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Meg felt sick. She was sitting on her bed, an empty backpack in front of her and a sheet of paper next to it.
She was supposed to be packing her things for her first day at a regular mortal school the next morning, but she couldn’t bring herself to start. She had no idea what to pack, and the helpful list the school had sent her wasn’t really helpful after all.
All it said was paper, pens and a willingness to learn. Yeah, right. That couldn’t be it. The truly important things were missing, or maybe everyone was just expected to know them?
Meg certainly didn’t. Her education until this point had been decided by Nero and a handful of tutors he had deemed worthy to teach the imperial children.
And mortal school probably wasn’t like that. But Meg had no idea what it was like, besides not like what she was used to , and that didn’t help with packing her things.
She sighed in frustration and glanced over the pile of items she thought she might need but wasn’t sure about. What if she forgot something important and got punished for it? She didn’t want any punishment on the very first day, even though she wasn’t naive enough to believe it would never happen.
Who could she ask for help? Not her siblings , they had received the same lack of proper education she had. She wasn’t comfortable enough with the other children of Demeter to ask them, even though they almost certainly knew better than she did.
No one from camp Jupiter either, they had their own school, which was probably different from mortal schools anyway.
Maybe Leo or Piper? Though if Meg remembered correctly, they had met at a special school for troubled teens. That probably wasn’t the same either.
Frustrated, she turned and started pacing the length of her room. It seemed like she would have to figure it out herself.
Most important was, of course, the first aid kit. Meg had a small one that would fit; she only hoped it would be enough. Mortals couldn’t have nectar or ambrosia, so she needed to be prepared to handle any and all injuries the mortal way.
Meg took the red bag from the pile in the corner and opened it, dumping ist contents on her bed. She had to make sure she had everything she might need.
There were a few bandages left and some band-aids for smaller injuries, as well as some disinfectant. The amount of pain medicine left was less than ideal, though. She should stock up on that , ignoring and working through pain was the only option to prevent more punishment, after all.
Should she bring a needle and thread for worse injuries? Probably. One could never be too prepared. She needed to get that as well. What else could be useful?
Meg was about to fetch the large first aid kit to stock up her smaller one when there was a knock at her door. She would have told whoever it was to go away and leave her alone, but before she could open her mouth, the door opened.
She had expected one of her siblings or maybe Lu, but instead Apollo’s smiling face greeted her.
“Hi, Meg! Are you excited? I wanted to stop by real quick , I can’t stay long, but I just had to see you!”
He sounded relaxed and happy , more so than Meg had seen him in a while.
Him coming by wasn’t actually that bad. He could probably tell her if she had forgotten anything. Also, he probably had a stock of pain medicine somewhere.
She smiled at him, trying not to let her nerves show.
“Hey, Apollo! Good timing , could you tell me if I’m missing something?”
Apollo stepped closer, shutting the door behind him. As he saw the mess on her bed and the half-assembled first aid kit, he raised an eyebrow.
“What are you doing? This doesn’t look like the things you’d need for school.”
“Well, it’s just a precaution. I know I can just take some nectar or ambrosia if the pain gets too bad, but my classmates will be mortal, and I want to be able to help them as best as I can. Am I missing something?”
Apollo’s smile faltered as she spoke, morphing into incomprehension.
“What?”
“For the punishments, of course! If the wounds keep them from being their best, only more pain will follow, so I thought I could help bandage everything before it gets too bad. I know I need some more pain medicine and maybe a needle and thread to stitch up deep cuts, but is there something else?”
Apollo looked horrified now, and Meg didn’t understand why.
“Meg… you’re going to school.”
“Yes, exactly.”
“School. A place of teaching and learning and getting to know new people… and the only learning you ever did was with Nero.”
His voice grew quiet and cold by the end. He sat down heavily on a free corner of Meg’s bed, still staring at her.
Meg stared back, still not understanding what had upset Apollo. Had she misunderstood something?
“Oh, Meg…” Apollo’s voice trailed off again- and was that pain in his voice?
He took a deep breath, seemingly gathering himself before starting again.
“The first thing I need you to know is that what Nero did to you was horrific. He was wrong and terrible, and he did horrible things, even if he said he was doing them to help you. He lied. He only wanted to help himself.”
He was still staring at her, and Meg was lost in the sudden sincerity of his voice.
“…Okay?”
She tried, and Apollo smiled sadly at how faint her voice sounded.
“Okay. The way he… ‘taught’ is not something that is ever justifiable. You will never, never be in a situation like that again, and nobody is allowed to hurt you for making a mistake. Ever. If anyone even tries, you call for me, and I will… take care of them.
Please, I need you to understand that what Nero did was abuse, and no one is allowed to do that to anyone.”
Meg’s head was spinning. That couldn’t be true. Sure, she knew Nero had been evil and had done many terrible things in his long life, but not that.
How else would brilliance be encouraged if not through the threat of punishment? How could lessons be absorbed without pain to make them stick? How could she be held responsible if not by her own fear of punishment pushing her to keep going, even when she was dead on her feet, just to keep a worse fate at bay?
Punishment was necessary, even if it sucked. It had to be, or else…
“I… I don’t…”
Meg stuttered, and Apollo made a sound as if someone had just stuck a knife into his stomach and twisted it.
“Oh, Meg. Please. No one is ever allowed to harm you , and if they do, they are always in the wrong. Can you believe that, at least?”
There was something wet on her cheeks, dripping down slowly. Was she crying? Why was she crying?
She took a shuddering breath, trying to calm herself, but it didn’t help. The tears kept coming, and nothing she tried would stop them.
She managed to nod, though, and Apollo relaxed slightly at that.
“Good. And if anyone ever tries, I will make them regret it. I promise you, I will never let that happen to you again.”
He sounded so sincere, and Meg felt so lost. She wasn’t sure if what he had said made sense to her, but he wouldn’t lie to her, not about something like this. And besides, he was a terrible liar; she would have spotted it from miles away.
Apollo was still watching her, his whole body tense and his eyes old and sorrowful. He hadn’t made a move to get up or come closer, and suddenly Meg regretted it.
She wasn’t much of a hugger, but sometimes being held was nice. It might even stop the floaty feeling that had overtaken her body.
But Apollo would never initiate touch in a situation like this. He was too careful around her to ever risk crossing her boundaries.
The tears kept coming and Meg still didn’t know why she was crying, but she didn’t think she could stop. She felt floaty and untethered, and maybe, just maybe, Apollo could help her.
She took a step towards him and sat down heavily, leaning close.
If Apollo was surprised, he didn’t show it. He only pulled her closer and hugged her tightly.
It felt nice. Comforting. Like Meg was safe. She was still crying, but he wouldn’t hold it against her, she knew. He was good like that.
She sniffled a little and let his warmth and the comforting pressure of his hug calm her. She was safe.