Hey there! Welcome back!
I know, it's been a shit ton of time, but I kid you NOT when I tell you that someone grabbed my life by the tip of the ears and just spun it around like it was a damn washing machine. Plus I'm an adult, I got shit like bills and responsibilities *shakes*.
It's all coming together, don't worry. I was about to be chill right now, but apparently my cat just went *apex predator mode* and is now hunting a fly throughout the entire house, wreaking havoc wherever she touches.
pjo()fanatic()316, you get a whole batch of freshly baked cookies with double chocolate chip! (I hope you like them, 'cuz they are my favorites)
For all of you who have followed and favorited this story, thank you so much!
Disclaimer: No, I do not own PJO, HOO or any other amazing creations from Uncle Rick. He does. If I ever get to meet him will I shake his hand and punch him in the jaw? Yes. Yes I will.
ON THE FIC!
"Hey, Annabeth!" Cassandra waved at the blonde.
"Hey, Cassandra. How are you?"
"I'm good. Did you sleep well?" she asked, helping her stand up.
"I did, you?"
"The best a girl could sleep after a fight with her boyfriend and having him storm out of the room." She pursed her lips.
"I'm sorry, Cassandra. Was it about the fight with Piper?"
"Yeah. He knew straight away I was lying when I told him that, he just waited until we were alone. And when I told him the truth, he snapped at me. Blamed me of lying again, basically. I know he was just trying to protect his friendship with Piper, but…"
"It still hurts." She guessed, and Cassandra nodded.
"So, what am I here for?"
"Did you bring your whip?" Annabeth asked, and Cassandra pulled it from behind her back.
"Yeah, Chiron had Jake Mason built me a handle to attach to my belt." She turned around to show her. "But why?"
"Nice. Why? I told you I wanted one more private lesson with you." She smirked "I want a go with you, using that whip."
"I don't even know how to use it, Annabeth!" she freaked out, but Annabeth only smiled.
"I trust you." She pulled out a sword "Let's do this."
The two advanced at the same time. Annabeth with her sword cocked, and Cassandra snapping her whip in the air. Their dance began, and if I didn't know any better, I would fight you over the belief that the two had been fighting together their entire lives. A harmonic dance, with both sides having fair and gentle warriors. Annabeth fought with the slyness of a Greek, but Cassandra had the poise and graciousness of a Roman. Hard to believe though.
"I'm backing Piper on this one, are you sure you're not a demigod?" Annabeth wiped the sweat of her forehead.
"I'm sure." Cassandra winked, and the two got back on their dance.
It was only when Annabeth lost her footing on a root of a tree that Cassandra finalized their battle. She swung her whip in her direction and the bronze fang struck Annabeth on her thigh, cutting through. The blonde fell, and the brunette gasped. She ran to the demigod, but Annabeth only shook her head, asking her to go grab her bag and bring her a square of ambrosia she always kept in case of emergencies.
"Annabeth!" a voice called.
The demigod turned her head in the direction of the voice and frowned. She was lying down on the grass, and she didn't recognize the person immediately. It was only when he stepped closer to her and the sun graced his baby blue eyes and blond hair that Annabeth recognized him.
"Jason!" she smiled brightly "What are you doing here?"
"Chiron called," he knelt next to her "He said you had a quest for us."
"A quest…? Oh yeah, the prophecy!" she exclaimed, sitting up with his help "I almost forgot."
"You okay? I saw the fight; it was pretty awesome. Did Percy do this?" he took a careful look at her leg.
"No. If Percy had done this, the Camp would be on full alert now." She grinned, and Jason chuckled "No, it was…"
"Annabeth, I've got it!" Cassandra ran to them "I didn't know what it looked like because Will only showed me the nectar, so I brought the whole bag!"
"Thanks." She dug in her bag and pulled out a piece of ambrosia and ate it "I think I have some bandages there, can you…?"
"I'll do it. Will taught me how to." she smiled and pulled out the gauze, beginning to wrap Annabeth's thigh with it "I'm sorry."
"Don't. That was an awesome move, and you simply took advantage of my slip. If I were your enemy, you would have regretted not making that choice."
"But you're not my enemy. You're my friend." Cassandra looked into her eyes "Aren't you?"
"Of course, I am." Annabeth smiled "Thanks for patching me up. Will did an excellent job teaching you."
"I'm a fast learner." She grinned and finally looked up to Jason "Hi stranger."
"H-hello!" he smiled clumsily.
"Who are you? Who is he?"
"This is Jason. He's a friend. From Camp Jupiter. You might know him as Superman." Annabeth rolled her eyes at the recognition of the nickname "Jason, this is Cassandra. She's new around here."
"Hello Cassandra." He stretched his hand and she shook it "You're new here and you're already striking down Annabeth? How new can you be?"
"Pretty new. I only got here a couple of days ago." She helped Annabeth stand up "This is the third to be exact."
"Oh." He nodded "Who's your godly father? Are you Greek or Roman?"
"That's the trick part about it." Annabeth sighed "She doesn't have one. Cassandra is completely human."
"Oh! Like Rachel?" he asked, nodding in understanding.
"I think we should drop her off at the infirmary. Despite the ambrosia, I'd like to make sure that you don't catch anything." Cassandra bit her lip.
"Fine."
It wasn't long until Kayla was receiving Annabeth with a smile and Jason helped the medic take Annabeth inside and lay her down on the bed. The blonde took his arm and gave it a squeeze, and Jason turned his attention to her. "What is it, Annabeth? Do you want me to get Percy?"
"No. I want you to calm down."
"What are you talking about?"
"I may not be a daughter of Aphrodite, but I know gooey eyes when I see them. She has a boyfriend. And you a girlfriend for what matters."
"It's not like that. I mean, she's pretty. Really pretty. And her eyes are just, stunning, but I'm with Piper."
"Good. I'm glad you think that way. Otherwise, they would be finding your dead body in a shallow grave." She grinned.
Jason walked out of the infirmary and saw Cassandra waiting for him. They began to talk, Cassandra asking him about Camp Jupiter and Jason telling her whatever she wanted to know. She was an easy person to talk to, and Jason was happy to clarify all doubts that she had about his home. They sat down in the campfire together, and Jason asked her about herself.
"Oh, I'm no big deal. I'm just… me!"
"I'm interested. Come on! How did you get here?" he asked, and she told him the story. After she was finished, Jason had a bewildered look on his face "All of that… that is amazing! I didn't know Piper could charmspeak the Oracle of Delphi!"
"Me either, but she did, and it worked. And I'm here." She sighed "I thought we could be good friends, but we fought last night, and… I don't know."
"What happened last night?"
"Yesterday, Annabeth paired Percy and I together. We fought, and I honestly don't know how to fight, but you saw me fight Annabeth and somehow, I took down Percy. And yesterday, I told Piper she could talk to me about her problems and she did and after that, she accused me of charmspeaking her and being a liar over my own 'godly ascendency'. I don't know who my parents are, I lived with a woman my entire life but even she had no knowledge of who I was or who my parents are."
"And she accused you of lying despite you telling her you didn't know?"
"Yes! Look, I don't know how some things happen in my life. There is stuff I'm good at, extremely good at, but I don't know how or why I'm good at them. Now I found out that I'm also good at fighting and talking someone into telling me what is wrong with them – actually, scratch that, I already knew I could do that, I just never thought it would be an ability."
"And you're confused. Scared even. And it just seems like you have the world pushing you for answers you don't even have yourself." Jason concluded.
"Exactly." She smiled "And it's painful because it takes away friendships, makes me a freak and causes a rift between my boyfriend and I because he chose to believe I was lying when I told him that I fought with Piper over that."
"Look, whatever it is… if you know you're right, you'll stand your ground. He'll come around eventually. So, he thought that Piper was telling the truth because she's a demigod and you're not? Look, I might be with Piper, but even I recognize that is not a fair assumption."
"Yeah? Well tell that to Leo." She pouted and ran a hand through her hair.
"Leo? Wait, you're dating Leo?" Jason was thunderstruck again.
"Yeah… Leo Valdez. Your best friend?"
"Yes! I mean, I'm sorry, but Leo never told us he had a girlfriend."
"That's normal, he wanted to keep me safe. But when that backfired…" she gulped "I'm here."
"Leo can be a bit obtuse when it comes to distinguish the truth from the lie. And don't get him wrong, I'm sure he cares deeply for you, but sometimes fights between couples are good. It puts things into perspective."
"He left me alone last night and I haven't seen him since." She gulped.
"He's probably working, filing his brain with machinery and wires."
"You don't understand, Jason. Leo never leaves me to sleep on my own. Never. There is a reason for that. And yesterday he did. He left me, and I…"
"He'll come back to his senses." Jason reassured her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Jason!" Percy's voice echoed "You're here!"
"Percy!" the blond turned around to greet the son of Poseidon with a big smile "I am! Haven't you seen Frank and Hazel?"
"Frank and Hazel are here too?!" the green-eyed male grinned and hugged him "It's good to see you, man."
"Good to see you too." He hugged him back "Hazel told me she was going to see Nico, and Frank might probably be with the Apollo kids, no?"
"Probably. I see you met Cassandra." Percy grinned "How are you?"
"Scared right now."
"Why? Everything okay?" he frowned.
"I may or may not have sent your girlfriend to the infirmary." She gave him a nervous smile "She asked for a private lesson and I hurt her. I'm sorry."
"Well…" he gulped "Okay. That's alright. I'm not sure how to feel. I might go visit her."
"You do that. You do that, and don't hit me." She took a deep breath. Jason saw Percy leaving and looked over to Cassandra and started laughing "What?"
"You just talked yourself out of a fight." He continued to laugh "I don't know about charmspeak, but that was impressive."
"Thanks." She giggled.
"Sure." He smiled "Might taking me to Chiron? I need to know when we're leaving."
"Of course." She nodded.
.
"I suppose you all have your things ready." Chiron eyed the eight demigods staring back at him. A quiet nod ran through them and the centaur repeated the prophecy Rachel had spoken. "Remember that. Any questions?"
"Yeah, I have one." A voice called "Where the freak do you think you're going without me?"
The eight turned to see Cassandra glaring at them with a backpack on her shoulders. Piper make a move to cover Leo and Percy frowned. "Cassandra, Chiron made his decision." Nico declared "You can't come."
"It's too dangerous for you." Annabeth tried.
"I am aware that Chiron has made a decision. But given it's a stupid ass decision, I've elected to ignore it." She declared, and Leo smiled "I'm going. And you can't stop me."
"Cassandra." Chiron stepped forward "You are not to go."
"Oh, I'm sorry!" she sarcastically replied, flickering her hair back "Just because you puff out that human chest and say some things in that thunderous voice, doesn't mean I'm gonna bow down to it."
"Cassie."
"Was it to you? Was it to you, Annabeth, that the prophecy was given to?"
"No."
"Was it you, Percy?"
"No."
"Was it to you, Nico, perhaps?"
"No." he grumbled.
"Then I wanna know – again – where do you think you're going without the person the prophecy was given to. AKA me!" she declared and looked Chiron in the eye "It's not a quest if the leader doesn't go."
"You go at your own risk, Cassandra Stemma." Chiron declared, turning his back.
"Thank you." She smiled and turned to the demigods "Shall we?"
"You sure know how to pick them." Jason smiled at Leo and he sighed.
"Yeah. I guess I do."
.
"So, where to?" Annabeth asked, looking at Cassandra.
"Okay, so…" she said the first three lines of the prophecy in a faint voice "The Princess of the Lost Throne shall come."
"That would have to be you." Jason frowned "If the prophecy was given to you the moment you walked inside Camp, it has to be you."
"Okay, but Princess?" she raised an eyebrow.
"We can worry about the meaning later. Let's just focus on where to go." Hazel smiled "Hi, I'm Hazel."
"Cassandra. Pleasure!" she grinned "An oath… blah blah blah… shall end. We have to assume that that happened before or around the same time as me entering Camp Half Blood."
"To the Old Bane, the seven shall bring a cure." Piper proclaimed "What's an Old Bane. And why is it sick?"
"This is a tricky one." Frank frowned "A cure… like medicine? Or something else."
"Bane is a cause of misery. Is there a cure for misery?" Cassandra asked.
"Yeah, therapy." Percy rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, but it might not be a physical cure. It could be a solution or an answer or… something." Annabeth was deep in thought "The seven. Which are the seven?"
"Maybe the Seven originals." Nico offered.
"Maybe. Where does that lead us?" Leo asked.
"What could possibly be old, in misery and in need of a cure?" Hazel pondered.
"I don't know…" Annabeth frowned "We should figure out our next move, but we should find a place to sleep too."
"I noticed an inn a few streets back." Cassandra offered "We could stay there."
"And how do you suppose we pay for it?" Piper raised an eyebrow at her.
"I don't know. We could offer labor in exchange of a night over." She pursed her lips.
"That's a clever idea." Jason stood between them "What do you think, Annabeth?"
"I like it. Let's go."
They walked to the inn – it wasn't that far away – and Piper persuaded the owner to let them stay for a night. In exchange, they would work at the restaurant, and they were all fine with that. They were assigned to their rooms, three in total, and divided themselves. Annabeth, Piper and Hazel chose the first room, Percy, Jason and Frank the second one and Leo, Nico and Cassandra the third one.
"Piper." Cassandra called after everyone went inside their rooms "A word?"
"What?" the Cherokee girl turned to her, frowning.
"Look, I don't know what your issue is with me, I honestly haven't a clue, but we need to settle this in order to make us work as a group. So, tell me what your beef with me is."
"You're a liar. That's the beef. You know something you're not telling us. This whole quest? It's gonna end up in somebody getting killed, and that will be on you. You don't realize, but you're dragging Leo down with you and I am not about to let that happen. He's a mess!"
"Oh yeah? And who's fault is that? Who has been filling his head with lies, huh, Piper?" Cassandra fought back "Thanks to you, Leo and I are going through something that never happened before. Thanks to you, Leo has his head so far up his ass that he can't even see past the shit you're talking!"
"Excuse me?!"
"You heard me! I don't know what you did to him. All I know is that Leo left me alone last night. And he, of all people, know how bad that is." She gulped "Piper, you already have a dream of a man. Jason is a great guy, and even not knowing me, he tried to help me. I just wish you would let go of Leo."
And Cassandra left.
A/N: Again, I do like Piper, but I know she's extra protective of her friends, especially Leo. So, claws out, and game on!
I wonder what will happen now?
First to review gets a free block of cheese! Or a treat of your choosing.
PS: Love you guys!
LoneeWolf :)