( STEPHANIE PHẠM )

⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫｡˚۰˚☽˚⁀➷｡˚⸙͎۪۫⋆ ༄

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*"𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐌 𝐈? where the fuck am i?" small gasps left her breath as her hand latched itself upon her heart. sweat filling the sheets which were hanging half of the right side of the double bed, left side untouched.

the room was as she'd left it, lamp on the left side of the bed left turnt on, windows slightly open, purple t-shirt hanging off mirror and bathroom door locked tightly. but how she ended up back in that room was a mystery. the last thing she could clearly see was the wooden floor of the shed.

"you alright?" there he was. jason's concerned voice coming from the other side of the locked bathroom door, the sound of the shower running finally hitting her ears. steam coming through the small gap at the bottom of the door.

"j?" she called out well pushing the sheets of the bed so they fell to the floor, the breeze hitting her bare legs making her scrunch her eyebrows as she slowly walked across the tiled floor of their shared bedroom.

"what's wrong?" the same jason she remembered. always worrying about her. her hands unlocked the bathroom door as she slowly walked in, the wet floor sending small shakes through her body as she approached the taller blonde boy staring at himself in the mirror.

"you're so vain" she muttered under her breath as she leant her head against his shoulder which was too bony to be anywhere near comfortable. the water dripping down his chest causing the t-shirt which she was sure was his own become damp.

"go back to bed" he whispered down onto her lips as he placed a kiss which would've meant nothing if given to someone else. but when given to stephanie, jason put his whole being into those few seconds their lips would meet.

"i'm not tired" she yawned out as she pulled her lips back, his own chasing hers every time they escaped. something resembling a giggle passing her lips as she tilted her head back so he couldn't reach them.

"my god" he whispered into the crook of her neck which was covered by a necklace jason had worn many times before "you're fun to kiss"

"idiot" she rolled her eyes well pushing herself back and off his shoulder.

jason's blue eyes never leaving her green ones once. they were the most interesting pair of green eyes he'd ever seen. he thought she was beautiful, beyond dreams, and beyond nightmares. she took over his whole soul without even knowing. jason had fallen hopelessly in love with such a wonderful thing. 

"go and live steph" his words making her shoot her head to stare at him now, the bathroom wall behind him beginning to blur and her focus now pinpointed on the boy of lightning.

"what?" she repeated twice with a small chuckle, one filled with denial and confusion.

"i said go to bed" it felt like a thousand trucks had just piled on top of her, crushing her lungs and stopping any chance of air escaping. it was all wrong , the time, the place, and the person.

her mossy green eyes zeroing in on the boy in front of her, who's smile didn't falter once. her jason grace still wore his own necklace. her jason grace didn't sleep on the left side of the bed. it wasn't real. none of it was real.

because jason had sworn he'd do anything to make sure his wonderful thing lived.

                                                                         𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 to leave leo, but jason was starting to think that hanging out with cal the hockey jock might be the least dangerous option in this place.

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. jason figured one hit from that thing would probably turn him into a popsicle.

then there was the ice princess. every once in a while she'd turn and give jason a smile, but there was no warmth in her expression. she regarded jason like he was an especially interesting science specimen-one she couldn't wait to dissect. 

jason worried that he'd led his friends into a trap. if things went bad, he wasn't sure he could get them out alive. without thinking about it, he took stephanie's hand for reassurance. the girls hand not intertwining with his slightly confused on why he held her hand.

she gave the boy a questioning look which he ignored but still didn't withdraw her hand "just don't say anything stupid," she whispered. "and we'll be fine, right?"

at the top of the stairs, the ice princess looked back and noticed them holding hands. her smile faded. suddenly stephanie's hand in jason's turned ice cold-burning cold. she let go, and her fingers were smoking with frost. so were jason's.

"warmth is not a good idea here," the princess advised, "especially when I am your best chance of staying alive. please, this way."

pipers eyes looked down to jason's side to see his frosted fingertips and felt a frown tugging at her lips, it seemed like in every situation they were in that stephanie just kept to seem winning. whether the girl knew it or not she was only making piper mcclean dislike her even more.

zethes poked jason in the back with his icicle sword as stephanie brought her finger tips closer to her face seeing the white spread into the small creases in her fingers. jason's hand finding the small of her back and pushing her forward with him.

stephanie didn't know what the hell she was truly doing there, she should've been at the wilderness school. she should've been away from jason grace, the boy who had suddenly just flipped her whole life around. the boy who kept bringing trouble to her semi-normal life.

"hey?" pipers voice came out small from her side as the daughter of aphrodite placed a hand on her wrist "you still there?" she asked, avoiding meeting eyes with the girl who could give her a run for her money in the looks department.

"physically? yes. mentally? not quite" the girl replied back quickly as they came to a stop at the outside of a big door. the door which probably held boreas, the man who would be deciding if they left that ice palace or not.

the princess turned. her brown eyes glittered, and jason felt like he was a christmas present she was hoping to open. "this is the throne room," she said. "be on your best behaviour, 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."

"fun.." stephanie laughed under her breath with a scoff accompanying it, earning an icy look from the princess and one of amusement from jason. why she mocked the girl was no idea to her but it was a subconscious decision..

"um, okay," he managed. "but really, we're just here for a little talk. we'll be leaving right afterward." jason said pulling her attention to him, which earned a smile from the princess.

"i love heroes. so blissfully ignorant." her words making piper rested her hand on her dagger

"wow, 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?"

the girl 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. stephanie thought they were so pretty but knew better to not trust such beautiful things.

"now, come," khione said. the oaken doors blew open, and cold blue light spilled out of the room. "hopefully you will survive your little talk."

𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 had been cold, the throne room was like a meat locker. mist hung in the air. along the walls, purple tapestries showed scenes of snowy forests, barren mountains, and glaciers. high above, ribbons of coloured light-the aurora borealis-pulsed along the ceiling. 

a layer of snow covered the floor, the teenagers stepping carefully. all around the room stood life-size ice sculpture warriors-some in greek armor, some medieval, some in modern camouflage-all frozen in various attack positions, swords raised, guns locked and loaded.

from the far end of the hall, a man's voice rang out in a language that sounded like french. the room was so long and misty. they kept walking, and the mist parted to reveal a man on an ice throne. he was sturdily built, dressed in a stylish white suit that seemed woven from snow, with dark purple wings that spread out to either side. 

his long hair and shaggy beard were encrusted with icicles. his arched eyebrows made him look angry, but his eyes twinkled more warmly than his daughter's-as if he might have a sense of humour buried somewhere under that permafrost.

"bienvenu," the king said. "je suis boreas le roi. et vous?" khione the snow goddess was about to speak, but piper stepped forward and curtsied before she could.

"votre majeste" she said, " je suis piper mclean. et c'est jason, fils de zeus et c'est stephanie, fille de hecate"

the king smiled with pleasant surprise. "vous parlez francais? tregraves bien!"

"piper, you speak french?" jason asked at the same time stephanie asked "you speak french?"

 piper frowned. "no. why?"

 "you literally just spoke fluent french." stephanie exclaimed as piper blinked. 

"i did?" the king said something else, and piper nodded with a "oui"

the king laughed and clapped his hands, obviously delighted. he said a few more sentences then swept his hand toward his daughter as if shooing her away.

khione looked miffed. "the king says-" she was cut off by a smiling piper, a grin coming to stephanie's face at khione's dejected one.

"he says i'm a daughter of aphrodite," piper interrupted, "so naturally I can speak french, which is the language of love. i had no idea. his Majesty says khione won't have to translate now."

behind them, zethes snorted, and khione shot him a murderous look. she bowed stiffly to her father and took a step back.

the king sized up jason, and jason decided it would be a good idea to bow. "your majesty, i'm jason grace. thank you for, um, not killing us. may i ask why does a greek god speak french?"

piper had another exchange with the king. "he speaks the language of his host country," piper translated. "he says all gods do this. most greek gods speak english, as they now reside in the united states, but boreas was never welcomed in their realm. his domain was always far to the north. these days he likes quebec, so he speaks french."

the king said something else, and piper turned pale. stephanie knew when death was approaching, it tingled in her hands and made her whole body stiffen. something that wasn't unnoticed by her "friends"

"the king says.." piper faltered. "he says-"

"oh, allow me," khione said. "my father says he has orders to kill you. did I not mention that earlier?"

jason tensed in the same way stephanie just did. the king was still smiling amiably, like he'd just delivered great news.

"kill us?" jason said. "why?" his body stepping closer to stephanie's

"because," the king said, in heavily accented english, "my lord aeolus has commanded it."
boreas rose. he stepped down from his throne and furled his wings against his back. as he approached, khione and zethes bowed. jason and piper followed their example.

a whack in the arm from piper making stephanie bow as well, an eye roll happening as she lowered her head knowing she probably shouldn't let the god see that for her safety.

"i shall deign to speak your language," boreas said, "as piper mclean has honoured me in mine. toujours, I have had a fondness for the children of aphrodite. as for you , jason grace, my master aeolus would not expect me to kill a son of lord zeus without first hearing you out."

"stephanie pham as well, you seem to be quite valuable in my opinion and im sure you'd have a purpose around my hotel if be sparred" stephanie offering him a stiff smile, jason's body stiffening as well.

jason's gold coin seemed to grow heavy in his pocket. if he were forced to fight, he didn't like his chances. but he knew he'd fight if it came down to stephanie's freedom. two seconds at least to summon his blade. then he'd be facing a god, two of his children, and an army of freeze-dried warriors.

"aeolus is the master of the winds, right?" jason asked. "why would he want us dead?"

"you are demigods," boreas said, as if this explained everything. "aeolus's job is to contain the winds, and demigods have always caused him many headaches. they ask him for favours. they unleash winds and cause chaos. but the final insult was the battle with typhon last summer"

boreas waved his hand, and a sheet of ice like a flat-screen tv appeared in the air. images of a battle flickered across the surface-a giant wrapped in storm clouds, wading across a river toward the manhattan skyline. tiny, glowing figures-the gods, Jason guessed-swarmed around him like angry wasps, pounding the monster with lightning and fire. finally the river erupted in a massive whirlpool, and the smoky form sank beneath the waves and disappeared.

"the storm giant, typhon," boreas explained. "the first time the gods defeated him, eons ago, he did not die quietly. his death released a host of storm spirits-wild winds that answered to no one. it was aeolus's job to track them all down and imprison them in his fortress. the other gods-they did not help. they did not even apologize for the inconvenience. it took aeolus centuries to track down all the storm spirits, and naturally this irritated him. then, last summer, typhon was defeated again-"

"and his death released another wave of venti," jason guessed. "which made aeolus even angrier."

"c'est vrai," boreas nodded in agreement .

"but, your majesty with all due respect" stephanie said, "the gods had no choice but to battle typhon. he was going to destroy olympus and besides, why punish us for that?"

the king shrugged. "aeolus cannot take out his anger on the gods. they are his bosses, and very powerful. so he gets even with the demigods who helped them in the war. he issued orders to us: demigods who come to us for aid are no longer to be tolerated. we are to crush your little mortal faces."

"no ones crushing my face" stephanie argued as she stepped forward away from the sides of her friends "if anyone wants to get near it they'll have to suffer a thousand deaths"

there was an uncomfortable silence as boreas stared the girl down, her heartbeat picking up as the god stepped forward

"that sounds extreme," jason ventured as his hand latched onto stephanie's wrist pulling her back. "but you're not going to crush our faces yet, right? you're going to listen to us first, 'cause once you hear about our quest-"

"yes, yes," the king agreed. "you see, aeolus also said that a son of zeus might seek my aid, and if this happened, I should listen to you before destroying you, as you might-how did he put it?-make all our lives very interesting. i am only obligated to listen, however. after that, I am free to pass judgment as I see fit. but I will listen first. khione wishes this also. it may be that we will not kill you."

jason felt like he could almost breathe again . "great. thanks."

"do not thank me." boreas smiled. "there are many ways you could make our lives interesting. sometimes we keep demigods for our amusement, as you can see." he gestured around the room to the various ice statues.

"i do need a soldier at my side, if interested stephanie pham" boreas offered as all eyes dropped to the girl who was in the hold of jason.

khione stepped behind him and put her cold fingers on his neck. "my father gives me such lovely presents," she murmured in his ear. "join our court. perhaps i'll let your friends go." the word friends getting stuck in her throat as she layed eyes on jason's hand attached to stephanie's wrist.

"what?" zethes broke in. "if khione gets this one, and you get a soldier, then I deserve the other girl. khione always gets more presents!"

"now, children," boreas said sternly. "our guests will think you are spoiled! besides, you moved too fast. we have not even heard the demigod's story yet. then we will decide what to do with them. please, jason grace, entertain us."

jason felt his brain shutting down. he didn't look at stephanie or piper for fear he'd completely lose it. he'd gotten them into this, and now they were going die-or worse, they'd be amusements for boreas's children and end up frozen forever in this throne room, slowly corroding from freezer burn.

khione purred and stroked his neck. jason didn't plan it, but electricity sparked along his skin. there was loud pop, and khione flew backward, skidding across the floor.

"oh my..." stephanie said as she felt her throat close up quickly, a laugh threatening to escape as she stares at the spot the demi-god once stood.

zethes laughed. "that is good! I'm glad you did that, even though I have to kill you now."

for a moment, khione was too stunned to react. then the air around her began to swirl with a micro-blizzard. "you dare-"

"stop," jason ordered, with as much force as he could muster. "you're not going to kill us. and you're not going to keep us. we're on a quest for the queen of the gods herself, so unless you want hera busting down your doors, you're going to let us go."

he sounded a lot more confident than he felt, but it got their attention. khione's blizzard swirled to a stop. zethes lowered his sword. they both looked uncertainly at their father.

"hmm," boreas said. his eyes twinkled, but no one couldn't tell if it was with anger or amusement. "a son of zeus, favoured by hera? this is definitely a first. tell us your story."