OLDEN CROWN
━━ chapter twenty-four
━━ HAVING TO BREAK up a fight between Drew Tanaka and Piper McLean was not on Elisa's morning to-do list on her first day back.
"Y'all couldn't give it a fucking week?" she snapped, swinging the white door to Cabin Ten open.
The other inhabitants of Cabin Ten whipped their heads over to look at the daughter of Dionysus. It wasn't odd for her to invite herself over like she was a daughter of Aphrodite instead of Dionysus, but this time, Drew and Piper were going head-to-head, clearly ready to fight.
"Out, you guys." Elisa pointed to the door, and Piper and Drew's siblings scrambled out. On the way, Lacy, the youngest camper in Cabin Ten, gave Elisa a hopeful look. That dissolved some of her anger, which was the only reason she didn't start yelling once the door was snapped shut.
Drew gave Elisa an expectant look, and motioned to Piper, as if to say, Well? Get her out, too!
Elisa only sighed, putting her hands on her hips. "Drew—what is going on with you?"
Drew gave the black-haired girl a smoldering glare. "With me? You're my best friend, and suddenly you go on a stupid quest, and you are best friends with—her!" She waved her hand at Piper, like she was disgusted.
"Drew, that's not it," said Elisa. "It's just ... you've been so mean to people. All the time. Even me."
Drew crossed her arms. Elisa could see the anger slowly faltering. "You know what's wrong."
Elisa looked to Piper, nodding to the door. "I'll talk to you later, okay Piper?"
Piper didn't look like she wanted to go, but Elisa didn't give her a choice, leading her to the door. Once it was shut, Elisa turned back around to Drew. "It's about Silena, right?"
Drew flinched at the name. No one said Silena's name anymore, like it was a bad omen. Her betrayal still hurt everyone who knew her.
"I don't want to be Silena," said Drew, voice suddenly wobbly.
"So you wanna act like a bitch?" countered Elisa. "Drew—Silena made a mistake, but that doesn't mean you can run Cabin Ten like a dictator. That doesn't mean you can go around calling people names. That doesn't mean you can treat everyone like shit—"
"I get it!" Drew roared. "Okay? I get it. I'm being a bitch. Are you happy, Elisa? I finally admit it—I'm acting like a bitch!"
"Is that all you're going to take away from what I'm saying?" Elisa crossed her arms.
"That's all you've done—criticize me," snapped Drew, her eyes hardened, but Elisa could see tears forming.
"Okay, I'm sorry," the daughter of Dionysus amended. "I shouldn't have said it like that. I've should've been nicer."
For a moment, Drew didn't respond. Then she croaked, "And you're right ..." Tears filled her eyes, and soon, a sob tumbled out of her mouth. "That's why I'm acting the way I am. I don't want people to think I'll end up like Silena. But I want to be Silena—all the good things about her. But it's like nobody remembers the good things about her!"
Elisa pursed her lips, tears burning her throat. "I remember the good things about her."
"Do you?" Drew looked at her closely, her eyes rimmed red. "Do you, Elisa? You never talk about her anymore. You don't even talk about Beckendorf."
"... Because it's hard to talk about them," admitted Elisa. "Because I miss them."
"But not talking about them makes me feel like I'm going to forget them," Drew protested. "I can't forget Silena—all the good and the bad." She took a shuddered breath. "Whenever I think of Silena, I think of her—" Her voice broke, but that didn't stop Drew. "I think of her dying moments. How I didn't get to say goodbye. How she was the spy for Luke. How she betrayed us all."
"That's not how you should remember her," Elisa said weakly.
"You don't think I've tried that?!" countered Drew, voice ringing around the pink cabin. "You don't think I've tried to forget what she did? You don't think I've tried to focus on the good memories, Elisa? I have! But now—all I can think about is the fact that Silena was the spy."
She took a shuddered breath, wiping her tears. "Every moment," she said. "Every memory I have of Silena is tainted by what she did."
Elisa didn't know what to say. It was the same for her. That's why it was so hard to talk about Silena, she couldn't forget the girl's betrayal either. Even if Silena thought she was doing good—or was manipulated into believing it—Elisa couldn't just forget.
And again, months later, months after the battles were supposed to have ended, the only thing Elisa could do was hug Drew as she sobbed.
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Piper gave Elisa a cautious look outside the Big House. "What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Told you I'd talk to you later," said Elisa.
The daughter of Aphrodite frowned. "You're not seriously gonna play peacemaker for Drew, are you?"
"I'm not playing peacemaker," disagreed Elisa, shaking her head. "I'm definitely not a peacemaker."
"But for Drew, you would be." Piper crossed her arms. "You saw the way she spoke to me, why are you defending her?"
"'Cause Drew's been through a lot," said Elisa. "And having a new child of Aphrodite arrive probably stirred up all those ... emotions."
Piper's eyebrows pinched. "What do you mean?"
Elisa sat down hard at the pinochle table. Slowly, Piper sat opposite of her. The daughter of Dionysus took a deep breath. "Have you heard anything about Silena?"
For a moment, Piper only picked at her nails. Then she said, "... Very little. I know she was a daughter of Aphrodite, like me. Why?"
"She was Cabin Ten's counselor before Drew," explained Elisa. "Everyone loved her. Um ... she was dating Beckendorf—"
"I've heard of him!" said Piper, snapping her fingers. "He was a son of Hephaestus, like Leo."
"Yeah," said Elisa. "Yeah ... Beckendorf died this summer. He and Percy went on a mission for the war to stop Kronos. Only Percy made it back. Silena was ... devastated. But none of us had time to really grieve for Beckendorf." She swallowed. "Right after Percy got back, there was a war council. We had to decide how to act from the information Percy got—that there was a spy among Camp Half-Blood. A spy for Kronos."
Piper's mouth parted slightly. "You mean ... Silena was the spy?"
Elisa nodded. "We didn't find out until—Well, it's a long story. But Silena pretended to be Clarisse La Rue, cabin counselor for Cabin Five, and led Cabin Five into battle. To fight a drakon. Silena was a good talker; she was amazing with pegasi, but ... there was no way she could fight a drakon."
Piper watched Elisa carefully, who was blinking tears back determinedly. "Despite knowing this, Silena still tried to fight the drakon. She, um, admitted everything as she was dying. Luke Castellan—"
"The guy who sided with Kronos?" asked Piper.
Elisa nodded. "He tricked Silena into believing that if she helped, she would be doing good. He did that to a lot of people. But once Silena figured out that wasn't the case, Luke threatened to tell everyone. He convinced Silena she was saving lives ... Then he used Beckendorf as a bargaining chip to keep Silena under control."
She took a shuddered breath, interlocking her fingers to stop them from shaking. "I'm telling you this, Piper, so you understand. There's a lot of trauma here. Everyone has some sort of issue. It comes with the territory of being a half-blood."
"You're saying don't be so hard on Drew." Piper pursed her lips.
"I'm saying put yourself in Drew's shoes for a moment," said Elisa. "Sure, Drew was a bitch to you—and that doesn't excuse what she did—"
"But it can explain," nodded Piper.
Elisa chewed on her inner cheek. "Yeah."
"Now, you and Drew can brawl it out, if you want," Elisa continued. "But I won't be stepping in anymore."
Piper's cheek twitched. "No, I don't think I will."
Elisa smiled back. "I don't think Drew will either. But if she does ..." she shrugged, "you can tell her off. She'll probably deserves it."
"How'd you know I was here?" asked Piper, standing up from the pinochle table.
"Saw you on the front porch," answered Elisa. "Besides, I'm trying to get out of climbing the lava wall, so I told Castor and Pollux I needed to talk to Chiron," she whispered the last part, like it was a deadly secret.
Piper grinned. "You want to join me? I'm actually here to talk to Chiron—sort of. I'm here for a video conference with Gleeson and my dad."
Elisa raised her eyebrows. "You sure?"
"We've been on a deadly quest together, I think we're past the stage of over-stepping." Piper pulled Elisa out of her seat as Chiron rolled out onto the front porch in his wheelchair.
"Come inside, my dear." He ushered Piper forward. "The video conference is ready."
Then he spotted the daughter of Dionysus. "Elisa," he greeted. "You need to speak with me."
She winced. "If that's what my brothers ask, yeah. Truthfully, I just wanted out of climbing the lava wall."
Chiron gave her a stern look, but there was some humor behind it. "I will not cover up for you, Elisabet."
She shrugged. "Figured as much."
"Just tell her brothers she's here for me," Piper broke in. "I want her there during the video conference."
The only computer in the whole of Camp Half-Blood ( beside the laptop Daedalus gave Annabeth ) was in Chiron's office, and the whole room was shielded in bronze plating.
"Demigods and technology don't mix," Chiron explained to Piper, who looked around in amazement. "Phone calls, texting, even browsing the Internet—all these things can attract monsters. Why, just this fall at a school in Cincinnati, we had to rescue a young hero who Googled the gorgons and got a little more than he bargained for, but never mind that. Here at Camp, you're protected. Still ... we try to be cautious. You'll only be able to talk for a few minutes."
"Got it," Piper said. "Thank you, Chiron."
He smiled and wheeled himself out of the office. Elisa sat down, glancing over before saying, "Seriously, I don't have to be here with you. I can find some other place to hide from Castor and Pollux—"
"No, I want you here," insisted Piper. "For moral support."
Elisa made a face, like she wasn't sure how much moral support she could provide, but waved her hand.
Piper hesitated before clicking the call button. Chiron's office had a cluttered, cozy feel. One wall was covered with T-shirts from different conventions—PARTY PONIES '09 VEGAS, PARTY PONIES '10 HONOLULU, et cetera. Elisa had met the Party Ponies once before, and she could tell from the stains, scorch marks, and weapon holes in the T-shirts, that they hadn't changed much over the years—still must be as crazy as ever. On the shelf over Chiron's desk sat an old-fashioned boombox with cassette tapes labeled Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Greatest Hits of the 40s. Chiron was so old, Elisa wondered if that last tape was songs from the 1940s, 1840s, or A.D. 40.
But most of the office's wall space was plastered with photos of demigods, like a hall of fame. One of the newer shots showed a picture of Percy, Elisa, and Annabeth. It was taken not to long after the second Titan War ended—maybe a week after Percy and Elisa started dating. It made her heart hurt looking at Percy's smiling face, so she quickly looked away. In some of the older photos, she recognized famous people: businessmen, athletes, and even some actors.
"This is unbelievable ..." Piper muttered, staring up at the pictures.
"What?" asked Elisa. "There's a lot of famous people who are demigods. Some know, but most don't."
"It's like a hall of fame," Piper admitted.
Elisa snorted. "My pictures up there—I don't feel very famous."
Piper nudged her. "You know what I mean."
Piper jumped when a face popped up on Chiron's computer.
Gleeson Hedge grinned at the two from an office. "Seen the news?"
"Kind of hard to miss," Piper admitted. "I hope you know what you're doing."
Elisa frowned. "What news?" she asked.
Piper took a roll of paper from her back pocket, unfurling it and letting Elisa see. The daughter of Elisa suffered through the small print, deciphering what it read. Tristan McLean's mysterious return from nowhere had made the front page. His personal assistant, Jane, had been fired for covering up his disappearance and failing to notify the police. A new staff had been hired and personally vetted by Tristan McLean's "life coach", Gleeson Hedge. According to the paper, Mr. McLean claimed to have no memory of the last week, and the media was totally eating up the story. Some thought it was a clever marketing ploy for a movie—maybe McLean was going to play an amnesiac? Some thought he'd been kidnapped by terrorists, or rabid fans, or had heroically escaped from ransom seekers using his incredible King of Sparta fighting skills. Whatever the truth, Tristan McLean was more famous than ever.
"I could never be famous," Elisa admitted, rolling the newspaper back up. "I couldn't keep my mouth closed long enough to save my reputation."
"It's hard to," admitted Hedge, "but it's going great. But don't worry, McLean. We're going to keep him out of the public eye for the next month or so until things cool down. Your dad's got more important things to do—like resting, and talking to his daughter."
"Don't get too comfortable out there in Hollywood, Gleeson," Piper said.
Hedge snorted. "You kidding? These people make Aeolus look sane. I'll be back as soon as I can, but your dad's gotta get back on his feet first. He's a good guy. Oh, and by the way, I took care of that other little matter. The Park Service in the Bay Area just got an anonymous gift of a new helicopter. And that ranger pilot who helped us? She's got a very lucrative offer to fly for Mr. McLean."
"Thanks, Gleeson," Piper said. "For everything."
"Yeah, well. I don't try to be awesome. It just comes natural. Speaking of Aeolus's place, meet your dad's new assistant."
Hedge was nudged out of the way, and a pretty young lady grinned into the camera.
Elisa blinked at the screen, forcing Piper to make room for her. "Mellie?" she asked the camera. But it was definitely her: the aura who'd helped the questers escape from Aeolus's fortress. "You're working for Piper's dad now?"
"Isn't it great?"
"I suppose so." Elisa shared a perplexed look with Piper. "But does Mr. McLean know that you're ..." She waved her hand. "You know, an aura?"
"Oh, no. But I love this job. It's—um—a breeze."
Elisa rolled her eyes at the pun. "Oh—I'm sure it is."
Piper couldn't help but laugh. "I'm glad. That's awesome. But where—"
"Just a sec." Mellie kissed Gleeson on the cheek; Elisa made a fake, loud gagging noise. "Come on, you old goat. Stop hogging the screen."
"What?" Hedge demanded. But Mellie steered him away and called, "Mr. McLean? She's on!"
A second later, Piper's dad appeared.
He broke into a huge grin. "Pipes!"
He looked great—back to normal, with his sparkling brown eyes, a half-day beard, a confident smile, and his newly trimmed hair like he was ready to shoot a scene. Piper looked relieved, but her smile was also a little sad.
"Hey," she said weakly. "You feeling okay?"
"Honey, I'm so sorry to worry you with this disappearance business. I don't know ..." His smile wavered, and Elisa could tell he was trying to remember—grasping for a memory that should have been there, but wasn't. "I'm not sure what happened, honestly. But I'm fine. Coach Hedge has been a godsend."
"A godsend," Piper repeated, like the word was funny.
"He told me about your new school," Mr. McLean said. "I'm sorry the Wilderness School didn't work out, but you were right. Jane was wrong. I was a fool to listen to her."
"Don't feel guilty, Mr. McLean," Elisa spoke up. "You could've never known."
Tristan looked like he finally noticed the daughter of Dionysus. "Are you one of Piper's friends?" Elisa could practically see his mind whirring, trying to remember everything.
"Um, yes," she said. "Piper told me about that last school—just sounds like crappy management."
"You don't remember anything?" Piper broke in before her father could respond, sounding a bit wistful.
"Of course I do," Tristan answered easily.
A chill went down Elisa's neck.
Piper looked just as worried. "You do?" she asked carefully.
"I remember that I love you," he said. ( Elisa fought the urge to roll her eyes from the lovey-doveyness of it all. ) "And I'm proud of you, Pipes. Are you happy at your new school?"
Piper blinked, but then, she quickly slung her arm over Elisa's shoulders. "Yeah, Dad. It's more like a camp, not a school, but ... Yeah, I think I'll be happy here. I've made great friends—like Elisa here."
"Call me as often as you can," he said. "And come home for Christmas. And Pipes ..."
"Yes?"
He touched the screen as if trying to reach through with his hand. "You're a wonderful young lady. I don't tell you that often enough. You remind me so much of your mother. She'd be proud. And Grandpa Tom" —he chuckled— "he always said you'd be the most powerful voice in our family. You're going to outshine me some day, you know. They're going to remember me as Piper McLean's father, and that's the best legacy I can imagine."
Tears filled Piper's eyes, and her chin quivered. She just touched his fingers on the screen and nodded.
Mellie said something in the background, and her dad sighed. "Studio calling. I'm sorry, honey." And he did sound genuinely annoyed to go.
"It's okay, Dad," she managed. "Love you."
He winked. Then the video call went black.
"Is it always like that?" asked Elisa after a moment of silence.
"It's getting better." The daughter of Aphrodite nodded.
"Hey." Elisa nudged Piper. "Your dad clearly cares, and that's what matters. And it looks like he's trying more, from what you say."
Piper gave her a grateful smile. "You can stay with us for Christmas if you want."
"No." Elisa shook her head. "I promised to stay with Percy's family. Maybe I can visit for a day, but I'll be with Sally and Paul."
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Delaney found herself just a little too relaxed at Camp Half-Blood. So she went and found Jason Grace to put her on edge.
The son of Jupiter was relaxing on a bench, a basketball between his feet. He was sweaty from working out, but he looked great in his orange tank top and shorts. His various scars and bruises from the quest were healing, thanks to some medical attention from the Apollo Cabin. His close-cropped blond hair caught the afternoon light so it looked like it was turning to gold, Midas style.
"Hey," he said. "How are you?"
It took Delaney a moment to focus on his question. "What? Oh, fine. The Stolls are as annoying as ever."
Jason grinned at her pessimistic attitude and patted the seat next to him. Delaney sat down, watching campers go back and forth. A couple of Demeter girls were playing tricks on two of the Apollo guys—making grass grow around their ankles as they shot baskets. Over at the camp store, Alice Miyazawa and Julia Feingold ( the younger, even more annoying versions of Travis and Connor Stoll ) were putting up a sign that read: flying shoes, slightly used, 50% off today! Ares kids were lining their cabin with fresh barbed wire. The Hypnos Cabin was snoring away. A normal day at Camp Half-Blood.
"It's weird, I guess," she admitted. "I used to hate this place, and felt like such an outsider, but ... no one seems to care that I fought against them."
"Because you've proven that you've changed." Jason knocked his knee against hers. "They can see that as much as I can."
Delaney pretended that she didn't notice Piper's siblings watching her and Jason, looking ( and failing ) to pretend that they weren't. Delaney was pretty sure she even saw money change hands, like they were placing bets on a kiss. Her ears burned at the thought.
"Get any sleep?" Delaney changed the topic.
He looked at her as if she'd been reading his thoughts. "Not much. Dreams."
"About your past? Old memories?"
He nodded.
Delaney didn't push it. If Jason wanted to talk, he would. She knew him better than to press the subject, too.
Jason spun his basketball. "It's not good news," he warned. "My memories aren't good for—for any of us."
Delaney was pretty sure he'd been about to say for us—as in the two of them, and she wondered what exactly that meant. What they meant—to each other.
"We'll figure it out," she promised. "One way or another."
He looked at her hesitantly, like he wanted very much to believe her. "Annabeth and Rachel are coming in for the meeting tonight. I should probably wait until then to explain ..."
"Okay." Delaney let a string of darkness weave between her fingers. She knew there were dangerous things in store for both of them. There was a war against the giants starting, but right now, they were both alive, and she was determined to make the most of it.
Jason studied her warily. His forearm tattoo was faint blue in the sunlight. "How can you be so sure things will work out?"
For a moment, Delaney was silent. "... I'm not. But, sometimes we have to gaslight ourselves."
He blinked at her for a moment, like he couldn't believe that was what she had chosen to say. Then, he laughed loudly. "Are you serious?" He grinned at her.
Delaney shrugged sheepishly. Normally, she didn't enjoy being laughed at, but she dealt with it for Jason's sake. "That's what I was thinking when fighting Porphyrion, and look—we're still alive!"
The blond only shook his head. "Maybe I should try that technique next time."
Delaney wished that there was never going to be a next time fighting the giants, but she knew she couldn't gaslight herself that much.
"It's a solid technique." She shrugged, tilting her head. "It's never failed me—Well, except that time I landed in Scotland rather than Arizona shadow traveling ..."
Jason choked on his spit. "How did you end up in Scotland?"
Delaney's ears burned. "I was just learning how to shadow travel, okay? I only overshot a little bit ..."
"Thousands of miles is not a little bit!" Jason protested.
"I got back to Arizona!" Delaney wagged her finger in Jason's face. "That's all that matters."
Jason shook his head. "Crazy ..."
Delaney smiled. "There was once I accidentally covered Mom's entire house in shadows. She was—pissed, to say the least. Couldn't get anywhere, and no amount of candles helped."
Jason grinned. "That sounds fun."
"For me," replied Delaney. "My mom ran into everything. My dad thought it was funny the next time I saw him. But he said we had to work harder."
"Do you miss training with your dad?" he asked suddenly, looking curious.
"No." Delaney shook her head. "I like who I am now, and I like being able to control the powers. It was ... scary when I couldn't."
"I like who you are, too," agreed Jason, making Delaney blush furiously. She untucked the hair behind her ears, letting it cover some of her face.
"I don't want to lose you, Laney," he said after a moment of silence. "You fighting Porphyrion scared me out of my mind. But I knew I couldn't change your mind. I just wish you would ... I don't know." He frowned at his feet for a moment. "You'll stay by my side, right?"
"Yeah," she admitted quietly. "I would like that. I mean—I don't want to be forced to fight more giants, but—"
"I mean no matter what, or who was in my past, you won't leave," interrupted Jason, placing a hand on her knee.
"Um, sure."
Jason nodded like he liked that answer and stood up. He offered her a hand. "Leo says he's got something to show us out in the woods. Already told Piper and Elisa 'bout it. You coming?"
Delaney pretended that eyes weren't watching them, grabbing Jason's outstretched hand. "Wouldn't miss it."
For a moment, they kept holding hands. Jason tilted his head. "We should get going."
Across the green, the gaggle of campers from Cabin Ten looked disappointed that they hadn't witnessed a kiss. They started cashing in their bets.
But that was all right. Delaney didn't need to please others. All she needed was to be happy with what she had.
"Let's go," she told Jason. "We can't bail on the others."
👑 OCT. 27TH, 2023 / i've always planned on explaining why drew acted the way she did in the lost hero but now that i've written the scene, i'm not so sure i like the way i've explained it- idk it just sounded better in my head than it does written out
but i think this is also a very important moment for elisa and piper- like elisa has been the only person to explain basically everything to piper and that (in my opinion) would mean a lot to piper so that's why piper gave elisa the green light to be with her while piper talked with her father
the scene with delaney and jason was one i was so worried about because i knew they wouldn't have a kiss scene like percy and elisa got,, they just haven't had that much time and it's just not them (especially delaney to do it with so many campers around) so i think the talk they had makes a lot of sense for their characters
i know it wasn't super lovey-dovey with kissing but it fits them so idc <3
anyways,, thoughts?? opinions??
(not edited, nor proofread)