Kronos would've allowed the demigods to reclaim the Golden Fleece - once he had been healed of course - if only to give him a greater chance at controlling the Great Prophecy. What he had not anticipated, was the Fates' intervention and a mutually detrimental decision at the hands of Styx towards both him and his youngest son. Zeus wanted his daughter to be the child of the prophecy? Well a Nymph cannot be classed as a demigod, and he should've thought of that before he turned the remains of his broken oath into a tree.
A storm raged that night, but it parted around camp half blood as storms usually did. Lightning flashed. Against the horizon, waves pounded the shore, but only a light drizzle fell into the valley. Either the barrier wasn't at full strength or Zeus was furious. Regardless, we were protected again; thanks to the Fleece, sealed inside our magical borders.
Still, my dreams were restless. I heard Kronos taunting me from the depths of Tartarus: Polyphemus sits blindly in his cave, young hero, believing he has won a great victory. Are you any less deluded?
The titan's cold laughter filled the darkness, only to fall silent very quickly. I don't know what was more disconcerting, the quietness, or the roar of fury that filled the void moments later.
Then my dream changed. I was following Tyson to the bottom of the sea, into the court of Poseidon. It was a radiant hall filled with blue light, the floor cobbled with pearls. And there, on a throne of coral, sat my father, dressed as a simple fisherman in khaki shorts and a sun bleached T-shirt. Next to him, a stunning woman in an elegant sleeveless summer dress stood, her expression calm and serene, but bouncing on the balls of her feet. I looked up into my father's tan weathered face, his deep green eyes, and he spoke two words: Brace yourself.
I woke with a start. There was banging on the door. Grover flew inside without waiting for permission. "Percy!" he stammered. "Annabeth… on the hill… she…"
The look in his eyes told me something was terribly wrong. Annabeth had been on guard duty that night, protecting the Fleece. If something had happened-
I ripped of the covers, my blood like ice water in my veins. I threw on some clothes while Grover tried to make a complete sentence, but he was too stunned, too out of breath. "She's just lying there… just lying there…"
I ran outside and raced across the central yard, Grover right behind me. Dawn was just breaking but the whole camp seemed to be stirring. Word was spreading. Something huge had happened. A few campers were already making their way toward the hill, satyrs and nymphs and heroes in a weird mix of armour and pyjamas.
I heard the clop of horse hooves, and Chiron galloped up behind us, looking grim.
"Is it true?" he asked Grover. The satyr could only nod, his expression dazed. I tried to ask what was going on, but Chiron grabbed me by the arm and effortlessly lifted me onto his back. Together we thundered up Half-Blood Hill, where a small crowd had started to gather.
I expected to see the Fleece missing from the pine tree, but it was still there, glittering in the first light of dawn. The storm had broken and the sky was blood red.
"Curse the titan lord," Chiron stamped, "He's tricked us again, given himself another chance to control the prophecy."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"The Fleece," He said, "The Fleece did its work too well."
We galloped forward, everyone moving out of our way. There at the base of the tree, a girl was lying unconscious. Another girl in Greek armour, Annabeth, was kneeling next to her.
Blood roared in my ears. I couldn't think straight. Who was the girl? Had there been and attack? If so why was the Fleece still there?
The tree itself looked perfectly fine, whole and healthy, suffused with the essence of the Golden Fleece.
"It healed the tree," Chiron said, his voice ragged. "And poison was not the only thing it purged."
When Annabeth saw us, she ran and gave me a, thankfully brief, bear hug before turning to Chiron. We may have been through a lot together but she was very intense, and as she told me herself, she was prideful, to the point where she could really hurt you without a second thought.
Her eyes were streaming with tears, so I suspended judgement, "It… she… just suddenly there…"
I still didn't understand. I was too freaked out to make sense of it all.
I ran from Chiron's side and bolted towards the unconscious girl. Chiron called at me to wait as I knelt by her side. Something was pulling me towards her.
She had short, raven black hair with streaks the same colour as the bark of the tree and freckles across her nose. She was built like a long distance runner, lithe and strong, and she war clothes that were somewhere between punk and Goth - a black T-shirt, black tattered jeans and a brown leather jacket with buttons from a bunch of bands I'd never heard of.
She wasn't a camper. I didn't recognize her from any of the cabins. And yet I had the strangest feeling that I could not argue with. I knew her. I'd seen her before.
"It's true," Grover said, panting from his run up the hill. "I can't believe… Is it just me or is there something off about her…?" he trailed off. No one else came close to the girl.
I put my hand on her forehead. Her skin was cold, but my fingertips tingled as if they were burning. It clicked where I knew her from; I had seen her in my dream with Kronos' casket, but I was sure there had been no brown in her hair. I remembered how Grover had described her to me and it was clear that Thalia had been pushed from the tree.
"She needs nectar and Ambrosia," I said. I understood why everyone was so scared, she looked like death and I wanted to make sure she would be okay, no matter what my instincts told me.
I took her by the shoulders and lifted her into a sitting position, her head resting against my shoulder.
"Come on!" I shouted, "I know you're shocked but we gotta get her to the big house!"
No one moved, not even Chiron. They were all too stunned. Just as I was about to hoist her into my arms and carry her myself, a reckless decision because I was by no means the strongest at camp, she coughed and opened her eyes.
I had expected her eyes to be blue – the electric blue that both Annabeth and Grover had told me about. Instead I was staring at startling forest green and silver. Then I noticed her ears were pointed and her skin had an ethereal glow to it.
The girl stared back in complete bewilderment, shivering and wild-eyed,
"Who-"
"I'm Percy," I said, "You're safe now."
"Strangest dream…"
"It's okay."
"Dying."
"No," I assured her, "You're okay. Can you tell me your name?" I knew, but I didn't know how much she remembered since said memory was clearly foggy.
As she stared up at me and readjusted herself to rest against the she had been a part of, never once breaking eye contact, I realised multiple, interconnected points. Something wasn't as it should be with the girl in front of him. And it had angered both Zeus and Kronos when they found out the night before. This is what the Golden Fleece quest had been about. The poisoning of the tree- everything.
Kronos had done it to bring another chess piece into play- another chance to control the prophecy, but it had failed somehow. But why was Zeus mad?
Even Chiron, Annabeth and Grover, who should've been celebrating this moment, were too shocked, thinking about what this might mean for the future. And here I was holding someone who was destined to be my closest ally, or my worst enemy.
"I'm Thalia," She said, "Daughter of Zeus."
Thalia, Chiron. Annabeth, Grover and I all sat on the wraparound balcony of the second floor of the big house as we explained to Thalia, the events of the last 6 years; Her death or transformation, the barrier the camp got as a result, my arrival, Luke's betrayal, Grover getting his dream career and the quest for the fleece. She was just about wrapping her head around it and I looked at her relatively shocked at the ease she accepting everything with.
"Luke did always seem to want to take things to far, I agreed with him to a point... but attempting to massacre the gods with the help of Grandfather? Even if I was mad at my dad I wouldn't try to kill him. He's too important for that, they all are. If we killed the gods then their domains would go unchecked, go wild. If Artemis died, the hunters would become the hunted, Without Thanatos and Hades there to police the dead our world would be overrun. The entirety of civilisation would be an apocalypse. Even I wouldn't want that."
Annabeth looked at her friend closely. Her usual, calculating glare was ruined by the tears in her eyes, betraying the emotions she had buried for six years,
"What I don't get," She began, "Is why you look different from what I remember."
Thalia blanked, "I what?"
"Yeah." Grover bleated, "Your eyes aren't blue any more, and your hair looks kinda like the tree bark; And your features are sharper - more elfish."
Chiron gestured to the door. The window had mirror glass because Mr D liked to at least have the illusion of privacy. Thalia got up and walked over to the mirror to see the changes. She gasped like a little kid and pulled a little at the black and varying shades of brown hair.
"I believe I can grant you all some light on this particular anomaly." A voice called from a little ways along the balcony. About ten feet away stood a young girl, about my age or a little younger, in a simple brown dress. She had mousy brown hair in a simple braid that fell over her shoulders and her eyes held a fiery orange glow that made you feel at home.
Chiron, from his wheelchair, gave a small bow and the other three followed suit. "Lady Hestia." The centaur acknowledged.
"Please Chiron," she chided softly and half-heartedly, as though she had made this argument a lot, "You of all people know that is unnecessary. Rise, young ones. I do not care greatly for formalities."
The others sat back up and Thalia reclaimed her seat. It might have just been me, but they all seemed to sit a little straighter despite the goddess - or at least I assumed she was a goddess if my mythology was up to date (wasn't that an ironic statement) – telling them to relax.
"Of course, Hestia. I believe you said you could educate us on Thalia's predicament?" Chiron said.
The young girl nodded and I remembered something that had almost been lost to memory. This same girl had been tending the camp hearth the day I first woke up at camp. I managed to keep quiet because for once, we weren't in a life or death situation and today's events definitely did not revolve around me.
"Yes, my dear friend. Late yesterday evening the Fates appeared to Lord Zeus."
The affect was instant. Everyone seemed to still and try to focus even more on the goddess' words if it was possible.
"They told him they spoke for both themselves and on the behalf of Lady Styx. The three Fates said that as punishment for his breaking his oath on the river Styx, combined with the proper flow of Fate and Zeus' own reasons for bearing a child post World War two, they chose to transform Thalia into a nymph. As a half blood is described as half god and half mortal, a nymph does not fall into the description the prophecy demands." She turned to Thalia,
"As a child of Zeus, the king of the air, she cannot be restricted from traversing her father's domain and therefore there is no radius or limit to how far away you can be from your tree and spirit host." Hestia smiled, "You still have your powers but not your scent. Because the tree powers the border around camp its survival is not dependent upon yours. I'm afraid the opposite is not true. Your life is tied to that tree and if it dies I am disheartened to say you will too."
The girl looked slightly sad to tell Thalia these rules but there was something in her expression that helped us understand there were more positives to the change. Thalia herself seemed to be fighting a grin.
"So you're telling me that, I don't have to worry about the prophecy, or being hunted by monsters, I keep my powers, don't have the restrictions of a normal dryad and don't have to be treated like some porcelain vase for fear of breaking the barrier?"
Everyone on the balcony smiled. The demigod was getting the best side of the deal for once. Maybe the Fates weren't so bad despite what they'd done to heroes of the past.
"Yes, I am."
Thalia looked puzzled for a second, "How did my dad react? If it's okay for me to ask."
Hestia smiled almost cheekily, "If you don't mind me saying, he had quite the temper tantrum. To which, of course, the Fates didn't take too kindly too. I, believe Clotho said, and I quote, 'If you wanted a demigod to remain a demigod, perhaps don't turn them into a tree next time.'"