A million.
That's how many monsters Percy predicted he had cut through today. And honestly, he'd had enough.
Earlier that day, he accidentally raised Gaea with a nose-bleed. Yes, a nosebleed. After that, he narrowly survived the final fight against the giants with 'help' from the gods. In reality the demigods were forced to do most of the legwork, the gods just claimed the spoils at the end.
Seriously, who died and made them king. Oh, right, the Titans. Though Percy did kill most of them a year back.
As if that wasn't bad enough, Percy was also forced to make one of the hardest decisions of his life only a few moments ago when he let Leo, Jason, and Piper go off to defeat Gaea without him. The experience left him with sick feeling in his stomach, it just went against everything he was.
A cold feeling suddenly rushed through his body and he quickly lifted his sword to deflect a telkhind attack. The poorly timed parry sent a jarring impact through his sword arm which was left feeling weak and rubbery. The demigod grunted with irritation, he really had to stop letting his guard down.
In one move, Percy spun on his heel and flipped Riptide into his left hand while slicing through the offending creature.
He didn't have time to dwell on the past and what could've been. He had a war to win...
"Hey you. How are you holding up?!" A familiar voice shouted from behind him. Percy looked around before finding the source of the voice. It was Annabeth. His amazingly awesome girlfriend was stabbing through hordes of dracanae with her new drakon-bone sword but she somehow still managed to smile at him. Gods, he loved her.
"Just another day in paradise..." He quipped tiredly.
Like they had done countless times before, Annabeth and Percy pressed their backs together and mercilessly attacked every mythological monster in their radius. The duo worked together as a perfect team, honed by years of combat together. They both covered each other's back and effortlessly matched one another's movements. They quickly turned the horde of monsters into piles of dust.
After their short rally, Percy put in hands on his knees and panted. In truth, he was barely still functioning. He seriously needed to have a talk with Gaea's recruiters, these monsters were no push-overs. Still, most of the monsters had been vanquished by the Greek and Roman demigods.
BOOM!
Percy cranked his neck at the sudden explosion in surprise. He looked way up into sky and was immediately blinded by a supernova of light.
Everything went silent and all the fighting ceased. A wave of confusion spread across all the demigods. The son of Poseidon swore he felt the temperature rise a few degrees.
Suddenly, cutting through the eerie quietness like a knife, was an unnatural whistle. Percy squinted up through the bright light and saw Jason Grace tumbling to the ground like a missile. The guy was sheltering Piper carefully in his arms as he visibly struggled to control their descent.
They crashed in a small cloud of dust a few hundred feet away. As Percy automatically hurried to reach the couple, he noticed something was wrong. Very wrong.
"...Guys, where's Leo?"
Neither of the two responded. Their tears were suddenly apparent to Percy and a chill swept through his body. No. Leo couldn't be-
The valley was suddenly interrupted by the familiar voice of Gaea. "You may have beaten me but I refuse to let you walk unscathed... No. It won't be a happy ending for your hero!"
The voice sounded furious but...cloudy. Almost as if the Primordial Goddess was mumbling in her sleep.
"Percy Jackson, I am now speaking only to you... You shall never walk amongst your family and comrades again. You will forever be an outcast to your kind. Ironic, isn't it? Of all the heroes, the greatest demigod shall never be celebrated. Unforgettable, yet forgotten. A man always out of time. I curse you with my final waking thought!"
Immediately, Percy felt an unearthly presence grip his back. Suddenly, he was shot into the air as if ejected from a cannon.
"Holy shit!" Percy screamed, fear flooding through his body. At this height, he would surely turn into a pancake against the ground. His panicked words seemingly broke the crowd of demigods out of their shock as they scrambled to bring him back. Their efforts were futile, however, as Percy was lifted ever higher.
Suddenly, Gaea's words came back to his mind, their meaning now clear. He shouted, "Annabeth, I love you! No matter what I'll find a way-"
And with a loud crack, Percy was gone.
...
"-Back!" He screamed suddenly.
Confused, Percy heard the sounds of a bustling city running idly around him. He let out a huge sigh of relief. He was back in New York, the whole Gaea thing must've all been a strange dream. After all, vivid dreams weren't exactly uncommon for demigods. This one freaked him out a little more than his usual ones, however. It just felt so real!
He opened his eyes, making Percy immediately regret that decision. He was clearly not in New York City. Foreign street signs were bearing down over him. There was a sprinkle of rain that was beginning to turn into a more sinister drizzle.
Forcing down his rising panic, the demigod took in his surroundings for any landmarks to clue himself in on where exactly he could have been transported to.
Thankfully, just over the wall of buildings he spotted the Big Ben clock towering over the area.
'Damn. Where's the big clock again? Oh, right. London... Wait, LONDON?!'
As more people shot him strange looks, Percy turned his attention to the crowds of people walking by.
He didn't understand why they were all looking at him. Sure, he was laying on a park bench screaming in the rain, but this was a major city. If this place was anything like New York the pedestrians shouldn't even be giving him a once-over. Percy followed their line of sight to his armor.
His mind reeled. 'Wait, they can see it? But the Mist should- ...Right. Leather armor isn't exactly divine or magical so it's probably not important enough for the Mist to hide.'
Suddenly the attention he was receiving made much more sense. Percy shook his head. The laws of his world were strange, to say the least.
'First thing's first,' Percy thought to himself. 'I need to get ditch my armor. And then I need to contact Chiron or maybe Dad and tell them where I am. Maybe I can get a lift or something...'
Percy ducked into a small alleyway and quickly took off the armor pieces still stubbornly clinging to him. He tossed it aside without a second thought, the stuff had been shredded to pieces anyways and was barely held together by strings. Percy rolled his shoulders in relief, now free of the uncomfortable weight.
Percy, immediately, thought of his next move. Contact someone who could help him.
As it was still pouring, Percy knew he couldn't Iris message anyone. He'd have to wait until the rain stopped and from what Percy knew about London (which wasn't much admittedly), that wouldn't happen any time soon.
He didn't like this, not one bit. Any demigod with his scent would be easy prey for monsters at this rate.
He briskly peeled out of the alleyway and walked down the streets aimlessly. The demigod didn't want to give the monsters a more obvious target than necessary.
Percy looked to the corners and found a small café near the end of the block. His stomach growled on sight.
Sighing, he checked his pockets and found two drachmas and a pen (which, of course, wasn't really a pen). He was as hungry as he'd ever been, but he didn't have any pounds on hand or any money for that matter.
While Percy debated using his drachma as currency for some food, a voice spoke from behind him.
"Perseus Jackson."
Percy immediately took out his pen without a second thought and threw off the cap with his thumb. The pen transformed into a greek style, leaf-shaped blade as he spun and leveled it at the mysterious speaker.
Standing before him were three old women wearing identical grey dresses. Each looked impossibly old, as though older than time itself. They wore thick glasses, but behind those lenses were eyes sockets that had seen (not literally) the rise and possibly the fall of the human race. And luckily for him, Percy had seen them before.
"The Fates." Percy let out a sigh of relief. "Man, am I glad to see you three."
"That is certainly a first." The one on the right spoke.
Then another pointed to the café door, "Shall we?"
Percy looked wearily between them. He wasn't sure about these three as usually nothing good ever came out of meeting them. But, he didn't really have all that many options.
Percy frowned. "Okay, but you're paying... I have no cash and I don't like stealing if I don't have to."
"Very well. This conversation is...vital." The three Fates said ominously as they walked inside, motioning for him to follow. Percy just shrugged and pressed the pen cap to the tip of his blade returning Riptide back to pen form.
The Fates sat in a booth in the very back of the near-empty café. Percy took the seat before the entities but before he could begin fishing for answers, a friendly-looking woman came up to them and smiled. "Hello there, what can I get you?"
"Three Earl Grey's and a white chocolate mocha with extra sugar for the boy." The Fate in the middle ordered.
"Alright, coming right up!"
Percy raised an eyebrow. "Wait. How did you know what I like-" He passed and thought it over, then rolled his eyes. "Nevermind, you're the Fates, I forgot."
"Indeed you did Perseus Jackson."
"You guys are probably the ones who made me like coffee in the first place. Is there any free will or was that always a joke?" He scoffed.
The Fates let out a strange sound somewhere between a growl and a rumble. The sound immediately made the demigod feel faint.
"There is much free will, both from mortals and gods." The one to Percy's right hissed angrily. "Even you have changed fate, Perseus Jackson. Much to our displeasure."
"Now, why are you here?" Another asked, saving Percy from the entrancing... whatever it was.
He took a deep breath to calm himself. Maybe more tact was the safer option when conversing with fate? "My friends and I just beat Gaea and her army. She was gone but she just started chanting something... I-I think it might have been a curse!"
"So, Gaea cursed you? That's why you're here?" The angry one asked.
"Uh...yeah, I guess so." Percy said with shrug, somewhat unsure himself. "Anyway what happened with the war? Is Annabeth alright? And the giants?"
"We cannot say-"
"-Doing so would break destiny-"
"-After all, no mortal, be it even a demigod, should ever learn of the future."
"Though, you already have broken your destiny simply by being here in the first place. You were destined to defeat the goddess Gaea, marry Annabeth Chase, have three kids, and die at the ripe age of one hundred and three. Now, you are literally carving your own fate. You've gone and created your own alternate dimension."
"Did you hear of those dimension hopping girls?" One asked, sounding almost excited.
"Yes! They made lives much more hectic, but it may be worth it in the end." The one on the right motioned to Percy.
Percy blinked. "Uhh, what was that again? ...You know what, forget it. I'm not asking you about the future, I'm asking you about right now. Or have they not finished off Gaea's army yet?"
"The demigods have not killed Gaea's monsters. Gaea remains dormant, as she has for decades. As have the Titan army."
Percy adopted a very confused expression, squinting his eyebrow. "Okay guys, what are you talking about? I know Gaea's awake. It was my nosebleed that did it. And by the way, the Titans... that was over a year ago-"
"Here we are!" The waitress from before came back forcing Percy to shut up. As she placed the drinks down, one of the Fates calmly asked, "My dear, can you please give us the date?"
"Why, of course! It's February 23rd, ma'am."
"And the year?"
The waitress suddenly looked concerned. "Oh, well it's 1994, ma'am. Why?"
"No reason." The Fate suddenly withdrew a twenty-pound note from thin air and gave it to the girl. "Keep the change."
All questions suddenly disappeared from the waitress's head as she gladly took the money, forgetting about the strange questions the Fates had asked.
Percy turned to the Fates with wide eyes. "It's 1994?!" He whispered loudly.
"Indeed." They nodded as one.
"B-but how the Hades is that possible?!" Percy said, his volume rising higher.
"You battled against a primordial goddess, the mother of the Titan of Time. What do you suppose could have happened?"
Percy slowly slumped back in his seat as the realization dawned on him. "I...I-I was sent back. Kronos... he sent me back in time."
The Fates nodded. "Yes... he did. In doing so, the Titan sacrificed any chance of returning... ever. In your dimension, that is."
"Why?!"
"As a final form of revenge we believe." The one on the left spoke as she sipped from her tea. "If you are correct, then the giant war is over. You won, the second great prophecy has been fulfilled."
"B-but why am I here?! Why London?!"
"Because we could not allow you entry to America." They replied plainly.
"What?!"
"There are too many important, delicate things in motion in that country. If someone has altered time, then that would surely cause catastrophic damage to Fate's design. If that person also happens to be a child of the big three and is over the age of sixteen... Well, one could only imagine the fallout. London was the next best place for you."
Percy thought hard about what they were telling him. Something wasn't matching up here. "But why isn't the prophecy being triggered now? I'm over sixteen! Kronos should be awake!"
"Prophecies are... fickle things. They work in ways even we deities can't always predict."
"Wow. So you're telling me, The Fates of freaking everything are flying blind stick right now!"
"If you would like to put it that way, yes. This has never happened before so I believe we are allowed some leeway."
"W-what about my parents? My friends?" Percy asked feeling lightheaded.
"They are all alive and well, in the future." The Fates responded
"Can't you send me back?" He asked in desperation.
"No, we cannot. Only Kronos has the power to do that."
"Then what the hell am I supposed to do?!" Percy roared as he stood up.
The waitress looked startled, she came to try and stop whatever was brewing but one look from the Fates stopped her in her tracks. The three sisters turned as one and stared at Percy. "You have no choice, you can only do one thing, wait."
"For sixteen years?!"
They looked back with blank, unreadable eyes. "Yes."
Percy gaped at them not believing what he was told. 'No...no, it can't be true, it can't be!'
Percy took off running outside. He looked to the road and spotted a newspaper stand in the corner of the street.
"Want a paper?" The man asked as Percy snatched one from the stand. "Hey! You need to pay for that first!"
Percy ignored him completely as he looked at the paper's headline: "SIRIUS BLACK STILL AT LARGE!" It spoke of some criminal escaping from an undisclosed prison a year ago. Percy didn't look at that, he looked at the date; 23rd Feb, 1994.
Percy's hands shook as he fell to the ground startling the newspaperman. "Mate? Are you alright?"
"He'll be fine." The Fates walked up to the man as one of them handed him a note. "Here, for the paper."
Percy looked at them. "What should I do?"
"Come with us Perseus, we'll tell you."
Percy nodded numbly as they slowly walked towards a bench. Percy held the paper in his hands as he stared at the date. His hands shook.
The road was filled with cars honking and people yelling, but when the Fates spoke, everything else seemed to die down.
"You must stay here Percy, no matter what happens, you cannot enter America."
"When can I go back?" He asked still in shock.
"When did you leave?"
"2010."
"Then that is only when you can return for the foreseeable future until we can think of a solution."
"Then what I am supposed to do 'till then?!" Percy snapped. "I have no life here, no family, nothing!"
"No, that isn't true." The Fate closest to him reached into her dress and pulled out a coin. She gave it to Percy. "Tell me Perseus, what do you see?"
Percy looked at the coin and scoffed. "It's a coin. A two dollar-I mean, pound. A two-pound coin."
"Correct." One of the Fates said. "Tell me Percy who is on that coin?"
Percy looked again and found the coin featured a woman with a Greek style helmet with long flowing hair with a trident over her shoulder. Percy was taken aback. "She looks Greek to me."
The Fates nodded. "That is Britannia, the representation of Britain in the ancient world. Most believe it was just something created by the Romans to distinguish the country, but Britannia was very real. Britannia was just an ordinary sea nymph, she was one of Poseidon's many children. She, however, was unlike her brothers and sisters, she was not content with simply remaining in Atlantis. She wanted to explore the world. And she did, eventually coming upon this country, Britain. And she fell in love with it."
"Her father, your father, ordered her to return but she refused, telling him that she wished to be this lands protector. She wanted this land to be her kingdom. Poseidon loved the little nymph, a bit like he loved you. He was more than happy to let Britannia have this land as her own as no one else had claimed it.
"However, at the time this land was in turmoil, so much war and bloodshed occurred on these grounds. Poseidon knew Britannia could never rule with such a destroyed kingdom, so he sought to bring peace to the land. And to do that he would need a weapon, a son, a demigod. He bedded a woman named Igraine Pendragon who gave birth to a son, Arthur."
Percy's eyes widened. "King Arthur is my brother?! What the Hades?!"
The Fates seemed to almost smile. "Yes, Arthur Pendragon was a demigod and a powerful one at that. He united the kingdoms, and while eternal peace wasn't gained, it was a powerful start to Britannia's kingdom. And now she stands, ruler of one of the most powerful nations in the world. And that is mostly in part to Poseidon, her father, and King Arthur, your brother."
Percy blinked. "Holy Hera! King Arthur is my...wow. Wait, does that mean Excalibur is real?!"
The Fates nodded. "It is. But it has been lost to time, no one knows for sure where it lies."
"I see...wait, Merlin was real?!"
"Yes, Merlin was real. He was a very powerful wizard and he knew very well what was going on. Merlin was what you know as clear-sighted. He knew about Britannia and of Arthur's true parentage. He knew all of this, and he swore to keep it a secret."
"Cool." Percy nodded. "But, why are you telling me this? How does this help me survive twenty years in the past?"
"Simple. You see Percy, Merlin wasn't the only wizard ever. He simply was the most powerful at the time."
"So you mean magic is real? Wizards are real?! Are you messing with me?!"
"Is the demigod son of a Greek god truly asking us if magic is real?"
Percy paused. "...Alright then, please continue."
"Arthur brought peace to the land and this allowed Merlin and the other witches and wizards to go into hiding from the mortal world. They realized that the world around them was changing and humans were slowly becoming more afraid of them. So they resolved to slowly die out in the shadows, becoming nothing more than myths and legends. However, they did not go extinct. They thrived. And now a world of witches and wizards live in London and other places in Europe and Asia, along with North America, hidden from the mortals."
"But how is this possible? I've never even heard of these guys!" Percy exclaimed.
"You haven't Percy, because you aren't a part of their world."
"What? Why not? I'm a demigod for Zeus's sake, don't I fall into the same category as them?"
"No, you don't. Your world. Our world, is as much hidden from them as they are from humans." They explained.
"Why is that? They can use magic right? Then how can they possibly not know about us?" Percy questioned. The two couldn't be completely disconnected from each other, could they?
"We try very hard not to let the two worlds meet. If something like that happened...apocalyptic would probably be the word to describe it. Wizards are very prideful creatures, Percy. If they one day find out that there are things out there that can kill them without a thought, they would not rest until they kill that thing first, or try and stick their nose where it doesn't belong. It is best to stay away unless it is unavoidable."
Percy raised an eyebrow. "The way you said that last thing tells me I might not like where this is going."
"You need to be hidden Percy, there must be no one from our world who can be able to find you. The magical world will be able to do that, and while there you will also be able to learn many new things Percy. Dragons, spells, curses, teleportation, even use a wand."
Percy would be lying if he said he wasn't the least bit curious what this whole hidden magical world was all about. He had always found his own divine world amazing, surely a world made by wizards would be equally enticing.
Percy sighed. "I guess I don't exactly have a choice in the matter do I?"
"No Perseus, you don't. The divine world walks among the mortal world freely, the Mist protects them and they have little risk of discovery. But the wizarding world, well they can see through the Mist, it's in their blood. You must not be seen Percy, or else the victory you and all your friends fought for, rather, will fight for will all be for not."
Percy rubbed his temples. "You three are a pain in the ass. Has anyone ever told you that?"
"Nearly every single being across history. Whenever someone curses their fate they, by extension curse us as well." The Fates grumbled. "Will you do it?"
"Yeah." Percy shook his head. "Why not. It might be fun. Who knows, maybe in a few years I might actually like living there." The Fates nodded. "Hey, wait, I have a question. Is there any chance that I could learn a little magic while I'm there?"
Fates smiled. "We thought you would never ask. There is a place that teaches magic in this world, a school called Hogwarts."
"Okay, I'm going to stop you right there. What? Hogwarts? Seriously? That sounds like a disease a pig would get after it did the do with Aphrodite!" Percy laughed.
"Yes, the founders were intelligent but very...peculiar people. But rest assured, the school is the finest there is in the country, even all of Europe. Although you are behind on six years of education...they start teaching children when they are 11 for seven years."
Percy blinked. "Well then I'm shit out of luck. What exactly are we talking about here? Charms? Spells? Do you think I could just wing it?"
"No chance in Hades." The Fates shook their heads. "If you were a child of Athena you would have a minuscule chance. But-"
"-You don't have to say it, I know, I'm a Seaweed Brain." Percy moaned. "So that's out as well huh?"
"Not necessarily." The Fates then turned to each other and began to whisper in hushed tones. Percy looked on in confusion and slight concern before they broke apart.
"We believe that you should be able to match your age's magical abilities. The month is currently February, therefore you could have six months to catch up."
"So you want me to cram in six years of magical knowledge and experience not even counting the other years wizards learn a their whole world and lifestyle in just six months?"
The Fates nodded.
Percy cleared his throat. "Not to sound rude, BUT ARE YOU INSANE?! I can barely learn normal stuff, and now you want me to learn magic?! Granted it's magic, but damn, I can't perform miracles!"
"We think we can help you with that." The Fates said. "We will get you a teacher, the best in the world. We believe with her help, you will be more than ready by the time the next school year comes around."
Percy was taken aback. "Really? A tutor? Who did you have in mind?"
The Fates smiled. "It is better we keep that to ourselves. One mention of her name and she will be alerted to us and will know who we are speaking to. We must first inform her of our...situation and then barter for her help. It will take some time."
Percy groaned loudly. "Okay then, so what exactly am I supposed to do till then?"
"We have made arrangements for you." The Fates snapped their fingers and a black bag with a sea-green trident on it appeared in his hand. "This is a pouch made of mokeskin. It is a magic bag which can only be opened and used by it's owner, you. It also is charmed to be ever-expanding, meaning you can store a great many things inside it and have plenty of space for more."
Percy's eyes went wide as he took the bag. It felt empty in his hands, but when he opened it he found it filled to the brim with golden coins. Percy's jaw dropped. "Woah! Is that gold?!"
"Yes, much like the Greeks, wizards use gold, silver, and bronze as currency. The gold coins are known as galleons, the silver as sickles, and the bronze as knuts. We have provided funds for you Percy, use them wisely."
Percy sighed. "Right. Thanks for this. Although it's kind of surprising you have this all planned out."
"We needed time to get this ready."
"But you found me in like minutes after I got here."
"Exactly, we needed that time to prepare all of this for you."
"So you knew I would say yes?"
"Mostly."
"Wow...okay. I'm not going to lie, that's impressive. Scary, but impressive." Said Percy.
The Fates collectively nodded. The three mythical beings got up while one handed Percy a map. "This map will lead you to a place called the Leaky Cauldron, an entranceway to the wizarding world. You should be able to find it just fine. Once there, rent a room and stay put. Don't talk to anyone, don't do anything. Hopefully, by tonight we will have your teacher ready for you, and you can begin...amalgamating with the wizarding world."
Percy raised an eyebrow. "Wait, if you know the future then you know that my teacher is going to say yes, and if you also know that...did you know that Kronos would send me here?"
The Fates just smiled. "Goodbye Percy Jackson."
"Hey wait! I need answers gods dammit!" But the three old women exploded in a burst of light and teleported away, leaving Percy blinking away bright light spots from his vision despite his shut eyes.
'Great, just great,' Percy frowned. He quickly pocketed the mokeskin bag and pulled out the map. He found a big red sticker with 'you' written on it posted on one corner, and a line drawn through London ending on the other corner.
It was quite far away from where he was, and Percy didn't have any money on him, at least nothing he could spend anyway.
So with no other choice, Percy got up from the bench and began walking, following the instructions on the map.
Percy walked down the streets of London. Truly the place was an amazing tourist location.
Percy felt strange being there though as most of the people were oddly dressed. Everyone wore such old clothes. He swore every guy wore a plaid shirt while every woman wore a neon colored t-shirt. It was like they were stuck in the nineties!
'Oh wait....never mind.' Percy forgot again, he was in the nineties. He realized now that the time travel thing really did happen. Not just the fashion but the way people acted and spoke. The New York born and raised boy from the 2000s wasn't really comfortable with this place but it was at least better than being stuck in the '70s. That would be a nightmare!
Percy eventually reached the place in question, after stopping and asking directions many times.
Honestly, the roads were all mixed up, how was anyone supposed to find anything here?
Finally he made it to the Leaky Cauldron, good thing too as it had already become dark outside.
Percy pushed open the door and stopped. 'Did I time travel...again?!'
The inside of the place looked like a Victorian era play stage. The people were dressed in robes and sitting around candlelit tables.
The people looked like they were from the past, the ancient past. There was no form of electricity in the place, there wasn't even a ceiling fan!
Percy turned around and looked outside. Sure enough, the streets were still the same and he was still in the nineties. But when he looked back in the pub it looked like he was in Victorian England!
Percy clenched his jaw. 'What have I gotten myself into?' Percy walked inside wearily. The people gave him one look before scoffing and turning away.
Percy reeled in surprise. 'What are they looking at? My clothes? What's wrong with my clothes? You're the one who's dressed up to go to a medieval convention!'
Percy growled and walked to the man behind the bar, presumably the owner. The man watched his approach and sent a surprisingly friendly smile. "Hullo young man! What can I do you for?"
"Uh, I was hoping for a room here for the night." Percy said as the people at the bar suddenly took notice of him. Some even giving him a second glance.
"Ah, American are you? What brings you here?" The man asked.
"I'm visiting family."
"Right. Oh, where are my manners? Tom, I'm the owner of this here pub. Pleasure to meet you lad." He gave his hand which Percy gladly shook. At least this guy treated him with a little respect.
"Percy. Percy Jackson."
"Right, now let's see..." The man turned around and looked at a key rack behind the desk. "Room number five is available, would that be alright?"
Percy nodded. "That will be fine."
"Perfect! Now for one night that will be a galleon, but that does include breakfast and lunch." Tom explained with a smile.
Percy nodded. "Great."
He took out the mokeskin bag and grabbed a single gold coin handing it to Tom. The man in turn, handed Percy his key and told him where the rooms where.
Percy walked up the stairs by the side of the pub and quickly found room five. He opened the door and was surprised to find a very spacious room inside.
Percy frowned and stepped out of the room again. He saw that door number six was just a few feet away from his own door, but the room inside was easily ten feet wide.
'It's bigger on the inside, maybe it's magic!' Percy grinned as he walked in and closed the door behind him.
The room had a bed to one side, a wardrobe, a fireplace, and a mirror. It wasn't much, but it was better than most motels Percy knew and definitely better than where he slept during some quests.
The demigod sighed. It had been a long day.
He walked up to the window and unlatched it letting the cool night air drift inside. Percy took a deep breath.
'Okay, so I'm stuck in the past, trying to enter a world I don't know anything about by learning six years of magic in six months' time. Perfect, just perfect.'
He thought about Chiron, his friends, and his family, all preserved in the distant future. But he especially thought about Annabeth. Her perfect hair, her dazzling smile, how she would kiss him whenever he did something stupid.
Percy closed the window bitterly and lumbered away. "You are very handsome, though that shirt could use a bit of a wash."
Percy whirled around as he took out Riptide, his pen/sword, and readied it. "Okay, who said that?"
"That sword is nice, goes with the whole 'wandering warrior' look you are going for."
Percy blinked. That voice, it came from the mirror. Percy approached it and stared. "I'm sorry, but did you just talk to me?"
"You look very handsome, though that shirt could use a wash. The sword adds to your 'wandering warrior look'." The mirror repeated again.
"Dude, you can talk!"
"Yes, but I can't offer you much more than advice on your looks or help for your problems."
'Huh, it must be charmed or something to say that.' Percy looked behind the standing mirror and found no wires of any sort, meaning it must be some form of magic that made the mirror sentient.
Percy smiled. "Okay I'll admit, a talking mirror is awesome."
"Thank you."
Percy was surprised, but then again maybe the mirror was preprogrammed to say that as well.
Percy then finally noticed how he was dressed. His camp half-blood shirt was ripped at the edges, his face and skin was covered in soot and dust.
Those people were right to stare, Percy looked like a stray. His black hair was wild and his sea-green eyes looked tired.
Percy then turned around and stared at his backside. "Does my ass look fat in these jeans?"
"Yes, and you won't hear me complain." A voice called out. This time it wasn't the mirror.
Percy turned around and found a woman leaning against the door with her arms crossed and a smirk on her lips.
She had a sharp, charming face with dark red loosely curled hair and bright brown eyes that glinted with mischief and mirth. She didn't look too much older than Percy, yet he knew looks could definitely be deceiving.
The woman wore a long-sleeved white robe that came down to her feet with strange black markings written all over it. She had quite a few rings on her fingers and a silver tiara with a black stone in the center.
"Who are you?" Percy asked. He already had drawn Riptide and was ready to attack at a moment's notice.
"Put down the blade boy, I mean you no harm. If I did, you would be dead already."
Percy narrowed his eyes. "That didn't answer my question."
The woman chuckled. "You have guts kid, I'll give you that much. The Fates sent me. Now, please stop looking like you're constipated, it really is disturbing."
Percy blinked. "What?! This is my serious face!"
"Sure...we'll have to work on that." The woman swung her arms as she approached Percy looking him up and down. "So you're the time traveler huh? Not much to look at are you?"
Percy raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, maybe that's because it's been a long day and I'm kind of exhausted. Kicking Gaea's ass and then being sent twenty years into the past is kind of a full plate for me."
The woman raised an eyebrow. "Really? Gaea, well that is impressive. Maybe you aren't a complete waste after all." She walked up to his bed and leaned on it. "Alright son of Poseidon I've decided, I'll train you. At least until you stop being interesting that is."
Percy put away his pen. "I'm sorry, not to be rude or anything, but who are you?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. Usually people would know who I am instantly, but I'm guessing you're not exactly the brightest bulb in the room are you?"
Percy frowned. "I'm smart when I'm interested."
"Well alright then smart guy. Tell me, who am I?"
Percy looked the woman over. She was powerful, very powerful, and since the Fates could talk to her and she knew about Gaea, she was obviously divine.
Percy knew of only one person who was both divine and good at magic.
"Hecate." He said. "You're the goddess of magic, Hecate."
The woman gave a feral grin. "Right you are Jackson. Right you are."
Don't you just hate intro's? I've redone this thing so many times. *sigh* At least I'm mostly satisfied woth it now.
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