¹Pocket Full of Posies.

𝐈𝐈𝐈. the forbidden son

pocket full of posies
❛ iii. the forbidden son ❜

━━━━━ THE NIGHTMARES WERE becoming worse.

No longer did Josephine dream of her father and those fitful nights were he would talk of her sufferings. She didn't think it could get any worse than that, but there she was, standing in her nightmare, tears in her eyes.

"I—I don't understand," she cried, her throat tight.

She hadn't expected a response, but a cold voice drawled, "In time."

Josephine looked around wildly, everything around her was dead—wilted plants, perishing trees, crushed flowerbeds, and a crumbling house. It was like the scene was falling apart around her. Even if she hadn't seen herself do it, Josephine knew she was at fault. That prickle underneath her skin, that burn at her fingertips, like something was boiling, growing underneath her skin.

"In time what?" she demanded, her voice wavering.

"In time," the cold voice repeated. "In time, you will understand."

"I—I don't—"

She gasped, pulling back from the crumbling house. The longer she stared, it started to look more and more like the house she had left Beau Easton in. Her childhood home that was built on the outskirts of Washington D.C. On the rotting front porch were the wilted yellow blooms from Delos Apollo had given Beau; Josephine could see the yellow petals curling into themselves. It was like they wanted to shield themselves from the horror about to take place.

Josephine wanted to run, wanted to do anything than watch the front door open, and a gaunt figure stand in the doorway. She took a step back, the dead grass crunching under her feet, and the empty eye sockets locked on her. Josephine froze.

"It will infect," the figure wailed in a desperate voice—in her father's voice—and the ground opened beneath Josephine's feet and she fell.

Josephine woke, shivering and bathed in cold sweat. Just outside the windows facing the east, Josephine could see the smallest amounts of sun rays poking out. The sun hanging inside Cabin Seven was starting to glow, spinning in circles. Josephine let out bursts of small breaths, looking over to her siblings. None of them were stirring just yet, leaving her the only one awake in the cabin.

Josephine laid back down, covering her eyes. That nightmare played over in her mind, over and over.

In time, that cold voice told her. In time, you will understand.

"Understand what ..." she muttered quietly.

✿

She and Annabeth were elected to help Percy settle into a routine. Josephine wanted to protest, but she knew that Lee and Chiron wouldn't let her get out of it.

Each morning Percy took Ancient Greek from Annabeth, talking about the gods and goddesses, and everything the boy must've assumed to all be myths.

The rest of the day, Percy would rotate through outdoor activities, looking for something he was good at. Chiron tried to teach him archery, but made a fast discovery that Percy was worse at archery than Josephine, something that was hard to achieve. Josephine winced as she watched Percy pull a stray arrow out of Chiron's tail.