DISCLAIMER: All the characters except the OC's, belong to Rick Riordan.
Chapter 6: My friend loophole an Immature curse
Piper had a blast, partially that is.
Percy had advised her to tell her dad about the mythical world and the truth about her mom during the term and Sally concurred with him wholeheartedly. Piper had learned from Percy that mythical knowledge wasn't for the fainthearted and would often attract monsters to them. But watching Sally and Percy interact with each other, she started to yearn for the same from her father.
But her hopes immediately went down the drain after the talk with her dad. She didn't state the obvious directly but probed him about her mom while talking about his latest film. She didn't know how she concluded, but Piper felt that her dad just wasn't ready to give up on her mom. He didn't tell her this, but she realized that her dad doesn't exactly believe in other cultures from his speech.
She relayed the conversation and her inferences about her dad to the Jacksons and Sally too expressed her doubts about Tristan still not being over Aphrodite. Percy didn't seem to understand much about this, making the females in the room chuckle to themselves at his obvious discomfort of being left out.
"Dear, let's keep your dad in the dark then. It's for his good. He couldn't take the truth about your mom easily, it seems." Sally sighed.
Piper nodded glumly. Sally watched the girl for a while and embraced her.
"Can you arrange a meeting for your dad and me? I'll talk to him about you, see if it can help. It'll be our little secret." She whispered in her ear.
Piper didn't know what the adults had talked about, but she observed a notable change in her dad. He still spent most of his time away from her but whenever he was around, he made considerable efforts to be involved in her life. He even proposed a vacation in the summer; any place she wanted to visit, only the two of them.
Though he managed to free his schedule for the vacation, the rest of his time was packed to the brim. So Piper opted to accompany him to the shoot. Spending her time under the harsh lights and smoke in the sets reminded her why she used to hate the shoots so much and how it came in between her daughter-dad time.
Another thing that made Piper extremely uncomfortable was the co-stars. They had tried to butter her up to earn favors with her dad. Some even tried to delude her about her mom and how her dad deserved better. All the unwarranted attention had made her suffocate and avoid the meetings her dad has to attend.
Since she didn't want to bring any monster attraction to her surroundings, she avoided calling Percy—her frustration vent—and swallowed the bitter pill for a while. In the meantime, she looked up vacation spots from guide books and shortlisted several locations across Europe. She still remembered getting jealous about Percy visiting Greece with his mom last summer, so she decided to make the first vacation spot.
When her dad finally had some free time, they both took a flight to the ancient lands.
Greece was everything like Percy described—ancient and breathtaking. The McLeans visited the ancient ruins around Athens before moving along their journey south. A long-forgotten familiar feeling washed over her when she stepped into a ruined temple. Piper realized the temple must've been Aphrodite's before its eventual demise. There were a lot of temples dedicated to her mother but varied in styles and identities.
Aphrodite was worshipped as the goddess of beauty and love in the ancient empire of Greece; identified as Venus by the Roman empire. She was also worshipped as the goddess of the sea and seafaring, so the coastal areas mounted a temple dedicated to Aphrodite along with Poseidon. In Sparta, Thebes, Cyprus, and other places, she was honored as a goddess of war due to her courtship with Ares, the God of War.
While Piper was relishing the tour around ancient Greece, Tristan McLean mutely followed his daughter. In the beginning, he thought she was throwing a tantrum by visiting the ruins instead of noteworthy places or spending time on a shopping spree. The more he followed her, the more he realized his daughter was enjoying her time on the tour, so he stayed silent and followed her along.
He raised his doubts during their lunch at a fancy restaurant. They ordered the chef's special and eagerly awaited to try Greece's cuisine and varieties.
"Pipes, what's the deal with visiting all the ruins of the ancient empire instead of shopping or visiting more notable places?" he asked.
"What are you talking about, Dad! They were famous places once upon a time. They are ancient relics, only to be found here. Who knows when we'll come again?" she said indignantly. "The famous places you're talking about were only built recently and won't even be around for a long period or whatever."
"I didn't find anything like Percy did either..." she told herself.
"What was that?" her dad asked. She shook her head and tried for an excuse.
"And don't call me Pipes, it's embarrassing." she pouted in protest.
Her father raised his hands in defeat. "My bad. Only young Percy can call you that, I presume." he threw her a meaningful look before burying his face in the menu. Red clouds appeared on her face before swallowing her full.
"Dad!" she whined and covered her face in shame and embarrassment.
The father-daughter had a huge disagreement while picking their next stop. Piper demanded they visit Rome, Italy while her dad suggested they visit Paris, France. Each held to their arguments and highlighted the merits of their respective locations. They finally came to a truce; visit them both by shortening the trip to Greece and moving forward.
They toured around Europe and settled their last two weeks in beach resorts they booked in Rhodes Islands. Piper stuffed her bag with souvenirs for Percy and Sally. She even picked a few for Elaine.
During the trip to the ancient lands, Piper came face to face with a lot of monsters lurking around the corners but refused to show up before mortals and stayed incognito. Piper unwittingly agreed to this unwritten rule and went off on her business but noted down their lairs and locations to warn Percy.
The first thing Piper did once they landed, a week before the new school term, was run off to Percy's home. She missed his rare lopsided smile where a single dimple winks at her, his witty quips, and the sense of security that only comes with being near him. On a whole, she missed him more than she could've imagined.
She dashed to the new warehouse after greeting and dumping the souvenirs at Sally's and by the time she reached the place, she was a mess of tears and sweat. She didn't consider running off on a summer morning and was paying her price. She panted and observed their new go-to place for practice while searching for the mop of dark hair.
She whipped around when she heard the approaching footsteps and stood shell-shocked by who appeared before her.
It was Percy, alright.
He looked beat up—scratched face, torn and wrinkled shirt, and scuffed shoes, caked in mud. There were bloodstains all over him but his eyes appeared bright and piercing. The corner of his mouth curled up in glee.
Piper took a step back—away from him—since Percy was in some kind of zone at the moment. He was like a sharp sword, just out of its sheath to display his prowess to the whole world and whoever stands in his way—irrespective of identity—would be cut down immediately.
Percy whipped his head in her direction and it took Piper's entire courage to remain at a standstill before him. His gaze stabbed at her eyes and her whole body felt a prickling sensation. Large sweat beads formed on her forehead while Percy calmly observed her.
"Oh," he said. Then averted his gaze away from her. A cold wind blew before her and Percy's eyes softened considerably before looking at her. "When did you return? How's the trip?" he asked nonchalantly.
"I-It was good." she stammered and calmed down while Percy went to grab a water bottle from his duffel bag. "I brought souvenirs too."
"Really," that perked him up. His excitement was contagious and soon she launched into a spiel of the whole tour and sneaked glances at him. Whatever it was before, Percy was normal once again and returned to being the cheerful person she once knew.
It was like he stepped into a whole new world during the summer break while she was away. When she asked what was up with him, his sheepish reply made her want to beat the crap out of him. He got into intense training with a veteran warrior, and he was being modest about it?
Once he narrated the whole story, she crawled up the walls of jealousy and threw a huge fit at him for leaving her behind and training all alone.
"You..." her hands trembled as she pointed a finger at him. "You left me and trained all alone, while I goofed on a tropical island with my dad. What were you thinking, you big dumb jerk!" she got into his face and scolded him incessantly.
Percy laughed nervously. "You made plans for the whole summer, and I can't simply ask you to break it off, right?" he appeased. "Let's go home, I want to see what you've brought me this time." he pulled her out of the warehouse, towards his apartment.
And for a whole week, she clamored at him to teach her sword fighting. Her reasoning was simple; Percy was always reluctant to let her fight monsters. If she threw a huge fit and made a racket at every chance she gets, he would eventually give in at some point.
Despite her tantrums and clamoring, Percy only agreed to teach her stuff once they stepped into their last grade in elementary school. Once the early conundrum with classes, clubs, and subjects cooled down, he officially began teaching her the basics of sword fighting.
They trained together three days a week, with Percy teaching the stances and moves to her. He made her repeat the moves for her muscle memory to remember. During their training, she learned a lot about the trainer Bill from Percy.
She looked a bit skeptical when Percy magnified the merfolk's exploits. "Is he that good? How much would you rate him on a scale of 10?"
"Pipes," though secretly pleased, she huffed at the nickname in annoyance. "We've only ever fought against monsters, who mostly depend on instincts and senses. A trained warrior in an army is the polar opposite of a savage creature. I can't rate him just like that." he went on.
"You know most of the actors in the film industry try to sabotage your dad, right?" she nodded. "From what I've heard, Atlantis seemed to be even more brutal than that. Conspiracies, betrayals, and whatnot." she raised her brows in question.
"And Bill managed to gain the trust of its ruler to train his demigod son. You get what I'm saying?" he glanced at her. "That's how good he is. Hold it." he stopped her mid-stance and crouched before her to grab her butt.
"W-what are you doing, you perv!" she jumped away, flustered, and half-glared at him.
"I'm checking your glutes, not being a perv or anything." she reluctantly approached him and let him adjust her stance, and continued their training.
The classes, club activities, and training continued at an even pace for most of the term. One month into her training, Percy started live combat lessons with some wooden swords he made. He didn't show her any mercy and pounded her to the ground during practice sessions.
She reached home with dirt smeared all over her face and clothes, almost every day. Though her body screamed in pain, she gritted her teeth and endured the hellish training session, and fully intended to complete it.
Just like every other session, they started with basic stances and delved into tough techniques and attack patterns. Piper didn't know how, but feints don't work well on her. She was somehow capable of identifying a feint before it was even launched with a coordinating attack.
"Who's there!" Percy shouted when a disturbance from deep within the warehouse came out. The warehouse was abandoned and they have been using it for more than a few months. To have another presence other than them was suspicious enough.
They both dropped their practice swords and picked up their conventional weapons. Piper hefted her spear—her spoils of war—and Percy unlatched the trident pendant. It elongated into a bronze sword with a trident pattern on the blade. It looked like a trident with small points on the guard.
They both slowly approached the deeper and darker parts of the warehouse. It was too dark for her to make anything out clearly, but Percy was always the sharper one among them. He frowned and fixed his eyes on a particular spot that was the darkest and filled with broken concrete pipelines.
He crouched to pick a pebble and threw it deeper into the warehouse. Piper listened intently to trace the location, but to her utter bewilderment, she heard faint breathing and a low trickle.
Whoosh. Something flew at her at an incredible speed. All her training kicked in, making her dodge the projectiles by a hair's breadth. They hid behind a wall and waited until the ruckus subsided. When she looked back, several broken pipelines were scattered all over the area, making the ground tremble violently.
Piper smiled bitterly. Why was their luck so terrible? Out of all the days Percy trained with the mer-hero, why did an attack happen when they were alone.
"Pipes," Percy whispered. "You go back first, I'll follow." Piper paused. Watching Percy's back facing whatever was out there alone, made her heart tremble.
"Hurry up. Don't dawdle and worry about me. I have my way." he snarled. "Go!" he said and ran in the direction of the commotion. Piper gritted her teeth and decided to run out and wait for him. But before she could follow through, the ground trembled rhythmically. Only later did she come to know that as footsteps—heavy footsteps. She couldn't make out the appearance of the creature in the shadows but knew it was big, bigger than either of them.
A faint shadow of the creature caught her sight in the darkness, slowly lumbering towards their general direction. A flash of bronze passed in the darkness and then filled the warehouse with silence.
BANG!
Another shadow flitted past her and Piper caught the sight of Percy being flung into the opposite corner of the warehouse, his condition unknown.
She bit back a scream when heavy footsteps approached her and she got glimpses of the monster's appearance. Tall and bulky, taller than both of them combined. The monster stood at nine feet tall with a massive frame to support his huge bulky arms and a wide torso. He was covered in dirty rags with unkempt stringy brown hair and a shaggy beard. One big, bloodshot eye filled with malice was staring at her with a hungry gleam.
A large wooden club wrapped in bronze sheets was hefted on his shoulder. Watching the wicked bronze club that was bigger than her, Piper realized Percy was swatted like a fly with the huge club. The Cyclops stood between them.
Fear gripped her heart but the Cyclops' voice made her blood turn cold.
"Piper, what are you doing? Put it down!" it was her dad's voice that completely unnerved her. She had kept this part of her life a secret from her. If he finds out about it now, the monsters would be after him and she wouldn't have a choice but to tell him the truth.
How will he be able to cope with the fact that her mom was a goddess, too far from his reach...
The Cyclops had plucked her dad's voice directly from her brain. For a moment, she was frozen and then it all came back to her in a rush. She knew exactly what was happening to her, and she was not ready to give in to the monster, yet.
The warehouse was stifling hot, choking the breath out of Piper's body as her body was filled with a cold sweat. When the monster brought down the weapon, she managed to dodge by the skin of her teeth, the force of the strike blew back her hair.
Her legs trembled and her body shivered in trepidation. She hefted her spear and got ready to attack, the spear looked like a nightstick before the giant. But...
"Pipes, don't move!" it was Percy's voice and she visibly relaxed once she heard his voice. As long as Percy was up, anything was debatable. She searched for him around the warehouse and took her eyes off the monster for a second.
A fatal mistake.
By the time the next attack came, Piper could only manage to raise her spear to meet it halfway. Their weapons collided and she was flung away, driving her to the nearest wall. The spear broke into splinters and the pointed tip flew at her, missing her face by a hair's breadth.
She tried to catch her breath. Her legs wouldn't move and she couldn't find her voice. It was like something heavy—fear, panic—was choking her, preventing her from speaking. She scrambled back till she reached the wall.
Alone, out of wits, frightened and weaponless, she waited as the monster lumbered over in slow taunting steps. He approached her with a wide grin—full of yellow teeth—celebrating his victory and reached out to her.
Before the monster could get his hands on her, his face morphed into a grimace and then contorted in pain. He stumbled and staggered away, turning his back to her. A deep jaded cut sliced his entire back open. A sword stuck—hilt deep—next to it.
The Cyclops let out a gut-wrenching roar of agony and hatred before erupting into a mix of yellow dust and brine solution. Being near him, Piper was covered in monster gunk from head to toe.
She was still out of it when Percy knelt beside her, "Pipes!" his voice was urgent and panicked, but she felt it come from afar. Her legs felt weak and she trembled when a gust of wind passed her.
She came to herself when Percy shook her again and stared at him in a daze. Half his face was covered in blood and his arm was bent at a weird angle. She met his eyes. Instead of pain, they were filled with fear and panic.
Why... she didn't understand!
Only after looking around in a daze did she realize that she too was in a pool of her blood mixed with monster dust. The side of her face felt hot and pain flared across it once the adrenaline had rushed out.
"Okay Pipes! Just look at me. Nothing's bad! Just a small cut. Nothing to worry about," he spoke words of encouragement while his hands moved nonstop. He tore open his clean sleeves and stopped the blood flow on her cheek. She watched in a daze as tears pooled in his eyes and his movements became erratic.
"How bad is it?" she muttered and tried to sit up straight but winced as pain flared up her arm. It was broken badly; she couldn't feel her arm other than the pain.
"Hold still! Keep the pressure," he handed the cloth to her and stood up. "Where are you going?" she panicked for a moment.
"Just to the bag. Just lay still. Don't move." he limped to the duffel bag in the corner.
Now that she was alone, the sight of her blood made her mind numb and almost made her throw up. She felt woozy and nauseous. Seconds ticked by like hours. Even her own shadow in the sunset scared her silly.
After what felt like an eternity, Percy limped over to her with his bag and fished out a small squished-up lemon square. He broke a quarter and fed it to her. Once the paste slid down her throat, the pain on her face and head eased up by a margin. He fed her another quarter immediately. The pain in her arm and head was reduced to a dull throbbing. Though the bleeding has already stopped, Percy didn't look convinced and fed the remaining half to her in one go.
Her body felt relaxed and refreshed immediately and the cut closed up considerably. She only got to relax for a moment but felt hot inside, like a burning fever suddenly set inside her. Her face and neck were flushed an unhealthy shade of red. She felt her body burn up from inside and couldn't stop the tears from falling in pain.
"What's happening to me?" she wheezed out. Percy turned pale—like he'd seen a ghost—and muttered a string of curses before tearing a considerable portion of his shirt and gagging her with it.
"Pipes, turn your face away and bit down on it." she did as told and waited. "Sorry," he muttered and Piper had to wonder what he was about to do that made him apologize in advance. She sneaked a look at him.
He placed her broken arm on his knee and brought down his elbow hard. Piper screamed into the gag and bit down on it hard till her teeth bled. Before she could kick him away, the excessive energy running rampant inside her body calmed down and redirected towards the broken arm, and began mending it.
Before long, it only left a swell.
Though she understood his actions and deeply appreciated them, that didn't stop her from cursing him, "You ass! you broke my arm. Wait till I kick your butt to next week."
Percy smiled weakly before collapsing to the ground. He panted and wheezed, his breathing ragged short and his face contorted in pain. She scolded herself for not noticing his injuries, to begin with.
"Quick, where's the stuff you fed me?" she combed through his duffle bag and fished out a water bottle. She emptied it all over him and waited patiently. A few minutes later, Percy woke up but his injuries were quite serious. Though the bleeding stopped for them, he lost just as much blood as her.
She waited patiently while he took their t-shirts to the nearby stream to clean the bloodstains. They were ripped and cannot be used, but they make makeshift casts for now. Luckily, Percy had a couple of t-shirts in his duffle bag.
For the first time since their meeting, Piper saw Percy take his shirt off in front of her. His torso was littered with jagged scars and claw marks. His usually pale skin had a bronze—with all the summer training, perhaps—tint to it.
"He sure did a number on you!" she muttered.
The last thing she wanted was to gape like a country girl who'd barely seen a boy all her life, but she couldn't tear her eyes away. Percy looked rugged, more grown-up for his age like he'd crossed the line into a different world. She still felt wobbly and blamed her thoughts on that.
They limped back to Percy's apartment and Piper called and lied to her dad that Percy came down with a heavy fever and she was going to watch over him. Both of them were absent from school the following day.
oOo
"Oh, my gods! What are you doing?" Sally shouted from the doorway to the bathroom, watching Piper cut off her hair. Percy came running from the living room and was visibly tense with the situation.
They had hidden the facts about their last attack from their parents and lied about their injuries and rested for three days. Piper didn't notice—or considered unworthy to notice—a portion of her hair missing in the last attack. The spear tip had sliced her cheek and severed her hair along with it. It remained uneven till now.
So she decided to chop it off to even them. Her hair had remained to nuisance to her during her practice too. But Sally seemed to have other ideas.
"I—I'm planning to cut it...short, I guess?" she said lamely. "It gets in between the training too.." she went on and cried indignantly.
Sally smiled fondly and shook her head. "I have a better idea. Come here." She led her to the living room and brought out bobby pins and a hairband. She braided the longest tufts into a shorter braid and clipped up the others that crossed her neckline with bobby pins.
Percy brought out a pair of scissors and offered to cut off the extra bangs that crossed the neckline and failed to clip up. Piper noticed he did an amazing job with her chopped hair. It was uncomplicated and easy to handle. She placed a hairband to cover all the pins in her hair.
Later, they made it a habit to check the warehouse thoroughly before they used it for practice. Piper practically chased him once he mentioned that the mist placed around the place tended to attract monsters for hunting.
They collected the remaining splinters from her spear and saved them as a remainder. It was obvious that Piper is as much a danger to herself as to others with a spear. They unanimously agreed to never speak of the incident. Perhaps, they might laugh it off in the future but it left a scar on their young minds along with serious injuries.
The incident completely shook them to their core and made their training intensify. Percy preferred two swords while she preferred the classic sword-shield combination. They trained their respective styles and incorporated new techniques into the sessions. They trained daily for the entire term and reached a level to be considered a threat to the monsters.
During one of the sessions, Percy proposed a new idea. "Pipes, your lithe frame is more than agile for swords. You can slip past enemy defenses and attack with a much shorter weapon." he ducked under her attack and performed a basic disarming technique on her. "These techniques require a lot of speed and agility, which you already possess." He parried her strike and threw a pair of daggers at her.
She caught hold of them and inspected them carefully. They were not your conventional type but custom-made weapons. The blade itself was some curved fang, superglued to a handle. It was light and sharp.
She fell in love with them once Percy mentioned they used to be his weapons before his sword and immediately claimed her ownership of them.
"How about bow and arrows. You know, one distracts from long range and the other goes for the kill?" she proposed the idea from the action movies she watched last week with her dad.
"I have considered this idea before, but the lack of a trainer and equipment would be our first problem. Then comes the projectiles. Arrows break way too easily and replenishing them would cost us too much. We need a cost-effective and efficient system if we do consider going for archery. What do you say?" he laid the problems bare for her.
"But archery is the only available option for long-range, for now. I don't even know any other weapon style. Let's wait for the winter break to pool our pocket money for a professional bow. Let's not think about arrows for now."
Both of them were reluctant to ask their parents about it. Since they decided to hide this side of their lives from them, they can't demand them for things needed for it either.
oOo
After an intense practice session, Piper lay on her bed—sore and tired—and let her thoughts drift all over the place. They finally settled on Percy. Everything that has happened so far felt like a fantasy dream. She had come a long way from the troubled kid who caused a ruckus to get her dad's attention, to a monster-slaying badass. She became aware of her heritage and closed the distance with her dad. Percy, Sally, and Elaine had become her family who appreciated and returned her sentiments.
With her ADHD firmly under her control, she became a good student at school, despite being dyslexic. She continued her intense training in swords and daggers and the combat studio taught her hand-to-hand combat and helped her maintain her health and shape.
At Jackson's insistence, she had reluctantly joined the music club but learned to enjoy and appreciate it. Percy even joked about her performing a few dance moves for the mother-son duo to enjoy and she agreed to join the dance club only if Percy tries out for the swim team. Under Sally's compulsion, the demigods had agreed to join their respective clubs.
All in all, she changed from a shy little girl to an outgoing strong girl.
Never in her life did she imagine being grateful for getting caught. Only because she got caught trying to steal a BMW did she meet Percy at her new school. Their first meeting left a huge unforgettable mark in her heart, which wouldn't fade anytime soon, and she wouldn't want it to either.
Percy's the best thing that has happened in my life.
With that merrythought, she drifted into Morpheus' realm.
When Piper woke up, she was on the top of the brightly lit tower and the city she recognized from her tour recently. The cityscape sparkled in the night lights. The most beautiful woman she's ever seen stood beside her. The gorgeous woman wore a red satin dress, with her hair curled in a cascade of ringlets, perfect makeup, and dazzling eyes that changed color randomly like a kaleidoscope.
Well, this could only be one person. Compared to her, I look like a pug. Piper glanced down at her pajamas—white shorts and a tank top.
"Mom?" she asked hesitantly.
"Yes, dear. I am your mother." Aphrodite let out a bell-like giggle.
"How am I here?" she stood on the observation deck and watched the city skyline.
"You're still asleep, dear. You were thinking about the boy before you slept," she winked at her, "and that made it easier for me to summon you here."
"That's okay and everything. But why Paris?"
"Don't you know, dear? This is the city of love." Aphrodite said dreamily.
Ah, of course, she would bring me here of all places.
"Is that where I got the ability to understand French?" Piper had come across some French tourists during her vacation and was able to help them locate an address. At that time, she didn't speak with them but later she tried and French came to her as easy as Greek. She didn't understand how that was possible at all.
"Of course, dear. French is the language of love. All my children are fluent in it." Aphrodite gazed at her intently, but Piper found no warmth in them. Only cold scrutiny. "On the side note, what's with the hair? Don't you have money for a proper hairdo." she chided her gently.
"It's better this way. Easy to handle. So, what would you like to talk about, mom?"
"You see Piper, I tend to leave my children unaware of their heritage till they are at least 13," Aphrodite said, just like an air hostess-business tone.
"But why? Wouldn't it be better if we learn how to fight before monsters get to us?" Piper cried out.
"Ah, and there lies the problem. Usually, my children at your age have a very faint aura and monsters tend to leave them alone. Your mortal parents' scent masks yours efficiently. Informing them would mostly ruin their lives in the mortal world." there was a tinge of sadness and helplessness in her tone.
"But couldn't you be in our lives as a mother until we reach thirteen before you reveal their heritage? All my life, I grew up without even a picture, mom." she whimpered, remembering the times asking for a non-existent mother and her dad's obvious irritation.
"Piper, you're making this difficult for me. I'd love to tend to my children too. You kids are my joy and pride. But to us gods, time is irrelevant. Our children are part mortals and your fates are always cruel and tragic. If we get attached to you from a young age..." Aphrodite trailed off, not wanting to talk to her daughter about death and tragedy at the time.
"OK, I understand your situation, mom. But I attracted monster before I even knew who I was."
"You see dear, your birth had a lot of reasons that I cannot give you at the moment. But your background as a Cherokee and a Greek demigod makes you more powerful than usual. You were fated for greatness. Usually, my children don't have ADHD but you do. So, you will be a better warrior than your siblings."
"Glad I met Percy, then. Otherwise, I would have been toast." Piper made a sarcastic comment to diffuse her mother's mood, but it backfired on her.
"As I am. Congratulations. Nice catch, though. Handsome, smart, and loyal—perfect boyfriend material. Don't you agree, my dear?"
Good gods, my mom is a huge gossip queen. How did I land here... Piper lamented internally.
"Mom! H—he's m—my best friend and more like a bro—brother to me." she spluttered.
"Like Piper. He's like your brother. You aren't siblings—to begin with—either. What's wrong with liking him?" Aphrodite chided. "And Greek is all about sibling marriage."
"Please mom, if it happens, it happens. I don't want you to bring it up again, please," she begged her.
"But my dear, you would lose precious time. Don't you want it? Don't lie to me that you don't like him. He's a rare one.." she sing-songed Percy's qualities.
"Mom...Please, please drop it." A scarlet-colored Piper begged. She wished to be anywhere but here.
"Ok, dear. If you don't want to talk about it. But don't think you escaped the subject."
"I am only ten. I don't think I need to worry about a boyfriend just yet." she reminded.
Who'd dare to come between us? She challenged internally.
"Whatever. I have a gift for you." Aphrodite pouted and changed the topic. She waved her hand in the air magically.
A simple ornament with a small heart-shaped pendant appeared in his palm. Aphrodite handed the jewelry to the godling. It was a sterling silver chain with a detachable silver locket. Piper wondered what her immortal mom will do if she ever lost a gift from her. Perhaps her thoughts were written on her face, Aphrodite giggled. "You won't!"
"What..?"
"You won't lose it. It is enchanted to always return to you. It's not a simple piece of jewelry. Try summoning a bow." Though she had a lot of questions, Piper did as she was told and imagined a bow materializing before her. A black-colored, sleek, and slender bow appeared in her hand with a quiver full of arrows hung at the end. It was the same design she'd seen in a magazine for professional users. She's been gathering funds in the last couple of months to purchase it.
"I had my husband make it specifically for you. That cripple still has some uses for things like that. Your half-brother Eros has terrorized the gods with a bow. Hopefully, you will too. And use that money you've been saving on some nice clothes, cosmetics, and some jewelry." Piper made a face at the last-mentioned item.
"One more thing. Tell your boyfriend not to bother trying his hand at archery. After Orion's mischief, Apollo had cursed the entirety of Poseidon's brood. Even if they have a natural talent—that's unlikely—they're unable to learn."
"Thank you, mom. And Percy is not my boyfriend." she protested weakly.
"Not yet, perhaps. Who knows about the future. You two make a very cute couple." Aphrodite sighed dreamily.
"Mom!" her ears turned pink. But a mental image has already imprinted in her heart.
"Whatever you say, dear. Now it's time for you to go back to sleep." the love goddess patted her head and snapped her fingers.
"Goodbye, mom." And Piper's world went black as she drifted into sleep.
oOo
"This is so cool!" Percy praised the bow incessantly. They had been agonizing over ways to get a new bow to try their hand at archery and whatever they had managed, it wouldn't be enough by the time Christmas rolled out.
Now, to suddenly obtain a mythical bow made by the crazy mechanic—Hephaestus—was flabbergasting. Piper felt bad about dousing his hopes at archery, so she stayed silent to see for herself.
Like an invisible hand directing him, Percy's every shot missed the mark by a huge margin. He couldn't even be considered a novice at archery.
"What's going on? I'm aiming correctly and my position is good. Am I missing something here?" he frowned in contemplation. Piper felt bad but relayed what she had gleaned from Aphrodite's words. He stared at her to laugh it off as a joke.
"Level with me. What you're saying is I can't use a bow to train even if I have some hidden potential?" he laid the crux of the curse bare.
"Yep," she popped the 'p'. "You're unable to learn and train even if you've got a talent for archery."
"And this is because Apollo cursed my ability to learn archery because he had an issue with some half-brother of mine three millennia ago?" He looked like he wanted to throttle Apollo barehanded.
"Yep. Sucks to be you." She teased. "Let's find something else for you to work on." she proposed and was agreed upon.
They added archery to their regular sessions without further ado and dedicated the entire winter break to target practice. No matter how much Percy tried, he failed to reach the target. His aim always went off-course.
"Hey, lower the other arm a little and keep the bow steady before you fire." Piper hit him on the head with a broken sword lightly. She had the rare chance to teach him stuff and she's having a blast enjoying it.
"Hey now, I've said it a million times," he crouched down, rubbing his head. "Say something instead of hitting me."
Piper leaned in, tapping his wrist with the handle. "You won't understand by just listening." she suppressed a smile.
"Do you think clobbering me makes things different then? he retorted.
"Humph," she smirked as a response. At times like these, their roles were reversed.
Just before the summer entered, Percy called her for a surprise and told her to meet up at the warehouse.
"Get ready for a mind-blowing event," he pompously declared.
"I don't think anything you do can faze me." she haughtily replied.
Percy leaned and took off the bow from her and aimed at the tree at the back. She snickered, getting ready to poke fun at him.
The arrow flew straight at the tree and hit the mark at the center. Piper picked her jaw off the floor and ran up to the tree. She pulled out the arrow to see if it was rigged somehow. She thought he was playing a prank on her.
"How? What about Apollo's curse?"
"It's still effective."
"Then how?" his smirk grew at her bewilderment.
He sat down and started his lecture piously.
"Remember you said I wouldn't be able to learn even if I had the potential. So, I went with the idea of the curse affecting your learning process, rather than diminishing your potential at archery." he pointed at her bow and went on.
"I drew a few conjectures to test out a theory and here we are."
"Wow, that's so cool. You somehow managed to bypass a god's curse on you." her eyes shone, looking at him.
"More like stumbled across it. Since Apollo's area of influence doesn't allow me to train, I thought 'why not practice under the other god's sphere of influence'?"
"The other god?"
"Yeah, remember we have a goddess representing archery too, so I trained with the bow we bought after sunset and it worked. Who's the boss now?"
His smug grin grew with her groan. He was insufferable.
xXx
A/N: How's it?
