Chapter 10

Piper's POV
I was stunned as I saw the boy walk out on the queen of heavens. Either he was really pissed or had suicidal cravings. Or he was almost abnormally brave and judging from what little I had deciphered about him, the latter seems to make most sense. I mean how many normal demigods have you seen charging super powerful-and-evil giants and holding their own or fight psycho dragon man who vanish when you try to attack them. I was seriously impressed with this guy, and judging by their looks, Leo and Thalia seemed to agree with me, which was a great feat considering Thalia was a Hunter. Hera was still glaring murderously at his retreating figure while Jason was fuming openly at his insolence. I guess Hera being his patron and all; he was a bit touchy about her. From the corner of my eye, I saw Thalia frowning slightly as if trying to figure out something. Amongst the Hunters she was the most suspicious of all and his defiance of Hera only seemed to fuel her suspicions. Edging quietly to her side, I used my most persuading charmspeak tone and asked,

"What's bothering you Thalia? Do you think he's an enemy?" I shuddered at the thought. After seeing him fight, I wouldn't want to be on his bad side.

Thalia sighed, "No, he just reminded me awfully of a friend of mine." Her voice quieted, as if she was remembering something which was painful for her. "He was almost as good as the Hunter guy. And he had the same short temper and loose tongue as this guy. For a moment I thought….." she trailed off.

I dared a guess, "you thought he was you friend." She looked at me with a pained and haunted expression.

"No, it couldn't be him. He died 5 months ago in a car crash. And now with Gaia stirring…." She trailed off again.

"Yes. That annoying hero chose a wrong time to die. If only he'd survived for a couple more years." Strangely it was Queen Hera who spoke this time. Thalia's expression darkened.

Before she could say anything that would cause her future trouble, Leo blurted out, "what do you mean by surviving a couple more years and who are you talking about?" Jason looked sharply at Leo and Leo bit his tongue. What is his problem, I thought. Hera looked at Leo quietly as if deciding whether to incinerate him or answer his question. Luckily for Leo, she decided to answer his question.

"She's talking about Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon and hero of Olympus of course. Even after all his misgivings, he was a brave and kind hero, much better than that kelp head they call their leader at the camp. If only Perseus was alive, my plan would have turned out smoother. But that kelp head is a necessity, I suppose since prophecy demands a son of Poseidon."

And she got lost in her own thoughts. That didn't made sense. Gathering my courage, I asked Hera,

"Are you talking about Jerric. He's a great hero. I mean he slew hydra and completed Hercules's tasks for crying out loud. And I heard he's the best swordsmen alive at camp in the past 300 years. Why would he ruin your plan? From what everybody says at camp, I gathered he was a great leader and warrior. Surely he was a good choice." I couldn't help but remember Annabeth's sad face at camp. How dare she bad speak the greatest hero at the camp? Hera chuckled while Thalia's face darkened more, if that were possible. She smiled at me mysteriously and replied,

"Of course you're right daughter of Aphrodite." Somehow I got the feeling that she was trying to convince herself more than me. Thalia's expression grew pained. Hera straightened herself and said, "Since you rescued me, I'll send you back to camp. Behave yourself." With that she snapped her fingers and I blacked out. My last thoughts were "I'm going to find out more about this Perseus fellow and prove to both Thalia and Hera that they're wrong and Jerric's a better hero". This much I owned to Annabeth.
Next few days after the quest were both interesting and frustrating. I finally wrenched control of Aphrodite cabin from Drew. Jason slowly began to regain his memory and figured out that the lost hero Jerric, son of Poseidon was at the Roman camp. Though the mood was subdued for Jason warned us that Romans were not as friendly as the Greeks. Athena and Hephaestus cabin began the construction of Argo 2 and all the campers except the Ares cabin joined the preparations to bring the lost hero home. They were frustrating because try as she might, she still can't figure out anything about the mysterious Percy Jackson. Ares cabin would glare at me the moment I would mention him and rest of the campers behaved as if he was just another renegade campers. I almost convinced myself that he was just a minor camper…..almost. But somehow I couldn't get Hera's and Thalia's expression at the mere mention of his name out of my head. Finally after arguing a lot with myself, I decided to consult the oracle of Delphi.
Rachel Elizabeth Dare was made the oracle of Delphi after the Titan war, I was told. She was a mortal with clear sight, which means she could see through the mist. Throughout my stay here, I had only seen her once, and that was to give Jason the prophecy of our quest. Apparently, she doesn't like the other campers. She had only two friends at the camp, Clarisse la rue, the scary head counselor of Ares cabin and a strange emo boy called Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, who doesn't spend much time at the camp. To tell the truth, I was a little scared of her. Mulling over my own thoughts, I finally reached the oracle's cave and found her painting something on white canvas. Looking closely, I realized it was the portrait of a boy with ice blue eyes though not cold as Khione's eyes. Though his face was blurred and indistinguishable, I had a feeling that I have seen him somewhere.

Clearing my throat, I finally said, "Urr...mmmm...Rachel, I was wondering if you could tell me something about Percy Jackson." I regretted immediately. Rachel scowled at me murderously, her hands clutching her pencil tightly, her hair bristling, she looked as if she wanted to strangle me for my dare. I could almost feel her reigning in her temper as she glared at me suspiciously.

"Why do you ask!" she snarled. I was taken aback by her rage. I wondered what this Jackson guy did to trigger such a response in her.

"I…I heard Hera mention him at the wolf house. She and Thalia talked about him as if he was some great hero. Since I've heard almost no mention of him here, I thought you being the oracle would know more." Her expression sobered. She lowered her gaze as if contemplating whether to tell me the truth or just send me off. Apparently she decided on the former, as she motioned me to sit on the couch, and then began rummaging through the cupboards. Finally she emerged bearing a small bundle.

"I requested Apollo to tell me about Percy's adventure before I met him. He had the muses made them especially for me. They are in Percy's point of view. There are five scripts in total. Read them tonight and return them to me tomorrow. But don't tell anyone else about it. Not that they would care anyways."

Taking the package, I silently exited the cave and made my way to the Hestia cabin figuring it would be empty. I didn't want to be disturbed. I called Leo who initially grumbled about being away from work but sobered quickly when I told him about the package. He like me had been wondering about Percy Jackson from Hera's conversation but decide to take a more fatal approach by asking Clarisse about it. He was still limping as he went to ask his cabin mates to excuse him. I wanted to bring Jason too but he was busy sparring with his half sister Alex. So it was Leo and me who sat down together and we started the first script titled 'the lightening thief'.