Thalia shuddered as Silena and Luke and Beckendorf came to vet her and the Hunters as they appeared at the borders of Castellan. There was an oppressive air that surrounded the kingdom that she hadn't felt since the Second Titanomachy. There were cracks in the ground that the mortal and skeleton crews were trying to fill and pave away. Katie's "babies" were climbing out of their soil, making way to her private garden and dripping poison everywhere. They didn't even have eyes, but Thalia still felt like they were staring into her soul.
She dropped some of her belongings off in Yew Village even when knowing that she'd be spending most of her time at the palace with the others.
She could hear Annabeth and Clarisse barking orders as they trained their recruits into the ground. Talia knew her friends well enough. It was unacceptable that Ariadnê was stolen away from them; they were going to ignore every rule of inevitability to tear Ilion to pieces to get her back.
Death lingered in the air heavily. If she didn't find it so normal, it would be concerning. A large prism sat not too far from the temple of Haidês that were carting souls off to domoi Aïdao. Nico was standing to the side, marking off the bodies to send back to Ilion. She wouldn't have been surprised if he had placed something poisonous within the bundles of bodies for revenge.
Thalia felt her throat clog. Her family was hurting, and she was chasing after a life already lived. She never thought that she would see her friends so disheartened ever again. They hadn't looked this bad since Annabeth had been taking and collecting the bodies after the Second Titanomachy. The weariness had been shared between over a hundred campers, but these feelings were not even a third of that.
That was without mentioning the oppressive air that she knew was coming from Percy. Thalia honestly felt that one wrong move would end with a storm of unmanageable magnitude or a one-way first class express ticket to the Underworld.
And Katie's garden was giving her the creeps. There was something evil within there, and the way that her "babies" made their own spiked gate was terrifying.
The girl in question seemingly didn't even notice in the midst of her stress baking as Sweet Sito and Deione's Daily Bread was overflowing with goods. Grover's Grocery was being wiped clean as she used every fruit and vegetable that were placed within.
Luke had moved back to help her, tables and baskets were overflowing from in front of the storefronts. The spirit was basically handing them out for free. Thalia inwardly cooed when she saw a few hellpups get the puppy biscuits and some disappear down to the Underworld to take some to the realms' King and Queen and their retinue. That was without mentioning the hydrapups that were taking some back to the sea.
Connor and Chris and Travis were being comforted by Krokus and Apollôn. Travis was stress-eating the things that his girlfriend was stress-baking while coming up with incredibly detailed plots to force feed Paris' spine to Menelaos. Chris was nodding along, throwing out various amendments to Plans that the Eleventh Cabin had ever created for punishments. It was all the god could do to soothe Connor's rage when it rose to almost treacherous heights. She decided to ignore the moments when saw him kiss the younger, throwing his concentration far from the girl who held his heart.
And she had Beckendorf beg her to pull Will away from his forge as the child of the sun was making literally boatloads of arrows. She was impressed by the tetrodotoxin mixed with ellada fire and black plague arrow that he made. She bought a few off of him as a gift for Artemis.
Nico and Katie had clearly sensed her, appearing abruptly from their chosen tasks. She understood of course. She could sense it, the death magic that radiated from the two of them. Dēmḗtēr did presided over the foremost of the Mystery Cults which promised its initiates the path to a blessed afterlife in the realm of Elysium and Haidês was of course the king of the underworld and god of the dead who presided over funeral rites and defended the right of the dead to due burial.
She knew that they could feel the brush of lighting that clung to her, hear the echo of thunder in her steps no matter how silent she walked, and could feel the wind swirl around her like an adored coat.
They were beings of nature, forces uncontrollable by the will of man.
They didn't spend much time with each other. Katie tended to unnerve her with her need to make deadly plants and reign chaos on all that thought her mother was nothing but a sweet farmer goddess. And well, Nico did not hide his hatred for the hunters and it was only due to her and not wanting to offend Artemis that they were even allowed in Castellan.
They had their own paths to follow, but they did not mean they were any less protective over one another. And with a shared look between the three of them, it was easy to see what they were thinking.
Thalia grimaced as Nico nodded his head and Katie waved her hand. A flower appeared beside Thalia, blooming to show a basket of Percy's favored treats within.
She turned to make her way to Gleeson's Grove, taking note of the divine energy flying away from it.
Michael's Bridge was shaking as she walked over it.
Rachel gave her a tired smile as she motioned for Annabeth to help her secure it to the best of their abilities. Thalia walked over slowly, levitating a few inches off the ground. Her hands were outstretched at her sides, stumbling in the air. Ariadnê made it look so easy on her water strips, though the girl did admit to crashing into plenty of trees trying to perfect the skill and Thalia was already leagues better than her first attempts.
"Is everything okay," Thalia questioned as the bridge shook again. The younger girls nodded, grimacing as they switched to English. "Percy just remembered that the war lasted ten years."
Thalia winced.
Annabeth smirked dryly. "He's been tied down to his chair using shadows, vines, and threads. His anger, however, is overwhelming and leaking out. His seat can only do so much."
Thalia mimicked her expression. "I saw, uh, Sunshine earlier and Mercury flying off. Have any of the others been by?"
Annabeth shrugged, "Neptune, Pluto, and Vesta have been alongside their Queens. Mother came to subtly make sure that we stay neutral, but to support the Achaeans in secret."
"Are you?"
Annabeth shrugged, "They took one of our own. It's only expected that we don't support our enemies."
Thalia nodded though she knew that she would be more neutral than all of them. Her Father and Patroness both supported Ilion.
The bridge shook again.
"Are you going to talk to him," Rachel asked. "Annabeth hasn't been able to dickstract him with her itinerary being filled with commissions and training the army into the ground." Annabeth blushed to the tip of her dreads causing Thalia and Rachel to laugh. "Mercury keeps him from getting too far in his head by getting Percy to tell him stories of the twin's childhood. The god is always fascinated by it."
"I'd be fascinated too if I was getting kicked out of every school I went to," Thalia muttered, turning to enter Gleeson's Grove.
Rachel snorted, "Didn't she spend most of her school life as a tree?" Thalia flipped her off, taking a deep breath as she crossed through the barrier. The magic washed over, no doubt disrupting her connection to Artemis.
She nearly flinched at the power of the raging sea and storm that settled in the air. She could feel her own inner storm reacting to it. It was slightly different from what she considered normal as a child of Lightning and Thunder.
Her gaze settled on Percy's quickly, noting the way that his green eyes turned almost metallic as he wiped angrily at his face. The expression on his face was just as feral as it had been years ago when Annabeth had been kidnapped.
He sensed her soon enough, head snapping up at an almost neck break speed. His gaze was piercing. For a moment, she could truly understand why people said that children of the Big Three were so powerful and so dangerous.
He turned away, "What are you doing here?"
Thalia stepped closer, "I came because I was worried. You all are my family, too." Percy was like her little brother in a way. He wasn't Jason, but he was still her brother. Ariadnê had chosen Nico to take under her wing, and she chose Percy. She hadn't done too well of a job at it, but she swore to be better. She wouldn't use him to fill the void of losing Jason, not like how she did Annabeth.
Her eyes slipped closed at that thought. That was not a pain that she was ready to deal with and it's not like she succeeded anyway. The two of them were much too different.
"I'm fine," Percy spat with a clenched jaw. She rolled her eyes, "Fine, sure. Is that why Michael's Bridge is just as unstable as it was during the war?"
The boy flinched harshly, power receding back into him like water down a drain.
It was a low blow, but a necessary one. "Did you know there were flyers and drapes being placed around Ariadnê's pipes and around the market stalls decorated in her and your colors. Her blues and silver and your greens and golds. The temples have lines that wrap around Silena's Eatery as people make sacrifices to the gods to get you both back."
His eyes flashed once more, swirling like the eye of the storm. He had never looked more like his sister than at that moment. "The gods will not do anything," he snarled. It was moments like this that made it easier to understand why Luke and Kronos feared him. "They took my sister from me." It made it easier to see why Ariadnê was adamant that he was more powerful when she held two godly essences. "We were just getting back close and they took her from me."
Thunder boomed around the kingdom and she wasted no time enveloping him in a hug. "They stole her from me." He shook in her arms before letting himself cry. "Again. I have to see it again. Ten years until I get my sister back." He curled into himself weakly. "It's not fair."
"We'll get her back before then," she swore. "If I have to fly over the walls of Ilion myself, I'll get her back to you."
"The neut—"
"Screw it!" She pulled back to look at him. "We aren't doing things on their terms. Not anymore. Not if we want to fix our future. And not if we want to get her back." She pushed his hair from his face like she used to do Jason when he was scared. "Don't worry, little brother. I'm here." Percy froze for the barest seconds before letting himself fall apart in her arms.
They'll get Ariadnê back even if it's the last thing they do.
Chris watched as his girlfriend sank into her inner rage.
It was a hazy thing, and a part of her that she had tried to hide from when they first started dating. She didn't want him to see her as a typical child of the Fifth Cabin. Drew was the one to knock sense into his head about accepting her for every part of her; the good, the bad, and the ugly.
She hid it well, but Chris knew probably better than she even knew herself. She was feeling guilty; they all were. But— she and Ariadnê had been attached to the hip since the day that the latter had gotten claimed. There had been rumors around camp that the two of them were dating which honestly kept Chris from asking Clarisse out earlier. Though the rumors hadn't been helped after he caught sight of the two of them kissing behind the Big House or the times the two of them disappeared into the stables for hours with Silena. The rumors never gained much traction as Drew made it abundantly clear that the girl that she was in love with was not dating either girl and the next person to say so would get a nice date with her high heels.
If only Drew had seen that Ariadnê only saw her as a sister.
And the girls had laughed, stating that they weren't dating. Silena had teased that Little Miss Ariadnê didn't have time for dating nor was she interested in Hermês personally vetting anyone.
Though, it was a shock to all when she began to flirt with Kayla Lee, drawing both Connor and Drew's ire.
Which had bloomed into confusion and white-hot rage when it was announced that she and Apollôn were in love and dating. Drew had stormed into the Fourth Cabin with demands to know that if Ariadnê turned into a plant then they had the means to save her while subtly letting the Seventh Cabin know that if Ariadnê turned into a plant, they will rue the day that they were born.
Ariadnê had smirked at him when he had asked, right before Silena and Beckendorf got together and before he and Clarisse started dating. "Why are you jealous," she purred. Her eyes had flicked over to his girlfriend before laughing as he stuttered out denials.
She was an annoying little shit albeit, a really powerful one. She didn't let anyone toss her around, and that's how he knew that they should all calm down to think with clearer heads.
He knew that she would wipe Ilion completely off the map and that one would believe it to be a mystical kingdom in the mythos. She'd tear the kingdom apart with a smile, letting all know to never attempt to touch her ever again.
Chris could remember seeing her in action for the first time. Climbing aboard the Princess Andromeda as if she had owned it with so much confidence, her expression was fierce as she stared Luke down. She had seemed older somehow even though nothing but murder danced in her eyes. The first words she had spoken were threats in defense of her brother.
And though it was obvious she was outclassed at sword fighting, she still danced around Luke, keeping him on his feet as the two of them fought one another. She had thrown in comments, pleading in their Father's place for them—Luke to return home where they were unloved and unwanted. She had believed differently, swearing that their Father loved them. She was so passionate about her words; how Luke had made her feel belong and gave her a home and a family. She had claimed that she would have been able to forgive the attacks on Percy's life if he just came back with her.
Luke had nearly broken and went with her, but Kronos had a tight hold on his brother so she had no choice but to abandon her mission and escape.
That had stuck with him for a long time especially when she had left behind letters that their Father had apparently written to Luke and "your brother Chris, I think?". After Clarisse had escaped with the Fleece and Ariadnê attempted to drown Luke from the inside out, his brother had dragged him away to his office where they read the letters that Apollo had written for their Father to them.
(There had been two notes about the letters being something that Ariadnê "found" lying around her recovery area and another stating that Apollo had written down things that he heard their Father say but couldn't tell them because of Ancient Laws. Chris had come to the scary conclusion that gods were peeping tom stalkers, and made him very uncomfortable to even use the bathroom in peace.)
Chris appreciated Ariadnê. It was easier to get close to her than it was her brother though most would say that it was the other way around. She had clear boundaries.
Don't question her relationship with the gods. Don't question her relationship with her mother. Don't touch her friends. The only good thing about the sky was that you knew all the creatures that flew in it unlike the sea. Touch Percy and she'd kill you.
When her gaze had settled onto him completely as she allowed him into her circle of friends, he felt as if he was standing in the heart of a storm as the blue hue of her eyes drew him in. It was intense and powerful as if the divine voyeurs all looked at him at once.
Clarisse had given him a knowing smile as if she knew how he was feeling (while Connor and Drew had glared at him and made him understand that feelings were not an option regardless of the fact that he liked Clarisse).
And now here he was seeing that same protective intensity in her twin brother... in her cousins... in his girlfriend... in himself.
Being in this time period may have given them the chance to be kids. It gave the twins a chance to rebuild their crumbling relationship. Ariadnê had commented that it was like stepping back into who they were before. Before the prophecies... before the war... before the battles... before the death and betrayal... before that lighting bolt... before it all. Now it was like they could mix who they were from before and after together. He couldn't count the amount of times that everyone had been caught in the middle of their games. He never forgot that ball of water that had soared passed Ariadnê as she ducked and slammed into Annabeth's face... they had managed to draw the entire main kingdom into the game.
It was like watching years of stress drain from them and the bond that everyone thought was so strong heal before their eyes. They had even played mediator as they talked about their feelings regarding everything. (It was like pulling teeth getting Ariadnê to admit that she had felt jealous about how close Percy had gotten with Annabeth and Rachel while she was struggling to find a place in his life.)
He knew that for Percy that the relief of not having a prophecy hanging over his shoulders also meant a lot to him. The younger twin had spent most of his time rebuilding his relationship with his sister and doting on Annabeth to the extent that they were all waiting on the marriage proposal. And sure there were arguments since all three were some of the most stubborn people to ever exist, but Percy was also just so happy that both girls' pride crumbled in front of it.
As for Ariadnê, he knew that aside from her relationship with her brother... It was her relationships with Clarisse and his Father that made her feel better (they definitely helped during the AriCon cold war).
The two of them could be found on many occasions having their games (read: highly dangerous spars that should not be conducted without at least three healers nearby). They'd hang out the palace windows, blond and black hair falling around them like curtains, smiling amused as the people flirted with them. Ariadnê had made plenty of Rapunzel jokes before Clarisse cut her hair. They had nearly burst a lung when their suitors turned to see Chris, Percy, Nico, Beckendorf, Katie and Silena glowering at them.
And as for his Father, he would never be able to get the image of the two pressed tightly together as his Father licked love bites onto her skin on her chair in Gleeson's Grove as none of them had planned to visit the area that day. He had gone as a last minute decision and promptly turned around. According to Silena, Clarisse, and Beckendorf; it was old news and something that they had kept a secret to not hurt Connor and Drew's feelings. Though at one point, it was very obvious that there was something between them that had transcended friendship.
It was something that the soldiers that were being held prisoners could attest to as his Father did not mask his rage at all. He had the foresight to come under a mortal disguise, but it was no secret that his rage covered the land.
It was a wonder who the people were more frightened by: Hermês, one of the Twelve Olympioi Major who was bound by ancient laws; Percy, son of one of the Twelve Olympioi Major that was the sea personified; Clarisse, daughter of one of the Twelve Olympioi Major that was war personified. Neither was an enemy to have, and that was not counting the other like her cousins or gods' above, Travis who had been unbearable.
Travis was working himself to the bone, eyes darkened in a way that none had even seen on the fun-loving demigod before. He was dark and angry; words sharp and cutting to any that was not his brothers or girlfriend.
And ever since Thalia had come back to Castellan, the kingdom had not seen an ounce of peaceful weather as her wrath mingled with Percy's own. Chris had to be the one to tell the naiads to swim upstream to safety while helping the citizens get comfortable in the underground city as their emotions turned physical, storming against the place.
Nico had been politely requesting (read: threatening) Ilion with the return of Ariadnê or he would find his way around their declaration of neutrality, let the dead walk the earth again and pull whomever got in his way down to the pits of Tartarus. "Your choice," he had told King Priamos.
And if that was not terrifying enough, Katie and her floral children from hell were concocting something dangerous within her garden. There were bushes in the shape of animals like bunnies and frogs with teeth that spun like blades and beady red eyes that paralyze their victims before feasting on their blood as they tear them into shreds. Katie had lovingly called them Nana and Lele.
Chris turned his attention back to his girlfriend as she abandoned her sword to test her punches against the hardened stone before her. The blood that streamed down her face matched the ones that streamed down her fists, and he wondered for just a moment if Paris knew how deeply he dug his own grave when he took one of their own from them.
Percy's cry of anger shook the earth and shattered glass as he interrogated one of the enemy soldiers.
He smiled almost cruelly to himself as he grabbed his own sword... he could not wait to run it through the Prince for taking his friend.
Word Count: 3,859
WORDS TO KNOW:
domoi Aïdao - Dwellings of Háidēs
