Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson, or Ash and Willow, though I do like to think I put my own spin on the characters!
Prologue: Through a Mother's Eyes
/March, 2020/
Waaaaah!
AuthorJuniper buried her face in her hands as another scream went tearing through the cottage. Willow was... teething. Sleep was no longer an option, and on this particular day she had been juggling two babies with her worry for Grover, her husband. As much as she admired his dedication to nature, whenever he and the other Lords of the Wild had to intervene in a threat to nature she worried herself sick.
Groaning, she walked over to the crib, a collection of tree roots growing out of the floor. One of the upsides to being a Dryad means that wood could be really easy to come by, be it dead branches donated by friends or her own tree roots growing into little cradles or benches to help her out.
"Hey darling... It's ok now, Mama's here" She whispered into Willow's ear as she gently rocked her whimpering daughter. As willow made soft gurgling noises in response, quieting down a bit, Juniper's eyes came to rest on Ash, who had been woken up by Willow's cries, and looked very unhappy himself. Feeling as though she herself was about to collapse from exhaustion at any moment, she picked up Ash in her other arm and, whispering gently to them, carried them to her bed.
This bed was filled with so many memories. When building the house, Grover had taken a leaf (or rather a trunk) out of Odysseus's book and constructed it around her tree, using its trunk as part of the bed frame. The tree itself had grown into the wooden bed, and it was now covered with roots and vines, and at this time of year it was blooming with flowers of every colour!
As soon as she lay down, she could feel a wave of peace wash over her, as her tree fed her energy to revitalise her. Ash and Willow began to quiet down, staring at the flowers all around them. After some gurgling and incoherent baby talk, they managed to quiet down and began to nod off. Juniper let out a relieved sigh and rolled over, slowly drifting off to sleep...
/break/
Someone's hand clamped over her mouth, and Juniper bolted upright. She whipped her head around, only to come face to face with Grover, giggling quietly into his hand. Huffing, she blew some hair out of her face. "Very funny, darling. So glad you matured after all these years..." She leaned up and kissed him, and he leaned in to hug her.
"Sorry Juni, couldn't resist! How did things go while I was away?" Grover asked, leaning back on the bed, still grinning. She quickly waved the question off, saying "everything was fine, I was just a bit tired. But Grover, what happened to keep you so long? I thought that it was just some winter spirits being a bit stubborn, when I got the message it would take longer than you thought I was worried!"
The smile slowly faded off his face. "It's been getting worse. The winter spirits are always unhappy about making way for spring, but this year... They actually tried to attack the spring spirits rather than go in peace. It's almost like they were riled up by someone." Juniper frowned, and reached out to put her hand on top of his. "You know that if you asked, I'd come help. Just say the word and-" "Juni." Grover interrupted softly. "You know we can't leave the little ones alone"
"I know" she sighed. "I'd never abandon them, I'm just... I feel so helpless, Grover. I worry so much while you're out there..." He reached over and embraced her. "You are anything but helpless, Juni. It's ok, I'm back now, and hopefully will be for a long, long time."
Author's Note: I meant this first chapter to be the only one, but then when I was bored I began writing a chapter two and worked out a storyline for the whole thing! This chapter is unrelated to my big plan, so it is kind of out of place. However, I didn't want to leave it out since it started it all. Expect this story to be between 8-10 chapters long.