༻☆✫☆༺
AZALEA WASN'T NEW TO grief. Quite a few hunters had died all the centuries she'd been in the hunt, and she had literally outlived her entire family. So this pain, this sadness she hid under a mask of indifference was very familiar. She found herself wondering when was the last time she ever cried. She couldn't remember. Then again, she didn't remember a lot of things. Being immortal does that to someone.
Even when she hadn't known Bianca for long, she'd already missed her presence in the group. She felt angry at herself for wasting all the time she would have gotten to know Bianca by disliking and trying to ignore her existence.
But at the same time she was glad she hadn't been all that close to Bianca, it would have made the emptiness she felt now a hundred times worse. It would have made it unbearable.
She gazed at the seemingly endless white sand. Nico, he was there at Camp, waiting for a sister that would never come back. Then she remembered, she had overheard Percy promising to protect Bianca. She glanced at Percy who stared at the figurine in his hands with a saddened expression. And she almost felt sorry for enchanting him to stay put. Maybe he could have helped Bianca, maybe she'd still be here.
She made a vow within herself, that she'd never break the promise she made to Bianca. As long as she lived, she would make sure Nico was okay.
In an attempt to lighten up her mood, Azalea grabbed a chocolate bar from her backpack and ate silently and slowly.
"It should have been me." Percy began. "I should have gone into the giant." He was looking at Azalea as he said this, but she avoided his stare.
"Don't say that!" Grover exclaimed. "It's bad enough Annabeth is gone, and now Bianca. Do you think I could stand it if..." He sniffed. "Do you think anybody else would be my best friend?"
"Ah... Grover."
Under different circumstances, Azalea would have rolled her eyes. But she refrained from doing so, as of now there were much to think about.
The Titan's curse must two withstand. Azalea had no clue what that meant.
And one shall die by a parent's hand. The meaning was as clear as day, but who's parent would want their child dead? Azalea was a walking disappointment in her mother's eyes and she might have insulted Aphrodite on more than one occasion (four times actually). But she doubted her mother would want her dead and besides, it was against the ancient laws, a godly parent killing their own child stirred up all kinds of trouble.
Thalia? Percy? Understandable. Azalea wouldn't be all that surprised if one of them died. Hades, they weren't even supposed to be alive in the first place.
Grover? Not even an option, she wasn't sure why anyone would want Goat Boy dead.
Zoë? She quickly brushed off the thought, although she didn't know much about Zoë's past. They never talked about their pasts and avoided such discussions. So she knew little to nothing about Zoë's life before the hunt, she knew nothing about Zoë's family.
Azalea must have been so deep in thought, that she hadn't noticed Percy shifting so that he was sitting beside her. Azalea flinching a bit and slightly scooted away at the close proximity, getting a bit uncomfortable. But she hid it well.
"I'm sorry." He said, playing with his fingers. "About what I said during the fight. I shouldn't have said that."
Azalea brushed her hair behind her ears, "Why are you apologising?" She questioned. "You clearly meant it... not that I care."
"Yeah, well. It was wrong of me. I barely know you." Percy continued.
Azalea remained silent, eating the last of her chocolate, it did help a bit in uplifting her spirits. "You never cease to amaze me." She whispered, mostly to herself. A male? Apologising? She never thought it was possible for a guy to do that. Then again she didn't know a lot of guys so...
"What?" Percy asked, he thought he'd heard her say something.
"Nothing." She said. "I'm sorry too. For what i did. I don't enchant people because it sometimes, sickens me to see them do my exact bidding like mindless zombies without, you know, working for it."
Percy nodded, "I thought you said you wouldn't tell me why did use enchantment on people."
"I changed my mind." Azalea stared up at the clear blue sky, it seemed appropriate at the time. Percy blinked, watching her for a moment before looking away. He'd always thought her eyes were brown, they were brown of course. But what he never noticed was the fact that they switched between different shades of brown, some of which he could recognize, most of which he as a male couldn't.
"Chocolate?" Azalea offered him a bar after another awkward silence. "Helps lifts the spirits."
"Thanks." Percy said, reluctantly accepting the chocolate.
Azalea snorted, "it isn't poisoned."
"Wouldn't be surprised if it was." Percy retorted, tearing open the wrapper.
"What about me?" Grover spoke up. "Don't I get chocolate?"
Azalea sighed and chucked another bar at him, the last one. Usually Azalea was very reluctant to share anything edible with others, but she'd eaten so much junk food that she started craving some of the salad Artemis provided. She watched as Grover ate the chocolate– wrapper and all.
"Thanks." He said, with his mouth full making her smile a bit.
It wasn't long after that when the old abandoned, the tow truck ran out of gas in front of a river canyon and got a flat tire.
"Great. What now?" Thalia said.
Azalea huffed and jumped off the pick up bed. "We walk."
"There's a path." Grover suggested. "We could get to the river."
Azalea glanced at the tiny ledge winding down the cliff face. It was so tiny that only a creature with hooves could get through it easily. She turned to the satyr and rose an eyebrow.
"What?" He asked.
"That's a goat path." Percy pointed out.
"So?"
"The rest of us aren't goats." Percy said.
"We could make it." Grover said. "I think."
"Sure, with at least one of us tripping and falling to our deaths." Azalea muttered, from the corner of her eyes she saw Thalia getting pale at her words.
"No," Percy began. "I...uh, think we should go further upstream."
Azalea didn't have a problem with that, so she was the first to get going. Behind her, Zoë walked silently, she staring at the ground as she walked. Azalea had lived for over nine hundred years, but still hadn't mastered the art of comforting someone going through literally anything. Whenever she tried to, either she said the wrong things, didn't know what to say or got very awkward during the conversation.
"Hey," She said softly, letting Zoë catch up with her. "I know this is a dumb question, but are you okay?"
Zoë didn't reply, Azalea wasn't even sure if she heard her.
"Zoë?"
"No. I'm not." Zoë said, finally. "I know what you are about to say. The legendary I told you so. That I shouldn't have brought her to this quest. You don't to tell me, I already know."
Azalea bit her lip, that wasn't what she really planned to say. But thinking about it, she might have said it at some point. "Zoë, what happened wasn't your fault, neither was it Bianca's. You couldn't have known. What's gone and what's past help should be past grief."
Zoë laughed bitterly. "That's should be easy enough for you to say. You never liked Bianca, if I didn't know any better I'd say you are pleased she's gone."
Azalea was taken aback. "I'm sorry, what? Where is this even–" she paused, and shook her head. "Well, I'm glad you do know better. Bianca and I were just about getting to know each other–"
"Azalea." Zoë gave her a cold stare. "Do not try and pretend like you care about her. You don't. I know you, you don't really care about anyone other than yourself. The real reason you are even on this quest isn't to save Lady Artemis is it? You wouldn't care if she was never freed."
"Zoë." Azalea spoke through clenched teeth. "I understand you're grieving, but I won't have you talk to me like this. What's gotten into you?"
First Percy, now Zoë?
"It would have been better if you stayed behind, you're completely worthless to this quest." Zoë added to which Azalea lost it.
"I really don't blame you, Nightshade. I try to help you feel a little bit better about all that's going on, but all I get are some offhandish comments from you. Maybe I'm not as guilty as charged or maybe I am, but what I am sure I'm guilty of... is that I don't care about you."
Azalea began walking quickly, going far ahead of the group. Not even turning back to see Zoë's slightly wounded expression, which disappeared as soon as it came.
Percy, Thalia and Grover looked at each other, the three of them confused. They hadn't really been paying attention to Zoë and Azalea's conversation. But they wondered why Azalea went from neutral to wanting to strangle someone.
Azalea was silent through out the rest of the walk. She obviously didn't mean what she said about not caring about Zoë, she cared about that two thousand year old brat more than anyone else, even if she would rather kiss an empousai than admit it.
She even didn't know why she had said that, she figured maybe it was because she still felt bitter about how Zoë had been treating her lately, if that was the reason, then she was the biggest jerk she had ever known. Zoë was obviously going through a lot of stress at the moment with Artemis being captured and Bianca's death, Zoë was probably just looking for a way to vent. And instead of being there for here, Azalea made it clear to Zoë that she was alone without meaning to.
That was what the logical side of Azalea concluded. That same side told to her to apologise, but again Azalea's ego was just too colossal to consider that. Besides, it wasn't as if Zoë hadn't said some pretty hurtful things to her.
Azalea was so lost in her internal rant about how stupid she was that she barely realized that she had, along with Thalia and Grover, had gotten into a boat while Percy and Zoë had taken another one. She was thankful that she didn't have to stay with Zoë in the same boat, she thought maybe Zoë needed time to cool off or else another argument would ensue.
It seemed like that was what Zoë and Azalea ever did these days– argue.
Naiads began pushing the canoes at top speed, Grover fell forward with his hooves sticking up into the air. Azalea would have laughed a little if she was paying attention. Instead, she stared at Zoë and Percy who were having a conversation. She knew Zoë was aware of her watching them, but the dark haired girl never did meet her gaze.
"Hypocrite." Azalea muttered, she pulled out a white cloth and began wiping her arrows and daggers. Less than four hours ago, Zoë had told her to stop 'associating with the opposite sex' and what was she doing now? Having a damn chat with one!
"What's got you all grumpy?" Thalia queried.
Azalea looked up from her weapons and glared at Thalia. "I'm not grumpy."
Thalia nodded and hummed. "Sure, like you definitely don't look like you're two seconds away from punching someone."
"And I would like to not be that person, by the way." Grover added.
Azalea rose an eyebrow at Thalia. "Why do you care?"
Thalia shrugged, to be honest she was looking for a little distraction. Bianca's death was taking a bit of a toll on her, not as much as Zoë though, but she was used to things like this. Hell, she had even been on Bianca's shoes plus the dying part.
"No reason really. It's just weird that you actually have a facial expression other than that straight face thing, Blue Eyed Demon."
Azalea blinked, she wasn't sure what shocked her more. Being told she had no other facial expressions or being called Blue Eyed Demon. "I'm sorry, what did you just call me?"
"Blue Eyed Demon." Thalia replied, not at all fazed by the fierce look Azalea sent her. "Seems fitting since you do that weird eye thingy. And it's only fair, since you call me Sparky."
"Punk." Azalea sighed looking away. "It's nothing. Say, do you know what are Zoë and Perseus are talking about?"
Grover blinked, "you call him Perseus?"
"Yeah. So?"
"Nothing." Grover said quickly, not having the ability to withstand her cold gaze. He actually preferred her indifferent expression to this one. "Its just... no one really calls him that."
"Someone does now." Azalea replied.
"I told him to talk Zoë." Thalia said, "She was starting to worry me. And I couldn't ask you because it seemed like you two got into an argument."
Azalea nodded looking down at her weapons. After she was done cleaning, she gazed out into the water watching the Naiads, one glanced at her and her eyes lit up with recognition. She quickly swam away and whispered to her friends. Azalea could only hear fragments of the conversation.
"Daughter of Aphrodite... Princess of Cyrus... Hunter... Pretty..."
Rolling her eyes, she curled up at the corner of the canoe, she used her bag pack as a pillow. "Wake me up when we get to...uh...where ever we're heading to."
"Sure," Thalia said. And with a small smile, Azalea closed her eyes.
"What happened to Bianca wasn't your fault." Percy said to Zoë, "it was my fault. I let her go– well, Leah forced me to. I should have fought through her enchantment."
Zoë sighed, glancing over the other boat she shook her head with a sad smile as she caught of Azalea all curled up, snoozing away without a care in the world. Sometimes she desperately wished she had Azalea's tendency to to remain calm no matter what the situation was, because she couldn't no matter how much she tried.
"No, Percy. I pushed her into going on the quest despite Azalea's warnings, even though I know most of the time she is always right. I was too anxious. She was a powerful half-blood. She had a kind heart, as well. I... I thought she would be the next Lieutenant under Azalea's command, just as she is to me." Zoë continued, "besides, it is nearly impossible to break through enchantment unless you are a wild beast. Believe me, I've tried in the past."
"But you're the Lieutenant." Percy said, puzzled. He wondered if Zoë was retiring, if she could retire, since if he remembered correctly, being a Hunter wasn't something you just quit when you felt like it. Zoë gripped the strap of her quiver . She looked exhausted, which kind of frightened him a bit, he hadn't known her for long but, he knew she was strong.
Could she possibly tell him the real reason she was looking for a replacement? Tell him that she was the one who would die by the hands of her parent? That she didn't care about her losing her life because Artemis needed to rescued?
Not ever.
"Nothing can last forever." She said. "Over two thousand years I have led the hunt, and my wisdom has not improved. Now Artemis herself is in danger."
"Look, you can't blame yourself for that."
"If I had insisted on going with her–"
"You think you could have fought something powerful enough to kidnap Artemis? There's nothing you could have done." Percy reasoned.
Again, Zoë smiled sadly. "You sound a lot like Azalea when you say that."
Azalea was standing in a room she thought she would never see again.
It was so large that some of the massive extra space was useless since she barely had enough possessions to fill it up. The pillars and floors made of polished stone. At the center of the room was a queen sized bed with covers made of the finest crimson and gold silk and a bunch of other priceless furniture and stuff. Azalea walked further into the room slowly, her face pulled into a perplexed frown. She was in, no doubt, her princess chambers. Just as she had left it nine hundred years ago.
Her sudden appearance into this luxurious room wasn't what shocked her, what did was the girl sitting a few feet away with her back turned, curly brown waves falling down her back, stopping just below her hips, locks of her hair were elegantly pulled away from from her face and pinned by gem encrusted jewelry. She wore a long white linen sleeveless dress whose style was pretty common among royalty during the ancient Greek times.
The girl was working on a loom, weaving lines of burgundy thread faster than Azalea had seen a lot of people do. She approached the mysterious girl slowly, which was pretty useless seeing as her footsteps were still audible due to her combat boots and the marble beneath her. After standing close to her for what seemed like like hours (which we're actually seconds) Azalea demanded.
"Why am I here?"
Silence. The girl began to hum a tune which sounded strangely familiar.
"Who are you?" Azalea asked.
More silence, the tune echoed around the room making shivers run up and down her spine.
Azalea began to wonder if this girl was deaf, but she pressed on. "I was on a quest, but...all of a sudden, I... uh... found myself here."
The girl continued to ignore her, she reached over only to grab a fresh roll of thread and returned to her work.
Azalea's eyebrow twitched as she went up to the mysterious girl in a fast pace to smack her.
"Hey, I'm talking–" She stopped short when the girl turned around.
This girl, working on the loom was...
Her.
It felt like she was staring at a mirror or at her clone. Azalea took a step backwards as her angry expression morphed into one of fear. This... Azalea, Fake Azalea... slowly and calmly stood up from her seat, a small smirk on her red stained lips. A creepily similar smirk Azalea made when she came up with a cunning idea crazy enough to work. This Fake Azalea/ Greek version of Azalea– she had no idea what to call her– was a lot more beautiful than her.
They looked exactly the same, yes. But it was obvious that this creepy version took care of herself more. Her skin was clear and spotless, long dark brown hair was neat and curly, her paler face adorned with the ancient style of makeup.
"Who...? What...?" Azalea could barely form sentences.
The girl's face contorted to a grin, as she spoke in ancient Greek to which Azalea could understand perfectly. "Hello, coward."
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Word count: 3 196 words
𝔞𝔲𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔯'𝔰 𝔫𝔬𝔱𝔢
I'm backkkkkkk~
thanks for waiting literally two months for this chapter.
don't forget to vote and comment, cause they keep me writing even though things aren't really going well for me these days.
have a nice day and/or night 💕