CHAPTER X ——
HOW COLD!

As they climbed the icy staircase, Zethes stayed behind them, his blade drawn. The guy might've looked like a disco-era reject, but there was nothing funny about his sword. There was part of Mare that wanted to knock his sword out of his hand and run for the hills, but she stayed because she had to.

Every once in a while Mare's mirror image, would turn and give Jason a smile. There was nothing warm about the way she looked at him, it was like ice flowed through her veins and if Mare wasn't so paranoid, she might have been more interested in her. Mare's mirror image regarded Jason like he was an especially interesting science specimen—one she couldn't wait to dissect.

If these were Boreas's kids, Mare didn't want to meet their maker. She knew that Boreas was the friendliest of the wind gods, but he was still a god and even the best of them were temperamental.

She was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts by a hand gripping hers, Jason had grabbed onto her. Mare turned her head towards him, watching as his face dissolved into shock by how cold she was.

She watched as his features smoothed over and he looked at her, worry was written all over his face, even as he tried to cover it was a brave face.

"We'll be fine," she said, her voice flat even if she didn't mean the words she was saying. "Just a talk, right?"

At the top of the stairs, the pale woman looked back and noticed them holding hands. Her smile faded. Jason pulled away from her with a gasp and when Mare looked down at her hands, she noticed her fingers were smoking with frost. Jason stared at his hand in shock, and then at Mare when she didn't react.

"Warmth is not a good idea here," Mare's mirror image advised, "Especially when I am your best chance of staying alive. Please, this way. "

Piper turned to them and gave her a confused frown like, What was that about?

Neither of them had an answer. Zethes poked Jason in the back with his icicle sword, and they followed the pale lady down a massive hallway decked in frosty tapestries.

Freezing winds blew Mare's braid from her shoulder, clanging down her back. She knew that she should have been focusing on the task at hand, but she was thinking about Percy Jackson. Something, Mare rarely ever did. It was strange, him being missing, even if Mare wasn't his biggest fan, his absence had an insane impact on the camp. Annabeth was going crazy, Grover had practically disappeared after him and Nico was being even more flighty than normal. She wanted things to go back to normal, but she knew that was unlikely considering all the abnormal things that follow quests.

She turned to Jason, another abnormal thing she'd have to deal with, and she noticed that his hand was resting on his pocket. Mare caught a glimpse of a piece of paper in his pocket, and she was suddenly very curious. It couldn't have been a piece of his past, because he would have shared that, she wondered if Annabeth had given him her phone number in case things went horribly wrong. It could explain why he was hovering over it like it was his last hope.

"Hey." Piper touched Jason's arm but she turned to address Mare too. "You guys still with me?"

"Yeah... yeah, sorry."

Mare gave her a thumbs up. "I'm with you."

Piper was beginning to lose the Aphrodite blessing. The makeup was fading, her hair was slowly going back to its old choppy style with the little braids down the sides. It made her look more real, and much more like herself. Even more beautiful, if that was possible. Piper had seemed extremely uncomfortable in her skin before, and she was clearly getting more comfortable again.

At the end of the hallway they found themselves in front of a set of oaken doors carved with a map of the world. In each corner was a man's bearded face, blowing wind. Mare thought she might have seen a map like this before in the Athena cabin. But in this version, all the wind guys were Winter, blowing ice and snow from every corner of the world.

The pale lady turned. Her brown eyes glittered, and she looked at Jason as if he was a Christmas present she was hoping to open.

"This is the throne room," she said. "Be on your best behavior, Jason Grace. My father can be... chilly. I will translate for you, and try to encourage him to hear you out. I do hope he spares you. We could have such fun. "

If Mare had to guess, she would bet that this girl's definition of fun was not the same as hers. She didn't think her mirror image would enjoy watching doctor who, reading comics, listening to Abba and collecting the withered flowers on graves to replace them with new ones.

"Um, okay," Jason said, sounding nervous. "But really, we're just here for a little talk. We'll be leaving right afterward. "

The lady smiled. "I love heroes. So blissfully ignorant."

Mare raised an eyebrow, biting her tongue. She had to remind herself that disrespecting a goddess, or even a sorceress wouldn't be a great idea. She didn't want to end up a guinea pig. She hoped her companions had the same idea.

Piper rested her hand on her dagger. "Well, how about you enlighten us? You say you're going to translate for us, and we don't even know who you are. What's your name?"

Mare swore to never hope again.

Mare's mirror image sniffed with distaste. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you don't recognize me. Even in the ancient times the Greeks did not know me well. Their island homes were too warm, too far from my domain. I am Khione, daughter of Boreas, goddess of snow."

She stirred the air with her finger, and a miniature blizzard swirled around her—big, fluffy flakes as soft as cotton.

That made sense, considering she had iced Mare and Jason's hands. It also meant that Mare would probably have an easier time fighting Khione than the rest of her quest mates, seeing as she was the only one who couldn't feel the cold.

Mare stared at Khione for a long moment, trying to remember anything she knew about her and coming up empty. She'd have to go into this situation blind, and hope everyone didn't end up an icicle.

"Now, come," Khione said. The oak doors blew open, and cold blue light spilled out of the room. "Hopefully you will survive your little talk."

also this is how i really see mare / how i think she'd look if she was real, but i use danielle because pudderfly isn't an actress and she isn't far off!!!