Hey, long time no see!
Okay, so recently I've been rereading the Percy Jackson series and reawakened my need for OCs and such. So, I started writing a fic about how what if there were demigods in Europe and what if some of them were from the Big Three. So, this was pretty much born and has become my brain child.
But, since Archive isn't super super friendly about OCs, I decided why not post it on here c':
So, I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I love writing it!
Alice
It was midnight and Alice Hollins found herself not sleeping again. It had been two months that she had been left alone in the desolate, haunting mansion. Alone to deal with her past and herself. She looked out the floor to ceiling glass window into the soggy vibrant garden known as her backyard. Her slow breathing fogged up the glass, hinting that it was cold out and eventually the rain would turn to snow. With a loud boom and a crash, light filled the spacious dark room. Her sky blue eyes traveled to her desk where there was a wooden small picture frame of her and two other boys smiling. One boy had cloudy gray eyes with ash blonde hair and the other had dark hazel blue eyes with light brown hair. They both had identical bright smiles, and seemed as if they didn't have a care in the world.
That's when she felt it. The pang of loneliness that she had trying to avoid all night, but could not. No matter how much she slept and how many times she pretended to be alright the feeling would always resurface like a blemish. They left last night after a fight she had with them. They had left her to the wolves of loneliness and fate; joining the wrong side of the battle that would end the days she could have spent with them. She felt tears gather at the corner of her eyes. They were her brothers, but yet she couldn't turn away from them like she did. She clenched the picture; half wanting to burn it and half wanting to just curl up with the picture on her bed and cry until she went back to sleep (for she was still in her pajamas and wanted to desperately to go back to bed).
She looked up at the ancient portrait of her how many times great grandfather hanging on the the opposite wall of her desk, hoping for some guidance; a sign that the famous demigod that would give her an insight on her fate, but none came. It hung on the wall mocking her with temptation and knowing. The sight of his sword, golden armor, and the royal red robes that were draped over his ancient military attire made her want to puke. She then remembered why she was up at this ungodsly hour of the morning.
Her dream.
For five years, she had taken sleeping pills that Hecate specially made for her to help prevent the dreams, but it wasn't until recently she had ran out of the medication. Then the dreams came back, but only they weren't dreams; they were living nightmares. Nightmares of what was to come, and what had happened to her ancestor. Her blue eyes traveled back outside at the raging storm. She felt a sense of comfort at each thunder roll and every lightning bolt streaking the sky. She was reminded of her distant father; who was sadly a father she could never call her own. He was the king of gods, the emperor of skies and air.
Zeus.
The one name she dreaded saying out loud in fear of him actually listening to her. It wasn't the fact that she didn't love him; it was the fact that it was she,the queen bee of Olympus, that prevented her from actually feeling any connection to him whatsoever. But, it was also the fact that she lived in the land that the gods had abandoned long ago.
"I can imagine it would get lonely here." spoke a deep voice, breaking the silence that Alice was all to used to.
Alice spun around and came face-to-face with a familiar immortal face and smiled slightly.
"You know," She started, her British accent slipping into every word. "I never get messengers this early in the morning. I figured you knew that I was awake."
Hermes gave her a knowing smile, shifting in his jogging attire. She had guessed that he had silenced George and Martha (the twin snakes that Alice had grown a bit fond of over time that were wrapped around his caduceus), just for the sake of the seriousness that hung in the atmosphere and for what was to come. The god of messengers was a frequent visitor in Alice's home, but most of the time their talks were brief and the messages she got were just small quests other gods needed her to do.
"We gods tend to know these things," He replied. "I have a message from your father."
Alice's heart dropped to her stomach. Why now? Why this morning of all of the times? She wanted to tell the god of messenger to just go back and leave the message be, but yet she knew he probably knew about what had happened the night before.
"Is it verbal or a letter?" She asked, coldness hinting at her voice.
"More or less verbal and a letter." Hermes responded, catching the coldness in her tone.
"Great." She mumbled sarcastically. "Just another thing I wanted tonight."
She looked at the god, and he looked right back at her. He gave her a knowing look and handed her a light blue envelope with her name written in Greek on the top. She held it in her trembling hands and turned it over to open it.
"What's the verbal part?" She asked, before beginning on her task.
"He said that he apologizes for the fate that's been posed upon you." The god of messengers replied grimly. "Honestly, I'm sure the other members of the Olympian council would agree with him."
"And not just out of fear of offending him? Please, if he was sincere he'd come here himself and apologize; not hide behind messengers."
Hermes gave her a slight smile, but his eyes portrayed a sense of annoyance.
"You've done enough for us already. Considering that you've picked up all of the minor quests that no other demigod would want to do."
Alice glanced outside at the storm; her light blonde bangs sliding over her eyes. She frowned.
"It's not like I have anything better to do."
She looked back at Hermes, who seemed to be about done with their conversation and was texting on his phone. He put his phone away and gave her a reassuring smile.
"He does care. He's only doing this to protect you."
"If he cared enough he would let me come back to the States, and wouldn't have left me here alone. If he cared, he would have said no to his wife placing me here."
"You have other friends don't you?" Hermes inquired. "You just didn't stick with Dakota and-"
"They're different." Alice snapped, tears promising to come. "They were my family; not just my friends. And besides, they're gone now. I'm sure you gods know what happened."
Hermes looked down at the floor, avoiding her gaze. He let out a sigh, clearly having no way of answering her statement and avoiding the subject.
"In due time, Alexandria. In due time."
She flinched at the use of her real name and her frown deepened. The god gave her a nod and she looked away as the bright light consumed the room and then died. She looked back at the spot where Hermes stood, and found nothing as the per usual. She looked down at the envelope in her hands and found her way to her cushioned chestnut swivel chair that was behind the chestnut executive desk.
Maps and charts were sprawled about the desk, classic books such as The Great Gatsby and works of Homer were placed in neat stacks, and a pair of golden oblong glasses sat on top of the books. She reached for her glasses, settled them on her nose, and retrieved the letter opener from the middle drawer. She carefully opened the letter and sighed when she saw the familiar handwriting of her father.
Alice,
Brace yourself. For it's coming soon.
She reread those six words to herself again, trying to understand what her father had meant by those few words, and frowned in confusion.
"What in the living Hades does he mean?" She mumbled to herself.
"Does whom mean?" responded a silvery, male voice with a hint of a British accent.
She jumped at the sudden question and looked up at the second story of the library. Standing over the black railing was yet another familiar face she knew. Alec Baines wore a smirk on his pale face, and his dark hair swept over his matching eyes. He had a eyebrow cocked up in questioning, and a slight twinkle was in his eyes. He wore his usual attire that she normally saw him in; his black biker leather jacket, unbuttoned to reveal his Radiohead t-shirt, black skinny jeans, and gray converse to match. He wore a leather bracelet that had a small skull charm weaved into it; Alice's birthday present to him from two years ago around his wrist, and his sword was on minimized and hung around his belt.
"Also, don't take my father's name in vain. It's enough that most demigods revoke his name whenever they get scared clueless, but to use it so carelessly? I mean, not that he ever complains about the scared demigods."
"Why do you always shadow travel into my house, Corpse Breath? Why not use the front door like a normal human being? Hell, why don't you even ring the door bell while you're at it?"
The teenage boy smiled and walked down the spiral staircase to the ground floor where Alice was.
"Eh," He started. "I'm not huge on doors, and besides, I've been friends for you for how many years now?"
"Five," She replied with a small smirk. "Five years and counting... hopefully."
He smiled and leaned over her desk, glancing at the opened letter that was laid out in front of her.
"News from you father too?" He inquired, picking up the letter to examine it as if it was about to explode in his hands.
"Yeah, but I still don't understand. Also, what do you mean by "too"? Did your father decide to be all mysterious too and leave you just two vague sentences? I'm starting to think this is a pattern with fathers that are almighty and the top three afentiká."
Alec let out an easy laugh and put on his usual cool smile. Alice's propped her chin on her elbows and closed her eyes to listen.
"Nah," He replied. "He just tells me directly since I'm always down there running errands for him. Although, he did mention about another child of Hades, but he hasn't told me to actually go and met him. I heard he was a shrimp to be honest."
She opened her eyes and gave him an icy smile.
"You think everyone's a shrimp besides myself and Xander. At least you get to see your father."
He let out a chuckle and sat down on the front of her desk blocking her view of the main door to the library. His dark eyes connected with her blues for a second and then she nervously looked away. He reached out to touch her face, but she pushed his hand away.
"You've been crying." He commented examining her face.
"It doesn't matter. It was over something stupid."
"It's okay to cry sometimes, Alice."
Her eyes looked away from his, hiding the pain that had returned.
"They left," she mumbled into the gloom of the dim library. "I told them that they were making a huge mistake, but they didn't listen."
The room grew quiet and the storm echoed throughout the walls of books. She glanced nervously at the portrait of her how many greats grandfather. She half expected him to leap straight out of the golden picture frame and start lecturing her on the importance of being an Alexandros ("My descendants gave birth to this little pathetic demigod. How disgraceful!"). She shuddered at the thought and returned her attention to the boy that had sat on her desk.
"What kind of dreams are you having?" He murmured quietly, as if even asking the question would provoke some evil curse upon them.
She flinched at that word. Dreams. How could they be dreams when they kept her restless at night and an emotional, tired wreck in the mornings?
"I-I can't explain." She stammered, fear creeping into her voice. "I'd rather not talk about it, Alec."
The room grew coldly quiet again and Alec started to observe the golden mini globe that sat like a unused rag at the end of her desk in the silence.
"Bottling things up isn't going to help you."
"Well, holding grudges won't help you either." She retorted back.
The child of Hades face darkened in the dimly lit room. His glanced at her with his piercing eyes; they were so dark that it looked like the pupils disappeared into the abyss that were his eyes. Alice stood up, clutching the letter in her hand.
"I don't mean to hold grudges." He replies coolly. "I'm trying to be better about it."
"And I don't mean to keep things to myself," She started slowly. "But, something are better left unsaid."
She moved her way out of her desk and tiredly started to head to the door of the library. She was weary, and wanted to try to go back to sleep after all that had happened this night; even if she wouldn't even sleep to begin with. She passed Alec coldly, who looked back up from the globe to watch her leave. She glanced one last time at the painting, but not a single thing had changed. He still was posed in his stance of conquering the Persian army. His olive skin speckled with sweat and his dark curly hair clung to his face with a slight smile sneaking on his face. His golden armor was painted to look like it had a slight godly radiance, but to Alice it was just ridiculous to glorify him like was no way in Hades that he would give her guidance. He was just a ghost, a remnant of the past; her family's past. She felt warm, soft hands grab her wrist.
Alec stood next to her, surprisingly warm which was unusual for him. She could smell a faint spice wafting off of him, and she felt light headed. Her heart skipped a beat, but she tried to calm herself. Dumb crushes was definitely something she didn't need in her life right now. Alec looked at her, his eyes piercing through her thoughts snapping her out of her daze. He tugged her a little close, a slight pout on his lips.
"You used to never be like this." He stated darkly.
She could feel her throat tighten, and she wanted so badly to just run away and never return to him.
"Things change." She replied softly, trying to hide the sadness in her tone.
She removed her wrist from his soft grip, and coldly turned away. She didn't care to turn back to see the damage she had done to him. She felt her heart drop to the floor, and she felt like she was going to puke on the spot. The rain pounded against the roof, echoing throughout the library, which was making the silence worse.
"I'm sorry." She whispered.
She walked away slowly, leaving Alec in the library just like how she was hours ago, and entering the desolate white hallways.