ON THIS SPRING DAY
━━━━━ chapter five

━━━━━ THE NEXT MORNING, after breakfast ( and surviving one of the Stoll brothers' 'pranks' ), Violet tried her best to find someone to tell. She couldn't tell Nico, he was too young and she didn't want to put that kind of image in his mind. She couldn't tell AJ, he wouldn't know what to do, either. And there was no way she could tell Connor or Travis; as cute as Connor Stoll was, he was not reliable when it came to problem-solving.

And if Violet was honest, Connor created more problems than he ever solved.

It proved to be difficult to find anyone to tell after Nico insisted she showed him the meadow. Nico had only got the idea in his head after he heard the Stoll brothers mention how the satyrs chase after wood nymphs.

So she, Nico, and AJ stopped on one of the tall hills around Camp Half-Blood, watching satyrs chase wood nymphs through the blinding snow. The nymphs had promised to kiss the satyrs if they got caught, but they hardly ever did. Usually, the nymph would let the satyr get up a full head of steam, then she'd turn into a snow-covered tree and the poor satyr would slam into it head first and get a pile of snow dumped on him. It was no longer entertaining anymore for Violet, but Nico seemed to be finding it hilarious.

The daughter of Eros crossed her arms over her chest, letting out a sigh. AJ looked at her from the corner of his eye, raising his eyebrows in a questioning manner. They'd known each other for two years now, and Violet had never been good at having a poker face, so reading her was like reading an open book.

"Don't give me that look," Violet told him.

AJ smiled to himself. "I didn't even get to ask yet. You worried about Annabeth?"

Violet nodded.

The blond stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jacket. "Don't worry. Annabeth's smart. She'll find a way to get out."

The girl furrowed her brows. If that dream was anything to go by, the daughter of Athena may not have much time left for trying to think of a way to get out alive.

Violet, AJ, and Nico looked behind them as the sound of crunching snow came up the hill. Grover and Percy seemed to have had the same idea as them, and the two looked as bad as the black-haired girl felt; heavy eye bags, dull skin, and bedraggled hair. ( Although, Violet's hair looked much more presentable than theirs. ) Grover's lips were bloody and scabbed, as if he had been chewing on them for the entirety of last night.

Grover smiled at them, pulling Percy twenty feet away. The two started whispering to themselves, watching the satyrs and nymphs chase each other. Violet watched them silently for a minute. If there was anyone she could tell about the dream, they would understand best; Grover and Percy had been there when Annabeth had been taken by Dr. Thorn.

"Hey," the daughter of Eros turned to AJ and Nico, "I'm gonna go talk to them. See you later?"

Nico had lost interest in the free entertainment, pulling out his deck of Mythomagic cards from his pocket. "Sure." He nodded. "I'm going to teach AJ how to play Mythomagic."

"Oh—great," AJ said sarcastically. Nico didn't seem to pick up on the sarcasm, waving Violet goodbye enthusiastically.

"Hey," she said, stopping beside Grover and Percy. The two glanced up at her, looking shocked to see her. They looked as if she had just interrupted a super-important meeting or something. Their looks made her ask; "What?"

"Nothing," the son of Poseidon said quickly. "I just didn't expect you to ..."

"Talk to you?" Violet finished for him. She rolled her eyes at the assumption. "I need to tell you guys something."

As she told Percy and Grover her nightmare, the satyr started twirling his finger around the shaggy fur on his legs. Percy leaned forward, as if examining Violet's face for any hints of lying.

"You think I'm lying?" she asked the black-haired boy furiously. "I'm not."

Percy shook his head. "I don't think you're lying. It's just ..." He looked between Grover and Violet, as if making sure they wouldn't make fun of him. "I had the same dream."

Grover looked even more nervous after that. "And a cave ceiling collapsed on Annabeth?"

"Yeah. What the hell does that mean?" asked Percy.

Grover shook his head. "I don't know. But after what Zoë dreamed—"

"Whoa. What do you mean? Zoë had a dream like that?"

"I ... I don't know, exactly. About three in the morning she came to the Big House and demanded to talk to Chiron. She looked really panicked."

Violet held out her hand, in a pause everything manner. "Wait, how do you know this?"

Grover blushed. "I was sort of camped outside the Artemis Cabin."

"What for?"

"Just to be, you know, near them."

Violet stared at the satyr in disbelief. "You're a stalker!"

"With hooves," Percy added with a snicker.

"I am not! Anyway, I followed her to the Big House and hid in a bush and watched the whole thing. She got really upset when Argus wouldn't let her in. It was kind of a dangerous scene."

"You said you followed Zoë to the Big House," Violet started, poking Grover in the chest, "and you have the gall to say you're not a stalker?"

"I'm really not!" insisted the satyr, shaking his head.

"I'm not buying it." She crossed her arms.

Whether Grover was being a stalker or not, Argus showing up meant something serious was going down. Argus was the head of security for camp—a big, blond dude with eyes all over his body.

"What did she say?" Percy asked.

Grover grimaced. "Well, she starts talking really old-fashioned when she gets upset, so it was kind of hard to understand. But something about Artemis being in trouble and needing the Hunters. And then she called Argus a boil-brained lout ... I think that's a bad thing. And then he called her—"

"Hold on," Violet broke in. "Artemis is in trouble?"

"I ... Well, finally Chiron came out in his pajamas and his horsetail in curlers and—"

"He wears curlers in his tail?" Violet leaned forward. "I knew those weren't natural!"

Grover covered his mouth.

"Sorry," said the daughter of Eros. "Go on."

"Well, Zoë said she needed permission to leave camp immediately. Chiron refused. He reminded Zoë that the Hunters were supposed to stay here until they received orders from Artemis. And she said ..." Grover gulped. "She said, 'How are we to get orders from Artemis if Artemis is lost?'"

"What do you mean lost? Like she needs directions?" Percy blinked owlishly.

"You dumbass." Violet rolled her eyes. "She's Goddess of the Hunt, she wouldn't need directions."

"No. I think she meant gone. Taken. Kidnapped."

"Kidnapped?" Percy looked bewildered. "How would you kidnap an immortal goddess? Is that even possible?"

"Persephone was kidnapped, wasn't she?" Violet offered.

"But she was like, the Goddess of Flowers."

Grover looked offended. "Springtime," he corrected.

Violet frowned at the boy. "You realize flowers could kill you right? They could, like, suffocate you."

"Whatever." Percy waved his hand. "Artemis is a lot more powerful than that. Who could kidnap her? And why?"

Grover shook his head miserably. "I don't know. Kronos?"

"He can't be that powerful already. Can he?"

What Annabeth had told Violet, Kronos was in tiny pieces, and Luke needed the Golden Fleece ( which the Camp currently had ) to try and speed up the Titan's healing process. Thousands of years ago, after the big Titan-God war, the gods had sliced him to bits with his scythe and scattered his remains in Tartarus, which is like the gods' bottomless recycling bin for their enemies. Two summers ago, Kronos had tricked Annabeth, Percy, and Grover to the very edge of the pit and almost pulled the three in. Then last summer, on board Luke's demon cruise ship, there was a golden coffin, where Luke claimed he was summoning the Titan Lord out of the abyss, bit by bit, every time someone new joined their cause. Kronos could influence people with dreams and trick them, but Violet didn't see how he could physically overcome Artemis ( especially if he was still in a pile of Titan bits ).

"I don't know," Grover said. "I think somebody would know if Kronos had reformed. The gods would be more nervous. But, still, it's weird—you guys had a nightmare the same night as Zoë. It's almost like—"

"They're connected," Violet finished

Over in the frozen meadow, a satyr skidded on his hooves as he chased after a redheaded tree nymph. She giggled and held out her arms as he ran towards her. Pop! She turned into a Scotch pine and he kissed the trunk at top speed.

"Ah, love," Grover said dreamily.

Violet watched the scene dryly. "That is not love."

Percy stood up. "I've got to talk to Zoë."

"Er—Percy?" said the daughter of Eros. "You're a boy, and they don't like boys."

Percy looked at her coldly. "Then, how 'bout you go talk to them? You had the same dream as me. Besides, Zoë still wants you to join her silly little group."

Violet rolled her eyes and stood up. "I'll see if I can get Zoë to tell me about her dream. If I tell her about Annabeth, she may want to help more."

Grover watched Violet walk toward AJ and Nico, who were in the middle of a card game against each other. She said a few words to them before running for the cabins. Percy had a sour look on his face, watching the satyrs and nymphs chase each other.

"Uh, Percy?" the satyr said. As Percy looked over, Grover took something out of his coat pocket. It was a three-fold display, like a travel brochure. "You remember what you said—about how it was weird the Hunters just happened to show up at Westover Hall? I think they might've been scouting us."

"Scouting us? What do you mean?"

"Well, they did ask Violet to join," Grover pointed out. "I mean, Artemis personally asked Violet and Bianca. And—well ..."

He gave Percy the brochure. It was about the Hunters of Artemis. The front read, A WISE CHOICE FOR YOUR FUTURE! Inside were pictures of young maidens doing hunter stuff; chasing monsters, shooting bows. There were captions like: HEALTH BENEFITS: IMMORTALITY AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU! And A BOY-FREE TOMORROW!

"I found that in Annabeth's backpack," Grover said.

Percy stared at him. "I don't understand."

"Well, it seems to me ... maybe Annabeth was thinking about joining."

🌷

The night after dinner, Violet seriously didn't want to play against the Hunters. She had gotten nowhere with her talk with Zoë, but Violet had barely gotten to talk with Zoë at all.

When the time came for Capture the Flag, Violet's mood still hadn't lifted. She knew the campers were going to get their asses handed to them, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was that Annabeth was gone and here they were playing a silly little game because of some stupid tradition that didn't have to be a tradition. It was going to be a small game. Only thirteen Hunters—including Bianca di Angelo—and about the same number of campers.

Zoë looked pretty upset. She kept glancing resentfully at Chiron, like she couldn't believe he was making her do this. The other Hunters didn't look too happy either. Unlike last night, they weren't laughing or joking around. They just huddled together in the dining pavilion, whispering nervously to each other as they strapped on their armor. Some of them even looked like they'd been crying. Violet guessed Zoë had told them about her nightmare.

On Camp Half-Blood's team, they had Beckendorf and one of his brothers, a couple from the Ares Cabin ( though it still seemed strange that Clarisse wasn't around ), the Stoll brothers, Violet, AJ, and Nico from Hermes Cabin, and a couple of Aphrodite kids ( Silena Beauregard and Drew Tanaka ). The two from Aphrodite Cabin were raring to go from the looks of it.

"I'll show them 'love is worthless'," Silena grumbled as she strapped on her armor. "I'll pulverize them!"

"You're sounding like Clarisse, Lena," Violet informed her.

"Did you hear what they told me?" Silena asked Violet.

The daughter of Eros shook her head. "What'd they tell you?"

"They said 'love is worthless'!" Silena threw her hands in the air, her armor slipping off her shoulders. "I asked if they meant all kinds of love but they just laughed at me! Can you believe them?"

It was pretty weird. At first glance, Violet seemed like she would fit in with Silena and her siblings perfectly well, but she felt it was the total opposite. She knew none of them cared she wasn't technically a daughter of Aphrodite, but it still felt like it.

To make it even worse, Violet didn't even get charmspeak. What was the point in being a daughter of love if she couldn't charmspeak people? Okay—it wasn't that big of a deal, but it'd still be cool if she had the ability.

"Violet?" Silena asked. "Could you help me put on the armor?"

"Sure." The daughter of Eros slung her bow over her shoulder and helped the brunette with her armor. "It's really simple, but since you just did your nails, I'm sure that makes it harder."

Thalia stopped next to the two. "Violet," she said, "you're on defense with Percy. Make sure Nico doesn't get into any trouble."

"Oh. Okay." Violet nodded, grabbing her bow. She tried not to flinch at Aegis on Thalia's arm. "Uh—I'll go find him or something."

She left the two, looking for Nico, who had hurried up to Percy, talking excitedly.

"Percy, this is awesome!" Nico was saying as Violet joined them. He was grinning widely, his blue-feathered bronze helmet was falling in his eyes, and his breastplate was about six sizes too big. He lifted his sword with effort. "Do we get to kill the other team?"

"No, we don't," Violet answered immediately. "We have a no intentional maiming rule for Capture the Flag."

"But the Hunters are immortal, right?"

"That's only if they don't get killed in battle," said Violet.

"It would be awesome if we just, like, resurrected as soon as we were killed, so we could keep fighting, and—"

Percy and Violet exchanged a look. The son of Poseidon sighed, and said, "Nico, this is serious. Real swords. These can hurt."

Nico stared at Percy, looking disappointed.

Percy patted him on the shoulder. "Hey, it's cool. Just follow the team. Stay out of Zoë's way. We'll have a blast."

Chiron's hoof thundered on the pavilion floor.

"Heroes!" he called. "You know the rules! The river is the boundary line. Blue team, Camp Half-Blood, shall take the west woods. Hunters of Artemis, red team, shall take the east woods. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. No intentional maiming, please! All magic items are allowed. To your positions!"

"Sweet," Nico whispered next to Violet. "What kind of magic items? Do I get one?"

Violet was trying to figure out a way to tell him that he didn't, but then Thalia ordered, "Blue team! Follow me!"

She followed after the crowd that cheered and started following Thalia. She led Nico by the shoulder when he didn't follow.

🌷

The blue team set their flag at the top of Zeus's Fist—a cluster of boulders in the middle of the west woods that, if you look at it just the right way, looks like a huge fist sticking out of the ground. ( However, if you look at it from any other side, it looks like a pile of enormous deer droppings, but Chiron banned campers from calling it the Poop Pile, especially after it had been named for Zeus, who doesn't have much of a sense of humor. ) It was a good place to set the flag. The top boulder was twenty feet tall and really hard to climb, so the flag was clearly visible, like the rules said it had to be, and it didn't matter that the guards weren't allowed to stand within ten yards of it.

Percy set Nico on guard duty with Beckendorf, AJ, and the Stoll brothers, which was probably the safest spot he could have.

"We'll send out a decoy to the left," Thalia told the team. "Silena, you lead that."

"Got it!" Silena nodded, looking determined.

"Take Laurel, Drew, and Violet. Make a wide arc around the Hunters, attract as many as you can. I'll take the main raiding party round to the right and catch them by surprise."

Everybody nodded. It sounded good, and Thalia said it with such confidence you couldn't help but believe it would work.

Thalia looked at Percy. "Anything to add?"

"Um, yeah. Keep sharp on defense. We've got five guards, two scouts. That's not much for a big forest. I'll be roving. Yell if you need help."

"And don't leave your post!" Thalia said.

"Unless you see a golden opportunity," Percy added.

Thalia scowled. "Just don't leave your post."

"Right, unless—"

"Percy!" Thalia touched his arm, and he flinched, ripping his arm away. "Sorry," she said, though she didn't sound particularly sorry. "Now, is everybody clear?"

Everybody nodded. They broke into our smaller groups. The horn sounded, and the game began.

Silena nodded to the three who were watching her. She ran off, and they followed her. She, Violet, Drew, and Laurel disappeared into the woods to the left, making as much noise as possible. They were a decoy, they were supposed to grab as many Hunters as possible to leave them more vulnerable.

They managed to catch five Hunters' attention. The five chased after them, through a cleaning. Violet ducked as an arrow flew past her head and lodged itself into a tree.

"What the hell?" she demanded. "That could've killed me!"

The Hunter seemed a little apologetic. "That wasn't meant for you, it was meant for Silena!"

Violet's jaw dropped. She knew the Hunters had a going on rivalry with the Aphrodite Cabin, but that was seriously taking it far. She raised her bow and shot an arrow at the Hunter instead of saying anything. The Hunter dodged the arrow, giving Violet a sour look.

However, the nine of them stopped when they heard someone let out a surprised yelp. "That was Bianca!" the Hunter that shot at Violet said, darting back in the direction that had just come from.

The decoy group shared a look before chasing after them. They ended up back where they had started, and saw Percy bursting out on the other side of the huge clearing, holding onto a silvery flag. Violet's eyes widened. Either he and Thalia had a secret plan up their sleeves, or Percy was going against Thalia's word and making up his own plan.

Either way, this plan—whether Thalia and Percy's idea or just Percy's idea—wasn't going well. Percy had the Hunters' flag, but with so many Hunters after him, it'd be a miracle if he wasn't tackled.

ZIP! A silvery cord raced across the boy's ankles and fastened to the treen next to him. A trip wire. Percy went down hard, sprawling in the snow.

Thalia yelled at Percy from his left. But before she could reach him, an arrow exploded at her feet and a cloud of yellow smoke billowed around her group. They all started coughing and gagging. Even Violet could smell the gas from where she stood across the clearing—the horrible smell of sulfur.

"No fair!" Thalia gasped for air. "Fart arrows are unsportsmanlike!"

Percy got up and started running again. He only had a few more yards until he was back in blue team territory, and that would mean they had finally won against the Hunters. More arrows whizzed past his head. A Hunter came out of nowhere and slashed at him with her knife, but he only parried and kept running.

Violet heard yelling from the blue team's side of the river. Beckendorf and Nico were running toward Percy. At first glance, it would look like they were coming to welcome him back, but then she saw that they were chasing someone—Zoë Nightshade, racing towards Percy like a cheetah, dodging campers with no trouble. And even more of a problem, she had the blue team's flag in her hands.

"No!" Percy yelled, and started to run faster.

He was two feet from the water when Zoë bolted across to her side, slamming into him for good measure. The Hunters cheered as both sides converged on the creek. Chiron appeared out of the woods, looking grim. He had the Stoll brothers and AJ on his back, and it looked as if they had taken some nasty whacks to the head. Connor Stoll had two arrows sticking out of his helmet, like a pair of antennas. Violet winced at the sight.

"The Hunters win!" Chiron announced without pleasure. Then he muttered, "For the fifty-sixth time in a row."

"Perseus Jackson!" Thalia yelled, storming towards him. She smelled like rotten eggs, and she was so mad that blue sparks flickered on her armor. Everybody cringed and backed away because of Aegis. "What in the name of the gods were you thinking?" she bellowed.

Percy clenched his fist. "I got the flag, Thalia!" He shook it in her face for good measure. "I saw a chance and I took it!"

"I was at their base!" Thalia yelled. "But the flag was gone. If you hadn't butted in, we would've won."

"You had too many on you!"

"Oh, so it's my fault?" Thalia pointed at herself, her expression daring Percy to agree.

"I didn't say that." He shook his head.

Thalia pushed Percy, and he was sent backward ten feet into the water. Some of the campers gasped, though a couple of the Hunters stifled laughs.

"Sorry!" Thalia said, turning pale. "I didn't mean to—"

A wave erupted from the river, blasting into Thalia's face and dousing her from head to toe.

Percy stood up. "Yeah," he growled. "I didn't mean to either."

Thalia was breathing heavily.

"Enough!" Chiron ordered.

But Thalia held out her spear. "You want some, Seaweed Brain?"

"Bring it on, Pinecone Face!"

The son of Poseidon raised Riptide, but before he could even defend himself, Thalia yelled, and a blast of lightning came down from the sky, hit her spear like a lightning rod, and slammed into Percy's chest.

He sat down hard. There was a burning smell and smoke was rising from the top of his head like a weak campfire.

"Thalia!" Chiron said. "That is enough!"

Percy got to his feet and the entire river rose behind him. It swirled up, hundreds of gallons of water in a massive icy funnel cloud.

"Percy!" Chiron pleaded.

Percy looked as if he was about to hurl it at Thalia when he lost his focus. The water splashed back into the riverbed. Thalia was so surprised she turned to see what he was looking at. Everyone was trying to see what Percy was looking at.

Someone ... something was approaching. It was shrouded in a murky green mist, but as it got closer, the campers and Hunters gasped.

"This is impossible," Chiron said. Violet had never heard him sound so nervous. "It ... she has never left the attic. Never."

And yet the withered mummy that held the Oracle shuffled forward until she stood in the center of the group. Mist curled around everyone's feet, turning the snow a sickly shade of green.

None of them dared move. Then her voice hissed inside Violet's head. Apparently, everyone could hear it, because several clutched their hands over their ears.

I am the spirit of Delphi, the voice said. Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python.

The Oracle regarded Percy with its cold, dead eyes. Then she turned unmistakably towards Zoë Nightshade. Approach, Seeker, and ask.

Zoë swallowed. "What must I do to help my goddess?"

The Oracle's mouth opened, and green mist poured out. Violet saw the vague image of a mountain, and a girl standing at the barren peak. It was Artemis, but she was wrapped in chains, fettered to the rocks. She was kneeling, her hands raised as if to fend off an attacker, and it looked like she was in pain.

The Oracle spoke:

"Six shall go west to the goddess in chains,
Gloom shall descend upon the mountains,
One shall be lost in the land without rain,
The bane of Olympus will show the way,
Campers and Hunters combined prevail,
The Titan's curse two must withstand,
One shall perish by a parent's hand."

Then, as everyone was watching, the Mist swirled and retreated like a great green serpent into the mummy's mouth. The Oracle sat down on a rock and became as still as she should've stayed, looking ready to sit by the creek for a hundred years.

🌷 FEB. 19TH, 2023 /  i'm not sure about certain parts of this chapter but whatever

vi has major self-esteem issues for being a child of a minor god and she's so leo valdez coded for that

no one has really said anything to her but bc of the way chb is set up she feels so shitty about her dad being eros and him not being honored the way the other gods are

and is she & perce gonna have a heart-2-heart about that??

idk, we'll see, ig. (yes, they will)

anyways,, thoughts?? opinions??