American Royalty

Part 11: Growing up too quickly

Hazel dragged Piper down to the basement.
"Hazel, where are we going?" Piper asked out of breath from running the whole way.
They were in front of a huge portrait of assorted fruit. Hazel tickled the pear and a door swung open revealing a massive kitchen. There were house elves cleaning up and some making food. "Madam Hazel." A house elf squeaked. "What can I get for you?"
"Hello Dobby. Please if it's not too much trouble can you get me a bar of chocolate and a mug of hot cocoa."
"Of course madam," Dobby said as he pottered away to go fetch the chocolate goodies.
"Chocolate?" Piper asked raising an eyebrow.
"Ok listen. I was thinking of ways that we could help Kit. And well I remembered this one book I'd been reading about dementors and it said that chocolate was a good way of getting the person's spirits back up."
"Ok but what does that have to do with Kit?"
"Well, when you have a flashback it makes you re-live an awful memory right?"
"Right."
"Ok and you know how it leaves you feeling empty and hollow?"
"Yeah."
"Well, a dementor does a similar thing. It makes you feel like all the happiness has gone from the world. So.."
"So you thought of trying chocolate to see if it helps with Kit."
"Exactly," Hazel concluded just as Dobby came back with a bar of chocolate and a travel flask that probably contained the hot chocolate.
"Madam, do you need a mug for the hot chocolate?"
"Yes please."
Dobby disappeared and then reappeared with a mug,
"Thank you Dobby." Hazel said as Dobby handed her the mug.
They left the Kitchens and hurried up to their common room.
When they opened the door they found Kit staring out the window.
Hazel poured the hot chocolate from the flask into the mug. The pair walked over and Hazel placed the warm mug into Kit's hands. Hazel helped bring the mug to her lips and Kit drank the warm liquid. Before they knew it, it was all gone.
"Thanks guys." Kit said finally looking away from the window. The rain settled slightly and the lake no longer seemed as rough..
After coming back from Tartarus Kit had felt so alone. She'd walked through the pits of hell with Percy and Annabeth but even after Kit struggled. On their path to Greece, Kit hadn't really had anyone to talk to. One night while she had been on guard duty with Hazel they started talking. Hazel got Kit to open up. She hadn't told her everything but she had explained some of it. After that night Hazel and Kit had grown closer. Then with Piper as well. Kit suddenly didn't feel like she had to be alone. She had people that she could talk to.
Now Hazel and Piper shared the bar of chocolate with Kit and cuddled up in a warm fuzzy blanket.
Kit had opened up to them, not only about Tartarus but about the wars she had had to fight and lead in. How she and Percy were very quickly thrown into the world of monsters and gods and had been forced to grow up. As the three sat together eating chocolate they all knew how the gods had twisted their lives. Kit had always been someone that Piper and Hazel had looked up too. She still was but now they had a newfound respect for her. She'd trusted them enough to tell them of her struggles. When Piper first met Kit it was when they had met in New Rome. Kit was someone who was guarded but not like Reyna, she was relaxed being around the people she had grown up with and she was trusting of the newcomers but she gave the vibe that she could very quickly put a sword at your throat. She had the authority of a leader and was someone Piper didn't want to mess with. Then of course the fiasco of Leo firing into the forum and the whole Roman uprising. Piper saw briefly just what a dangerous enemy Kit could be. When they had made their way onto the deck of the Argo 2 Piper had heard the twins reprimand Leo and if not for Annabeth the situation could've got ugly. But their journey to Greece had shown Piper that Kit wasn't always a steely guarded warrior. She was a sarcastic joker who pulled pranks and was really good at making people laugh. Kit had helped train Piper and Hazel in both hand-to-hand combat and sword fighting. Without that training, both Hazel and Piper wouldn't have made it through half the battles they'd faced. Now, Kit needed them. But they both knew that Kit had been forced to grow up. They knew that there was nothing they could do to change that. The best they could do was be there for her.

When the other demigods walked in they found three demigods cuddled against a window. Kit was asleep on Hazel's shoulder who was reading a book and Piper was busy braiding her hair.
"You know I'm not sure if Kit would appreciate waking up and having her whole head braided."
Leo said trying to hold in a laugh.
Connor walked over and scooped Kit up.
"Thanks guys." He whispered as he walked off with Kit towards their room.
The rest of the Demigods came and sat on the couches.
"Where'd you guys go?" Thalia questioned
"We went to the Kitchens." Hazel said not looking up from her book.
"What for?" Leo asked
"Chocolate." Hazel said still not looking up.
"Really?" Nico asked skeptically.
"Well you see chocolate as Hazel discovered is very good at making a person feel more happy. It works on dementor victims so she figured it probably helped with the after-effects of a flashback." Piper finished
"Hazel you're a genius." Will said stunned
Connor walked back in quietly closing the door behind him.
"She ok?" Percy asked
"Yeah." Connor replied taking a seat.
There was a knock on the door and Jason got up to answer it.
"Oh hey Jamie." He said as he stepped aside allowing Jamie to enter and then closing the door. There was a chorus of heys as Jamie and Jason took their seats.
"What brings you by Jamie?" Clarrise asked
"Nothing much, just wondered how everything was going on over here."
There was dead silence.
"So... everything all right?" Jamie questioned getting slightly worried
"Yeah everything's fine. Just Kit had a bit of a rough day." Will said carefully.
"Let me guess. Flashback?" Jamie asked
They all nodded.
"She's ok though right?"
"Yeah she's fine now."
Jamie breathed a sigh of relief.
"So, how've you been finding Hogwarts!" Jamie asked changing the subject.
That got everyone talking. The tension melted and before they knew it it had gotten late. Jamie left for the Gryffindor dorms. Slowly everyone trickled back into their rooms. Connor said goodnight and walked into his room. Kit was fast asleep in bed. Connor quietly changed a climbed in.
"Goodnight Kit." He mumbled as he kissed her forehead.