Piper
Piper took a deep breath and opened her eyes. The colours flew into her mind, chasing the darkness away. Everything about the ball room was golden, from the carved pillars to the doors to the throne atop the largest balcony floating above her head.
She looked up and traced the delicate tendrils of the crystals adorning the great chandelier. The torch glinted off the glistening diamonds and shimmered in every possible colour Piper had ever seen.
She peeked at the guests then quickly went back to looking at their polished skin boots and plush carpet.
The ladies had left no gem or silk unturned. Each of the noble women had solely concentrated on out-dressing the others and most of them were glaring and already planning their costumes for the next big event where they would get to flaunt their riches.
They won't get another chance.
A man grabbed Piper's elbow and pulled her back.
She stopped herself from fighting back, from striking out, from breathing, from doing anything entirely.
Piper managed to give her captor a dazzling pearly smile.
She almost lost it when she saw who it was.
She quickly lowered her gaze and apologised profusely for apparently no reason.
Because that's what you were supposed to do when you were caught by a noble and could only hope that you would be forgiven for existing.
She was dragged to a dark corner and pushed up against the wall.
"What on earth are you doing Jason? We'll be seen!"
Jason dipped his head in and kissed her.
She kissed him back for a second then pushed at his chest.
"You are minutes away from taking the customary oath to the king. Don't do anything stupid now."
He rested his head against her bare shoulder and sighed. Piper pulled at her short brown wrap for a dress self-consciously for the first time since she had stepped into it.
"I just- it's cold blooded murder."
Piper grabbed his face and made him look at her, her eyes fierce and determined.
"You can't have second thoughts. This is the only way. You were fortunate enough with kill Khione."
Jason's jaw tightened,
"I'll kill her... eventually."
She bit her lip,
"I don't think that's such a good ide-"
"You can possibly b-"
"And we'll think about it once the Emperor is dead."
They both peeked through the shadows of the heavy curtains and looked at the almost serene face of their Emperor. He could have been a statue of Buddha and no one would have known the difference.
But Piper could never be fooled by his act and his grace. She'd seen the monster beneath the fine silk and smiles. She'd seen what he'd done to his children and grandchildren.
The horns blew and the servants shifted subtly. It was a slight shift, a barely noticeable spring of tension in their bodies.
It was time.
"Presenting! The Duke of freezing to vow his allegiance to his highness, the Emperor of Kyte!"
The hall exploded in murmurs and applauds, the noblemen dressed in colourful tights and bright frock coats climbed over each other to get a better look of the royal balcony, for it was the first time the duke was to take the vow without his duchess.
Piper clutched his white collar and pulled him to her, his arms went around her waist and pressed her against him. Their lips crashed in desperation. Piper knew that everything could go wrong horribly, that this could be the last time she would ever get to be with Jason and she knew that it was what Jason had thought before dragging her off the hall.
But this was not going to be their goodbye. This was the end but not of them.
She pulled away and stared straight into his blue eyes that dripped with vulnerability.
"Everything will be fine after this. We'll finally be free."
Slowly the hardness slipped back into his gaze and he nodded.
Piper stood in the shadows and waited as Jason's footsteps disappeared in the chatter of the beautiful hall. She watched him climb the stairs, kneel before the emperor and reach for his knife hidden beneath the folds of his white and purple robes.
She waited for the Emperor to fall with his throat cut open.
But it was Jason who fell with his hands clamped against his ears and then the blinding pain cracked Piper's head into a million shards of jagged glass.
Annabeth
"-But there was no way for him to know every single detail of the plan."
Percy was flying down the halls, avoiding the guests and slipping past the guards.
Annabeth wondered if it was necessary to keep their voices hushed. With all the guests loitering around the guards didn't even seem to notice their less than stellar stealth.
"That must be reason behind this machine he is designing. It's not to control minds but to destroy them."
She winced,
"Well... not yet at least. He can't control minds yet."
Percy stopped and looked back at her.
"So you think he'll kill every single person in that hall? Even the nobles?"
She nodded wordlessly. That could be the only reason why Luke had decided to go back to Khione's chambers. The Emperor was going to unleash his wrath... and he didn't want to be in the middle of it.
"ANNABETH!"
Percy's hold tightened on her hand, their wedding rings pressing against the others.
"Luke."
She whispered.
Luke took a step towards her just as Percy pushed her behind him. He had no weapon and Luke's sword was hanging from his side. Annabeth could already see blood on it.
She looked around. The corridor was completely deserted. They were closer to the banquet hall. The Emperor might not worry much about some drunken nobles but maybe he still tried to diminish the casualties in his own way.
With a sharp wisp of metal the sword was drawn and pointed at Percy's throat. It was right atop the delicate blue vessel that Annabeth had kissed just a couple of hours ago.
"Let go of her."
Luke demanded in a grave voice.
Percy seethed at him.
"You'll have to kill me before touching a single hair on her body."
Annabeth could see that Luke had decided to go for the kill. She hadn't even realized why he had refrained from slaying Percy's throat at sight.
"No!"
She pushed past Percy and grabbed Luke's hand.
Percy kneed Luke then punched him, his sword went clattering away. Annabeth dove for it before he could and lifted it up with both of her hands.
"This isn't right Luke! You're killing Kyte's chance at freedom!"
Luke looked up at her and sneered.
"It's too late!"
He spat towards Percy through his bloody nose,
"All of them are going to die."
His words knocked the wind out of both of Annabeth.
She looked at Percy and for a moment the world around them grew quiet. Everything seemed to settle into place as their eyes locked and their hearts beat to fill the gap between each other's.
She nodded and smiled.
They knew what they had to do. Nothing mattered in that moment more that Kyte, nothing.
She threw the sword towards Percy and yelled after him as he ran for the end of the corridor.
"Cover your ears and nose! It might help against whatever rays the Emperor is using!"
Luke lunged at Percy but Annabeth threw all her weight at him.
The huge window shattered as Luke stumbled into it. He hissed and lunged for her neck. She skirted out of his reach and grabbed a torch from off the wall.
"Stay where you are!"
She couldn't let him follow Percy. She would have to keep him there even if it killed her.
Luke grinned through his bloody teeth.
"I know you very well Annabeth. You can never hurt me."
His eyes darkened,
"You love me."
She swallowed hard,
"You cheated on me... I saw you."
Hurt flickered through his eyes.
Good, she thought, anything to keep his mind off Percy.
"I wasn't cheating! Those girls I slept with didn't matter! Only you did... and you betrayed me."
Annabeth didn't say anything, she didn't need to, Luke strode over and grabbed her hands before she could step away,
"But it's not too late. The rebels will perish and I'll take you in as my wife. The Emperor himself will see us wed."
Anger blossomed through Annabeth' chest at his words. She tried to shake him off be his grip was too tight.
"I can't!"
Then she softened her gaze and looked at him.
All she could see was a fatherless boy who had given her a fluffy cotton candy when she'd been alone in the sea of loved children with their loving parents.
"It's too late for us but..."
She pursed her lips and kept them from trembling,
"It's not too late for you."
She smiled and pulled his hands closer to her heart.
"You can still go back to our time and continue with your life."
A dark look passed over Luke's face and his hands began to tremble.
"I killed them you know."
Annabeth frowned,
"What are you saying?"
A maniacal smile split his face and he laughed,
Suddenly Annabeth's heart started to beat harder, she loosened her grip and tried to pull away. Tried and failed.
No, please don't let it be what I think it is. He could have just killed some rebels. He was with the Emperor and they were enemies and-
"Your sister, Silena and whatever girl you might have seen me with."
He let go of her hand and slid it down her body, stopping just below her hip.
She felt sick.
Luke's face was changing all too quickly for her to grasp on to and interpret. Now it seemed to morph from misplaced amusement to desperation.
"It was all for you Annabeth. All for us."
Annabeth shrieked and pushed him away with all the force she could muster.
He swayed but kept talking,
"Look around you! This is all ours! The Emperor promised me! I'm his heir!"
She almost felt sorry for him but she had to keep him there,
"You are wrong! He lied to you!"
Her cheek stung with the impact. She hadn't expected him to hit her.
She squeezed her eyes shut and for a moment went back to that mouldy, poorly lit room. She saw his eyes, all serious over sheen of nervousness.
I love you, Annabeth
She mumbled under her breath,
I love you too.
"What was that?"
Luke yanked at her hair and sharp pinpricks of pain blossomed through her sculp.
He had seemed to have forgotten all about the horror going down at the banquet hall.
She decided she wouldn't run away or try to retaliate. She would bear with it all if she could keep him away from Percy.
And then suddenly Luke's eyes widened.
He pushed Annabeth out of the way and lunged at someone.
She sidestepped him and hit him hard with the hilt of her sword.
Luke's unconscious body fell to the ground with a thud.
Annabeth looked at her saviour and started to smile gratefully then froze and looked down.
She grabbed at the jagged ends of the window, ignoring the sharp pain that seemed to be too far away, away from the horror dripping down.
She looked into the pair of dark and empty eyes and asked why.
Blood gurgled out of her lips instead of blood and mingled with the steady stream of red pouring out from her throat.
Reyna smiled and then shoved her.
You deserved it! You murdering bitch.
Those words haunted Annabeth's ears as the rush of air tore through her ear drums and blew her hair away.
But soon those words disappeared and she could hear other voices, of people who had loved her. She could even hear Leo, goofing about how her glares alone could have won the Second World War.
She heard Percy whisper her name into her ear telling her that he loved her. She could imagine him glaring at the widows as he took his vows with her.
She smiled.
Till death do us apart.
Percy
Blood had started to trickle out of his nose. He was covering on the floor like everybody else, hunched over and trying to push his fingers into his skull.
The noise wasn't like anything he'd ever heard. His whole body was shaking and he could feel the blood rushing to surface.
And then he was back there. His mother was telling him to run again, the nurses were trying to pry him off her blackened almost lifeless body again.
And then the noise stopped and his vision tunnelled. The tide of his memories slammed against the doors he'd shut them behind.
He stood groggily and was engulfed in a pile of sweet smelling fur and hair.
Calypso beamed up at him.
He looked around and gasped.
Blood was everywhere, pouring out of almost everyone and matting the beautiful blues and reds and purples and browns.
An elfin boy appeared behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder possessively. He frowned at Percy and shoved what appeared like huge balls of something slimy hanging of the edges of a wire.
He touched his ear and realized that he was wearing one of them.
He looked at both the people in front of him in awe.
"I can't believe you are alive! I'm so thankful-"
And then a growl emanated from above them.
They looked up saw him, the Emperor... Kronos.
He was dressed in the royal drabs of purple and white, his golden crown looked funny above the black contraption covering his ears.
He looked at Calypso who was hurrying off towards an unconscious Piper huddled behind the curtains.
"Leo"
She whispered before going away.
He nodded and looked grimly at the black box Kronos had in his grasp.
Percy clamped his shoulder and jerked his chin towards the fallen bodies.
Leo nodded in understanding,
"Break that box."
Percy rushed up the stairs, blood roaring in his ears.
But this was his lucky day, he would finally get to avenge his mother and thousands of people his grandfather had murdered.
He stopped short on the landing. Cold air blew his hair away from his eyes.
Kronos was crouching low, his knife pressed against Jason's throat.
He flexed his fingers and tried to remember where he had dropped his sword.
But it didn't matter. It was already too late for him to go for it.
The Emperor laughed,
"You thought that it would be this easy? Explains how naive you are."
His lips curled up in a sneer,
"Just like your father!"
"Don't you dare talk about my family!"
Percy spat and regretted it the moment the words escaped his lips. Kronos's gaze drew to the ring glinting golden in the firelight.
A murderous glint slipped through his eyes,
"Ah! It looks like your family has expanded... or rather started to form again"
He suppressed the insults rushing up to his mouth and looked from Jason to Kronos then back again at his cousin. Blood had started to drip from his nose.
"I wonder what she's like in bed. You married a virgin surely? Or maybe a whore like your dear departed mother!"
Percy snarled and took a step towards the Emperor.
The knife dug into Jason's neck and a thin line of blood disappeared down his collar.
Percy glared at Kronos.
The emperor simply smiled and clicked his tongue.
"Too violent... but what can ever be achieved through it? Now be a good boy and do as you are told or your friend will lose his head."
He tightened his jaw and tried to direct all his hatred, pain, loathing, all the negative feelings his heart and mind could muster, at the Emperor.
The man deserved to die a slow and painful death.
"Pull your ear coverings out. Now."
Percy clutched his head and looked down at Jason.
His ears had started to bleed and his chest was losing its frequency.
The emperor would never spare Jason. The best thing that could happen to him at that point was a clean and swift death.
Percy jumped at the Emperor and Jason's neck became a blur of red. Rage boiled inside Percy. He grabbed the Emperor's hand and hit it against the golden railing. Kronos yowled in pain as his wrist broke and the remote hit the floor below, shattering into a million pieces.
Kronos screamed and lunged at Percy with his knife.
Jason
It all happened all too suddenly. The knife dug into Percy's arm. He swallowed a cream and kicked the Emperor's knee, snatching the knife from him.
Jason could see his black irises devourer the beautiful blues flecked with gold. He saw the mighty emperor's fear, smelled his desperation for survival and sensed the life slipping away from his grandfather.
He closed his eyes and lay paralysed on the floor as Percy plunged the knife deep into Kronos's throat. His body shuddered and then fell to the ground with a thud.
Jason tried to move but his muscles were locked tight against his bones.
And just before relief and joy could enter his sickened mind a shrill scream shattered his reprieve.
"Percy you are alive!"
His eyes snapped opened. He hadn't heard Reyna coming.
But she wasn't supposed to be there. She had been cast out.
Percy
Percy grimaced and nodded at her.
"No... no."
"What are you blubbering about?"
He should have detested the sight of her after she'd tricked him.
But he couldn't care less about Reyna. All he could feel was a sense of calm.
He bent down by Kronos's limp body and pulled the knife out of his throat. Blood stuttered from the cut and the head almost fell off from the neck supporting it, his eyes were wide and dull, staring up at the gilded ceiling as the lights dimmed and the evening rolled in.
A pang of guilt mottled Percy's insides.
He wished things had been different, wished that he had had a better chance with his grandfather.
Maybe someday, in another life he would.
He gently shut the Emperor's eyelids and rose to his feet.
Jason was still lying on his side but he was blinking, really slowly. The cut on his neck had clotted already.
Percy ripped the muffs off his head and gently placed it above Jasons... just in case and looked over at his neck. He sighed in relief. It was just a scratch.
There was a stir everywhere down the hall. People were groaning and trying to move. Calypso was rushing around and doing whatever she could for every one she came across. Leo was trying to not drop Piper as she groggily pointed towards Jason, her entire body shaking with the effort to lift her hand.
He looked over at Reyna and frowned.
She had gone pale and was muttering under her breath.
"I didn't know- I- I didn't mean to- I mean I did but- I thought you were- I"
Percy turned towards Jason and pushed him up, trying to make him sit.
A low roar erupted from the crowd of deranged people.
"Percy!"
Percy turned around just in time to see him. The noble man who had stabbed him.
His eyes were wide and eccentric and... he had cut Reyna's throat.
Reyna gasped for air but all her efforts proved useless. She was going to be dead in minutes.
"Luke."
It was what Annabeth had called him before, Percy remembered. He had been the one who had hurt her before.
He pushed the noble man off Reyna.
He looked at Percy with blind fury for a moment then recognition dawned on his face. He laughed, his shoulders shook and moister rolled down his face.
"She killed her and here her husband is defending her murder."
For a moment Percy was confused. Even the thought of her death seemed too foreign... too absurd.
"You're lying."
Percy spoke through his teeth. The room was spinning out from his feet. The doors he had closed on the memories of that night were slamming and banging against them.
He wondered why he hadn't gotten over them. He had killed the man responsible for that horror with his own hands but yet he could smell it, the burning of bed sheets, twines and flesh. He could feel the ash in the air and the soot settling down on his skin.
But he held on the room, to the corpse of his grandfather. He had killed him and that was real.
"You bastard!"
He pushed Luke over to the balcony, his fingers tight around his neck.
"What did you do? Where is she?!"
More tears dribbled down Luke's jaw, past his mouth which was stretched up in a maniacal smile.
"Why should I tell you? Even if she'd dead she's still mine!"
Percy gritted his teeth and squeezed his neck harder.
Luke's face paled and he struggled to breath. He clawed against Percy hand, peeling away skin and leaving tiny dots of red behind.
Percy let go of him with a jerk and slammed him against the stone railing.
"Where is she?"
Luke laughed and laughed and laughed.
And then suddenly he was throwing punches, his face contorting in anguish.
"She was the only one who accepted me as I was. She was the only one I had and you... because of your slut-"
He snarled and spat at Reyna.
"-She died! SHE DIED!"
Percy dodged his fists and slammed his own in Luke's stomach.
He doubled over and couched.
The wind rustled over from the spot where Luke had been. The trees moved and the sky darkened. Nothing looked unusual... out of ordinary except,
Percy pushed past Luke and knelt over the railing.
He couldn't see who it was but the spill of gold on the soft grass below was unmistakable. Blood pooled around the limp body soaking through the white dress sewn with pearls and lace. He had seen her stuff that dress in those huge pants and had unlaced them slowly, skimming his fingers against her velvety skin. He could hear her sharp breath and the way she'd gone rigid before guiding him further down till the last string was off.
She'd giggled and turned around when he'd tangled them all up afterwards.
"To think the mighty rebel leaders can't tie lace."
He'd flushed and wrapped his hand around her waist. She had squealed and slapped his arms playfully. And then he had kissed her and looked into her beautiful stormy eyes.
"I love you."
He had let those words out with his breath.
She had grinned at him and pushed his hair away from his eyes,
"I love you more!"
"No."
He whispered. That couldn't have been the last time he'd seen her smile, fought with her over who loved the other more. It couldn't have been the last time he had woken up with her sweet scent overwhelming his senses, her warmth seeping into him unfreezing his stony heart.
But now all he could feel was the cold, seeping into body and freezing him from inside. The walls in his head shattered into a million pieces of ice.
He clutched his head and moaned.
No!
His brain burned and throbbed against his skull, the agony surged down and clutched against his lungs. He was burning and couldn't breathe.
Not now. I've to go to her. She needs me.
He would save her, he had to-
His eyes snapped open and locked with the maniacal blue ones of Luke.
His hair blew up and splayed against his face. He turned around and relaxed. He could see her now. See her white cheeks and lips stained red with her blood. She didn't look dead to him. She could have just fallen asleep with her eyes open.
Percy stretched his hand out to touch her face.
Her cold skin was the last thing he felt before the world closed in on him.
He wasn't sad or angry.
He realized it was his time to let go, he had done all that he could have.
And even thought he had lost all his senses and could feel his heart slowing, he was content.
Because the last thing he saw was her face and her soft words echoed through his blank mind.
Till death do us apart.
The first snow of that year began to fall.
Piper
Piper rocked the baby and tried to calm her down. She had been crying for a while.
"Hush sweetheart. Daddy's on his way."
"Daddy's here!"
Jason rushed and engulfed both of them in his arms.
Piper smiled and nestled her head in his chest.
She'd never thought she see him smile again... she had never thought that she would ever smile again.
She still couldn't sleep at night.
The sight of their bodies curled around each other... as if they were hurdling to keep the other away from the snow drenched in their blood.
Percy's and had fallen on Annabeths face, her name had glinted off from his ring.
And hers had been right beneath his chest, bearing his name on gold... against his still heart.
She looked up at Jason but couldn't bring herself to ask.
Jason's eyes softened when baby stopped crying and stared up at him with huge blue eyes. he kissed his daughter's forehead before settling her down in her cradle.
"They have been captured... all the nobles and that man... Luke."
She reached out and cradled his face in her hands.
"Chiron is taking all the decisions alongside Bianca and Khione is threatening to destroy all our lives."
He gave her a week smile.
"And... they are going to be buried at dawn... together."
A tear slipped down his cheek.
Piper realized she was crying too.
They were free now. They would help Chiron make Kyte a better place, they would have peace and end all discrimination and mindless killings.
Jason would always be with her. There was so much to look forward to but she couldn't. The grief was too much. She had grown up with them and fallen in love with them.
She just loved Jason a bit differently than she'd Percy.
And Annabeth had saved them all. If it hadn't been for her then they would have never won.
She had sent word to Leo through Dr. D. She had stopped the Emperor from killing hundreds and had died for them.
The baby made a soft sound, drawing their attention to her.
Piper smiled down at the tiny girl. It truly amazed her... the warm life flowing through the tiny girl was so different from the cold snowy death her friends had had.
Their death had been cold... but beautiful. Their blood had mingled and turned the snow red. It was as if they had decided to take a nap in each other's arms on a velvety red lace.
The beauty of the moment had almost chased away the sorrow... almost.
The baby crooned again and stared at them with her light blue eyes. She had Jason's eyes and a shock of his golden hair. But her skin was flawless and white like her mother... her real mother.
But she'd be nothing like Khione. Piper would never let her daughter become a monster.
She turned towards Jason and smiled,
"Did you decide on a name?"
His cheeks flushed and he looked away bashfully.
"I have but I thought that you would-"
"What is it?"
Jason took a deep breath and let it out,
"Percana."
Piper blinked.
Percana... Percy and Annabeth...
More tears dripped down her face.
Jason saw her crying and quickly stuttered.
"I know it doesn't really mean anything. I'll understand if you-"
She silenced him with a small kiss then looked straight into his eyes.
"It means a lot. It's perfect."
Jason wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in.
Leo
Calypso hadn't made even the slightest of sound.
It had been a week since she'd ran like a mad woman and found their bodies, tangled together on a bed of blood and snow.
Now they stood in front of their grave a hundred years later while Kyte was ablaze with festivity... celebrating the day they had gained freedom from the tyrant.
Calypso had her arms wrapped around Leo's and her face buried in his shoulder.
She had followed him mutely to his ship and settled down beside him. At night she lay curled against him, silent tears flowing down her red cheeks.
Leo brought their intertwined fingers up and kissed her hands.
He took one final look at their grave.
It was nothing special. Just a piece of stone with their names and dates though... Annabeth's year of birth wasn't 1897.
He sighed and closed his eyes.
Duo corda voluistis ut beat.
He wondered who had chosen that epithet for their graves. It was simple and yet something he could never imagine.
He could only hope that they were together and happy... wherever it was that they were.
"I'm so sorry."
Leo looked down, startled. He felt as if Calypso had spoken after a life time. He wrapped his arm around her waist and turned away from the grave, towards the cemetery gates.
"We'll come again next year?"
Calypso asked, her eyes shining with tears and hope. She wasn't asking for his permission he realised, she was asking if he would come with her.
He bent down and kissed her, long and hard. She stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her hands around his neck.
He didn't need to say anything else. She understood...
... that he would go anywhere with her as long as he lived.
Hey guys! It has been a loooong journey till now but I'm not done yet! There is going to be an epilogue in which I'm trying to create a surprise for everyone!
GoldenShadow401 : Thank you! I'll update the final chapter i.e. the epilogue withing ten days!
AnnaUnicorn : Thank you!
bookfangirl445 : Thank you!
IIII Winter Wolf IIII : I do think I could have done better with regards to the broken part :c Thank you so much for reading!
Shamadoody : I actually am writing a book! But it needs a looot of work! Thank you for reading!
Thank you all my readers! You guys are the best!