Hello people of . Home you all are having a fine day. Anyways I wanted to leave a little note to any possible readers since this is my first fanfiction and I wanted to make a few things clear.
1: Update schedule will be at least once a month. If there is anything I despise about fanfiction it would have to be getting addicted to a story, only for the author to suddenly vanish off the face of the planet. I wish I could promise to update more often, but fanfiction is not exactly high on my list of priorities if you know what I mean.
2: I have a rough outline and an ending in mind for this story. However, I am free to take suggestions so if anyone feels like there is something that they would feel would better the story, feel free to make a suggestion in the comments.
3: Please, I don't want any flame or fire in the comments. Fanfiction isn't going to make or break the world, especially not mine.
Now that all of that is taken care of, happy reading :).
When one is slammed into the ground from a height of approximately one Dragon, one ought to feel pain. That is exactly what Luke felt: a searing sizzling pain that traveled from his toes to the top of his head. Though spots swarmed in his vision, he was unfortunate enough to catch a glimpse of half a dozen heads lunging toward him. The sharp, gleaming teeth and serrated tongues seemed much less frightening when he had first arrived. All things considered, it was not a bad place to die. If he ignored the warm blood seeping from his stomach, and the dragon-breath wafting toward him, then the Garden of the Hesperides was quite serene. The sky were beautiful shades of pinks, purples, and oranges, and Apollo's chariot simply floated around the horizon, never dipping below the skyline, yet never rising above it. A perpetual sunset. The grass was forever fresh and dotted with wildflowers. A burbling creek meandered through the meadow, bringing with it herds of peacocks. They pranced around delightfully, occasionally wandering over to the Hesperides for treats and pets. The Hesperides themselves were standing in a protective circle around the Apples of Immortality, glaring at him with a strange mix of disgust, disdain, and excitement (most likely at his eventual death).
If Luke tried hard enough, he could almost pretend that he wasn't here, bleeding out on the ground. Maybe he was at one of those fancy schmancy resorts, sipping on a beer, looking at the sea. There were no gods, no failed quests, no stupid golden apples… It was definitely better than being some sort of glorified godly pet. As Ladon's heads grew closer, Luke closed his eyes. The stench of the dragon was all empowering, blocking out the otherwise peaceful scenery. He flinched as something wet and slimy plopped onto his forehead and slowly slid down his face. Every single instinct in his broken body was telling him to run, flee, escape into the horizon, anything to have another chance at life. But if he went back, he would have to face the campers, Annabeth, heck he could already imagine Chiron's disappointed gaze. No… He wouldn't do it, He couldn't. He couldn't go back there and tell them that he failed. He could feel the hot wet pants of the dragon's mouths, the burning hunger in their gazes. However, he would rather spend eons slowly digesting in Ladon's stomach than return home empty handed. And so he resigned himself to his fate, and awaited his doom….
Waiting…
Waiting..
Still waiting…
Okay this is getting ridiculous.
Slowly, painfully slowly, Luke cracked open one eye. He immediately noticed three very strange events. Firstly, it was way more difficult than normal to open his eyes, while this could be attributed to the fact that he was slowly dying, Luke's limited medical knowledge told him that feeling as though you are moving through molasses is never normal. Secondly, 6 of Ladon's heads were inches away from his body, but for some reason, they were not gobbling him up as fast as possible. In fact, they seemed to be practically frozen in place. Thirdly, instead of standing protectively around the Golden Apples, the four nymphs were instead arguing with a small Latina girl, who was perched on top of the glittering apple tree. His hearing seemed to fade in and out, so Luke could only catch small snippets of their conversation.
"Get off of the tree!"
"Release him!"
"You… hardly in a position to bargain"
"Under orders… Titan Lord"
"He… been dead for a millennia"
"We… task with… protecting…. He tried to steal…."
The girl jumped down from the tree, revealing a small bronze staff she had kept hidden.
"What do you intend to do girl," one of the Hesperides shouted.
She didn't answer, instead with a practiced, fluid motion, she slammed the end of her staff into the tree with all of the force her little body could muster. The effect was instantaneous. The previously clear sky was filled with fat heavy clouds, unleashing a torrent of rain, thunder, and lighting. The peacocks and Hesperides ran for shelter, the latter of which sputtered curses at the girl. The 94 heads of Ladon that were not occupied with him pounced toward the Latina at once. Luke was certain that she was dead, but then she glanced over at him, amber eyes staring into his soul. Then before he knew it he was being carried bridal style to the gleaming gold and silver gates that marked the exit to the Gardens of the Hesperides. But as soon as his brain realized what was happening, he was laying on the hard rocky ground, staring up into the Latina girl's amber eyes. It took him a hot minute to realize that they were no longer in the Garden of the Hesperide, rather at the bottom of Mount Tamalpais, and that it was early morning instead of sunset.
Luke blinked. "Who are you?"
The girl smirked, "I suppose normally I would simply say María Morales, but I have been recently informed that the proper way to introduce myself would be María Morales, Daughter of Kronos."
Authors Note:
Hope you enjoyed, please comment and review.
