Part 2 of 4

Beauty and the Beast: The Castle

"This is your room," Chiron told him, his voice full of a genial cheer that set Percy's teeth on edge.

"You mean my dungeon," Percy bitterly retorted, peering into the dark room the footstool darted into.

"Room, dear," Maria tsked from her safe spot on Chiron's back.

"Dungeon," Percy repeated darkly as he followed them inside.

The room was as dark and gloomy as the rest of the castle. The air seemed heavy with ominous secrets and warnings, the brilliant flashes of lightning beyond the narrow window illuminating the swirling dust and casting shades of gray across the space. A cracked and worn wardrobe slumped in one corner, an untouched but pristine four poster bed in another. It was quite empty, for such a large space. An odd shiver ran down Percy's spine. His feet lead him to the window, to gaze out at the raging storm behind the jaded glass, perfectly reminiscent of the one that raged inside himself. He tapped the glass. Could he fit through this tiny window and reach the world outside?

"Your shoulders are far too wide." Maria's voice startled him and he jumped.

"Huh?" Percy asked, turning around to squint through the darkness at the teapot.

"You will not fill through the window, your shoulders are much too wide. You'd have to be a slight young maid to escape through there. You, my dear, are anything but."

Percy flushed; he hated how his thoughts were so easily read by others. He sighed and pushed away from the window, eyeing the aged bed worryingly for a moment before collapsing onto it. A cloud of dust erupted at his abrupt arrival, causing Percy to cough and sneeze.

"Bless you dear," Maria calmly called, and a moment later Chiron leapt onto the bed with his charges. Dionysus was conspicuously missing, but Lee, Maria and Nico all assembled on the footstool's back. Percy was pretty sure they were all giving him pitying looks.

"It won't be so bad," Chiron consoled, "The mistress comes off a little…strong at first but you get used to it."

"I don't want to get used to it," Percy bitterly said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. Cold seeped into his skin, the ice of the castle leaking through his thin clothes and stealing the very warmth from his being. He shivered. "Can't we light a fire?"

The furniture seemed surprised.

"Athena doesn't – " Lee started to say but Maria cut him off with a sharp bark in her strange foreign tongue.

"Lee, light the fireplace in Percy's room," the teapot commanded.

"But – "

"Lee."

"Yes ma'am," Lee grumbled. He jumped off the bed in a blur of light and hobbled to the fireplace, still grumbling to himself. They watched in silence as the candlestick slowly coaxed his flame to take to the firewood. Before long, a fire softly crackled in the room. Percy shifted on the bed, careful not to jostle the delicate Maria and Nico beside him. The fire was not large enough to warm him, but the light provided him with some comfort.

"She just needs time," Maria soothed, her low voice buzzing in the otherwise oppressive silence. "Her heart has hardened. The curse had laid upon her and this castle for long. She – we all – use to be as human as you. The curse changes a person. It has embittered her. She is rooted in her ways, even though they are the very ideas which called this curse upon us. But there is gold and treasure beneath her hard exterior. One only needs to dig with the right amount of kindness and love to find it."

Her words hung in the air. Percy almost wanted to laugh. He laid on the bed, turning to face the wall instead of his strange companions. The flame's light flickered against the wall, casting shadowy figures on the dark expanse.

"I don't believe it," he declared. "And if there is, it is buried too deep for anyone to find, especially me. Goodnight."

Only silence met his decree. Silence and the soft crackle of the firewood.

"Up and at 'em Sunshine!"

Percy jerked at the loud voice, cursing as he rolled off the bed in a tangle of limbs and sheets to crash against the cold unforgiving floor.

"That's what you get for sleeping in!"

"Lee!" Percy angrily cried, scrambling to his feet to glare at the unrepentant candlestick perched on his bed.

"Breakfast is ready," Lee innocently told him. His flame seemed to twinkled. Percy narrowed his eyes.

"How would you like if I snuffed out your light," he growled, grabbing the candlestick before he could make a getaway.

"Hey! Put me down! Not cool! We've talked about this – no manhandling the candlestick!"

"Seeing as I'm bigger then you, I think I can," Percy smugly declared. If candlesticks could scowl, this one did.

He cursed at Percy, bending over to scorch Percy's hand with his flame.

"Ow! Oh, uncalled for," Percy yelped, releasing the candlestick in surprise. Lee screamed but Percy caught him before the candlestick connected with the hard floor.

"Ah, truce?" Percy asked in the silence that followed. Lee seemed to consider it, his flame flickering as he tilted to the side.

"Truce," he agreed. "You know, you're annoying and violent, but I think I like you."

"Um, thanks?" Percy said, his brow furrowed. "And, ah, I'm normally not so violent? So, ah, sorry? Here I'll just – " he set the candlestick down on the bed.

"I appreciate it," Lee told him jovially, his good cheer returning. "Here, Maria found some clothes for you – she had Chiron lay them out on the wardrobe."

"Okay," Percy said, crossing the room to said wardrobe. Laying, folded neatly atop the worn wardrobe was a pair of fresh pants and shirt. Percy picked up the material, his eye widening as he felt their lush and thick threads. This was expensive. The kind of clothes Medusa and her family would flaunt around town in. The kind that had to be imported from far away shores, traded for with rich commodities that should never even be seen much less worn by him.

"I can't wear this," he panicked.

"They don't fit?" Lee asked.

"No, they're too – " Percy protested, holding up the garment for Lee to see.

"Too what?" The candlestick asked, his flame a cool yellow as he tried to figure Percy's meaning out. "Too black? Too long? Not your color? I'm sure we could find something else."

"Too rich," Percy interrupted.

"Rich," Lee scoffed. "They're pauper clothes. I think they once belonged to the butler. Now get dressed before breakfast gets cold. Maria will have my flame."

Percy saw no choice but to wear the clothes, least he wanted to slip back into his filthy work attire. Still, he felt like a court jester, a fool dressed up in noble's clothes for the entertainment of a king. Or queen, Percy thought with a grimace as the foreboding image of Athena and her snakes came to mind.

Lee allowed Percy to pick him up so they could walk down the corridor at a more reasonable pace. The candlestick simply could not keep up with Percy's long human legs, but he did not seem to mind as he pointed things out to his companion as they moved along.

"And there's where Dionysus fell down drunk once. Absolutely hilarious. Spilled red wine all over the Mistress' new curtains. She was so furious she dumped all the wine in the cellar out. I don't think he stopped crying for weeks."

"Ah and there's where Nico chipped himself, you noticed that last night didn'tcha? Little chunk missing on the right side? He was hurrying along these stone floors, which Chiron just waxed, and swoosh down he went. Slide right along the entire hallway, spinning and whirling, as Maria wailed and Chiron and I chased after him. It's funny now, but it wasn't then. We thought he was going to crash into something and shatter into a thousand little Nico pieces!"

"Lee," Percy interrupted. The candlestick swiveled around to peer up at him. "How old are you?"

"Me?" The flame puffed up, the sudden burst of life warming Percy's hand as its owner proudly proclaimed, "Twelve."

"Twelve?" Percy repeated, "And Nico's only ten?"

"I think so," Lee said before launching into another story, unaware of the mental turmoil in his human companion. Percy stayed silent for the rest of the trip, thinking.

"Aaaand you just missed the kitchen. Hello? Earth to the human, can you hear me? Don't make me burn you again."

"Sorry, what?" Percy shook himself and paused in his walking.

"Kitchen, just passed it," Lee jerked his, well not exactly his head but the tip of himself, towards a door they just walked by.

"Right," Percy said, backtracking and opening the door.

"Ah good, I was beginning to gather a search party to go find you," was Chiron's greeting.

"You wake him up next time," Lee snarked, "Hey, Percy, tour de la kitchen is over. Put me down!"

Percy did as the candlestick instructed and set him down on the table. Lee hobbled a way before turning and adding, "Ah. Thanks for, you know, listening. Letting me ramble. It was…nice."

"Yeah, anytime," Percy automatically replied.

Lee's flame burned brighter. Percy winced, he was probably going to regret that invitation. But, setting that worry aside, Percy peered at the loud mouthed candlestick and tried to picture the twelve year old he used to be. Could be. Had not Maria said something about the curse lasting for years? Had Lee always been twelve or had he grown up as a candlestick? The thought made Percy feel ill and he sat down.

"Tea dear?" Maria's thickly accented voice called.

"Ah, only if my cup isn't Nico," Percy hedged, looking nervously at the teacup in front of him. It did not move or speak back. He poked it. Nothing.

"It's not me," a sullen Nico assured him and the dark teacup from the night before clanked to his side.

"Oh good," Percy said. A moment later, Maria appeared on the table and shuffled over to fill Percy's perfectly normal, nonspeaking cup. He took a drink of the warm tea, humming appreciatively as it breathed fire back into his icy veins.

"Chiron, the storm last night disrupted – "

Percy's head snapped up in alarm as Athena entered the kitchen, her snakes hissing lowly. The dark glasses were still firmly in place on her face. She paused when she noticed him at the table, Maria and Nico at his elbows.

"Morning Mistress," Maria addressed. "Sit, we were about to serve breakfast."

"What is he doing here?" Athena demanded, not moving from her spot.

"Well you wouldn't let me go," Percy grumbled. Maria tsked at him before heading over to Athena's side of the table. She poured steaming tea into a cup before Athena as she spoke;

"For all his impertinence, our guest is correct. You decreed he remain, so remained he has. And we shall treat him like any other guest."

"It's been years since we've had a guest," Chiron intoned, almost wishfully from his place by Percy's ankles. Percy glanced down at him and he swore the footstool smiled at him. However that was possible.

"He is not a guest," Athena said coldly, sitting stiffly at the edge of the table. She reached out and pulled her cup of tea towards her, taking a clinical sip of it, her covered gaze resting on him all the while. It was creepy as hell.

"No, I'm your prisoner," Percy retorted, just as coldly.

Athena's snakes hissed, hundreds of little heads swiveling to brandish their forked tongues at him. "Do not test me Percy Jackson."

"Or else what? You'll make me your prisoner?" Percy scoffed. Lee made a noise from his nook at the end of the table. Nico stilled, Maria bristled.

Athena set her teacup down. The simple, slow action put Percy on edge, like the calm before a storm.

"Come with me," Athena demanded. Her voice was expressionless, a cold empty void that made him wish he never opened his mouth. Athena stood and Percy followed.

She led him out of the kitchen, down an unfamiliar hallway. Percy nervously lagged behind, unsure what this monstrous snake-lady wanted from him. Judging from last night's conversation, he should not be worried she was going to murder him…yet he was not sure. He did not know any of these people (a term he used lightly). Could he really trust any of them?

They left the castle. Percy rose an eyebrow as he stepped onto a cracked pathway, overgrown with thorny leaves and dying flowers. She took him to a courtyard, or what once had been a courtyard. The area had been badly neglected. Bushes were overgrown, swallowing up stone and metal as its foliage ever expanded. Weeds grew rampant, their deadly coiling thorns and poisonous leaves treacherously reaching out for the unguarded ankles of unsuspecting travelers.

But that is not what caught Percy's eye. Standing, disbursed thorough out the silent yard, were dozens of stone statues. Athena stood impassively at his side as Percy peered closer. The statues were exquisitely finished. Every detail was perfect. The stone carving before him was a perfect likeness of a horse. He could see every hair on its wild mane, tendrils leaping off as if rustled by the wind. He thought he could see mud on a nervously suspended hoof. The stone creature's eyes were wide, and Percy swore he could see fright in their cold gray depths.

"This is what happens to those who gaze upon me," Athena declared in a crisp, clipped tone.

"What?" Percy did not understand.

"Fool," she hissed and he froze as she slid closer, her black snakes singing promises of death as their forked tongues waged in his direction. "Have you not heard of the monster of Mykene? The one upon none shall gaze least they long for death's eternal embrace? Look at the horse, look at it! He once live like you, made of flesh and blood not cold stone. But one look at me, one glance into my eyes, and the very life was stolen from his being, converted and twisted until his life was forfeited and stone turned his limbs. This is what happens to those who look at me, Percy Jackson."

Percy stared at the horse in horror as her words echoed in his skull. He reached a disbelieving hand out to touch the horse's snout, icy cold under his fingertips. His unseeing eyes seemed to scream at Percy: run, you fool, run!

He felt rather then heard Athena move and despite himself, he flinched. He closed his eyes tight, waiting for… he was not sure. But it never came. His heartbeat pounded loudly in his ears, yet he did not dare open his eyes. His heart slowly calmed, each pound growing fainter and fainter until it settled back to a respectable thud. Silence. He dared to crack his eyes open. Gray. The horse. He opened his eyes wider.

The courtyard was deserted. Athena was gone. He glanced around, bile rising in his throat as he realized just how many stone statues peppered the unkempt lawn. He slowly walked through the overgrown grass, wide eyes taking in the stone horrors before him. A bird, forever suspended in terrorized flight sat at the edge of a dried up bath. A rabbit, her nose still twitching with curiosity, forever perched on her hind legs. A fawn, cowering and afraid, who never would find his mother. But, as Percy silently walked through this strange graveyard, there was one statue he tensely waited to find that he never saw.

"There aren't any humans," Percy murmured in the still air.

"Oh dear!"

Percy jumped at the gentle voice, his foot colliding with something hard and metal. He cursed and hobbled, and the thing he kicked apologized.

"Oh I am so sorry!"

"Er," Percy said, blinking down at the little hand shovel he tripped on. "I'm sorry too? I didn't know there were anymore, ah, talking objects. I guess I should have known better."

"Oh, you're the human that Maria brought in," the hand shovel said.

"Ah, yeah. Percy Jackson at your service," He said awkwardly, kneeling down next to the little garden utensil.

"Katie Gardener at yours," Katie introduced, and gave what almost looked like a bow. He was not entirely sure how she managed that. She turned slightly, her worn pink handle swiveling so he could see the peeling faded flowers that once adored her, "Nico be careful! You'll get caught in the undergrowth."

"Nico?" Percy called, turning around. He did not see anything. "Hey, it's alright. I just don't want to step on you or anything."

The dark teacup slowly shuffled out of a bush, his entire body seemed to droop as he cautiously made his presence know. "I was looking for Katie," he muttered, his voice barely audible over the wind.

"Oh, yes I just met her." Percy said. "Come on over, we were just having a chat."

Nico slowly made his way over and Percy sat on the ground, not caring in the slightest bit that he was probably ruining Athena's flawless garments. She loaned them to him after all.

"It's creepy out here," he admitted as the wind ruffled his hair, stirring up leaves and dirt. It swirled around the immobile stone statues, a hollow reminder of life that once was. He shivered.

"I don't like looking at them," Katie confessed in a whisper. She seemed to inch closer to him.

"Katie, how old are you?" Percy asked, repeated the question he asked the candlestick earlier. The shovel tilted her head.

"Eleven."

"Children," Percy grumbled, "most of you are children."

"Three of us," Katie agreed while Nico huffed:

"'M not a child."

Percy stared the forlorn children before him and tried to picture them as they should be: a cheerful young girl and a playful little boy (was Nico ever playful?). Percy's own childhood was miserable. His mother was too sick to properly care for him, although she tried her best. From the tender age of four, Percy took on a large portion of household chores and duties. He suffered Gabe's wrath and his blows, always away from his mother's careful eye. He bore the scars of a hard life, one of abuse and labor, tattooed on his skin at a time when he ought to have known naught but gentle caresses and loving embraces. He understood the perils of a hard childhood. His heart ached when he saw Thalia and Jason on the streets, and it ached now staring down at the children who were being denied their childhood.

"Come on, let's go inside," Percy suggested softly. "Where it's warmer. Maybe we can find Lee."

"Why would we want to do that?" Nico asked as Percy stood up and brushed off his pants. Another gust of wind cut through the air, and Percy shivered at the unnatural silence.

"So we can do something fun," Percy said, reaching down to scoop up the teacup and Katie. He cradled Nico carefully against him, mindful of his delicate nature.

"What can we do that's fun?"

That was a fair question, one Percy did not know the answer to. He would have to think about that. Playing with Jason and Thalia was easy. He could chase them around town until they were red faced and giggling and then buy them candy after. He did not exactly know what he could do to cheer up a teacup, a hand shovel, and a candlestick. They found Lee mopping about with Chiron, complaining loudly as the footstool tried to employ his assistance.

"Percy," Chiron greeted amiably as he approached the pair, "Did you have a nice little stroll?"

Percy snorted, "If that's what you want to call it. I came to borrow Lee actually if I could."

Lee straighten up, turning eagerly towards Percy. "Yeah, Chiron, our guest needs me."

"You may go," Chiron easily allowed. The candlestick gave a whoop of joy, hopping over to Percy and his armful of cursed children.

"What'ya need PJ?" Lee asked excitedly as they walked down the hall. Each hop the candlestick made clanged loudly in the otherwise deserted hallway. Instead of finding the loud clash annoying, Percy found the disturbance of the unnatural silence to be calming.

"Ah, company?" Percy tried. Which sounded a lot better than 'you three are just a bunch of kids that got caught up in some terrible curse that wasn't even met for you and I feel bad'. The candlestick looked up at him.

"Yeah it can get lonely here," he said simply, "Nico doesn't seem to mind though. Why'd you tag along Chipped?"

Percy swore the teacup glowered.

"Because I wanted him to," Percy said simply, cutting off any argument before it started. He nudged the door to his dungeon/room open and slipped inside. The fire had long since died, so Percy knelt beside it, gently placing Nico and Katie on the ground.

"It's freezing in here," Percy complained, carefully stacking firewood in the fireplace.

"You get used to it," Nico said.

"You shouldn't have to, it doesn't take that much to build a fire," Percy grumbled. "And you guys have a fireplace in every room. Hey, Lee, give me a little fire would you?"

"Coming right up," Lee eagerly hopped forward and bend over the wood, letting his flame tickle the decaying timber. As they got the fire going, Percy stood up and dragged the bedding over its ever growing side.

"Ah, Percy?" Lee asked as Percy spread blankets out and stacked the few pillows. "What are you doing?"

"Building a fort by the fire," Percy huffed. At the silence from his three unenthusiastic charges, he frowned down at them. "Don't tell me you three have never built a fort by the fire."

"Isn't that kind of dangerous?" Katie hesitantly asked.

"A little," Percy agreed with a grin. "I always got yelled at for it. Promise I won't let any of you catch fire. Come on, get comfortable."

They clearly thought he was crazy, but Katie good naturally shuffled over and laid her dirt covered head on one of the pillows. Lee shrugged and hopped into the nest of pillows and blankets, letting his flames extinguish so he could settled against the fabric without catching it on fire. Nico hovered uncertainly, so Percy laid down, making a big show out of getting comfortable. He nestled in between Lee and Katie and grinned at the little teacup.

"Come on Nico," he called, "it's warm and comfortable. Be a kid for once."

"I'm a teacup," Nico grumbled, but he wiggled his way into the pile of blankets and bodies (objects?). He ended up next to Katie, far enough away from the sharp point of her blade and near the side of Percy's head.

"That's the spirit." Percy encouraged.

"This is weird," Lee exclaimed from somewhere around Percy's elbow. The cold of his frame bashed against Percy's sensitive joint and he bit back a curse.

"It's cozy," Katie said sweetly, "I like it. I wish I was human so I could tuck the blanket around me all snug."

"Here," Percy muttered, reaching over to tuck one of the blankets around the little shovel. He felt bad for the poor kids. Being household objects could not be any fun, especially without all the luxury that come with being human. Like opposable thumbs. And faces.

"Thanks," Katie muttered. "Did you do this a lot when you were our ages?"

"All the time," Percy said. "I live on this little farm so it gets real cold in the winter. We didn't have a stove or a big fireplace to keep the house warm. There was just a little one in my mom's room. So at night, when it got cold, I would gather up all the blankets and pillows in the house and make a little bed in front of it."

He grinned at the memory. Their blankets were thin and ratty but piled all together they almost made a comfortable bed. Sally would scold him for the fire hazard, but if it was a good day and she was feeling well enough, after moving the edge of the blankets a respectable distance from the fire, she would curl up next to him. Those were the absolute best memories Percy had, of long winter nights curled up between the heat of the fire and the warmth of his mother as she told him stories of faraway places and magical kingdoms with grand adventures and brave knights.

His mom, who was sick and alone at home now, worried and afraid for her son who did not return home.

"So you just laid there?" Lee asked skeptically. "And did what? Watch the paint on the ceiling peel?"

Percy snorted, accidently upsetting Nico's precarious perch on his pillow. "Whoops, sorry there Nico. No, we would tell stories."

"What kind of stories?" Nico asked, settling in a safer space closer to Katie.

"All kinds, whatever came to mind, real stories or make believe," Percy said.

"Tell us one," Lee eagerly asked, "We never get stories."

"We're too old for stories," Nico disagreed, but the words sounded rehearsed.

"You're never too old for stories." Percy denied. "Want to hear about the time I almost burned down the local bakery?"

"Yes!" Lee said excitedly.

Percy laughed and recounted the tale, being as dramatic as possible. He had to check himself once or twice, when his gestures got too grand, as he often forgot Nico hovered at his side and was very much breakable. The ice was broken after that and the kids all took turns telling their own stories. Katie told a cute story about some time a squirrel tried to carry her away and Athena had to come rescue her from its greedy little paws. Lee excitedly recounted a time when he did catch a tapestry on fire and Dionysus tried to put it out with wine (it did not end well). Nico surprised Percy by putting in his own little tale, about a time when he was still human. It was sweet little story, about how Nico had fallen asleep outside and the entire castle was in an uproar trying to find him.

They pleasantly passed the day swapping stories. Maria brought him dinner sometime in the evening and did not look the slightest bit surprised by the nest she found.

"Just don't catch anything on fire dears," she said.

It was late evening now, and the soft breathing from the little objects around Percy told him that the kids had fallen asleep on him. Percy did not mind. He poked at the fire, stirring the golden embers that were almost extinguished. The wood had long since burned to ashes and there were no more logs waiting.

"We usually don't have a lot of firewood," came Nico's sleepy voice.

"Oh, Nico I thought you were asleep." Percy said softly, twisting around to peer down at the little teacup.

"Not tired," the teacup denied, seeming to almost shrug with his handle. "There's a large pile beside the courtyard, where all the statues are, if you want to go get more."

"I think I will," Percy said, carefully standing up without jostling the other two. "I'll be right back okay?"

"We survived for four years without you," Nico huffed. "I think I can wait a few minutes."

"Right," Percy grinned. "Be right back."

He quietly slipped out the door, and almost ran right into the wine glass lounging outside.

"Watch it Peter," Dionysus grumbled, the blood red wine swirling and in serious danger of spilling out. "You almost made me spill my wine."

"Uh, sorry, and it's Percy," Percy said, carefully stepping around the overflowing wine glass. "But, ah, what are you doing lurking outside my door?"

Dionysus grunted and avoided his question, "All three of the kids are in there right?"

"Yeah," Percy said slowly. He waited for more information but none was forthcoming. Instead, the wine inside of Dionysus simply diminished as Percy watched. "Why?" He finally asked.

"Just wondering," came the disinterested reply.

"Right," Percy said, eyeing him suspiciously. "Well, I'm going to get more firewood."

The wine glass did not reply, leaning against the wall next to Percy's door instead. With one last odd look at Dionysus, Percy headed down the hall. He only managed to take about half a dozen steps when Dionysus' voice called to him.

"Oh and Pierce?"

Percy turned, figuring the wine glass was speaking to him as they were the only two people (relatively speaking) in the hallway. Dionysus voice carried easily down the empty hallway, the usual drunken hiccupping oddly absent from his voice.

"Thank you for taking time for the kids. It's not easy, being under this curse and it's worse for them. Sometimes the others forget they're even children who should be playing and causing mischief. It's good to see them happy and doing normal children things."

"Oh," Percy said, surprised at Dionysus' attention. He had not realized the wine glass cared that much.

"Now go get your firewood," Dionysus dismissed.

"Right," Percy said with a small smile.

He set off down the hallway again, leaving behind the glow from his room and the silent vigilance of the wine glass. Bracing himself against the cold, Percy headed out into the night. The temperature had dropped dramatically, and it had not even been warm in the morning. The courtyard was even eerier at night so Percy resolved to avoid looking at the statues as he searched for the pile of wood. The cold of the night tore through the sturdy and heavy material of the finer clothes Percy wore and he shivered as he gathered up some firewood. He wondered how his mother fared back home. If Percy was cold even dressed as fine as a king, how cold must his mother be? He hoped Gabe cut up wood for the fire.

With a sigh, and an armful of wood, Percy returned to the house. The cold entrance was only marginally warmer than the elements, but at least it shielded him from the wind. And his warm room await him, with the children all curled up by the dying embers.

"You will rapidly deplete our wood supply," Athena seemed to appear from the very shadow of the castle and Percy jumped despite himself. She regarded him silently from behind the dark glasses that obscured her face. Percy tried not to shiver under the ice of her gaze, images of the still and cold statues behind them vivid in his mind.

"I can cut more," Percy said instead, determined to keep his voice steady. "It's a small price for warmth."

"Perhaps," Athena agreed. The snakes that framed her face seemed more relaxed in the moonlight. They rested their little heads on her shoulder, piles of little reptilian bodies in silent slumber. The lack of hissing was almost discerning.

"There aren't any humans," Percy blurted out. The words hung in the dark and Athena slowly turned her body towards his, a frown marring her face.

"Not yet," she said mildly. She turned her attention back to the courtyard. "The horse startled me."

Percy paused, feeling as though Athena was about to tell him something important. She seemed less…volatile then the last few times he encountered her. Almost regretful.

"I was walking through the forest beyond my castle, for fresh air. I heard the pounding of hooves of course and knew he was close. I could tell he was riderless by the way he ambled. I went to retrieve him and bring him to my castle for warmth and nourishment. But my snakes startled him and he reared. I jerked out of the way as he stood on his hind legs and my glasses fell off. He turned to stone before his hooves could even return to the ground."

"It was an accident." Percy realized. He remembered the look of terror in the horses' gray eyes. Fear of the snakes then, and not the lady to whom they belonged.

"A fatal accident." Athena said. "For all the fair intentions in the world cannot still death's hand. Do you understand?"

Percy had the feeling she was trying to warn him.

"Not everything is all doom and gloom you know," Percy said instead. "Good things do occasionally happen."

"Not in Mykene they don't. Good night Percy Jackson, your fire grows cold."

With that last statement, Athena departed, leaving Percy alone in the hallway.

"She means well my dear."

Or maybe not alone, Percy amended, looking down to see Chiron shuffle in with Maria on his back.

"It sounded like she was trying to warn me."

"And apologize," Chiron said delicately.

"Didn't sound like an apology to me." Percy said with a raised eyebrow as he started walking back to his room.

"Athena is a very wise woman," Chiron said carefully. "She is probably the wisest woman in all the lands. It is her pride that gets her into trouble. And her pride will not allow for an apology so she tried to explain her behavior. Thus, the story of the unfortunate horse."

"Oh," Percy blinked. That made sense actually.

"She needs someone who can teach her to let go of her pride," Maria spoke. "To teach her that somethings are more important than pride and that sometimes emotions are greater than wisdom."

"Sounds like a challenge," Percy said, not rising to the bait. "And what do you know, this is my dungeon. Thanks for the chat but I've got a fire to tend to. Hey, Dionysus, thanks for holding down the fort for me."

The wine glass was empty by now and leaning almost bent against the wall, snoring loudly. Percy was not fooled by his drunken antics anymore; Dionysus had been watching. He gave a rather loud snore at Percy's words, probably to cover a snort and the human slipped inside his door and shut it before either Chiron or Maria could say more.

Lee and Katie were still sound asleep, but Nico hovered close to the dying embers.

"Took you long enough, did you get lost?" The little teacup asked.

"Ran into Athena," Percy shrugged, depositing his load of firewood. He rebuilt the fire and stroked the embers. "Maria and Chiron seem to think she was trying to apology in some twisted way."

"Maybe, I think she did feel guilty." Nico said, much to Percy's surprise. "She's almost acting the way she did after…"

Nico did not finish the thought, but seemed to gaze (as much as one could when one did not have a face) at the little fire Percy coaxed to life.

"After what?" Percy pressed, staring curiously at the child at his side.

"After Bianca died," Nico said in the littlest voice.

Percy sat down, staring at the miserable little teacup. He got to overwhelming urge to hug the poor kid, but well, Nico was a teacup and he doubted he would have appreciated it even if he was a boy.

"Who was Bianca?" Percy asked gently. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." He added when Nico did not reply right away.

"She was my sister."

Oh. Percy sucked in a breath, staring pitying at Nico.

"Was she human or …?"

"She was a teacup, like me," Nico miserably replied. "Only she was prettier. Not so dark. There were little fruits on her side, I think Mama said they were pomegranates."

Percy did not like where this was going, but he waited for Nico to say more. The little teacup sniffled.

"We were just playing. Hide and seek, like we use to when we were human. I thought it was would be funny so I hid in the china cabinet. Bianca climbed up to get me. But I was so high and she lost her balance. She slipped."

Percy's eyes widen in horror.

"She fell." Nico seemed to shake, the reflection of the flame flickering brightly on his dark porcelain. "She fell and she broke. Shattered."

He sniffled again.

"Athena was real quiet after that. She very carefully swept Bianca up and tried to repair her. We collected most of the pieces and Athena spend many long nights gently putting her back together. But they were just shards of porcelain. My sister was gone."

Nico swayed a little and Percy could not resisted reaching out and placing the teacup on his knee, trying to offer whatever comfort he could. Percy did not even know how to respond to that heartbreaking story. Nico sniffled again and leaned against Percy.

"Katie keeps telling me if the spell is ever broken Bianca should come back but I know she's wrong. My sister's dead, and even the reversal of this curse won't bring her back."

"Reversal of the curse?" Percy repeated. "The curse can be broken?"

"So Mama and Chiron claim," Nico hiccupped, snuggling into Percy's side. "But Athena doesn't think so."

"Nico, can you tell me about the curse?" Percy asked softly.

He did not want to upset the little teacup anymore, sadly nestled in Percy's side, but if the curse could be broken then maybe Percy could help fix it. So Nico and Lee and Katie could be kids again. So Dionysus could watch the children play again. So Athena would not stonify anymore unsuspecting creatures.

"Athena is very smart," Nico said, his voice muffled from his spot against Percy's shirt. "Maybe the smartest person ever. And she used to boast about it all the time. We got a lot of visitors here at the castle, people from all over the world who wanted to learn from Athena and use her library. If they donated a book, Athena would let them in. As she got older people starting challenging her. To chess competitions, debates, mathematical equations, everything and anything. And Athena could win them all. The King himself came to visit Athena once, and brought with him an entire cartful of books. She was so pleased.

"Mama said Athena was so happy then. She would hold herself all high and stuff, Chiron says it's called poise and grace. When she went to town, everybody would go out of their way to make her happy. Kiss up, like it would make a difference to Athena. She could see right through them, and sometimes – " Nico gave a hollow laugh – "she used to go off on them. She'd lecture them right in the middle of the town square, so everybody could watch their shame. And one day she confronted this one girl. It was the daughter of some aristocrat. They say the girl was super pretty, one of the prettiest girl in all of France.

"She thought her beauty made her better than other people. Even as a human, Athena was not beautiful. I don't really remember what she looked like before, but Mama says she was pleasant to look at. Just not, you know, pretty. I think someone once called her pretty in a simple, plain way. Athena did not care, she valued knowledge above all else anyway and her wisdom brought people from all over the country. Until one day the beautiful girl claimed that her beauty made her even better than Athena. And, well, you can imagine how well that went over."

Percy imagined Athena, losing her temper over Percy's simple insult at her name and grimaced. Yeah, he bet that did not go over well at all.

"She insulted the girl in the front of the whole town, like she had with so many people before. She figured out all the girl's insecurities and her secrets and she just rattled them off for everybody to hear. The girl was horrified. She ran off crying. Mama told Athena she shouldn't have done it. The girl's father was a powerful man. But Athena did not care. It stormed that night, a terrible heavy storm, and someone walked out of the thunder and lightning. It was the witch of Montauk."

"We have a witch?" Percy said, confused.

"Mama thinks we have more than one, but I don't know. I thought you lived in Montauk?"

"I do, but I only moved here a little while ago," Percy said, blinking. "I've never heard of any witch."

"Or maybe you just weren't paying attention," Nico snickered. Percy was glad to see his humor returning. Sad Nico was not one he knew how to deal with.

"Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah. The witch appeared. Athena took her to her study to talk. I don't know what happened, Athena doesn't really like to talk about it. All I know is that Mama and Chiron overheard the witch shouting about how Athena's hubris would be the downfall of herself and everything she held dear, and that if she didn't open her heart and understand how compassion and love could overrule logic then her fate would eternal."

"Then suddenly, everything looks so big and I felt funny. And well – "

"You turned into a teacup."

"I turned into a teacup," Nico grumbled. "A stupid little fragile teacup."

"None of that," Percy hushed, picking the teacup up and setting him down next to the slumbering garden trowel. "You're a very important useful teacup who needs to go to sleep."

"You're annoying, you know that?" Nico asked, but he settled down in the bundle of blankets.

"Yeah I know," Percy whispered, laying down next to the fire.

The flame flickered in the silence, casting warm oranges and reds across the room. His room did not seem as cold or sinister as the night before. Percy stared at the ceiling, mulling over the information Nico gave him. He felt terrible for the poor kid.

Could the curse be reversed? Percy wondered. He did not know the first thing about witches, but weren't they kind of unreliable? And what did that whole bit about 'understanding how love and compassion could overrule logic' bit even mean? Vague. He wondered if he should bring it up to Athena tomorrow. Sure, she was kind of terrifying, but after Nico's story Percy almost felt bad for her.

She had spent the last four years with snakes for hair and a gaze that literally turned people to stone. She lost all her fame, her reputation. Percy had never even heard Athena's name whispered in town. Had the world completely forgotten about the wise young mistress of Mykene? (Then again, Percy had never heard of a witch of Montauk before so maybe he was not the best judge.)

The fire crackled softly. His eyes only half-open, Percy almost thought he saw the shadow of a person under his door. Feet lightly ghosted across the floor and hovered uncertainly, a hand reached for the handle. They vanished a moment later and Percy let sleep take him, sure he was simply imaging things.

A/n Hello lovelies, I have three papers due next week so I'm a little worried this chapter isn't as meticulously edited as usual, but I wanted to post it anyway. I will review it again next week and fix anything I missed. I am a firm believer that Dionysus actually really cares for kids but steadfastly pretends not to. And isn't teacup Nico the cutest and saddest thing ever? I want to hug him.

Also, I have entered my story 'From Amidst the Darkness' in a writing competition over on inkitt. It would mean the world to me if you would check it out :) It can be found at / stories / 34735

Thank you to all you lovely people who favorited, followed, and reviewed. Honestly, I can't say this enough: I love you. All of you. You're amazing. As always I hope you enjoyed ~ *