Chapter Text
Chapter 3: A Short Chapter
"At least the first chapter was ok", Percy whispers to Annabeth.
"I am thankful too. But we must remember this is going to get worse. Not all these chapters will be about the others", Annabeth reminds him.
Percy grimaces, "I know. But we should try and enjoy it while we can"
Annabeth sighs, "I suppose we can try that"
"We have to Wise Girl or we mike go insane just thinking about what is going to be revealed", Percy whispers.
"I guess. I'll try. I just am not looking forward to what is to come. Why can't the Primordials leave us along?" Annabeth asks him.
"I don't know", Percy replies.
"All of them seem to have an interest in us", Annabeth points out.
"So, what makes us so special?"
"I don't know. But I hope they end up telling us", Annabeth replies, "As they appear unusually invested in us"
"And that would never be a good thing", Percy replies.
The others have watched their whispers and wondered what the two of them were whispering about. They seemed to be doing ok at the moment. But they didn't know how long that was going to last.
"What wants to go next?" Hestia asks.
"I'll go", Athena decides to brave it.
Hoping she wouldn't read about her daughters suffering in Tartarus.
Athena was handed the book and she opens it to the correct page.
II
HAZEL
Percy and Annabeth breathe a sigh of relief. At least they could try and relax for another chapter.
They didn't hear Athena and Poseidon's sigh of relief. They didn't know how they would handle hearing or reading their child's suffering.
Athena composes herself and starts to read.
HAZEL HAD NEVER FELT SO HAPPY.
Everyone looked at her in shock. What did Hazel have to be happy about.
Well, except for maybe on the night of victory feast at Camp Jupiter, when she'd kissed Frank for the first time . . . but this was a close second.
As soon as she reached the ground, she ran to Arion and threw her arms around his neck.
"I missed you!" she pressed her face into the horse's warm flank, which smelled of sea salt and apples, "Where have you been?"
Arion nickered. Hazel wished she could speak Horse like Percy could,
Poseidon looked at his son's friend. Hazel was one of his son's friends that saved his son's life. He thought he just might reward the girl with her wish. He would think on it till the end of the book and decide and if he got ideas about the others that would be helpful as he never had thanked them for saving Percy.
but she got the general idea. Arion sounded impatient, as if saying, No time for sentiment, girl! Come on!
"You want me to go with you?" she guessed.
Arion bobbed his head, trotting on the spot. His dark brown eyes gleamed with urgency.
Hazel still couldn't believe he was actually here. He could run across any surface, even the sea, but she'd been afraid he wouldn't follow them into the ancient lands. The Mediterranean was too dangerous for demigods and their allies.
Many shudder at the thought of making this journey and many thanked their lucky starts that they hadn't been on this quest.
He wouldn't have come unless Hazel was in dire need.
"That is correct. Arion wouldn't come unless the situation calls for it", Poseidon confirms, "As he has never taken an interest in things like this before"
And he seemed so agitated . . . Anything could make a fearless horse skittish should have terrified Hazel.
Clarisse snorts, "How terrifying can it be?"
Hazel decides not to comment on that.
Instead, she felt elated. She was so tired of being seasick and airsick.
"That is the feeling of being in Poseidon and Zeus's domains", Hades tells in daughter, "It is unnatural for children of the Big Three to go into any of the Big Three's domains that are not their Fathers"
"Except for Thalia", Percy teases.
Thalia glares at him, "Don't say a word, Jackson!"
"What are you going to do about it?" Percy teases.
"I am going to zap you so badly that you'll have static hair for a month!" Thalia threats.
"I am so scared", he replies, "I can also force you onto Blackjack and take you for a ride"
Thalia growls, "If you do that. Cousin or not your dead"
"You don't frighten me, Thalia. There are much more things to be afraid of", Percy replies.
"How can that be?" Thalia asks.
"Because of Tartarus Thals", Percy replies quietly.
Silence goes over the group and Thalia felt guilty at that even though he started it. She had momentary forgotten that he had been to Tartarus and would have seen things a lot scarier than her.
"Sorry Perce", Thalia says to him her eyes showing how sorry she was.
He nods and wraps his arm around Annabeth and pulls her close.
Athena quickly starts reading again.
Aboard the Argo II, she felt about as useful as a box ballast.
"Hazel you were plenty useful", Jason assures her.
Leo, Frank and Piper all nod in agreement.
"You were great Hazel when Percy and I were aboard and I am sure that continued", Annabeth assures her.
She was glad to be back on solid ground, even if it was Gaia's territory. She was ready to ride.
"Hazel!" Nico called down from the ship, "What's going on?"
"It's fine!" she crouched down and summoned a gold nugget from the earth. She was getting better at controlling her power. Precious stones hardly ever popped up around her by accident any more, and pulling gold from the ground was easy.
She fed Arion the nugget . . . his favourite snack.
Everyone looks at Hazel weirdly.
"Really?" Reyna asks her.
"Yes. He loves those", Hazel replies, "And he knows I am one of the only ones who can provide him with them"
Many shake their heads. Arion really was a weird horse.
Then she smiled up at Leo and Nico, who were watching her from the top of the ladder a hundred feet above.
"Arion wants to take me somewhere"
The boys exchange nervous looks.
"Uh . . .", Leo pointed north, "Please tell me he's not taking you into that?"
"Into what?" many ask.
Hazel had been so focused on Arion she hadn't noticed the disturbance. A mile away, on the crest of the next hill, a storm had gathered over some old stone ruins – maybe
"That doesn't sound good", Hermes comments.
"Going into that is bound to cause trouble", Apollo adds.
the remains of a Roman Temple of a fortress. A funnel cloud snaked its way down towards the hill like an inky black finger.
"I don't like the sound of that", Aphrodite states.
Hazel's mouth tasted like blood. She looked at Arion, "You want to go there?"
Arion whined, as if to say, Uh duh!
Well . . . Hazel had asked for help. Was this her Dad's answer?
"No, it wasn't", Hades says before anyone else could say anything.
She hoped so, but she sensed something besides Pluto at work in that storm . . . something dark, powerful and not necessarily friendly.
Still, this was her chance to help her friends – to lead instead of follow.
She tightened the straps of her Imperial gold cavalry sword and climbed onto Arion's back.
"I'll be okay!" she called up to Nico and Leo, "Stay put and wait for me"
"This is not a good idea to split up", Malcolm tells her.
"It had to be done", Hazel replies.
"Wait for how long?" Nico asked, "What if you don't come back?"
"Don't worry, I will", she promised, hoping it was true.
She spurred Arion, and they shot across the countryside, heading straight for the growing tornado.
"That's is the end of that chapter", Athena announces in surprise and so were the others.
"Why is that chapter so short?" Katie asks.
"I don't know", Athena replies with a frown.
"I hope not all chapters are like that", Demeter tells them, "Otherwise we will never get through the book"
"I am sure they are not", Athena assures her, "But there might be a few shorter chapters and slightly long chapters. We'll just have to wait and see"
"How about we get some drinks?" Hestia suggests, "We should eat and drink regularly"
They nod knowing her logic.
"Percy and I are going to the other room for a break", Annabeth suddenly announces.
She grabs Percy's hand and drags him out of the room.
They go to the room they had their first private discussion it.
Annabeth shuts the door and sigh.
"I just needed to have fresh air without everyone shooting pity glances at me", Annabeth explains.
"You noticed that too huh?" Percy asks her.
"It was hard not to notice", Annabeth retorts.
"This is only going to get worse, isn't it?"
"Oh yeah and we don't have a choice in them leaning about our time there or whether we read about it or not"
"I guess this is going to bad. I am already shaking at the thought of future chapters telling everyone of what we had to do to survive", Percy tells her pulling her into his arms.
"I don't like it either. But what choose do we have?" Annabeth asks with a sigh melting into his arms, "I am shaking too at the thought of those chapters about us and I feel bad about what we are going to put our parents through"
"I am too and at least we can get the full story about what Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel, Leo and Nico got to in our absence"
"There is that. I guess we are going to have to pull ourselves together and get back in there", Annabeth tells him with a sigh.
"I guess. But let’s just stay here for a few more minutes", Percy suggests.
"I love you Seaweed Brain"
"I love you too Wise Girl, so much"