To RandomFanAuthor- you have read this book, right? :P
To Thals13- I was wondering where you'd run off to! XD And yes. Bumpy bumpy.
To someone- (Chapter 13) I always headcanoned Reyna as bi to begin with, but now definitely gay. Like, I'm glad she's ace in canon and all, but I still headcanon her as gay :D I understand the Theyna ship, but personally I like playing with Reyisa, they're a disaster and some of the stuff I've written/planned for the future- great fun! ^_^ (For me, not necessarily for you lot). Tyson and Hazel, they can get away with anything. And I never plot anything, I would never. (Chapter 14) I've mostly finished it! I have to go back over it and add a few things in, but more or less done! :D I keep trying to talk my parents into letting us have a dog, but my dad and youngest brother are allergic and I may or may not be too, but that's a price I'm willing to pay ^_^ I can actually relate to Apollo in this a bit- not with the sun/music/poetry, those aren't my strong points, but everything else? Mood. (Chapter 15) I am shocked! I'm as likely to write teenage love problems as I am to write evil! O:) And thank you :3 Told you I can get you to like Jason. That's only the beginning!
"Like chewing gum is a crime." Lavinia huffed. She tossed a chunk of her sandwich from the roof, where it was immediately snatched up by a seagull. For their picnic lunch, she had brought Apollo, Hazel and Meg to her favourite thinking place: the rooftop of New Rome University's bell tower, which Lavinia had discovered access to on her own. It was not strictly forbidden to be up here, nor were people encouraged- exactly the kind of space Lavinia liked to inhabit.
She explained that she enjoyed sitting here because it was directly above the Gardens of Bacchus, Reyna's favourite thinking spot. Reyna was not in the garden at present, but Louisa was. She sat on the edge of the fountain, toying miserably with the water. "When Reyna is in the garden," Lavinia smirked, "I like looking down at her and being, like, ha-ha, my thinking spot is higher than yours!" She blew a raspberry.
Sitting precariously on the slanted red clay tiles, Apollo could see the entire city and valley spread out below. Everything they stood to lose in the coming invasion. Beyond stretched the flatlands of Oakland and San Francisco Bay, which in just a few days, would be dotted with Caligula's luxury yachts.
Lavinia threw another piece of her grilled cheese to the seagulls. "Honestly," she said, "if the legionnaires went for a stupid hike once in a while, they'd know about Wildcat Drive." Apollo nodded, but had a suspicion that most legionnaires, who spent a good deal of their time marching in heavy armour, probably wouldn't consider hiking much fun. Lavinia, however, seemed to know every back road, trail and secret tunnel within twenty miles of Camp Jupiter.
On his other side, Hazel was muttering to herself and ignoring her veggie wrap.
"Can't believe Frank," she grumbled, "trying to volunteer… bad enough after his crazy stunts in the battle…" Past her, having already wolfed down her lunch, was Meg. She was aiding her digestion by doing cartwheels, catching her balance on the loose tiles and sending Apollo's blood pressure skyrocketing.
"Meg." He squeaked. "Could you please not do that?"
"It's fun." She fixed her eyes on the horizon. "I want a unicorn." She announced.
"I want to see those glowing ones Lou was on about." Lavinia muttered. Meg nodded in agreement and cartwheeled away. "I have a question- how does my popping a bubble equate to me being perfect for this quest?"
"I think you were a perfectly timed distraction, more than anything. I don't think my head would stay attached for long if Louisa came."
"Why do I have to like a guy with a death wise?" Hazel grumbled to herself.
"Meg," Apollo pleaded, "you're going to fall!"
"Even a small unicorn." Meg said. "Not fair they have so many here and I don't have any." They continued in this four-part disharmony until a giant eagle swooped out of the sky and nabbed the last of Lavinia's grilled cheese. It soared away, leaving behind a flock of irritated seagulls.
"Typical." Lavinia huffed, wiping her hands on her trousers. "Can't even have a sandwich." Apollo shoved the last of his focaccia into his mouth, just in case the eagle came back for seconds.
"Well," Hazel sighed, coming out of her personal tirade, "at least we've got the afternoon off to plan." She split her veggie wrap with Lavinia.
"Oh." Lavinia said, stunned. "Um, thank you. But, I mean, what is there to plan? We go to the carousel, find the tomb, try not to die."
"Perhaps we could concentrate on the not-dying part? For instance, why wait until tonight? Wouldn't it be safer to go when it's daylight?"
"It's always dark underground." Hazel said. "Besides, during the daytime, lots of kids will be at the carousel. I don't want any of them getting hurt. At night, the place will be deserted." Meg finally sat with them, easing Apollo's blood pressure minutely.
"So, Hazel." She said. "Can you do other cool underground stuff? Some people were saying you can summon diamonds and rubies."
"Some people?" Hazel frowned.
"Like Lavinia."
"Oh my gods!" Lavinia threw her hands up. "Thanks, Meg!" Hazel ignored them for a moment, looking up to the sky as if waiting for a giant eagle to snatch her away too.
"I can summon precious metals, yes. Riches of the earth. That's a Pluto thing. But you can't spend the stuff I summon, Meg." Apollo leaned back against the roof tiles.
"Because it's cursed? I seem to recall something about a curse… and not because Lavinia told me anything." He clarified quickly. Hazel picked at her veggie wrap, still looking for that eagle.
"It's not so much a curse anymore. In the old days, I couldn't control it. Diamonds, gold coins, stuff like that, would just pop up from the ground whenever I got nervous."
"Cool." Meg said.
"No, it really wasn't." Hazel corrected. "If somebody picked up those treasures and tried to spend them… horrible things would happen."
"Oh." Meg deflated. "What about now?"
"Since I met Frank… well, a long time ago, Pluto told me that a descendant of Poseidon would wash away my curse. It's complicated, but Frank is a descendant of Poseidon on his mother's side. Once we started dating… he's just a good person, you know? I'm not saying I needed a fella to solve my problems-"
"A fella?" Meg asked, stifling a laugh. Hazel's right eye twitched, tightness at the corners of her mouth.
"Sorry. I grew up in the nineteen-thirties. Sometimes my vocab slips. I'm not saying I needed a guy to solve my problems. It's just that Frank had his own curse to deal with, so he understood me. We helped each other through some dark times- talking together, learning to be happy again. He makes me feel…" She battled for the right word.
"Loved?" Apollo provided. Lavinia smirked at him- adorable, she mouthed. Hazel tucked her feet under her.
"I don't know why I'm telling you all this. But yes. Now I can control my powers a lot better. Jewels don't pop up randomly when I get upset. Still, they're not meant to be spent. I think… I have this gut feeling that Pluto wouldn't like that. I don't want to find out what would happen if somebody tried."
"So, you can't give me even a small diamond?" Meg pouted. Apollo elbowed her. "Or a ruby?"
"Meg." He chided, elbowing her again.
"Whatever." She elbowed him back. "I just wanna fight stuff."
"You'll probably get your wish. But remember, tonight, the idea is to explore and gather intel. We'll need to be stealthy."
"Yes, Meg." Apollo said, nodding solemnly. "Because, if you'll recall, Apollo faces death in Tarquin's tomb. If I must face death, I would rather do so while hiding in the shadows, and then sneak away from it without it ever knowing I was there." Meg looked exasperated, as if he had just suggested an unfair rule in freeze tag.
"OK. I guess I can stealth."
"Good. Lavinia, no chewing gum."
"Give me some credit. I have very sneaky moves." She wriggled her feet. "Daughter of Terpsichore and all that. Oh, hey." She pointed.
Down in the Gardens of Bacchus, Reyna had arrived. She stood a little way from Louisa, who still played in the fountain. They could see the pair talking, but obviously could not hear from this distance. They saw Louisa's shoulders tense, saw her wrench her hand from the fountain. It took on a shine and seemed to still. Both of them stared at it, Louisa holding her hands close to her chest. Reyna shook her head and moved forward, gripping Louisa's elbow. She motioned with her free hand, moving it away gently from her chest. Breathe.
It wasn't until the water in the fountain began to move again did the spectators realise it had frozen. Hazel sighed.
"Lou's powers have been a bit… screwy lately."
"Aside from the exploding-monsters-from-the-inside thing?" Lavinia remarked. "What about the storm that won't go away and bruises when it rains?" She indicated a line of purple-blue splotches on her arm. Hazel shifted uncomfortably.
"As Big Three children, our powers are more… unstable, more closely tied to our emotions than other demigods'. With everything she did and everything that's going on lately… stuff like this keeps happening."
"Stuff?" Apollo queried.
"Mm." Hazel hummed, hugging her knees to her chest. "I'm part of the team monitoring her in quarantine. She was getting better until-" She hushed suddenly, glancing sidelong at Apollo. He simply waved it aside- what else should he have expected? "Well… I was sent to get her before the Senate meeting, give her the ground rules Reyna had put down for it. The kitchen sink was overflowing. And… she has this effect on the plumbing too. Makes it rattle. I found her upstairs in her room, sort of… huddled. In the corner." Hazel put her hands over her ears, scrunching her face up as if pained, to demonstrate. "I think she knew I was there, but… I don't think she knew it was me."
"Did she say anything?" Apollo asked quietly.
"She was apologising. Said she had failed." Hazel's voice splintered and she tucked her chin behind her knees. "Said she should have died, not them."
"Them? Who's them?" Meg asked.
"I don't know. I know… from what Nico has told me that…" She hesitated. "I can't." She decided, shaking her head. "I don't know all of it, any of it really. Nico doesn't know much either. But Lou… she's… she's not…"
"We get it." Apollo said, squeezing her shoulder. He looked back to the Gardens. The girls now sat on the edge of the fountain, still running as normal. Reyna had one arm around Louisa, stroking her hair, held her hand with the other. Louisa's free hand was over her eyes. They could see small motions from here, of deep breaths. Something twisted in Apollo's chest again, bringing forth a silent curse to himself. How could he be jealous now? His only interaction with Reyna had been mostly her defending him from Louisa. And not for his sake, not really. She defended him to save her girlfriend, ultimately.
He frowned, trying to push down thoughts of Reyna and Venus's warnings and the jibes of the other gods so long ago. "Does she… get like this often?"
"More lately. Reyna said it's not been so bad before." Hazel shook her head. "Anyway… we should… we should focus on the quest. We'll worry about Lou… later." She finished carefully. No inclusion of a 'when' or the more probable 'if'. "Gather your supplies and try to get some rest. We'll meet on the Field of Mars at sundown."
Apollo was the last to leave. Meg and Lavinia went off together to explore the city- translation: go and see the unicorns. Hazel left with a quiet nod. He remained. Not for much longer, just another ten minutes or so. He was piecing something together in his head.
He still watched the girls in the Gardens. Louisa had calmed now, somewhat, once again playing with the water. She had turned slightly so Reyna could brush out her hair with her fingers and braid it for her. They talked. Louisa shook her head. Reyna, upon finishing the braid, hugged Louisa from behind, arms around her neck loosely, resting her chin on her shoulder. He did his best to stomp down the jealousy, though it still niggled between his lungs.
He knew what ailed Louisa. Many demigods suffered from it, but if Hazel's reluctance to speak of her cousin's past was any indication, maybe Louisa's case ran deeper than most. Despite her intentions to kill him in whatever, brutal unimaginable way took her fancy, he could not help but feel pity for her, sympathise a little. He understood her anger, beyond Jason's death. Her life under the gods would never leave her in the same way Jason's last request would never leave Apollo. She had suffered and slaved and sacrificed, and continued to do so within in her own mind, repeats of a history no-one really knew. No-one but her.
A small portion of his brain told him his eyes had unfocused. He blinked, struggling to tune back in.
Reyna had left the Gardens. Louisa was still there, but she was no longer by the fountain.
She stood on the edge. Staring right at him.
He could not see that she was staring at him, but he could feel it. He could feel it in his veins, as if she was debating how best to liquefy his insides or rearrange his skeleton in the confines of his mortal body.
Apollo could not bring himself to look away. The terror he felt was as palpable as ever, as potent as the memory of his father's lightning deciding to leave the situation be.
But he also felt sad. Sad for her, sad for everything she had been put through, under the gods' demands, under his demands. He could recall many, many tasks he had set her over the years. She came back each time, less proud, less triumphant, less grateful at the chance to serve him. He had always thought that demigods should be thankful to the gods for allowing them to fulfil little errands for them. Errands, tasks, quests, whatever. It was what they were born to do, right?
He understood it now. Understood it should be the other way around. Understood the bitterness, the rage, the yearning for revenge or justice. He did not see the difference between the two right now. He didn't think she did either.
Louisa's head turned, as if called. She faced away for a moment, listening, nodding once. She looked back up to where Apollo was. Or had been. That split-second break had urged him to leave. He hurried back to Bombilo's with his eyes on the ground and a maelstrom swallowing the twist behind his ribs.
She was nowhere near him, nowhere in sight or in earshot, nowhere.
But he could still feel her, like a weight in his bones. Watching him. Following him. Hating him.
He could feel her waiting.