Octavian waited upon his horse for the spy.
This better be worth it, he thought bitterly. Supposedly, this spy was in possession of something that could help him steal the King Jupiter's position of power, making him King instead.
So here Octavian waited for an hour or more. It was nearly midnight. He was about to give up when he seen a motion of movement coming from a nearby hill. The dot grew larger and larger as it got closer. Finally, it arrived to Octavian.
"You bring something?" Octavian asked the spy jumped of his horse.
"Yes. I do." The spy handed Octavian two gold objects, that appeared to be separate halves of an eagle from what he could tell from the moonlight.
"What are these supposed to do?" Octavian asked.
The spy laughed. "You do not know? Very well, I will explain. Connect the two, and they will lead you to a place that contains a prisoner with a talent. This talent gives the man the ability to make anything. With him, you could achieve great deeds. So great, in fact, that you could overthrow the King."
Octavian mulled this over in his head. "So, I just connect these and get power?"
"More or less," The spy said.
With that, Octavian connected the pieces, making a full eagle. The eagle glowed a bright blue and flew out of Octavian's hand, roaming the landscape.
"After it!" Octavian screamed as he kicked his horse. The two horses sprinted off after the blue eagle. Many hills and valleys later, the eagle nose dived into a high hill. The hill shifted and turned into the face of an eagle.
Octavian stopped his horse by the eagle's beak. "What now, Spy?" He asked, looking into the cave.
"I suppose we enter." The spy answered, waiting for Octavian to go first.
"Oh no, you are going first. I will not be caught in some trap." Octavian scolded.
The spy gulped and hesitantly stepped forward into the beak. Nothing happened, so he continued. Suddenly, the beak rumbled and blew the spy out.
"ONLY THE ONE WITH SELFLESSNESS CAN ENTER! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!" The eagle shouted.
Octavian motioned for the spy to try again. The spy stepped in once more. The eagle began to rumble violently, and the spy tried to run out, though the gravel had turned into quick sand. The beak snapped shut and the whole hill collapsed and turned back to normal, with the spy still contained.
The gold eagle flew back to Octavian's hand. Octavian shook his horse's reins and went back to the palace, mulling over the eagle's message. How was he to find the one with selflessness?
"Hey! Give that back!"
Piper swung onto the nearest rafter hanging from a building, with the bread loaf still in her hand. Moments ago, she had just talked the seller into giving it to her. Unfortunately, he had realized what he had done right after she took it.
"Get her! That girl just took my bread! I want it back!" Piper heard the merchant explaining to the palace guards.
Piper jumped onto the roof and ran across to the next. She leaped around the chimneys on each new roof, careful not to trip. Been there, done that. Piper could hear the guards following her on foot, throwing spears, swords, and other assorted items that aimed to catch her.
She could see her destination: Safety. It was Annabeth and Percy's cottage, and they would always take Piper in when she needed help. Piper darted around an abandoned street vendors cart, making sure to lose the guards. Sure enough, they lost her.
Piper collapsed through the door at Annabeth's cottage, breathing hard and practically hugging the bread loaf. She looked up to see Annabeth and Percy sitting at the table staring at her.
"S-Sorry," Piper gasped.
Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "Little early in the morning to be getting in trouble, don't you think?"
"Not too early for the children to be hungry," Piper said as she got up from the floor.
Percy looked at his wife. "She's got a point."
Annabeth shrugged. "Still Piper, I wish you'd take our offer. You could have a home here! I don't like the fact of a pretty girl like you running wild on the streets. Bad things could happen, I hear about it all the time at the palace." Annabeth said.
Both Annabeth and Percy worked at the palace off and on, taking shifts with the other servants and maids. Sometimes, when Piper wasn't busy Annabeth would tell her all of the latest going ons in the palace.
"Thanks Annabeth, but I can't. All those kids need food, and only a few of us can provide that. If I leave…"
"Okay, I understand." Annabeth said. "Do you want to stay for a while? We have breakfast." Annabeth offered, gesturing to the empty seat.
Piper obliged and sat down. Percy handed her a plate, and Piper ate quickly, making small talk between bites. After she was done, she thanked Percy and Annabeth, and grabbed her loaf of bread.
"Bye, see you again this week maybe several times!" Piper said as she walked out the door. They waved back.
Piper ran down the familiar alleys until she came across the abandoned building at the edge of town. The building housed just about every homeless child in the city. Piper pushed aside the dirty sheet that served as the main door, and was greeted by twenty little kids, who had apparently been waiting for her.
"Hey guys! I have some bread, fresh off the cart!" Piper said as she handed out a small amount to each child, "Enjoy it, because it's all you get today, as always," She reminded them. When all the children had got their share, Piper took the tiny remainder upstairs to everyone else.
Piper lived upstairs with four others, Katie, Conner, Travis, and Will, and each had their turn of stealing food for the day. They were responsible for the kids, and they took care of them everyday like they were their own.
"Wow, you got bread? How did you manage that, Piper?" Conner asked her as she lay it on the dirty table.
Piper blushed. "I've told you a million times! I just ask, and they give it to me."
Travis kicked his feet up on Katie's lap. "Doubt it. They probably just think you're pretty." He stated. Katie pushed Travis's feet off and stood up.
"Are we going to eat, or what?" Katie asked. The boys jumped up and started to divide the bread.
Will tossed a piece to Piper, who tossed it back. "Don't you want some?" He asked.
"No, I'm not hungry," Piper answered. She felt kind of guilty for eating at Annabeth and Percy's, so she didn't want to take anymore unfair food.
Will shrugged. "Suite yourself," and he divided that piece among them. Piper climbed to the third floor, where her room and Will's were, to go rest.
Piper lay on her makeshift bed and stared into her dagger, which she had named Katoptris, or looking-glass. Though Piper had no idea where it had come from, she had had the dagger since she was very young. Sometimes, if Piper was lucky (or not), the dagger would reveal the future through pictures. Then Piper was left to interpret them herself.
As if on cue, the dagger's bronze blade shimmered to show a scene. Piper was holding on the edge of a cliff with one hand, and in the other she held some sort of hammer. She heard a voice frantically yelling, "Throw it, throw it!" as the overhead rocks came caving in. The rocks continued going, until the last thing the vision showed was a sorrowful man with blonde hair and startling blue eyes.
Piper threw her dagger across the room. Lovely, she thought, now I'm seeing my death.
Still, she crawled under her bed and got her paints out. She dipped a make-shift brush into them and began to paint the image on the wall above her bed, emphasizing the man's face above all. Which wasn't hard to do, she didn't really want to spend that much time on her death.
By the time she had finished the mural, it was twilight. Piper put away her paints and sat in the broken wall which served as a window. Next door, she could hear Will playing on his guitar that Travis and Conner had stole for him on his birthday.
Piper gazed out, staring at the palace. It was grand, shining gold day and night, lit up by the many lanterns that boasted its enormity.
Through Piper's imagination, the abandoned building became that Palace, and instead of being in a broken wall, Piper was on a golden balcony. Someday, Piper thought wistfully.
So, this is my newest story! How do you like it? Anything you want to happen? I'm always open to suggestions!