I 022. I

𝑪𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒐𝒓𝒔

❝ quintus ❞

ARIADNE HAD TALKED WITH ANNABETH. It made her a nervous wreck, but once they rid themselves of their emotions and secrets, it was all good.

The blonde didn't hate her, and boy was the brunette happy about that. Annabeth has heard her story and let her cry over Beckett, and the blonde she'd a few small tears as well.

Neither of them held any hate for the other any longer. It was quite nice for her to have a huge weight lifted off of her shoulders.

Annabeth explained everything about the labyrinth that Clarisse had been searching. She knew how terrifying the brunette would be. And she was. Ariadne's face went pale.

"Labyrinth...?" she asked quietly. "They found an entrance."

Annabeth nodded. "We think Luke is going to use it to invade camp, but there isn't one even near here," she said.

The brunette sighed. "They don't even have a way of navigating it." But by her friends face, she knew she was wrong. "Right? Please tell me they don't."

"They're looking for it, Ari." The blonde pursed her lips. "Clarisse found Chris near her mom's house. He was talking about string. You know what that means, right?"

Ariadne gulped. "Yeah. Yeah I do."

"Do you have any idea where it is?" Annabeth asked. "You have lived with her for years."

"No. Anytime I asked about it she would leave immediately. At some point I just quit talking about the whole instance. And when I told her about how Percy killed the Minotaur his first year, she made me promise I would never talk about it or Theseus ever again."

Both girls looked at canoe lake in silence. Annabeth's mind was working quickly to figure out a solution, but Ariadne's was replaying any fact she knew about the story of Theseus and the labyrinth.

Her stepmom refused to even speak the name Theseus. And anytime it came out of her stepdaughter's mouth, she would shudder and resist the urge to yell at the girl who only wanted to ask a few questions.

They talked for a few more minutes until the blonde was pulled away by her siblings, they muttered between them about some design plans of some sort before she left.

Ariadne was left standing on the dock by herself. She didn't mind, but only wished one of her friends could talk.

Grover had been consumed with guilt and sadness over his trial and his last week of being a searcher unless they found some sort of plan for his search for Pan. Annabeth still had to figure something out dealing with Chris and the labyrinth, and Percy was with Tyson, spending time with his brother before dinner.

But apparently, brother time would include her thanks to Tyson. He spotted the girl on the docks and pointed over. "Pretty girl!" he called.

Ariadne glances back at the sound of the familiar nickname. She gave him a smirk as he ran over. "Hey, Tyson," she said. "What's up?"

"Brother and I are going to sword arena," he said. "Would you like to come?"

She nodded. "Sure."

He grinned before leading the way. They walked side by side, except she had to walk quickly to keep up with the cyclops. Soon, they met Percy at the door of cabin three.

Percy gave her a confused look. "Hey, big guy," he said to Tyson. "Aidan, what are you doing here?"

"She is going to," Tyson said.

The brunette nodded. "I could use some practice. But if you don't want me to—"

"No," he cut her off. "It's fine. We need to talk anyways."

She didn't like the sound of that.

Tyson walked ahead of them, a spring in his heavy steps. Ariadne and Percy walked next to one another, quiet for the first time around the other. She hadn't felt that way since they had first met three years ago.

Percy glanced over at the taller girl. She was once again a few inches taller. He noticed her skin was tanner, and that her hair was much longer and curlier. It was tied into a tight ponytail with a few curls framing her beautiful face.

Her purple eyes were as bright as ever. There were a few freckles along her cheeks, and one rested in the center of her nose. She had gotten slimmer over the summer, and her muscles seemed a bit more defined.

"How tall are you now?" he asked, wanting to know how much he had to grow to surpass her.

She smiled. "Five-eight."

He whistled. "Weren't you just five-five?"

"Yep." Her hand waved over his head. "Seems as if you need to grow a bit more, Kelp Head. What are you, five-four?"

Percy gave her a glare and swatted her hand away. "Five-six!" he said. "I'm be taller than you in no time, just you wait."

She snorted. "What? In five years?"

The boy shook his head.

Ariadne has noticed he had had a major change. He was still Percy, but his face was different. His sea-green eyes were brighter and darker at the same time, and waves crashed even more. His hair was wind blown, and it made her believe he had spent every waking moment at the beach.

A smile rested on his face while he watched Tyson wave at a camper. Little dimples at the ends of his smile caused her heart to melt, and she had to resist her urge to hug him tightly. He had grown another inch, but he wasn't at her level.

Aphrodite was having the time of her life.

"How was school?" she asked. "Nothing bad happen?"

He shook his head. "Not really. But the orientation today..." He cringed.

The girl nodded. "I heard about that."

"I wished we had still gone to the movies," he said. "I would've liked to eat tons of popcorn in a dark room."

She snorted. "Just go to Ohio if you want to live out that dream," she told him.

Her fingers moved slightly and a vine wrapped around them. The girl stopped and watched as it began crawling up her hand. Percy gave her wide eyes. "What's happening?" he asked, panicked.

"It wants attention," she said nonchalantly. Her fingers flicked back and forth. "Alright, little guy, back down you go."

It obeyed her commands and sunk into the ground. He watched with amazement as the earth repaired itself, as if nothing had ever happened.

"You amaze me," he told her.

Ariadne blushed. She grabbed his hand and tugged him along. "Come on, Kelp Head. I need to practice."

Percy let her drag him towards the arena, watching as the girl he was crushing on laughed on the wind. It was a beautiful sight.

They walked into the sword arena. Percy introduced Ariadne and Tyson to Quintus, the new sword fighting teacher.

Quintus looked in his fifties, from her great estimation skills. He had short gray hair and a clipped gray beard. He was in good shape for an older guy. He wore black mountain-climbing pants and a bronze breastplate strapped over an orange camp t-shirt. At the base of his neck was a strange mark, a tattoo of some sort.

Ariadne shook his hand and felt her body shudder. The image of a blue mark flashed across her mind, she let go of his hand.

There were a few sodden crates the size of picnic tables a few feet from them. When asked about it, he refused to say anything. All information she had earned was from the marking along the sides: TRIPLE G RANCH—FRAGILE, THIS END UP.

She then met Mrs. O'Leary. At first, Ariadne and Tyson were defensive, especially Ariadne. But once they realized she was no hadn't o them, Tyson began playing with the hellhound. He called her 'little doggie.'

But Ariadne couldn't get close to her without images from the night before flashing through her mind. Mrs. O'Leary attempted to lick her, but was met with a vine that was protecting the girl.

Percy gave her a nervous look. She only shook her head. "I'm fine," she told him, attempting to ease his worries.

He had no choice but to believe.

Quintus watched the girl who put the vine back into the ground with only a blink of an eye. "Ariadne Phoenix," he said. "Best sword fighter in the last three thousand years."

She gave him a nod of her head. "The title's a bit much if you ask me," she said."

He laughed. "Well, if they have given you the name, I'd say you must deserve it."

Quintus began teaching Percy a few sword moves. She of course new them all, but let him learn on his own. Tyson was still playing with the friendly Hellhound, and she headed towards a few dummies off to the side.

The girl slipped off her ring and tossed it into the air. Her eyes never left the small space between teacher and student as she caught her sword by it's golden hilt.

She stared at the familiar weapon in hand. Vines moved along the blade and bolt, wrapping tightly. A green trident rested at the base, right next to the purple thyrsus. The small ball of yarn towards the middle of the hilt reminded her of the labyrinth, and she sighed heavily.

With a few slashes and swings, the dummies were cut in half. There were a few hacked, and the girl wished for a partner who could fight back. She wasn't five anymore, and she could hold her own against something that moved.

In fact, she remembered her first training session. At first, Chiron and her father were hesitant, but after a lot of pushing, they complied.

She was assigned to a girl from the Ares cabin for help. The girl, Beatrice Stuart, wasn't all that bad. She was quiet funny and her Scarlett red hair had always enticed Ariadne to ask questions.

Beatrice—or Bea, as she liked to be called—had handed Ariadne a dagger. But the girl didn't want it. Next was the bow, but they quickly found out it wasn't for her once a few Apollo cabin members complained that they had enough arrow related injuries as it is. She had shot them too many times to count.

Finally, Bea gave the girl her first practice sword, and the rest was history. Her father gifted the young girl Lunacy, and there she was now, remembering everything.

But how she wished Bea could see her now. She had been taught the basics by the Ares girl, but her skills soon surpassed hers by the end of the summer. It came all too naturally for Ariadne. It made Bea question if she was really a child of Dionysus and not Athena or Ares, or if she had been blessed by them.

Ariadne definitely hadn't.

Tragedy struck one day after her last session with Bea. Somehow, someone had ordered two hellhounds into camp. They attacked Bea at the arena. Ariadne has fought bravely and killed one who had pounced her friend.

Campers came to help, but they didn't need to once they saw a bleeding Bea being guarded by a dangerous looking girl that was holding a gold sword and expertly made the final move to kill a hellhound.

Vines has sprouted from the ground and killed the last at her command, a shock to all campers. None had seen her powers, and many assumed she didn't have any. But they were wrong.

Bea was taken to the infirmary for her wounds. She recovered with a broken leg, and thankfully, lived on.

When she turned eighteen the girl left for university. And now, Ariadne talked with her regularly. Bea was now a pro MMA fighter who held plenty of titles. She had a girlfriend, and they even adopted a cat who they named Coca.

In her thoughts, she hadn't even noticed Percy walking up behind her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and the girl's instincts kicked in.

With a fluid motion, she had him flipped over her shoulder and sword taken from his hand. The girl pointed both blades at the boy who groaned, "I should really learn not to do that anymore."

Ariadne huffed, "This is why I always beat you." She gave him a hand and pulled him up. Her sword had transformed back into its ring and his into his pen.

"Like I said, i'll get you one day, Curly Fry."

"Sure, Kelp Head."

He gave her a grin before a voiced cleared its throat. They spun around to see Quintus with a raised eyebrow towards them. "Shall we face off?" he asked Ariadne. "From the looks of it, you would rather fight something that moves."

He nodded towards the pile of dummies. "Yes, please," she said.

"Be careful, Aidan," Percy said, "he's good. Maybe, even better than you."

Percy knew what buttons to push to get under her skin. Well, technically, any buttons of hers pushed could make her flip, but he knew the right ones and the right patterns for his favorite reactions.

One of his favorite the was when she got a competitive look in her eyes. It made them glow a bright purple, almost blinding. And her jaw would twitch, she would wrinkle her nose slightly, and a small smirk would make its way into her lips.

It was just a bit behind when she would hug him tightly and just hold him. Usually, it was during the mid-afternoon when they had a bit of free time and spent it together by the lake. They would lean against the same tree, she would grow a few grapes for them to eat, and he would lay his head in her lap as she played with his hair.

He was getting sidetracked and knew he needed to stop staring. The boy blushed, recalling the prophecy between them that Aphrodite had explained the year prior.

Ariadne twisted Lunacy, letting her hand grip it tightly. The girl had picked up a few moves he used often, but no set pattern. He played like he would a game of chess—no distinct pattern until the last move and he had you at the end of his blade. But Ariadne happened to know how to play chess quite well, even if she didn't necessarily like it.

"Now," Quintus began, "show me all I've heard. How good are you?"

Ariadne tilted her head. "I can't perceive how well I am, but I haven't died yet, so I call that a win."

He grinned.

Neither made the first move until he took a step forward. She had sparred enough to know that when taking a foot forward it meant you would attack.

She knocked her blade against his. It screeched was he drew place and sent a jab towards her rob she. She partied with her own, sidestepping a swipe at her side.

Quintus narrowed his eyes. His sword defended his chest from the sword that aim towards it. A clang and another screech as they pushed against one another.

Ariadne jumped quickly and ducked under his arm, sending an elbow into his. He hissed before fighting back, his foot catching her ankle and pulled back, sending her to the ground.

He pressed a shoe into her back, not allowing her to move. He grabbed her sword from her hand. "Where is the sword fighter I heard of?" he asked. "Where is that warrior?"

Percy became nervous. Not for Ariadne, but Quintus. In all his years of knowing Ariadne, he knew that she was competitive, and hated being weak and helpless—like she was in that moment.

"Oh, she's still there," the girl said. "She just hasn't seen any real competition."

Quintus laughed. "I have you on the ground. I have won."

She smirked to herself. "You thought."

The girl wrapped her ankles around his legs and pulled back, forcing him to his back. She pulled them out before he hit the ground and flipped up. Her hands wrapped around her sword, stabbing his into the ground behind her.

They stared at one another. Him from the ground and her with a gold blade pointed at his throat. She smirked. "Like I said, you thought."

Quintus made a humming noise and stood up. "There she is," he said. "I hope to see you in my lessons. And I hope to be able to teach yiu a few things, and maybe you can teach me a few, as well."

She grinned and nodded. Percy ran up to them, eyes wide. "So, is she the best?" he asked. "Wait, scratch that—I'm the best, right?"

Ariadne gave him narrowed eyes. Quintus sook his head. "She is indeed the best I've seen. But sadly, my boy, you are not. Not even close."

Percy pouted before nodding his head towards Tyson who was playing Get the Greek and wrestling with Mrs. O'Leary over a bronze shield.

The girl smiled. "Thank," she told Quintus.

He watched as they left the arena before calling his hellhound over.

Tyson stuck with them on their way back. Percy and Tyson were sweaty and sticky, and he was surprised she wasn't. "How are you not sweaty?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Maybe because I didn't have to try."

"Whatever," he muttered in frustration. "Stupidly perfect. Great at everything. Stupid curly fry."

With a smirk, a long vine erupted from the ground and tripped him. He hit the ground with a thump! Tyson laughed and clapped his hands. "Again! Again, pretty girl!"

Percy shook his head and desperately tried freeing himself from the vine. "No! No, not again!" he cried out, ripping the vine away.

She only smiled and continued on.

Before she knew it, there were footsteps behind her and the girl glanced back, Percy was running for her.

He held his arms out and she yelped. The girl took off into a run, him picking up speed as she maneuvered around campers who laughed at the sight. It was a usual thing, but nevertheless, they all loved to see two campers who were practically dating but hadn't said anything.

Soon, her body hit the ground as he landed on top of her. He gave her a grin as she attempted to squirm away.

Tyson was walking back towards cabin three, leaving them behind.

"It's not that bad," Percy told her, arms around her waist as they stood up.

She gagged at the smell wafting off of him. "It does when you smell like dead fish." The girl glanced down at her wet shirt. "Now I need to shower, thanks for that."

He smiled. "It's what I'm here for."

Ariadne narrowed her eyes and shoved him towards his cabin. He only stumbled but caught himself against the porch railings.

When he turned his head, there was a flash of brown and purple before he felt a heavy weight towards his cheek.

Ariadne sprinted away from him and towards the girl side of camp, where her cabin was.

The boy reached a hand up towards the dimple on his right cheek, smiling widely. He blushed before heading inside, skipping as he closed the door.

***

     ARIADNE HAD TO SHOUT NO BEFORE THEY STOPPED.

Castor and Pollux gave her a sad look. They placed down the cup in their hands, pouting. "Why not?" Castor asked.

She rolled her eyes. "Because I said so."

Pollux snorted. "You're not our mother."

"No, but I am head counselor. And what I say, goes." She took a bite of her roll, giving them a grin. "Come on, guys, you know you can't have it."

"But why not?" they whined.

"What's the point of our powers if we can't drink it," Pollux asked. "Parties are about the be even more fun."

Ariadne chuckled. Pollux and Castor has recently learned a trick she hadn't tapped into—turning any liquid into wine. They wanted to drink some, but it wasn't exactly legal not allowed.

Both of them gave her a look. "Come on, sis. You love us," Castor said.

"Just bit."

With wide eyes, Pollux looked at his twin. "Bro, what if we can turn blood into wine."

Castor's eyes lit up, a grin crossing his face. Ariadne shook her head. "Let's try," Castor said. His eyes looked around. "Hey, Clarisse!"

She ignored her brother's attempts at murder. Her eyes traveled down to the ten foot long jagged scar that hadn't been there last summer. She had been careful to step over the sealed fissure in the marble floor entrance, afraid it would open up and swallow her whole like Nico had wanted.

Nico. That was a name she had thought about quite often. Usually at night. When the night had cast a dark and eerie glow across Miami, with the silver of the moon finding a way in through her curtains. When the world was quiet for once and no monsters were trying to kill her, and she was meant to be at peace. But how could she when he was still out there?

She knew Nico was hurting, and it only enforced the thought that she should have died instead of Bianca. Then maybe, just maybe, the di Angelo siblings could find some happiness after years of lies. She didn't deserve her fate of living.

No matter what her friends said, or even Chiron, the brunette couldn't shake the feeling that Bianca should be the one in her place. Ariadne believed that this summer Bianca was meant to be running with the Hunters, talking with his brother every once in a while and hanging with Thalia.

But of course, the three fates decided to prevent that from happening, and the brunette cursed herself.

Percy seemed to have notice her look. He chucked a grape at her head, which hit her square in the eye. The girl gave him a glare before her eye weathered, forcing her to shut it.

He cringed. "Sorry," he mouthed. "What's up?"

She shook her head and faced the other way. The girl ate the last bite of her roll and didn't feel hungry any longer. Annabeth sent the Poseidon boy a look behind her back, and he shook his head.

Soon, dinner ended and so had the campfire. Chiron sent them all to bed, and they happily obliged. The girl didn't know what to expect in her dreams. She only hoped they were nightmares or random visions of her failure as hero.

Castor and Pollux gave her a last hug before heading towards their bunks in the loft above, where they had created a small spaced for themselves. The last time she had been up there was a year ago, and it had been somewhat messy, but not enough to warrant any cleaning.

Ariadne sat on her bed. She wore an orange camp shirt and jean shorts which she changed into after her shower before dinner. The girl was in desperate need of a change.

Her hands grabbed a pair of soft shorts Annabeth had let her borrow. Currently, all her clothes and everything was burned to ash in Miami, and she had no suitcases. Luckily, most of the campers had something they could give her, and no one said no.

Multiple shirts and shorts from Aphrodite cabin. Along with a bit of makeup and perfume, deodorant, as well. Annabeth and her we're roughly the same size, meaning a lot of things she could wear, like shoes.

But most of the shirts were things you wouldn't wear to bed. Well, wear with comfort. A knock on her cabin door caused the girl to look over. It was about five minutes before the harpies began their nightly patrol for campers breaking curfew, and whoever it was had no problem with that idea.

Castor and Pollux were out like two lights on a Christmas tree. She knew they wouldn't open the door, and seeing as she was the closest ( although her section was towards the back of the cabin ) she would have to open it.

The girl walked towards the door, pulling it open to see no one. At first, she thought it was a younger camper testing their fate, but at her feet was a bundle of clothes.

She grabbed them and looked around once more before shrugging. As she shut the door, she hadn't noticed the raven black hair sprinting away and towards his cabin, sea-green eyes glancing back with a smirk on his face.

Ariadne placed the clothes into her bed, looking through them. With a smile, she found a black t-shirt with the Led Zeppelin logo, and she grinned at the sight.

There was a blue hoodie that looked familiar, and when she picked it up, the girl knew it was Percy's. It had the sea-salt smell that she loved, and it was a blue color that was always in his mom's batch of cookies or any drink he had during meals.

She changed in the bathroom and bit her lip to hide her grin, although, she was alone. The girl hid her squeal of delight and shut off the small light in the bathroom.

Her legs slid under the purple covers and pulled them up tightly across her body. With a little breath, she grinned once more and fell asleep with the thought of Percy Jackson.

Ariadne opened her eyes to the familiar living room she hadn't seen in seven years. Her eyes looked at the pale blue walls which seemed to have never faded over time like they were supposed to. Picture frames coated the painted layer with smiles and false memories.

A dark brown chair in the corner had a book resting in it, bookmark poking out and she was tempted to see what was being read.

The red rug on the floor was soft in her hands, and she became tickled by the tingling feeling left in her body. Her hands ran over the fabric and stood up to her feet.

She looked at the brown couch against the wall, multiple holes in the sides from when she used to pick at them as her mother would be in her bed with a bottle of Jack. The girl gulped when a pumpkin and cinnamon smell escaped from the hallway.

It was the smell of her mom's favorite cookies and candle. She always had the house smelling that way, as if with one sniff it would make her high and leave behind the reality that her daughter was just as crazy as her, maybe even more so.

Her feet led her into the kitchen where the backdoor was open. She noticed a red picnic blanket and brown wicker basket set up against the glowing green grass.

A cool breeze hit her face. It felt as if she had walked into the prettiest summer picture anyone had taken, and it didn't feel right. This wasn't the home she remembered. No, it definitely wasn't.

There had never been bright green grass. It had always been a dull green color because her mom had not cared for it aside from mowing and trimming. The old swing set had been completely fixed, and there was no yellow seat she used to spend hours on.

Birds flicked to the small birdbath towards the corner, and she always knew it to be a project her mother told her they would fix together but never accomplished. It had sat there for years, cracks and scratches and broken pieces across the ground.

"Hello, dear one."

Ariadne finally noticed the women staring at her. Aphrodite.

She had the same sea-green eyes, and they made her stomach flutter in every way possible. Her heart tugged, her face flushing heavily. The goddess wore a pink sundress, small white flower in her black hair.

A few freckles dotted her darkened face, which reminded Ariadne of a model she had once seen. Her hair was short this time, but her eyes were the same as Percy's, never changing.

"Um... hi," the girl said. "What's up?"

She just asked a goddess 'what's up' and wanted to go and jump off a cliff like Annabeth had last year.

The goddess took a few steps forward. "I'm terribly sorry about your home, Ariadne. And Beckett, poor thing," she said.

Her eyes flashed with hurt and anger. "I asked for help, no one sent any."

"Yes," Aphrodite said, eyes softening. "The fates forbade us. I meant to send some, but those three hangs prevented me, saying this is an important moment for you. I'm sorry, sweet one."

Ariadne had to accept it. The fates weren't exactly tolerable in her mind, and the goddess had attempted to make an effort, but they couldn't change fate, that she knew for sure.

"I need to talk with you," Aphrodite said.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "About what?"

"The prophecy. Something big is happening, and something big will occur."

"Okay..." the girl said slowly. "Is that all?"

Aphrodite stepped in front of her, and suddenly everything went dim. The sea-green eyes became hurricanes and it reminded Ariadne of when Percy had fought Ares when they were twelve. "Ariadne," her voice was dark  and venomous, "you must promise me that you will trust Percy no matter what. Do not doubt his feelings, because if you do, that is a big casualty in this future war."

The brunette was confused. "What do you mean? I always trust Percy. Besides, it's normal to doubt feelings  that's only human—"

"Which you are only half of," the goddess reminded her. "The consequences of your doubts will be grave. If you do not promise me this, and if you do not heed my warning, you will pay for it greatly."

Ariadne whimpered. She let out a shaky breath. "I promise," she whispered.

Aphrodite nodded. The dark feeling lifted from the air and allowed the demigod to breath. "I just go, and you need to wake up."

"But—"

"Goodbye, Ariadne. Remember my warning."

The world fizzled out, and the house behind her was wiped away. The backyard grew patchy and dizzy, and before she knew it, the girl woke up to the moonlight in her eyes.

She blinked for a few seconds and shot up. She was back in her cabin, wearing the clothes Percy had dropped off earlier.

authors note:
Damn, this chapter is long.
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed.

Love you guys!

Would y'all like a face reveal? I wouldn't usually do one but I've decided why not because my school year just started.