We Take a Shortcut Down Memory Lane

"What took so long?" Thalia said, her arms crossed. "We were half-debating about sending a search party."

"Oh, you know. Hanging out at the infirmary, dealing with another attempted gang attack, belittling an incompetent satyr. The usual."

Thalia and Phoebe seemed to join Zoë and the nymphs during my absence. The former was lounging back on a bed with her legs propped up while the latter was in the back of a cabin petting a bunny. Cinder was perched on Thalia's knee, happily chasing her finger while she twirled it in circles over his head.

"Another attack?" Zoë growled. "Will these fools never learn?"

Despite her harsh words, she was apparently in the middle of consoling Ashe about something. Her hands rubbed gently over her back. Though Ashe was concealing it very well, her sensitivity to touch made this far more erotic than I think Zoë intended.

Thŷella wasn't doing much better. She slumped at the foot of a bed, mindlessly tapping some pattern on her thigh.

Palírroia rushed to her side, taking her face in her hands and fretting over her like a mother hen.

"Are you hurt?" she asked, running her hands over her arms.

"A little," Thŷella replied. "I scraped my legs on the floor. But Ashe protected me."

Ashe snorted. "Barely. It wasn't me who single-handedly put five of them on the ground."

"I'm pretty sure Mrs. O'Leary can take credit for one of those. Anyways, if we've learned anything, it's that we aren't safe or welcome here. Chiron can only do so much, and we don't have any realistic way to avoid more issues long term. I may have talked a big game to protect the nymphs, but we had way too many close calls today."

"You're taking on way too much responsibility here," Thalia said. "We can keep them safe for at least tonight. Nobody would be stupid enough to touch them in here."

"Speaking of which," Zoë cut in, "where are Nimba and Rose?"

"The infirmary. They didn't want to leave Sierra behind. I've got Will keeping an eye on them."

"Well, if you're going to have a guard, he's certainly one of the best. That's not going to be much help when he has to go to bed though."

"I'll retrieve them then," Zoë said, standing from her bed.

"He still has a couple hours left. Privileges of being a medic. He has to monitor his patients overnight. Let them enjoy their time."

"Very well." She returned to her seat.

Palírroia continued going over Thŷella's injuries, asking questions and offering gentle words of comfort. After inspecting her legs, she stood up and silently marched out of the cabin, her expression very familiar, but far more restrained. She left the cabin without a word, the rest of us watching her go.

I returned my gaze to Thalia, who only gave me a slight nod of her head before setting Cinder aside and moving to Thŷella.

Taking my cue to leave, I followed Palírroia out of the cabin. Mrs. O'Leary popped her head up, but I gave her a pat on the nose and told her to stay put.

Palírroia didn't wander far, stepping over to the nearest building. As luck would have it, that building was the Aphrodite cabin. The pink Barbie house nightmare of a building seemed to loom over me, daring me to come closer and risk getting snatched up by the campers inside.

I took that dare.

Palírroia was leaning over, her hands pressed against the wall. As I approached her, she heaved silently, shivering with every exhale.

"Are you okay?" I asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Though frozen for a moment, she turned to me with a pained smile, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Her hand latched onto mine and held it in place.

"Long ago, I promised myself to never cry in front of the others. To take the brunt of every punishment, yet only ever offer a smile to the other nymphs. This is especially true for Thŷella."

She surged forward and huddled herself against me.

"After what they did to her, I did everything I could to make every moment for her happy. Played with her when I could. Taught her what little I know. From my refusal to cry to my constant stepping out to take the punishments of others, I sheltered her from them as much as I could.

"But I see now that I was a fool. She is not ready for this world. She's still so naive. If only I could better prepare her for what people can do to her."

"Don't talk like that. You did everything you could."

"Did I?" She looked up at me with a pleading expression. "Maybe I could have convinced them to keep her memory. Maybe I could have found a way to help cure her sight. But down there, I was all alone. I was always too scared to defy them. Everything they did—"

"Stop." I grabbed her by the shoulders and looked her right in the eye. "Dwelling on what happened isn't going to help anyone. You did what you could. Everything that happened was because of Phorcys."

She grimaced. "I know… but… She's still so helpless. At the very least, I should have stayed with her. I was just so excited about meeting more people. I only planned on staying for a short time, but then they trapped me and… well… you saw the rest for yourself."

"Again. Not your fault. Besides, even if you were there, there's no way you could have stood up to all of them."

"But I could have helped them escape," she insisted. "Thŷella thought they wanted to be her friends at first. But all of the noises, the smells, the new surroundings; they overwhelmed her. I should never have left her side!"

I bit back a curse. She had a point. Not about leaving Thŷella with Ashe, but about how easily she'd be overwhelmed. For someone who's blind, teleporting to a brand new place must be debilitating. For all of the injuries the medics could treat, blindness definitely wasn't one of them.

Memories however…

"I have an idea."

She went still. Eyes still glassy, she chewed her lip in anticipation.

"Now I don't know if it will work, but I have some experience with memory loss. First when I fought a titan. Later when a goddess stole my memories."

Those glassy eyes went wider than dinner plates. "Did you get them back?! Wait, you must have! Or you would not remember the titan!"

"Exactly. Of course, my memories came back over time, but I don't think Thŷella's will work the same way."

"No," she said forlornly. "They would have returned long ago if that were true."

"But there just so happens to be someone here who might be able to help."

"Truly?" She practically bounced in place. "They can restore her memories?"

"Possibly. We've had a couple… incidents in the past. But I don't think anyone had any permanent damage."

She lowered her head. "I would still like to try. That is, of course, if she wants it as well."

"No time like the present to find out. Let's go ask her."

Before I could turn away, she jumped forward and tackled me with a kiss. Her arms wrapped around my neck and her legs around my waist. As her tongue explored the intricacies of my mouth, I couldn't help but feel a bit lightheaded.

"Thank you, Master. Even if she says no. Even if this fails. Thank you."

Someone cleared their throat behind me.

I whirled around to find Argus standing at attention, his arms crossed. Only then did I realize our audience was even bigger. A number of faces were staring at us from the windows of the Aphrodite cabin. Something told me the next few days would be filled with endless gossip about how I had an oceanid wrapped around me with her tongue down my throat.

Argus grunted, nodding his head in the direction of cabin eight. No need for him to tell me twice.

With Palírroia still dangling from my shoulders, I returned to the cabin.

Of all the things to expect when we walked in, a game of truth or dare wasn't one of them, or something like that at least. All of the girls sat in a circle around Thŷella, who currently had both hands placed on Thalia's knees. Even Phoebe sat among them, albeit with clear reluctance. All the while, Cinder sat on top of Thalia's head.

"Hast thou ever been arrested?" Zoë asked.

"Hmm… Does getting captured by an enemy count?"

"No. By any mortal police."

"In that case, no. Had a close call or two though."

Thŷella held her hands in place for a few more seconds before pulling away. "What she said is true."

"I was only gone for a couple minutes," I said with a chuckle. "How did you all wind up here?"

Thalia perked up with a devious grin. "Turns out Thŷella is a walking lie detector. She can detect the electrical impulses in your nerves. We are so having everyone for a game night one day."

"We'll take it under advisement," a voice behind me said.

I turned to find Annabeth standing outside the doorway, Reyna and Kinzie standing to her sides.

"Busy day?"

She quirked a brow. "Not as busy as yours from what I've heard. Care to explain how half a dozen campers wound up in the infirmary?"

"They had it coming."

"I'm sure they did. But that's beside the point. We also need to know what to do about sleeping and living arrangements. Obviously, not everyone here is a demigod, and of those who are, some happen to have parents outside of the currently allowed cabins. I don't know about you, but I'm not keen on the idea of shoving them in the Hermes cabin."

"We shall shelter them," Zoë said, standing from the circle. "If this stay is only temporary, I do not believe Artemis would look down on us sheltering other women in need of a place to sleep."

"Are you sure? The nymphs are one thing, but now you're talking about demigoddesses."

"If Lady Artemis takes issue with my charity, she will let me know soon enough. Besides, as I understand, two of the nymphs are technically demigods as well, are they not?"

I raised a finger to retort, but realized she had a point. "Fair enough."

"Alright," Annabeth said. "That settles tonight's sleeping arrangements. But tomorrow, we need to think long-term. What do you say to a meeting in the Big House? After breakfast?"

Her attention turned to me, which seemed a bit odd, but I nodded nevertheless. "Sounds good. Let's hope we can come up with something."

She gave me a parting kiss before heading off to her own cabin. Likewise, Reyna and Kinzie familiarized themselves with their temporary home. They rushed in the moment they saw Thalia and started playing with Cinder.

"All matters resolved?" Zoë asked, flicking her eyes towards Palírroia.

"Just about. Though there's one last thing I'd like to do tonight." I turned my attention to the center of the cabin. "Thŷella?"

The moment the name left my mouth, the nymph in question shot to her feet and rushed before me. Well… Tried to. She tripped over Phoebe's foot and stumbled for a few steps before completely faceplanting.

"Okay. How about we don't rush everywhere from now on?" I knelt down and helped her stand.

"Please forgive me, Master," she said, her head bowed.

"There's nothing to forgive," I replied, brushing some of the fake dirt off her knees. "But I need to ask you something. Actually… Palírroia has something to ask you."

Palírroia froze when I called her name, if only briefly. She stepped over to Thŷella and whispered into her ear.

"Truly?!" Thŷella cried out, practically jumping to face her friend and grab her hands. "I can have my memories back?!"

Her excitement drew the attention of everyone else in the cabin. While she gushed over the revelation, I found myself on the receiving end of half a dozen stares.

"Possibly," I said. "We don't know for sure. It depends on a variety of factors, but I'd like to try and help you recover them, if that's what you want."

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "Yes! Yes! Palírroia told me all about our time as children. I want to remember those days!"

"It won't just be that. You'll also remember the day they blinded you."

"Blinded?" She tilted her head. "I'm not blind."

"Thŷella…" Palírroia cooed softly.

"You're in front of me," she insisted. "The other girls are behind me." She turned to Palírroia and grabbed her face. "You are my best friend! And I will make sure to kiss you when all of this is done!"

"Okay. Fine. For argument's sake, let's test this. How many fingers am I holding up?"

She paused before turning in my direction. "You're not holding up your arm."

"Master," Palírroia croaked. "She has been taught to be aware in many ways. Smells, sounds, even the shifting in the air can help her identify her way around."

Thŷella frowned. "But that's—"

"Thŷella," Thalia called, stepping up and grabbing her hand. "What color are my eyes?"

She stepped back. "Color?"

"Yes," she pressed. "What color are my eyes? Or your hair? My clothes?"

"But… but I… What… What… is color?"

Never before had I seen Thalia's expression change so rapidly. From shock to horror to rage to sympathy, and several more in less than a second. All of it ended with her practically deflating.

Palírroia was no better. She chewed her lip, biting back tears as she took her friend's hand.

"You poor girl," Thalia mumbled. "How did I not notice earlier?"

"It doesn't matter," I said, resting my hands on her shoulders. "Eyesight or no eyesight, you're still the same person. I don't know if we'll ever find someone who can cure that, but I do know someone who might be able to help with your memory."

"I… I don't…"

"This is overwhelming," I said. "I know it is. But would you like to try and get your memory back?"

"I… but… but I…"

Palírroia pulled her into a hug. For a few moments, Thŷella just stood there. Still. Silent. Frozen in place by the revelation. Only after Palírroia whispered something in her ear did she react. A broken sob escaped her throat as she threw her arms around her best friend. The next few minutes were filled with her weeping. All the while, Palírroia tried apologizing to her. Those apologies fell on deaf ears.

And so they stayed for a few minutes more, wrapped up in one another as Palírroia rubbed the last few sobs out of her and continued whispering words of comfort and support. When her sobs were spent and her tear ducts dry, Thŷella shivered in place before turning to face me.

"I… I want to get them back. My memories. Even if I can't see the way you do, I want to at least remember what it was like."

I couldn't deny the swell of pride I felt at that moment. Nor could I hide the grin stretching across my face.

"I'm glad to hear you say so." I reached out for her hand. "It's time to introduce you to the Hypnos cabin."

During the camp's expansion after the Second Titan War, I may have dropped in to see the new cabins every now and then. Like the Hades or Hecate cabin, some would leave your jaw on the floor from how grandiose they were, inside and out. The Hypnos cabin wasn't one of those.

Mud walls framed the building, with a rush roof capping it off. Inside was comfortable enough. A warm hearth crackled in the middle of the cabin. To either side of it were comfortable beds with fluffy pillows and even fluffier quilts. That's where the comforting parts of the cabin ended.

One glance at the ceiling would reveal a more sinister part of the building. From the shadows of the ceiling dipped a single poplar tree branch. Down its pale bark dribbled the faintest of milky liquid, water from the river Lethe. They dripped into tin buckets at the end of each branch, which may or may not have been the worst spilling disaster waiting to happen.

"Master?" Thŷella called, swaying back and forth. "I feel… sleepy."

"That's just the cabin," I said, pulling her forward by her hand. "This can be a dangerous place, but we shouldn't have anything to worry about."

Of all the beds, three were occupied. One of which was filled out quite a bit more than the others.

"Clovis," I called.

Nothing.

I called out to him once more. Then again. And again.

With a groan, I pinched his nose and clamped his mouth shut. Given the line of drool running down his cheek, I reminded myself to sterilize my hand later.

Seconds later, he twisted in his sleep before his eyes opened.

"Wha…?"

He threw his spindly arms up as if swatting away an invisible fly, though I doubt he could do much damage even if he managed to hit it. After his imaginary fight, he sat up and let out a yawn, giving me way too much insight into how much milk he recently drank.

"Percy?" he said, squinting. "What is it?"

"We need your help."

He grumbled and looked outside. "It's nighttime. I'm trying to sleep."

Before he could lay back down, I swiped his pillow from underneath him.

"You sleep like fourteen hours every day. You can afford to lose one of them."

"Hey! Not fair!" He reached out for his pillow, but it was well outside of his grasp. After a few more seconds of playing keep-away, he relented. "Fine. What do you need?"

I returned his pillow.

"My friend here lost her memory when she was really young. We were hoping you could help us get it back."

He frowned. "Really? You woke me up just for that? Just get a good night's sleep. You'll be fine."

"They didn't fade over time," I said. "She had her memory wiped when she was a child."

For a few seconds, he didn't say anything. But understanding slowly dawned on his face.

"Oh. So like a head injury? Or a concussion?"

"Possibly? I'm not exactly sure how she lost it. For obvious reasons, she doesn't remember either."

"Hmm. Alright, come sit down. I'm going to dive into your dreams and see what I can find."

We followed him to the hearth, where he pulled up a chair for Thŷella to sit. After she did, he circled her for a moment, muttering to himself. When he was done, he lifted his hand and pressed a finger to her forehead.

Thŷella collapsed.

"What the…?"

I rushed forward to catch her and returned her to her chair, but she was out cold. Thankfully, she was still breathing, but I may or may not have had a moment where my overprotective self nearly socked Clovis in the face. Speaking of which, he was no different from Thŷella. Just like her, he was asleep, despite still standing.

About a minute later, they came to and shook off their drowsiness.

"Hmm," Clovis mumbled. "You wouldn't happen to have taken a trip to the Underworld as a child, right?"

Thŷella recoiled. "I… do not know. All I remember is living with my trainers. Then I lived with my master."

She turned to me with a broad smile, placing her hand on mine.

"Well, I have good news and bad news."

We both turned to him.

"The good news is I know exactly how you lost your memory, and we happen to have the cure for it right here in the cabin."

"That's great news!" I exclaimed, yet somehow not stirring the other two campers from their sleep. "What happened?"

"Standard case of Lethe," he said with a yawn. "It happens occasionally when campers come wandering in here. They can't help but catch the droplets." He pointed to the branch in the ceiling.

"For some reason," I said, "that doesn't surprise me. But you have the cure?"

"Yeah. And that's where the bad news comes in."

He walked to the back of the cabin and opened a small cupboard tucked into the corner.

"Everyone seems to remember the Lethe," he said. "But ironically, nobody ever seems to remember its opposite. The spring of Mnemosyne, Titaness of memory." He returned holding a flask of clear liquid. "For as powerful as Lethe is, she's still a minor goddess in the grand scheme of things. But Mnemosyne was around for much longer. And as long as people have memories, she's not going anywhere anytime soon."

He held out the flask for me. When I took it, I nearly dropped it. Not only was it much colder than it looked, but the flask was so lightweight that I almost thought I wasn't holding it.

"Okay," I said. "I'm not hearing the bad news."

He grimaced. "The bad news is most people don't struggle with this because we restore their memory right after they lost it. Everything is fresh, so there aren't any severe side effects."

"But…"

He pointed at Thŷella. "But she lost her memory about a decade and a half ago. If I give her this, it's going to overwhelm her. She'll end up reliving her memories as if they were completely new. It's going to be disorienting at best, but completely debilitating at worst."

I paled. "Define debilitating."

He held out his hand for the flask. I gave it to him.

"The absolute worst thing that can happen is you will revert her mental state back to when she lost her memory. Despite being completely grown up, she'll really be no more than a child. Every memory since then will seem like a dream to her."

All this time, Thŷella had been completely silent. While I chatted with Clovis, she stayed still, watching me… well… sort of watching… without a word.

"What do you think?" I asked her. "These are your memories. Are you willing to take that risk?"

Not even a second passed.

"Yes. Palírroia may think I don't notice when she's sad. She may think I don't hear when she cries, but if I can help her be truly happy for once, I am willing to take that risk. I want to know the truth about the stories she told me."

I turned to Clovis. "You wouldn't happen to know a way to keep that memory swap from happening, right?"

He pondered for a few moments.

"There might be a way. We haven't tested this before, but if someone were to act as a buffer for her, we might be able to do this safely."

"What kind of buffer? What would I have to do?"

"To put things simply, you would have to experience this with her. It's easier for some people. They have powers that allow them to tap into the memories of others, but I don't know of anyone besides me who can do that. So what you will have to do is drink the potion with her and… well… you'd have to find a way to stay connected to her."

"Like… A hug? Or do you mean literally? Like stitching us together?"

"I'd rather not even contemplate an idea like that." He looked away, pawing the ground gently with his foot. "Try something more intimate. A way to really bond."

"Sex?" I blanched. "You mean we need to have sex while we're both under the influence of this potion?"

"That would be the logical extreme. It would guarantee you both share the experience. You'd end up reliving her memories with her. But in theory, you both would be perfectly fine by the end of it."

"And let me guess, you'd have to 'supervise.'"

He shrugged. "I never said you had to go through with this. And I also said it was the logical extreme. In theory, a kiss would work just as well, assuming you manage to stay connected through the whole experience."

I let out a sigh. "That I can work with. No offense, Thŷella, but I don't want our first time to be some weird ritual to get your memory while being watched."

"I… understand, Master. But I don't mind being watched. In fact, I quite enjoy it."

My shoulder slumped. "That doesn't surprise me for some reason. But we can worry about that later. For right now, I think we can settle for a kiss. Is that okay with you?"

She simply smiled. "I would never refuse a chance to kiss you."

Despite the grin threatening to split my face in half, I turned to Clovis with my best attempt at a neutral expression.

"How quickly can you get this started?"

He hesitated for a moment, clearly either tired or just caught off guard from Thŷella and I blatantly discussing our sex life.

"No time at all. Both of you just need to take the potion and kiss. I'd recommend holding onto one another so you don't separate during the process."

"Noted." I turned to Thŷella. "Are you ready for this?"

She nodded and stood from her chair. "Absolutely. I'm ready to remember. But… Could you please sit down on the chair? Even if we don't have sex, I would still like to be on your lap."

Clovis just about fainted. Honestly, I wasn't too far off either. Even after all of my experiences, there were just some things you weren't prepared for. It didn't help that Thŷella was a complete knockout.

"Sure."

I took my seat, and Thŷella found her place straddling my lap a mere blink later. She let out a satisfied hum as she ground herself into me.

"Okay. Both of you take a drink from this." Clovis held out the flask with a shaky hand. "Two swallows should be enough."

I took the flask from him and downed its contents. My throat almost froze over, waking me from the drowsiness brought on by the cabin. When Thŷella took her drink, I couldn't help but feel far more focused and alert, but it started dimming away with every passing second.

"Master," she said, her breathing heavy.

She swayed for a moment, clearly more affected by the potion than I was. My hands rested on her hips, but quickly wrapped around her back and pulled her closer. In turn, she wrapped her arms around my neck.

The gap between us vanished. Her plump lips pressed against mine, and the world faded away.

Everything was a blur. Images of a past life grew more and more fleeting. And still, I tried grasping for them, reaching for anything I could to ground myself. But it was like fishing in a whirlpool. Everything was tossed around, and the only constant was the motion.

Whether by fate or by sheer force of will, I managed to focus on a single moment, but it disoriented me more than anything else.

Everything was white. No sense of direction. Just an endless pale void as far as I could tell. But all around me, sounds and smells fluttered by. The chattering and jeering of a small crowd. The scent of baking strawberries.

A gentle hand took mine and pulled me away from the noise, but it was swiftly stolen away. Just as quickly, several more hands grabbed me by my arms and dragged me away, all while a familiar voice screamed out in defiance.

The next moments were a blur of sensations. An overwhelming tickle covered my body as hands of all sizes and textures groped me. My clothes were stripped from my body, and I was shoved down to a gritty surface.

All I could register was the fear. Fear of what would happen next. Fear of what more could be stripped from me.

Then warmth. A gentle hand. My clothes were restored. All I could do was shiver as a warm arm pulled me into a comforting embrace.

The warmth vanished for the cold. A warm embrace was lost in favor of the scratchy cushion of hay.

Still though, not all was bad. A familiar hand ran cool fingers through my hair. With each brush, the soft hum of a lullaby I knew not a word of echoed within the confines of my tiny cell. Despite the dark, despite the cold, I was content. Happy even. These shared moments with my best friend offered a reprieve from the daily hassle and grind of training and cleaning.

But not all friends were to be trusted.

The memory faded into another. My once empty fingers kneaded at the shoulders of a burly man. He taught me how to see. Taught me how to smell. The subtle shifts of his vitals were clear as day, not that I've ever experienced daylight firsthand.

As always he praised me, reveling in what he called my magical touch. But this time was unlike any other.

Before I knew it, I was thrown to the floor, my cries for help muffled by its padding. My pounding heart mimicked the rushing of the heavy boots outside the room. Were they any later to help me, my clothes would not have been the only thing stripped from me.

Nevertheless, the warm blood of my former friend's severed head leaking down my back brought just as much comfort as it did terror to my freezing body.

The warmth and stench of telkhine blood faded from the moment, replaced by the feel of talons on my shoulders and the rancid musk of wet donkey hair.

A rubber phallus was shoved down my throat. My eyes burned with tears. My lungs cried for air. All the while, a taloned hand pushed and pulled until my empousai trainers were pleased with my progress.

"Deeper!" they demanded. "You must be able to take it all to please your future master!"

"Or mistress," another said. "Let's draw straws to see which of us gets to play with her later."

The rubber was traded for flesh, and an overwhelming sense of peace replaced the fear of breathing. Palírroia's familiar taste brought a moment of clarity. Elation even. Her tongue buried between my legs just as mine was with hers filled me with naught but joy and euphoria.

Around us, our fans cheered. Guards, trainers, and fellow nymphs alike, celebrated as we performed for them. But just as many let out frustrated groans as we showed off for them. Just two ripe forbidden fruits utterly safe from their voracious appetites.

That joy was replaced by fear. The euphoria was replaced by pain. For the briefest of moments, the blankness of what I knew was meant to be my sight was renewed.

I was in a cold room of cobblestones, strapped to a table as several telkhines rushed back and forth. A bright lamp shone on my face, blurring my vision. In the corner, Palírroia watched on in horror, two guards holding her in place.

"You couldn't leave well enough alone," one barked.

"Should have just listened," another growled, "but you've seen far too much."

In walked another telkhine, his muzzle damp with blood. He carried a jar of sickly green liquid, which he displayed like it was his favorite toy.

"What I have here is drakon acid," he said with a grin. "Extremely corrosive and extremely painful compared to other standard acids."

I didn't even have a chance to voice my displeasure or fear before he filled an eye dropper with the vile liquid and hovered it over my eyes. The next moments were indescribable. I recall screaming. The smell of burning flesh filled my nostrils. Palírroia's voice was lost somewhere in the room, but through the sizzling and my own screams, I couldn't be sure if I really heard her.

But of it all, none of it compared to the fear. At that moment, an overwhelming terror all but strangled my heart and tore at my lungs. For as painful as the experience was, nothing could compare to the dread that overwhelmed as the world bubbled and faded away into nothing but a pale blankness.

But the blankness didn't last forever.

"Thŷella?" a soothingly familiar voice called. "What are you doing?"

"I want to help!" I cried out, a giggle on the edge of my throat.

The world seemed much larger, with giants of many shapes and sizes towering over me. A young Palírroia marched over to me with a large bucket in each hand.

"You don't need to. Go play in your room."

"But I want to!" I shouted, stomping my foot on the ground.

We drew some attention from the nearby giants, but they mostly ignored us.

"Okay!" she exclaimed, setting down a bucket. "Start with this little spot here. Just dip the scrub in some soap and—"

In my eagerness, I tripped over myself and knocked the bucket over. A flood of soapy water rushed from the bucket and doused the room. A nearby giant slipped and fell on his head.

Nearby, an even bigger giant marched towards us.

Palírroia gave me a weird smile. "Oh, Thŷella…"

The rumbling of each step caused my vision to bounce and blur. When I could see again, I was wrapped in a thick blanket. It was warm. It was soft.

Two bright purple eyes stared back. She was smiling. She lifted a blue finger and booped my nose. I giggled. She booped me again.

"She's so cute!" she said to someone. She looked at me again. "I'll be your big sister! I'll take care of you."

Her eyes shined brighter and brighter until my vision went blank. Once more, I was lost in the maelstrom of memories. But somehow, it seemed… calmer. As chaotic as it appeared, I could almost believe I could simply reach out and grab any memory I wanted.

My eyes opened. Thŷella's lips were still pressed to mine, wet with tears. Her eyes were open as well. Despite her blindness, I could somehow feel like she had no problems seeing me. Her arms tightened around my neck for the briefest of moments before she pulled away.

We sat in silence. I yearned to reach out and claim her lips once more, but it seemed in poor taste. So I simply watched as the tears flowed freely from her eyes.

"I remember," she finally said. "I remember it all."

"How do you feel?" I brushed away her tears.

She broke into a sad smile. "Tired. Very tired."

"I think we can consider this a success," Clovis said, pulling us out of our reverie. "And you're not the only one who's tired, so can I go to sleep now?"

I held back a scathing remark. "Yeah. We'll get out of your way."

"Good," he mumbled, marching over to his bed. "Nothing like a good nigh…"

His voice trailed off. By the time his head hit his pillow, he was already asleep.

I turned back to Thŷella. "Do you want to talk about what you remember?"

She shook her head. "Not yet. But I want to see Palírroia. She deserves to know it worked."

I chuckled as she let out a yawn. "No time to waste then. Let's get you back; then you can get some much-needed rest."

Thŷella was quiet during our return trip to the cabin. She clung to my hand and rubbed her face against my arm. It may or may not have made my arm go numb, but with how content she looked in that moment, I couldn't be bothered to push her away.

We strode across the cabin green. With all of the campers thankfully asleep, even with Argus watching us, we had a peaceful walk.

However, someone was waiting for us in the middle of the clearing— a young woman with a brown shawl tending to the hearth.

"Hestia." I gave her a slight bow. "Long time no see."

She gave me a wry smile. "A long time indeed. I trust you are acclimating? The bonds between you and your family have never been stronger. Well, save for one."

I brushed my hand through my hair. "Yeah… We've… had some complications. But to make a long story short, we aren't staying here. We'll probably leave tomorrow, once we figure out where to go."

"I see. If only I could have remained. Perhaps I could have aided in the transition, but I needed to speak with Artemis before she began her nightly duties." She gestured to the rising moon.

"Any luck?"

"A little, but she's understandably not speaking to much of anyone at the moment. Hera and Aphrodite are waiting with bated breaths. Which reminds me, they asked me to relay a private message to you earlier. I would have told you before, but with your father present…"

"Say no more. I know all about waiting for the right time."

"Yes, well. I would like to tell you, but…" She nodded to Thŷella. "Should I be concerned about this going anywhere?"

I wrapped an arm around Thŷella and hugged her to my side. "She's not the type to spread secrets. You can trust her."

She hummed into my chest.

"Very good," Hestia said, standing up. "Then for the words of Hera herself, 'thank you.'"

I blinked. "What?"

"According to Aphrodite, nothing panned out the way it was supposed to because of Hera's desire to harm Annabeth and Khione. Even Hera freely admitted to being impatient."

I sat down on a nearby log. Thŷella followed suit, but used my lap instead, leaning her head on my shoulder. "Okay. She told me the same thing. What does that have to do with me?"

"That part, nothing. I'm simply showing you their frame of mind." She took her seat next to me. "After Aphrodite realized her plans were in jeopardy, she tried to play damage control. Hence freely admitting to the crimes. She knew it was lost once she couldn't sway you to her side."

Thŷella adjusted herself and rested her head on my chest before closing her eyes.

"Both of them knew they were finished. But while Hera was resigned to her fate, Aphrodite was continuously striving to lessen the blow. They feared the worst. Being made mortal. A sentence to Tartarus. But then they realized something. Both could still get some moniker of their desires if they directed the punishment. And so they agreed to one thing, serving you."

I blanched. "What do you mean by 'both?' I know Aphrodite wanted to sleep with me, but Hera?"

"Oh, trust me, Aphrodite wanted me to relay to you that she has no intention of stopping her endeavor of taking you into her bed. As for Hera, being your concubine was a price she was willing to pay."

"To get at Annabeth?!"

"To get away from Zeus."

Thŷella whimpered softly at my exclamation, but I stroked my fingers through her hair to calm her… and myself.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's no secret that she's quite possibly in the most miserable marriage in history. A marriage she never wanted to begin with. She's apparently never even shared the same bed as Zeus since the fall of Troy. One of her most desperate desires since then has been to escape Zeus. Escape her marriage. She unfortunately has no power to do so. She needs Zeus to cast her out.

"In their initial contingency plan, being thrust into your harem would give her exactly what she wanted. And if she needed to lay in bed with you, she wouldn't exactly be suffering for it. After all, she's gone without a partner for well over two millennia."

I pieced it together. "But because I stopped them from going through with it and put them into Artemis' service, she gets away from Zeus and doesn't have to sleep with me."

"Exactly." She offered a cynical smile. "It's a temporary fix, but while she's not exactly eager to find out what Artemis has in store for them, any time she can have free from Zeus is a blessing in her eyes. So as I said before, she relays her thanks to you."

I snorted. "And how does Aphrodite feel about all of this?"

"Understandably, this isn't what she wanted. To say she was, and still is, eager to share your bed would make for quite the understatement. Though she understands why you did what you did, she wanted me to make clear to you that this changes nothing. She will continue pursuing you once she's out of Artemis' service, or perhaps even before."

"Great." I leaned back, bracing my hands on the ground behind me. "So did any of this even matter? Nothing changed."

"On the contrary." She rested one of her hands on mine. "You have toppled a slave guild, ended their meddling, and reshaped the mindsets of two goddesses. Aphrodite initially wanted you as her bargaining chip. But when you refused her, you made her desire grow tenfold. Initially, she wanted you to be hers. Now, she wants to be yours. Quite the paradigm shift, if I do say so."

"Oh lovely." I leaned forward again, which Thŷella clearly didn't appreciate. "I'm probably the first guy in history to refuse the goddess of love, and now she's deadset on getting into bed with me."

"Not the first," she said. "Remember what Zoë said about Hippolytus? Let's be thankful she took this direction with your refusal rather than repeating the past."

I considered what she said. "Fair. I guess I have enough targets on my back. My time here today showed me that. Better to have one less goddess who has it out for me."

She nodded her agreement. "I cannot speak to your current situation, but it does seem you don't have any divine beings currently out for your head."

"For once," I agreed, stroking Thŷella's hair again.

Hestia cocked her head. "What's your story with this one?" She gestured to Thŷella. "I would expect this with your head handmaiden, but this one always seemed more aloof."

"She's had a long day. They all have. But we just had her childhood memories restored. And… well… She just learned less than an hour ago that she's blind."

She reeled back with a perplexed expression. "Just learned? How did she not know already?"

"It's… complicated. But it had to do with her memories being wiped as a child."

"I see."

She turned her eyes to the hearth and studied them for a few minutes in silence. I followed suit and just enjoyed the small moment of peace. The only sound was the crackling of the flames and Thŷella's occasional sleepy mumbling.

"If you would permit me," Hestia finally said. "I may know a solution to both of your problems."

"Hmm?" I perked up, having almost nodded off.

"There is a goddess. She may be able to solve both your lack of a home and restore her eyesight."

"Seriously? Who?!"

"I'd rather not say at the moment. Better I speak with her first. I cannot promise anything, but she's isolated herself from both the mortal world and Olympus for a very long time. So far as I am aware, I've been her only real companion and connection to the outside world."

"Why? Well… Okay, I can understand cutting herself off from Olympus, but lots of gods do that. Why the rest of the world?"

"This is really for her to tell you, but the simple answer is she doesn't trust herself. Much less the rest of the world. I'm afraid I can say no more about that matter. Not until I speak with her."

She stood and turned to me. "This is of course assuming I have your permission. Would you take any issue with this?"

"With you trying to help us find a place to live? Why would I have a problem with that?"

"Oh, plenty of reasons. Pride mostly. But I needed to be sure. This could take me some time. A few days, perhaps. If I haven't convinced her to try within a week, I will let you know. As you can imagine, this could be a rather large change for her."

"Of course. Take all the time you need."

"In the meantime, I would continue searching for a place to stay. There are no certainties that I will be successful. However, I believe you both could end up helping each other. She's been in desperate need of company for as long as I can remember."

With her piece said, she vanished in a pillar of flame and left me to ponder over her words. As I stared into the crackling hearth, I couldn't help but notice that it seemed brighter than before.

"Alright," I whispered into Thŷella's ear. "Let's get you into a proper bed."

She groaned out before nuzzling my chest. "But you're comfortable. And warm."

"Okay then. Let's go find Palírroia and tell her the good news."

That got her attention. She launched herself out of my arms and giggled to herself. I couldn't reign in my smile and took her hand before resuming our trip to cabin eight.

While I may not qualify as a genius, I knew something was off the moment I realized Mrs. O'Leary wasn't hanging around outside the cabin. Now, go ahead and point out the obvious. She could have been looking for a nighttime snack. Or perhaps she simply got bored. But given recent events, I was a little on edge.

So I rushed to the cabin and threw open the door. "What happened?"

Every head turned to me, startled.

"Um," Thalia started. "You okay there?"

"Is everything alright? Mrs. O'Leary isn't outside."

She snorted. "Of course, she isn't. Zoë took her and Palírroia to your cabin."

"What are you talking about? She's right…" I faltered, pointing to the voluminous mane of ebony hair. One that, on second glance, could not have been Palírroia's.

Khione hunched her shoulders. "I didn't have anywhere else to go, so they let me stay here."

I was half tempted to facepalm myself, but I figured I deserved a break after the long day.

At the moment, Khione, Phoebe, and Thalia were lounging in a sitting area in the back. Cinder was standing on Thalia's outstretched finger, which was pointing precariously close to Khione.

"Sorry for the false alarm. I'm a little on edge after today. Why'd they go to my cabin?"

Reyna stood from a nearby bunk. "Because of the long day they've had, we tried getting Ashe and Palírroia to turn in for the night." She gestured to the nearby sleeping nymph below the bunk Kinzie seemed to have taken for herself. "Palírroia said she was going to wait until you got back so you could sleep with her. Apparently, you guys are really strict about divine parentage here or something, because you supposedly have to sleep in a cabin strictly for children of Nept— Poseidon."

"So Zoë explained that to her and took her to your cabin," Kinzie finished. "I was tempted to join them, but I think she's earned a night alone with you. I'll get mine in due time." She leaned back with her hands behind her head.

"Right. If that's the case, then we'll head over there."

"Wait!" Thalia called, rushing up to us with Cinder perched on her shoulder. "How did it go? Did you get her memory back?" She turned to Thŷella.

She nodded in return, but slumped into my side.

"We got it back, but it took a lot out of her. She wanted to tell Palírroia the good news before going to bed."

Her eyes went wide. "That's great!"

"Indeed," Reyna said. "But don't let us keep you. You should get some rest as well. More so than any of us."

"Right," I deadpanned. "I'll keep that in mind."

We said our farewells and left the cabin. After a close encounter with one of the curfew harpies, we arrived at my cabin, complete with a giant furry bodyguard. I gave Mrs. O'Leary a quick scratch behind her ear. While she let out a whiny groan and rolled onto her back, we stepped into the cabin.

The cabin didn't seem to have anyone in it on first inspection. Just an abalone interior complete with six bunk beds. Only on a second look did I realize one of those beds was occupied. Mine.

Palírroia was stretched out in my bunk, her face buried in my old pillow. One might almost assume she was asleep if not for her constant writhing. Or the hand she had buried between her legs.

"Enjoying yourself?"

She lurched up from the bed, her dark violet blush visible among the soft glow of the nearby aquatic plants.

"Master! I… I was… um…"

"Did we show up at a bad time?" I cracked a grin.

"No! Of course not!" She hunched her shoulders and tried smoothing out her chiton. "I merely… Um… The pillow had your scent, and…"

As much as I enjoyed the stuttering mess she was devolving into, it didn't feel right to leave her so panicky.

"It's alright. Consider me flattered. But in other news—" I led Thŷella forward by her hand "—you've got your best friend back. We managed to restore her memory."

She went still for a few seconds.

"Is this true?" she asked Thŷella. "Do you truly remember?"

She nodded. "I do. I remember what happened. I remember things I didn't know I could remember."

With a squeal, she rushed forward and swooped Thŷella in a hug. For a few moments, they didn't say anything. They simply held one another, half laughing and half crying.

"How do you feel?" she finally asked. "What is it like?"

"Tiring," she said with a soft smile. "Very tiring."

"Of course!" she exclaimed. "You still need some energy!"

"So do you," Thŷella insisted.

"After the day we've had, I think we've earned a little relaxation. How do you two want to do this?" I started to pull off my shirt.

"As much as I would love to indulge myself all night," Palírroia said, grabbing the hem of my shirt before I could pull it over my shoulders, "Lady Zoë asked me to deliver a message."

"That's right!" I turned my head in all directions. "Where is she? The other girls said she brought you here."

"She did," she said. "But she told me you could find her where she once captured your flag. And she asked me to give you this." She held out her hand, on which rested a silver coin.

"I see." I took the coin. "Thank you. It looks like I might be gone for a while. You two go ahead and catch up. But you both should also get some rest. We'll see about getting your energy levels back to where they should be."

While Thŷella gave me a shy smile, Palírroia's grin nearly split her face in half.

"We look forward to it. Enjoy your time tonight, Master."

"First things first." I tossed the coin before snatching it out of the air. "It looks like I have a little hike to make."

A/N: Badabing badaboom! How's that for a chapter? Not too bad if I do say so myself. Not that I haven't received a ton of help on it, courtesy of not only a wonderful beta reader, but a lovely editing team as well (totally not my fault if the editing still needs work). Of course, you could always join it if you want. All it takes is a little donation and your permission. If you need any help finding it, just join the Discord server. We can direct you to it from there.

Shameless self advert aside, onto the chapter. Thŷella has finally had her character explored. Only took over sixty chapters to get to her. Hopefully, the wait was worth it. I'd like to think the delivery was rather unique. But now that Percy has Zoë's little present in hand, what can we expect in the next chapter? Tune in next time to find out!

Since this A/N is a little bit backwards, instead of plugging in a second and Discord advert, I'd like to take this time to thank a certain individual. They might be but a humble guest, but Ara, your absolutely massive review certainly caught some attention. Were you an official account, I'd have reached out personally, but you nevertheless have my thanks. Massive reviews like yours (personal life story notwithstanding) are what I enjoy most. Of course assuming they aren't flames, but you get used to those when you're in my position.

I look forward to seeing what you all think after unpacking this chapter. Despite how long it is, I can promise you, the next one will be even longer. Salivate over that while you wait. But leave your thoughts and toss a bagel to your mango lover. This is Ronin signing off.