Well, hello all! Been a while, haha... Sorry.
Yeah, I had meant to get a story out this past weekend, but I hadn't gotten it proof-read yet. Well, not this one. I have the end to the last arc, what I'm calling the Twisted arc (I'm so punny!), but I decided to wait to post that one. Because I am such a horrible person, you know? No, it was actually because this needed to get out first. It just did. Trust me.
So, this is just a cute little thing I wanted to write for reasons you will soon find out. I hope to get another story out before Easter, but seeing as I haven't even begun on the Easter special, it is highly unlikely. Sadly. But I will try! If I'm going to write it, it also has to get out before the last part of the Twisted arc... You will understand when you read it, okay? So... Yeah. Be patient.
Warning: Teeny tiny mention of blood, sort of. Not really. Oh, and super cute.
Disclaimer: Percy: Hey guys, me and Annabeth are here to give the disclaimer.
Annabeth: Annabeth and I.
Percy: What? Oh... Oh, yeah, right. Sorry, grammar nazis. Annabeth and I are here to give the disclaimer.
Annabeth: Fantasy does not own rotg or Percy Jackson–
Percy: But she does own all of her OCs, so ask if you want to use them!
Annabeth: Enjoy the story!
Percy: And don't get killed by any monsters! Or dragged into a prophecy! Or anger any gods!
Annabeth: You do realize you're being hypocritical, right?
Percy: Yeah...
~*~*~*...*~*~*~
It was dark. Not the dark that night brings. No, this was the kind of dark that wrapped around you, covered you completely, drowned you in its depths. Aaron could see absolutely nothing. His eyes wouldn't adjust because there was no light to adjust to. It was pure blackness.
A light flashed to life in the middle of the room, and Aaron looked away, shielding his eyes from the sudden brightness. It was an amazing contrast to the world seconds ago.
As Aaron's eyes adjusted, he opened his eyes and blinked at the world around him. And was greatly surprised by what he found. He was in a room, and though it must have been large already, the mirrors covering the walls and ceiling made it seem even bigger.
He slowly turned, taking in the room. A laugh caught his attention, and he spun around to face what looked to be a little girl, though he couldn't make out her face. It was covered by a shadow. He expected to see her reflected in all the mirrors like him, but she wasn't. Instead, she almost looked like she was... Well, it seemed like she was both inside a mirror and standing in front of him, but her reflection didn't show up in any mirror. Whether in the mirror or not, she was facing him.
Under the shadow, he could see her face contorting into a wicked smile. Another laugh escaped her mouth, and Aaron saw a flash of metal in her hand that he recognized all too well.
It was a knife.
She began laughing again, even louder, and Aaron realized the laugh was maniacal. Suddenly, her image appeared in every mirror, all facing him, all watching him wickedly. Her laugh echoed across the room from a million mouths. The original lifted her knife and took aim. Aaron tried to move, but his feet were stuck to the ground. He tried to scream, but no noise would escape.
He could do nothing as the girl through her knife with deadly accuracy.
Aaron sat up quickly with a yelp, breathing quickly, and his head came into contact with something hard. He yelped again and fell back down, but not before hearing a cry of pain from the object he hit. He moaned and rubbed his head for a moment, before opening his eyes, which had closed with the pain, to try to figure out what he had hit.
"Ow, Aaron! What was that for?" Violet complained, holding her nose, which was leaking blood sluggishly. It didn't look bad, but it didn't seem that that mattered to the girl.
"Payback for breaking my nose?" Aaron supplied, still rubbing his head and glaring at the girl. She glared back and crossed the arm not holding her nose across her chest.
"Oh, I'm so sure. Because you would totally think of that while asleep." She argued, and Aaron felt a little bad. Not enough to really care, but a little bad.
Aaron frowned as he remembered his dream. The reaction had been his flight-or-fight instinct that followed his dream. He'd woken and reacted by trying to get away from the danger. It was instinct. He hadn't meant to hurt Violet. In fact, he hadn't even known she was there. But that dream...
What was it all about? It was the weirdest thing he'd ever dreamed, nightmare or not. What was with all the mirrors, and why did she look like she was coming out of the mirror? No, not coming out of the mirror, literally inside the mirror. He tried to recall her face, but he knew he wouldn't he hadn't seen it past the shadow that fell over her face.
"Did you have a nightmare?" Violet blurted out, her glare turning to a worried gaze.
Aaron's eyes snapped up to meet Violet's, and he knew she could see the surprise in his eyes. He stared at her for a moment before sighing and looking away.
"It was nothing." He promised, attempting at a smile.
She huffed, shaking her head. "Obviously not, not with that wake up." She paused, biting her lip. "You can tell me about it. You know, if you want to. You don't have to."
He shook his head, pushing himself into a sitting position. "It's not that I don't want to. It's... Well, I don't really know if I can explain it. It was a bit... Weird. I really just want to forget it."
Violet watched him for a moment more before nodding. "Alright. But you need to tall me about it soon. The only reason I'm not bugging you is because of what today is."
Aaron's eyebrows furrowed. "What's today?"
Violet scoffed, but didn't answer. Instead, she tossed him a shirt from the closet he'd stocked up at Bunny's Warren (that's where he usually stayed nowadays because Violet had insisted, and he usually slept shirtless. No, he didn't feel embarrassed when Violet saw him shirtless. They'd been through enough together by that point that it didn't really matter, plus she was a sister to him) and a newspaper from what looked to be France. "Get dressed. Really, I can't believe you forgot." With that, she walked out the small dugout that was his room.
He frowned and pulled on the shirt, then opened the newspaper to see what this was all about. He had a talent with languages, seeing as love was an international thing. He smirked as he saw the day.
"Ah, that would explain it." He said to himself as he refolded the newspaper and set it on his nightstand. He made sure to take as much time as he could brushing his teeth and getting ready for the day. When he finally opened the door, he'd managed to make Violet wait for about a half hour. He made his way through the Warren to the main dugout slowly, knowing that's where Violet and breakfast would be.
He was right, finding both waiting for him, his breakfast of eggs, bacon and pancakes looking very tasty, Violet looking very annoyed as she finished her breakfast of hot chocolate, fruit, and french toast. Her nose had stopped bleeding, though she had a pile of napkins next to her just in case it decided to annoy her again.
"Hello, good morning." Aaron said nonchalantly, plopping into his chair and beginning to eat. It was about nine o'clock, which meant Bunny was already up and working on whatever he had planned today in the Warren. Of course, he expected that the oversized rabbit would still find time to meet up with the two.
Violet glared at him, foot tapping the ground. "Seriously? You had to take extra long just to annoy me? I have a lot planned for today!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.
Aaron smiled sheepishly, knowing he had been a child. But it had been fun, and he knew she would still get everything in. "I'm sorry, I really am excited to see what you have planned."
Violet rolled her eyes, but Aaron could tell she wasn't really mad at him. "I'm sure you are. You have a horrible way of showing your excitement. You're lucky I'm so forgiving."
Aaron's smile softened. "I am. I'm just plain lucky to have you as a friend."
Violet smiled at him, reaching out to take his hand. "Happy birthday, Aaron." She said, squeezing it. "I can't believe you're turning 300."
Aaron smirked, squeezing her hand back. "It sounds so old when you say it out loud." He said, chuckling.
Violet giggled and nodded. "It's much older than me, that's for sure." She teased, face lit up in a smile.
Aaron rolled his eyes and pulled his hand away, taking a big bite of his pancakes. "You're the one who's friends with me." He returned after swallowing his food.
Violet gave a fake glare and pointed at Aaron's food with her fork. "Just eat your breakfast, boy. I have plans."
He almost choked on his glass of orange juice as he laughed, snorting a bit out his nose. Violet burst into laughter as Aaron grabbed a napkin, gagging and glaring at the girl. After that, they continued a light conversation as they ate. When they finished, they went to clean up the dishes, Aaron washing and Violet drying. It took longer than necessary to finish the chore, probably because they got into a slight water-and-dishtowel fight in the middle of it, which ended up making them a complete mess, Violet especially. When they finished, she made a quick trip to her room to change out of her wet clothes, returning with a pair of jean capris and a nice yellow shirt. She didn't waste any more time, quickly grabbing Aaron's hand and dragging him down a rabbit hole.
They popped up in the middle the Champs Élysées of Paris. Aaron had to laugh, because obviously Violet had gone into great detail planning this, what with giving him the French newspaper earlier. She grinned at him, proving his theory correct.
Aaron had been to Paris many times before. It was sort of his city, being deemed the city of love and all. But he enjoyed the place and loved to visit. Violet knew that, and she had apparently decided that his favorite city was a better place to visit than any other on Aaron's birthday.
They walked down the street, dodging around people and peering into shops. They slipped into a cinema at one point of time and watched a movie, one which Aaron knew well. Violet didn't understand a word of it, what with it being in French and all, so Aaron translated as it went, saying the words at the same time as the actors. Every once in a while, he's accidentally stop translating and speak the same language as the actors, and Violet would reach over and whack him on the arm, pouting and looking absolutely adorable. Aaron would laugh and return to translating until he accidentally did it again.
It was noon by the time the movie was finished, and they decided to move on to other attractions. Violet dragged him to The Louvre, and he happily let her. The Louvre was one of his favorite places in Paris because of all the art. Most people just saw them all as famous, but he easily saw the actual beauty in it all. Violet asked him a consistent string of questions about the art, and he didn't even have to think as he answered.
"Oh, what's that one?"
"That's Madonna of Chancellor Rolin. An oil painting dating back to 1435, it was created by the Earl Netherlandish master Jan van Eyck. Nicolas Rolin, chancellor of the Duchy of Burgundy, commissioned the work. On the left side is his votive portrait, and on the right is the Virgin and her child."
"And that one?"
"The Wedding at Cana. It was painted in 1562 by the Mannerist Italian painter Paolo Veronese. It depicts the the first miracle of Jesus in the Gospel of John; the transformation of water into wine. See, he has the wine, and you can see signs of the other miracles all around as well. There's the paralytic man, and there's the woman who couldn't stand straight, and there's Jesus. He is the only one looking directly at you. This is the biggest painting in the Louvre."
"What about that one? The naked statue over there."
"That's not very specific. Almost all of the statues are naked."
"Why is that?"
"It was the style of the ancient Greeks. They took an interest in learning and innovation, and that included the anatomy of man."
"... That's weird."
"Isn't it, though?"
They laughed about that and continued on, and Violet seemed to like the Christian paintings more than anything else. She told Aaron when they left that The Wedding at Cana had been her favorite, not just because it was so big, but because of all the detail and hidden elements. Not to mention its beauty and color.
It was late afternoon by that time, so Violet pulled him to the most famous attraction in all of Paris: The Eiffel Tower. He laughed at her antics, they he couldn't argue that the amazing piece of architecture was quite the site to see, especially at night.
They grabbed some crepes from a street vendor on the way, Violet with a chocolate-stuffed one and Aaron with a strawberry-stuffed one. Aaron laughed and choked on his crepe as Violet freaked out about how good hers was and ended up stealing another from the next vendor, this time stuffed with honey. She had the same reaction, claiming the second was better than the first.
By the time they arrived at the Eiffel Tower, it was dark, they'd finished the crepes, and the Tower was lit up. Violet stopped and stared with a gaping mouth, and Aaron laughed so hard that he was bent over, clutching his stomach. Violet dragged him up the steps of the pointed structure, dragging him all the way to the top floor, only stopping to gaze at the city below.
Both had their breath taken away as they stared down from the highest floor they could reach.
"Why have I not come here before?" Violet murmured, placing one elbow on the railing and resting her cheek against her hand. Aaron leaned against the railing next to her, smiling softly as he gazed at his city below. He's been there dozens of times before, but he was still taken aback by the sight. No matter where you went, nothing would compare to this.
Violet pulled away suddenly, grinning that grin that made Aaron's hairs stand on end. "I want a higher vantage point." She decided, grabbing his hand as she pulled herself onto the railing, trying to pull Aaron up as well.
"Are you mad?!" Aaron exclaimed, trying to pull away. "I'll fall, and even if my immortality miraculously saves me, I'll be bed-ridden for life!"
Violet stopped and stared down at Aaron, her face completely serious as she met his eyes. "Do you trust me?" She asked.
It was a simple question. Wasn't it always? Do you trust me. It was a yes, or it was a no. But there was so much held in it. He trusted her normally, yes, but with his life? But the question wasn't, do you trust me right now? It was, do you trust me? Yes, of course, she was his best friend, his sister. But he couldn't fly, not like her. If he fell, she wouldn't be able to catch him in time to save him. But he did trust her.
He trusted her with his life.
"I'm going to regret this." He muttered to himself, before taking a deep breathing, closing his eyes, and letting her pull him up.
He felt the wind pushing against him, trying to make him tumble to the earth, to his death, but Violet hooked her arm around his waist and held him tightly. "Don't worry, I won't let go." She said softly. "It wouldn't do for you to die on your birthday." This brought out a small laugh, though a nervous one.
"Open your eyes, Aaron. You have to see this." She added after a moment of silence. He shook his head, but he could feel his eyelids betraying him as they slowly slid open.
He almost fell over as he saw the ground dozens of miles beneath him, not even protected by a railing. He might have said a few obscene things in that moment as he flung his arms around Violet, clutching her for dear life. She must laughed, and then did something that caused Aaron's heart to drop into his stomach.
She jumped off the edge.
Later, Aaron would deny the fact that he screamed. He would say he merely gave a yelp of surprise, but scream? Never. Truth was, he screamed like a madman was chasing him through an abandoned house, a knife held in his blood-stained hand. He screamed bloody murder, and Violet just laughed as she flew them up to the very top of the Eiffel Tower, right next to the point (because both of them couldn't balance on the very tip top of the point, and Violet wasn't willing to test Aaron and gravity that much).
She landed, still holding onto a screaming Aaron who was clutching her for dear life. "Happy birthday!" She said in an overly cheery voice.
Aaron may or may not have yelled a few more obscenities.
It took a bit for the boy to calm down, but eventually Violet got him settled on the ground, protected from the billowing wind by the point. When he was done freaking out, Aaron had to admit that it really was amazing this high up with nothing blocking his view. There was no metal separating the city from the sky, and it was absolutely amazing.
The two sat in companionable silence for a while, Violet being careful not to bring a return of Aaron's wrath. Smart girl, Aaron thought. He may think the scene was beautiful beyond reason, but he wasn't going to let Violet get away with scaring him like that. Not trusting her ever again.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Violet suddenly exclaimed, shifting to grab something from one of the pockets of her jeans. Aaron craned his neck to see what it was, and was surprised to see a tiny snow globe in her hand. She moved onto her knees and threw it at the metal beneath her. A small portal appeared, and she reached her arm in up to the elbow, tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth as she dug around. Finally, she pulled out an object wrapped in paper, laying it out in front of Aaron as the portal disappeared.
Aaron stared at it for a moment, then looked up at Violet. She raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, go on, open it!" She urged, pushing it into his hands. He smirked at her, but did as told.
The strings that held the paper in place were tied loosely, and it took only a few moments to pull them all free and pull the paper back. The gift hidden beneath had him staring with a gaping mouth, not sure if he should be annoyed or overjoyed. Gently, he picked up the intricately carved wooden bow, turning it in his hands, unable to think of anything to say.
Upon seeing his reaction, Violet was quick to defend herself. "I know you don't like all that Cupid stuff, but I just thought, you know, maybe you could give it a new image. I mean, I know you hunted in your past life, and I've seen you practicing at the Warren during your free time, and you always borrow one from Bunny, but I thought you might like having your own, you know? There's a matching quiver too, but Bunny told me to leave that back at the Warren because it'd be easier, and he thought this was a good idea too because you don't have anything to defend yourself right now, and-"
Aaron reached over and covered Violet's mouth, effectively stopping her nervous rambling. "Violet." He said with a laugh and a grin. "I love it."
Violet's face lit up and she pushed his hand away. "You do? Really?"
"Of course!" Aaron turned the masterpiece in his hands, examining the carvings. It was a beautiful dark brown color, shining from never being used. There must have been magic involved in its making, because the animals and trees carved into it were moving; wolves howling at the moon, trees waving in the Summer wind, fish leaping in rivers as bears tried to catch them. It looked like it was alive, and it was beyond amazing. Nothing to do with all that stupid Cupid stuff, and absolutely perfect in Aaron's eyes.
"It was a bit difficult to make." Violet explained shyly, brushing hair out of her face as she watched Aaron examine his gift. "I had to get some help from the Guardians. North did most of the crafting, but Bunny did the really detailed carving. Tooth, Sandy and I found the wood, wool for the string, and magic to use. I really don't know how it all came together, but it did, so..." She paused, biting her lip. "You really like it?"
Aaron had to peel his eyes away to look at Violet, his face absolutely shining. "Violet. This is amazing! Seriously, I can't believe... Is this really for me?"
Violet's face lit up and she nodded vigorously. "Yes, of course! I think it's actually a gift from all of us because we all worked on it, but they said that it was my idea, so it's from me and me alone. But I say it's from all of us."
Aaron grinned at Violet and pulled her into a tight hug. "It's perfect. Thank you so much." He pulled away and looked her in the eyes, unable to wipe the smile from his face. "Today has been absolutely perfect, and this was the perfect ending. Seriously, thank you."
She smiled and moved so she was leaning against the point again. "You're welcome. I know you enjoying telling people about your city, so... I'm just glad you liked it."
After that, they didn't stay anything else. They just sat watching the city in its night life until they deemed it time to go home.
From that day forward, Aaron always had that bow. It became another part of him. He rarely even noticed it was there, it was just so natural. Violet lit up every time she saw it, and was completely overjoyed that he liked it.
Everyone who saw the bow just thought he'd had it since he was chosen. He was Cupid, after all. It would make sense.
No one ever looked close enough to realize it depicted animals and plants, not love. They never even thought that maybe, possibly, it was a gift from his best friend.
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So, what did you think? Isn't it so sweet? Now Aaron has his bow, and you know how he got it! And he has even more background... I'll have to do something about his past life sometime...
So. No reviews. Was it really that bad, or was I just gone too long? I'm sorry for leaving, but hello! I'm back! At least leave me some hate. Seriously, I love hate mail! Please, hate on me! I know you'll want to soon, so start early!
Also, I don't remember what I asked last chapter, but if you could answer those questions? I decided what I'm doing about the next Destiny thing, but otherwise... I am working on your requests. Seriously, they have made this story awesome, just wait! Trust me! So, if you could give me even more requests, more on what you want to actually happen maybe, that'd be great! Please and thank you!
Happy Save the Elephants day, Eggs Benedict day, and Emancipation day, by the way. Just thought you should know what's going on today.
Ta for now!
~*Fantasy Forger*~