Capvt XXIII: Spiral of Truth
"I'M glad you're finally learning how to write and read, I assume."
Annabeth looked away from the scroll recording the creation of man (apparently Prometheus sculpted the first beings) she was copying and the writing tablet so that she could look at Piper. She apparently just stepped inside the open door connecting their chambers to the corridor. Her footsteps had been completely silent, which was strange since that one board under the doorframe always creaked.
"Percy started teaching me, before he left yesterday." She told her. A heartbeat later, she realized she had didn't need to offer an explanation. This was Piper after all, she didn't really care what she did during her freetime.
Piper whistled softly and flung herself into the chair, lounging in it like she were the queen or something. Annabeth bit back a smile. She must finally be getting through to her, that she didn't need to be so formal around her.
"He didn't take advantage of the fact you're his wife and his property -don't wrinkle your nose, you know it's true-, he's taught you how to fight, and now he's teaching you how to read and write? I'll be grateful if I catch a man half as good as he is to you."
She sat the writing tablet back up and placed the chalk to the board, running her fingers against it and feeling the grainy texture. Her fingers were white with dust as she put the chalk against the board and began copying the text again. Isn't εροςa kind of love?
"Don't worry. I'm sure someone will at least be willing to handle your ego sometime before you turn thirty, Piper."
"The sarcasm is not appreciated, Annie."
She raised her eyes from her careful handwriting."But that wasn't sarcasm. It was logic."
"Oh my gods, he's worn off on you. Where's our innocent little Annabeth gone?"
She paused between the "Ρ" and the "Ο", the oddly comforting sound disappearing. She hadn't even finished writing the "Ο". "I think she grew up on us all and disappeared."
Piper's eyes changed from blue to a pale gray, and her face twisted down. Annabeth didn't know if she was frowning or grimacing. "You've changed so much it scares me a little. I've always seen you as someone who needs protection from the enemy- whether that be reality or a physical person. Sometimes even yourself. Now . . . well, you've always been strong, but this is different. I can't tell you how glad I am to know a person like you."
She tilted her head. "I wouldn't be who I am today if there aren't people like you or Percy out there."
Piper smiled slightly and stood. "I'll be back later. I've got to fold these sheets."
Annabeth watched Piper leave the office, and sighed as soon as she was out of her sight. She looked down at her hands and closed her eyes, slumping into the uncomfortable chair.
That was odd. Piper wasn't really one who just confessed feelings right out the blue like that-it was almost out of character. She shook her head and dismissed the stray notion. She was probably thinking into things too much again.
Besides, it wasn't really out of character. Piper was one who normally poked and probed about her love life with Percy - which she didn't really understand anymore. She was beginning to feel something than what she suspected was more than simple friendship. It was something much more complex than that, and it made her feel both nervous and excited. Nervous because she didn't know if he returned her feelings, and excited because if he did, she wanted to find out what they meant.
A smile tugged at her lips and she didn't try to repress it. She felt so much more comfortable these last few days since Percy left. No, since that misunderstanding with the Caesar. There was still the fear that lurked in the back of her mind that someone was going to try to hurt her, but it was steadily going away. She understood that they were taking it slow until she was ready- until both of them were ready, she suspected.
Who would have thought: talking about it did make it easier.
"Annabeth?" Piper's voice called out, and she appeared in the doorway. The board creaked. "Did I just see Reyna leaving?"
"No," she said, looking up and dropping the chalk. She hadn't even finished the writing the sigma in "ερος". "You know that-" she stopped herself when Piper's completely baffled expression registered. "Wait, you were talking to me just a moment ago."
"Uh, no. I was folding laundry. I haven't seen you since daybreak."
Hold it, if that hadn't been Piper, then who had it been? Was this even Piper? Annabeth felt her throat begin to close up, so she cleared it and took a deep breath. This must be the real Piper, because if she were a fake Piper then she wouldn't have advertised the fact that she was fake. Plus, the other Piper was acting weird. But maybe this was a fake Piper and she was pretending she was the real Piper in order to disorient her, so she would give up sensitive information. But if she was the real Piper, then she could have said something sensitive to the other Piper without even realizing it . . .
There was one way to know for sure though. Her mind flashed back to the day when they realized she was engaged to the Heir of Rome.
"What was the thing I told you, the day we left Athens?" She asked immediately after that train of thought finished. She reached for one of the daggers Percy kept in a secret compartment. Piper's eyes sharpened.
""You're the truest friend I've got." What did I tell you that day?"
Annabeth would have smiled if she didn't feel so worried. That conversation had been engraved in her mind. There was no way she could ever forget Luke, Thalia, or Piper's declarations of loyalty, though Thalia had been the least eloquent of all of them, with a simple, "where you go, I go".
""I'll follow you to the depths of Tartarus if you ask."" She replied instantly. Nico had just glared at her when Thalia had tried to get him to say something.
Piper relaxed visibly and placed the linens down on the chair the other Piper -the fake Piper- had lounged on. Annabeth wanted to kick herself as she finally began to understand what happened. She should have realized something was wrong, but she had just blown off the Fake Piper's behavior like it was no big deal.
"What happened?"
"Uh," she said. The idea that there was someone who could take the form of Piper was beginning to sink in. What if they could take on other forms as well? They could pretend they were Octavius and order manslaughter! Or Percy! "Your exact doppelganger just came in here. Literally."
"Huh?"
She shook her head in an effort to clear her thoughts. She had to stay focused on the conversation. She could panic later. "I don't know how it's possible either. Someone who looked exactly like you just came in here." Piper sat down on the chair and leaned forward, cupping her chin in her hands. Her expression was not her normal cheerful, but sober.
"This is really bad. What if I said something to someone who I thought was, I don't know, Nico, and it's not something we want to get out in the general public?"
"I know," she agreed quietly. The possibilities she was coming up with made her feel sick to her stomach. "And who knows who else has been imitated. There's something wrong here."
"We should say passwords, that way we know it's really the other person we're talking to. Something only the other person would know."
"What's this about passwords?" Reyna's lilting voice startled Annabeth from her reply to Piper's suggestion. When she looked up, the praetor was walking over to the table, her arms loaded down with something. Piper leapt to her feet and took them from her, even though Reyna looked ready to protest.
"When did we first meet?" She asked as Piper put whatever it was down. Reyna's eyes narrowed a fraction then there was a calculating edge in them.
"In a forest a little north of Tarentum. You may want to make your questions slightly less obvious, so that no one will realize you've figured them out. Maybe in a conversation?"
"Definitely Reyna," Piper muttered under her breath as she sat down on the arm of the chair. Annabeth glanced at her, a little surprised by the tone. Why would she hold a grudge? She was pretty sure they got along well.
Filing the thought away for future examination, she turned to address Reyna and nodded. "That's a good idea."
Reyna turned, walked, and closed the door. "So, what is going on? I take it you two have figured something out."
"Yes," she said. "Someone who looked exactly like Piper just came in here. I thought she had been acting a little strange, but I dismissed it. After she left, the real Piper came in and we realized something was amiss."
"Not very smart then, if it didn't know to not come in until they knew Piper will be gone for a while." Reyna replied, almost sounding like she was talking to herself. She tapped her chin and her eyebrows furrowed.
"Maybe it was an impulse move?" Piper suggested.
"Could be," Reyna said with an incline of her head in her direction. "But who would have the power to do something like this?"
They fell silent, thinking over it. Piper was the one who answered.
"A god."
"A god?" Reyna's eyebrows furrowed together. Annabeth looked down at her "ερος". It looked sloppy now. "But they're good, aren't they?"
Αnnabeth shook her head. "No, they're definitely not good. Just slightly more tolerant than the titans or the Protogenoi. Then there are the ones who helped the Titans, or the ones who just plain greedy and there are some who are just malicious in general-like Eris. In simple terms, do not trust gods or goddesses. Ever."
"Then why-wait, that's not right. Who, who would do this?" Reyna asked.
Piper shrugged. "As far as I'm aware, there's no shape-shifting god or goddess. Annabeth? You know of any?"
It took her by surprise that she was the one being asked that question. After all, she didn't have an education, so she was less intelligent than someone like Reyna. Then she felt warmth in her chest as she realized they were taking her seriously.
"I can't recall of any, but I'll look in the tomes. If we still haven't figured it out by the time Percy and Jason-" both of them tensed for some reason, but she barely noticed it as something heavy settled on her chest "-are back, I'll ask them. Just keep your guard up. There's something strange going on here."
And that was an understatement.
~...~
Ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred!
Her arms ached as she finished her last push-up and collapsed face first into the ground. The ground smelled of dirt and dew from the early morning.
It was strange, not hearing Percy's voice taunting her with faked sweetness, but at least she would see him soon. It was kind of scary how much she already missed him, and he had only been gone for two days.
Why can't I stop thinking about him? She pushed herself up, pressing a hand against her mouth to repress a yawn. She already went through push-ups, sit-ups and jogged a mile at least. So, what would she work on next? Punching or using her saber?
I need to be alert enough tomorrow to go through those tomes; her conscious reminded her.
"Lady Night's time has almost arrived," a high-pitched, familiar voice drifted over to her ears. Her heart leapt into her throat. While she wasn't strictly forbidden from training in Roma, a part her still expected someone to drag her off by her hair to the pyre. After all, she was a woman who had been forbidden by the King to study the art of fighting.
She was supposed to be a dainty, helpless Lady after all.
A man and a woman walked onto the training ground. One had long, curly hair and the other had short blond hair. She pressed herself into the ground as close as possible.
I know that hair . . . She thought as a strand of her own hair fell against her hand. It's so familiar, but how?
"Finally. And are all the points done?"
"Almost; the blood seal for Tarentum is almost complete. The Heir Apparent and Praetor left a couple of days to investigate."
She felt her eyes widen as a cold feeling washed over her, leaving her fingers and toes tingly. Blood seal? She was pretty sure that wasn't a good thing. In fact, it had a weight to it that felt similar to the word sacrifice.
Did Percy walk into a trap?
She balled her fists up and swallowed. She couldn't afford to jump to conclusions.
"Fools. If resurrecting them didn't hinge so much on those two, they would have been killed years ago for their meddling."
"Calm yourself, Discordia." Eris, she thought. Discordia is Eris' Roman form.
"Like you're any better."
The woman turned around, and Annabeth couldn't stifle the little gasp. The face the woman wore . . . it was her own.
Someone had stolen her face. Or she had a twin.
Her breath hitched in the back of her throat as her heart began to pound in her chest. Someone had her face. Someone looked like her doppelganger. How was this possible? There was no way someone could look exactly like her! There was something wrong here. She- she-
Okay Annabeth, she told herself. Calm down and think rationally over this. This happened earlier with Piper.
She took a deep breath and forced herself to relax. What would Percy do if he had been in the same situation?
Lay low until they leave, then tell Octavius.
"There's someone here."
She stiffened. Oh, now she was completely, utterly-
"Don't be ridiculous."
Her look alike frowned and peered into the gloom. She held her breath, trying not to move even though her hands felt warm and sweaty. They were going to catch her- she knew that. They were going to catch her and kill her or they will use her as hostage or maybe they'll torture her for nonexistent information or maybe they'll use her as bait to capture Percy so that they can torture him for information or hold him hostage or-
"Perhaps you are right. We should leave the open though. I do not wish for anyone to overhear our agenda."
"All right."
Annabeth breathed a soft sigh of relief as they left. There was something seriously wrong going on here.
But the question was, what is it?
~...~
Annabeth walked toward the library, last night's events on her mind. She jumped when she heard a screech; but that was just a horse getting loose from its carriage. She ignored the commotion and continued toward her destination, bumping into people but not apologizing.
A hand suddenly reached out from a shadow, and jerked her back. She shrieked, her heart pounding in her chest, and then she stood in a dark cluster with Nico. Her heart felt like it was trying to jump out of her chest and there was something in her throat. She didn't even feel happy that he seemed to be on kidnapping terms with her anymore, which was better than the silent treatment.
"What in Tartarus, Nico?" she hissed. "You've ignored me for five months and then you go and kidnap me in broad daylight and why did you suck me into your shadow-thing?"
"Shh, not so loud! I'm not sure it's entirely safe, even here." He said, patting down air. She stared at him, but her heart was beginning to calm down and the fog was clearing from her mind. She felt a little annoyed now though, since he had just kidnapped her. "I knew there wasn't something right with the kingdom since we got here, and the feeling has only intensified. And then there's darkness and the night slowly forming, both of whom control the shadow lands-"
"Nico, what are you talking about? I can't speak in code!"
"Then figure the code out. As I was saying, there's something Not Right with this country-"
"Yeah," she said thoughtfully to herself, interrupting him. "I felt that too. Someone made an exact replica of Piper and paraded about in our chambers. Wait, what's Not Right?"
"Just listen to me for once in your life, Annabeth!" He rolled his eyes, this time looking extremely frustrated with her. "We're all in it too deep, there's no turning back, but be careful, all right? There's something wrong with the Life Force of this country. And I'm still angry at you, understand?"
"Huh? What?"
The shadows spat her out. Annabeth stared. And stared. And stared. No one jostled into her, or yelled at her, or spoke to her in reverence. She was completely alone for once.
Instantly, she decided that this this had to be some strange dream. The only problem with that was it too bizarre for her to even imagine, and she never dreamt dreams this vivid. So maybe she wasn't dreaming after all.
She had no idea if she should be happy he wasn't giving her the silent treatment anymore, or annoyed that he was still angry with her.
And what had he meant by Shadow Lands anyway?
Note: There are 3 words for "love" that I know of in Greek. Eros, the one I used, is a sexual/intimate love, between a man and a woman. Philia is more of a familial love, or a deep sense of loyalty/friendship. Agape is like Christ's love for the church, or a brotherhood kind of love.