The Veiled Legacy | PJO - Book Two

six

ARIANA BREAKS THE RULES

The girl stood in one of the corridors of the palace, she had been stood there for what felt like ages trying to figure out where to start.

The underworld was massive; there was no way the girl could possibly search the entire place and still make it in time.

For the first time, Ariana wished Annabeth was with her. Annabeth always knew where to start - she was the one who made the plans.

The girl kept both Percy and Ariana in line, keeping them all together. When they were in Tartarus, Ariana was thankful to have Annabegh.

Looking back, Ariana wouldn't have made it without the girl, her and Percy would've probably been monster food much earlier on in their little journey.

When Ariana had finally left the palace of Hades and was making her way to the Fields of Asphodel, the realm in which the souls who had died but not led a "good life" are said to spend eternity.

As she walked down the path towards the endless field, she was deep in thought. She had to find the rod as quickly as possible, but she had no idea where to start.

Maybe the rod had never left the underworld, maybe it was still somewhere in these dreadful fields.

Ariana had never seen a place as bleak as the Fields of Asphodel. As she walked through the endless expanse of grey and desolate fields, she felt a heaviness take her mood and fill her mind with a strange sense of dread.

The only sounds coming from this area were the wind whipping across the rocky and desolate landscape, and the groans and whines of the souls walking about in this bleak and empty realm. The sky above was grey and cloudless.

Ariana had never actually set foot in the field, despite having been in the underworld on multiple occasions.

Though, she knew it was the field where Hazel had been until Nico had been looking for Bianca and found her instead.

Nico had dragged Hazel back and took her to camp Jupiter.

As Ariana continued to walk through the field in search of the rod, she felt her shoulders slump with the realization of just how big and empty the fields were.

There was no way she could search every place by herself. But, she knew she had to stay strong, she had to try her hardest. And maybe, just maybe, with a little bit of luck, she would find the rod in the least expected of places in these desolate wastes.

Continuing, to walk, Ariana couldn't help but feel a bit of a tinge of fear, something she normally wouldn't have thought to feel in her fathers' realm.

For the second time since beginning her quest, she wished she had brought a friend with her. Perhaps then it wouldn't seem so daunting.

She could've really done with a sarcastic sassy comment from Percy or even Leo.

Ariana could just imagine Annabegh rolling her eyes and telling her that the point of a quest was to have challenges to overcome.

She could imagine Percy telling her that she was literally the daughter of Hades and the most strongest demigod he knew; that she could easily find some stupid rod.

Or maybe Leo would make some joke about her not being cool enough to take on a quest alone.

But those comments were no comfort in the moment as Ariana continued to walk forward and began to look over all directions of the field, scanning for anything that could possibly stand out.