"He's a river god."

"Right...And you know this how?"

"Dream," Julie says shortly. She glares down at her feet and lets out an annoyed grunt. Taking a few steps off the path, she plops down onto a boulder and starts unlacing her right shoe.

Jason comes to stand in front of her, flipping through the stupid brochure Hercules all but chucked at them before they headed out. He sighs and closes it, looking down at her in irritation. "Is he dangerous?"

"How should I know?" Juliette grumbles, pulling off her shoe and turning it upside down. A handful of sand comes spilling out.

Jason scowls. "Well, you seemed to know quite a bit back there. Are you planning on filling me in any time soon, or do I just get to follow you around to play damage control all day?"

Julie pulls her shoe back on, rolling her eyes. "I would've been fine without your help. I don't need a babysitter."

"You would have been flattened without my help," snaps Jason. He drops the brochure down next to her on the rock and takes a step forward, crossing his arms. "What were you thinking antagonizing him like that? He's a god, Rosa. One known for his temper. One snap," He snaps his fingers pointedly. "That's all it would take. What were you thinking?"

Juliette lets out an angry sound, pulling her laces way too tight on accident in her frustration. "I have a job to do, okay? Deianira trusted me to help her."

"Help her what?"

"I don't know! I don't know, okay? But, she asked me to help her get his forgiveness."

"Well, I don't think pissing him off is going to help you do that."

"Yeah, thanks, Sherlock, I noticed that."

Jason scrubs his hands against his forehead. "What is a mania, anyway?"

Juliette finishes unlacing her other shoe, pulling it off to shake the sand out of it too. "Ever seen Poltergeist? Basically that. A spirit has too many unresolved regrets in their life, so, instead of going to Judgement when they die, they end up getting lost in the land of the living. With nothing but those regrets. Usually, they go insane - hence, the name."

"Okay," Jason mutters. "So, don't take this the wrong way, but why are you listening to her if she's insane?"

Julie scoffs, shoving her foot back into her shoe. "She's not insane."

"But, you said she's-"

"I know what I said. She's not insane. And I'm going to help her."

Jason sighs. Julie doesn't know why. She's being completely rational.

"Juliette...Is it possible that you're letting your personal feelings interfere with what's best for the quest?"

She stamps her foot back on the grass, looking up at him sharply. "What?"

He stands his ground, jaw clenched. "We need Hercules to let us pass. For the good of the mission."

"You think I don't know that?"

"She's a Heartbreak. I understand why you might feel responsible for her, but-"

She shoots to her feet, placing them nose-to-nose. "You understand? If you understood, you would be backing me up right now!"

"Maybe I don't understand. Fine. But, you haven't exactly done a very good job of explaining yourself."

"Well, what about you? 'I'll take it into consideration'?! What the Hades was that?!"

Jason scowls. "That was me trying to keep him from killing us! Obviously, I didn't mean it!"

"Didn't you, though?" She snaps. Tears start to burn her eyes. Jason's face drops. He leans forward a little, brushing his fingers against hers. But, she pulls her hand away. "It's fine. Whatever. I'm sorry. Let's just get this stupid horn so we can go."

She steps out of Jason's space. He reaches for her, and she dodges, heading back down the direction they were going before. After a moment, she hears him sigh and footsteps pick up in pace until he falls into step beside her.

They walk until they reach the river. It's always easy to tell which river is a magic river when you're a demigod. Usually, it's the one that makes your tummy feel funny to look at. Sometimes, it's the one that hypnotizes your teammate.

"Jason," Julie deadpans. Her glazed eyed friend doesn't react, continuing his zombie walk towards the clearly magic river before them. With a sigh, she reaches out and snags the back of his purple t-shirt. "Achelous! Let my friend go, please."

Almost immediately following her request, a shape rises from the river current. From the hill of water, the head and shoulders of a man take form, the creature's bright blue skin leading down a set of furry, bull-like legs. Atop the man's ringlets of black curls is one lone golden horn and the splintered stub that used to hold its twin.

Jason comes to a stop, but his eyes stay cloudy. Julie starts to demand his release again, but freezes when she spies the look on the god's face.

Pure, heart wrenching awe.

"My love..." Achelous rasps.

Julie blinks.

Tears begin to gather in the river god's eyes. He takes a trembling step forward, gaze locked onto Juliette's face. "I...I cannot believe it. I can feel your aura. You have returned to me?"

"Umm..." Julie stutters. She raises her hands as a barrier between them as the god approaches. "I think you might have me confused with-"

"Deianira. My sun and stars. My universe. My summer and winter and all that is between," gushes Achelous. He takes another step closer, and Julie takes another back. His legs are longer, though. He reaches out to take her hand in both of his, falling to one knee before her. "I dreamed this day might come, but I never dared to believe it. I thought your soul...lost."

Juliette opens and closes her mouth, at a complete loss. She glances nervously at Jason for help, but he's just now starting to shake his head blearily. Then, her eyes find the golden horn atop the god's head.

In the story, Hercules had to defeat Achelous in combat. He subdued him and took Deianira for his own, ripping the horn from Achelous' head and claiming it a spoil of war to gloat.

Looking at its twin with her own eyes rather than Deianira's, it strikes Juliette just how ordinary it really is. It's gold, sure. But, Julie's seen a lot of gold. She can imagine a princess had too. No wonder it was so easy to resent. Such a tiny, insignificant thing did a better job at capturing Heracles' affection than his own wife ever could.

And, yet, here is Deianira's first husband, centuries later, still professing his love for the late princess who left him so willingly. The idea of taking his only remaining tie to her, of stripping him of a part of himself like Hercules did to him and Deianira both...That's not how she's going to do this. Maybe the plan formulating in her head is a cruel one, but only if she doesn't play her part well enough.

Julie took drama class last semester. She's totally got this. Ehhem.

"Husband," Julie says shakily. Gulping, she places her free hand on the god's cheek, and his eyes widen in wonder. She pushes down the guilt and lowers herself down to sit with him, face to face. "I can't stay with you," She tells him.

Achelous' face contorts in grief. "You-Why not?"

"I..." Julie swallows down her morals with a squeeze of his hands. "I'm dead, my love."

She watches the poor man's heart break in real time. His blue face twists, grass green eyes filling with murky river water, mouth dropping open to release a sob of anguish. He raises her hand up in his and presses her fingers into his forehead.

"Deianira..." He sobs.

Juliette clenches her teeth, tearing her eyes from the crying god clutching her hand like a lifeline to check on Jason. He's staring at the scene in bewilderment, blue eyes finally clear and seeming to ask her 'What am I witnessing?' with every owlish blink. He's keeping his distance, though. He's trusting her. Julie gives him a nod of appreciation.

"When I heard what that bastard had allowed to befall you, I near marched on Olympus myself," cries Achelous. He brings her hand down to his lips and places a flurry of kisses to Julie's knuckles. She tries not to cringe.

Juliette takes a deep breath. Okay. She has to do this. She needs that horn. For Deianira. And if she wants that horn, she needs answers first.

"What happened to me, Achelous?"

He pauses. "You...You do not remember?"

She shakes her head. He glances away from her for the first time, and his eyes find Jason beside the water. In an instant, the god is on his feet, and the water from the river is barreling towards Jason in a raging inland tsunami.

"WOAH!" Jason yelps, darting into the sky to dodge the wall of river water. "Hang on, I'm not-"

Achelous just snarls, raising a hand to redirect the water into the sky. Julie gasps and reaches out to clutch the god's arm.

"Achelous, stop!"

Like she'd pressed a kill switch, all the water drops to the forest floor.

The river god is still glaring at Jason's hovering form, though. Julie inches closer to him and rests a hand on his shoulder. Achelous relaxes a bit under her touch. "Why is this creature here?" He growls.

Jason raises his hands in surrender, letting his feet rest back against the river bank. "I'm a friend of your wife's. I promise."

"The last son of Zeus to invade my river brought about my love's demise," Achelous spits. Actually spits. It lands inches from Jason's white sneakers.

Juliette steps around her 'husband' to stand in between them. "It's alright, it's alright! Please, just tell me what happened."

Still glancing suspiciously back at Jason, Achelous sighs. Then, he meets her eyes, and his entire demeanor softens. He holds out a hand towards the river, and a few delicate shapes take hold in the air.

One is a woman in a flowing gown. Hers is the most detailed of the three figures. Her hair flows down to her elbows in bouncy curls, swaying with every teasing and flirtatious motion she makes. Deianira. Or, at least, how Achelous recalls her.

The second is clearly Achelous from the bull legs and (two) horns. He is holding his hand out towards Deianira as the two lean in for a kiss.

The third is large and stocky. On his head sits the mane of a lion, and his meaty hand grips the pommel of a familiar sword. Juliette and Jason watch as this figure stalks forward and shoves Achelous' likeness to the ground before reaching down and tearing one of his horns from his head.

The sight is nauseating. Julie covers her mouth with her hands.

"The day you left me was the final day that I truly lived," Achelous whispers. "I do not know what it was I did to displease you. Perhaps I was too aloof. Too distracted. I only realized how powerful my devotion to you truly was once you were gone. Foolishly, I believed that one day, when you realized the shallowness of Heracles' affection, you would return to me."

Achelous' figure bows his head and melts into the river. Deianira's takes Heracles' hand, and the two frolic away. The figures skip to the other side of the river, and Achelous' face grows more grim.

"Realize his disloyalty, you did. But return, you did not. It was not long before your new husband abandoned you for the beds of others. The naiads of your homeland told me of your heartache. Of the waves of grief that your powers released. Of the plants and animals which withered in your presence because of it."

The god's face crumbles. "And, still, I failed you."

Heracles' figure flirts with female forms of water all around him as Deianira cries on her knees. Juliette looks over at Jason. He's focused in on the story, dread in his eyes. Something about his reaction feels important to her. She finds it hard to turn away.

But, then, another figure joins the puppet show. A hulking creature, half man and half horse, trots from the depths of the waters to tower over Deianira's crouched form. Even just as a pocket of water being manipulated through the sky, the thing feels evil. Its malice seeps from it like a bad smell. Julie's heart beats faster.

"When Nessus found you, Heracles was almost too late."

Deianira's form is snatched from the ground. Julie closes her eyes.

It's just water. It's just water. But, it's clear what it was the centaur wanted from the woman. Achelous spares them no mercy in that depiction.

"He rescued you from the centaur's clutches, but his neglect had taken its toll on your heart, and with his dying breaths, the clever centaur told you of a way you could reverse it."

The dying centaur reaches up to Deianira. The woman kneels beside him and reaches down towards his wound.

Achelous' face has turned to stone. He looks angrier with every passing word.

"He claimed that a centaur's blood could ensnare a man to be faithful forever. He claimed that applying it to Heracles' tunic mixed with the oils you bathed in would enchant him to return your love."

Juliette watches, horrified, as Deianira lets her dagger drip what her memories supply to be black, foul smelling blood onto Heracles' laundry. It's starting to make sense now. A realization is settling in her gut like a scorching ball of lead.

"You followed his instructions. But, of course..."

Jason takes a step forward, running his fingers through the water that makes up Deianira's hands as they smear blood onto the tunic. He seems to be understanding too. He turns around to meet Juliette's eyes, sad and pitying for the poor, gullible princess.

"Centaur blood is like acid," He says quietly.

Acid.

Oh, gods.

Achelous sighs, wrapping an arm around Julie's shoulders.

"Heracles died a painful death. And, when he realized what you had done, Zeus himself appeared above your grieving form."

Deianira's body bows over Heracles' corpse, hands pressed over her sobbing face. A bearded figure in a long chiton materializes above her and grabs her roughly by the arm. He raises a hand, face contorted in rage, and Deianira collapses to writhe in agony on the floor herself.

"He cursed you," Achelous chokes. "For the death of his son, Zeus cursed your blood to become acid in your veins. To smoke and to burn all that it touched, but to never kill you."

Deianira's body spasms, the water rippling. Juliette's legs become weak as Achelous' words sink in. The god lowers her gently to the grass as she begins to shake her head through silent tears.

"It took you three weeks to gain the strength to take your own life. It was another three before I learned what had become of you. By then, it was too late. Your soul was nowhere to be found. Not in the Underworld. Not in Olympus. Simply gone."

Juliette's going to throw up.

"I have learned since then that your curse was passed down. That your brothers and sisters of Heartbreak carry your blood. They have adapted to live with it. I always hoped that, perhaps, that meant it could be possible your death was merely a rumor," Achelous takes Juliette's face in his hands, thumbs swiping across her wet cheeks to catch her tears. Sadness etches through his features. "Now, I see that I was mistaken. I am sorry, my Deianira."

She doesn't know what to say. For the first time in a very long time, Juliette finds herself truly speechless.

Deianira had apologized not just to Hercules, but to her. The reason Juliette has to always patch up her own wounds. The reason she's spent her whole life feeling like a freak. Like she's not even half human.

It all goes back to this.

Vengeance for a princess scorned

Rears passage through the lion's horns.

Her eyes flit up to Achelous' remaining horn. She leans into his hand. "Achelous..."

"Yes, my love?"

Juliette swallows. "I need to be put to rest. And, to do it, I need your horn."

The river god blinks. He leans away a few inches, frowns, looks down, and then raises his eyes back to hers in determination.

"Will this bring you peace?" He asks.

Juliette can't bring herself to answer that out loud. She hopes so, but she truly doesn't know. So, she nods instead.

Without a second of hesitation, Achelous reaches above his head, clasps his blue fingers around the tip of his horn, and yanks downwards roughly. A sickening crack echoes through the forest, and Juliette startles, but Achelous never breaks eye contact with her. Golden ichor begins to flow from the nub left behind on his head. He holds the horn out to her unflinchingly.

With wide eyes, Juliette gingerly reaches forward and pulls it gently from his grasp. She glances at Jason, and he shuffles towards them, tense now that they've got the goods. All she has to do is make it to him, and he'll fly them out of here. Hades, she could probably just transform right now and escape without any effort at all. But, a pair of sad amber eyes are still lingering in the forefront of her memories, and Juliette finds that she just can't get herself to take the easy way out.

So, instead, she leans forward and presses a kiss to Achelous' cheek.

"Thank you, my love," She whispers.

Fresh tears begin to spill from the god's eyes. He bows his head, still on his knees as Juliette rises to her feet. She rests a hand on the spot his horn had just been and reaches into her hip pack for gauze and bandages. Silently, with as much gentleness as possible, Juliette wraps up the bleeding (ichoring?) stub nice and tight. She drops a kiss onto the crying god's head, brushes the dark curls off of his blue forehead, and takes a step back.

"You were a good husband," She says. He stops sobbing and looks up at her. She gives him a sad smile. "Try and find someone else to love, okay? You deserve that. You deserve more than this."

Achelous blinks in surprise, and she gives him one last soft look before glancing at Jason pointedly and letting her transformation wash over her.

"Well," Julie sighs, choking back tears. "At least we got the horn."

Jason lands beside her on the beach with a worried frown. "I guess..."

Julie sniffles. Then, she shrugs. "It's fine. It doesn't really matter anyway."

"Which part?" asks Jason.

Julie just laughs. "I dunno. Any of it? All of it? It's not like knowing my history will change it. I still won't be donating to the Red Cross anytime soon."

Jason grimaces. "Juliette, it's okay to be upse-"

"I know. But, I'm not," Julie snips. She glances at him coldly and hauls up the horn for him to see. "We got the horn. That's all that matters. So, we can give it to Mr. Prissy Pants, get him to forgive Deianira, and everyone can be on their merry way."

Jason doesn't look satisfied. He's gazing down at her like her clothes are on fire and she's putting everything but her socks out because she's 'gonna walk on them, so they'll probably stop burning.' He doesn't get the chance to interrogate her further, though, because a booming voice grumbles from behind them.

"You got it?"

They both turn around to see Hercules striding up to them, hands in his pockets (those robes have pockets, but none of Julie's blue jeans do? Male privilege). Juliette scowls. "Yeah, we got it."

The god raises bored eyebrows. "Fine. In that case, you're free to go." He holds his hand out to receive the horn.

Something red hot is simmering below Julie's skin. Scratch that. It's boiling over. She snarls at him.

"Hades no. I'm not giving this to you."

Hercules' face drops. Jason sighs tiredly behind her, but makes no move to contradict her statement, so she doesn't turn around and smack him. Juliette slams the horn into Jason's hands and strides up to Hercules fearlessly. Every step she takes, the higher his eyebrows go on his forehead.

"I have had about enough of my kind being the scapegoats of Olympus!" She snaps. For the second time that day, Julie pokes her finger into Hercules' chest. This time, instead of getting angry, he seems flabbergasted by her audacity. "Did Deianira screw up? Absolutely! Did you deserve it? Honestly, yeah, and I think you know that too."

Hercules opens his mouth to protest, and Juliette holds up her other hand in his face to silence him.

"No! You hush for a minute!"

His mouth snaps close, his eyes wide. Julie continues her lecture like he'd never interrupted.

"Everyone always forgets that I can literally sense emotions!" She throws her hands up in frustration. "Do you know how annoying that is?! So, I can feel that you feel guilty. Just admit it, then Deianira can rest, you can take a chill pill, and everyone can go home happy. Deal?"

Hercules just glares at her. His hand isn't anywhere near his club, though, so Julie feels safe enough to put a hand on her hip and snap her fingers in front of his face.

"Hello? You can speak now, lion guy."

He slaps her hand away. There's no force to it, though. It almost seems good natured.

"Deianira got me killed," He grunts.

Julie sighs. "Yeah. And, your dad killed her. What of it?"

Something funny twinkles in Hercules' eyes. A small smirk pulls at his lips, and he shakes his head at her. "You know," He huffs a laugh. "You're preaching in Deianira's name, but you remind me more of Megara."

Juliette blinks in surprise. Megara. His first wife. The one Hera drove him mad enough to kill. It had been the greatest tragedy of his short life. "Oh...Is that a compliment?"

He chuckles. "Definitely not."

Hercules sighs heavily, looking around Julie to Jason where he's staring in shock at their little interaction. He chuckles at the expression on the blonde's face. "Oh, little brother...This girl is gonna chew you up and spit you out."

Jason makes a few unintelligible sounds, holding the horn in front of him like a live bomb.

Hercules looks back to Juliette and crosses his arms. "I forgive her, alright?" He snips. "I forgave her a long time ago. I wasn't exactly a great husband. If I really treated her badly enough she tried love potioning me..." He sighs. "I won't say I'm not angry. But, a lot of that's because I did love her already. I should have helped her to see that."

A breeze passes across the beach. One smelling of lavender and chamomile. The sound of it is peaceful, melodic. It flutters through their hair, and a nostalgic gleam appears in Hercules' eyes. He closes them for a moment and takes a deep breath in.

A smile fights its way onto Juliette's face. She nods at him, and he nods back before turning to face their ship.

"If you're gonna go, go. Before I change my mind and exact my toll after all."

Juliette laughs. "Spoken like a true glorified bridge troll."

"Don't make me count down from ten."

"Wow, would you look at the time! C'mon Soldier Boy, time to go!"

She scampers off towards the water, letting her limbs extend and soaring up into the sky. Jason watches her go, an amused grin across his cheeks. He doesn't notice Hercules approaching until he's only a foot away, looking up at Juliette's wyvern in the sky above them as well.

"I wasn't just dicking around, by the way," says Hercules. Jason looks at him curiously. He nods up at Juliette. "Zeus demigods, especially male ones...We're not good with romance. Even without a Heartbreak's rotten luck. One way or another," He warns. "You're gonna snap that girl's heart in two."

Dread stirs in the pit of Jason's stomach. He looks up at Juliette where she's cartwheeling through the clouds. Hurt her? Jason would never do that. He honestly thinks he'd rather die.

He shakes his head, smiling. Hercules is wrong.

"Wait, so what does it do?" Piper asks, frowning suspiciously at the cornucopia on the dining table.

Juliette shrugs. "I have no idea. It's pretty though, so...happy birthday!"

Piper prods at the thing with the end of her butter knife. "Um. Thanks?"

"Mhm," Julie hums, stretching her arms up in a huge yawn. "Don't mention it."

Frank shakes his head at her with wide eyes. "Did you actually yell at Hercules?"

Blushing, Juliette buries her face behind her coffee mug. "I wouldn't say I yelled-"

"She did," Jason interrupts. He drops into the chair next to her, and Juliette looks away scowling. "She also called him a glorified bridge troll."

The group laughs, Annabeth groaning and Leo repeating the joke over and over again. Juliette doesn't even crack a smile. She glares at Jason from the corner of her eye and looks over at Hazel innocently. "What's so funny? Did someone say something?"

Hazel looks confused. "What? Jason just-"

"Oh, is Jason here?" Julie asks, saccharinely sweet. She puts a hand up like she's shading her eyes and looks around, purposely passing right over the blonde boy beside her. "Huh, I don't see him. He must have moved on since 'dumping this horrid beast back where he found' me."

Jason groans. "Rosa, how many times do I have to say I'm sorry? I was just trying to placate him."

Julie ignores him, standing and arching to pop her back. "Oh well, guess Jason's not here. I certainly don't hear him trying to mumble out any unintelligent nonsense to my left."

"Why are you like this?"

"Well, goodnight, everybody! Let me know if you find him!"

She saunters out of the mess hall, and the group turns to look at Jason with amused expressions. Leo snickers across the table.

"Trouble in paradise, Superman?"

"Shut up, Leo."

Jason finds her in her quarters a little while later, stuffing medical supplies into a lavender backpack covered in smiley faces. It makes him grin, despite the tension between them. How Juliette of her. She's adorable.

He raps his knuckles quietly against her door. She turns around, spots him, and glowers, turning her back on him pointedly to continue packing. He enters anyway.

"You didn't eat much," He shares his observation, holding up a plate with a few slices of cheese pizza. "You probably should. You're gonna need your strength tomorrow."

"I'll be fine," She says shortly.

Jason sighs. He sets the plate on top of her dresser and moves fully into the room to stand behind her. Gently, he lays a hand on her shoulder and guides Juliette around to look at him.

"Are you really mad about the 'dumping' thing?" He asks.

Judging from the way her face sours, she's not thrilled about the dumping thing, but she shakes her head. He purses his lips and squeezes her shoulder.

"You know you can tell me anything...?"

Juliette glances up at him. There's usually such fire in those green eyes that the quieter moments like this feel strange to Jason. She looks shy, hesitant. It's a look he feels privileged to view in its sincerity.

She sighs, and the action blows some of her strawberry blonde hair away from her face. It lands back against her cheek, and Jason has to restrain himself from reaching out to push it behind her ear.

"Did I do the right thing?" She asks.

Jason raises his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

Juliette huffs. "I mean with Achelous. Did I...Was that wrong?"

Ah. The fib. Jason hesitates. He's got to admit, it had been weird seeing Julie go along with the river god's delusion that she was his late wife. It had been strange to watch, but it got them to their goal in the end. It kept them from having to fight Achelous and steal the horn. But, still...He understands why she isn't sure.

His hesitation seems to be answer enough for her. She slumps, and Jason almost kicks himself, moving forward to grip both of her shoulders earnestly. "Hey, I was just thinking about it. Don't get ahead of me."

She nods, but her eyes stay down.

Jason sighs. "I don't really know if it was wrong, to be honest. I think..." He scrunches his face up in thought. The sight makes Juliette giggle a little when she glances up, which makes a mini version of himself fist pump in his brain. "Maybe a good way to look at it would be - do you think Deianira would approve?"

Juliette frowns in consideration. "Huh...I mean...I don't know."

"Do you think it worked?"

She nods. "Yeah. I felt her spirit there on the beach with Hercules. She's at peace now."

Jason shakes her a little, giving her an encouraging smile. "Then, isn't that all that matters? No one got hurt. Even Achelous is healing now. Maybe it wasn't the most shining, polished, morally correct option you could have picked, but I'd say it was a good choice. Better than anything I could have come up with."

Juliette smiles a little, eyes drifting down to the floor. She shrugs self consciously. "I guess."

Jason shakes his head. "You're ridiculous. You'll brag after catching five pieces of popcorn in your mouth for weeks, but chew out a literal god, and you get all shy."

She gapes at him. "I am not shy!"

"Tell that to your face," He teases, pinching her reddened cheek.

She glares, slapping away his hand. He just uses the other instead, so she slaps it too. In a matter of seconds, they're in an all out slapping/face pinching war, and thoughts of princesses and sad Roman gods are left behind their flying ship with the Pillars of Hercules.