Riding on the water was what finally did it. Sailing the sea broke the last wall.
What was written about her wasn't fully true. The stories told of her "death", her return, how she ruled the seas, but they never told of her love nor her curse.
Jacquotte. No last name. Feared pirate and beautiful maiden. She was sixteen when men and gods continued to harass her, tried to gain her body for their own. It was at that point that she faked her death and pretended to be a boy.
From the explosion she created, burn marks would forever encompass her back and her hair was singed off. She found herself alone on an island, marooned, given enough time to wrap her chest and even her hair and perfect what would be her only chance at survival.
Red hair. Too bright. She kept it shaved off or wrapped up.
It was wrapped up just like her chest when she saw the ship coming too close to her safe place. She hadn't been there for long, hadn't been "dead" long enough for everyone to know, but she hadn't expected it to be that long before someone showed up. To see an island was to see food. To see an untouched island was to see territory.
Jacquotte wore the clothes from one of her crewmates she had killed and kept everything wrapped, and approached the ship that day. Her savior was a man that called himself Erro, a man who offered her a place on his ship.
She saw him first on the beach, the scent of the sea as strong as ever, his eyes the same color as it. His hair blew in the wind and his smile was too kind, and she fell in love with a man she'd never be with.
But she promised herself to him anyway. Because she was Jacquotte, born and raised on the water, true to herself and herself only. And she knew the love and accepted it, but never let anyone else know.
For the first week with Erro, the gods left her alone. But only for the first week.
.
.
.
"Nico, how long does it actually take until we get to the House of Hades?" Jason asked from his position at the head of the table. "We make it on time, right?"
Nico looked up from his fish- yes, fish- and let the question load for a second too long. It was easy getting used to Alasdair, or at least easier. But this...his body felt wrong. People's perceptions of him felt wrong.
(sometimes he didn't use he to define himself, even in this body, and he wasn't sure what to do about that)
"Yeah, we make it in time. But it's not easy."
"Possible is all I'm asking for." Jason looked to Leo. "How long until we hit Italy?"
Leo looked up from his enchiladas and the salsa he was covering them in. "According to Festus, in an hour."
Nico stood up. "Well, I'm going to go rest before my shift later tonight. Haz, you should, too."
Hazel took another bite of her gumbo before nodding. "I'll see you later, Neeks."
Neeks. He liked that a lot better than Nico.
(maybe because it didn't have that masculine o at the end)
"See you later, Hazel."
.
.
.
A week and a day after Erro saved her, Jacquotte found herself staring at a god again. She wasn't sure which one it was, they always liked to disguise themselves, but his intentions were enough to get her backing away.
She thought her own disguise would work. She thought with her chest wrapped and her curves hidden, they wouldn't recognize her. She underestimated what gods really were.
"Jack, who's this?"
Erro's voice had never been so good to hear. She felt him come up behind her, put a hand on her shoulder, watched him draw his sword.
"I don't know. He's a stranger."
"We're in the middle of the ocean."
"I know."
Erro pointed the sword at the god. "Who are you? Where were you hiding?"
"I'm who's going to finally get that pretty thing."
And then he was gone. Disappeared. She could pretty much feel the shock that ran through Erro.
"Um...captain-?"
"Until I rationalize it, we're not speaking of it."
.
.
.
This time, Nico didn't bother climbing the mast. He stood by Leo on the deck and watched as it was knocked over again, broken wood splinters covering the area around them.
"Stupid rock gods!" Leo yelled. "That's the third time I've had to replace that mast! You think they grow on trees?"
Nico frowned. "Masts are from trees."
"That's not the point!" Leo snatched up one of his controls, rigged from a Nintendo Wii stick, and spun it in a circle. A few feet away, a trapdoor opened in the deck. A Celestial bronze cannon rose. It discharged into the sky, spraying a dozen metal spheres that trailed green fire. The spheres grew spikes in midair, like helicopter blades, and hurtled away into the fog.
A moment later, a series of explosions crackled across the mountains, followed by the outraged roars of mountain gods.
"Ha!" Leo yelled.
"You only annoyed them," Nico commented.
"If you know so much, just tell me how to get across the damn mountain range!"
Nico didn't offer anything up, leaving them to retreat for the third time that night.
"Well, that was sucktastic," Leo said. "Should I wake the others?"
"They need rest," she said. "We'll have to figure out another way on our own."
A hologram map of Italy glowed up above Leo's monitor. Nico could point out what should have been his home but never was.
"Another way," Leo muttered. "Do you see one?"
"It's our fault," Hazel said. "Nico's and mine. The numina can sense us."
Nico nodded. "And the Athena Parthenos. That thing's like a magical beacon."
Leo traced his finger down the map of Italy. "So crossing the mountains is out. Thing is they go a long way in either direction."
"We could go by sea," Hazel suggested. "Sail around the southern tip of Italy."
"I would love to, but it'd take too long," Nico inputted.
"If you want to shoot down every answer-"
"I'm not telling you anything, Leo."
"Why not?"
"Boys, stop arguing." Hazel sighed. "We need some creative thinking, another way to cross those mountains, or a way to hide ourselves from the numina."
(boys made him look to see who else was there before he realized)
"I could maybe rig some kind of camouflage," Leo said, "like a smokescreen to hide us in the clouds." He didn't sound very enthusiastic.
It was quiet for a few more minutes before Hazel spoke. "Arion."
Her horse. Nico remembered.
Hazel laughed. "We have to meet him. He's here to help."
"Yeah, okay." Leo scratched his head. "But, uh, we talked about not landing the ship on the ground anymore, remember? You know, with Mother Earth wanting to destroy us and all."
"Just get me close, and I'll use the rope ladder," Hazel insisted. "I think Arion wants to tell me something."
.
.
.
Erro stopped them from messing with her three more times. During that time, Jacquotte was left with nothing but looking out for gods and looking at Erro with his Anne Marie. And the only thing that kept her on that ship was Erro.
She had originally faked her death to hide from those gods. Now that they had found her, she wanted her place as queen of the high seas back. But Erro's eyes were too distracting.
But they were always looking at Anne Marie.
Her love for him was something she had never thought of before. It was something she hadn't dreamed of. But she was promised to him as he was promised to Anne Marie. And the gods seemed promised to taking her.
She kept getting away. Over and over. But she wouldn't escape forever.
It was during an attack from an enemy ship when she risked her life to save her love, when she jumped in front of Erro and got herself knocked out instead. When she woke she was under that god, she was alone, and she was in pain.
(she never saw Erro again)
.
.
.
"Can you at least tell me if she's going to be alright?" Leo asked. "She just went off by herself-"
"She'll be fine," NIco answered. He sat back against the helm and stared at the sky. "She's okay."
"Can you tell me where she went?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because the last time I tried changing things, the Fates damn well paralyzed me."
"We won't change-"
"You knowing what happens will change your actions," Nico explained. "I'm not doing it so just...shut up about it."
Leo frowned over at him. "Well, aren't you a ray of sunshine."
"I'm tired, Valdez, and your excess of energy tires me even more."
Leo finally looked away from the map of Italy. "Can I...we do get there in time, right? Percy and Annabeth are alive?"
Nico nodded. "Yeah."
"And they get out alive?"
"Yeah."
"I can work with that." Leo played with his controls. "So...how long does Hazel stay gone?"
"I don't remember, to be honest with you."
"But she gets back tonight?"
"Yeah."
.
.
.
She fought towards the end. She hurt that god almost as much as he hurt her.
(but she'd never be able to take from him what he took from her)
It was in the wake of this, in the pain and despair, she rose again. Jacquotte was back from the dead, she ruled the seas again, and she swore to get the gods back for what they did to her.
She was eighteen when the god came again. He wanted her again and again, wanted her to come with him. She refused. He did that act again. She still refused.
She was eighteen when she was cursed.
And she was eighteen when she died.
.
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.
"What if Hecate is tricking us?" Leo asked. "This route could be a trap."
Hazel shook her head. "If it was a trap, I think Hecate would've made the northern route sound tempting. Believe me, she didn't."
Leo pulled a calculator out of his tool belt and punched in some numbers. "That's … something like three hundred miles out of our way to get to Venice. Then we'd have to backtrack down the Adriatic. And you said something about baloney dwarfs?"
"Dwarfs in Bologna,'" Hazel said. "I guess Bologna is a city. But why we have to find dwarfs there … I have no idea. Some sort of treasure to help us with the quest."
"Huh," Leo said. "I mean, I'm all about treasure, but –"
"We have to make up for lost time," Nico cut in. "This is the best option for it."
"Now you tell us, huh?"
"Valdez..."
Nico still hated the fact that Jason sat at the head of the table. He hated that Annabeth and Percy weren't there. And he hated the new fears his memories brought him.
(what god had it been? He didn't know)
"I communed with the dead again, and they said the same as last time," Nico began. "In ancient times, the House of Hades was a major site for Greek pilgrims. They would come to speak with the dead and honor their ancestors."
Leo frowned. "Sounds like Día de los Muertos. My Aunt Rosa took that stuff seriously."
"A lot of cultures have seasonal traditions to honor the dead, but the House of Hades was open year-round. Pilgrims could actually speak to the ghosts. In Greek, the place was called the Necromanteion, the Oracle of Death. You'd work your way through different levels of tunnels, leaving offerings and drinking special potions –"
"Special potions," Leo muttered. "Yum."
Jason flashed him a look like, Dude, enough. "Nico, go on."
"The pilgrims believed that each level of the temple brought you closer to the Underworld, until the dead would appear before you. If they were pleased with your offerings, they would answer your questions, maybe even tell you the future."
Frank tapped his mug of hot chocolate. "And if the spirits weren't pleased?"
"Some pilgrims found nothing," Nico said. "Some went insane or died after leaving the temple. Others lost their way in the tunnels and were never seen again."
"The point is," Jason said quickly, "Nico found some information that might help us."
"Yeah. The ghost I spoke to last night … he was a former priest of Hecate. He confirmed what the goddess told Hazel yesterday at the crossroads. In the first war with the giants, Hecate fought for the gods. She slew one of the giants – one who'd been designed as the anti-Hecate. A guy named Clytius."
"Dark dude," Leo guessed. "Wrapped in shadows."
Hazel turned towards him, her gold eyes narrowing. "Leo, how did you know that?"
"Kind of had a dream."
.
.
.
She died the same way she faked her death before: in an explosion. But this explosion occurred in hopes of seeing Erro again.
(it was extensive, more hope than reality, but Erro was all that mattered)
The fight between ships was like any other. Pirating was how she grew up. This was normal and usual and she should have survived it. But she saw the flag on that enemy ship and recognized it as one that dealt with Erro often.
So she boarded that ship to get answers, to see where Erro was heading.
And then the explosion went off.
Dealing with a head injury was one thing. Dealing with one in the ocean was another. By the time she realized she was in the water, her lungs were already burning and she was too far under the surface.
When she couldn't hold her breath any longer and she finally breathed in the water, the pain was over. Not even the pain from that god bothered her. She was alone, she was in peace, and she watched the dancing flames above the surface as she sank.
.
.
.
Jason pushed away his plate of pancakes. "So the giant is Clytius. I suppose he'll be waiting for us, guarding the Doors of Death."
Frank rolled up one of the pancakes and started munching – not a guy to let impending death stand in the way of a hearty breakfast. "And the woman in Leo's dream?"
"She's my problem." Hazel passed a diamond between her fingers in a sleight of hand. "Hecate mentioned a formidable enemy in the House of Hades – a witch who couldn't be defeated except by me, using magic."
"Do you know magic?" Leo asked.
"Not yet."
"Ah. Any idea who she is?"
Hazel shook her head. "Only that …" She glanced at Nico, who shook his head. "Only that she won't be easy to defeat."
"But there is some good news," Nico said. "Hecate defeated Clytius in the first war. She used her torches to set his hair on fire. He burned to death. In other words, fire is his weakness."
Everybody looked at Leo.
"Oh," he said. "Okay."
"It's a good lead," Jason insisted. "At least we know how to kill the giant. And this sorceress … well, if Hecate believes Hazel can defeat her, then so do I."
Hazel dropped her eyes. "Now we just have to reach the House of Hades, battle our way through Mother Earth's forces –"
"Plus a bunch of ghosts," Nico added grimly. "The spirits in that temple are not friendly."
"– and find the Doors of Death," Hazel continued. "Assuming we can somehow arrive at the same time as Percy and Annabeth and rescue them."
Frank swallowed a bite of pancake. "We can do it. We have to."
"So, with this detour," Leo said, "I'm estimating four or five days to arrive at Epirus, assuming no delays for, you know, monster attacks and stuff."
Everyone looked to Nico, who shrugged.
Leo looked at Hazel. "Hecate told you that Mother Earth was planning her big Wake Up party on August first, right? The Feast of Whatever?"
"Spes," Hazel said. "The goddess of hope."
Jason turned his fork. "Theoretically, that leaves us enough time. It's only July fifth. We should be able to close the Doors of Death, then find the giants' HQ and stop them from waking Mother Earth before August first."
"Theoretically," Hazel agreed. "But I'd still like to know how we make our way through the House of Hades without going insane or dying."
"We'll figure it out," Nico said.
Frank sighed. "Man, I know you can't, but how awesome would it be if you could tell us what happened?"
"Don't call me man," Nico snapped without thinking.
