Echo gestured for the trio to follow them and had then bolted down the slope. Persephone did a double take and glanced at the others, wide-eyed.

"We'd better hurry," Hazel said. "Or we'll lose her."

Though they did in fact lose her a couple of times, they'd managed to follow her until the girl abruptly stopped at a grassy meadow-like landscape, shaped like a blast crater and had a small pond in the centre. 

Facing the pond seemed to be what Echo was so worried about; a group of girls all huddled together, holding up phones, cameras flashing as they tried to stand taller than each other, on their tip-toes, giggling and bouncing on the balls of their feet. Squinting her eyes to see in the setting sun, Persephone figured the group of girls were actually nymphs; their clothes loose and flowy, their feet bare and their skin slightly green, with elven features, reminding her of a film series she'd watched when she was much younger. She almost laughed to herself. She'd dreamed of being on a quest with hobbits and dwarves and elves, and now that she was on a quest herself- well... she realised how naïve she had been as a child. 

"What are they looking at?" Leo asked.

"Looking at," Echo sighed.

"One way to find out." Hazel marched forwards and began pushing her way through the crowd. "Excuse us. Pardon me."

Persephone followed close behind her, giggling to herself.

"Hey!" One nymph protested. "We were here first!"

"Yeah," Another joined. "He won't be interested in you." She sneered at the last word, causing Persephone to halt, Leo bumping into her. The daughter of Hades turned to the nymph, tongue pushed into her cheek, nostrils slightly flared. She quirked a brow, almost inviting her to explain what she'd previously meant about Hazel. She sniffed out a chuckle when the nymph averted her eyes to the ground, muttering excuses and apologies under her breath.

"Uh, demigod business." Leo explained, after watching the ordeal before him. "Make room. Thanks."

The rest of the nymphs grumbled their protests but parted to reveal a young man kneeling at the edge of the pond, gazing intently into the water.

Persephone wasn't blind, the guy was attractive, anyone could see. A chiselled face with lips and eyes that were beautifully handsome. Dark hair swept over his brow, the perfect Hollywood haircut. He looked to be in his late teens, maybe older, but his frame was delicately crafted, graceful but sturdy, his posture perfect. He wore a simple t-shirt and jeans, with a bow and quiver, which Persephone would've thought was out of place if she hadn't been a demigod herself. The weapons had clearly not been used in a while, dust settling into the feathers of the arrows, a spider web pushed right into the corner of the bow.

Approaching closer, Persephone realised his face was actually golden-looking, which confused her until she caught a glimpse of a large, flat piece of Celestial bronze that sat at the bottom of the pond, washing his face in a warm, summery glow.

And he was staring intently at his own reflection in the metal sheet.

Persephone pulled a face.

"He's gorgeous." Hazel muttered.

Around them, the nymphs squealed and clapped in agreement. Persephone could think of a hundred other people who were better options than him already. Leo watched her reaction, smirking once he saw her eyes roll at the man's response.

"I am," He murmured dreamily. "I am so gorgeous."

One of the nymphs showed off her iPhone screen. "His latest YouTube video got a million hits in, like, an hour. I think I was half of those!"  

The other nymphs giggled.

"YouTube video?" Leo asked. "What does he do in the video, sing?"

"No, silly!" She chided. "He used to be a prince, and a wonderful hunter and stuff. But that doesn't mater. Now he just... well, look!" She shoved the phone into Leo's face, Persephone peaking over his shoulder. It was just... the man, staring at himself in the pond- exactly like he was doing right now.

"He is sooooo hot!" Another said. 

"Narcissus?" Leo asked, pointing to the nymph's shirt.

"Narcissus." Echo sighed. Persephone near enough jumped a foot in the air when the girl spoke, forgetting how close she had been standing to her.

"Oh, not you again!" The nymph with the shirt moved to try and shove Echo away, but clearly missed by a long shot and ended up shoving a bunch of other nymphs instead. 

"You had your chance, Echo!" said the nymph with the iPhone. "He dumped you four thousand years ago! You are so not good enough for him."

"For him." Echo said bitterly.

"Wait," Hazel's eyes lingered on Narcissus for a few moments before she refocused her attention on Echo and the nymphs. "What's going on here? Why did Echo bring us here?"

One nymph rolled her eyes. In her hands, she clutched a crinkled and creased poster of Narcissus and a pen. "Echo was a nymph like us, a long time ago, but she was a total chatterbox! Gossiping, blah, blah, blah, all the time."

"I know!" Another nymph shrieked in Persephone's ear. "Like, who could stand that? Just the other day, I told Cleopeia- you know she lives in the boulder next to me?- I said: 'stop gossiping or you'll end up like Echo.' Cleopeia is such a big mouth! Did you hear what she said about that cloud nymph and the satyr?"

"Totally!" Poster nymph said. "So anyway, as punishment for blabbing, Hera cursed Echo so she could only repeat things, which was fine with us. But then Echo fell in love with our gorgeous guy, Narcissus- as if he would ever notice her."

"As if!" A few chorused. "Now she's got some weird idea he needs saving," T-shirt nymph said. "She should just go away."

"Go away." Echo growled back.

"I'm so glad Narcissus is alive again," Said another nymph in a grey dress. On her arm, clearly written in black marker, she had the words 'NARCISSUS + LAIEA' scrawled on her skin. "He's like the best! And he's in my territory."

"Oh stop it, Laiea," Her friend said. "I'm the pond nymph. You're just a rock nymph."

"Well, I'm the grass nymph." Another protested.

"No, he obviously came here because he likes the wild flowers!" Another said. "Those are mine!"

Chaos erupted as the ground began arguing with each other, while the subject of their matter stared into his reflection in the pond, completely unaware of them.

"Oh my gods- Guys!" Persephone called their attention. "Can you just... calm down for two minutes. We need to ask Narcissus a few things so if you could just give us some peace, then we'll be out of your way as quick as Hermes-"

"No way!" They protested. "You're not getting close to him! He wouldn't want you anyway, he only likes pretty girls, and you smell of death."

Persephone tilted her head, patience thinning. The nymph who tried to insult her was the same nymph who'd insulted Hazel not too long ago. The daughter of Hades took a step forward, fingertips flexing in frustration, the sand beneath them beginning to part near the nymphs. Leo caught her arm before she could advance and shook his head, subtly. Causing a fight right now wouldn't help any of them get closer to grabbing that Celestial bronze.

"Maybe Leo should go." Hazel whispered to her, equally as tired of the nymphs as Persephone was. Persephone nodded and gestured her hand for Leo to go to him. He squeezed her arm one last time before turning to the nymphs.

"The girls will stay here, I'll talk to him, is that okay with you guys?" Leo began. "Y'know, little man-to-man talk." A few of the nymphs laughed at him, causing him to glance at Persephone.

She made a little pinching motion with her fingers, pointing to the ground by their feet where the sand had started to part again. Leo shook his head no, quickly, causing the daughter of Hades to roll her eyes and cross her arms.

Slowly, the nymphs calmed down and started taking pictures again.

Leo edged closer to the man and knelt down beside him. "So, Narcissus. What's up?"

"Can you move?" Narcissus asked distractedly. "You're ruining the view."

Persephone rolled her eyes at the man's words, as Leo watched his own reflection, a calculating look on his face. Persephone had no idea how they were going to get that sheet of bronze out of the pond without a bunch of nymphs descending on them, along with a should-be-dead-man's wrath and how they would carry the metal and dodge his dusty arrows. She just hoped Leo had somewhat of a plan. She doubted Narcissus would just let them have it.

"Right, great view," Leo said. "Happy to move, but, if you're not using it, can I just take that sheet of bronze?"

"No," Narcissus answered. "I love him. He's so gorgeous."

Around them, the nymphs burst into giggles. Persephone pursed her lips and shot Hazel an annoyed look. The younger returned the look, wrinkling her nose. Leo looked at Persephone for guidance, yet the girl just gestured her hand in a forward motion. He groaned.

"Man," Leo started. "You do realise that you're looking at yourself in the water, right?"

"I am so great," Narcissus sighed. He reached a hand out to touch the water, before stopped before his fingertips broke the surface. "No, I can't make ripples. That ruins the image. Wow... I am so great."

"Yeah," Leo muttered. "But if I took the bronze, you could still see yourself in the water. Or here..." He reached into his tool belt and took out the smallest mirror Persephone had ever seen. She almost laughed, but realised that would probably be a bad idea with an unstable back-from-the-dead man. "I'll trade you."

Narcissus took the mirror, albeit reluctantly, and admired himself. "Even you carry a picture of me? I don't blame you. I am gorgeous. Thank you." He set the mirror down beside him and turned back to the pond. "But I already have a much better image. The colour flatters me, don't you think?"

"Oh, gods, yes!" A nymph to Persephone's left screamed, making the girl wince from the sharp pain to her ear. "Marry me, Narcissus!"

"No, me!" Another cried. "Would you sign my poster?"

"No, sign my shirt!"

"No, sign my forehead!"

"No, sign my-"

"Stop it!" Hazel snapped at them all, cutting off Persephone before she'd even been able to tell them the same thing- just less kindly. 

"Stop it," Echo agreed. The girl had moved to sit beside Narcissus, a hand waving in front of his face like she was trying to snap him out of a trance. The man didn't even blink.

The nymphs started pushing Hazel out of the way, one daring enough to grab her arm. Persephone grabbed her wrist and stepped in front of Hazel, glaring. Hazel drew her sword and forced a few of them back, from beside her. "Snap out of it!"

"He won't sign your sword," Poster nymph complained.

"He won't marry you," iPhone nymph sneered. "And you can't take the bronze mirror! That's what keeps him here!"

"Do you hear yourselves? He doesn't even care about any of you, just himself, why do any of you like him?" Persephone snapped, her fingers circling her ring.

"Like him," Echo sighed, still waving her hand in front of his face.

The others sighed along with her.

"I'm so hot." Narcissus said, sympathetically.

"Narcissus, listen," Hazel kept her sword steady. " Echo brought us here to help you. Didn't you, Echo?"

"Echo." She nodded.

"Who?" Narcissus said. Persephone growled.

"Dude, she's like, right next to you." She deadpanned.

"She's the only one who cares what happens to you, apparently," Hazel explained. "Do you remember dying?"