When we were travelling around during our teens I liked to bug Hazel, just to see what reaction I could get out of her. It was pretty stupid and immature I guess, but I had fun (what better argument could you want). Now I see that its all fun and games until you sentence her boyfriend to death, because she will literally try to kill you. Hera could watch from above all she wanted, but it wasn't long until Hazel would burst into Mount Olympus herself and force Hera to help Frank. The days following our discovery of Hera's punishment to Frank we tried to find some way to get through to her.
It seemed at first like we could find some plot whole in the chain's curse, but as the days went by it seemed more and more likely we would have to just go to New York and see Hera herself which I was reasonably against. Annabeth was still looking for Reyna, and I hadn't talked to her in days. I was getting lonely, especially considering Hazel rarely let a word escape her mouth. I watched her become more and more stressed until finally she cracked in the most Hazel like way I knew possible.
I was asleep in my room one night, surrounded by piles of books I had been using to research when I felt movement beside me. My hand instinctively reached for Riptide, which I kept under my pillow at all times. I was waiting to strike when I felt a cold hand on my head. Taken aback, I opened my eyes to find two eyes staring back at me. I clicked riptide and turned, quickly gripping the owner of the two eyes, and pulling them on the ground. I held my sword at their throat, until finally I turned the person around to find a distressed Hazel staring back at me.
"Hazel?" I asked, releasing my grip hastily. Her eyes were hollow, but dripping with regret.
"It's only me." She said, wiping her rumpled clothes down. I looked at riptide in my hand, dropping it on the ground and shaking my body to keep it awake. "Thanks for not stabbing me." She said, picking up a bag she had dropped on the ground.
"Thanks for not giving me a reason to." I mumbled, to which she gave a sad smile, and turned, walking out the door. "Why are you here?" I asked, following her out the door. I was careful not to close the door and lock myself out (again).
"I'm leaving- going to Mount Olympus." She said, and I raised my eyebrows, trying not to give away to much information. If I tried to stop her, it would nly encourage her.
"Don't look at me that way." She said, shrugging me off. Obviously my attempts at concealing emotion were unsuccessful.
"What way?" I inquired, and she sighed.
"Like I'm stupid." She replied, and I tried to look shocked. She rolled her eyes- facial expressions aren't my strong suit. "Look Percy- I'm sick of sitting around just waiting for Frank to die. We're not going to get anywhere with a plan. Hera is one of the Gods- we cant blackmail her, we can only beg." She said.
"Ok- I'm sorry I lied and said we could make a great plan. Annabeth has always made the plans, not be- but what are you going to do? You can't just walk into Mount Olympus and beg. Hera is cruel- she'd want nothing more than to give Frank what he deserved." I explained, but Hazel shook her head, a tear sliding down her cheek.
"Hera may be cruel- but she's not crazy. What about the other God's-Zeus, Poseidon and my dad. Hades wont let his daughter's boyfriend die because of some petty problem Hera has with Camp Jupiter." She said, and I look at her. In a way her plan is full-proof. If Hera wont give us what we want, the other Gods are bound to take pity on Hazel. I'm sure my dad wouldn't let Hera hurt one of my friends, especially one that helped save the world from Gaia.
"So- if you don't mind-" Hazel said, tugging at the bag I had grabbed to try and stop her leaving.
"Wait-" I said, to which she rolled her eyes.
"For goodness sake Percy- let me go."
"Calm down- let me get my stuff." I said, running inside and packing what I strewn around my room.
We started by catching a bus outside Camp Jupiter all the way to the airport. I wasn't sure about taking an airplane, especially as Zeus might not have been in the greatest mood. Whenever we were starting something, there was bound to be a storm of some sort. Hazel insisted it would be safer then by Pegasus, which I wasn't sure about. Often plane was faster, but today wasn't one of those days, and I guess she probably wanted some time to process what we needed.
"Good Afternoon and thank you for flying with us this morning." The flight attendant said, and those flying on the plane all quieted down. "The flight to New York is scheduled to take 5 hours, and we should be touching down at JFK airport at 11am local time. We hope you enjoy your flight, and we ask that you please direct your attention to the screens fitted to the seats in front of you as an emergency video will play in just a few seconds. Thank you." The lady said, and sure enough the video played aloud to bored passengers in the plane, wanting the video to end so that they could resume watching whatever show they had started. I looked over at Hazel, to find her popping a sleeping pill in her mouth.
"You seem on edge." I said, and she glared at me.
"Excuse me if I don't like plane rides." She said, and I shrugged, looking at the pretty attendant doing the safety instructions, but stopping myself knowing Annabeth would kill me if she saw me. "Sorry" Hazel apologized, and I nodded. Soon we were in the air, and Hazel was asleep on my shoulder. I uncomfortably shifted out from under her to go to the bathroom. I walked through the tiny pathway and passed many families. Some were screaming babies and others were young couples my age, watching TV screens avidly together. My stomach gave a jolt as I thought of Annabeth, wishing they were us.
I passed a few more rows, before a pair of familiar green eyes locked with mine. I looked away, but did a double take. When I looked back however, the black eyes were shielded by a mask of blond hair. I tapped the shoulder of the girl I had seen, only to find it was not who I thought it was.
"Sorry- thought I saw something…" I said, walking away slowly, trying to shake the feeling that I knew the eyes of someone on this plane that wasn't Hazel. I continued to the bathroom in a haze, and when I was finished I still couldn't quite take in what I had seen.
That's when someone walking past bumped me. The person was in such a rush, she practically bowled me over. "Sorry" she mumbled, not looking up and trying to pass at a faster rate.
"Hey-" I said, impulsively grabbing her arm and she reluctantly turn. The black eyes I had seen before turned to greet me, and I took a step back, shocked. "Reyna?".