_______Piper_______
After the first initial shock of the outbreak calmed down, Rachel tried to regain her composure.
"Well, that's the Great Prophecy. We hoped it might not happen for years, but I fear it's starting now. I can't give you p[roof. It's just a feeling. And like Drew said, some weird stuff is happening. The eight demigods, whoever they are, have not been gathered yet. I get the feeling some are here tonight. Some are not here."
The campers began to stir and mutter, looking at each other nervously, sleepy Clovis gave them a laugh.
"Anyway," Rachel continued, "we don't know what the Great Prophecy means. We don't know what challenge the demigods will face, but since the first Great Prophecy predicted the Titan War, we can guess that the second Great Prophecy will predict something at least that bad."
"Or worse," Chiron murmured.
"Wow, you are such a ray of sunshine," Piper could hear Kat say under her breath.
Maybe he didn't mean for everyone to overhear, but they did. The campfire immediately turned dark purple, the same as Piper's dream.
"What we do know," Rachel said, "is that the first phase has begun. A major problem has arisen, and we need a quest to solve it. Hera, the queen of the gods, has been taken."
She told them about the incident on the Grand Canyon skywalk-how Gleeson hedge had sacrificed himself when the storm spirits attacked, and how Kat found them there and joined in the fighting. Also about the spirits had warned it was only the beginning. They apparently served some great mistress who would destroy all demigods.
Then Rachel told them about Piper passing out in Hera's cabin. Piper tried to keep a calm expression, even when she noticed Drew in the back row, pantomiming a faint, and her friend giggling. She saw Kat send them a cold look and they immediately shut up. Piper thanked her mentally. Finally, Rachel told them about Jason's vision in the living room of the Big House. The message Hera had delivered there was so similar Piper got a chill. The only difference: Hera had warned Piper not to betray her: Bow to his will, and the king shall rise, dooming us all. Hera knew about the giant's threat. But if that was true, why hadn't she warned Jason, and exposed Piper as an enemy agent?
"Jason," Rachel said. "Um...do you remember your last name?"
He looked self-conscious but he shook his head.
"We'll just call you Jason then," Rachel said. "It's clear Hera herself has issued you a quest."
Rachel paused as if giving Jason a chance to protest his destiny. Everyone's eyes were on him; there was so much pressure, Piper thought she would've buckled in his position. Yet he looked brave and determined. He set his jaw and nodded. "I agree."
"You must save Hera to prevent great evil," Rahel continued. "Some sort of king from rising. For reasons we don't yet understand, it must happen by the winter solstice, only four days from now."
"That's the council day of the gods, isn't it? Kat asked. If the gods don't already know Hera's gone, they will definitely notice her absence by then." she finished.
"They'll probably break out fighting, accusing each other of taking her. That's what they always do,' Annabeth added.
"The winter solstice," Chiron spoke up, "is the time of great darkness. The gods gather that day, as mortals always have because there is strength in numbers. The solstice is a day when evil magic is strong. Ancient magic, older than the gods. It is a day when things...stir."
"Thank you," Kat said giving the centaur a forced smile and rolling her eyes. "For that unnecessary piece of cheerful information."
Annabeth looked like she agreed with Kat glaring at the centaur. "Whatever's going on, I agree with Rachel. Jason has been chosen to lead this quest, so-"
"Why hasn't he been claimed?" somebody yelled from the Ares cabin. "If he's so important-"
"He has been claimed," Chiron announced. "Long ago. Jason, give them a demonstration.
At first, Jason didn't seem to understand. he stepped forward nervously. He glanced in her direction, and her heart lept and deflated as quickly as it had as Jason focused his eyes on the person next to her. Kat gave him a nod and gestured 'go on'. She looked oddly confident as if she already knew something.
Jason reached into his pocket. His coin flashed in the air, and when he caught in his hand, he was holding a lance-a rod of gold about seven feet long, with a spear tip at on end.
The other demigods gasped. Rachel and Annabeth stepped back to avoid the point, which looked as sharp as an ice pick.
"Wasn't that..." Kat hesitated. Her brows were furrowed in confusion. "I thought you had a gold sword."
"Um it came up tails, I think," Jason said. "Same coin, long-range weapon form."
Kat nodded her like she understood and muttered a quiet 'cool' and gave him a smile.
"Dude I want one!" yelled somebody from Ares cabin.
"Better than Clarisse's electric spear, Lamer!" one of his brothers agreed.
"Electric," Jason murmured like that was a good idea. "Back away."
Annabeth and Rachel got the message, Jason raised his javelin, and thunder broke open the sky. Every hair on Piper's arm stood straight up. Lightning arced down through the golden spear point and hit the campfire with the force of an artillery shell.
When the smoke cleared, and the ringing in Piper's ears subsided, the entire camp sat frozen in shock, half-blind, covered in ashes, staring at the pace where the fire had been. Cinders rained down everywhere. A burning log had impaled itself a few inches from the sleeping kid Clovis, who hadn't even stirred.
Jason lowered his lance. "Um...sorry."
Chiron brushed some burning coals out of his beard. He grimaced as if his worst fears had been confirmed. "A little overkill, perhaps, but you've made your point. And I believe we know who your father is."
"Jupiter," Jason said. "I mean Zeus. Lord of the Sky."
Kat didn't look surprised, as if she expected it. However, she didn't look too pleased with the confirmation.
Piper couldn't help smiling. It made perfect sense. The most powerful god, the father of all the greatest heroes in the ancient myths-no one could possibly be Jason's dad.
Apparently, the rest of the camp wasn't so sure. Everything broke into chaos, with dozens of people asking questions until Annabeth raised her arms.
"Hold it!" she said. "how can he be the son of Zeus? The Big Three..their pact not to have mortal kids...how could we not have known about him sooner?"
Chiron didn't answer, but Piper got the feeling he knew. And the truth was not good.
"The important thing," Kat said, "is that Jason's here now. He has a quest to fulfill, which means he will need his own prophecy."
She closed her eyes and swooned. Two campers rushed forward and caught her. A third ran to the side of the amphitheater and grabbed a bronze three-legged stool like they'd been trained for this duty. They eased Rachel onto the stool in front of the ruined hearth. Without the fire, the night was dark, but green mist started swirling around Rachel's feet. When she opened her eyes, they were glowing. Emerald smoke issued from her mouth. The voice that came out was raspy and ancient-the sound a snake would make if it could talk:
"Child of lightning, beware the earth,
The giant's revenge the seven shall birth,
Daughter of the Frost will face the bridge
The forge and dove shall break the cage
And death unleash through Hera's rage."
On the last word, Rachel collapsed, but her helpers were waiting to catch her. They carried her away from the hearth and laid her in the corner to rest.
"Is that normal?" Piper asked. Then she realized she'd spoken into the silence, and everyone was looking at her. "I mean...does she spew green smoke a lot?"
"Gods you're dense!" Drew sneered. "She just issued a prophecy-Jason's prophecy to save Hera! Why don't you just-"
"Drew," Kat simply called. "there is no need to be so snarky. Remember when you nearly passed out on your first encounter with the Oracle? It's Piper's first day here and she asked a fair question." Kat continued, in a calm tone, but it somehow had a more commanding effect.
"She's right," Annabeth said. "Something about that prophecy definitely isn't normal. if breaking Hera's cage unleashes her rage and causes a bunch of death...why would we free her? It might be a trap, or-or maybe Hera will turn on her rescuers. She's never been kind to heroes. And who is the daughter of the frost? "
Jason rose. "I don't have much choice. Hera took my memory, I need it back. Besides, we can't just not help the queen of the heavens if she's in trouble."
"We can't be sure though," Kat replied. "Hera can be rather...vengeful. And would it be so smart for you to meet Hera? She hates her husband's children and has a long history of torturing them. Can we be sure it won't be the same for Jason? And the giant's revenge part. It means that we are dealing with something that's powerful enough to kidnap the queen of the heavens." Kat finished.
No one spoke, but Piper noticed Annabeth, Kat, and Chiron having a silent exchange.
Annabeth: The giant's revenge...no it can't be.
Kat: No, you are probably right Annabeth. It must be-
Chiron: Don't speak of it here. Don't scare them.
Annabeth: You're kidding me! We can't be that unlucky.
Kat: It's going to be impossible.
Chiron: Later, you two. If you two were to tell them everything, they would be too terrified to proceed.
Piper knew it was crazy to think she could read their expression so well-two people she barely knew. But she was absolutely positive she understood them, and it scared the jujubes out of her.
Annabeth took a deep breath. "It's Jason's quest," she announced, "so it's Jason's choice. Obviously, he's the child of lightning. According to tradition, he may choose any two companions but, in this case, three as the prophecy states."
Someone from the Hermes cabin yelled, "Well you, obviously, Annabeth. You've got the most experience."
"No, Travis," Annabeth said. "First off, I'm not helping Hera. Every time I've tried, she's deceived me, or it's come back to bit me later. Forget it. No way. Secondly, I'm leaving first thing in the morning to find Percy."
"It's connected," Piper blurted out, not sure how she got the courage. "You know that's true, don't you? This whole business, your boyfriend's disappearance-it's all connected."
"How?" demanded Drew. "If you are so smart, how?"
Piper tried to form an answer but she couldn't.
"It all does seem awfully convenient that all of this is happening at the same time but unless we have solid proof, we can't jump to conclusions yet," Kat said her eyes gazing intensely on the remains of the fireplace, where Rachel had just issued the prophecy.
Piper deflated just a little at her comment. However, Annabeth jumped in. "If this is all connected, I'll find out from the other end-by searching for Percy. As I said, I'm not about to rush off to rescue Hera, even if her disappearance sets the rest of the Olympians fighting again. But there is another reason I can't go. The prophecy says otherwise."
"It says who I pick," Jason agreed. "The forge and the dove shall break the cage. The forge is the symbol of Vul-Hephaestus."
Under the Cabin Nine banner, Nyssa's shoulders slumped, like she'd been given a heavy anvil to carry. "If you have to beware the earth," she said, "you should avoid traveling overland. You'll need air transport. The flying chariot's broken," Nyssa continued, "and the pegasi, we're using them to search for Percy. But maybe Hephaestus cabin can help figure out something else to help. With Jake incapacitated, I'm the senior camper. I can volunteer for the quest."
She didn't sound enthusiastic.
Then Leo stood up. He'd been so quiet, Piper had almost forgotten he was there, which was totally not like Leo.
"It's me," he said.
His cabinmates stirred. Several tried to pull him back to his seat, but Leo resisted.
"No, it's me. I know it is. I've got an idea for the transportation problem. Let me try. I can fix this!"
Jason studied him for a moment. She could also feel Kat's eyes boring into him quietly. Piper was sure Jason was going to tell Leo no. Then he smiled. "We started this together, Leo. Seems only right you come along. You find us a ride, you're in."
"Yes!" Leo pumped his fist.
"It'll be dangerous," Nyssa warned him. "Hardship, monsters, terrible suffering. Possibly none of you will come back alive."
"Oh." Suddenly Leo didn't look so excited. Then he remembered everyone was watching. "I mean...Oh, cool! Suffering? I love suffering! Let's do this."
Kat finished studying Leo and finally gave him a smile of approval. "I think he will be an appropriate person for the job," she said.
Annabeth nodded. "Then Jason, you need to choose the third and the fourth member of the quest. The dove-"
"Oh absolutely!" Drew was on her feet and flashing Jason a smile. "The dove is Aphrodite. Everybody knows that. I am totally yours."
Kat pursed her lips but didn't say anything. On the other hand, Piper's hands clenched. She stepped forward. "No."
Drew rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, Dumpster girl. Back off."
"I had the vision of Hera; not you. I have to do this."
"Anyone can have a vision," Drew said. "You were just at the right place at the right time." She turned to Jason. "Look, fighting is all fine, I suppose. And people who build things..." She looked at Leo in disdain. "Well, I suppose someone has to get their hands dirty. But you need charm on your side. I can be very persuasive. I could help a lot."
The campers started murmuring about how Drew was pretty persuasive. Piper could see Drew winning them over. Even Chiron was scratching his beard, like Srew's participation suddenly made a sense to him.
"Well..." Annabeth said. "Given the wording of the prophecy-"
"No!" Piper's own voice sounded strange in her ears-more insistent, richer in tone. "I'm supposed to go."
Then the weirdest thing happened. Everyone started nodding, muttering that hmm, Piper's point of view made sense too. Drew looked around, incredulous. Even some of her own campers were nodding.
"get over it!" Drew snapped at the crowd. "What can Piper do?"
Piper tried to respond, but her confidence started to wane. What could she offer? She wasn't a fighter, or a planner, or a fixer. She had no skills except getting into trouble and occasionally convincing people to do stupid things.
"Well," Drew said smugly, "I guess that settles it."
Suddenly there was a collective gasp. Everyone stared at Piper like she'd just exploded. She wondered what she'd done wrong. Then she realized there was a reddish glow around her.
"What?" she demanded.
She looked above her, but there was no burning symbol like the one that had appeared over Leo. Then she looked down and yelped.
Her clothes...what in the world was she wearing? She despised dresses. She didn't own a dress. But now she was adorned in a beautiful white sleeveless gown that went down to her ankles, with a V-neck so low it was totally embarrassing. Delicate gold armbands circled her biceps. A necklace of amber, coral, and gold flowers glittered on her chest and her hair...
"Oh god," she said. "What's happened?"
A stunned Kat pointed to Piper's dagger, which was now oiled and gleaming, hanging at her side on a golden cord Piper didn't want to draw it. She was afraid of what she would see. But she unsheathed Katroptris and stared at her reflection. Her hair was perfect: lush and long chocolate brown, braided with gold ribbons down one side so it fell across her shoulder. She even wore makeup, subtle touches that made her lips cherry red and brought out all the different colors in her eyes.
Drew's face was full of horror and revulsion. "No!" she cried. "Not possible!"
"This isn't me," Piper protested. "I-don't understand."
Chiron the centaur folded his front legs and bowed to her, and all the campers followed his example.
"Hail, Piper McLean," Chiron announced gravely as if he was speaking at her funeral. "Daughter of Aphrodite, lady of the doves, goddess of love."
_______Katerina_______
After the initial shock of the claiming had subsided, and Piper was sitting on one of the benches in the Aphrodite table with a coat, for her dress, the meeting had to be resumed.
Katerina was glad that Piper could go on the quest like she wanted but she felt bad for the girl. It would not be fun getting claimed in front of all the campers, all glamoured up and fancy. How embarrassing.
"We are missing the last member of the quest. What about the daughter of the frost? Jason questioned. "Who what does the frost represent?
No one could answer.
Annabeth was the one to answer. "The frost, cold, and ice are things that associate with the god Boreas, the god of the North wind". she said carefully. "Right now, we don't have any children of Boreas right now though."
Just as she finished the sentence, a gust of freezing wind came hurling down from the North part of the amphitheater. The wind was so strong the torches surrounding the amphitheater nearly went out and all of their hair blew to one side.
One spot in the amphitheater was clear of all the cold wind.
Where Kat was standing.
She was unaware of why or where such a strong gust of wind had come from or why it was now surrounding her, and spinning so fast it made her look as if she was in the middle of a blizzard.
All of the campers were staring at her, not the wind had subsided around them.
When the winds finally parted, Kat was standing in a circle of pure, white snow around her feet. It was not all. She was dressed in a knee-length modern-style chiton with deep purple starting from her shoulder to a light lilac color by the end of her knees. It was knee length in the front and full length in the back slowly spreading down gracefully. Her ankles were decorated with delicate silver anklets.
She bit her lip from cursing at this situation. Why did her godly parent have to give her a complete makeover show as he claimed her? Could he have just sent her a simple sign on top of her head as normal gods do? No, she just had to be glamoured up.
Piper handed her a mirror giving her a look of pity, having been in the exact same situation just a few moments ago.
Kat heaved a big sigh and took a look in the mirror.
Her platinum blonde hair that fell to the middle of her back was twisted in an elegant half-updo she'd only seen her mother do in fancy parties and it was paired with a silver head ornament that consisted of amythest and diamonds. It was draped on her forehead. Her makeup was done too. She wondered what the God of the North wind even knew about makeup but it was done quite alright. Her eyelids were covered with a light-colored eye shadow that made her eyes look even bluer than before and her lips a subtle pinkish red.
She was... she was...
"Beautiful," Jason exclaimed. "Katerina, you...you're a knockout."
Kat bit back a snort and muttered 'that's exactly how you get the girl. Tell her you're a knockout.' under her breath. She didn't say it out loud to make him more embarrassed though.
Kat closed her eyes and breathed out a long sigh.
"Chiron if you could?" Kat asked, urging him to finish this and save her from this torture.
He once again folded his front legs and bowed, and all the campers followed suit.
"Hail, Katerina Morozov, Daughter of Boreas, the God of the North wind, the bringer of winter, the god of snow and frost.
Story TMI
1. Katerina's last name Morozov means 'frost' in Russian. She follows her mother's last name and since her mother's last name is Morozov (which means frost) it translates to 'the daughter of the frost'.
2. The color that represents the god Boreas is purple. You might think it's white because he's associated with snow and stuff, but it's actually purple. That's why I made Kat's dress purple.
3. Kat's hair ornament is something like a circlet crown which is like a forehead crown.
Author's note:
If there are any mistakes in spelling or parts that don't make sense, feel free to leave me a comment.