Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson, nor am I a botanist. :-)

All that Thalia had wanted to do was protect others. That's all she had ever wanted to do. She knew that was why she had agreed to taking in Annabeth. She knew they didn't even have enough food for two people, that Annabeth couldn't fight, and that three demigods together would attract many more monsters than two would. She knew Annabeth would be a liability.

But she didn't care. Annabeth needed protection, and Thalia felt the urge to keep her safe. She couldn't help it.

She always knew that this desire to keep others safe was often at her own risk. She knew that this desire would probably be her downfall. But that didn't stop her. She supposed that was why she chose to fight the monsters on her own. She had to keep the others safe.

This risk was proved on her last day as a living, breathing human. She remembered shouts. Screams for her to get back, to stop being an idiot. She thought she screamed something back. She wasn't sure anymore. It was hard to tell.

She was sure that there was pain after that. A sharp, sudden pain to her side that only seemed to exacerbate other, smaller wounds. She knew that she wouldn't be able to go on any longer, and she accepted that. If her last act was defending the two people she cared most about in the world, then she could die happy. She prayed to her father that it would at least end soon.

But then came the clearest memory of all: a searing, sharp agony. It came from nowhere. She felt like she was burning up to a crisp.

She wished for death. Even though she had done plenty of foul things throughout her short life, surely no agony could be worse than this.

And just like that, the pain faded. It lessened and lessened until it became a dull ache. She knew she must be dead, because she couldn't feel any of her old injuries any more. She was completely healed. Surely only death could do that.

And yet, she had never felt so full of life.

She must be alive. It was insane, fantastical, impossible even. But she knew it to be true.

Her first thought was to make sure Annabeth and Grover were alive. And Luke. Gods, she hoped Luke was alright. She tried to open her eyes only to find that she didn't have any. This revelation didn't make her as scared as she thought it would. She just felt peaceful.

She tried to stretch her arms up, and found that those were gone too. Instead, she only sensed a few pine needles falling to the ground.

That was how Thalia discovered her new life. She realized she was a pine tree now, and she didn't know if anyone other than Zeus had that kind of power. He must have heard her prayers for help and granted them. She knew in her core that it was true. Tears would have fallen if there was anywhere for them to fall from. Her father cared for her. Deep down, she always knew that he did; she was just always afraid to admit it to herself.

Thalia Grace the tree. She knew she could get used to that. It seemed as if her risk had paid off for once.

At first, it was unsettling being a tree. She couldn't move, couldn't see, couldn't defend herself. Thalia soon learned how to make the best of it. She began to grow tired of not knowing what was going on around her. After all, in her years on the run from monsters, she always had to be hyperaware of everything happening nearby. It was against her nature to not know. She began to learn how to sense the energies of beings around her. She could tell when there was someone on Half-Blood Hill. She was able to discern how many people were there and about where they were as well.

But soon that wasn't enough. She had never been inside Camp Half-Blood, and she yearned to know what it was like. She had no clues as a tree. No visions of the green hills, no smell of the seawater the camp was on, and no sounds of campers laughing and fighting. She willed her awareness to expand. And it did.

Before she was quite aware of it happening, her roots had expanded so that they were entwined all through the depths of the camp. Now, she could sense the energy of all of the campers. She knew where they were, how many of them were present. After a lot of practice, she was able to guess at their emotions and thoughts as well.

There were many emotions at the camp. Jealousy, anger, sadness, even a little hatred. But the most overwhelming emotion that she sensed was happiness. The joy she felt from these campers lifted her own spirits. She began to yearn for the ability to make herself happy. But for now, she had to be content with feeding off the energies of the campers. She needed them, and she needed them to be happy as well. At times when they were sad, she felt her needles droop and her bark begin to wilt.

There was only one thing that Thalia knew for sure would make the campers happy: safety. She was able to sense when a monster crossed into camp, and she could barely stand the fear she felt from the campers when that happened. She especially couldn't stand the sorrow when a camper passed away during a fight.

The campers needed a place where they could feel completely safe; they deserved that much. The camp should be that place, but it wasn't. She wanted to protect the campers. If only there was a way.

All at once, she noticed that the mood in the camp was lightening. It wasn't sudden. But day by day, she would sense a little less sorrow. It took her a short while to figure out why: monsters were no longer entering the camp grounds. No, that wasn't right. Monsters were no longer setting foot on ground that was laced with her roots.

She was protecting them.

The thought made her swell with pride, and she felt her roots extend a bit further and protect even more ground.

She was doing more good as a tree than she ever would have been able to do as a camper. Being a tree was definitely turning into a blessing.

Time was difficult. She knew it was passing, but it was hard for her to judge how much. She had no idea how long it took for her roots to grow all throughout camp. It could have been minutes from the time she became a tree, but it could have been years.

Yes, she was able to tell when it was night or day. And she was definitely able to sense the changing seasons; the number of camper energies present would give it away if the cold didn't. But she soon lost track. What was a day or even a year to a mighty pine tree? There was no reason to keep track of time, so she didn't.

Of course, there were times when she was forced to confront the passing years.

A presence came to her regularly, one she recognized quite well. Since she knew so few people at camp, she wasn't able to identify who each energy belonged to beyond whether they were mortal, monster, or god. But there were two presences that she was always able to identify and followed their movements almost religiously.

It was Annabeth who always visited her, and she came alone. Thalia tried not to dwell on that last fact too much.

At first, Annabeth visited all the time. Thalia knew that her death must be hard on the young girl. She must find solace in being so close to Thalia's tree. Thalia sensed the girl's sorrow and mourning. As much as Thalia enjoyed being a tree, she couldn't stand the fact that it had made her friend so upset. In the beginning, Annabeth came at least every day. This lasted for a while.

Then she began coming less frequently. Thalia didn't notice the weeks and months pass by. The longer it had been since she turned into a tree, the less time mattered.

Thalia concentrated every time Annabeth visited. She began to realize that Annabeth always visited right when the seasons were changing. Thalia knew that these days were the anniversary of her own death. Annabeth's visits became the best way for Thalia to keep time. They rooted her in the mortal world.

Annabeth's energies became less sad over time. Thalia kept tabs on the girl wherever she was in camp. Most of the time, Thalia could sense Annabeth's loneliness and longing… for something. Thalia didn't know what. But most of the time, Annabeth was happy. It was only during her yearly visits Thalia was able to detect a hint of sadness in Annabeth. Thalia knew that this camp was what was best for Annabeth. This thought only inspired her to increase the strength of her camp boundaries. She needed to protect Annabeth.

There was only one person who Thalia watched more closely than she watched Annabeth. One person who absolutely never visited her. Luke. Even just the thought of him hurt something deep in her core. She had thought… but no. That was impossible now.

She was able to sense Luke's energy as soon as she had extended her roots. She knew him so well in life. She knew that she'd be able to recognize him no matter what form either of them were in.

His energies surprised her. She saw the sorrow that she expected from her death. But it was almost overpowered by something else… something darker. Anger of a kind. She didn't know who he was angry with. Her? Himself? She wished more than anything that she could communicate with him to find out and calm him down. But she couldn't.

She hoped that he would visit her. They had always had a sort of special connection. He understood her like no one else ever had. They had traveled together and fought side by side for so long. She hoped that if he came to her, their bond would somehow prove itself and they'd be able to communicate. That's what she missed most about her humanity: communication with others. People generally don't make it a habit to stop and talk to trees. But even if they did, she had no way of responding. It was empowering being a tree, but also a little lonely.

Luke was supposed to be the person who was always there for her. They were always supposed to have each other's backs and to never for a second even consider not being the other's main support. She kept telling herself that Luke must think she was dead. He was never one to be sentimental, so it made sense that he wouldn't visit what was essentially her grave.

Even so, she couldn't help but feel as if he had abandoned her. She missed him.

As a human, she had never wanted to fully acknowledge her relationship with Luke. After all, they had been twelve years old! There wasn't anything between them besides friendship. Thalia had never wanted to admit to herself that one day she hoped for something more. She had never wanted to admit to the dreams and fantasies she used to have about the two of them. The two of them snuggling in front of a fireplace. Teaming up and playing parents to Annabeth. A grand hilltop wedding clearly in view of any being who dared to look. Shouting their vows up to the gods so they all knew that the two of them had lived long enough for this happiness together.

But they didn't. No one at Camp Half-Blood knew just how alive Thalia still was. They were all mourning her and assuming that she was dead. She could tell this from the overwhelming feeling of sorrow and loss that she sensed from every camper who passed by her.

That didn't change a thing. She could live for a hundred years – and as a pine tree, that possibility was very likely – and she'd still never be able to talk to Luke again. She wouldn't be able to see his crooked smile or awkward gait. She'd never be able to see him grow out of his skinny, prepubescent frame or get into arguments with him over how long his hair was growing. She wouldn't see his life as he grew up, and she wouldn't be able to be a part of it.

She had always felt that the two of them were meant to be a part of each other's lives. Now that she had been a tree long enough for Annabeth to visit numerous times, she was able to gain some perspective about a lot of things in her former life.

She was impulsive and quick to anger. It took a little more to rile him up, but once that happened there was no stopping him. He was pretty reserved and kept to himself a lot, but she was very outgoing and good at getting people to open up. A good leader, Luke liked to say. He never realized just how much he led her too. She had always looked up to him for guidance. He always knew where to go, how to kill the monster, what to say. He may have thought that she had the potential to be a good leader one day, but he was already there. He led their little family without breaking a sweat.

They would have been perfect together. Before Grover had found the three of them and brought them to Camp, Thalia remembered thinking that Luke seemed to see something between them as well. He grabbed her hand more often all of a sudden and was much more protective of her. More often than not, she'd look over and see that he had been staring at her. Most of the time, he glanced away quickly. But recently… recently he began holding her gaze as if he wanted to tell her something. She wanted to know what it was, but now that she was no longer a human she would never know.

Of course, Thalia loved being a tree. She was calmer, more steady, and a hell of a lot stronger. As a preteen daughter of Zeus, her temper used to be a bit… explosive. She couldn't always control her powers, and there were times when she was actually afraid of what she could do. She suspected she had powers that she herself wasn't aware of, just because she was afraid of using them.

Becoming a tree was just what she needed to ground herself. Her human memories seemed like they were from someone else's life time. She felt like she was able to really examine them from an outsider's perspective. And examine them she did. After all, she had a lot of time to think now.

She realized that her mother hadn't been a bad person; she had just had bad things happen to her. What happened to Jason wasn't her fault, and it certainly wasn't Thalia's either. That being said, there was probably more Thalia could have done for Jason. But she couldn't change the past now.

She thought through some of her old battle strategies. She saw strengths in some and weaknesses in many. She thought of strategies to improve her attacks and defenses. She challenged herself to figure out ways to escape from impossible challenges, many of which included Cyclopes. She knew that she was a better fighter now than she ever was, even though she was immobile.

She remembered worrying over a prophecy Grover had mentioned to her, and just about the future in general. She saw the error in that now. Worrying about the future changes absolutely nothing. All that you can do is prepare for it, and then face it head on. Things had a funny way of working out. Thalia used to fear coming across a monster that she couldn't handle. Now that had finally come to pass, and she was living as a tree happier than she ever thought she could.

She mulled over Annabeth. The poor girl was still so young! She knew that one day Annabeth would be one of the greatest fighters to ever live. She picked up the few things they had taught her very quickly. She was fast, eager to learn, and clever as hell. Not to mention she could read people and predict their movements easily. Thalia knew this would one day make her a lethal enemy. But all the fighting skills in the world would mean nothing if the girl didn't have something to fight for.

But most importantly, she realized that she and Luke would have worked perfectly together as more than friends. She didn't know how long she had been a tree, but she knew that it was long enough for her to look at her life without any attached feelings. Sure, she missed Luke and wished that the two of them could have had a happy ending together. But that didn't influence her opinion at all. She analyzed their personalities and interactions. She really thought they would have been perfect together.

Okay, maybe she was a little biased. But she knew one thing: they were both stubborn as anything. If they had both wanted it to work out, then it would have.

Then again, Luke never visited her. He probably saw the tree as her grave, but he never saw it fit to pay his respects. He remained stubborn, sad, and away.

It made her wonder whether he had ever wanted it as much as she did.

She remembered one time that he visited her. She remembered it so well.

In the days before he came, his energies began to lift. As time had passed, she sensed his sorrow and displeasure intensify. He was upset, and she was at a loss as to why. But then one day, he became happy all at once.

A small part of her felt jealous that something or someone was making him happy when she wasn't there to share it. She scolded herself for that one – he was finally happy. She had no right to wish otherwise. But was it wrong of her to hope that it wasn't the work of a girl?

When he came to see her, his excitement was at a climax. She sensed so many emotions rolling off of him. Happiness, anxiety, nervousness, eagerness. Confidence and pride more than anything else.

He was standing on her hill that day; she could sense that much . He walked closer and closer until he was right up against her. How she wished she was able to feel, just so she could know if they were physically touching. Just one more touch; that was all she asked for.

But then, she felt it, felt him. He placed his hand on her trunk. She didn't feel it the way she used to feel as a human. She did feel an explosion of sensations, like nothing she had ever felt before. Even if she had been able to distinguish between all of the emotions she was feeling, she would have never been able to put a name to them. Electricity, passion, heat, friendship, fire, love. She felt her connection to him. He was there. Right in front of her. His hand was pressed up against her, as if he needed to feel her for strength. She never wanted him to leave

And then he was gone. She physically ached for him to return. The spot vacated by his hand felt like it was on fire; she wouldn't be surprised if its imprint was burned into her bark.

But he didn't go back to the camp. No, instead he went the other way down the hill, into the human world. This worried her. She knew that he wouldn't be going home, so the only reason that she could come up with to explain his solo departure was that he was leaving for good. She didn't know what she would do if that were the case.

Of course, there was nothing she could do. She was a tree. All that she could do was protect the campers that remained inside the camp.

But how she wished she could always protect Luke.

Luke came back not long after that. He was brought back by others who were very worried. His life force was weak. She could tell he was injured, but she couldn't tell more than that, and that worried her. How was she supposed to always protect him if he wouldn't stay within her boundaries? She knew firsthand what kind of troubles Luke could get himself into. And that scared her.

He sometimes let adrenaline lead him, not his brain. She was always the one to get them out of trouble. What if he had been injured because he still wasn't used to fighting without her? She hoped he learned before anything more serious happened.

She had no idea how serious this injury was, or even why he had left the camp. Whatever his mission was, she hoped that it had succeeded and that it was worth risking his safety. Of course, she doubted that this quest of his was successful. She knew that the only way he would give up was if he physically could not go on any more. Given his unconscious state, it looked like that was exactly what had happened. She didn't ever want him to leave her protective boundaries again.

Thalia tried to send some of her energies to Luke to give him the strength to heal. She wasn't sure if she'd even be able to, but it worked. It exhausted her, and therefore put the rest of the camp at risk. But Luke was worth it.

Luke healed, but he was never the same. Thalia could tell that his body was fine. But his spirit was completely broken. She sensed a darkness in him, a bitterness. A sorrow, a loneliness. It was deeper than it had ever been before.

And worst of all, for the first time, she couldn't sense a single bit of hope. No happiness or anything good in him. For the first time since she became a tree, she felt scared. She didn't know what would become of him. She tried sending him more of her energies. His spirits raised slightly at first, but fell even further afterwards. There was nothing she could do.

He stayed away from her after that. He stayed away from most people actually. His aura darkened whenever he was near other people; Luke wanted to be left alone, but Thalia didn't know why.

There was only one person who made him lighter and a little bit happier, even fractionally. And that was Annabeth. Whenever they were near, Annabeth turned so hopeful, and Thalia was able to sense a little bit of the old Luke. He seemed to be avoiding Annabeth. Thalia wanted to hit him over the head for that. Didn't he realize how abandoned Annabeth felt? How much she needed the two of them, and now neither of them were there? How much Annabeth looked up to Luke?

Their interactions were inevitable, and Thalia found herself looking forward to these rare occasions. They were family, and they were both much happier when they were together. Why couldn't Luke see that? She had never felt so frustrated, and so completely helpless. She needed something to bring the two of them together.

She thought that chance came not long after. She didn't know if she was entirely sure what had happened.

Her hill was quiet, no one on either side. Then from the mortal world, there was movement and fear.

She felt Grover present – she knew what his presence felt like. She kept tabs on him as well, although she didn't watch him as closely as Annabeth and certainly not as closely as Luke. She knew he hadn't been at camp for a time, but she hadn't been worried and assumed that he was gathering more lost half-bloods.

There was also a monster present. She had never encountered this monster in her life, so she didn't know what it was. She did know that it was large. And angry. She strengthened her borders as much as possible. This was her time and her chance to do the only useful thing she was able to do.

There were two other presences. One she suspected was a female, a mortal. Her essence didn't grow quite as brightly and was a little harder to read than the half-bloods at camp.

The fourth presence overshadowed them all. Thalia knew it was a male, a half-blood. And a strong one at that. He was so bright. He was good, and he was strong, and Thalia could almost focus on nothing else. But she forced herself to. She strengthened her borders and waited helplessly as she waited for the battle to unfold.

The male and the female were helping Grover. Grover was weak, but Thalia knew he was only unconscious. The monster was chasing them all.

They were close, so close, and Thalia knew what would happen before it did.

Grover and the boy made it through into camp, but the mortal woman was stopped. She couldn't pass through Thalia's boundaries. Thalia tried to let her in, but she didn't have that sort of control. She could either let only demigods in or everyone in. She had to make a choice, but she knew it was more important to keep both the monster and the mortal out than to let them both in. Her borders stayed strong.

The monster reached the mortal before either of the others had a chance to react. All at once, the mortal was gone. Dead probably. Thalia felt immediately guilty. It was her fault, but what was done was done. She thought that would be the end.

It surprised her when the boy with the bright essence left her protection. She felt his powerful love for the mortal, and his even more intense anger at the monster. Even so, he must have not been very smart to leave her borders. Bright Boy rushed the monster.

He approached and retreated from the monster a few times. She felt his determination, despite the stupidity. There was no way this would end well. But then she couldn't sense the monster anymore. At all. Was it possible that he had actually defeated that huge beast? It shouldn't be possible, but she could think of no other explanation for what she had sensed. She would have given anything to have been able to see the battle with her own eyes, just to see how the boy had done it!

His essence was fading, but not enough to worry her quite yet. He luckily had enough brains to cross back into camp before he passed out.

Annabeth arrived just as he was losing consciousness. What Thalia sensed shocked her so much that she almost completely dropped the borders, something she had never ever done before

As soon as Annabeth got near Bright Boy, their essences combined. Instead of feeling a bright presence and a presence of one of the only people Thalia still loved, she felt one large, glowing presence. And that's the only word she could think of to describe it: glowing.

It faded after a moment. It kept fading until their essences were almost back to a normal level. Both of them were still a little stronger afterwards. There was only one way she could explain this odd occurrence: their souls were bound together.

She had seen this a few times before. There was a couple from her early days of being a tree. She remembered that they were always stronger and glowed brighter when they were together. Judging by the amount of times she felt them sneaking off alone together to the lake or one of their cabins and just how often they were together, Thalia suspected that they were dating.

There was one other couple who glowed like this. They were currently campers and she didn't suspect they were dating. Yet. She knew that they lived in cabins across from each other, and that their spirits glowed when they were near each other. When they weren't near each other, their spirits were still connected, always yearning for the other.

This moment between Annabeth and Bright Boy was the first time she was actually witnessing the two people meeting for the first time. There was only one explanation that Thalia could think of as to why the two people glowed like that: soul mates. Thalia saw how rare it was, but Annabeth had found her soul mate. This gave her hope for her family. Maybe if Luke saw how happy Annabeth could be with this new boy, he would be happy as well. Would seeing Annabeth so happy raise his spirits up and give him hope for the future? She hoped so.

And she couldn't help but wonder if her spirit had glowed like that when she had first met Luke.

As Bright Boy healed, she watched him closely. Annabeth was almost never not by his side. She seemed to be the one primarily taking care of him. But Thalia's expectations weren't quite met when he regained consciousness. Annabeth's emotions were conflicting. The yearning to be near him and an attraction to him were certainly there. But Thalia sensed a strong dislike and annoyance, even anger towards the boy. It was almost as if Annabeth were telling herself not to like him.

Thalia couldn't fathom why. She didn't know how much time had passed, so she didn't know for sure how old Annabeth was, but she suspected she was still young. Maybe she was just afraid. There was any number of reasons why Annabeth was trying to force herself not to like this boy. Thalia just hoped it wasn't a stupid reason that Annabeth chose.

Thalia was still hopeful that the boy's presence would be good for Luke. Maybe Luke would be able to sense that Bright Boy was Annabeth's soul mate and that alone would be enough for his spirits to rise. Or maybe just the positivity of this boy would impact Luke. She hoped that her family would benefit!

When Bright Boy and Luke met for the first time, Thalia's hopes were dashed even further. Luke hated this boy, was jealous even. The boy moved into Luke's cabin, so they were near each other all the time. Their interactions always scared Thalia. Afterwards, the boy usually felt happy and accomplished. But there was always something darker stirring in Luke. It felt like he was plotting something, although she couldn't imagine what.

The boy was definitely a force of goodness. Most people glowed just a little bit more brightly after interacting with him. They usually were happier, or more confident, or even just a little lighter. Thalia knew the boy had a strong sense of optimism and hope about him. He was made to be a hero.

Still, there was always a small trace of sadness in him that never went away. It faded when he was with Grover or Luke, even with Annabeth. But it never quite disappeared. Thalia suspected that it had something to do with the death of that mortal woman. She must have meant something to him.

It wasn't long before Bright Boy left the camp. But he wasn't alone; Annabeth and Grover went with him. The boy seemed confident. Annabeth was scared, but still eager. Grover was completely scared out of his mind, but brave enough to face whatever was coming. Thalia wished she knew why they left!

They all returned much happier and more confident. The ever-present sadness that had existed in the boy for as long as Thalia had been watching him was gone. And even better, Thalia no longer sensed a forced hatred from Annabeth whenever he was nearby. Whatever had happened on their adventure had brightened their spirits – not that Bright Boy's could get much brighter – and brought them closer together. It had also made them more liked around the camp; while people had always liked Annabeth, everyone now adored and respected her. The same went for the boy as well. This trip was definitely a good thing for them.

But Thalia couldn't bring herself to be overjoyed at their return. There was one person at camp who wasn't pleased when they came home, who grew even angrier. Luke. And as long as Luke was unhappy, Thalia couldn't be completely pleased. She couldn't understand why Luke would be displeased. Could he be angered at Annabeth's growing relationship with the boy? Jealous even? Maybe there was something wrong with the boy, and Luke didn't deem him good enough for Annabeth.

One event hit Thalia at the core. Luke and the boy wandered off together. Alone. She was eager to read their emotions. Would they fight? Laugh? Talk it out? She hoped for further insight into their relationship.

They seemed normal for a while: Bright Boy was way too happy, and Luke was brooding and dark. Nothing of interest happened for a short while. If she could have focused on anything but Luke, Thalia probably would have diverted her attention.

Then Bright Boy became alarmed. She immediately checked her borders as a reflex. But no, Luke wasn't alarmed at all, so it couldn't be a monster attack. The boy's life force began to drift away. Thalia waited for Luke to panic, for him to run for help.

He never did. He ran instead towards the camp boundaries.

Thalia was so shocked that she stopped keeping tabs on the boy to see if anyone found him. She couldn't figure out what had happened. Luke was long outside of her realm by the time she was able to form coherent thoughts.

So Luke left camp. That she knew for sure, although there was no telling how long he would be gone for. But why would he leave the boy dying?

The most logical explanation was that it was a coincidence, and a poorly timed one at that. Luke had chosen that moment to run and hadn't realized the boy was dying. Otherwise Luke surely would have stopped to save him. But coincidences didn't exist.

And that wouldn't fit anyway. Thalia was completely ignoring the last emotion that she had sensed from Luke. Triumph. As soon as Bright Boy's light began to fade, Luke had felt triumphant and left.

There was only one explanation that fit. Luke knew the boy was dying, and had wanted it to happen. And then he ran.

That couldn't be right. The Luke that Thalia knew would never harm a boy, especially one so pure and trusting, and then leave him to die. There was no way.

Thalia thought and thought about it. She had no idea how much time was passing back in the mortal world – what did time matter to her anymore? She spent a long time contemplating what could have possibly driven Luke to doing this. She knew there had to be a good reason. There was only one line of reason that made any sense.

What mattered to Luke more than anything else? His family. He thought Thalia was dead, so Annabeth was the only family that he had left, even if he never acted like it. He must have seen how close Bright Boy and Annabeth had grown. There must have been something horribly wrong with Bright Boy, something beyond what Thalia could sense. Maybe he was a creep threatening Annabeth's safety or something. Anything could have happened while they were away with Grover. Luke was probably just trying to protect Annabeth from Bright Boy. Just because he was her soul mate didn't mean he was a good guy.

That had to explain it. And Thalia had sensed how much everyone else had grown to love Bright Boy. Luke must have known that attempting to kill the boy would have made the entire camp turn against him. But he did the right thing anyway. Luke was a hero. A misunderstood one, but a hero nonetheless. It made perfect sense, and this revelation only made Thalia care for him more.

Unfortunately, she had no way of knowing when he was returning. It could be ages! She already yearned for his familiar aura.

This also made Thalia immediately dislike Bright Boy. Despite all of the positivity she was gleaning from him, she trusted Luke's judgment more.

Thalia emerged from her contemplation and realized that she once again had no idea how much time had passed. She did a quick survey of camp. Still no Luke. But Bright Boy was missing as well. She realized that she didn't know if he even survived the encounter from Luke. His absence could be because he was dead or because he was just gone for the school year. She wasn't sure what to hope.

Annabeth was still there. Thalia was disappointed to see that her soul was still glowing slightly brighter than normal and that it seemed to be tethered to something that wasn't there. She took that to mean that her connection to Bright Boy still existed, even if he didn't.

Thalia missed Luke. There was no other way to describe what she was feeling. She missed him, and she ached to feel his presence again.

She knew that this had to stop. She had no idea when he was coming back, if ever. She was a mighty pine tree. She was no longer a weak human susceptible to human flaws and desires. She had to stop mooning over him; she was stronger than that.

Thalia realized that she had spent too much time recently invested in the mortal world. She had no business with the mortals anymore. She was no longer one of them, so she had to stop devoting so much energy to watch them.

She knew that her father was giving her a second chance when he saved her life and turned her into a tree. This chance wasn't so that she could obsess over a boy who she could now never have. She instead wanted to believe that her new purpose was to protect the campers so that they lived long enough to get some training. Protecting them came first, and everything else had to come second.

She began to focus. She would have called it meditating if trees could meditate. She was no longer human, and she no longer wanted to be so invested in their world. She was a tree, and that was it. She told herself that she was allowed to check up on Annabeth every now and then. But other than that, she would focus only on what she should: on being a tree and protecting the camp.

The animals and other lives that lived around her seemed like a good focus. She concentrated on the nature and how she could best provide for the beings around her. Soon she was able to discern what all of the animals in her vicinity were up to all at once, not focusing on a single one. Her goal was to do that one day with all of Camp Half-Blood: learn everything that was happening at once without being distracted by a single individual.

She was making good progress, she thought. She soon was aware of everything happening on her hill. Her newfound intimate awareness of the hill strengthened her protection around it. She hoped the same would happen for all of the camp. If she hadn't spent so long fawning over Luke, she could have gotten this done much earlier. Still, she didn't have it in her to force herself to regret watching Luke. And maybe she shouldn't regret it. After all, she had hundreds of years to live here as a tree, and he had only been at camp for a short while. It made sense for her to keep tabs on him while she still could, right? She had no idea how much time had passed. He could be old and wrinkly by now for all she knew.

The thought startled Thalia. She hadn't checked on Annabeth yet either. She broke out of her meditation and found Annabeth almost immediately. She was one of the few people present at camp, and her soul was still glowing. It was glowing slightly more brightly than it had been when Thalia had entered her meditation.

Thalia chose not to dwell on that. Annabeth was okay, and Thalia turned back to the nature around her.

For the first time, Thalia felt that she was fulfilling her destiny as a tree. Her protection was strong, she wasn't distracted anymore, and not a single monster had entered since Luke had left.

Things were well.

She was so deep in her meditation that she almost didn't notice a presence approaching her tree. Then it came even closer, and she couldn't believe how long it took for her to acknowledge this soul. She knew then that she would always be able to sense him, no matter how deep inside herself she was.

Luke was back. He had returned to her.

She tried not to feel any emotions. She tried to be an impassive tree, only concerned with her task of protection. But she wasn't even fooling herself. She was overjoyed.

He approached her hesitantly. She imagined her trunk straightening and her branches fanning out as far as they could; she had to look her best. He was right there!

She wondered what he was doing. He felt sad and slightly regretful. Maybe he regretted the fact that he was forced to leave? Maybe –

What? No, no this couldn't be. Why was she in pain? She hadn't felt physical pain in years, and it was agonizing. She shouldn't be in pain. It was only a small spot now, but quickly spreading. She gathered up her energies in preparation of healing herself when she realized that Luke was gone. Everything fell into place at once.

He had hurt her. By the feel of it, he had poisoned her. She felt like she was falling down, as if someone with an axe was slowly and agonizingly chopping at her trunk until she collapsed. But that might have just been the poison.

How was this possible? Even if Luke didn't know that she was still alive, he knew that this was her tree. He had promised to never hurt her, and to always be there for her. Did his promises mean anything? Did their time together mean nothing?

She felt a tear leak out. It probably looked like sap to the mortals, but she knew better. It was her pain.

It just didn't make sense. How could he do this? Why would he? She couldn't come up with any answers.

She realized that she should heal herself. She gathered her energy once more and made a half-hearted attempt. Nothing. She tried again, and again until she didn't have any strength left. Nothing. She was a mighty tree; surely she could overcome some poison. And she probably could have, if she had really wanted to.

But why should she save herself? Luke obviously didn't want her alive, so why should she argue that? She was a lousy protector anyway. If she used all of her energy saving herself, she wouldn't have anything left to protect the camp with.

She had always been a horrible protector. She failed protecting Jason from their mother, she failed protecting Annabeth from the monsters in the world, so now it was only fitting for her to fail in protecting Camp Half-Blood.

She was a horrible excuse for a being. As a half-blood, she died on her first real mission. As a tree, she couldn't bring herself to distrust Luke and protect herself against him, so now she would die for that.

The pain was spreading, spreading until it overtook her. She couldn't concentrate on anything. She could no longer discern where Annabeth or any other beings were. Heck, she didn't even know if her borders were still up. What a sad excuse for a tree.

The pain was deepening now. Surely she looked like she was dying. She hoped the end would come soon.

As the pain intensified, Thalia felt it harder and harder to cling onto her consciousness. She shouldn't let go; there was a reason why she needed to hold on.

The camp. She had to stay awake for the camp. If she lost a hold of her consciousness, she didn't think she'd ever regain it.

She had to stay strong for the people at camp. For her family. For Annabeth and Luke.

Luke. Luke had done this. Luke had done this to her. She couldn't focus on anything else.

She felt her consciousness fade. She couldn't bring herself to care as she slipped into the void.

It was a long time since Thalia had last dreamed. She never slept as a tree, so it was always just her and her thoughts. No dreams. It had been a very long time since she was last plagued by the unusual dreams she had grown accustomed to – although Grover assured her that was normal for demigods – but she had no idea just how long.

Thalia knew she was dreaming as soon as she opened her eyes. For one, just having eyes in the first place must mean she was dreaming. For another thing, she was standing in a park that she hadn't seen in years, a place she tried not to think about. This wasn't so much a dream as a nightmare. What was she doing here?

She looked around the park, but didn't see anything out of place. She yearned to be able to explore more of it; now that she could see, she wasn't satiated. She realized that if she had eyes, she might have legs. She tried to move them and found that she did.

What about arms? She stretched them out to the side and then in front of her. She watched each finger move individually and marvel at her ability.

She didn't want to waste any more time. She loved being a tree, but she didn't know how much time she would get to have a body again. She couldn't stay put. She had to move. So she ran.

Thalia didn't think she had ever run so quickly or so freely. She missed this freedom more than she realized she could. During her final years of humanity, she only ran when she running from a monster. It had been a long time since she ran just for the sake of running.

She ran further than she would have been capable of while awake. That was the beauty of a dream: she could do anything. She had missed this. The feeling of wind against her skin. Her short hair blowing around untamed. Absolute freedom, and no need for worry. She would have gone on forever if she hadn't come across a little scene that stopped her in her tracks.

It was just a small family enjoying the sunny day with a picnic together. There was a woman, the mother most likely. She was past her prime, but Thalia could tell she was once beautiful. She wasn't watching her children too carefully. There were two of them, a boy and a girl. The girl had long dark hair. Thalia knew that she was nine years old. But it was the boy who caught Thalia's attention. He couldn't even be two years old. He had a full head of light blonde hair and he was toddling around the picnic area. His sister was watching him closely with a look of love on her face. She never wanted to look away.

Thalia wanted to cry. Why was her dream showing her this?

"Don't cry my child," a deep regal voice said behind her. Thalia turned around slowly. There was a man standing behind her. He was tall and broad with brown hair, a beard, and deep, wise eyes. He just looked powerful. Thalia saw familiar features on his face; Jason's jawline, her nose, both of their striking blue eyes. She knew who this man was immediately.

"Zeus," she said. Her hand flew to her throat. She was surprised that her voice didn't crack after such a long period of disuse. "Father."

He nodded. "Yes Thalia, it is I. But look at you; you've grown so much." Thalia didn't look down. She didn't particularly care how old she appeared. It wasn't real anyway. She didn't get why Zeus would choose one of her biggest failures to appear to her for the first time; on second thought, maybe he had been waiting for her to be successful before appearing and had grown tired of waiting.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. "What are we doing here?"

"Thalia, surely you remember this place."

"Of course I do. How could I forget it?" She pointed to the picturesque family enjoying their meal. "That was me. With Jason and my mother. That was the day that Jason disappeared. The last time that I ever saw him." She started playing with her hands. Might as well get as much use out of them as possible while she still could.

"So why are we here?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Because you enjoy torturing me?"

"Thalia," he said sternly. "You know that isn't what this is about."

She thought she did know. For whatever reason, she couldn't make herself lie to him. "You brought me here because I failed to protect him. Just like I failed to protect the camp."

"Funnily enough, I don't think that's the case at all. But that's not why I'm here." He waved his hand and a chair appeared on the grass. But it wasn't a chair that would be suitable for a sunny day at the park. No, only the best for Zeus. He made a whole regal throne materialize. He sat down on his throne as if he was preparing for a nice conversation with Thalia. He gestured to the grass next to him. Thalia just stared. He sighed and waved his hand again. A much less regal lawn chair appeared next to his. Zeus gestured for Thalia to sit. She didn't think that it would be in her best interests to refuse, so she complied. She also didn't think it would be a good idea to ask him what he meant by that when he so clearly had another topic in mind.

He didn't waste any time getting to his point. "I've come to warn you."

"Warn me?"

"There's a prophecy. At first it was yours. But after that incident at Half-Blood Hill, I realized it wasn't. Now… I'm not so sure anymore."

"What did this prophecy say?"

He sighed heavily. "There will come a time soon when you will be forced to make a choice. This choice will ultimately decide the fate of Olympus, for better or worse."

"So the fate of your city could be in my hands?"

"No, the fate of the entire world." She was silent. "I'm aware that knowing this is a huge burden, one that I hoped never to give to you. But going into this blindly could cause an even larger burden. It's better to be warned."

"You mean you wanted me in your good graces," Thalia retorted.

"Excuse me?" Zeus seemed affronted. Thalia knew she should just shut her mouth, thank him for the warning, and move on. But she couldn't do that.

"I've needed you for years, and you never came. Never once have you appeared to me. And now that your fate is in my hands, you come to me in peace? As if you actually cared for me?"

"I've always cared Thalia," he roared. Thalia looked over to the family. They didn't budge at his outburst, which was how she was sure they were only a memory. Nothing changed. The boy continued playing, the mother continued not caring, and the girl continued having way too much responsibility for someone her age.

"Doesn't seem like it," she murmured.

He didn't respond. She wanted to interpret that as him admitting that she was right. He was just using her so that she wouldn't destroy his power. Well, if that was his admission, coming to her might have been counterproductive.

"Do you know what a pine tree represents?" Zeus asked.

"What?" She was surprised by the direction he was taking this conversation.

"A pine tree. Do you know what it symbolizes?"

She shrugged. "You, I'm assuming. That's why you turned me into one."

"Actually no. The Greeks always matched me with the mighty oak tree. Pine trees always meant more to Dionysus. No, that's not why I choose a pine tree."

"So why?"

"Because it represents immortality and eternal life. I don't see the future Thalia – I leave that for Apollo and his Oracle. But I believe that you have a long, prosperous future ahead of you. Yes, I am invested in your future, but not only because of this prophecy. I do care, Thalia. And I suppose that I hoped that the pine tree would bring you a little of its longevity and sturdiness. This prophecy is going to test you Thalia, whether or not it is yours. I want to make sure you come out in one piece." Thalia stared at the family. She didn't want to look him in the eye. Then he'd be able to see how much she wanted to believe him. "I wouldn't bestow a blessing like that on just anyone, Thalia."

He was silent. Thalia could tell that he was waiting for her to speak.

"You don't think I failed?" she finally asked.

"Not at all," he responded confidently. "In fact, I think that you succeeded greatly." She finally looked at him; she was confused. "Do you have any idea how many monsters you kept out of Camp Half-Blood over the years? How many of my nieces and nephews and grandchildren you saved? You are far from a failure, my child."

"But I did fail," she responded. "Luke…" she trailed off. She didn't want to mention him.

"Yes, Luke did poison you. But there was nothing to be done about that. Everything has its time, and it looks like your time as Camp Half-Blood's guardian has come to an end."

She nodded. She expected as much. She was being fired.

"Thalia, believe me when I say that you didn't fail. And I am proud of all that you've accomplished." She blushed slightly.

"But then why would you bring me back here, to the moment of my biggest failure?"

"Isn't the answer obvious?"

She shook her head.

"Before Jason disappeared and everything went wrong, how did you feel?"

Thalia wasn't sure. She turned her attention back to the family. She observed the girl. She was carefree and so young. But she clearly loved the boy. She looked…

"Happy. I was happy." He nodded for her to continue. "This was the last time that I felt everything was right in the world, before I knew about the gods and monsters. Everything made sense back then. It was simpler." There was also no Luke to complicate her life.

Zeus was beaming with pride. "Exactly," he said. Thalia waited for him to say more, but he wasn't offering up any more information.

"What do you mean?" she said.

"I want you to remember this feeling. You are going to face many difficulties. It's important that you remember your roots and where you came from. Remember that everything can be right with the world."

"But it doesn't last long," she said quietly.

Zeus waved his hand in response. An apparition appeared in the sunlight before them. It showed her and Luke meeting Annabeth for the first time. Thalia couldn't help but giggle when Annabeth attacked Luke with that hammer.

"You're right. The good times may not last long. But you need to remember that happiness will return. And sometimes, what's to come is even brighter than the present. Don't lose sight of that, and don't lose hope that good times will come again." Just as Luke was offering his knife to the girl, Zeus waved again and the apparition was gone. Thalia quickly wiped a tear away; she couldn't believe how much she missed them.

"Jason?" she asked.

"He's alive and well," Zeus responded. Thalia felt as if a weight was lifted off of her shoulders. "Just know that nothing you could have done could have prevented what happened to him."

"What did happen?"

"That I can't tell you," Zeus said. "Just know that it was his fate. And you'll be seeing him again."

She nodded. She was certainly glad to hear that.

The two of them watched the happy family in silence. The sun started to set, and the children continued playing. Thalia knew her time was almost up.

"What now?" she finally asked.

"Now we return to our lives. Just know this: love has fooled many people throughout history, people smarter and stronger than you. It's nothing to be ashamed of. You did more than what was expected of you, and that's all I could ever ask. You're wiser now than you were a few years ago, and I want you to be wary."

She didn't need to ask what he meant. She stood up. The younger version of her turned away from the boy to say something to the mother.

"Will I see you again?"

Zeus nodded. "Yes, I think you will. And sooner than you might think." She didn't respond. Her eyes were fixed on the family. Why didn't the girl turn around to see where the boy was getting off to?

"And Thalia?" She turned to face him. "You've done well. Don't forget about the good times awaiting you." And he was gone before she could even nod.

She turned around and saw that the boy had disappeared as well. His sister and mother were searching frantically for him. Oddly enough, Thalia wasn't concerned. She knew they would find him eventually.

She closed her eyes. All at once, she became aware of the fact that she was a tree once again. That didn't make sense – Zeus had said that she was done protecting camp. But she wasn't too concerned; she enjoyed protecting Camp Half-Blood. She must have regained consciousness from her odd dream.

She checked her borders. They were as strong as ever. And growing stronger.

Stronger? How was that possible? She realized that she was growing stronger by the second. Soon, she was stronger than she had ever been. What was the source of this strength?

She concentrated. There was a concentration of powerful magic right near where she imagined her physical being was. She didn't know what it was, but she knew that it was the source of her strength.

Thalia soaked in the power. It felt good to be strong again. In light of all this energy, Luke's betrayal almost didn't seem that bad anymore.

As she grew stronger, she made her protection stronger and stronger as well. Soon, it was impenetrable.

As she strengthened, she began to feel less and less like a tree.

First she felt the need to stretch. Then she thought she was able to feel the grass beneath her skin and the wind blowing at her side. And was that the sound of a bird chirping? What about the smells all around? She sensed a lot of commotion centered around her tree. She felt the urge to open her eyes. So she did.

The sun was bright. Much brighter than she remembered. There were people all around her. It was a little overwhelming. The oddest thing of all was that she appeared to be lying in the arms of a teenage boy. He was thin with dark hair and a goofy demeanor. He was around her age – or the age she was when she first became a tree. Thalia wasn't completely disconnected from her tree self yet, so she tried to get a feel on his aura. What she saw completely shocked her.

It was Bright Boy. He had returned to camp. What was he doing here? What did this mean that he was welcomed back in? Did the others not realize his true nature? Or was Luke just wrong about him? That possibility was a hard one to accept. But she remembered what her father had just told her. She had been fooled by love, and she shouldn't be ashamed. Maybe Luke was wrong. Well, it appeared as if Bright Boy was around to stay, so she'd have plenty of time to make up her own mind about him. She had to first find out who he was, and what he was doing there.

But now he was asking her who she was! Shouldn't she be the one asking him that?

"I am Thalia," she responded proudly. "Daughter of Zeus."

A/N: Hi! This is just a little something I've been working on for a while. I love Thalia and Luke's relationship, so I thought I'd do something a little different. Hope you liked it!

Did anyone else assume that the pine tree is a symbol of Zeus? Again, I really don't know much about trees...

Bonus points if you can guess who the other soul mate couple is!