"you could be the king, but watch the queen conquer"
-
Rosalyn Carter is the daughter of Aphrodite and the last thing Percy expected to find at Camp Half-Blood.
But he wouldn't want to fight deadly battles with anyone else.
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The wait for the bus was wet and cold. Rain pounded the pavement around them with no sign of stopping. Percy's mind wandered dangerously as they sat.
You shall go west, and face the god who has turned. You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned. The Oracle's words echoed in his ears.
Looking at Grover to his right and the two girl's to his left with their arms crossed almost identically, dutifully ignoring each other, the Oracle's final warnings plagued his thought.
You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend. And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.
It was nearly an hour of waiting before the bus finally arrived, and they were all grateful to get moving.
Grover was tense as he sniffed the air. Percy's eyes darted between the satyr and Rosalyn, who had been on edge since they'd left camp.
"What is it?" Percy asked, feeling his heart speed up with anxiety.
Grover gave the boy a week smile and said, "I don't know. Maybe it's nothing."
Rosie didn't speak.
They found seats together at the back of the bus. Annabeth and Percy sitting on one side of the aisle and Grover and Rosalyn on the other. Passengers continued to get onto the bus, but as an old woman shuffled up the stairs, Rosalyn shot out of her seat.
Annabeth seized Percy's knee and tried to yank him down in the seat. "Percy," she hissed.
Two more elderly women boarded, but they all looked exactly the same. Mrs. Dodds, his former teacher that he killed, was on this bus.
"I thought you said they could be dispelled for a lifetime," Percy grumbled, trying to keep his voice from trembling. Rosalyn did not settle back into her seat as the bus started moving, instead crouching beside Annabeth's seat and keeping her eyes focused on the front.
"I said if you're lucky," Annabeth said.
"You're obviously not," Rosie grunted.
"It's okay," Annabeth breathed. "The Furies. The three worst monsters from the Underworld. No problem. No problem. We'll just slip out the windows."
Without looking their way, Rosie said, "They don't open."
Percy and Annabeth began to argue about witnesses and the Mist, but Rosalyn wasn't listening. She was standing up again, reaching into her hair slowly.
The bus went dark as they hit the Lincoln Tunnel, the sound of the rain disappearing and leaving them in an eerie quiet.
Mrs. Dodds got up and announced, "I need to use the restroom."
The other two Furies said, "So do I," in kind.
Rosie snatched Annabeth's Yankees hat from the blonde's hands and shoved it into Percy's chest. Her hairpin sword was now clutched between her fingers but untransformed.
"Put this on and get to the front of the bus. You need to get off as soon as possible."
"What about you?" Percy questioned, pausing with the hat poised above his head.
Annabeth shoved the hat onto his head, and he disappeared from sight.
"They might not even notice us, and someone's gotta buy you time if the hat doesn't work," Rosie insisted. The old ladies were getting closer to their seats, making Rosie's palms sweat with anticipation.
"I can't just leave you," Percy's disembodied voice whispered.
"She's right. You have to," Annabeth said.
Percy felt like a coward, escaping while his companions stayed behind to fight his battles. He couldn't help but stare at Rosalyn over his shoulder as he started down the aisle. Alarm bells were screaming in his mind not to leave her behind, but he clenched his jaw and ignored them.
Ducking into an empty seat, Percy waited for the Furies to pass him. Mrs. Dodds sniffed the air, but she didn't see him. They kept moving down the aisle as he darted to the front of bus.
Just as Percy was about to press the emergency stop button, a hideous wailing erupted from the back. From where he'd left Rosie.
"Where is it?" The Furies screeched from where they surrounded the trio.
Rosalyn's hairpin spun in her fingers and grew into her sword, and she raised it defensively against the creatures. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears, and she eyed Annabeth beside her. The blonde clutched a bronze knife, nodding to the redhead as she raised it.
"He's gone!" Rosalyn yelled, sneering.
Before anyone could strike, the bus jerked to the left. The Furies smashed into the windows at the side of the bus, and Rosalyn caught Annabeth before she hit the floor. The sound of grinding metal filled the bus as it bounced against the Lincoln Tunnel.
The rain started up again, signaling their departure from the tunnel, and then they were spinning. The demigods struggled to keep their footing as the bus screeched to a halt, the passengers crying out in panic.
The Furies regained their bearings and lashed their whips at the girls and Grover.
Despite the lack of fear on her face, Percy couldn't stomach running away. The door to the bus was open and right there, but instead he ripped the baseball cap off his head.
"Hey!"
The monsters turned at the sound of his voice, and Rosalyn felt her face drain of color. Riptide clutched in his hand, Percy yelled taunts at the Furies.
He managed to catch one of them with his blade as Rosalyn rushed towards them.
"Annie, jump!" Rosalyn yelled, grabbing ahold of Mrs. Dodds whip. Her hands burned, the flesh screaming at her to let go. Gritting her teeth, she pulled it from the Fury's grip just as Annabeth jumped onto it's back.
The other monster exploded as Percy slashed as it. Wrestling the last one down to the floor, Annabeth shouted over her shoulder at them.
"Get out! Now!"
Grabbing Percy by the back of his shirt, Rosalyn yanked him from the bus as thunder shook the sky. They burst into the rain just as lightning struck the roof and tore open the bus.
"We have to get out of here. Move!" Rosie ordered, pushing them towards the woods.
