I do not own Percy Jackson & the Olympians. I wish I did, because that would mean I was a great writor, but sadly I don't. I don't own the Wardstone Chronicles either, but it would be awesome if I did! Before this annoying disclaimer is ended ( and I hope you are reading this), please review! Reviews give me inspiration and that means I will update faster. I really like writing this story, but if I don't get any reviews, my inspiration is very low and I probably won't update a lot. All right, enjoy!
Lamia stared at the man, or actually god, before her. She knew who he was, of course. He was Dionysos, god of wine. She had met him before, one time, when the Olympians had caught her and changed her into the monster.
Part of the reason she had become the lamia was the loss of her children, who she had loved more than anything in the world even when she didn't really know them yet, what driven her mad. The other part was the punsihment of the gods; they had changed her as punishment for all the murders she had commited.
She still felt terrible about all those deaths, but they were the past. She couldn't do anything about it and those people wouldn't be helped if she just let herself die. Now, she had to try to do something good. Of course, the gods had ruined her life. Well, particulary Zeus. But she couldn't blame them for everything that went wrong at that time. If she had pushed Zeus away, it wouldn't have happened. Although she doubted he would have accepted it. Or if she would have reacted different to the death of her children. Her beloved, innocent children. She still couldn't understand how someone could murder them.
Hera, that stupid, mean woman, had killed her children just for being alive. How unfair can you be? They didn't have anything to do with me falling in love with the wrong person. Seriously, if anybody is to blame, it's Zeus. I shouldn't have let him in, of course, but he was the one cheating. I didn't even know who he was at the time. Then again, she had known the times after the, what was it, third time? She didn't know anymore. It had been so long ago.
Lamia knew she had made mistakes, oh she knew. And she regretted them and felt them every day. But she didn't think it was all her fault; the gods weren't innocent either. They hadn't improved the situation exactly. Lamia understood Hera's rage, but it just wasn't fair to Lamia's children. They were death because of something their mother had done. And wasn't that ironically, being killed by the so-called mother-goddess?
Lamia sighed. And after the death of her children, when she had been crazy, they hadn't helped either. Now, they had punished her. I know I deserved that punishment, but couldn't they have stopped me earlier? Before all those people, all those face which still bother me, were killed? Lamia thought, feeling a bit depressed.
She looked at Dionysos again, one of the gods who had done anything but help. Dionysos presence brought back her memories. The memories she had tried to burry. Her first encounter with Zeus, that was supposed to be an happy memory but she recalled what had happened after. The next times they had seen each other. The day she found out who he was. She had wanted to run, to never see him again. She had even told him to leave her alone. But he had not listened and she had loved him so much she didn't have the power to keep rejecting him. So she had been his again. It had been so wonderful, so perfect... until Hera had found out.
She remembered how mad the queen of gods had been, her eyes glowing. Lamia had a lot of power, but not enough to battle a completely furious Hera. She recalled her beautiful children being killed while she tried to save them, but failed. She recalled she had called Zeus, hoping he would save his children , his own flesh and blood god damn it! But to no avail, all her cries for help had been futile. He had never come and Hera had won.
Lamia had lost everything. The man she loved. Her children. She had felt betrayed, sad, mad, helpless and even vulgar. She had been used.
And now, she might have to face the same people who had ruined her life, stolen everything she had, in a few days. Lamia was fully aware of the situation and cursed her rotten luck. Not that she showed anything. She kept a blank face. After a few thousand years, you learn to hide your emotions. Not that Lamia had had a lot of emotions, except from hate and anger, the long time she had been the lamia.
Dionysos chuckled. " Well.. Well.. what a suprise. The one and only Lamia, right in front of me. Very interesting. What are you doing here? And where is your tail, snake girl"? Dionysos asked with a smug expression. Lamia felt her blood boiling, being mocked like this, but didn't respond to his insults. She straightened. " I am here, because someone opened a portal to transport me into this place. Where I originally come from ,and I am very glad with that, you do not exist anymore". Lamia responded.
Dionysos narrowed his eyes at her, his eyes slowly turning purple. " Are you trying to insult me, one of the great gods? Because you would pay a high prise for that"! he snapped. Lamia smiled sweetly. " Of course not.. Dionysos. I would hate any of the creatures who ruined my life to get upset because their ego can't handle an insult. How are you doing"?
Dionysos stared at her for a few seconds, apparently not sure if he should punish her. Annabeth and Percy followed the conversation, but seemed to be very confused. Even Annabeth, daugther of Athena, couldn't follow it. Then again, she didn't know who Lamia really was. And Tom didn't know who Mr.D was. And the name Dionysos wasn't familiar to him either. Lamia didn't want to think to much about Greece, it was just too painful, so she had never told Tom all the stories about her homeland.
Tom leaned towards her while looking at Dionysos. " Who is that man and why is he insulting you, mam? Can I do anything"? Tom whispered, concern on his face. Lamia smiled. Her son was so kind and symphatetic, like his father had been.
She shook her head. " You can't. He is a god, the wine god to be precise". Tom tensed. " Another god? That's really bad. How do you kill them"? Lamia frowned. " Sweetheart, it isn't really smart to ask how to kill a god if he is right in front of you". Dionysos clapped his hands. " Very smart Lamia. You are exactly my father's type, smart and pretty". Dionysos looked at her, almost if he was inspecting her and smiled slightly. " Very pretty".
Tom took a step forward, protecting her with his body. He show Dionysos an angry glare. " Don't even think about doing something weird. Keep your hands of my mother"! he said , his staf in his hand. Dionysos looked at him and chuckled. " And what do we have here? Some little hero? Are you trying to defend-" Dionysos froze, realizing something.
He glared at Tom. " Did you say mother, boy"? Lamia almost cursed when she realized Tom had just revealed he was her son. Now, he might be in danger.
Before Tom could say anything, revealing even more, Lamia pushed him behind her and asked him silently to stop talking.
She smiled at Dionysos. " Listen Dionysos, our arrival here is important. There might be a war or something soon. You will have to do something! Talk to your family"! she said, trying to keep him from asking his question again. It turned out different, because at that moment, Annabeth decided to ask something. She looked really confused and you could notice she didn't like it. Her eyes shift between Lamia and Dionysos, not sure who to adress.
Eventually, she chose Dionysos. She locked eyes with him, her grey eyes full of determination. " Mr.D? What is going on here? Do you know this girl"? Lamia rolled her eyes. " Woman. I'm older than I look". Dionysos grinned. " A lot older. And yes, Beth I know her. Don't you get it? I said her name a few times". Annabeth frowned, obviously trying to find the name. And for once, ignoring the fact Dionysos couldn't get her name right.
Suddenly, her face brightened. " I know again. You callled her Lamia, like-". Annabeth's eyes widened when realization hit her. Dionysos had said the Lamia. Not as in a name, but more like the one everyone should know about. And of course, the comment about snakes had been a clue too. Besides, Annabeth was really smart. It wasn't hard for her to realize the truth.
Annabeth looked at Lamia, her eyes full of suprise and wariness. After she took a good look at Lamia, especially her legs she probably expected to be a tail, Annabeth turned her attention to Dionysos again. Although she kept looking at Lamia from the corners of her eyes.
Annabeth raised her eyebrow. " You are kidding, right? You can't seriously mean, the Lamia is in our camp. The same Lamia that killed hundreds of people. The same Lamia who has been a monster for a very long time"? Annabeth started to sound mad, probably because she thought Lamia was going to drink their blood or something.
Dionysos groaned. " Listen Elizabeth, you-" "Annabeth" Annabeth snapped, too annoyed to think about the consequences of acting like this against a god. Dionysos rolled his eyes. " Sure. And yes, I am serious. That woman you see, is the Lamia. The Lamia that killed thousands of people" Dionysos said, actually sounding bored. Annabeth looked at Lamia again, her eyes shifting towards Lamia's legs. " She doesn't have a tail, like in the stories. The gods punished her for all her crimes and changed her lower body into that of a snake. Where is her tail"? Annabeth asked, her voice sounding more and more angry.
Dionysos shrugged. " Don't ask me. Ask her. I have no idea what she has been doing the past thousand years". Annabeth looked at Lamia, but Lamia interrupted her before she could ask. " I heard the entire conversation, you don't have to ask anymore. I can change my form at will and when I spent a lot of time with humans, I automatically change my form towards my human one. And you don't have to be afraid or anything, because thise days are over. I promise".
Annabeth hesitated, then nodded. " I think I believe you. And we have other matters to discuss, so we will need to discuss this later". She turned towards Dionysos again, her face full of concern. Before she could say anything, Dionysos interrupted her just like Lamia had done. Lamia heard Annabeth mutter something about being interrupted all the time and no respect, but Lamia couldn't hear everything. She just knew it was nothing positive, since Annabeth was so annoyed.
Dionysos looked at Annabeth, looking bored again even when his hands were slightly trembling. He smiled at Annabeth, but not a nice smile. More the kind of smile you expect from someone of an horror movie with a knife in his hands. He chuckled. " I know what you want to ask. What we should do. And I say, bring Lamia to your cabin, I will take care of Tom".
Annabeth opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it. She grabbed Lamia's arm and dragged her along, ignoring Chiron and Tom who both had been really quit.
They arrived at the Athena cabin and Annabeth, finally, let go of Lamia's arm. She turned towards her, her face a little grim. " Just a warning. Try anything funny, try to hurt one of the campers and you are dead. Understood"? Lamia nodded. Annabeth sighed and turned. She opened the doors and disappeared inside. Lamia followed her, into the unknown.