Rory had no words. It had been a few days since Annabeth had kissed her in the forge. A few wonderful days. They would walk and talk together every night before going to their cabins. They would hold hands and kiss in secret by Zeus' fist.
Rory would still wake up shaking some nights, scared that she had slept for longer than she had meant to. She had completely lost her ability to dream. Every night she would be forced to go back there. It was a constant reminder of that whole "you will never overcome your misery" thing. She was pretty sure she was happy, especially when she was with Annabeth. It still bugged her, and she wanted to tell her, but at the same time didn't want to put a damper on the mood.
It was one night, when they were sitting next to each other talking, that Rory suddenly felt the need to tell her. Annabeth clearly knew something was up. She turned around and faced Rory, head tilted.
"You okay? You suddenly seem very serious." Rory took a deep breath.
"No." She could feel tears prick in the corners of her eyes. "No, I am no where near okay." Annabeth's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "It has nothing to do with you, I promise," Rory added hastily, reaching over and giving her hand a squeeze.
"When I was asleep, when you couldn't wake me up, I wasn't asleep." Annabeth's face washed with worry. "I mean, I was unconscious, but I was awake at the same time. I was in this room and there was this person. They told me these horrible things." Her voice was shakey. Annabeth sat up onto her knees.
"Hey, Rory, you can tell me. You know that, right?" Rory took another deep breath, stealing her nerves.
"They showed me this image, from when I was a kid. I destroyed..." tears started falling down her cheeks. Annabeth pulled her into a hug. "They told me I would never be able to overcome misery." The last sentence was barely above a whisper. "Every night when I go to sleep I go back there. I get so scared that I'm not gonna be able to wake up."
Annabeth rubbed her back in slow circles. "You're gonna be ok. I'll make sure of it. You're gonna wake up, every day. Okay?" Rory nodded.
"Look at me. You. Are. Okay." Rory nodded again.
"Thanks," she whispered sitting up. Annabeth tucked a stray piece of hair behind Rory's ear before kissing her on the nose.
"Seriously Beth?" Annabeth giggled and kissed her nose again. Rory was about to protest again but was cut off when Annabeth pecked her on the lips.
"Does that make up for it?" she asked raising an eyebrow. Rory smirked.
"Only if I get get one every time."
"Deal." Annabeth layed a light kiss on her nose. She didn't pull away for long before leaning in and kissing her on the lips. Rory smiled and deepened the kiss. She moved so that she was sitting on Annabeth's knees.
Rory pulled back and smiled sadly. "We've got to get going else someone might start asking questions." Annabeth nodded solemnly.
"I'm sorry, I just don't feel like putting labels on this yet." Rory tilted her head up and looked her in the eyes.
"I know. We don't have to use labels or tell anyone until you're ready." Annabeth smiled and pecked her on the lips. Rory slid off her knees and stood up while helping Annabeth to her feet.
Together they walked, hand in hand until they reached the edge of the woods. Rory kissed Annabeth on the head. "I'll see you in the morning." Annabeth nodded and walked to her cabin.
Her siblings were all fast asleep when she crept slowly inside. She slipped into her pyjamas and layed down in her bed. Her mind wandered back to the conversation in the woods. Rory had seemed so scared. She wished that there was something she could do. Eventually she fell into an uncomfortable sleep.
The dream was the same as the one that had happened before. Camp Half-blood on fire. Rory running from something. Annabeth being picked up by the legs by some unforeseen force.
She woke up shakey and checked her alarm. 6:30. She rolled back onto her side and tried with little effect to fall asleep.
* * *
Rory was even less fortunate than Annabeth, though she didn't know it. For the first time since her week-long nap, the voice was back.
It wore no cloak, instead appearing as a smokey black silhouette. "Look who showed up again," it hissed. Rory tried to take deep breaths to calm herself down.
"You were wrong. I'm happy! What you said, it was wrong!" Rory's voice rose with each word she said. The creature laughed in response.
"That is because you have not known true misery!" It yelled.
The scene changed to something so horrible that it took every ounce of Rory's being not to throw up. (Could she even throw up?) Warning: Gore ahead!
Annabeth was lying on the floor, eyes glassy. Her shirt was frayed and torn near the bottom and her leg was a mess. It looked like it had been through a blender. The muscles and ligaments were shredded. Blood was spreading quickly around her, to fast to stop.
Rory collapsed onto her knees. Her breath was short with panic. Her throat felt tight and a lump of white hot anger burned in her chest. She wanted to scream and shout, to attack the creature that was showing her this, but sometimes silence is the only way to grieve.
She kept telling herself: 'This isn't real.' Her gut trusted into knots. She felt sick and scared and angry. But most of all she felt empty. Since her and Annabeth had met their lives and become so tangled. Now it was gone. All of it. The late night talks. The secret kisses. All of it. The playful banter. The pleasant company. Everything was gone.
"Now you know." The voice had become gentle, almost nostalgic. Like it was thinking of it's own grief.
* * *
Annabeth woke up to one of her siblings shaking her. The boy seemed panicked.
"Good, you're awake. They need you in the Hepheastus cabin! Leo said it was urgent." His words came out at a hundred miles an hour. Annabeth jumped up and got changed as the boy walked off.
She ran as fast as she could; until her lungs burned and her legs ached. It took seconds until she was barging through the cabin door, but it felt far too long. Her one thought was: What if she was already breaking her promise to Rory? What if she wasn't going to wake up today?
The Hepheastus kids were all outside waiting anxiously. They turned and faced Annabeth. It was a surreal feeling. Lole the one you get when your parents tell you that a grandparent has passed away.
Her heart was racing. She felt sick to her stomach. Annabeth could hear her screaming. She walked to where Rory's bed was. She was leaning on Leo's chest for support, her whole body shaking.
"Find her! Please Leo you have to find her!" She was screaming louder. Leo rubbed her back.
"They're getting her. I promise she's-" his eyes caught Annabeth's.
Rory looked up and flowed his gaze. She jumped up and latched onto Annabeth. She started kissing her all over. On her cheeks, her lips, her forehead, anywhere she could. She pulled back for moment, eyes scanning Annabeth's face.
"What happened?" Rory shook her head and rested it on Annabeth's shoulder. Leo gave them both a sympathetic smile.
"I'll tell the others that they can go." He stood up and left.
Annabeth made them both sit on the bed, Rory still holding her hand.
"Can you tell me what happened?" She asked. Rory stayed still before talking.
"I was so scared. It was back. That thing it was back. I was so scared." She curled into a tight ball. "I t...told it that I was happy. And that what it said was a lie." Her bottom lip trembled. "It showed me you. But you were dead." Her voice was a strangled whisper.
Dead. There was such a finality to that word. Annabeth curled up into a ball next her.
"But I'm not dead. And I probably won't be for a long time," she reasoned. Rory shook her head.
"No. You don't understand. You weren't asleep dead. Your eyes weren't closed it wasn't peaceful. Something killed you. Your leg was all torn up. There was blood. So much blood I couldn't do anything." Hot tears ran down her cheeks. Using her thumbs Annabeth wiped them away.
"Rory?"
"Yeah?"
"Please don't cry. Because I'm alive. And I'm not gonna die, okay? I'm not going anywhere." Rory nodded and leaned in, resting her head on Annabeth's chest. Hearing her heartbeat calmed her slightly.
Annabeth was alive. She was alive. And nothing was going to take that away from her.