Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians

A/N: I'm not sure if Nyssa's OOC or not...

Chapter 13: Nyssa ?

The fire alarm rang- shrill and deafening to the ears that was much worse than her alarm clock she had previously broken. And then repaired, because it was so easy- just tinker with the screws and add the battery and-

"Nyssa, did you burn something?" Her mom yelled, running to the room.

"Um..." Nyssa looked sheepish. "Sorry. I was testing out one of your candles and..."

Her mother looked affronted. "I told you not to play with the candles; the fire is... Different from others... But put it out."

Nyssa grabbed the nearby fire extinguisher and put out the fire which seemed to be raging.

"Did you feel anything?" Her mother asked tentatively, and out of the blue.

"Um... What?"

"Nothing. It's just, your father was good with fire..."

"My father..." Nyssa said. "Is that why he came and left? To take over your business, but then failed to do so?"

It was a new theory she hadn't thought of yet. Her mother ran a business- the one where candles were handcrafted and the fire burned uniquely to an extent that it was like magic.

She ran her fingers through her black hair, sighing. "Come, sit, and I'll order some pizza since the kitchen is out of order."

Nyssa stood up from she she was sitting. "I'll fix it," she immediately offered.

"No, no, it's fine. Just grab me the phone... Thanks."

Nyssa drummed her fingers on the table, waiting for her mother to get off the phone. When the long deal was over to which pizza they were getting, the conversation finally started.

"You shouldn't be mad at your father, Nyssa," her mother started, a gentle light in her eyes. "I'm... I was lucky to get him after all, I mean- I'm not the best looking woman in town. But that's what drew him in. It wasn't the only reason though, he said that it was inner beauty that was achieved only be few people. Inner beauty and not failures like most.

"He was a gentle man, despite the fact that he was a blacksmith... A bit gruff though... But you're not the romance type, Nyssa, so I'll get to the point. Your father is a blacksmith- like I had said, but one day his shop got in a fire. And by that time, there was a feud by his partner of his and her boyfriend.

"When he was in the hospital, his burns were severe. He had the money to pay the hospital bills but he wasn't well enough to get out of the hospital. By then, he knew I was having you, and he was miserable. He loved to build stuff, just like you, so being immobilized wasn't his favorite pastime at all.

"He said that now that he was in a hospital, he couldn't protect me from his jealous partner and her boyfriend. So he gave the money to send me far away, which is here, and told me to forget about him."

It would've been a damn good story, had it not been for the falters in her tone.

Nyssa merely nodded sullenly at the tale. "Right."

"No, hey," her mother said. "It's been years, Nyssa. My memory isn't that great... And he did ask me to forget about him, so you know..."

"Right, yeah."

The doorbell rang. Nyssa stood up and ran to the door, paid for the pizza and brought it to the table in mere seconds.

The rest of the dinner was silent. As she was eating her pizza, she thought that if her father wanted her mother to forget her, then she would do a damn good job of forgetting him.

A/N: Sorry for the overall shortness of the chapters of these stories- they're not meant to be full-fledged stories that have more than thousands of words... Thanks for all the support!

jayan0706: I actually have no idea if it was Athena or not... I was just thinking of a lady that looked like Athena, but now that you typed it, I'm not exactly sure... And yeah, I'm taking requests. I suppose I'll write about Piper in the later chapters.

musicforlife (Guest): You are very welcome!

HoOisawesome: Thank you for her description, it was really helpful- though I'm not sure if I portrayed her right at all... Also, my updating times are pretty random. The only reason they're 'quick' these past few days are because I had a lot of inspiration...

bubble4life: Alright, thanks!

lovethanfight: Oh, wow... I haven't even thought about them yet... Thanks a bunch!