Disclaimer: I do not own any works credited to Rick Riordan. I am not even a male. I, sadly, own nothing. Except my ideas for this fic, I suppose.
I started opening the doors along the hall, frantically searching for something to escape with. Most of the rooms were empty, but I found a bunch of sheets in one. I brought the sheets back to the room I had woken in, and placed then behind the bed, out of sight of the door. Then I continued my search. Nothing.
I went back to the room I had woken in and started to tie the sheets together, tight as I could. It took me a couple hours to make sure it was really tight, and would hold my weight. I dragged the bed over to the window, and tied the end of the rope to the post. Then I pushed the rest of the rope out of the window. I didn't know what I was going to do when I made it to the ground, or whether I'd even make it to the ground.
The rope did not reach the ground. After all, it was a pile of sheets, and it was a four story drop. I was still about a story up when it ended. Hanging from the very end by my hands, I took a chance. I dropped to the ground silently, and rolled. It jarred my ankles a little, but for the most part, I was fine.
Because everything seemed to be gravitating toward the palace, I guessed it was right at the center. So I just picked a random direction that was away, and went running.
My tattoo helped me to know what time it was, and how long I'd been running. After all, if I could just last last the Winter Solstice, he couldn't marry me, and he couldn't rise.
I ran for about three hours, often stopping and hiding when I saw monsters. I could see them reforming in the ground, and I would do my best to stop that from happening, but kept running for the most part. After three hours, though, I could quite keep running. I went slower, walking, and that lasted me another three hours.
After the six hours of travelling away, I needed to stop, if only for a short rest. I was surprised I had lasted that long, because the air was poison. I found a small cave, checked for monsters, and sat down inside. I reached into my pocket to grab the bottle my father had given to me, as it was my replacement for ambrosia and nectar and could help keep me moving. As I felt for the bottle, I felt the edge of the photographs. I pulled them along with the bottle. After taking a few sips and replacing the bottle in my pocket, I stared at the photos.
And so it went. I would travel for as many hours as I could handle, stop to rest in some secluded spot, take a couple sips from my never emptying bottle, and take a few minutes to look at my photos. I might have gotten the physical strength from the bottle, but I got the mental strength to keep going from the photos, from the very real truth of what would happen to my friends if Tartarus were to rise.
On the third day, the day before the Winter Solstice, it was so much harder not to run into monsters, all seemingly pulled toward the heart of Tartarus, toward the fortress. Now, were they his wedding guests or his guards?
On the Winter Solstice, it was five a.m. when I needed to stop again. I found a cave and sat down in the darkest corner. My clothing was all black, which was helpful, but my white hair could have given me away.
When whatever or whoever it was entered, I took in a breath quickly. He heard, and looked straight at me. I stayed in the corner, not knowing whether to believe it was really him, it was really Cypress.
"Nikita?" He asked softly. His voice was hoarse, and he looked haggard. His clothes were covered in rips, all except his jacket, which miraculously remained unscathed.
Cypress? I answered back.
"Is it really you, or are you just another monster disguised as her? Do you even actually know ASL?" He asked. What? Monsters had been going around disguised as me?
It's really me. Ask me something. Anything. I said.
"How did we meet?" He asked.
You snuck up to the flag during the game. I turned around and you had a hand on the flag. You grinned and drew a sword. You managed to knock away my swords and deflect my dagger, then went running off with the flag. I grabbed my weapons and chased you. Close to the boundary, I tackled you to the ground. I managed to get the flag away from you, and one of my teammates brought it back. But you ended up on top of me, and I was terrified. You asked if I was alright after you helped me up, but I didn't want to talk about it. You know why now, though. I said.
"Thank gods it's actually you." He said. "I'll be right back." He left the cave for a moment, and when he came back, Rain and Adam were with him. They were just as haggard as him, though their clothes seemed to have more rips and tears.
How did you all get here? I asked incredulously.
"With a little help from the gods. Thanatos helped us getting through the Doors of Death. None of the gods want Tartarus to rise, and it was the least they could do." Rain said. She sat on one side of me, Cypress the other, and Adam on the other side of Rain.
What are we going to do now? I asked softly.
"The gods gave us a way to get back up. We've just got to get to where we came down, so we don't accidentally end up somewhere in the fields of punishment or the River Lethe. The heart of this place would work, too, but no one's going there." Adam said.
Do you all need to rest? I've been running for as long as I can take it, stopping for a few minutes to drink from my bottle, and then going. The time I can go keeps getting shorter and shorter. I just want to be away from that fortress, away from him. I said, shuddering.
"What happened after they took you?" Rain asked softly.
I woke in a room, with only a bed in it. There was a window, and I found I was at least four stories up. The door was locked, but I used my power to create a little hair pin and picked it. There was a long hallway. I didn't open any doors, just went to the one on the end. I opened the door at the end, and... And he was standing right there. He asked if I was trying to escape, told me there was no way out. Also told me the form he had taken, looking like a mortal man, was so I wasn't scared. Like that helped. I insulted him, he warned me never to do it again or I'd regret it. I learned I'd been out for a long while, that the Solstice was in three days. Then he left. I searched the rooms in the hall, and all were empty, except some sheets in one. Made a rope, moved the bed to the window, tied the rope on, and went straight out the window. Had to fall about a story after the rope ran out. But it's seemed almost... Too easy to escape. I said.
There was a laugh. "Of course it was too easy. You really think I'm that stupid?" It was Tartarus's voice. He stepped into the entrance of the cave.
Kind of? I said slowly. Even though he hadn't moved, it felt like he had slapped me. I could feel my cheek bruising.
"I told you, you are not to speak to your fiancé like that." He admonished. Cypress set a comforting hand on my knee. "Now, it is almost time for our wedding. I see you've got some special guests. They can stay with you in your temporary room until it is time to get ready." He said. He snapped his fingers and we weren't in the cave anymore. We were in a completely empty room. There was a window, and I found we were again four stories up. The door was locked, but there was no keyhole to pick. And all of our weapons were gone.
I sat down in the center of the room. They sat down with me.
"What are we supposed to do now?" Rain asked.
I don't know. I said.
"Did he take the pearls?" Cypress asked. Adam checked his pockets.
"He took them." Adam replied.
"What time is it?" Rain asked.
Cypress took my wrist and and looked at my tattoo. "It's six." He told her. He didn't let go of my wrist, instead lacing his fingers with mine. I curled my fingers into his for a moment before pulling my hand away to sign, and a tear fell down my cheek.
I just don't know what to do. I said. Then I returned my hand to his.
"Hey, we'll figure something out." Cypress said, trying to comfort me. It didn't help much.
Rain pulled out her camera, which she still had, and took a photo of Cypress and I's interlaced hands. She set it aside and took a picture of the two of us sitting there. I don't think Cypress noticed, and I don't think she realized I noticed, either. She set the second photo aside and moved closer so that she could take a photo of the four of us. We all tried to smile, but I don't think it turned out very well. She set the third photo on top of the other two and handed them to me. I slipped them in my pocket. I still have the other two. I told her. The corners of her lips turned up, but I think that that was the most any of us could manage at this point.
We all sat in silence for awhile. It was six thirty when Tartarus came to get me. He was in the middle of threatening my friends should I not follow him when I got up and walked out of the room. I wasn't going to endanger my friends.
He brought me to a room that held a full body mirror, a clothing rack, and a simple white dress. He told me to get changed, and then to exit the room at seven. He told me my friends would be hurt should I fail to do so. He left and closed the door behind him.
The dress was beautiful, even with all that it meant. It was long, reaching just above the floor in the back but the middle of my calves in the front. It was all silk, and it was strapless. I found a hairbrush i hadn't seen before and brushed my hair out. Then i threw my hair up in a messy bun with the one hair tie I had. After I put my hair up, I went through the pockets of my jacket. The photos I placed in one of my boots. I placed the Lotus Cash Card in my other boot. I wasn't going to be able to fit my wallet anywhere, and I could find more cash and even a new wallet. I out the bottle and my pocket knife into my bra. I folded my jacket over my arm and kicked the dirty clothes into the corner. They were way past even being able to wash them.
Seven came soon. When I exited the room, I gasped, as did the person standing by the door. It was Cypress. Tartarus had made him change into a tuxedo. He started to lead me down the hall.
"I'm supposed to walk you down the aisle." Cypress said.
You are nothing like my father. I said. I have an idea on how to get us out of this. You need to do whatever I tell you to do, Cypress.
"Alright." He said. I slipped the Lotus Cash Card from my boot and handed it to him. I also gave him the three photos from my boot. I left the bottle and pocket knife in my bra. "What are these for?"
Hold them for me. Stick them in a pocket or something. I told him. I don't want them lost. Then I handed him my jacket, which he folded over his arm.
I didn't say anything when he read what Rain had written in the back of the photo of us sleeping on the chair. Neither did he, but he tucked the photos away into the tux. We soon stopped in front of a closed double door.
"You ready for this?" He asked me.
Shut up, Cy. I said solemnly.
"Love you too, Nikki." He replied. I took a deep breath and we exited the fortress to the court head outside. There was a very large crowd of monsters. There was a central aisle cleared, and it was strewn with flower petals. Rain was standing beside the slightly raised stage, wearing a red dress. The color suited her well. Adam was beside her, in a tux like Cypress. Tartarus was waiting on the slightly raised stage, in front of an arch of black stone and lava flowing along it. I saw that Rain held her camera in her hands. She wouldn't part with it. I noticed that she took a picture of us as we walked slowly down the aisle. Taking pictures seemed to calm her. Each time a photo came out, she tucked it into her bra.
We reached the end of the aisle. I stepped up onto the stage and Cypress took a place next to Adam. Tartarus snapped his fingers, and an empousa stepped up to stand in front of the arch, in the place a priest would stand.
"We are gathered here today to witness the marriage of our Lord Tartarus, and the girl whose power will allow him to rise from here, Nikita Caliya Beckett." She started. Tartarus smiled at me and I shuddered. "Now, do you, Lord Tartarus, take Nikita Caliya Beckett as your lawfully wedded wife?"
"I do." He said with a grin. The look in his eyes told me I better say I do on my turn or else.
"Do you, Nikita Caliya Beckett, take Lord Tartarus as your lawfully wedded husband?" The empousa asked with obvious disgust in her voice. The look on his face told me if I said anything other than what he wanted me to say, he'd kill my friends.
I do, I signed.
"I now pronounce you Lord and wife." She said. He took my hand and slid a ring onto my left hand. It was a black band, made of the same stone as the arch.
I looked up from the spot on the ground I'd been staring at. I just have one thing I'd like to say. I signed. Tartarus set his murderous gaze on me.
You're not keeping them here. I told him. I snapped my fingers, and didn't even have to look back to see the bubbles of golden light appear around my friends. They slowly started to drift upwards. Tartarus took a step forward, but I had my pocket knife out in a flash. I had it resting in the fabric of my dress, aimed at my heart. I didn't have to say anything for him to understand what I meant. He stepped back.
"You wouldn't harm yourself like that. You wouldn't really kill yourself." He said. He stepped forward.
I didn't move, pressing the knife into my skin. A drop of blood appeared on the white of the dress. He stepped back. We both knew there's no way for me to make it out of this alive, so I had nothing to lose.
The bubbles covered any noise made by my friends, so though I saw them getting the sides and their mouths moving, I did not hear it. I looked up at Cypress and locked eyes with him just as their bubbles reached the ceiling. I mouthed 'I'm sorry'. I took a deep breath. And then I plunged the knife into my chest.
And here we have what is called a cliffhanger. A point in a story that leaves you to wonder until the story continues.
(Sorry this one came a day late!)
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