite the hero, I know," I finished, smirking. "Now go to sleep. You're tired."

Y/N nodded and closed her eyes lightly.

I missed her smile.

"You have a beautiful smile," I whispered.

But she was long asleep. And I knew that if there was to be one peaceful moment I could remember for the rest of my life, it would be this one.

So I closed my eyes too, replaying the image of her sleepy smiles, yawn-filled eyes, and beautiful, beautiful soul.