AN: Hello everyone! Happy Easter for those of you who celebrate it! I hope you had a great day. And for those of you who don't, I hope you had a great day, too. As always, I want to thank everyone for your continued support, regardless of how you've been interacting with the story. I know I'm really a broken record at this point, but I do honestly appreciate it more than I can ever say. Now, before we get going, it's time for some review responses.

First, from AnamariaJovel: "Man, you certainly know how to keep hitting us with the plot-twist bricks!"
A: Haha, I try.

Next, from SkylightRiver678: "Nice ! I love this twist ... its starting to sound like one of those mystery novels ;)"
A: Hmm... Maybe I should write a mystery sometime...

From the-only-soldier-left: "Do you watch Doctor Who? Cos Melody Williams sounds veeerrryyy familiar. o_O"
A: Yes, I do. And yes, that name choice was very intentional. Often times, when I'm struggling with coming up a name, I'll make names that are references to other things I enjoy.

From EllaAnnieGrace: "Basil Oswald, Huh? That name does sound uniquely British."
A: Haha, thanks. I thought so, too :)

And lastly, also from EllaAnnieGrace: "Self promotion alert in the sentence 'For instance, your Uncle Jason and Aunt Piper had to go kill a bunch of them in England'"
A: I didn't necessarily write it in there as self-promotion, but more as a way of acknowledging that my stories take place in the same canon.

Alright, that's enough from me. Enjoy the chapter and DFTBA!

Chapter 14: Our Accommodations Are Way Over Five Stars

We crammed in the back of the SUV. As she drove, Melody pointed out various London landmarks. Meanwhile, Basil Oswald sat silently in the passenger's seat doing work on a tablet. It still kinda blew my mind to think that this guy was Elesa's older brother. I mean, he must've been ten years older than her, at least. Still, the resemblance was there. They had the same high cheekbones, very similar voices, and identical eyes. Although that last one probably didn't count. Pretty much all kids of Athena had those eyes. Heck, even I had those eyes.

Meanwhile, Theo did what he could for all of our wounds. He gave all of us more Ambrosia and Nectar, which made the pain in my leg a little less horrible but made me so hot that I was pretty sure the seat was gonna catch on fire.

"So you said you were part of something called the 'Royal Demigod Corps,'" Matt said. "What exactly is that? Is it like Camp Jupiter or Camp Half-Blood over in America?"

"Oh yes," Basil replied sarcastically. "That's exactly what we're like. Clearly, we look just like campers."

"Oh cut the shit, Basil," Melody said. Then to Matt, "We're not really much like either of your American camps, no. Being a member of the RDC is more of a profession. We're employed by the royal family. Our job is to keep them, and the country, safe from monsters, vindictive gods, and those sorts of things." I raised my eyebrows. That was pretty cool. Their job was fighting monsters? Why wasn't that a job in the US? Back in America the only ones fighting monsters were… well, us. Campers. I liked the idea of having professionals take care of monsters.

"You see," Melody continued, "the royal family has a long history with the gods. In fact, the current dynasty can trace its ancestry back to Jupiter. Queen Elizabeth II was the first demigod monarch the United Kingdom had had in a long time. Daughter of Hebe." That explained why she'd lived so long. Queen Elizabeth had still been around when I was a very small child. It made sense that being the daughter of the youth goddess gave her long life. "Anyway," Melody said, "the Royal Demigod Corps was established during the First World War. Many demigods served in the army, but the royal family wanted an organized force back home to combat monsters. It was a chaotic time, after all. Last thing anyone needed was the country falling apart because of monsters."

"You know," Basil interrupted, "maybe it's not entirely wise to be telling them everything about us. We still don't know who they are."

"Oh give it a rest, Basil," Melody said. "I told you, my father clearly thinks they're worthy of our trust. He would not have given them the coin if he didn't."

"And if they killed your father's heroes and took the coin?" Basil countered. His loathing towards us was disconcerting. What could Elesa have possibly done to make him hate American heroes so much?

"That's not possible," Melody said. "The coin is magic. If my father's chosen heroes had been killed, then the coin would have disappeared. Face it, Basil, this isn't about being cautious. This is about your sister."

"Don't bring her into this," he snapped.

"You're going to have to let it go eventually," Melody pushed.

Basil got so angry, his face went straight to purple. He opened his mouth to respond, but just then Máev spoke up. "Excuse me, I'm not sure what all of this is about, but the two of us," she indicated herself and Melanie, "aren't with this lot. They saved us, but we aren't –"

"I just want to go home," Melanie added, her voice breaking.

Basil glanced back, and the anger left his face. Well, mostly. "Someone was holding you two captive?" he asked softly. Melanie and Máev nodded. "Alright, we'll get you two back home, don't worry. What are your names?"

"Máev O'Donoghue," the Irish girl answered.

Basil began typing into his tablet. "M-e-d-b? That's the spelling?"

"Aye, that's right," Máev said.

I blinked, taking a second to process the exchange. "Wait, what? Your name is spelled M-e-d-b? In what universe is that pronounced Máev?"

Máev, or Medb, rather, shrugged. "It's a traditional Gaelic name. I don't know why it's pronounced that way."

Jocelyn was in a bit of a daze next to me, due to her blood loss, but she still managed, "That sounds like a fun language. I should learn that one next. Give myself a bit of a challenge." I was worried about her, but Theo nodded at me in reassurance. Jocelyn would be okay.

Basil cleared his throat, giving Jocelyn and I annoyed looks, then returned his attention to Medb. "You live in Dublin, yes?"

Medb smiled, probably remembering home and clearly happy to be returning. "That's right."

Basil whistled. "Well you've been away for a long time. You've been on the missing persons register for two years."

Medb's face darkened. "Two years?"

"Two years," Basil repeated. "That surprises you?" Medb just stared ahead, gaping. Basil examined her critically, but he didn't say anything else to her just yet. Instead, he turned even more in his seat and looked at Melanie. "And what's your name, miss?"

"Melanie Rodriguez."

Basil typed the name into his tablet. After a moment, he said, "You're from Santa Fe, New Mexico?"

"Yes," Melanie said, a worried look on her face. No doubt because she feared getting similar news to Medb – that she'd been gone for a long time.

"You've been missing for six months," Basil said.

"But that's… that's just not possible," Melanie said. "I've only been gone for a few weeks…"

"How is that possible?" Melody asked. "I mean, how did it feel so much shorter than six months?"

"They were being held hostage in the Labyrinth," Emily said. "Time moves differently down there."

Basil was busy at work on his tablet again, no doubt trying to make arrangements to get Melanie and Medb home. Melody seemed intrigued, though. "The Labyrinth? You were in the Labyrinth? Would you be able to tell us more about that?"

"Correction, tell you," Basil said flatly. "I couldn't care less what they're up to."

Normally, Basil's attitude would've pissed me off, but for some reason, it didn't just then. Maybe it was because I was too curious about whatever had happened between him and Elesa. Maybe I was too tired and injured to spare the energy to be angry.

Next to me, Theo leaned forward. "What's the date, anyway?" he asked. "Since time runs differently in the Labyrinth and all."

"July second," Melody replied.

I raised my eyebrows. Matt voiced what I was thinking. "We were in there less than two days and a week passed?"

"We're not getting back to camp by the fourth, are we?" Theo asked, frowning.

I turned to look at my friend. "Did you have plans for the fourth?"

"No," Theo lied quickly. He turned away. It was sometimes hard to tell with him, but it looked like he was blushing. Did he have a date for the fireworks?

Jocelyn groaned from the other side of Theo. "Am I hallucinating from blood loss, or is that Buckingham Palace?"

I turned and looked out the window. Sure enough, we were approaching a huge stone residence surrounded by an ornate fence. Out in front was a huge statue topped by a golden figure. We drove around it, then drove along a street on the side of the palace. The royal family's residence looked even bigger from the side. "Are we – are we coming here?" I asked.

Melody answered by turning the car into an access lane. We stopped at a gate house. A security guard poked his head out. Melody flashed a badge, and the guard opened the gate. We drove through and were officially on the royal family's property. Melody pulled the SUV into a parking spot and turned off the vehicle. "Welcome to Buckingham Palace," she said. "Home to the royal family, the state rooms, and the Royal Demigod Corps' headquarters."

"Is the royal family here?" Theo asked excitedly.

"Is the Union Jack flying over the building?" Basil asked, an annoyed edge to his voice. "The answer is no, by the way. Which means that the royal family isn't home. And even if they were, you wouldn't get to meet them, anyway."

And on that unpleasant note, we unloaded out of the SUV and onto the red cobblestone exterior courtyard. The other two SUVs from the bridge had just arrived, too. The soldiers were unloading equipment from their trunks. Melody began leading us towards an entrance to the building, but Basil called, "Listen, Melody, I'm going to make sure Medb and Melanie get home safely."

Melody turned. "Shouldn't Doctor Lang examine them, first?"

"We feel fine," Medb said. "Or I do." Melanie nodded in agreement. Medb turned back to Melody. "Honestly, I just want to get home as quickly as possible."

"Anyway," Basil continued, "I'll take care of it. You can do whatever you see fit with the rest of this lot." He glanced distastefully at me and my friends. "I'll be back in a couple days."

Melody sighed. "Fine. I'll see you later, Basil."

Basil nodded and strode over to a sedan parked nearby. Possibly his personal car. Medb and Melanie turned to us and thanked all of us for everything. Melanie even gave Matt a kiss on the cheek, which made him light up like a Christmas tree and made me snicker. Then they went and joined Basil at his car.

Melody continued to follow Basil with her eyes until the car had left. Jocelyn coughed. "Yeah, don't mind us. It's not like any of us are grievously injured or anything." She had a point. She really wasn't looking good. Theo was half carrying her. Still, the fact that she was being sarcastic was encouraging. Melody started and glanced back towards us.

"Of course," she said. "Sorry about that. Let's go."

The interior of Buckingham Palace was even grander than the exterior. The ceilings were high and vaulted. Rows of magnificent windows looked outside. Chandeliers hung from the ceilings in several of the rooms we passed through. The furniture was ornate. Jocelyn perked up slightly as we walked through the halls. From the darting of her eyes, I could tell she was assessing the value of each and every item in the building. At one point, her free arm shot out to try and grab a crystal ashtray from a table. I grabbed her wrist. She shot me a sour look, but retracted her hand. She'd gotten better about her kleptomaniacal tendencies that last couple years, but I supposed that the riches of the British royal family were almost too much for her to handle.

"I'm going to take you to see Doctor Lang first," Melody was saying. "He'll help treat all of your wounds. Then I'll take you guys to the RDC mess hall to eat. You can tell me all about your quest there. You can stay here over the night, too. Then I can get you back to the Labyrinth tomorrow morning."

I wondered vaguely just how much of a lead that would give Gaius, though not much probably. A few hours on the surface probably wouldn't be more than a few minutes in the Labyrinth. Besides, my friends and I really needed a break. "Thank you for your help," I said. "We appreciate it. Especially since Basil seems to hate us. What exactly happened between him and Elesa, anyway?"

Melody looked away. "I don't know that I'm the right person to ask. Not sure I feel comfortable telling you his business. Let's just say that they used to be really close, and then Elesa did something that Basil considered unforgivable." And thus she went to America, I thought. Makes sense, I guess. "Anyway, we're here." Melody indicated a door that had elaborate gilding on it. It was identical to the other doors we'd passed, so I wasn't entirely sure how she could tell. Still, she led the way into the room, where several hospital beds had been set up. Some of the beds were occupied. Several nurses were helping the patients.

A man in a lab coat turned towards us when we entered the room. His hair was grey, his eyes pale green. He looked about sixty. "Ah, Melody," he said, his voice Scottish, "what have you brought me today?"

"These five are American heroes," she said. "They need medical attention. We're also hosting them for the night."

The man turned to us. "Pleased to meet you. My name's Doctor Lang, son of Asclepius. What seems to be the problem?"

Theo took over the explanations, being the son of Apollo and all. He pointed to Matt. "Puncture wound on his right arm," he said. He indicated me, "Bad slash to her left leg." And finally he nodded to Jocelyn, who he was still supporting. "Bad slash to her lower chest. Her wound is the worst. She's also lost quite a bit of blood. I have a very mild concussion, but I've mostly recovered, I think."

Doctor Lang looked mildly impressed. "You seem to know your stuff, kid. Alright, let's get all of you treated."

I was seen by one of the nurses. She bandaged up my leg, then gave me some unicorn draught, which would help heal my wound without the risk of incineration. Because, you know, incineration is typically bad. While I was behind the set of curtains, I also changed into my spare set of pants. Then I returned to the front of the room, where Emily, Theo, and Matt were waiting. Matt had hung the Nemean Lion skin over the back of the chair he was sitting in. His right arm was enwrapped in bandages like my leg.

I sat down next to him and cleared my throat. The last few hours, we'd been sort of busy, but it was high time I talked to him. "Hey, listen," I said. "You were awesome today. I don't know what we would have done without you."

Matt shrugged. "Someone else would've stepped up, I'm sure. Hell, you're the leader of the quest. You probably could've handled it just fine."

I laughed. "Yeah, right. You know my temper issues. You really took charge of the Nero situation. You're the hero of the day. I just want you to know that. And also… I'm sorry about what I said to you last night. It was uncalled for. I'm just stressed out. Which isn't an excuse really, but an explanation."

"It's alright," Matt replied simply, but I could see the tension leaving his shoulders. We sat in comfortable silence for a couple seconds before Matt asked, "So what was going on with you earlier? When you took those pills, I mean." Emily glanced up curiously from her conversation with Theo. Theo glanced at me, too, a shrewd look on his face which I couldn't quite read. That was disconcerting. Normally I could see right through Theo.

Before I could work up the courage to explain to Matt and Emily about my panic attacks, the curtains around Jocelyn's bed were pulled back and she came towards us, looking much better than she had before. She also wasn't wearing a shirt. Just below her black sports bra, white bandages encircled her lower chest and abdomen. Matt suddenly became very interested in looking at the floor, a faint blush on his cheeks. No doubt this was the closest he'd ever been to seeing a girl undressed. Jocelyn noticed Matt's reaction and rolled her eyes, snickering slightly. Then she turned to Melody, "Doctor Lang said you could get me a new shirt? My old one is ruined. Getting ripped open and bled all over can do that."

After hooking Jocelyn up with a new shirt – a dark green one with white writing reading "Royal Demigod Corps" – Melody led us to the "mess hall." It was actually more like a fancy dining room. There was a long wooden table in the center of the room, the walls of which were hung with fancy oil paintings. Melody sat us at the end of the table, far away from other members of the RDC. Some of them wore suits like her, some wore t-shirts like the one Jocelyn had on.

After we had our food, Melody got right to business. "So, tell me about your quest in the Labyrinth. How did you get those injuries?"

"The Nemean Lion," Jocelyn threw out before beginning to shovel down food.

"You battled the Nemean Lion?"

"Yeah, we did," I replied. "In fact, that jacket Matt's wearing is its pelt, just disguised."

"You know, this jacket is a little warm," Matt complained. "Too much for summer time. How do you stand wearing that leather jacket every day?"

"I got used to it," I said. "Anyway, about our quest. I don't know if you're aware here in the UK, but over in the States, we're at war."

"With the son of Kronos," Melody said. "We'd heard. Though I must say, it's a little hard to believe that Kronos had a mortal son."

"It was hard for us to believe, too," I said. "But it's true. We've got tons of evidence for it. But that's not the point. The point is our quest in the Labyrinth has to do with our war."

"The son of Kronos is trying to do something with the Labyrinth?" Melody asked.

"Sort of," I answered. "What he wants is help from Pasiphaë, the sorceress who created this version of the Labyrinth. A couple years ago, Gaius – er, that's his name, by the way – stole a spell book from Hecate herself. We believe Gaius wants Pasiphaë's help casting a spell from that book."

"Basically, we're trying to beat him to her," Matt added. "Because whatever spell Gaius wants to cast… well it can't be good for us."

"And what exactly do you plan to do if you beat him to Pasiphaë?" Melody asked.

"Incapacitate her," Emily said. "But she's very powerful, so we won't be able to keep her down for long."

"Which is why we've got help," I continued. "Waiting at the Labyrinth entrance we took to get in, there's a team waiting to help us subdue Pasiphaë more permanently."

"What makes you think you'll be able to take her down, even temporarily?" Melody said. "I mean, she's one of the most powerful magicians who ever lived."

"We've got a pretty phenomenal magic user ourselves," Theo said.

Emily seemed embarrassed by the praise, but she nodded. "I've been using magic for a long time. My mom taught me, and she's incredible. The only one to actually beat Pasiphaë at her own game."

"We can do it," I insisted.

Melody still seemed to have reservations, but she nodded. "Very well. I'll trust you to do what you've set out to do. I do have one more question, though. How did you meet my father?"

Matt explained about Nero and the coliseum. Melody seemed impressed by the story. In fact, she appraised us with new-found confidence after Matt related how we'd handled the situation. Then we took turns explaining how we ended up on the surface here in London.

After we finished eating, Melody showed us to our rooms – one for Matt and Theo and one for me, Emily, and Jocelyn. Just before Melody left us for the evening, I asked one more question, "Hey, is there WiFi?"

"Of course," Melody said. She relayed the information to me.

"Thanks," I said, typing the information into my phone. "Also, is there a good spot where I can make a couple of private calls?"

AN: And that's it for now. Hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you guys on Wednesday!