━━ chapter twenty-six
paper planes
( piper )
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━━Piper dreamed she was there, back on the Wilderness School dorm roof.
She felt the gentle breeze of a freezing cold desert night, but she remembered that being perfectly fine. She had brought plenty of blankets, worn her warmest jumper, and with Jason beside her, she didn't need any more warmth. Now, she wondered whether she had imagined it all.
But the air, it had smelt so real━the sage and burning mesquite tickled her nose. She could count the Spring Mountains that loomed like black jagged teeth━not even brightened by the dim glow of Las Vegas behind them. And the stars ... she remembered the stars, brighter than any stars she's ever seen, like the world had lit a million fairy lights just for them, and she had believed it. She believed that this was the perfect night.
And when the meteor shower showed, streaking across the sky almost every minute━a line of white, yellow or blue fire, Piper felt like she was sitting on the rooftop of dreams, instead of the dreary school she had been forced to attend. She was sure that her Grandpa Tom would have some Cherokee myth to explain the meteor shower, but right now, she was busy creating her own story. And now, Piper relived it, and back then, she had thought it was a fairytale, now, she understood it to be a tragedy.
Savreen told her once that if she wrote her wishes on a piece of paper, and folded it into a plane, she could send it off to the winds and that wish would come true. They had been out on a field trip at the time, and instead of making daisy crowns, they had brought pieces of paper with their wishes and dreams written down on them. They had then folded them up and sent them on their way towards the heavens in the breeze. They had made it surprisingly far. Piper remembered wanting to ask Sav what her wish had been. She never learnt it, but she did know what her own had been, and amongst her wishes that her father would pay more attention to her━that he'd tell her stories again on the beach about their Cherokee history━she also wrote: can Jason please notice me, too?
It had been silly and childish. She felt like a twelve-year-old writing it. But Piper has come to realise, that while she rolled her eyes at girls who betted on relationships, and gushed about boys (or girls) amongst each other. She scoffed at her siblings back at Camp, and the likes of Drew, but mainly because deep down, she was no different. She had a heart full of love that she wanted to give. She wanted to be loved in return. She wanted Jason to hold her hand, and call her pretty in her mismatched clothes and messy hair, and promise to find her if she ever went missing, promise to always come back and kiss her like she was the only thing that kept him breathing.
And it embarrassed her, because she spent so long wanting to be loved and wanting attention from her father, that she had been determined to never need it. That she would be fine on her own. She promised herself she wouldn't need anyone but the girl she was, because for so long, it felt like she was all she had. She had no mom, her father was barely around, and Piper was so alone, that in a way, perhaps she was envious of those who weren't. Those like Drew who had the entire Aphrodite cabin around her to laugh at her jokes. Those like any in her cabin, who weren't afraid of love, who weren't afraid of accepting the way they were, despite the jabs others (like her) sent to them for being a boy who kept his side of the room neat and tidy, for being a girl who wished for another to notice her.
Piper was more ashamed than she was embarrassed.
And she missed them. She missed Mitchell for saying that she might not be so bad. She missed Lacy who was so bright and happy, with pigtails and braces, and yet gorgeous all the same. She even missed those stupid shoes of shame she wanted to burn after barely being in Cabin Ten for a night.
But most of all, she missed this night. She missed this fake memory of sitting with Jason that felt so real, because he made her feel like it was okay. He made her feel wanted, and loved, and like her wishes on paper planes could come true. He made her feel like she was a better person, who didn't judge others because she wasn't judging herself.
Jason had taken her hand━finally━and pointed as two meteors skipped across the atmosphere and formed a cross.
It hurt to think how real this had been to understand how fake it truly was.
"Wow," he murmured as he did. "I can't believe Sav and Leo didn't want to see this."
"Actually," said Piper casually, "I didn't invite them."
He smiled, and she noticed something different this time. She saw the sadness in his eyes, she saw the scar on his lip. Piper glanced his arm and saw the markings━twelve stripes and a burnt SPQR. "Oh, yeah?"
She hummed, nodding with a smirk donning her lips. "You ever feel like four would be a crowd?"
"Yeah," admitted Jason. "Like right now. You know how much trouble we'd get in if we got caught up here?"
"Oh, I'd make up something," said Piper. "I can be very persuasive. So, you want to dance, or what?"
He laughed. Piper found his eyes amazing. "With no music. At night. On a rooftop. Sounds dangerous."
"I'm a dangerous girl."
"That, I can believe."
He stood and offered her hand. Piper took it, and felt her heart racing as they slow danced for a few steps. But just as she met his gaze again, he dipped down and kissed her. Gentle, hesitant━careful as if he wanted to check whether this was what she wanted, and Piper almost couldn't kiss him again, because she was too busy smiling.
That was when her dream changed━or perhaps she was dead in the Underworld━because she found herself back in Medea's department store.
"Please let this be a dream," she whispered to herself, "and not my eternal punishment."
"No, dear," said a honey-sweet voice. "No punishment."
Piper spun, afraid she'd see Medea, but instead there was a different woman who stood next to her, browsing through the fifty-perfect-off rack. She was gorgeous━stunning in every way anyone could dream of. Shoulder-length hair, a graceful neck, perfect features and an amazing figure tucked into jeans and a snowy white top.
She had seen her fair share of actresses━most of her father's dates were knockout beautiful━but this lady was different. She was elegant without trying, fashionable without effort, stunning without makeup. She was beautiful for no other reason than being truly herself.
And yet, as Piper watched, her appearance changed. Piper couldn't decide the colour of her eyes, or the exact colour of her hair. She became more and more beautiful, as if her image aligned itself to Piper's thoughts━getting as close as possible to Piper's ideal of beauty.
"Aphrodite," she realised. "Mom?"
The goddess smiled. "You're only dreaming, my sweet. If anyone wonders, I wasn't here. Okay?"
"I━" Piper wanted to ask a thousand questions, but they all crowded together in her head.
Aphrodite held up a turquoise dress. Piper thought it looked amazing, but the goddess made a face. "This isn't my colour, is it? Pity, it's cute. Medea really does have some lovely things here."
"This━this building exploded," stammered Piper. "I saw it."
"Yes," agreed the goddess. "I suppose that's why everything's on sale. Just a memory, now. And I'm sorry to pull you out of your other dream. Much more pleasant, I know."
Piper's face burned. She dint' know whether she was angry her mother did, or embarrassed that her mother saw, but mostly she felt hollow, knowing the truth: "It wasn't real. It never happened. So why I do I remember it so vividly?"
Aphrodite smiled. "Because you're my daughter, Piper. You see possibilities much more vividly than others. You see what could be. And it still might be━don't give up. Unfortunately━" the goddess gestured around the department store, "━you have other trials to face, first. Medea will be back, along many others. The Doors of Death have opened."
"What do you mean?"
Aphrodite winked at her. "You're a smart one, Piper. You know."
A cold feeling settled over her. "The sleeping woman, the one Medea and Midas called their patron. She's managed to open a new entrance from the Underworld. She's letting the dead escape back into the world."
"Mmm. And not just any dead. The worst, the most powerful, the ones most likely to hate the gods."
"The monsters are coming back from Tartarus the same way," Piper guessed. "That's why they don't stay disintegrated."
"Yes. Their patron, as you call her, has a special relationship with Tartarus, the spirit of the pit," Aphrodite held up a gold sequinned. "No ... this would make me look ridiculous."
Piper laughed uneasily. "You? You can't look anything but perfect."
"You're sweet," said her mother. "But beauty is about finding the right fit, the most natural fit. To be perfect, you have to feel perfect about yourself━avoid trying to be something you're not. For a goddess, that's especially hard. We can change so easily."
"My dad thought you were perfect," her voice quavered. "He never got over you."
Aphrodite's gaze became distant, "Yes ... Tristan. Oh, he was amazing. So gentle and kind, funny and handsome. Yet, he had so much sadness inside."
"Could we please not talk about him in the past tense?"
"I'm sorry, dear. I didn't want to leave your father, of course. It's always so hard, but it was for the best. If he had realised who I actually was━"
"Wait━he didn't know you were a goddess?"
"Of course not," she sounded offended. "I wouldn't do that to him. For most mortals, that's simply too hard to accept. It can ruin their lives! Ask that Claire Moore━or even your friend Jason━lovely boy, by the way. His poor mother was destroyed when she found out she'd fallen in love with Zeus. No, it was such better Tristan believed that I was a mortal woman who left him without explanation. Better a bittersweet memory than an immortal, unattainable goddess. Which brings me to an important matter ..."
She opened her hand and showed Piper a glowing glass vial of pink liquid. "This is one of Medea's kinder mixtures. It erases only recent memories. When you save your father, if you can save him, you should give him this."
Piper could believe what she was hearing. She balked. "You want me to dope my dad? You want me to make him forget what he's been through?"
Aphrodite held up the vial. The liquid cast a pink glow over her face; ghastly and cruel. "Your father acts confidence, Piper, but he walks a fine line between two worlds. He's worked his whole life to deny the old stories about gods and spirits, yet he fears those stories might be real. He fears he's shut off an important part of himself, and some day it will destroy him. Now, he's been captured by a giant. He's living a nightmare. Even if he survives ... if he has to spend the rest of his life with those memories, knowing that gods and spirits walk the earth, it will shatter him. That's what our enemy hopes for. She will break him, and thus break your spirit."
Piper wanted to shout that Aphrodite was wrong. Her dad was the strongest person she knew. Piper would never take his memories the way Hera had taken Jason's. She ... she didn't want to hide the truth from him.
But somehow, she couldn't stay angry with her mother. She remembered what her dad had said months ago, at the beach at Big Sur: If I really believed in Ghost Country, or animal spirits, or Greek gods ... I don't think I could sleep at night. I'd always be looking for someone to blame.
Now Piper wanted someone to blame, too.
"Who is she?" demanded Piper. "The one controlling the giants?"
Her mother pursed her lips. She moved to the next rack, which held battered armour and ripped togas, but Aphrodite looked through them as if they were designer outfits. "You have strong will," she mused. "I'm never given much credit among the gods. My children are laughed at. They're dismissed as conceited and shallow."
Piper hung her head, feeling like that comment was sent to her. "Well," she argued weakly, remembering how Drew treated her and her siblings, "some of them are."
Aphrodite laughed. "Granted. But we all hide behind something, in the end, don't we? Perhaps I'm conceited and shallow, too, sometimes. Oh, this is nice." She picked up a burnt and stained bronze breastplate and held it up for Piper to see. "No?"
"No," said Piper. "Are you going to answer my question?"
"Patience, my sweet. My point is that love is the most powerful motivator in the world. It spurs mortals to greatness. Their noblest, bravest acts are done for love."
Thoughtful, Piper pulled out her dagger and studied its reflective blade. "Like Helen starting the Trojan War?"
"Ah, Katoptris," smiled Aphrodite. "I'm glad you found it. I get so much flack for that war, but, honestly, Paris and Helen were a cute couple. And the heroes of that war are immortal now━at least, in the memories of men. Love is powerful, Piper. It can bring even the gods to their knees, make mortals do the impossible: they could hold up the sky if it meant protecting those they care about. I told this to my son Aeneas when he escaped from Troy. He thought he had failed. He thought he was a loser! But he travelled to Italy━"
"And became the forebear of Rome."
"Exactly. You see, Piper, my children can be quite powerful. You can be quite powerful, because my lineage is unique. I am closer to the beginning of creation than any other Olympian."
Piper struggled to remember about Aphrodite's birth. "Didn't you ... rise from the sea? Standing on a seashell?"
The goddess laughed. "That painter Botticelli had quite an imagination. I never stood on a seashell, thank you very much. But, yes, I rose from the sea. The first beings to rise from Chaos were the Earth and Sky━Gaea and Ouranos. When their son the Titan Kronos killed Ouranos━"
"By chopping him to pieces with a scythe."
Aphrodite wrinkled her nose. "━Yes. The pieces of Ouranos fell into the sea. His immortal essence created sea foam. And from that foam━"
"You were born. I remember now. So, you're━?"
"The last child of Ouranos, who was greater than the gods or the Titans. So, in a strange way, I'm the eldest Olympian god. As I said, love is a powerful force. And you, my daughter, are much more than a pretty face. Which is why you already know who is waking the giants, who has the power to open doors into the deepest parts of the earth."
Her mother waited, as if she could sense Piper slowly putting together the pieces of a puzzle, which made a dreadful picture.
"Gaea," she realised. "The earth itself. That's our enemy."
She hoped her mother would say no, but the goddess kept her eyes on the rack of tattered armour. "She has slumbered for aeons, but she is slowly waking. Even asleep, she is powerful, but once she wakes ... we will be doomed. You must defeated the giants before that happens, and lull Gaea back into her slumber. Otherwise the rebellion has only begun. The dead will continue to rise. Monsters will regenerate with even greater speed. The giants will lay waste to the birthplace of the gods. And, if they do that, all civilisation will burn."
"But Gaea? Mother Earth?"
"Do not underestimate her," Aphrodite warned. "She is a cruel deity. She orchestrated Ouranos's death. She gave Kronos the sickle and urged him to kill his own father. While the Titans ruled the world, she slumbered in peace. But when the gods overthrew them, Gaea woke again in all her anger and gave birth to a new race━the giants━to destroy Olympus once and for all."
"And it's happening again," said Piper. "The rise of the giants."
Aphrodite nodded. "Now you know. What will you do?"
"Me?" she clenched her hands. "What am I supposed to do? Put on a pretty dress and sweet-talk Gaea into going back to sleep?!"
"I wish that would work," sighed her mother. "But, no, you will have to find your own strengths, and fight for what you love. Like my favoured ones, Helen and Paris. Like my son, Aeneas."
"Helen and Paris died."
"And Aeneas became a hero. The first great hero of Rome. The result will depend on you, Piper, but I will tell you this: the ten greatest demigods must be gathered to defeat the giants and that effort will not succeed without you. When the two sides meet ... you and the girl, Savreen Arora, daughter of Harmonia ... you'll be the mediators. You will determine whether there is friendship or bloodshed."
Piper didn't know what that meant. But she knew it didn't settle well in her gut. "Wait ... what━what two sides?"
Her vision began to dim. "Wait, Mom! What two sides?"
"You must wake soon my child," said the goddess. "I do not always agree with Hera, but she's taken a bold risk, and I agree it must be done. Zeus has kept the two sides apart for too long. Only together will you have the power to save Olympus. Now, wake, and I hope you like the clothes I picked out."
"What clothes?!" Piper demanded, but the dream faded to black.
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━━She woke up at a sidewalk cafe.
For a second, she thought she was still dreaming. It was a sunny morning. The air was brisk but not unpleasant for sitting outside. At the other tables, a mix of bicyclists, business people and college kids were all sitting having a chat and drinking coffee.
It seemed so normal in comparison to all the crazy stuff that has happened in the past few days that it had to be a dream.
She could smell eucalyptus streets. Lots of foot traffic passed in front of giant little shops. The street was lined with bottlebrush trees and blooming azaleas as if winter was a foreign concept.
Oh, she knew where she was, now. She was in California.
And it wasn't a dream. Her friends sat in chairs around her━all of them with their hands folded across their chests, dozing pleasantly. And they all had new clothes on. Piper looked down at her own outfit and cried out an annoyed, "Mother!"
She yelled louder than she meant. Jason flinched, bumping the table with his knees, and then all of them were awake.
"What?" Hedge demanded. "Fight who? Where?!"
"Falling!" Leo grabbed the table. "No━not falling. Where are we?"
Savreen just slumped in her chair, breathless and looking as if she was surprised they were even alive.
Jason blinked, trying to get his bearings. He focused on Piper and made a little choking sound. "W━what are you wearing?"
She probably blushed. She was wearing the turquoise dress she'd seen in her dream, with a pair of tight sports shorts underneath and black leather boots. She had her favourite silver charm bracelet on her wrist, even though she'd left that back home in L.A., and her old snowboarding jacket from her dad, which surprisingly went amazingly well. She pulled out Katoptris, and judging from the reflection in the blade, she'd got her hair done, too. But ... in a way that she liked. In a way that felt like her.
"It's nothing," she said. "It's my━" she remembered Aphrodite's warning not to mention they'd talked. "It's nothing."
But it was too late. Leo was already grinning. "Aphrodite strikes against, huh? You're gonna be the best-dressed warrior in town, beauty queen."
Savreen just chuckled, nudging him, "Hey, Leo, have you looked at yourself?"
"What ... oh."
All of them had been given a makeover. Leo was wearing pinstriped trousers, black leather shoes, a white collarless shirt with suspenders, and his tool belt with Ray-Ban sunglasses and a porkpie hat.
"God, Leo," Piper tried not to laugh. "I think my dad wore that to his last premiere, minus the tool belt."
"Hey, shut up!" he swiped off the hat and tried to force it down onto Savreen's head as she chuckled beside him.
She was gorgeous. Savreen always had a very beautiful look about her, with her dark hair and her dark eyes and glowing bronze skin. But Piper's mother seemed to make her even more beautiful. Her hair was pin-straight, glowing fresh like she had just washed it. She had been dressed in a tight buttoned black long-sleeve tee with a scoop neckline, paired with a set of flared low-waisted jeans and sneakers, looking as if she had stepped right out of a teenager television show, and was the main character. A slight touch of eyeshadow framed her doe-eyes, and a clear gloss topped her lips, making her smile bright as she forced the hat back towards Leo.
"I think he looks good," said Coach Hedge. "Course, I look better."
Piper tried not to laugh at the sight of him. He was a pastel nightmare. Aphrodite had given him a baggy canary-yellow zoot suit with two-tone shoes that fitted over his hooves. He had a matching yellow broad-brimmed hat, a rose-coloured shirt, a baby blue tie and a blue carnation in his lapel, which Hedge sniffed at and then ate. But, Piper had to love his enthusiasm and confidence.
"Well," said Jason, picking at his shirt and peering ridiculously at his arms, as if searching for the slightest change, "at least your mom overlooked me."
Piper knew that wasn't exactly true. Looking at him, her breath seemed to fall away. It wasn't because he was dressed in some magnificent garb, or had his hair styled, or his brows touched up. Jason was simply dressed in jeans and a clean purple tee shirt, just as he had worn at the Grand Canyon. But that wasn't the thing. Piper knew what Aphrodite had meant. What she was saying. Jason looked the same as he had in her dream, with his tattoos, with that scar and that sad look in his eyes, and Piper realised the truth: her mother hadn't changed anything about him, because she didn't need to. This side of him, the real him, was by far more perfect than any fabricated image or memory Piper had been given of him. Because this was Jason Grace, and he was beautiful.
"Anyway," she said after she cleared her throat, hoping no one saw the blush that grew over her cheeks, "how did we get here?"
"Oh, that would be Mellie," said Hedge, chewing happily on his carnation. "Those winds shot us halfway across the country, I'd guess. We would've been smashed flat on impact, but Mellie's last gift━a nice soft breeze━cushioned our fall."
"And she got fired for us," said Leo. He slumped, "Man, we suck."
"Ah, she'll be fine," said Hedge. "Besides, she couldn't help herself. I've got that effect on nymphs━" Piper saw Sav send her a gagging gesture while Hedge couldn't see, she couldn't help but agree, "━I'll send her a message when we're through with this quest and help her figure something out. That is one aura I could settle down with and raise a herd of baby goats."
"Ew!" let out the teens. Leo let his head hit the table with a disgusted groan. Savreen covered her face in her hands, shaking her head while Jason made a face of absolute revulsion. "Coach!" he let out, horrified.
"Why would you say that?" added Piper, incredulous and feeling as though she'll be scarred for life. "Can we just━gross━just, anyone want coffee?"
Thankfully, the conversation switched. "Coffee!" Hedge's grin was stained blue from the flower. "I love coffee!"
"Um," said Jason as Leo took a few more seconds to recover from Coach's words, still groaning into the table, "but━money? Our packs?"
Piper glanced down. Their packs were at their feet, and everything still seemed to be there. She reached into her coat pocket and felt two things she hadn't expected. One was a wad of cash. The other was a glass vial━the amnesia potion. She left the vial in her pocket, feeling bile grow in her throat and brought out the money.
As if he could smell it, Leo looked up and let out a whistle, "Allowance? Piper, your mom rocks!"
"Waitress!" called Hedge. "Six double espressos, and whatever these guys want. Put it on the girl's tab."
Savreen stared at Coach, as dubious as the rest of them. "How ... how are you even still alive?"
Piper wondered that, too.
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a/n: been a while since we had a chapter for my girl so here we are.
ALSO THE TRIO HAS ARRIVED AND THEY ARE PERFECT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE CASTING FOR ANNABETH AND GROVER IS AMAZING AND IF ANYONE COMES AT THEM I WILL FITE TO THE END.
I can just see it *chokes, holding back sobs* leah telling walker that he *suppresses more sobs* drools in his sleep I just can't--