A journey over the sea was never a good experience for Hazel. She always became ill which later on made her moody and tired. But mainly ill. Her head was swimming and her chest hurt. She couldn't breath through her nose so she was walking around with her mouth open all the time, which didn't make her feel any better.
And the ship's attacks didn't make the matter any better. The trip that they only predicated to take four days ended up being a twelve because time was swallowed up by all the invasions they had with the nymphs of the sea and all the miscalculated directions. None of them knew what they were doing, Hazel especially.
She'll ambit it; she knew nothing of the sea. Annabeth tried to, since she was the smartest one out of the group but still had mistakes that made them end up going miles out into the wrong direction. Reyna was too used to her roman ways to trust the sea, so she rejected to it high demands quickly. Jason tried to sail and navigate as well, and Hazel tried to help him with it as well, but both of them were hopeless on the case.
She was starting to loose hope entirely, wondering that made by there was a way back home so they can try again, but then, as the bright dawn broke through the horizon, she woke up to the sound of a happily cheering Jason. Hazel was the first one up and out, since she never slept fully on a ship. She joined the over joyed boy on the deck as he danced terribly, poking to the front of the ship, out into the wide deep blue. Hazel followed the trail and soon joined the boy in cheers of joy.
Land!They found land!
Annabeth came down next and ran to the other end as Reyna came aboard and danced along with them. The three Romans were happy as they could be. They hated the sea and wanted off that boat from the second they been on it. And they were finally getting it!
That is...till Annabeth informed them that it wasn't Iceland. Their spirit came shattering down.
"How do you know?" Jason asked irked. He was still upset from there fight earlier, when Annabeth told him he was wrong about the direction they needed to go but didn't know the answer herself.
"Iceland is not that small, and it's not made up of smaller islands either."
She was right. Hazel cursed their luck as she gloomily looked onward on a tiny group of floating land.
"Let's settle there." Reyna stated. "We need off this damn boat."
Hazel nodded. She has gotten sick and vomited again earlier this morning. She was hoping that maybe standing on some solid ground would help her head and stomach. They landed into the sand of the beach, barely throwing down the anchor in time. They got off the ship and were greeted by some mean glares and questioning glances.
Long story short: they were in the Feraon Islands, which was directly 450 miles northwest of Iceland.
They left that same night, after getting some food and resources. It was a nice little place. It was a lot better then the boat and ocean, at least. The same one that Annabeth grabbed them all back kicking and screaming to. Hazel will never forgive her for that.
They sailed away at the direction of northwest for two days before they spot land again. Hazel had the night shift at the time, and instead of dancing like she did earlier, she went off and got the others. She didn't want to get happy over nothing again. She let Annabeth walk ahead and confirm the location before any of them dance and cheer.
After the celebration, the raced all over the boat to get ready for a smooth halt. Hazel didn't even feel sick that morning, the rush and excitement was too great. Sadly, it quickly died down when she stood in front of the waterfall.
Don't get her wrong. The gussfoll falls were a very beautiful sight that she could stare at all day, but the truth behind it ruined the sight for her. She could sense the power of the mist laying heavily and attract her straight off like a magnet once she stepped onto the soil. The water flowed beautifully and the sound was so peaceful, it made her want to lay down and take a nap, but the mysterious sovereignty that radiated off of it make her senses go hay wire. She stood there with the wind blowing onto the face and through her hair. She wrapped the coat around herself tighter, not liking the cold and how it burned her cheeks.
She was alone at the moment, knowing that Reyna and Jason would soon be joining her soon. They were setting up camp with Annabeth. Hazel shivered more at the cold, now worried that she wasn't really good enough for the job assigned to her by her father.
This is a dangerous, powerful place. Hazel has never been in an area with such heavy coverage. Something big was behind that fall, and she wasn't sure if she was prepared for it.
Hazel never unmasked the mist before, unless it was an illusion she created herself. It was a new challenge for her to conquer and it scared her shitless of what could go wrong. The mist was unpredictable, barely controllable, and very strong. Anything could happen.
Hazel shook her leg as she heard step approached her from behind. Reyna stood to her right and Jason to her left. They stared at the water falling majestically, creating a deep stream of a beautiful shade of blue in it's tracks. Above the water that bursted from underneath, was a flat plain of green grass. It was barely noticeable, it looked normal. Hazel predicted that was the area.
She felt Reyna shake from the cold beside her, blowing out a sign. It seemed as unreal as the mist's capabilities to Hazel. Reyna had always kept a strong poker face as she handle things as a leader. She was the Praetor back at Camp Juniper, which meant that she had to be strict and emotionless as she stood in her position. Hazel had always seemed her like that, like a true roman warrior and leader. It makes it hard to believe that the cold even effected her. She never left her guard down and never showed if anything bothered her, even back when Jason disappeared for six months. Because of the front she was so used to, Hazel had to kept reminding herself that Reyna was a human being too.
"Do you think it's here?" Jason asked.
"Yeah." Hazel answered.
"You sure you want to do this?" He asked again.
"I have too." She walked a bit forward, building herself up as much as possible.
She took a deep breath, trying to suck in as much air as she could. She always felt lightheaded after she did any kind of magic (and she had been lightheaded enough on this trip).
She closed her eyes and focused all her energy into the land. She felt her hands rise up towards it, like a preacher in church. She thought of the ground roaring upward-grass, soil, roots-into the sky, slowly peeling off like a stamp off paper. She visioned it rolling over like scooping up a scoop of ice cream but the image was blurry and she couldn't make out the city she was trying to find underneath. She lost the image and control and felt herself falling.
She opened her eyes to find herself on the ground. Jason's hand was on her shoulder and Reyna was looming over, looking for damage.
"You okay?" She asked.
Hazel realized she was breathing heavily, trying not to barf up her nonexistent breakfast. She turned to the water fall and found that the land above it seemed untouched.
"Nothing happened?" She squeaked.
"No." Jason answered. "Was something suppose to happen?"
Hazel didn't respond. With her new founded energy, she stood up on her own.
"Are you sure-?"
"Yes." She stated, already knowing what she was asking.
Jason backed up with Reyna. Hazel was even more determined this time. She was slightly insulted that she failed the first time. Yes, she was rusty, but she couldn't be that bad. She won't tolerant it. Especially when Nico and Percy depended on her.
She breathed in again, clearing her mind into nothingness before visioning the land on her own. It was crystal clear and she focused more on into the soil. The vision of darkness and dirt was soon changing into an earthquake like shake. She made the huge mass rise up as a whole, ripping itself from it's home and lifting it up till where she saw the sky underneath it. She looked down to find only more dirt.
She opened her eyes, sucking in air like a vacuum. She stumbled but managed to stay up on her feet. She was lightheaded again and sweaty. She cursed her luck out into the now blowing harder wind. She was sure that Jason and Reyna heard her, but she didn't care. She was embarrassed and disappointed in herself from her second failure.
"Hazel, you might need to rest a bit." Reyna subjected. "You've been sick a lot lately..."
Hazel's ears popped and her voice became hallow. She was able to barely get out her response. "I need to do this."
"Not if it's going to kill you." Jason stated. They held her gently by her arms and slowly moved her away from the fall. Her lifeless body let them drag her away, but her mind kept railing on her non-spottable errors.
She set her eyes on the decaying down water and it struck her.
She broke off their hold onto her, racing her way back to the fall. She ignored the calls shouting behind her, letting her stomping feet take over her weak ears. She skidded into a harsh stop, nearly falling into the water. She had to do this. She understood everything now. She could fix this. It was so simple.
She breathed in the salty air, feeling the breeze reawaken her nerves and open up her senses.
"Hazel!" Jason shouted for her.
"Hades will kill us if you work yourself to death!" Reyna called back.
Hazel ignored them as she felt her became into her element. She felt the mist's power refill her body with energy, making her adrenaline accelerate tenfold. Her driven trace for her mission motived her into her sudden action. She thought of seeing Nico again, her brother, and with Percy safe with him...
She glared down to the waterfall, now determined and flaming. She stretched out her hands, baring her fingers out like she was reaching for the magical kingdom. Suddenly, everything around her slowed. The air was almost perfect still. The wind transformed into glass and the water acted as if it turned to ice. Her held out breathing was the only rapid movement.
Her eyes darted straight to the waterfall in whole. The blue wall extended out for miles out, farther out from her point of view, curving around in waves in every directions. She felt no doubt or intimidation from the difficulty.
She glided her arm over to the direction, making both her hands into a fist. She felt her pulse race as the power roared through her veins. She then lifted up, like she was trying to reach the sky by holding up a ton. The water followed her gesture, flopping over itself in a blink of an eyes. The ends that were once inches above the small lake were now miles above the small girl below.
The sight room away her breath, but then her sight shift down from the sky and forward to what was in front of her. The waterfall acted as a curtain that hid the kingdom into the dark rock cave that it seemed to laid in. Hazel only realized it was a cave a few seconds after glazing upon it. Her first thought was that she was staring into the entree way of another universe.
She saw a tall black castle rising up from the small white roofs of homes that covered the green grassed land. The land crumbled down in front of her into a beach with the beautiful water from the fall collecting into an ocean. A long brown bridge branched off from the small huddle of homes, going over the water for forever. The picture before her was beautiful, amazing... She found it. She found them...
She felt two presences behind her. Jason and Reyna were at first coming in a quick paste but they stopped a few feet from her. She wondered if they were seeing what she was seeing. She couldn't look back and find out. She had to only look forward. She couldn't loose control over the mist now, not when she has broken it natural order of functioning. She had to keep it under her will, or the water would come crashing down, and all of this would have been for nothing.
She kept her eyes on the alternate world in front of her. She found it mind blowing, that it was supposedly real. It surely looked real, with even the smallest of details being lively. It was like she was actually there, standing on a far away rock in the ocean, glazing upon it.
She jumped as something bolted up from the water. She darted her eyes, hoping that her little flinch didn't cause her the control. She felt her eyes widen at the silhouette of a man from behind, seeing only his tan back and his dark hair.
She felt the gasp form inside her throat and held it back. Percy; it was him. She could tell from the intensity thickening behind her that they knew it too.
She began to smile. She was happy to see him. Yes, he couldn't see her, but it might that she was right and they found them. Thy reached the goal of the quest.
"PERCY!"
Hazel jumped from the sudden scream, accidentally opening her eyes.
She froze. Oh, no.
She still saw the same sight in front of her, even with clearer vision and more made out details she didn't notice before, but she knew that she just lost all control. She just let it all go, almost willing like. It was like she just let go of her steering wheel of her car, or to a loose rope holding up something. The damage now slowly coming.
She jumped again when she felt Jason slam pass her shoulder. He was trying to hold back a desperate Annabeth with Reyna. Hazel looked forwarded to see the sight of the kingdom blurring, almost melting, away. Percy never stirred from his spot, acting as if he was still just simply swimming in the ocean. He never heard Annabeth, who was still reaching toward the image like she need it to live.
"We have to get out of here!" Hazel ordered. "NOW!"
They didn't question her. Reyna picked Annabeth against her will and ran off with Jason. Hazel dashed behind then, making sure they got out first. They ran away from the cave and suddenly heard the sound of something very heavy falling through air. Hazel watched as Jason and Reyna looked up and stared in horror from what was above. Hazel ushered them forward. She didn't need to look up to see what was happening.
They all ran as fast as they could for the ship. Hazel was hoping that the distance was good enough for safety but she wasn't sure and didn't have time to make sure.
It happened before any of then had time to look back and see it. The earth under there feet shook so violently, it caused them to all face plant down into the dirt. The ground vibrated so wildly that it cause small little Hazel to even bounce back up a few inches, like a ball. She dug her nails into the soil beneath her and shivered her way to look behind her. Her scream got caught in her throat as she watched the waves of water crash down and rise back up from the impact. The waves were also rushing right towards them at lighting speed.
"RUN!" Hazel yelled up towards the group as the earth still shook. They all got up and dashed for it but it all happened it slow motion. They made no progress. Hazel felt the water hit her with a powerful force and her last sight was being under the crystal blue water. Then it was all black.
{...}
Hazel woke up on her assigned bed on the ship. She realized where she was and flinched waked and out of the bed. She found that to be a mistake soon when she stood. Her head swirled around and around and she felt her body hit the ground without even realizing that she was falling in the first place.
She hit the wood and felt the pain right away. She groaned and cursed in a mutter. She blinked to clear her vision as her head kept spinning. She saw her bed and began to try to stand again till she fall again and began to feel sick. She let out a louder groan, and began to crawl over to the bed.
She realized she having trouble breathing soon, having the strangest scent of sea water burning her nose hairs in her nostrils. Gods, she hated the sea.
It wasn't till after she crawled onto the crazy looking bed and settled down when she finally heard the screaming. She blinked as she tried to hear the words over her laboring breathing.
"WHAT WAS I SUPPOSE TO DO?! NOTHING?!"
"YOU SHOULD'VE STAY AT THE CAMP SIGHT! THERE WAS A REASON WHY WE LEFT YOU THERE!"
"WHY? BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANT TO FIND HIM?! BECAUSE YOU DON'T CARE AND JUST WANT TO GO HOME?! YOU LEFT ME THERE SO YOU COULD LEAVE HIM BEHIND!"
"NO! BECAUSE YOU'RE TOO EMOTIONALLY UNSTABLE!"
"ENOUGH!" Jason cried. Hazel couldn't really comprehend that the other two voices were Annabeth's and Reyna's. Both of them were way too bitter and angry.
"None of this arguing is going to help us. It's not going to help Hazel get better either. So shut up, and listen." Hazel felt her mind wondering off, off into sleep. Her eye lids were heavy and she felt so comfy on the bed. She was out like a light when Jason starting talking about the plan for her tomorrow.
{...}
Hazel slept through three days. She didn't wake up fully till the fourth day, finding it to be 2:30 at night. She felt terrible, even worse then before. She laid there and wondered what the hell happened till she recalled everything up to that moment.
She ached all over and her throat burned. Her head was no longer blurry but she still felt awful. She wasn't comfortable in anyway possible, no matter what position she shifted herself in. She was unbelievably cold, like her bones where made of ice. She wanted to cry and then felt annoyed with her moody self.
She moved over to her stomach and tried to sleep again, but it never came. She stayed up till the sunlight shining through her window made it impossible for her to sleep anymore. She soon heard someone open her bedroom door and walk over to her bed.
A hand lifted her mass of curly hair. She saw Reyna right away.
"You're up!" She smiled.
"Kill me, please." She begged her.
"Sorry." Reyna shrugged. "Come on, let's see if you can sit up."
It turned out that that was all she could do for the next two days. She tried to stand and walk but soon get tired and lightheaded. She drunk some nectar which helped a bit but most of the time she just couldn't function probably without having to rest.
The third day rolled away and she felt mostly normal. She felt as close to normal as she's been during her whole time on the boat. She could walk and run without feeling winded and could stay up for longer then an hour. She told Jason she was ready for the plan that early afternoon. After some protests from everyone, she was finally allowed to.
The plan was for Hazel to do what she did before, which should be easier for her now, since she knew what she was doing this time. The rest of them were going to stay on the deck of the boat and watch her from a distance. That way they can both make sure she's fine and not distract her.
They did so later on that day, into the evening. Hazel when out there in a rain jacket and a flashlight. She came up to the falls and thoughts of what to do again. She had a different theory on how to move the curtain of water, assuming that it was safer then what she had done before. She told the others about it, and they seemed to be on her side with it.
She stood there for a few moments again, looking around to make sure nothing had change dramatically from the last encounter. Once she decided so, she turned back to the boat and waved. Her friends waved back and gave her a thumbs up for good luck. She smiled and turned back.
She wasn't as nervous as before, but whenever she thought of what was behind the water made her jittery. The group just wanted to see if she could do it again before the put the real plan into action. They needed proof that she was strong enough to do this. It was reasonable to her; she needed to know so too.
She stared at the fall, studying the small drops of water jumping off the decaying streams and the new lovely shade of blue that shined in the moonlight. It all slowly slowed down again, like last time, and she focused on the middle section of the falls. A large, sharply pointed rock broke through the water. She decided that to be her starting point.
She reached out her hands again and felt the power of the mist infected itself into her body. She breathed in the scent of salt as she waved her arms to her side in a slow, steady manner. The water followed her example and worked as a curtain, swiping to the sides and opening up for the beginning of the show.
She smirked at how it worked perfectly- smooth and wistful- and them almost sobbed at the act before her.
The sight if the beautiful kingdom that she had dreamed and thought about for the pass healing week has became the sight of war.
It was almost morning there, the sky becoming a purple and pink mixture, and Hazel found it to be the only beautiful feature in the sight. Everything else was hellish and terrible.
The kingdom was at war, or an invasion. The once peaceful village was now chaotic with soldiers running around and fighting and killing other soldier as woman and children ran away from the battles, screaming and scared for their lives. More of the invaders came racing in on the endless bridge over the ocean and barged into the village. There were huge holes where the earth was missing from the ground and there were a lot of men jumping down from the taller homes with swords and arrows. Both sides looked too similar to each other for her to make them apart, which made it even harder to tell who was winning.
"Oh my god!" She felt herself shout in surprise. Fighting was everywhere. Death was everywhere-yet no blood was present. It set her off to where she didn't know how to act. It was a different war then she was used to, and that was the most frighting part of all.
She heard footsteps behind her in a very paste. She turned to find her friends close by. The waves suddenly became heavier and she struggled to keep the apart.
She had to get in there. Her brother was in there, fighting and maybe even dead...
It was enough the make her charged forward before she felt Jason take her by the shoulders and pull her back. It broke off her contraction and the waves broke from her power. Reyna joined Jason on taking Hazel down as the wave came together again. The waves did not form this time, luckily, but she was still very angry from the fact they just lost there entree way into aiding her brother and friend.
"We have to go in there!" She fought against there grasps.
"They're take us as intruders." Jason informed her in a mean tone. "Besides, we don't know what's going on. We be barging into something that will get us all killed."
Hazel stopped her fighting and glared at them all. She was so angry with them, but they were right.
"Fine." She hissed at them. "Then what do we do? Just sit here and act like we never saw anything? Just go home and call the quest off while Nico and Percy die?"
"We stick to the original plan." Jason hissed back. "But we wear our armor when we go in there. If they're not fighting, we head for the castle. If Nico is really the King as Hades said, then he should be easy to find and able to explain everything. With Percy, safe and sound, hopefully." He pointed the last sentence to Annabeth.
"So we do nothing for now?" She snapped.
"We have no other choose." Reyna took her shoulder. "They'll be fine Hazel. They're both strong warriors. We'll help them in everyday we can once we get in there."
"We just have to wait." Jason added on.
Hazel looked at all of them, her eyes in a narrow glare, then she looked back to the fall. She understood, and agreed, she just didn't like it. At all.
She nodded finally. As long as she saw her brother and friend alive again, she'll wait forever.
{...}
I'm sorry it took so long to update. I had AP review, Prom, and everything else these pass two weeks, so I haven't had much time to do this chapter, but I finally got it done.
Also, the time in Oltre Malavita is constantly changing. Our mortal days are 24 hours long, right? That never changes, right? It's the opposite in OM. The amount of hours in the days are never the same. So really, one day can be about 18 hours but the next can be 5 hours. It makes the measurement of the time there impossible. That's why Nico and Percy keep record of how many days they spend there, and put the amount of days into mortal world terms. A day there can be only 6 hours but they still count it as a day. That's whys They have been there for so long. When really, they have only been absent from the mortal world in almost a month.
Makes sense? I've tried my best to explain.
Also, the smit chapter is not next but it's the one after the next. So chapter 16 is when this will be a m rated story.
Anyway, thanks for reading.