First off: thank you to Percyjacksonfan3 for the prompt! You're amazing! Second: Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoH, just my OC's, and this story.

Winter's Child

All her life, Thea North knew about about the gods, their mistakes, their blessings, and of course, their children and family-issues. Especially those that concerned Athena. She had been taught her whole life not to mess with the Olympians, for 'they are the reason the Earth still exists' (her mother's words, not her own). But that was all forgotten when she would look at her own demigod child, Ariana. Thea held her babygirl as she slept. Her skin felt chilly, even though she was wrapped in a blanket. Thea remembered the doctor asking her if Ariana really was okay the first time she had to go for a medical check-up. "Yes, she's perfectly fine. Trust me," she had assured him. Thanks to her gift of reason, the doctor immediately let them out an hour later. That had been almost a month ago. Thea never was really bothered when Ariana needed food; she was a deep sleeper, and she barely cried. And sometimes, her dad would come by. Boreas was an amazing father-figure to his newest daughter. Her half-siblings however... Calais had quickly taken to playing with his new sister, and Zethes had given her a blessing of beauty. Chione didn't give anything, besides a snarl and the cold shoulder. "She's a rat," she had hissed. Boreas gave the goddess a cold glare. "At least she isn't like you. When you were little, you complained about everything. From the fact that the Boreads were demigods, to the fact your powers were 'weak'. Watch your words, Chione. The only rat I see around here, is you," he had deadpanned. Thea remembered that day clearly. She was just about to lay Ariana in her crib, when she felt a hand run down her arm. "Hello, Thea." His voice was as smooth as velvet.

"Hi, dear," she murmured.

"How is she?"

"She's fine. I just finished feeding her. She shouldn't wake up for another 4 hours."

"That's good. I'm glad to hear that."

And so, 5 years passed without a hitch (except the usual cold storms from Chione in order to spook Ariana, which didn't work). Ariana grew in both length, and spirit. Whenever Thea came home from work, she knew her daughter would be home, waiting for her. One day, she saw her daughter playing with what looked like a small white rabbit. Ariana's laughter could be heard all across the snowy fields surrounding the cabin they always lived in during the holidays. Boreas was watching over them, she knew it. She watched as Ariana waddled over to her, and gripped her hand. Her wide grin was incredibly contagious. Thea smiled as she picked up the 5-year-old. "Mommy, look!" Ariana held out her tiny hand. In it, was a tiny snowcrystal, barely the size of a ring. Her powers must be surfacing, Thea made up. She gave a proud nod. "Good job, dear." The little girl giggled, and hugged her mother. "Thanks, mommy." Thea stroked her daughter's white hair, which reflected the sunlight. It was late autumn, and Eurus was about to hand his job over to his brother, and Ariana's dad. Which meant that Ariana's powers would grow stronger. Ever since the girl's birth, Thea had been thinking. How was she going to tell her daughter who her dad really was? Ariana knew what Boreas looked like, but she didn't know he was a god of one of the 4 seasons. She was planning on telling the truth when Ariana turned 6, and that day was getting pretty damn close...

"Happy birthday!"

Ariana squealed as Thea placed a big birthday-cake on the diningtable. "It's huge!" An airy laughter filled the room. The tiny girl was the first to look up. Her smile faded. "Father," she said, her tone low and guarded. Thea's eyes shot up to meet Boreas', then looked back at her daughter. Did she figure it out?

"Hello, Ariana," Boreas said lightly, "it is good to see you are well." Ariana muttered something under her breath which closely sounded to "As if", but Thea wasn't that sure.

During the whole ordeal, Ariana didn't smile once. She gave little nods once in a while, and quirked her lips, but her real smile was nowhere to be seen.

2 years later. Thea checked her equipment one last time, knowing she would be in a dangerous part of the mountains. The weatherforecast did say there would be no snowstorms tonight, but she didn't want to waste her safety. Ever since she had woken up, she'd walked around with a bad feeling in her stomach. Something was going to happen, and it involved her. What it was, no idea. It just... Felt completely wrong. Thea threw her ski's on her shoulder, when she heard a tiny sniffle. Ariana stood at the base of the stairs, her eyes watery. "Nightmare," she whimpered. Thea smiled sadly. That was one of the many sad parts of the demigod-lifestyle: they were always tortured with nightmares or bad omens.

"Mom, don't go..." Ariana whispered.

"I have to, dear. Those people don't learn how to ski by themselves," her mother said, patting her hair. Ariana gave a weak nod, and hugged Thea tightly. "Be safe," she murmured. Thea nodded. "Of course." That was a lie, they both knew it.

Her gut was right; a storm hit later that evening. Thea was on her way back home, when she heard an evil cackle. "It's time for you to die," it sneered. She stiffened. "You-"

Before she could finish her sentence, a loud noise resounded throughout the valley. With a scared expression, she turned around. The last thing she said before the avalanche hit her was: "I'm sorry, Ariana... I'm so sorry..."

Boreas' scream was heard all across the valley as he cried for his lost lover... And his daughter would blame him for her death.

*Sniffle* This story makes me sad... *Sniffle* But don't worry. Thea's not dead. At least, her spirit isn't. Again; thanks to Percyjacksonfan3 for the amazing prompt. I wasn't planning on writing this, but now I'm glad I did.

R&R on your way out, please!

~Winter Chase