A Game of Promises

Chapter III: Garden of Fire

IT WAS AMAZING THAT AFTER ONLY A FEW MINUTES IN THIS NEW PLACE, PIPER MCLEAN WAS BORED. It was all the same: the names dripped slowly, and people disappeared. Name, called. Person, gone. Repeat.

The girl named Annabeth, the only person who Piper had really spoken with, disappeared minutes ago. But here, the minutes felt closer to hours. The ticked by impossibly slow, a heavy cloud of anticipation no doubt the cause. The voice in her mind had fallen silent for the longest time, providing no insight on everything that was happening. 

She was growing itchy for something, and hopefully that unnamed something would be a chance to leave. Was she here by a mistake? Was that why her name had not been called yet?

The thought was crossing her mind when she heard, "Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite," ring loudly over the room.

Piper's heart swelled in her chest as her feet impossibly propelled her forwards. The words swam anxiously in her mind as she attempted to catch them to analyze.

There were few things that Piper knew. Her name. The fact that she was here, and that was strange. But she did not know who Aphrodite was, nor any of the other names called out. Everything here was strange and foreign, even herself.

Zeus was looking at her, an eyebrow raised almost mockingly, yet his expression did not match the look at all. Nonetheless, the sight made a fire ignite in Piper's chest. From the air, he plucked a single knife, and placed it in her hands.

She accepted it, wrapping a hand around the cool metal hilt. But there was a look that registered in the god's eyes that scared Piper: a look of fearful apprehension.

What would make a god afraid?

She shoved the thought into the back of her mind, and Piper descended the steps. Her breathing hitched as she neared the final one, the place where the air seemed to shine brighter. Her eyes glanced outwards, to where the other strangers were gathered. They stared at her, eyes wide. Gathering courage, Piper stepped down, and felt herself disappear.

It felt as if she were flying. There was an exhilarated rush, and part of her wanted to scream. Too soon, she landed once more, this time in a very open room. Piper frowned, confusion seeping into her mind.

First, a strange room. Then, strange people. And now a bedroom?

The room was beautiful and airy. Windows decorated the walls, and a warm breeze floated through them. Setting the knife down on a small table, she walked to the large, open windows, and peered outside. There was a large garden below with an uncountable amount of flowers blooming. The smell of them wafted up, and she envisioned the scent spiraling upwards like smoke. Without warning, the garden burst into flame. 

Piper stumbled away from the window, but the image continued to burn in her mind. Roses, with petals as red as blood, with flames licking at their thorns. Lilies, their innocent petals reaching outwards towards the fire. 

"The flowers are burning," a voice, not her own, said.

Piper screamed. She whipped her head towards the source of the words, and found a beautiful boy standing beside her. He offered her a small smile, and she tried not to gape at him.

His eyes were the color of the ocean, a mixture of green and blue. Piper was afraid that if she looked into them for so long, she would drown. His hair was a soft brown with strands of gold. He wasn't noticeably muscular, and he had a large birthmark hovering above his left eyebrow, but he was the most beautiful person that Piper had ever seen.

"Who are you?" she asked, surprised to find that her voice was steady. 

He extended his hand out to her. "Alec Hayes. Son of Aphrodite, according to the man out there. You were called right before me."

Piper shook his hand, and found it to be incredibly warm. "Piper McLean."

Alec's gaze reached past her shoulder, and out towards the garden. "You see it too, right? The burning gardens?"

Piper turned her head to look out the window again. Sure enough, twisting vines blooming with flames crawled up to her room, and a garden of fire burned below. 

"Yes. But I can't hear the fire crackling, can you?"

Alec shook his head, strands of hair falling into his eyes. "And there are no ashes, no smell of burning, no heat. Nothing but the fire and flowers."

"Maybe it's not real," the voice in Piper's mind offered. She jumped at its return; it had been there since she had woken up, but it had been silent. The voice was undeniably female, but other than that, Piper had no idea whose it was. 

"Maybe it's not real," Piper repeated aloud to Alec. "Or maybe this happens normally."

Alec shrugged, unconcerned. Then, without warning, his face broke into a blinding smile. "Do you think we'll be allowed to talk with the other people here? Because there was a girl out there that looked really familiar. Did you see here?"

"Um, I did see a girl. I saw several, actually."

Alec rolled his eyes, but the smile did not melt off his face. Piper turned away from her brother--half-brother?-- to study the bedroom. The room had a gold-and-white theme, and everything in that room was those colors. There were two large beds on opposite walls, each having a white table lined with gold on both sides. The beds themselves had a gold and white comforter, and the drapes in front of the windows were the same. There were four sets of white doors. 

The only thing that did not match perfectly were two suits hanging, both of them black as night. They looked tight-fitting, and just tight in general. Piper shivered just looking at them.

"Is that what we're gonna have to wear when we're...you know...killing each other?" Alec asked quietly, the carefree tone gone. 

Piper shrugged. "Maybe they're here because they're the biggest fashion. There's no way to know, really."

Alec did not laugh, or even smile. The girl sighed, and placed a gentle hand on his arm. 

"I may not know what's going on," she said, "but I do know that everything is fine right now. Sure, it may not be in a few days, but right now, we're fine and safe."

Alec still made no noise. Instead, he stared blankly at the two suits hanging like ominous shadows on the other wall. 

Piper could not blame him, not really. Because those suits represented the chaos that was to come, the chaos that they would be forced into. Their roles had already been chosen, and not by their choice. They were playing someone else's game now. The rules were unclear, and the other players were unknown, but the objective was simple: survive.

Piper only wished that she knew how to.

"I got a knife," she said to Alec, gesturing to where she had left the knife moments prior, "and as far as I can tell, that's my only weapon. The ones who got the swords will be able to kill me from two feet away. They won't even have to try."

Alec pointed to the floor by one of the windows. Laying there was a long, thick staff made of wood. "And I got a stick."

She could not help it; Piper snorted. She covered her mouth with her hand, but laughter still escaped. 

"That's a big stick," Piper said between the laughs. 

Alec shrugged, but a ghost of a smile had returned. "At least I don't have to know how to use it. I'll just whack everyone a few times, and they'll fall down. Maybe I can take their weapons that way, maybe find something better."

Piper crossed the room, and picked up the staff. It was heavy and firm in her hands. She held it out to Alec, who accepted it. 

"If I were you," she advised, "I'd stick with the stick."

Below them, far out of sight, an invisible garden of fire burned brighter than any Sun.