On the Wrong Side of the Bottle

Calming down Rachel's hyperventilating took longer than expected. For nearly half an hour, she wept into my shirt. If not for my abilities to remain dry, I would have been drenched within the first five minutes, but the water rolled off my body and clothes as though they were lined with beeswax.

For better or worse, the words of the Oracle seared themselves into my brain. Despite her recent demonic trance, Rachel's body showed no signs of damage. Rather, any harm on her was a result of the endless supply of tears. She blubbered and sobbed into my chest as she pulled at my shirt. Not a moment passed when I wasn't rubbing her head or her back while comforting her to the best of my abilities.

In my cesspool of a brain, I puzzled together the cruel ploy of mixing the Oracle on the island. In this domain, my domain, the only way to allow a prophecy to take place is to give access in such a way that only I could hear it. Until that point, Rachel would suffer from every prophecy yet to come.

I trembled along with her, though for very different reasons. As my body raised its temperature by a few degrees, I could only think of drowning the Oracle's spirit in the venom of its own snakes.

"Get some rest," I said, holding her body close to mine.

With a sniffle, she pulled away. Bleary eyes met my own as she wiped her runny nose with her sleeve. "We have to tell everyone about—"

"We will. Not right now, though. At dinner, we'll let everyone know. In the meantime, get some sleep."

She agreed without much more resistance. By the time I reached her door, she already lie bundled in her blankets. I took one last look at her room. Black and purple paint coated most of the area, as though Rachel went on a frenzy to undo her work. Still, I couldn't fathom a guess as to why she would do so. With slumped shoulders, I left her room and closed the door behind me.

For as long as I knew her, Annabeth had the answers to just about everything. If she didn't, she would make sure the answers didn't elude her for long. Still, there were a few times where she'd wind up on the hopeless end of a problem. More often than not, Rachel was involved in one way or another. This time around, I felt would be no different. After all, a single line gave me no comfort in her advice, unfair as it may be.

The lord will fall by his lover's virtue.

Why couldn't I get those words out of my head? Never would I consider them to be about me, but given my title above everyone, along with Annabeth's recent… situation, I couldn't help but feel a pang of fear against her. Whether or not my fear was justified, I couldn't tell you. After all, when you throw mind control into the equation, things tend to change.

Regardless of her role in the prophecy, I couldn't deny that I needed her input. As I came to terms with my thoughts, the door to my room stood before me. Without allowing any time for second thoughts, I pushed the door open to see my girlfriend.

On the bed, Annabeth lay in cold sweat. Palírroia and Ashe stood at her side, the former wiping a warm cloth along Annabeth's head as the latter rubbed a viscous liquid across her body. My heart sank as I watched the two of them work. Annabeth shivered, her lips blue and her skin pale. Each breath seemed too slow and strenuous for her to take.

This!? This is the woman who is supposed to be the cause of my fall!? I refuse to believe that!

With my hands shaking, I strode over to Annabeth and took my place beside Palírroia. She offered me a solemn smile and continued her work. Ashe gave me no such courtesies. Rather, a deep scowl formed on her lips as she watched me. Seconds later, she returned to rubbing the tar-like liquid onto Annabeth's skin. Every few seconds, she winced, as if touching Annabeth caused her a great deal of pain.

Annabeth lay awake, yet she didn't acknowledge my presence, or anything for that matter. Glazed eyes stared at the ceiling as she remained immobile.

I took her hand in my own and offered a few silent prayers. When my mind could take no more of the inaction, I turned to Palírroia.

"How can I help?"

"Well," she said, "her blood still has too much alcohol in it. She needs to stay hydrated, but we cannot risk having her drink anything."

"Why not?" My grip tightened on Annabeth's hand.

"We cannot risk having her choke on anything. Any kind of hydration would have to be directly injected into her blood. Perhaps… perhaps your powers over water could be used to filter the water through her skin?"

For a few seconds, I considered my options. When I took into account that she seemed to know what she was talking about, I decided her choices were the best to follow. After all, what other choice did I have? Sit here and wait? Inject her with water and use my powers to flood her bloodstream? Right, try doing that without causing any interior damage…

"I'll be right back."

As if the Fates knew I was in a hurry, a distraction (or blessing) slammed into me head on in the form of Katie. While turning a corner, the two of us collided, but I caught the corner in one hand and her with the other before we could fall.

Katie held the bridge of her nose and looked up to me with a mildly annoyed stare.

She groaned. "That was both painful and oddly romantic."

"Sorry," I said. "In a rush."

As I began to move past her, she caught my wrist before it could leave her waist.

"It's Annabeth, isn't it?"

Just hearing her name was enough to bring tears to my eyes. After seeing her in her detached state, oblivious to the world, the pain of what could happen rocked my spirit back and forth until it nearly detached from my body.

My action was enough of an answer for Katie. She tightened her grip. "If only those nymphs would listen to me."

I turned to her. "What?"

Her gaze hardened. "My mom is the goddess of agriculture. While she's no Dionysus, alcohol is one minor part of her specialty. After all, what's wine if not fermented grapes?"

I remained silent for a few seconds. "So you know of a way to help Annabeth?"

"One method, yes." She pulled me back to her and placed her hands on her hips. "What are the nymphs making you do?"

"I'm getting some water to flush her bloodstream."

"Huh… seems like they know what they're doing after all. Still…" She fumbled in her jean pocket as she struggled to pull something out of it. Once successful, she presented me with a small pill. "Calypso and I made this yesterday. The nymphs refuse to take it, but it can help Annabeth."

"... What is it?"

"Milk thistle and garlic, along with some other vitamins. Everything in it, Calypso and I harvested in the garden. I know they're worried about her choking, but with you helping, maybe they'll be more relaxed about it."

Without any hesitation, I grabbed the pill from her hand. Not a moment later, I pulled her into a tight hug and thanked her profusely before taking off towards the kitchen.

For the gazillionth time, I swiped a glass of water. For the gazillionth time minus one, I didn't drink anything inside of the cup.

"Are you certain about this, Master?" Palírroia eyed the pill warily.

"I can keep her from choking without any issues, and I trust Katie's judgement. If she thinks this can help, then I'll do everything I can to make sure it works.

"Of— of course." She turned to Ashe. "Could you hold her mouth open?"

Ashe tensed on the spot and let out languished sigh. A moment later, she opened Annabeth's mouth, flinching as her fingers made contact.

I frowned at her actions, but decided it wasn't the time to address them. Rather, I approached Annabeth, who offered no indication that she saw me, or felt anything. With shaky hands, I placed the pill in the glass of water and tipped it into her mouth.

For about a second, things remained silent. The moment the water reached her throat, she coughed and spluttered. Grey eyes widened in panic as she thrashed her arms around. Small whimpers left her throat, muffled by the aquatic contents within it.

To hold her steady, I mounted her belly and held her arm closest to Ashe down. Palírroia held down the other. My remaining hand pressed against her throat. Through her thrashing and whimpering, I couldn't help but leak a few tears as I pulled the water and pill down her throat, taking extra care not to further hurt her. When I was certain that the pill rested in her stomach, I pulled away from her and brushed a hand over her brow.

"Come back to me," I whispered with tears in my eyes.

She didn't puke; that was a plus. However, the far off gaze in her eyes didn't comfort me. Palírroia and Ashe resumed their previous actions. Ashe glared at me, clearly upset that I smeared off the coating on Annabeth's torso.

"What is this stuff?" I gestured to my stained pants.

Ashe frowned. "A substance that can extract toxins from the body… including alcohol."

The gruff tone in her voice didn't surprise me, but I couldn't rationalize why she eyed me with such disdain. After recalling my talk with Reyna from the evening before, I decided to discover the truth before the day was over.

"How long should we expect before it works?"

"This would be her third coating," Palírroia said. "We switch it every few hours. Fortunately, we have removed most of the alcohol, but there is still a harmful amount in her."

"Seriously? What altogether was in that bottle?"

Palírroia glanced downward. "To my knowledge, Olympian wine is intended to be watered down one hundred times over. It is quite concentrated to say the least."

I stared at her, taken aback by this new revelation. If not for her natural constitution as a demigod, Annabeth would have been dead the moment the alcohol went down her throat. No wonder the aftereffects were so horrid.

My hand tightened on Annabeth's. "You two take good care of her." I shot an imploring look towards Ashe. "Please."

For a split second, shock crossed her face. The moment she realized it, she snapped her focus towards Annabeth. "Of course… Master…"

"I'll be back in about an hour." I pressed a kiss to the side of Palírroia's head, to which she offered me a loving smile.

After changing into a new pair of jeans (much to Palírroia's subtle enjoyment), I took my leave of the room and headed outside.

Long before I found Eurytion, his progress revealed itself bit by bit. A hewn path of soft soil lined with cobblestones formed an immaculate landing strip for the pegasi. A massive open range pen crowned a nearby hilltop with a stone and oak crenellation. By the time I reached him, he and Hazel were in the cave, hard at work constructing the hippocampi stables.

"Now this is what I call impressive."

Eurytion shot me a smug look over his shoulder and resumed carving a post out of the limestone. Hazel flashed a cheeky smile as she constructed an oceanic mosaic with nothing but gemstones. Everything glittered in the cave as the water refracted the light of the gems.

"We should have hired him a long time ago," Hazel said.

"I can't argue with you about that. Now I can let Blackjack know his friends are all set." I turned to Eurytion. "Seriously, thanks for the help."

"Don't even worry about it." He set a pillar into place along the mosaic. "Feels good leave the ranch every once in a while." After centering the pillar into the coral floor, he clapped his hands and wiped his brow. "Be back in a bit. Need some more mortar."

As he left, I turned my attention to Hazel, who finished setting an obsidian stone to complete the pupil of a mosaic unicorn. Given her limited supply options, the intricacy of her left me slack jawed for a good while.

"You and Rachel should team up sometime," I said. "You two could work miracles."

While still turned away from me, she hunched her shoulders and shook her curly mane of hair as a few gems popped out from underneath her.

"You give me too much credit." She peeked over her shoulder. "Speaking of which, how is she?"

"Better now. I'll explain everything at dinner." I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "It looks like we're about to have a very… taxing next couple of days, if not longer."

She nodded her head and remained quiet as a few more gems sprung from the rocky soil. "You know, building this place… it reminds me of the day we met."

I cocked my head to the side, which inadvertently caused it to pop. "How?"

"The war games," she said. "Underground with you. I knew exactly where I was going, yet you were the one thing that I couldn't wrap my head around."

I scratched my head. "Sorry for being an inconvenience?"

"No, I didn't mean—" She fanned her hand over her face. "I meant when I first met you, everyone around us called you graecus. Now, everyone calls you Master. What I can't wrap my head around is how my preconceived idea of either title falls flat when describing you."

A few seconds passed as I registered her words. "I'll take that as a compliment. After all, I like being the one who proves himself to others."

She outstretched her arms and waved her hands back and forth. "You don't have anything to prove to me. Just listening to the nymphs gave you enough of an alibi."

"Really?" I held a fist to my lips as I glanced towards the cavern ceiling. "Not to come across as shallow, but… what exactly do they say?"

Her cheeks reddened and her fanning motions quickened their pace. "Um… Well…"

"You know what, never mind. Others have said that. I just got curious."

"No no, it's fine. Well…" She took a deep breath, but continued fanning her face. "Explicit details aside… they've said you're kind and gentle; understanding…"

"You wouldn't think that if you saw me a few minutes ago..."

"I beg your pardon?"

I told her about my recent medical trio with Annabeth, and how I forced a pill down her throat. By the time I finished, she clutched her hand to her own throat and darted glances anywhere away from me.

"I… I understand why you did what you did. She needs help."

"Yeah, well, try explaining that to Ashe."

"Who?"

"She's the only nymph I haven't… been with." My cheeks flushed. "On the very rare occasion that I see her, she only scowled at me."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "But… every other nymph does nothing but praise you… why would she…?"

"I don't know. Sure, I'm not expecting everyone to like me right off the bat, but still…"

"If it's any consolation-" she fanned her face "-I think you're doing a great job so far. All things considered."

I snorted. "In what sense? The only thing I'm doing successfully is plowing my way through everyone here."

I mentally slapped myself for not choosing a more… delicate choice of words.

Hazel went red in the face as a fresh round of gems sprouted beneath her. She was beyond the point of fanning her face and turned to hugging her sides.

"Sorry," I mumbled. "I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay. Trust me, I understand. From what I've heard, you've done quite well with the others."

"Others? Wait, so you guys actually talk about everyone's experiences with me?"

She pressed herself against the wall and looked away. "Well… sometimes. After all… everyone is thinking about it."

I pressed my fingers to my eyes and rubbed them. "Look, I didn't mean to pry. I just wasn't expecting-"

"It's okay." She remained against the wall.

Before things could get any more awkward, I searched my brain for any way to change the subject.

"So… that mural is looking really nice. Think you could show me how you made it?"

The small smile she offered showed a great deal of relief towards the subject change, but she still seemed guarded.

"Of course."

After ten minutes of Hazel teaching me the intricacies of smoothing a gem, two thoughts stuck in my mind. First of all, she seemed distracted. Secondly, where the Hades was Eurytion!?

Before I could comment on his absence, Hazel yelped and fell to the ground and yanked me along with her. When we both hit the floor, she rubbed her head and groaned as we took notice of the oversized pearl responsible for her slip and fall.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

I cracked a smile. "Don't worry about it. You have no idea how many times I've wound up in this position."

As I pulled away to stand up, she grabbed my arm and held me in place.

"Uh, Hazel?"

She mumbled something under her breath.

"What?"

She balled her fists and squeezed her eyes shut. "Did they ever end with a kiss?" Even though she shivered in place, her courage to face this prospect head on impressed me.

I searched my memories for any such instances. "I don't think so."

She shifted her eyes both to me and away. "Would you… like to?"

I ran a hand over her arm. Though she didn't pull away or flinch, a slight hitch in her breath told me of her reservations. "Are you sure you're up for it?"

"Of course!" She hunched her shoulders immediately after her outburst. "I mean… I've already kissed you once…"

"On the cheek. Not exactly the same."

She pressed her fingertips in her mouth through a weak fist. "I know, but… it's not too much of a leap. After all, I-"

In order to prove my own point, I pressed a kiss to her cheek, just as she had done months prior. It carried the same weight, yet her flustered face told a different story.

"Wha- I didn't- why-"

"Just like I thought." I pulled away and squatted on the balls of my feet. "Listen, you don't have to force yourself."

A pained expression pulled across her face. "I… I want to… but…"

"Why? Be honest with me. Why do you want to kiss me?"

She lifted herself and rested on her arms. "The curse…" A tear trickled down her cheek. "I want to get rid of the curse."

"Look," I cupped her cheek in my palm, "I understand that. I really do. But you aren't ready yet. You still have a few days to prepare yourself."

She turned away while chewing her lip. "But I need to push myself forward. If I don't, I'll never muster up the courage to get in bed with you." Her forehead fell against the wall as she muttered to herself.

I considered her words for a while. While she never outright said it, I knew there was more. There was something else on her mind… or someone.

"Take my hand." I outstretched my arm.

She turned to me with wide eyes. Though she hesitated for a few seconds, she took my hand with a dainty grip. Hand in hand, I lead her to the mouth of the pool. When we reached it, I sat us both down and outstretched my legs so they dipped below the surface of the water, not caring about my socks and shoes getting wet. Given Hazel's lack of water powers, she took no chances and stripped her feet bare before following suit.

"You see this cave?" I gestured around. "Beautiful as it is, it took a long time for the water to carve. And this pool of water-" I waved at the water before us "-it's still carving away, slowly working along and making the cave even greater than before."

Hazel tilted her head, her expression perplexed.

"The same can be said for relationships. The best, most beautiful ones take time. You can't rush it."

She remained quiet for a few moments. "But no matter what, I have to rush it. Otherwise-"

"I know. But in the time we have, it's okay to pace yourself. I've lucked out for the most part. Though I would argue Piper rushed in too quickly, she seems to have had a similar situation in mind for quite some time. Everyone else though…"

"I get it. I really do. While I appreciate you trying to comfort me, I know what I have to do." She tightened her grip on my hand. "It's not because it's with you that I'm… anxious… It's because of who it isn't with."

"...Yeah… I know. If I could undo all of this, I would. Minus a few details."

She narrowed her eyebrows. "The house?"

"The house."

She shook her head with a smile. "I can't say I blame you." Her smile faded, though the light never left her golden eyes. "You know… this is actually the perfect place for us to…" Her cheeks reddened.

"What makes you say that?"

She shied away, but kept my hand in her grip. "We're dangling our legs in an underground lake. Beneath it, an underwater cave is spidering all around Galínios. The perfect union of water and the underground."

I looked towards the turquoise waters. "I see your point. So if we were to-"

Once more, a pair of lips silenced me in the best way possible. Through her shivering breaths, she held her lips against mine with no effort to pull away. However, the same can be said for pushing any further.

As I motioned to rub her cheek, she pulled away with lidded eyes and heavy breaths. One of her fists gripped my shirt as the other attempted to steady the both of us. Despite her bold move, her cheeks burned maroon against her coffee colored skin.

"Are you sure you want to commit to this?" I enclosed one hand around her tremulous fist.

Without saying a word, she tightened her grip on my shirt and pulled herself closer to my chest. Even through her slight sniffles and shivering form, an indisputable nod dragged her nose along my pectoral.

Well, then…

My hand locked itself within her cinnamon curls while I dragged her form above me. Seconds later, my back rested along the rocky cave floor as she straddled my waist.

"You have all the power now," I said. "Take it at your own pace."

Frozen solid on the spot, Hazel did nothing but stare me in the eyes. It seemed to me that she wasn't quite ready to take charge, much like her half sister before her. In order to move things along, I decided to take further action.

I took hold of her wrist and brought her hand to my shoulder. No reaction came from her end. Next, my fingers in her hair pulled her head lower. Though she understood my intentions, she made no sign of pulling away. Rather, she seemed to submit without a fight. When the time came for us to press our lips together once more, her eyes fluttered shut and her nails grazed my shoulder.

As I pulled away, our lips stuck together for a brief moment longer. After the mucosal contact came to an end, I brushed her hair over her shoulder and nuzzled her ear. Despite my initial predisposition against her pushing further, I couldn't deny her intent to move forward with our relationship. That being noted, I took every step to ensure her comfort.

"It's okay to be more aggressive with me," I whispered. "You don't have to worry about a thi—"

SPLASH!

My Lord! We have urgent news!

Before I could register the hippocampus staring at me, Hazel squeaked before turning tail and bolting out of the chamber.

I let out a groan and pulled myself off the floor. A few pebbles stuck to my back in rather uncomfortable places, but I could hardly notice them through the screaming voices in my head, both from the hippocampus and from what I wanted to say in return.

"I swear, if this is about another cuttlefish…"

Of course not, my lord! We have found an unaccounted for monster in the waters!

I pressed my fingers to the bridge of my nose and let out a frustrated sigh. "That's just Eurytion! He has permission to be here."

But, my lord—

"No!" I stormed towards the exit and spoke over my shoulder. "Next time you want to drop in on me, why don't you do it when I'm not occupied with someone else?"

Though he continued calling out to me, I left earshot (or mental connection shot) before anymore could be said.

By the time I reached the exit of the cave, I noticed the sun approaching its peak. Though he may be unreliable, Apollo's position gave me enough of a reminder to get back to Annabeth.

I'll have to check on Hazel after dinner…

I began my return trip to the villa when Eurytion approached me from the shore.

"Sorry for takin' so long. The water quality is fantastic for makin' mortar. Got a little caught up."

"Don't worry about it," I said. "Let me know if you need any help. Hazel took off."

"I noticed. What happened?"

"A hippocampus dropped in on us during an… inconvenient moment."

Her stared blankly for a few seconds before his eyes widened. "Well," he scratched the back of his neck while looking away, "hopefully things work out. I should be fine though. I'll let you know when I'm finished."

"Sure thing." I began to walk towards the villa before turning around. "And Eurytion, thanks."

He waved his hand while shaking his head. "Don't even worry about it. It's the least I can do. You take care now, ya' hear?"

Before I could reply he began his return trip to the cave. I, in turn, began my return trip to Annabeth's bedside.

A/N - Woohoo! Percy certainly is having a busy morning. Poor Annabeth is finally suffering the effects of true alcohol poisoning. But hey, who better to care for her than the ones who helped Nimba recover (you didn't think I would seriously forget about my little nebulae)? When will we see her again? In a little bit, but first Percy has business with some others to take care of.

Speaking of taking care of, we finally get somewhere with Hazel. Don't think for a second that I've forgotten about the time limit. How will the remaining girls manage with their clocking ticking ever so closer to their inevitable torment? Tune in to find out.

With today being the last day of No Nut November, hopefully I can pull in a bit more traffic with this update than the last. Only like a third of my normal views showed up. It's not like there was anything to fap to last chapter, unless you're really into demonically possessed oracles spewing green mist from their mouth... Gods, that's creepy. Regardless, I hope to see more.

And now for the question of the day. I saw this one in a more recent story, but it didn't really get any answers. And so, I will ask on their behalf. When reading a Fan Fiction story, what is it that makes you follow or favorite it? On the same note, what will instantly put you off of a story? Two questions, I know; but it's been two weeks.

In my case, I follow stories that implement a well spoken author. I got sick of reading stories that I can't understand, but the ones that are well spoken and unique in concept pull me in like no other. I only ever favorite finished stories, but they are the ones I would have followed if they were still being written. As for put offs... Wall of text. Need I say more? Then there's also the horribly done English ones. Like, "I ran my story through Google translate and pasted the results here" type of bad. I confess I've done it before, but I put a lot more effort into ensuring proper translation between languages. And content... Well, if it holds a position in my banlist, you can assume I won't read it. Simple as that. I can forgive one shot series for including things I don't like, in a couple chapters, but if it shows up more than one or two times, I refuse to return to it. So, what about you guys?

Not too much to comment on this time around. After all, I have work in less than an hour, so I can't dally. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and are looking forward to more. For those who want some lemons after waiting for so long... You don't much longer of a wait. Hope that got your heart pumping. Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving. And I look forward to seeing you all again in mid December. As always, leave a review. This is Ronin signing off.