Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HOO
Prologue
November 23, 1923: New Orleans, Louisiana
The small, frail woman darted through the crowded streets of New Orleans, attempting and failing to avoid the rather deep puddles of rain water that lined the streets. Looking for a certain shelter from the constant downpour of the cold, November rain, she never did see the car heading straight towards her until it was almost too late. Luckily, she noticed in time to dart off to the left, effectively knocking over a newspaper stand that had been left out. Picking her head up for a fraction of a second to scan her surroundings for any sign of shelter, her heart nearly leapt out of her chest when she saw a sign advertising a jazz club. Normally, she would avoid these types of places at all costs, but, she was soaked to the bone and could use a dry place to sit and rest her aching feet. Turning to look over her shoulder, she saw a man staring at her. Before she could have a proper look at him, however, car drove past dowsing her in a shower of rain water. When she turned back around, the man was gone. Shaking her head, trying to convince herself that there was never a man there, she ran toward the jazz club. Before she entered, though, she noticed a sign that read "Queen Marie: The Gris-Gris Queen!" and had an arrow pointing up a set of stairs. The woman took one long look at the stairs before deciding against walking up them to see if Queen Marie could help her. She walked into the jazz club, and sat at a small table in the back corner. The jazz club was a small room with a bar near the entrance with small windows running along the wall facing the street. Small tables were crammed in every space available, with two extremely uncomfy and small chairs per table. Along the wall opposite of the bar was a stage with a tiny catwalk jutting out to the middle of the room. Smoke from people's cigars and cigarettes filled the air so thick that the woman could barely see three feet in front of her. Throughout the course of her sitting at the small table in the back corner, the woman was approached by several men offering to buy her a drink or asking for a dance. But she could care less; all she wanted was for the person who sent her the letter telling her to come to this jazz club in New Orleans to show him or herself. Finally, a man with a jet black hair and bright green eyes approached her. He introduced himself as the person who sent her the letter. He claimed that he had seen her in the theater production in her hometown of Runnells, Iowa. He was interested in her staring in his new movie with would begin production in January. Little did the woman know who the "producer" actually was.
The pair met several dozen times over the next month, mostly in her hometown. As the woman and man got to know each other, she slowly fell in love with him. It started with a tiny crush the first time they met then blossomed into love. But he had been in love with her since he saw her preform in a play along the shore of the Atlantic several years before he wrote the letter to her. Now, that might seem a tad bit stalker like, but in reality, the man had never seen a woman like her before. But sadly, he never caught her name, therefore he spent the next several years searching for her with the help of his nephew. On Christmas Eve of that same year the man surprised the woman by coming to her house to celebrate the spirit of Christmas with her, since her family passed many years prior. After several too many glasses of Champagne, one thing lead to another, and they were soon expecting a child.
Nine months, and a whirlwind of a relationship later, a healthy baby girl was born on September 26th, 1924. The young couple named the baby Cassandra Anne Carter, Cassie for short.
Several arguments and two weeks later the man left the woman and Cassie, leaving the mother and child alone.
The woman never forgave the man for leaving her alone, broke, and a child to raise.
The woman often blamed Cassie for causing the man to leave.
Oh, how that one simple action affected the life of Cassie.
This is Cassie's story.