They landed in Crissy Field after nightfall.

As soon as they landed, Annabeth and Percy ran off to see Dr. Chase as she knelt down next to Zoe with Thalia. She worked through her bag, tossing out a few things as she drew out a first aid kit.

With the help of Artemis, they began to bind the wound on her side as she looked through the collections of salves that threatened to fall out of the small bag. Lee and Michael had overfilled it when she left and had forgotten to put labels on at least half of them knowing full well that Kassandra was a nectar and ambrosia with a couple of bandages, maybe a hymn, type of girl.

Even still, she could feel the girl slipping further and further from her grasp, could feel the healing doing nothing for the wound. Because it wasn't Landon that was killing her, but the blow struck by her father, his anger and hatred that was breaking her, killing her.

Nothing she could do would work. Kassandra was nothing more than the offspring of a divine being, nothing but wisps and pieces of what her father was and what he could do. Even then, her skill could not surmount to spectacular, they could not compare to the care and determination that her siblings put into healing. They had the talent and enjoyment of healing that she did not only because of how close it left her feeling to a man that had not and did not want her.

Now, she could only face her mistake with tear blurred vision because she could do nothing to help her, nothing to help Zoe when a better daughter might have been able.

(Blood covered her hands, warm as she pressed against the wound and cried desperately for her father. Kassandra yelled his name, screamed it to the heavens as she prayed and prayed, singing hymn after hymn in a trembling voice as she swallowed sobs and held her best friend to her chest.

She had never seen Ariel so afraid before. She had never seen someone cry and beg to stay alive.)

(Later, Kassandra would return home and destroy her room. She would rip it apart and scream as the sunset with a golden glow overhead. It wasn't the first time that she had cursed the gods and it wouldn't be the last.)

(Zoe had been so kind to her when they had first met, had been so welcoming. She had sat with her by the fire when she cried about the shadows in the dark, and told her that the moon would always provide her light if only she would look.)

"Percy! Annabeth!" Thalia calls, voice thick and urgent as she gazed down at the hunter.

They came quickly, but the was nothing that they could do to help either. All the ambrosia and nectar that she had wouldn't work, none of the bandages or salves, none of the modern medicine or any of the hymns. Zoe was... Zoe was just ready to go, ready to die. She had lived a long time, had served her goddess for millennia. She was ready.

Kassandra swallowed her sobs, clenching her jaw ignoring the flash of pain it sent through her face at the movement.

"Can't you heal her?" Percy asks, kneeling at her side. "I mean... you're a goddess."

Artemis shakes her head, eyes glowing a wet silver. "Life is a fragile thing. If the Fates will her string to be cut, there is nothing that can be done. But I can try."

The goddess moves forward to place a hand on Zoe's side, but the girl stops her, grabbing her wrist. She looked into Artemis's eyes.

"Have I... served thee well?" Zoe whispers

"With great honour," Artemis says softly. "The finest of my attendants."

Zoe's face relaxes. "Rest. At last."

"I can try to heal the poison, my brave one."

Kassandra's face drops, covering her face with her hands to stifle her cries. She sobs, shoulder shaking silently.

"I am sorry we argued," Zoe says. "We could have been sisters."

"It's my fault," Thalia says, blinking hard. "You were right about Luke, about heroes, men—everything."

"Perhaps not all men," Zoe murmurs. She smiles weakly at me. "Do you still have the sword, Percy?"

Handa quivering, she brought them to cover her mouth so that she could watch as Percy handed over Riptide. Zoe took it in hand, fingers trembling weakly as she touched the blade.

"You spoke the truth, Percy Jackson. You are nothing like... like Hercules. I am honoured that you carry this sword," Zoe says. A shudder ran through her.

"Zoe," Kassandra breathes. "Please let Artemis try to heal you. Please."

"Little Kassandra," Zoe mumurs. "You've grown into such a fine young woman."

"Zoe—" Percy starts.

"Stars," she whispers. "I can see the stars again, my lady."

A tear trickled down Artemis's cheek. "Yes, my brave one. They are beautiful tonight."

"Stars," Zoe repeated. Her eyes fixed on the night sky. And she did not move again.

Her bottom lip quivered, throat clogged as she bit down a sob. Gently, she runs a finger across the back of Zoe's hand, whispering a silent goodbye to the girl.

She watches as Artemis leans forward, cupping a hand over Zoe's mouth as she whispers a few words in Ancient Greek. A silver wisp of smoke came up from Zoe's mouth, caught in Artemis' hands. The hunter's body shimmered and disappeared.

The goddess stood, breathing a blessing over her cupped hands, and raised her silver dust into the sky. It shimmered, sparkling in the sky, and vanished.

Looking up, she couldn't see it at first, her vision blurred with a mixture of blood and tears, but she wipes the sleeve of her jacket over her face and squints up at the stars -- stars that Kassandra had spent years looking up to, staring up with reverence and adoring at the sky that was the beauty of the Lady Artemis.

Among the stars was now a glowing constellation of a girl holding a boy as she ran. A girl in the heart of the hunt, forever destined to remain close to her goddess in the night.

"Let the world honour you, my Huntress," Artemis says. "Live forever in the stars."

She didn't move just yet, unable to do more than stare blindly, openly, at the sky. She had never felt so guilty about anything before this, but Kassandra couldn't help thinking that she ought to have been able to do something to prevent this, to help this.

Kassandra forces herself to look away and stand.

"I must go to Olympus immediately," Artemis says. "I will not be able to take you, but I will send help."

She looks to the goddess, taking in the way that pure silver fluttered around her.

The goddess sets her hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "You are brave beyond measure, my girl. You will do what is right."

She turns to Thalia then, meeting the girl's gaze after a moment. Slowly, she nods, as if in sympathy or acknowledgment. It seems to make the daughter of Zeus relax, the tension in her shoulders leaving her as she sighs shakily.

Kassandra had her moment next as the goddess turned to her, patting her uninjured cheek gently. "You've done well, Kassie. I am proud of you."

"Thank you, Aunty," she mutters, leaning into her ouch for a moment. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Artemis doesn't speak to it, but the silver around her flickers, the presence of her godly form just beneath the surface in her grief.

Finally, she looked to Percy, giving him a once-over as she nods. "You did well," she says. "For a man."

Artemis mounts her chariot. It glows silver, flashing like pale moonlight. She averts her eyes and the goddess is gone.

"Well," Dr. Chase sighs. "She was impressive; though I must say I still prefer Athena."

Annabeth turns toward him. "Dad, I... I'm sorry that—"

"Shh." He hugs her. "Do what you must, my dear. I know this isn't easy for you."

Breathing deeply, she closed her eyes and forced herself to move once more -- to do something that she knew that she could. Slowly, she took off her bow, bag and torn jacket. She huffed at the way that her shirt stuck to the cut.

"Shit," she breathes, beginning to ease the shirt off. Cold hands touched at her heated skin, drawing a sharp gasp from her as her eyes dart up.

Annabeth apologizes softly, helping her by pressing against the skin of her shoulder as she slowly starts to tug it free. It was half stuck in places that the blood had dried and tender all over.

"Just tug it up free," Kassandra tells her.

"No, no," Dr. Chase says. "Get some water, it'll assist in lifting it free."

Rolling her eyes to herself, Kassandra just gives it a firm tug as she grunts. She knew all about caring for wounds. She wasn't stupid, just incredibly impatient and uncaring for procedure. She could see Thalia digging through her bag, pulling out things from the first aid kit along with a water bottle.

She refrains from rolling her eyes when she was perfectly capable of doing this herself. if anything, they should be trying to find a mirror so that she could see her face.

"You know you're an idiot, right?" Percy says, something cool trickling against the top of her shoulder. "Fighting a titan like that."

"Oh, well, I wouldn't have had to if you weren't going around picking fights," she counters, eyes flashing up to meet his.

"You're both idiots," Annabeth mutters bitterly, applying one of the salves that Thalia had brought over. She hoped it was one with an actual label of what it was for and not just what the girl hoped would work. "But very brave idiots."

She snorts, informing them that they should heat that salve in their palms before applying. She mutters a quiet blessing as it's applied followed by a soft hymn. Percy wraps the bandages for her.

"You know, I don't need this much help. I'm fine on my own," she complains lightly, lifting her arm slightly to let him get under her armpit.

"I want to help," Annabeth tells her. "I missed you. I- for a moment I thought that you weren't going to move out of the way."

"I- I'm sorry to have worried you."

"We should wash your face to see what the cut looks like."

"It looks bad. There's a lot of blood," Percy says.

"Head and face wounds always look bad," she says. "There's always a lot of blood."

Thalia moves in front of her holding a bundle of bandages soaked with water. Her hands were surprisingly steady compared to how shaky and dazed she was before.

It takes a few minutes to clean her face and none of them really have a way for her to take a look aside before they start to dab on some of the salve after explaining that yes, it would definitely be a waste of nectar when she could just tell that she didn't need any stitches.

As it was, she had a few drops left at most and no one else had any to give.

Kassandra puts her blood-soaked and torn jacket back in over her sports bra, unable to help feeling a little bit like a badass knowing that she must have looked at least a little bit intimidating. Dirty and covered in blood, she looked as if she had just won a hard-earned battle -- she had, technically, had faced a titan general, had faced Atlas himself, and even if help, she had come away alive when from something that even a goddess had difficulty with. 

It made her stand a little taller despite her exhaustion and pain, stand a little bit steadier. 

She lifts her head at the sound of wings, scanning the night sky. Four pegasi descended from the fog: three white and one black. She thinks she recognized one of them as Percy's regular friend horse thing. 

"Blackjack!" Percy calls. "It was rough.'

Her brows furrow and she glances at Annabeth. "What?" 

"He speaks horse," the blonde tells her. "And other water creatures." 

"He speaks horse?" 

"Nah," Percy says aloud. "These are my friends. We need to get to Olympus pretty fast."

Nodding slowly, she wonders if she could speak to any animals that were special to Apollo. He had those cattle that she knew of and she thinks that he turned someone into a crow once. There were also swans but she couldn't remember why they were important to him. 

"That is fascinating," Dr. Chase says. "Such maneuverability! Why, the wingspan! How does it compensate for the weight of the body?" 

"Dad!" Annabeth whines in embarrassment. 

"Sorry, sorry, dear," he says, sheepishly pushing up his glasses as he looks away. His eyes did not express the sentiment, however, as they flashed with deep-set curiosity and hunger for knowledge. She could see why Athena would have fallen for the man. "It's just, if the British had such a force on their side--" 

"Dad!" 

"Sorry, Annabeth, dear," he says. "I know you have to go." 

Kassandra starts to gather her stuff, Percy close behind as he helps her. He stuffs everything into her bag and puts it on instead of giving it to her. He does give her the bow and she puts it on with a small nod. 

They wait for Annabeth to say her goodbyes before they climb onto one pegasus each respectively. Apparently, hers was named Lugo. 

She had never really thought of how fast Pegasi were. They were far past the eastern hills before she knew it, leaving behind San Francisco and heading north in a matter of minutes. She guessed that explained how Percy had caught up to them so quickly if this was how he ran away from camp. 

There was a cold wind up where they flew, a gentle breeze overheated skin. She would have been worried about infection to her wounds if not for the fact that she didn't feel feverish and that there were no other signs present for her to suspect. Still, she would probably get one of her siblings to check her out when they got back. 

They flew side by side next to Percy and Annabeth, or well, as close as they could with the impressive wingspan of the pegasi that might have made it rather difficult to get too close. 

"Your dad seems cool," Percy says with little tact. 

"I guess so," she said. "We've been arguing for so many years."

"Yeah, you said."

"You think I was lying about that?" Annabeth demands. 

She winces at the other girl's tone. After getting closer to Annabeth, it was much easier to share their childhood traumas with one another up as they curled up with each other in the light of the sun at the top of the amphitheatre seats. It wasn't empty. Her siblings had been going over one of Shakespeare's sonnets with Pollux and Castor. They had shared their stories of running away, of their travels here and how similar they were in their fights. She had told Annabeth of the loss of Oriana in the end, much later than the other girl had lost Thalia but no less painful. She had told her of losing Ariel in her arms, how she had cried to the gods. 

"No, no one thinks that you're lying," Kassandra says. "Just, maybe they've gotten cooler since you've last seen them. When I spoke to my parents after, they were different." 

She sighs, hesitating. "It doesn't change anything. He still lives in San Francisco. It's too dangerous." 

Percy looks at her, really looks, and the way that he faced away from her made her chest burn. "So what are you going to do now?" 

Annabeth looked over, meeting his eyes with an expression that she couldn't make sense of. Kassandra couldn't bring herself to look any longer. 

(It was a little stupid, really, this feeling of slowly waking up like there's the sun in her eyes and she has nowhere to be. It was a little like waking up in her bunk at camp, stretching across her bed with a soft hum as she listens to the world slowly wake up around her. 

It was a little stupid that she had only noticed now when she was watching make faces at each other with the softest expression in their eyes. Kassandra's had crushes before, just a few here and there. None felt like this. None had the strength to bowl her over and creep up on her at the same time.) 

(Because still, Kassandra was such an idiot that she hadn't realized that she liked both Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson.)

(And Gods dammit, this had to be Apollo's fault somehow. They were going to be the end of her, she just knew it.)

"I don't know," she hears Annabeth say. 

She ignores their conversation about Luke the best that she could, laying herself down a little further against Lugo while being careful not to get too close and pats his neck, patting his neck gently. 

(When he had first gotten the news that Oriana was gone, she had watched as his face shuddered and fell, how his head fell and his shoulders shook. Kassandra had tears streaming freely down her cheeks, had gasped and stumbled back. She had chased after him as he stormed off to the arena, had pulled a sword and had thrashed the training dummies and anyone that had gotten too close. 

Kassandra had sat there tears dried on her cheeks and held propped on her knees as she watched him move. Clarisse had come and gone, had sought her out with equal mourning, but hadn't stayed. 

It was different when you lost a sibling and lost a friend. Oriana to her was mentor and saviour and friend alike. She was so much, but it wasn't the same as losing a sibling. For Luke, it was... well, she had always suspected it was like losing a piece of his heart for him. She had always thought they were in love. 

They were never going to know the answer.) 

(Her grief, the dark anger of her grief... it wasn't here now as she thought of Luke's death. She hoped it was because it was the shock and exhaustion and not that she thought he was alive too.) 

Lights sped by underneath them, speeding past in a blur. She watched them go, from town to city until they were moving too quickly to tell the difference.

"There it is." Thalia's voice; she'd woken up. She was pointing toward Manhattan, which was quickly zooming into view. "It's started."

"What's started?" Percy asks. 

High above the Empire State Building was a giant floating island made of clouds and light. Torches and light braziers surrounded white marble palaces and temples that gleamed in the early morning. 

"Olympus," Kassandra breathed in awe. 

"The winter solstice started," Thalia says. "The Council of the Gods."

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i cried. i hope you all cried too

unedited

written: 2021-02-27

posted: 2021-04-27