HAZEL

IX

Hazel collapsed backwards onto the bunk. She closed her eyes and stretched, arching her back until it popped. What were you meant to pack for a quest? She hadn't gone on many quests, and the only ones she had been on had been a lot better… financed… than this one. She understood that things had gone downhill since she died, but still. This was making packing very hard. She stretched again, rubbing her eyes.

'Hello, beautiful.' Hazel smiled, not opening her eyes, at the sound of Frank's voice. 'How's the packing coming along?'

Hazel groaned and sat up carefully, trying not to disturb the bandages covering the deep snake bite in her stomach. She felt the mattress dip slightly as Frank sat down next to her, before taking her hand in his own and kissing it delicately.

'What are you even meant to pack for a quest like this?' Hazel asked. 'We know nothing about what the mortal world is like now, or even what monsters we're likely to face.'

'I know. Leo said to pass this along to you.' He handed her a slightly used looking rucksack. Seeing her face he chuckled, before explaining. 'Apparently it's like Leo's tool belt. We all have one. There's already ambrosia and nectar, a suit of Roman style armor in your size and a spatha in there.'

'Thanks Frank. I'll just throw in some clothes and call it a day. Any idea where I could find a scabbard? I think that – given where we're going – it would probably be better-' Hazel stopped short when Frank unstrapped an extra scabbard, big enough for her sword, from around his waist and handed it to her. 'Thank you!' She squealed, letting it drop on the mattress between them and hugging him enthusiastically. She winced. She should not have done that.

'Are you ok?' Frank turned to face her fully, eyebrows knitting together in concern. 'Is the bite still bothering you? Is the poison hurting you?' Hazel smiled slightly at the way he looked like he wanted to strangle the basilisk that did this to her, or Pluto, or all of the above.

'I'll be okay.' She said, gently placing a reassuring hand over his. 'I don't feel amazing, but Annabeth says that it should get better soon. She thinks that Hades couldn't make it go away completely, but that it should get out of my system soon enough. She said something about-'

'Soul wounds.' Frank cut her off. He sighed. 'I just worry about you, Hazel. I want you to be safe. And yes,' he added upon seeing the look on her face, 'I am a massive hypocrite. I know that I'm covered in bad burns, but you're poisoned. And it's not just any poison either. No one really knows what basilisk venom does to people, because no one survives-'

He took a deep, shuddering breath, visibly trying to calm himself down. Hazel moved closer, resting her head on his shoulder. 'I'm worried about them Frank.' She murmured. 'All of them.'

'I know Hazel. I am too.' She could feel him moving as he brought his arm around her back. 'Percy especially. He's badly hurt, and you guys don't know what it was like those last few years. Throw in a new prophecy, no one understanding what's going on, Jason and Piper especially not understanding what he went through, and-' Frank swallowed and shook his head as though to clear it. '-and there's something else. I don't know what exactly, it's just out of reach, but whatever it is… I've got a feeling it won't be good.'

'Come on.' Hazel got to her feet. 'Let's go take a walk outside. Clear our heads.' She tugged at his hand. 'If you wait five minutes I can finish packing. We need to meet the others in an hour, so we can take the packs and just wander around camp and the city until then.'

Frank looked up at her and smiled gently. 'We can do whatever you want.'


Hazel could feel Frank's warm hand in hers, swinging between them as they walked. Every callus and scar was painfully familiar. She breathed in deeply, enjoying the way the sun hit her upturned face. She remembered how she had felt the first time she came back from the dead – gods you knew you had had a crazy life when you had died and come back not once but twice – and was interested to see that it wasn't as bad this time. Well, with the exception of the basilisk venom anyway. Huh. That was interesting – shouldn't it be worse since she had been dead for longer this time?

She shook her head. She was getting distracted. What had she been thinking about? Yes, she wasn't sure how the gods expected them to function like this immediately, never mind fight. They were all exhausted, and had shaky control of their limbs at best. She was fairly sure that the way Percy had fought yesterday had been pure adrenaline, desperation and will power.

'Come on, let's go look at the unicorns.' Hazel exclaimed, walking off in the direction of the field and dragging Frank along behind her. Suddenly, she got an idea, dropping his hand and running off. 'Race you!' She yelled back over her shoulder. She thought she heard Frank laugh, and the next thing she knew a massive black stallion was cantering next to her. She tipped her head back to look at the sky and laughed, still running.

When she arrived at the fence around the field, Frank had already changed back into himself. She walked over and sat beside him in the grass, poking him playfully.

'Cheater.'

'I know, I know,' Hazel could see a glint of amusement in Frank's dark eyes. 'I'm a horrible person.' Hazel melted slightly at the wide, genuine smile Frank gave her. They sat together in companionable silence as they both caught their breath again.

'What do you think this quest is going to be like?'

'I don't know, Hazel, I just don't know. Can you ever really tell what a quest is going to be like before leaving on it?' Hazel shook her head silently. 'Exactly. And this quest…' Frank lay down on his back, pulling Hazel into the soft grass with him. 'I've got a feeling that this quest will be no walk in the park. I mean, any quest bad enough that the gods bring us back to life has got to be bad news.'

Frank fell silent, and Hazel rolled onto her front and started making a daisy chain, waiting for him to continue.

'We don't have all the information. Once we do this scouting mission – which should be fairly easy – on Mount Tam for Becky, we can go north and get some answers from the Olympians. Whether they want to give them to us or not.' Frank propped himself up on his elbows and smiled down at her. 'Come on, we should probably head towards the meeting point. The others will be there soon.'

Hazel giggled and placed the daisy chain she had made on his head like a crown, before allowing him to pull her up. They grabbed their packs and she pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek as they started walking towards where the others were expecting them. But a single thought was plaguing her mind: it was a routine scouting mission that killed you.


'Thank you for doing this, heroes. We won't forget it.' Becky was standing in front of the seven of them. 'We wish you luck, and await your return. Ave! Hail!'

The assembled group of Roman demigods and legacies standing behind Becky to send them off repeated the chant. It sounded hopeful, but ominous at the same time. There were so few of them left. Hazel shook her head, knowing that she would need all her wits about her for this quest. She turned her attention to Percy and Annabeth.

'Well Wise Girl.' Percy said, cupping Annabeth's face in one hand. 'This is it I guess. First quest in how long?' Hazel blushed as Annabeth stood on her tiptoes and kissed him.

'Come on Seaweed Brain, let's just get this over with. It'll be fine once we leave. I'll be fine. And anyway, we're finally going home.' She smiled up at him and grabbed his hand.

'Let's just get this over with.' And with that, Percy and Annabeth strode out of the camp boundaries.

Hazel walked up to Frank and slipped her hand into his. She took a deep, shaky breath and smiled up at Frank. And then, for the first time in centuries, Hazel Levesque took a step on unprotected, mortal land.

Sorry this took so long, I've been really busy with school and holidays. But hey! Actual questing next chapter. Tell me what monsters you want to see the demigods face on their journey. Hope you enjoyed the Frazel.

- FeatheredShadows xx