Listening to: Hislerim by Serhat Durmuş, feat. Zerrin
Percy woke up slowly.
Sunlight filtered through the plants and the light graced his face. But something was off. He opened his eyes and was surprised to find himself underwater.
Well, that was obvious because he's in a kelp forest, right? Wrong, because Percy couldn't sense the water around him.
He shot backwards, partially floating because he could tell the water was there, but couldn't feel it on his skin. He reacted appropriately, "AAARGWAAAA!"
Percy pushed off further into the water, his body going through the seaweed and coral as though they weren't real. Or worse, like he wasn't real!
This can't be happening!
But it was.
I'm not real.
That errant thought made him stop. Percy sucked in a large gulp, but it wasn't water swirling in his throat. He was losing it.
Percy pushed his feet against the sands and shot out of the water. He gawked at the surface world.
Birds flew overhead. The sky glowed pink and blue in a way Percy had never seen before. Clouds scattered the light and he swore he could see stars peeking from behind the fluff. It looked like deep space was hiding behind a thin veneer of the gentle sky.
The most apparent thing that took over the skyline was a towering pale stone castle that grew from the precipice of an island. The front line of the rest of the island took up the horizon.
Percy stayed in the water, trying to process everything. Taking the Annabeth route, he listed out his worries:
- he could not feel the ocean's power
- he had a craving for dumplings
- his heartbeat did not exist
- someone was watching him
- his body had passed through kelp, coral, and rocks like he wasn't real
- he couldn't sense his coordinates in the water.
Okay, that wasn't organised by level of urgency but Percy's in charge for the rest of this chapter, so suck it.
Wait, back up. Who was watching him?
He swivelled around to stare at the sunlit forest to the left of the castle. A pair of eyes disappeared into the shrubs.
Pushing himself through the sea was strangely easy. He let his shoes touch the shoreline. There was no water clinging to him so there was no need to repel the drops and stay dry. Percy felt for his non-existent heartbeat and wondered if he was dead.
Lupa. Wolf House. Harry and Rachel.
Arrow.
Percy panicked and felt around his neck. He yanked the collar of his hoodie to the side to check the entry wound… which was also non-existent. No pain, no blood, no wound, no arrow…
No bracelet either. No sword or dagger. He had nothing with him except for his clothes and his shoes. And his camp necklace. He exhaled in minute relief, holding onto the beads to calm himself.
"Ow!" someone cried.
Percy's head whipped upwards to look at the bountiful trees covering the island. There was someone on the branches.
She had dark reddish-brown hair that shimmered under the sun. Her gentle brown skin was new to the world. Her robes were caught in the wind, blowing freely, but the girl didn't seem to care. Percy walked around the tree to avert his eyes and was able to get a better glimpse of her face.
Symmetrical and sharp. That's what she looked like. Pretty as well, but Percy was caught by her expression. She was determined to climb the tree in an uncomfortable dress.
"Hello?" he called.
She wrapped her hands around a large branch and peered down at him.
"Greetings!" she chirped and Percy recognised the language easily. Not English, but so much older. Her words had a lot of S's in there.
"A beautiful day, is it not?" the girl called out. "Have you seen my friend? Pyr slipped away and I can't find her."
Pir? Percy mouthed to himself. He'd never heard a name like that. More to the point, the girl's ancient tongue was dated and swirled in the air the way older languages loved to do. Percy figured he wasn't in Greece.
Except…
"I haven't seen anyone else," he admitted. "I'm Percy. I think I'm lost."
The girl gasped. She poked her head through a clump of leaves and exclaimed, "Oh no! Are you alright? Where are you from? Let me help you!"
Even as she said it, she was making her way to the left, artfully placing her feet on the root of the branches while finding solid holds on the stems. She seemed like a natural, always aware that the tree could have a dryad watching silently.
And then Percy saw the hive.
"Wait! Get away from it!" he hissed, backing away from underneath the dangerous branch which had several wasps already buzzing around it.
The girl beamed. "You see it too? I've never seen one before, it's my first time."
"Wh… what?"
"The bees," she explained carelessly.
"That's not a beehive," Percy warned. "It's for wasps!"
The girl paused in her efforts. "Well, I've never seen a wasp either."
"No one wants to!"
"That's rude," she chastised him like a proud sister. "All beings in Lord Zeus's kingdom are treasured and vital."
Percy gawked. "The wasps won't think that about you!"
"I am just going to greet them."
The branch wobbled. She grabbed onto another one, voice faltering. The wasp hive shook ominously.
"Olympus above!" she gasped.
"Hold on!" Percy yelled, running to the tree. He held his arms out to catch her just as she fell.
The girl passed through him like he was a projection. She hit the ground hard, feet crumpling painfully.
She cried out as one of her ankles twisted the wrong way. Collapsing on the grass, she struggled to breathe properly. Percy was still standing there, arms outstrectched, absolutely stunned.
I'm not real.
The girl shuddered in pain, moments away from tears. She looked up, still gasping. "Who… what are you?!"
I'm not real in this world.
I'm dead.
Lupa's arrow. She'd killed him. And Percy had woken up in this strange place with a strange girl who was foolish enough to explore a wasp hive.
One of the bushes nearby rustled.
Percy spun around, hand thrusting into his pocket for Riptide, but his pen was missing. Right, he had no weapons.
The brambles parted to reveal a snake. He backed away from it, revulsed and caught in admiration. It was a smooth-scaled snake.
"Pyr!" the girl cried in relief, holding her trembling hands out. The beautiful green snake slithered right up to her, curling around her hands and she lifted it up to hold it close to her chest.
Footsteps were heard off to the side.
"Oh, my gods," Percy finally whispered. "I'm so sorry! I don't know what happened—"
The girl looked up with teary eyes, but before she could say anything, a man wandered into the clearing.
He was large and tall, just like the titan Atlas. He wore red robes with gold-trimmed garments and simple jewellery. Percy immediately stood between him and the girl, fists clenched.
It didn't matter. The newcomer couldn't see him.
"Are you alright, my Lady?" he asked the girl.
She flinched, trying to turn around to see him clearly. "Who are you?"
The man (or a minor god, Percy wondered) made a face and said, "I am the master of this island. Who are you to come to my home and ask me such a question?"
The girl looked at Percy before staring at god. "Can you not see him?"
"See… who?"
Percy stepped forwards and waved a hand in front of the god. There was no realisation there. He actually couldn't see Percy!
Then the god looked down and saw her swelling ankle. "You are hurt!"
The girl winced. "Yes, I… I apologise, my Lord. I did not mean to interrogate you. But I was in the tree."
"Why?"
"Looking for Pyr!" she held up her beloved snake. "Found her!"
The god gazed at her in wonder.
He kneeled down at a good distance away from her to not startle the girl. The snake unwound itself from her grip and went into the grass, reaching the god. It raised its head and gave a deep bow. His voice rumbled, "I know this creature. Pyr."
The girl nodded slowly. The god continued, "I remember you. You are the first snake. One of the first souls I have ever crafted."
Percy and the girl looked stunned. "Pardon?"
The god grinned. It made him look younger and less imposing to set the girl at ease. His brown hair curled in gentle tufts Percy realised this was someone he should know. This being looked like Atlas but younger and nicer.
"Dio Immortales!" the girl exclaimed, her dark brown eyes shining. "You're Lord Epimetheus!"
Oh.
Oh, shit!
She tried to kneel but stumbled forwards. Epimetheus rushed to catch her. Unlike Percy, this time it worked. She braced his arms and he helped her stand on her sprained ankle.
The snake slithered down his hand and coiled around her arm and shoulder. Percy backed away, chest growing heavy. He had a faint idea of what he was witnessing.
"Forgive me, my lady," Epimetheus whispered with stars in his eyes. "I do not recognise you."
The girl grinned, her smile lighting up the forest around them. "I am new to this world, Lord Epimetheus. Do not apologise."
"I have helped create souls of all mortals," he said, frowning. "I do not recognise yours… but you are not divine?"
"No more than a man," she giggled. "My soul came not from your hands, master potter, but from the gods. I am Pandora."
… dam.
Percy watched as the pair slowly made their way to the castle. Epimetheus was blushing every time Pandora paid him the slightest attention. And she had eyes for no one but him, so they were both glowing like fireflies.
Percy was in the past.
He was killed and sent to the past where he didn't feel real and was invisible to everyone except for Pandora. He was watching the moment when Pandora met Epimetheus.
What the hell kind of arrows did Lupa have?
Or was this a side-effect of dying with the bracelet? Percy wondered where Harry and Rachel went when they died. Harry mentioned his parents once. Rachel had said something about a wasteland. But neither of them remembered much of when they were dead.
Would Percy not remember this? Would he forget seeing Pandora, her mad pet snake, and her new boyfriend who was half a step away from proposing to her?
They entered the palace. The guards stood at attention, saluting the lord and lady. Percy followed silently.
For a moment, Pandora turned back to look at him curiously. Percy grimaced. She was clearly confused as well but elected to not mention him to the titan.
Epimetheus called on a few servants to clean and dress Pandora's ankle. She beamed, delighted to meet new people.
The men were startled by her presence, moving around the room as though they'd never encountered anyone like her. When one of them nearly tipped over an amphora of water, Epimetheus tutted and sent them all away. He bent over her ankle and began dressing it himself.
Pandora was flushed. Percy buried his face in his hands.
"Why am I here?" he whispered.
Her eyes darted to him, silent but inquisitive. She said nothing.
The couple sat in the room and began to chat. Epimetheus told her all about his role in the grand scheme of the gods. He was in charge of creating all flora and fauna in the world. It wasn't just their bodies he build, it was their minds and souls that he crafted with his bare hands, using his innate sense of magic and the clay in the special mixing room to build every creature.
"My brother has a similar role," Epimetheus explained, eyes shining. "He brings forth intelligent life."
Pandora sat up straight. "Mortals!"
"Yes," the titan grinned, looking much younger now like a sweet teenager surrounded by butterflies. Percy wanted to strangle him.
When it was Pandora's turn to talk, she said, "I was created by the Olympians. Perhaps that is why I am not familiar to you."
Epimetheus's eyes went round. "You are a goddess! Of course! I apologise a thousand times over, my Lady!"
"No, no!" she assured him. "I am mortal, just like your brother's creations."
The titan tilted his head, bemused. "But… you are not man?"
Percy made a face. Had Epimetheus never seem a girl before?
Pandora found the titan's confusion hilarious. "My Lord! I am a woman. I am the first of my kind. Lady Athena has spoken of the many sexes that exist between the gods. They wanted to see if mortals can sustain the same."
Epimetheus went red. "Oh, yes. I see now. You are very becoming, my Lady."
The two giggled like school kids. Percy wondered if he could bang his head on the wall. Unfortunately, his body passed through solid things.
(How the Hades was he standing on the floor? Shouldn't he have sunk all the way down to the center of the planet and come out the other side?)
Best not to question it too much.
More to the point was Pandora's explanation. She was the first mortal woman. Prometheus used her likeness to create more mortal women out of clay, but that's way down the line. No wonder the servants had been tripping over themselves. They'd never seen or dreamed anyone like her.
As Apollo's chariot made its way across the sky, Pandora and Epimetheus became Dora and Theus.
Percy paced around the room, stepped out into the corridor, and looked everywhere around the palace. He had no way out of this death dream. Pandora and Pyr seemed to be the only creatures who could see him. If a titan of creation couldn't sense Percy, how could two mortals do so?
The sun had set by the time Percy had come back, stumbling into the room only to find the titan and mortal making out.
Pandora jumped. "Oh!"
Epimetheus practically flew off of her and Percy slapped both hands over his face, spinning around.
Pandora turned away to catch her breath. Epimetheus swallowed uncomfortably, "Are you alright?"
Right, he couldn't see Percy blushing to high Olympus.
She stammered a response, and Percy was about to walk out again when a new voice emerged, "Perhaps, your lordship could show my companion her room? If she is to stay?"
Percy gawked at the snake. The thing talked.
Epimetheus nodded frantically. "Yes, yes! My lady, if you choose to stay, I will arrange some comfortable quarters for you."
Pandora gazed at him. "Yes, I accept! You can understand her?"
He grinned. "Of course, I speak the snake-tongue. I created her kind. I am taken aback that you can."
Pandora blushed. "Lord Hermes bestowed a boon upon me. I can interact with all creatures that roam the realm."
Percy's eyes widened. Parseltongue! Beings in Super-Ancient Greece spoke Parseltongue? Exactly how old was the language?
And also… all creatures? Is that why Pandora can see him when no one else could? But how did the snake know? Was Pyr also blessed?
Epimetheus bowed and left the room to arrange a place for her to stay the night. Pandora quickly brushed back some errant hairs.
"Why can he not see you?" she whispered.
Percy shrugged helplessly. "No clue. This is my first time in a situation like this."
Pandora nodded slowly. Her eyes roamed his entire person, observing the clothes he wore. "That is a strange garment."
"It's a hoodie."
There was no word for hoodie in any ancient Greek dialect. Percy said it using the English word. Pandora stared.
"What is hoo-dee?"
"S'what I'm wearing."
"No… what language is it?"
"English."
"What is Eengg-leesh?"
"It's," Percy screwed up his face, trying to use words she'd know. "It's a different tongue, derived from Latin."
Pandora frowned. "What is Laa-teen?"
Ooh, boy.
"Where are you from?" Pyr asked. Percy jumped.
Pandora peered excitedly. "You can understand her!"
"Uhhh… far away," Percy blurted. "From far, far away! And yeah, I guess I can."
"Wonderful! But you haven't mentioned why Lord Epimetheus and the other mortals cannot see you?"
Percy rubbed the back of his neck. "I… I don't know. Perhaps I'm a mere spirit in this land."
Pandora grew sad. "Oh no! My apologies, Percy!"
"No problem," Percy assured her. "I'll probably be leaving soon."
She pouted, "You will? Where are you going?"
"My place? Like I said, it's really far away and something happened to me. So while my body heals, I'm here like a… a spirit or a memory."
Pandora nodded slowly. Thankfully, she didn't outwardly call on his bluff. But she could tell he was lying somehow.
She picked at the linen of her extravagant chair. Percy scuffed his shoes on the floor, awkwardly. Of course, the floor did not scuff.
"Are you a god?" Pandora finally asked.
He did a double-take. "Er… nope!"
"Okay. It's just that… you are very reminiscent of one of the Olympians, did you know that? Lord Poseidon!"
Percy maintained eye contact. "Who dat?"
Pandora went on a spiel. She spoke about the Olympians in glowing and deferential terms. She waxed poetry about their power and poise, their beauty and cleverness, and how King Zeus (in all his infinite wisdom) thought to create her, a mortal woman, to see if they could advance mortal life across the world.
"I am the only mortal whose soul has been crafted by the king himself!" Pandora preened. "All the creatures down here were given life by the Titans of creation—Lord Prometheus and his brother Epimetheus!"
Percy nodded. "Dope."
Pyr, her snake, slithered out from around her forearm. She raised her solemn head and hissed, "Why does the Titan not sense you, traveller?"
Traveller was an apt word for Percy, he figured.
"No clue," Percy sighed. "I didn't think I'd get this far after…"
After dying. Lupa had killed him. And Percy was 7000 years in the past as a non-corporeal ghost talking to Pandora.
He hoped that Harry and Rachel weren't freaking out too badly.
Narrator's voice: Percy was wrong.
Stay tuned for more!
Cabba.