THE PROPHECY ? l. valdez x reader {book three and ?}

Packing up my life for the second time was melancholy.

The last time I was doing this, I had my three best friends supporting me as I stepped onto a large warship, accompanied by Annabeth Chase, Piper McLean, Jason Grace and Leo. Now, I had an afternoon to pack a bag and pick two demigods to join me. The first person I asked was Gracie, who tried to physically run away when she saw me approaching.

"Gracie, will you please—"
"I'm really sorry, Y/N, like actually, but camp is really busy around here and they kind of need me for singalongs. Maybe ask Katie?" She suggested, patting my shoulder reassuringly. I groaned and pivoted on my heel, off to find my other best friend. She was usually in the strawberry fields or in her cabin baking.

Sure enough, I approached the Demeter cabin and the scent of Katie's classic apple turnovers were wafting from the windows. I adored this place. The roof of the cabin was constructed of growing grass and had tomato vines growing on the walls. It was littered with beautiful wild flowers and roses growing on the porch which mixed comfortably with the aroma of cooking inside.

"Katie!" I called, tucking my hair behind my ears as I entered. Billie Ng's blue hair shone and bounced as she waved to me in greeting. Before I could ask her where I could find my friend, Katie appeared with a flushed face and an oven mitt on her hand.

"Y/N! Come here, try one of my mini apple pies. I had some leftover filling so I—"
"I have to ask you something." I interrupted. She placed a little apple pastry in my hand and gestured for me to take a bite.

"Does it need more cinnamon? Billie, can you grab me some more cinnamon? It's beside the tomatoes!"

"Katie." I said, swallowing my steaming warm mouthful of apple, cinnamon and sugar mixture. "I wanted to know if you'd go on my quest with me. We leave tomorrow morning, so you can start packing."

Her facial expression gave away her answer before her soft, gentle voice did. She shook her head, her long brown hair falling out of her face. "Summer is kind of busy for me, N/N. I take over all the Head Counsellor duties for Miranda since, you know, she does it for the whole year. I can try to find some spare time but Miranda and Sherman are going through a bit of a rough spot so..."

Sigh. "I get it." I said, taking another apple turnover. "So, who do I ask?"

I had been knocking at the Aphrodite Cabin door for probably an hour. Why was it that every single person in there chose to do their makeup and hair for so long at such an inconvenient time! 1989 (Taylor's Version) was blasting through a speaker. Eventually, Mitchell opened the door for me with a blush.

"Hey Y/N, sorry about that. How long were you...?" His voice trailed off, waiting for my response with guilt.
I waved it off, glancing over his shoulder to spot my other–other best friend's head of hair. "Is Valentina here?"

He looked past his own shoulder and shuffled to the side. "Yeah, she's just getting ready. Come on in."

Valentina was in the middle of doing her favourite lip combo, rubbing her lips together gently. She spotted me in the mirror and grinned.
"Y/N! What are you doing here?"
"I have to ask you a question—"
"Did you hear about Sherman and Miranda? I heard that Nico and Will are fighting too, it's insane!"

"About that," I said, my voice weak. "I need to pick people to come on the quest to find Aphrodite, and I thought, maybe, you could do it with me?"
Her dark eyes darted around, trying to rest on anything but me. "Oh." She croaked.
"If you don't, it's okay. I can probably bring Piper if she's around."

"No, no, I'll do it. I have to, right? For Mom." Valentina ran a brush through her hair at lightning speed. "What.. what do I do now?"
I tried to conceal my excitement. "Pack a bag. Only essentials. I'm gonna find someone else to ask and talk to Chiron."