"You. Are. Crazy."

Leo laughed like a maniac. "Actually, I'm Leo. And if you're seeing imaginary people named Crazy, then I'm also Dr. Leo."

"Haha, very funny." Piper said sarcastically. She looked at the great bronze dragon that Leo had built for transportation to the city. The dragon came to life and breathed fire as Leo touched it. Piper jumped back. "There is no way in Hades that I am getting on that!"

Leo jumped on the dragon's back and adjusted his tool belt. "Come on Beauty Queen! Do you want Lover Boy or what?"

Piper hesitantly went near the dragon, and poked it with her foot. "A. I'm not Beauty Queen. And B. Are you sure this is completely one-hundred percent safe?"

"More or less. Now pick up your fancy dress and get over here!"

Piper did as Leo said, not wanting to cause any more trouble. She straightened out the purple silk dress that Leo had gotten from who-knows-where, and glanced at her reflection in her dagger. She was completely beautiful. Perfect make-up, hair, complexion. "Uh, I am so not used to this," She complained.

Leo looked back and yelled to his invisible crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the most awesome dragon in the world! Now on Festus, let's go see us some royalty!"

"You named a metal dragon Fes-" Piper half said before she stopped in mid-scream as the dragon lifted off the sandy ground and into the cloudy sky.

Higher and higher they rose, and Piper closed her eyes and clutched the back of Leo's coat for support. "Relax, Pipes," Leo said.

"Don't call me Pipes." Piper responded, not relaxing at all. They went in a surprising silence for a few precious minutes.

Piper felt Leo turn around. Silence ruined. "Want to see something cool?"

"No. I don't want to see anything!" Piper said, cracking her eyes open just a little bit.

"Okay." Leo said, completely ignoring Piper's answer. He let go of Festus. "Look Ma, no hands!"

Piper gasped and smacked Leo across the head, forgetting about closing her eyes. "Leo! Do not do that again!"

Leo grabbed Festus's neck again. Now that Piper's eyes were open, she could see her surroundings. They were high above a grand forest, just hovering beneath the thick dark clouds. Piper could feel the moisture in the air, and she felt her hair subconsciously. Sure enough, it was lightly wet.

"How close are we to the city?" Piper asked. Now that she was aware of her surroundings, she was slightly relaxed. Which was odd, considering the darkness above them.

"Um, a few miles or so I think. I'm pretty sure I can see it!" Leo yelled.

Piper looked up at the menacing clouds. "And how durable would this piece of metal be in a thunderstorm?"

"Why do you ask-" The thunder rumbled loudly, the sound amplified by their nearness to it. "Okay then. I think our arrival to the ground should be shortly. I'm too young to die!" Leo yelled through the growing wind.

Festus creaked as Leo guided him towards a clearing in the forest. The thunder rumbled again, and this time Piper heard lightning crack. Festus gained acceleration at the downward movement, and the group crashed into the clearing.

Piper fell into a dirt patch, making her dress have a brownish tinge. She dusted herself off and searched for Leo and the dragon. Leo was kneeling by the dragon's head, apparently soothing it like she would to a scared child back home.

"Is everything alright?" she asked as she walked over to him.

Leo looked up. "Yeah, Festus is just a little scared. I don't think we'll be flying again today, with what the storm and everything." As if in response, the sky rumbled and little raindrops began to fall.

"Lovely. It's raining. There goes your outfit!" Leo told Piper. She rolled her eyes. "Come on Festus, let's get out of the rain."

Festus creakily got up and strutted next to Leo like a dog. The three of them took cover underneath the branches of the thick trees in the forest. Festus curled up against several trees and went to sleep. Piper and Leo went and leaned on Festus for warmth.

The forest gradually got darker as the night neared. Both of them sat in silence, thinking. Piper listened to the rain gently falling on the trees, and running down to make random puddles.

Leo looked at Piper. "So…what about that third wish?"

"I don't know…I really don't. What would you wish for?" Piper asked in return.

"That's easy. I want to be free from being everyone's servant. It's always: make this, make that. Do I ever get a thank you? No." Leo ranted.

Piper leaned forward. "How exactly would you make yourself free?"

"That's a long story," Leo said. He fiddled with a stick on the ground.

"We have all night. We can't leave till morning anyhow," Piper persisted.

"Okay, fine. So it was a hundreds of years ago, before I was a prisoner to this hammer," Leo pulled out the hammer and continued, "I was on the run from my most recent home-"

"Why did you run away? And what's recent home mean?"

Leo face-palmed. "I suppose I should start at the beginning. I lived alone with my mother for many years at a small workshop. Nobody came there because no one trusted a woman blacksmith, so we were very poor. Anyways, I was born with this weird ability to summon fire at my will. I-I didn't mean to, but I let myself get out of control, and burned the place down…with my mother still inside." A single tear went down Leo's cheek and he looked away.

Piper was speechless. She knew that any consoling would be worthless, so she waited for Leo to continue.

"So from that point on, random people took me in. But it never felt right, so I always ended up leaving. I met this girl, named Hazel, on my last run. She was distressed, ranting on about how I was supposed to be dead. Sammy, she called me. After a while, she calmed down and realized that I wasn't who she thought I was. We remained friends for a long time, and I thought maybe that this was my chance at love! It wasn't, turned out. Hazel met a guy named Frank, and they got married. I was so upset after she told me the news, I nearly burned the whole city. And with most of the city, I took Frank. Hazel's Frank. She was angry, I could tell. But what surprised me the most was when she gave me a gold nugget as a gift. Later did I find out, it was cursed," Leo said, still focusing on anything other than Piper.

They sat in silence for a few seconds. Piper thought over everything Leo had just told her. Love is powerful, she decided mentally.

Leo went on, "It carried a curse that bonded me to my hammer, making me grant three things to every person who tapped it, with exceptions like no love or fire. I was desperate to find a way to be free. Whenever I was released, I searched for her in my free time. Eventually, I found Hazel again, on her deathbed. She was regretful, and she apologized again and again for the curse. Hazel said that she had let her emotions control her, and I could relate. Her last words before I watched the woman I loved die told me the way to be free once again. Someone must wish for me to have my fire powers back, so that I can melt the hammer myself. Nothing but my fire works." Leo sighed and closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry if I pressed you too much. You didn't have to tell me all that." Piper apologized, looking at Leo with sympathy.

Leo remained in his previous position. "It's okay. I guess, sometimes telling someone something helps you feel better. It's like the weight is lifted off my chest." Leo curled up and went to sleep, signifying the end of the conversation.

Piper followed his lead and tried to get some sleep as well. Problem was, thoughts of Leo's story kept roaming her mind. Underneath that person full of jokes was one that had a lot of sad history. Maybe it was just his way of dealing with it. Suddenly, she had an idea for her third wish, she just wanted to keep it a surprise.

She smoothed out her purple dress and put her head on her arms, finally feeling tired. Piper had a big day tomorrow, and she needed her beauty sleep. Leo was going to freak at the fact that he would have to fix her dress before they left.

Piper smiled, then she succumbed to sleep, listening to the sound of the rain falling onto the trees.


So...not much happened in this chapter, but it was necessary. I'm serious.

Thanks for favorites, follows and reviews!