Birthright (Forgotten Daughter part 2)

The End

Aliana clutched her stomach as the flood of emotions made her nauseous. She breathed heavily to stop the bile that was rising in her throat.

Finally, her legs still shaky, she rose to her feet. She wove her hair into a simple side braid with her trembling fingers. She scanned her surroundings to get her bearings. Rising above the treetops, she spotted Thalia's pine tree, it's needles yellow. She bit her lip, if the tree wasn't healed that meant that Clarisse hadn't returned with the Golden Fleece yet. Or worse, she hadn't found it at all.

Taking a deep breath, she marched towards camp. Mr. D would have a lot to say when he realized she was back and she wasn't looking forward to it.

There was a rustle in the bushes to her right.

She froze, but nothing happened - no monster, no trap. It must've been a rabbit or something. She pressed on, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched.

As camp came into view, she heard a growl. Turning she spotted a Hellhound charging towards her. She ducked as it lunged, sailing over her head and landing between her and camp. Not that the barrier would do much in it's current state, but she'd still feel safer on the other side of it.

The monster growled viciously, baring it's teeth and brandishing its claws.

She stumbled back and unsheathed her venomous knife, holding it up defensively. Her heart pounded. Just her luck. She's attacked by a hellhound 6 feet away from camp.

The beast charged.

Aliana dodged it's relentless attacks. She had her bow strapped to her back, but it was moving too much for her to get a clear shot.

Finally, it leapt at her, claws spread.

She held up her knife as it plowed into her, knocking her to the ground and slicing four long gashes in her side.

It landed heavily on her knife and exploded into a cloud of golden dust.

She rolled over, choking on the monster's glittery remains. A pain shot up her left side. She pressed her left hand against it. Her fingers came back red. She was bleeding. She pushed herself to her feet, her quiver falling off of her back. The hellhound's claws and cut through the strap.

As she stood, applying pressure to her wounds, another growl echoed out of the forest. Her grip tightened on her knife.

A black mass jumped out of the brush, knocking her to the ground. The hellhound landed a few feet away and quickly turned on her. It crept forward, ready to pounce.

Aliana slowly inched backwards. If she moved to quickly she was dead. She flinched as her back touched a tree. She had no where to go.

Suddenly, a massive bolt of lightening shot through the trees and collided with the hellhound. The smell of burning fur filled the air as the monster slid into a tree, smoke rising from its black pelt.

"Leave her alone." She looked to see a black-haired boy with stormy eyes and scattered freckles glaring at the beast. His eyes sparked with anger, like... literally sparked.

The hellhound rose and turned on its new target. It growled coldly and dashed towards him.

The boy held out his hand and a blast of electricity zapped the monster until it vanished in a cloud of golden glitter.

The boy approached her, flashing a dimpled smile as he offered her his hand. "Hey Ali."

She grabbed his hand and, as soon as he had hauled her to her feet, threw her arms around him. "You're awake." She fought back her tears, remembering she was supposed to be angry at him, but it was so good to hear his voice again.

"Woah!" He chuckled, not sure how to respond. "I thought you hated me. What did I miss?"

She pulled away and met his gaze. "A lot."

"Well I guess you'll have to catch me up." He handed her her bow and quiver, which he'd picked up off the ground.

Aliana smiled as she accepted them, then something growled and a black mass tackled Mason to the ground.

"Mason!" She dropped the quiver, pulling a single arrow loose, and knocked it to the string. Her eyes blazed silver and her skin glowed faintly. The arrow erupted with silver flames. She released.

The projectile struck the hellhound directly between the eyes, sank into its forehead, and broke through the back of its skull, embedding itself in a tree trunk.

Aliana's vision blurred as her eyes and skin returned to normal. She collapsed and the world went black.
                                      *   *   *
"Most of you don't even know who Mason Rodgers is." Aliana fought against her tears as she stood before the flames. She clutched a hastily made burial shroud in her hands. "He made a lot of mistakes in his life, but so do all of us. Like it or not we're still human." A tear rolled down her cheek. "One of the last things I told him before he went into his coma was that I hated him." Her voice broke. "But, when the time came, he still saved me." She squeezed her eyes shut, ushering more tears from her eyes. She didn't trust her voice to go on. So, she raised the shroud a sky blue cloth with a golden yellow lightening bolt emblazoned across it. Taking a deep breath she dropped it into the flames.

Black smoke rose from the funeral pyre. The flames burned dark and melancholy.

Aliana was sure she accounted for a majority of the grief in the room. No one else cared.

Percy caught her as she walked towards the woods. "Hey." He grabbed her arm. "I'm sorry about what happened."

She met his gaze, holding back her tears. She didn't like to cry in front of people. "It's okay. It's not your fault. You were off saving the world again."

He shrugged. "Well, it wasn't the whole world this time." He smiled.

She tried to return the favor, but it was a weak attempt.

They stood in an awkward silence until Percy finally cleared his throat. "Annabeth mentioned a prophecy that she and Chiron think is about me." He rubbed the back of his neck. "It's about a child of the Big Three. When Annabeth told me about it, I thought maybe it was about him." He looked back at the amphitheater. "But... I guess it's down to me now."

Aliana took a deep breath. "Nice pep talk." Her voice was hoarse and broken.

Percy muttered a curse under his breath. "I'm sorry. That was way too soon."

She shook her head. "It's fine." She took a shaky breath. "I think I just need some time alone."

Percy nodded and she walked away, letting the tears pour from her eyes.

One of the lines from her prophecy surfaced in her mind: the Fates are singing the end of days.

She hugged herself and dropped to her knees. It had been him. The whole time the prophecy had been warning her about this.