The group immediately set to work.
Well first, everyone but Ariadnê had quickly changed into something with pants.
Ariadnê tied her hair back into her signature buns with the two-piece bangs at the front before she went exploring the cave. The Stolls, her brothers in all but blood, fell into step beside her since the two had somehow become her guard dogs whenever the opportunity presented itself.
They knew she could take care of herself, but that didn't mean she had to.
The cave was simply breathtaking. Their bared feet shivered from the coolness of the stone. Ariadnê could sense a cavern underneath the stone that led to the river. That made sense considering the pool of freshwater that sat directly in between the caverns.
Ariadnê had to resist the urge to dive directly in and never leave.
It took more effort than she would have liked to take in the rest of the cave. It was far bigger on the inside than it appeared from outside. The caverns look like personalized cubicles with decorative curtains acting as doorways. Various gemstones and crystals littered the ground and walls coexisting peacefully with this example of nature untouched by mankind.
The three of them were hypnotized as their feet led them in different directions. Ariadnê walked to one that overlooked the cave pool. She looked up to see sun rays bouncing off the crystals above creating soft prisms of light.
The marbled material of the floor did not match the stone of the cave. A vanity mirror in the shape of a scallop's shell hung on the wall. The bed was made with sea silk sheets that looked as if they had been woven by her stepmother.
Even smaller details stood out to her: mainly the cluster of framed pictures hung up on the wall of the room. Pictures of her and her brother; one of the twins and their mother. Another had a picture of her, Clarisse, and Silena. There was another with her standing with the preferred forms of Apollôn and Hermês. One with the twins and their father's preferred form. Another with her and Hermês. One with her, Clarisse, Drew, Chris, Drew, Silena, and Beckendorf. Another with her and the Stolls. One with the twins, their father, stepmother, and some of their immortal half siblings. One was with just the twins. One of her and Lee.
And lastly, a painting of her wrapped into Apollôn's arms with looks of love and wonder on both of their faces.
Dii Immortales, they thought of everything.
Something glittered out the corner of her eye and Ariadnê spun so fast on her feet that she almost fell. Her caduceus charm. It was sitting on top of a picture of her and Luke. He was letting her play on a flute that he had stolen from Lee Fletcher. It was the day before she got claimed and right after another round of Maury: The Olympos Edition.
Luke smiled at her.
The blue of his eyes looked like clear skies as he handed her the charm in his hand. Pulling the flute slowly away from her mouth, she looked at him in confusion. The naiads that had swam up to listen to her giggled and laughed (she would later find out that gifting things attached to their family name was considered a part of the traditional courting process in the sea).
His smile was bright, and her heart skipped a beat. Ariadnê knew even at twelve that she had a type. Blond and curly hair. She liked either one, but it was 100% better if they were together.
"I saw it in a dream," he had said. She didn't understand how seeing it in a dream meant giving a physical representation to her. Not until the summer on a boat with Clarisse heading to the Sea of Monsters to obtain the Fleece.
Not until she was in one of the rooms of the ship and Hermês appeared at her side. He told her that Luke had ordered it through his store (Stolen Treasures) that was mainly only accessible to his children and various gods. He had thought Luke had a thing for her. He was sure that she would be able to save him. The small part of her that had a crush on Luke wanted to believe that too.
