CHAPTER FIFTEEN: In Moonlight
LAST NIGHT.
Piper caught up with Riley. She'd waited for a while outside the Hermes cabin, waiting for him and Mags to finish speaking, and when he'd found her waiting, the first thing he did was scowl. She never thought she'd be on Riley's bad side.
Mags' bad side, maybe, because the older girl was the most headstrong person she'd seen since Annabeth.
Maybe even Alex's bad side too, because they'd argued before.
But Riley? DJ Riles? Riley who liked to cook and bake and had a playlist for every occasion and knew all the lyrics to Ariana Grande's newest album? The kindest guy she knew?
She had never seen him so hostile. And after chasing him for a minute and trying various ways to talk to him, she was really trying not to make it worse.
"Listen, Pipes, I'm tired, I'm stressed…" he said, heading back to the Big House.
"No, we have to talk about this. Please, Riley, come on…"
"I can't even believe you'd think that about me." He spun around, hurt in his eyes. "It was a stupid mistake! I've already taken it out!"
"I know that, but now we don't know what's going to happen. You did have your sim card in, and if that has anything to do with how the mortals found our location…"
Riley furrowed his eyebrows. "Don't."
"You have to tell Chiron."
"I'm not telling anybody."
"You have to be honest."
"Oh, really? That's rich, you know. That's really, really rich coming from someone who's hiding something as well."
Piper stopped. "What do you mean?"
"Your little vacation to Camp Jupiter? Moving out, going off to work your Roman government job?"
She frowned. "How did you find out about that?" She hadn't told anyone yet, not even Leo, and she was sure Chiron wouldn't have either.
"Does it matter? You're leaving. Right when things are getting dangerous."
She clenched her fists. "That's not why -"
"But you're still leaving, aren't you? When were you going to tell us? After Alex has already been sent off to Amazon Jail? You didn't even stand up for her in that room," he accused, pointing at her. He'd looked angry before, but now he just looked mad - in all senses of the word. The clouds in the sky cleared and they were covered in moonlight, brightening the madness in Riley's eyes.
Piper grounded herself, keeping her voice calm.
She spoke up. "That's not true -"
He raised his hand to stop her. "Save it. You know, I actually thought you cared about us. About Alex. We needed you - still need you, but as soon as you got your ride to Camp Halfblood you were happy to just ditch us and leave us in the dirt. Go back to your old life, introduce us as your 'mortals' that you couldn't shake off. Make us look like we just followed you like stray dogs. Fun extras for the marathon. And, look! They can fight! We were souvenirs you brought back from your 'awesome' time in Seattle."
She didn't flinch, she wouldn't, but the words still hurt. Is that what they really felt? Is that how Alex really felt?
"We let you stay with us, we told you everything about ourselves. We don't even know anything about you. The lone wolf thing gets old. And, you know what? It's actually so sad. Because I figured out your deal, Piper."
Piper didn't say anything. Her eyes flashed, daring him to continue.
"You're someone who thought they could make it big by themselves. But it didn't work out that way, did it? I've seen a hundred kids like you. You needed to come home with something exciting because you didn't want everyone to pity you -"
She took an angry step forward. "Stop it -"
Riley stepped back, widening the gap between them. "…after all your talk about being 'independent', you actually failed to live alone. You got bored. You got boring. You lived an un-special life. And for someone who hates the spotlight, your pride can sure take a beating when you're suddenly average. So what do you do? You bring home the descendant of Achilles…"
Furious, she reached forward to strike him across the face, but her accuracy was compromised by her anger and he easily dodged it.
Piper huffed, clenching the fist that missed his face. "What the hell, Riley -"
Riley held out his arms, welcoming her to attack him again.
"Am I wrong?" he asked coolly.
Piper glared.
Where the hell did all this come from? Something told her there was more to this than just Riley being protective of his family - something connected to the issue with the mortals, and something with Alex, and something with the Amazons - but this wasn't the time or place to find out. And she was too pissed off about all his truth-spilling to think straight.
…was it even truth?
But, now, they could see the Big House - and could also be seen by the people left there. Alex and Nico.
Riley had noticed too, and his expression hardened even more when he looked back at Piper.
She took a deep breath and composed herself, the fury still clear in her eyes as she spoke:
"You have to tell someone. Chiron or Alex. I understand not wanting to tell Chiron, but if you don't tell her, you're just going to make her feel like she's left out again," she warned. "She already feels like everything's her fault, so she deserves to -"
He scoffed. "You don't get to tell me what she deserves to know."
"I'm already going to tell mine. If you tell yours, that'll solve things, Riley, I promise. You won't get in trouble. Just be honest." Piper looked at him square in the face. "Tonight's already been too much, so I'm telling her tomorrow morning. You better consider telling someone too."
She looked back at the direction of the Big House and saw Alex wave at her.
She didn't have another dream that night, but she did see something she didn't expect.
Mitchell had Annabeth install a fireplace at the corner of the Aphrodite cabin two years ago, when the weather at camp suddenly became a winter wonderland at Artemis' request. She and Apollo had argued about it, and Apollo only agreed to let winter fall on the camp as long as it was a gentle winter and they could do all the secular Christmas activities that the mortals usually did. Artemis had wanted winter to fall on camp, to match the season outside in the real world, so that the campers could train in snowy conditions.
It had been too cold for most of the Aphrodite kids. Most of them stayed in camp to avoid the harsh winter breeze of the outside world, so this was (to quote Drew Tanaka) 'the worst possible effing thing ever'.
But after their personal fireplace was installed, the complaining subsided.
The season now was spring. The fireplace looked like it hadn't been used in years, though it was now part of the cabin upkeep to make sure it was clean (much to the Aphrodite cabin's chagrin). They didn't need to light the fireplace at all, no matter how cold and uncomfortable Piper felt.
So when Piper opened her eyes in the middle of the night to see the fire roaring, and someone sitting by it, she was intrigued.
Was it Lacy?
It looked like her from the back. But when she looked to her little sister's bed, she saw the blankets rising up and down with Lacy's breathing. Mitchell was in his bed too.
The girl at the fire stayed sitting. Piper didn't move out of her bed, nor even shift her blankets.
"Lady Hestia?" she called out softly.
A second passed, and then a gentle hum as a reply.
Piper breathed a sigh of relief. She relaxed in her bed. It was normal for the goddess to stay in camp, of course, and to stay by the hearths. Yet somehow it felt wrong to not speak with her.
Crawling out of bed, she sat down on the soft rug next to Hestia, careful not to sit too close. When she looked at her, she saw red glowing eyes - she thought maybe that was just the reflection from the fire, but from different angles, they retained the same soft glow.
"Welcome, Piper McLean," said Hestia.
Piper bowed her head. Hestia kept looking at the fire.
"I see you have come home," Hestia continued. "And I see you are still as conflicted as ever."
Piper didn't say anything. Hestia's voice, though young like the form of the little girl she took, spoke volumes of wisdom. This didn't seem like the moment to have a conversation. This was a story.
"You have returned from your trip, changed, yet…still the same," the goddess said. "And you bring home Achilles' daughter."
Piper furrowed her eyebrows. She opened her mouth to consider correcting her, and then -
Hestia shrugged. "Legacy. Demigod. Child. Daughter. They are all the same. Just as all wars remain the same, and us gods do, and you mortals too. Just as truths and lies are two sides of the same coin. But war is not about truth. War is about something else. Something you already know." Hestia glanced at her, the glowing red eyes turning into something fierce. And then the glow dulled and she looked back at the hearth. "But something you don't care for. Which is the worst mistake of all."
Behind them, Lacy stirred in her sleep. She let out a loud snore. Piper winced.
And then Hestia didn't speak for the longest time. It might have been a whole hour, it might have been only thirty seconds, but the span of time between Hestia's next statement and her last statement was so great it maddened Piper. Why couldn't gods ever say just what they needed to hear? Why did everything have to be a puzzle that deconstructed every fibre of a demigod's being? First, Riley made her feel like crap. Now Hestia was too?
When Hestia didn't speak again, it was when Piper finally looked back at her and Hestia was already staring at her, as if waiting to be noticed.
"I - I'm sorry, Lady Hestia," Piper whispered.
"Hmm." Hestia narrowed her eyes. "Do you know why I remained neutral in the Trojan War?"
Piper stared into Hestia's eyes, trapped in the glowing embers reflected in them, and then an image flashed in her mind:
An old beachside town. The buildings made from mud and stone, a greater building in the distance, high above a hill. Piper found herself standing among children who wore brown and earth-toned clothes like Hestia did, all dresses and tunics and large sheets of cloth cut and wrapped around children by harassed mothers. Maybe there had been a big celebration earlier that day, the remains of clean, brushed hair still bouncing around the children's head - but now, in their play-clothes, they were becoming wild again. Piper watched Hestia dance and laugh with smaller children, all of them holding hands in a circle. Hestia's glowing eyes were still bright even in the sunlight.
And then there were a stampede of foot-steps from up the road, leading from the great building on the hill.
"INCOMING!" An older voice shouted.
A group of teenage boys rushed down the road, wearing chitons marked with dirt. The boys pushed and shoved against each other, roaring with laughter, but the leader of the pack was zooming forward. As soon as he reached the kids, however, he changed the way he ran, doing a weird hopping movement that had all the children explode in fits of laughter.
"Can anyone guess who I am?" the boy grinned. "Anyone?"
"Oh, come off it, Achilles!" one of the teenagers shouted, groaning as most of the group went off into the main part of town.
The boy Achilles ignored them, pulling a face at them before returning to the children.
The children guessed their wrong answers ('A deer!', 'A rabbit!'), and then it was Hestia who shouted with a giggle: "A centaur!"
The children all gasped, and started to copy Achilles, hopping madly around the road like a bunch of half-centaurs.
Achilles gave Hestia a knowing look. He crouched in front of her. "Lady Hestia," he bowed respectfully, and then looked up with a cheeky grin. "Cheating again, I see?"
"I had to make it end somehow. You looked ridiculous."
"Not the most ridiculous thing you've seen me do, let's be honest."
The two of them laughed. Achilles stood up, and ruffled the top of Hestia's head.
"But you must be here because you have heard," Achilles said, his tone becoming serious. "I am to join the centaur Chiron, and be trained alongside other would-be heroes."
Hestia nodded solemnly - almost sadly, if Piper was to guess.
"So begins your destiny, son of Peleus, son of Thetis," she sighed, all the age in her voice gone, replaced by childlike sadness. "I only wish you would come back soon. So you can play with us again."
"I'll be leaving the Myrmidons with you." Achilles and Hestia looked to the group of teenage boys, some of them smirking and talking with the local village girls, who were blushing under their attention.
"I would rather the Myrmidons be returned to their original state," Hestia frowned.
"Ants do not make a good army," Achilles chuckled. "Aegina, perhaps, may benefit from insects, but Thessaly needs strong hands that can hold swords."
Hestia lifted her nose. "Monkeys, then. I shall turn them all into monkeys."
Achilles laughed. They both watched as some of the boys made a fool of themselves, trying to pool together money to buy jewellery for the girls from a vendor. They tried to get money from one of the other boys standing farthest from the girls. He swatted them away, rolling his eyes. Achilles smiled fondly at him.
Then his smile faded. "Father says I must go alone."
Hestia saddened again. "If that is your father's will…"
"But what is the will of the gods?"
Hestia shook her head. "Nothing you want to hear."
Achilles pressed his lips together. He smoothed his hair back, running his fingers through his hair in a way that Piper had seen Alex do many times.
"I will convince Chiron to let me bring Patroclus. He has been my sparring partner since we were boys. No one knows me the way Patroclus does," Achilles said, determined. "The gods want me to be their hero? Fine. But I will do it on my terms. I will be the first hero to have everything I want."
Hestia said nothing.
The scene melted into a different part of the land, the moonlight shining bright on the fields next to the town. Two figures on horses stuck to the orchards, hidden under the shade of the trees.
"Why does the moon shine so bright on us?" Achilles asked.
"The goddess Artemis must be making the hunt easier for your father," the other figure scowled. He tugged on the reins of his horse and the horse trotted forward faster. Achilles did the same, but he rushed forward, stopping his horse to block the other.
"Then this is not right. It's not right to run away like this," Achilles decided.
In the dappled moonlight, Piper could just make out the other's face. He was older than Achilles, with a scar running down his cheek. He was built bigger too, almost as big as Tyson, Percy's cyclops brother.
"Don't be such a coward, Achilles. This is what you wanted, isn't it?"
"I wanted a choice, Ajax," Achilles frowned. "Not to run away and avoid confrontation. This is cowardice."
"It is not running away," Ajax scowled. "It is delaying. I want to live my life before I am made another lifeless general in my father's army. He has already prepared his kingdom for me, he said so himself. He's found me a wife, he's prepared the names of my children. And we know what awaits you when you finish training with Chiron and you return to your father."
"A deal with the Spartans would be nothing but beneficial for Thessaly," Achilles said, lifting his chin. "If I am chosen, the joining of our kingdoms would provide security, stability…"
Ajax snorted. "You may lie to others, Achilles, but you cannot lie to me. I know you. The beauty of Helen of Sparta does nothing for you."
"You don't know that."
"That party a month ago. Every eye, man and woman, was on her. And you couldn't care less. Laughing and carrying on with your -"
"Enough," Achilles demanded. He led his horse out of Ajax's path. "Leave, if you want to. But if I am to determine my fate it will not be by running away from it. Fate will only find you faster down that road, Ajax," he looked down the orchard, leading to the forest. "It loves a good chase."
Ajax scowled, spat at Achilles' feet, and continued down the path. Achilles watched him leave until he disappeared into the tree-line of the forest, and when he turned his horse around to return home, Lady Hestia, as a woman now, stood in his way.
"A wise choice," she said.
"He will return," Achilles said, solemn. "His destiny lies in training with Chiron, and with the Great War in the future. As does mine," he added.
"Do you still believe you can change your fate?" she asked.
Achilles lifted his chin. For a moment, he looked every bit the legendary hero, bathed in moonlight, young and spirited. "The Fates are ancient and restless. And they love a challenge. Who am I, but the one to give it to them?"
Piper watched Achilles head back to his house, Lady Hestia holding the reins of his horse, before the night fell completely and everything was dark again - and she was back in the Aphrodite cabin.
She took a moment to catch her breath. She backed up towards the nearest bed, leaning against it and resting there. Hestia joined her, inching slowly backwards to the bed, both of them further away from the fire.
"I will show you glimpses like this until your sight clears," Hestia said, sounding tired. "Fire brings warmth and life, but in moonlight…all things are revealed."
Piper's throat felt dry, so her voice croaked as she spoke. "Thank you, Lady Hestia."
Hestia just nodded. But she didn't leave just yet. The same sad expression was back on her face as the goddess hugged her knees to her chest. Sad, but stubborn, as if not yet willing to accept the gloomy future that was coming.
"I'm sorry," Piper said softly. "About your friend."
Hestia sighed, closing her eyes. "I, too, am sorry…about yours."
And as soon as Piper blinked, the goddess was gone. And so was the fire. All that was left was a wisp of smoke.
Then there were faint door slams in the distance. Out among the other cabins. Footsteps, too, people rushing about. Through the windows, she could see the dawn coming. The sky a very light purple, a line of orange just beyond the trees. The sounds of people waking were getting closer, and closer, more frantic.
Piper scrambled to get up from her spot on the floor, rushing to the door to step outside. As soon as she opened it, Leo was there, and Cecil Markowitz was there, still in his pyjamas, and Clovis too, and Mags. Mags' eyes were watery, like she was fighting back tears.
"What?" Piper remarked. "What's happened?"
"A-Alex and Riley," Cecil stammered, pointing a finger behind him. "They - they - Gods, they drugged the entire cabin and then drugged the harpies -"
"They're not drugged, Cecil," Leo said, trying to calm him but also a little rattled himself. "They're just asleep. But they also stole a Delphi Strawberry Service truck. I'm still tracking them, they're on the move, on the 278 going past Jersey -"
Clovis' voice was more calm, just disappointed. "Last night, Riley came to our cabin to ask for some sleeping potion, said he needed a higher concentration for Alex May because of her physical condition, but I didn't even think they'd -"
"They left." Tears fell down Mags' cheeks, but her voice shook with anger. "That son of a bitch left. And he's taken Alex." She leaned her arm against the porch of the Aphrodite cabin, wiping her eyes furiously with her hand. "It's what he's been planning to do all along."
A/N: so … that happened
i'm glad things are making sense so far and i hope they continue to do so. there's a lot of twists coming up, and more backstories revealed so stay tuned for more chapters! the mystery continues, but don't worry, some answers will be coming to light soon too!