An update!
Not a very exciting chapter, but they say it's normal for it to be calm before a storm.
Wow, I'm so poetic. Not.
Okay, I don't own PJO/HoO and I really don't think any of you believe I do.
Enjoy!

Chapter thirty-five: Nighttime
~Penelope's POV~

Penelope couldn't sleep that night. No matter what position she switched to, no matter how many satyrs she counted jumping over the fence, she didn't doze off even for a second.
Deciding that it was a lost cause, she got up instead and walked out on deck, leaning against the railing, the soft wind making her hair blow around her face.
The ocean at night was if possible still more amazing than during the day, she thought, as she gazed at the darkness around her. Tonight was even more breathtaking than usual, as the moon was entirely obscured by the earth's shadow and so there was no light except for the distant sparkling of thousands of stars.
Penelope always felt comfortable at night, no doubt a trait inherited from her mother's side , and the purplish blackness soon made her feel safe and at home. This was the closest she got to being with her mother, as the goddess had never contacted her before, if you didn't count the claim mark.

It wasn't as if Penelope really needed to talk to her mother, but there was a deep yearning inside her that longed for someone to comfort her and tell her what her life was about.
Aphrodite had mentioned some things, but they'd been so obscure and senseless, that Penelope didn't even want to think about them.
Sighing, she walked up to the helm, where Festus the dragon was set on autopilot.
"Hi Festus" Penelope whispered softly, and the dragon puffed a little greeting.
She smiled and patted his neck, the only spot she could reach.
She could imagine how magnificent Festus must have been when he'd had a body, and how much Leo must have loved the dragon.
Leo...
Penelope still wasn't entirely sure where they stood at the moment. They hadn't said that they were officially going out, but then again, did they have to say it out loud to make it real? Somehow Pen
doubted it, but still...
Before her talk with the goddess of love, she'd had less doubts. And now she couldn't decide what to believe.
Yet there was another reason why Penelope hadn't been able to go to sleep that night: A memory, so faint she wasn't really sure it wasn't just a fantasy, had surfaced and played itself repeatedly before her mind's eye.
I give you my blessing, child. A woman's voice whispered, so familiar it made her heart ache, but also so strange she wouldn't have recognized it had she heard it elsewhere.
Had it been her mother, Hecate? And if so, was Hecate watching over her now? Keeping her safe?
Accompanied by the voice in her memory had been the faint warmth of a hand on her cheek, caressing it before letting go. Somehow the hand and the voice didn't fit together, like they didn't belong to the same person...
Just then a little creak behind her made Penelope jump. She whirled around, expecting to see a horrible monster, but it was only Hazel, looking guilty.
"Hello?" Pen said, making it sound like a question. What was the girl doing here?
"Hello" Hazel answered, leaning against the railing next to Penelope. "I couldn't sleep."
"No, me neither."
There was an awkward silence, and Penelope couldn't help but remember the way Hazel and Leo had laughed together, like they'd known each other for ages.
Hazel seemed to be reading her thoughts, as she said, her voice soft "You know Frank is my boyfriend, right?"
"Yes?"
"And I, I think I might love him. But only him. Leo's just..." her voice trailed off, and Penelope glanced at her face to see her staring into the distance.
"Leo's just what?"
Hazel sighed. Then, she turned to Penelope "He looks like a boy I used to know, back when I was alive the first time. Sammy was his name, and he, he was just like Leo. I swear, both ridiculous but kinda cute at the same time." she laughed, probably at an old memory. Penelope forced a smile.
"What I'm trying to say is" Hazel continued "that Leo's only a friend to me. And I know he likes you."
A weight she hadn't known existed seemed to lift off Penelope's shoulders. Somehow it felt nice hearing Hazel say that, and she managed a genuine smile.
"Thanks, Hazel."
Hazel smiled back at her, saying "Maybe we could be friends, too. Now that you know I don't..like Leo that way."
Penelope didn't know what to say. Had her grudge against the daughter of Pluto really been that obvious? That Hazel didn't think she liked her?
"We're already friends, Hazel. I was just being stupid."
"We're all stupid sometimes." Hazel answered, and they both laughed a little.
"Yes, I guess so" Penelope said, when an idea suddenly came to her
"Listen, Hazel, when you came back to life, did you...remember your old life?"
For a moment the girl didn't answer, and Penelope's hope lifted, but then Hazel said "Yes, I did. I even had really vivid flashbacks, all the time. Sorry."
The hope faded as quickly as it had come. Suddenly it was hard to breathe.
She managed to shrug her shoulders, as if it wasn't a big deal. "Never mind, it was just a silly idea."
Suddenly she felt a soft pressure on her shoulder and looked down to see a hand there.
"Wanting to find out where you come from isn't silly, Penelope."
The understanding in Hazel's voice was so sincere, Pen could feel tears coming to her eyes. She turned her head in the other direction and quickly wiped them away, but somehow she got the feeling Hazel knew they were there anyway.
"We should go get some sleep" Penelope tried to sound upbeat, yet the suppressed helplessness was evident in her voice.
"Yeah, probably" Hazel agreed and they both went downstairs, stepping quietly as to not wake up the others.
When they reached Penelope's door, Pen turned and whispered "Good night".
"Good night" Hazel whispered back, giving her a brief but warm hug before she walked away.
Five minutes later, Penelope was sound asleep in her bed.
She didn't dream anything, but that wasn't unusual for her.
The truth was, although she didn't realise it, Penelope R. had never had a single dream in her life.