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Ever since Estelle had been born, Percy had been worried about her. Even though she wasn’t a demigod, he knew she was still at risk merely by association with him. He tried to be the best brother he could, taking her on walks when she was big enough; swimming with her in the ocean even though Sally didn’t think she was big enough; playing with her on the playgrounds that he was really too big for.
But always with one eye open for monsters.
Always on watch.
He prepared her of course, he knew he couldn’t always be around to protect her. He didn’t want to worry her though, so he pretended it was all in play. Sword fighting with empty paper towel rolls, teaching her footwork. Chasing her around the apartment, watching how she dodged his tickle-monster attacks, laughing, but noting how sharp her reactions were. He thought that he had thought of everything. That they were prepared.
He never saw it coming.
It had started out as a perfectly normal summer day. The sun was shining and the sky was the color of Sally’s chocolate chip cookies when Percy and Estelle decided to go to the park. He only turned his back for a second, let her out of his sight for just one second, but when he turned around she was gone.
“Estelle?” Percy called, laughing, executing her to jump out at him any second, “where’d you go?”
No answer.
“Estelle!” He called out in a singsong voice, checking behind bushes and under slides, trying to shove down the nagging tingle of fear that was trying to take over.
Five minutes later he was in a full-blown panic.
“ESTELLE!” He yelled, and the fountain to his left spurted up an extra twenty feet, scaring away a flock of pigeons. “Where are you?!” He gasped, his hyperventilating making the world tilt fuzzily. Then he heard a scream.
“ESTELLE!” He took off towards it in a mad dash.
What if he was too late?
Estelle had never seen a butterfly quite like this one. It lazily flapped its yellow wings, looking for all the world like a pat of its namesake floating on the breeze. It fluttered by her head, dipping down to kiss the clover then bobbing up, a yellow splot against the blue. She giggled, reaching out a chubby hand for it, breaking into a grin as it daintily alighted there for an instant, tickling her palm before flitting off across the park. She toddled after it, cooing as a gust of wind blew it down an alleyway. She crossed the quiet street and stepped into the shadows.
Where had the butterfly gone?
She walked in deeper, but only saw dingy bricks and overflowing trash bins. Then she glanced up and spotted it resting on a tuft of green tenaciously sprouting from a crack in the wall above her head. She giggled up at it, stretching up onto her tiptoes, but it was still out of reach.
“Well what do we have here?” A voice growled from behind her. Estelle turned to see two men leering over her, the sleazy smiles on their faces contorting the snake tattoos that twined around their necks and onto their cheeks. The blond man, the shorter of the two, stepped forward, bending down to look directly into Estelle’s wide, fearful eyes.
“I’d say we have ourselves an opportunity, Cade.” He sneered, placing a heavy hand on her shoulder.
She screamed.
“Shit!” the red haired man hissed, snatching her up and slapping his hand over her mouth. Estelle wriggled in his grasp, trying to bite his hand or kick him, but he just squeezed her hard, painfully hard, until she stopped. Tears leaked from her eyes and trickled down the man’s hand as Estelle fought for breath as they ran down the alley and ducked into a dark corner. Panic built with the pressure in her chest, a silent cry for release! A cry for help-!
The alley exploded into light.
“I AM THE GOD APOLLO!” boomed through the alleyway, freezing the thugs in their tracks. “LET ESTELLE GO OR BE DESTROYED!” The blond man fell to his knees, letting out a pitiful squeak while the man holding Estelle only clenched her tighter. She whimpered, limp from lack of air.
An angry breath sounded from across the alleyway, and in a snap Estelle was being cradled in warm, comforting arms, while behind her, out of her sight, the men silently dissolved into ash. Smiling down at her was a familiar face framed in brown curls, a soothing glow radiating from him and enveloping her, washing away her terror and pain.
“ESTELLE!” Percy came barreling around the corner, eyes wild, only to freeze at the sight of Lester holding his sister surrounded by twin piles of ash.
“Apollo?” He stuttered, chest heaving from his sprint.
“I heard her calling for help. I - I’ve encountered those bullies before,” he explained, nudging the ashes with the toe of his sneaker. He glanced back at Estelle’s still frightened face and his jaw clenched. “I couldn’t let them hurt her.”
Percy stood there, mouth partly open as if too stunned to say anything, before numbly accepting Estelle into his arms from Apollo. She clung to her brother’s neck, residual sniffling buried in his shoulder.
“I - uh - thank you.” He faltered.
“You’re welcome. You can always call on me,” Apollo said with a melancholy smile, before flickering away, only leaving a slight glimmer in the air behind.
Percy hugged Estelle firmly as he turned out of the alley. He would keep a careful eye on her, protect her to his utmost ability as he always had. But now Apollo would too. Maybe he didn’t have to be so worried. He planted a kiss amidst her flyaway curls and she let out a contented sigh.
“Let’s go home.”