✔ 𝐅𝐎𝐋𝐊𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐄 ⋆ percy jackson

xxvi. pacing the rocks

"You mean even the people in your own cabin wouldn't help you?"

Cassie grimaced.

"Shut up, Prissy! I don't need them! Or you!"

"Clarisse," Percy said, "Tantalus is using you. He doesn't care about the camp. He'd love to see it destroyed. He's setting you up to fail."

"No! I don't care what the Oracle" She stopped herself.

"Clarisse?" Cassie said, her tone soft. "What did the Oracle tell you?"

"Nothing." Clarisse's ears turned pink. "All you need to know is that I'm finishing this quest and you're not helping. On the other hand, I can't let you go..."

"So we're prisoners?" Annabeth asked.

Cassie didn't like that at all.

"Guests. For now." Clarisse propped her feet up on the white linen tablecloth and opened another Dr Pepper. "Captain, take them below. Assign them hammocks on the berth deck. If they don't mind their manners, show them how we deal with enemy spies."

The dream came as soon as Cassie fell asleep. A dream Cassiopeia had been dreading since it happened.

Cassie was back at her house in Los Angeles, a beautiful white, elegant house, sat proudly by the cliffs.

She sat at the kitchen, her mother's nurse, Gladys, had an emergency so it was just her and her mother.

Her mother seemed to be better than usual, that made Cassie be in a good mood.

Her mother appeared in the kitchen, her long white robe floating, wrists with diamond and gold bracelets, a massive Rolex in her right wrist.

Her mother was a classical beauty, dark curls and siren eyes, that had once been enticing but now were dim.

Her mother gave her a smile, Cassie's heart jumped in joy, she made Cassie tea, she drank it all. It had been a long time since her mother had done anything for her.

When Cassie woke up in her dream she was tied to a chair, her mother had taken a bottle of alcohol and was spreading it around the house. Cassie trashed in the chair, trying to get free. She had no weapons on her, she began panicking.

"Stop!"

Her mother looked at her, her eyes empty but with a twinkle of hope. She kneeled in front of Cassie.

"I'm doing this for us," Cassie tried wriggling her wrists. "We can finally be free, together."

Cassie didn't dare cry. "Please don't!"

Her mother took a match box. Cassie panicked even more. How the Hades had her mother got ahold of a match box? Nurse Gladys didn't do a good job.

Cassie had managed to untie her hands, her mother didn't do a good job of tying her up.

Her mother left the room and continued pouring alcohol around the house, Cassie untied her legs, she stretched in pain, her wrists were red because of the friction.

Her mother appeared in the room, if she was shocked she had managed to get free she didn't show it, she lit a match and threw it to the floor.