I 033. I

𝑪𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒐𝒓𝒔

❝ funeral ❞

IF ARIADNE HAD BEEN THE LEADER OF THE QUEST, SHE SIMPLY WOULDN'T HAVE LEFT HIM.

But she wasn't the leader, that was Annabeth, and if the blonde said they needed to head back to camp, then they did—even if it was against her biased judgement because she had kissed the boy.

Annabeth has sensed that she was conflicted with everything, and she made then pick up their pace to head back towards camp and through the maze.

They followed Hephaestus's metal spider through the maze for what felt like an hour until they stumbled upon Zeus's Fist.

She felt it was insulting, the ease they had navigated the maze, when before, the journey would've taken days to accomplish.

When they emerged, Annabeth had announced their arrival to the Apollo and Ares cabin, who were the defense system around the clearing.

"We're friéndoles! Don't fire!" she called.

"It's Annabeth and Ariadne!" someone yelled.

They squeezed through the boulders and met the night sky. It was still brighter than the pitch black corridors of the Labyrinth. Air flowed through her lungs and she realized how weird it felt, breathing in crisp and clean air rather than mush oxygen which she had been on since being in the Labyrinth.

Lee Fletcher, a son of Apollo, slung his quiver over his shoulder and ran up to them with concern. "It's been weeks since we've heard from you," he said.

"We need to speak with Chiron, Lee," Ariadne told him. "Where is he?"

The son of Apollo led the duo to the Big House and sent one of the Stoll brothers to bring them something to snack on from the camp store since they'd missed dinner.

Ariadne knew everyone was wondering where the rest of their party was, but she didn't have the heart nor the time to explain to them everything that had happened. They needed to talk with Chiron quickly.

She had taken her hair out of the droopy ponytail it had been in for two days. The girl tied it up again and let hairs fall into her face, brushing them back as the wind caused them to tickled her nose.

Chiron has shooed always the welcome party to speak with the girls, and Lee was a bit irked before he left.

Apart from the sounds of the ceiling fan's hum, and the crickets outside, the Big House was silent. For the most part, it was quite off compared to the howls and groans they had heard in the Labyrinth every night.

Ariadne leaned back on the old couch across from Chiron who sat in his wheelchair. Her back was yelling in joy at the feeling of the comfortable furniture, which, compared to the stone walls and floor of the maze, it was heaven.

There was an intermittent cookie crunch from Annabeth, who was hold a china cup in her hand as her mouth chewed the cookie slowly. Ariadne took a drink of her hot chocolate, Chiron knowing she hated tea and coffee.

"Tell me what happened. Where is the group?" he asked.

Ariadne gulped. "We were together when left Hephaestus's workshop, but uh, Grover and Tyson smelled something that Grover believed was Pan. We separated and went on without them. Percy got... separated from up at Mount St. Helens after we were attacked by telekhines. Hephaestus sent us back here."

"You've been gone nearly three weeks, that cant be all," Chiron said.

Annabeth and Ariadne had agreed not to mention Nico at any party of the story. But they told him about San Francisco and the ranch.

It took over an hour to fill Chiron of everything they had been through ( aside from the Nico parts ). A lot of the things could be passed for the time differences in the Labyrinth and the outside world—Ariadne was glad for that.

Chiron turned them over to their cabins to get some rest, but as Ariadne disagreed and said they needed to begin talking more about the attack on camp, he had gotten annoyed with her and forced her out of the Big House.

She trudged back to her cabin and left Annabeth enter cabin six, knowing the blonde would be swarmed by her siblings. The brunette kicked a rock in her way and kept walking towards cabin twelve.

All her thoughts were jumbled, and she couldn't process them in enough time before another came flooding in. The girl already expected her brothers to question her about everything. The girl didn't want to clue them in, it was too much on her part to process for the third time.

The girl opened her door and walked in to meet the dark cabin walls and the sight of three large cats on the floor. She gave them all a scratch behind their ears before walking toward her bunk, seeing as her brothers were asleep.

Her tiger followed her, and she gave it an annoyed look, not in the mood. "Go to be," she whispered.

It tilted its head and nudged her hand. The girl gave it a slight point towards its cat friends who were peacefully snoozing on the couches.

When she stood there for two minutes trying with all of her might to not make her tiger angry and maul her, the girl let out a huff and finally decided she was tired enough to let the animal follow her.

Ariadne changed into her shorts and t-short, but felt cold and went to grab the blue hoodie on her pillow before remembering it was Percy's. The girl griped it in her hands tightly and threw it to the side, not bothering with it at the moment.

She curled up under her covers before her white tiger leaped onto her bunk. The girl gave it a glare but it only snorted and licked its paws, somehow not breaking the bed and leaving enough room for her to sleep comfortably.

Her tiger placed its head on her thigh and purred. I'm glad you're home, Master, it said in her mind.

I'm not your master, Ariadne said. Did my brother's give you a name?

Zoe.

The girl's heart stopped and thought on the name. The huntress that had risked her life for them, and lived on in the stars as the girl's favorite constellation. With a small smile, Ariadne ran her hand through the tiger's fur and hummed, enjoying how well the name fit the animal, reminding her of the huntress she became close with.

Ariadne slipped into a sleep, not noticing the sad look the dove flying out the window gave her.

***

A WEEK OF STRESS FOLLOWED THE PAUSE IN THEIR QUEST. Ariadne had been overwhelmed by her brothers and friends asking many details, and Juniper pulling her away to watch the boulders in case Grover and Tyson found their way out.

The girl hadn't had time to breathe until that Sunday night, and as the second week finally began, Ariadne had been pulled into a deep dream like she had weeks prior.

She was sat at a table in the blinking city lights of what she recalled to be Paris. It was at the sight of her favorite cafe just below the Eiffel Tower which Aria had taken her to.

The girl held a warm mug of a dark colored drink she hoped wasn't coffee, and she sat in the sun night as people walked by, couples hand-in-hand as they laughed and pointed at the sights before them.

"My, how beautiful," a voice said from beside her.

Ariadne looked across to see the raven hair woman that had been in her dreams for the last two years. Aphrodite looked as gorgeous as ever with her hair in loose curls. She wore white sweater tucked into black jeans, with black booties and her nails painted a champagne pink color.

A black beret sat perfectly on her silky locks, and the girl couldn't help but feel underdressed for the scenery.

"Oh, my dear, don't feel that way," Aphrodite said, reading her mind, "you are dressed perfectly."

Ariadne glanced down her herself and sighed. Her tattered pajamas were now switched out for a black sweater tucked into a jean skirt and combat boots on her feet. Her hair was in their natural curls but looked styled rather than just a rats nest.

The girl set down the cup in her hand and looked at the goddess. "Where's Percy?" she asked, getting straight to the point.

The goddess smiled. "How quick you change the subject," she said. "No greeting for me, is there?"

Aphrodite only raised her eyebrows as the girl's purple eyes stared at her. The woman sighed and leaned her head against her hand, tapping a perfectly manicured finger against her chin.

There was a sudden wispy breeze that fluttered through Ariadne's hair, and the girl smelled a hint of sea salt. She whipped around in hopes Percy would be in her dreams and tell her where he was, but to her great luck, he wasn't there, just an empty table with a latent in the middle.

Ariadne faced the goddess once more, trying not to get caught up in her sea-green eyes. "Dite, where is he?" the girl asked. "I knew you know where he is, why don't you just tell me instead of trying to make conversation."

The goddess hummed. "What makes you so sure he isn't dead?"

"Because you wouldn't let this prophecy go unfulfilled." Ariadne gave the goddess a frown. "You want your redemption, and this is the only way to get it."

It was a tense few seconds before Aphrodite raised a hand and waved it. The young girl could see a beautiful island, with crystal blue waters splashing onto the white sandy beaches that would make any beach lover swoon—or a son of Poseidon.

At first, Ariadne's heart leapt at the sight of Percy, who was dressed in new clothes that looked nothing like what she had seen him in last. He looked as if he'd lost twenty pounds and his hair was singed like Hephaestus's beard.

It was night. And Ariadne could see the various constellations that she had taught Percy to find, helping guide his hand in the right places to match them up, and telling him the story of each one, talking about their dear friend Zoe a little longer than the rest.

But just as her heart did a few flips in her chest, it sank at the sight of a girl who stood next to him, talking.

She had braided caramel hair, and wore a white sleeveless Greek dress with a low circular neckline trimmed in gold. The girl had a way with her garden, and would guide Percy to the edge and help him plant which had flowers that were silver and delicate.

Ariadne couldn't hear what they were saying and she didn't want to. Percy was entranced by the girl, and with every piece of hair she moved away from her face, he seemed to forget a bit more about the brunette girl at camp.

Her heart dropped as the vision disappeared. Ariadne looked at Aphrodite who seemed to have removed them from the Paris scene, and instead on the docks of canoe lake at camp.

"What was that?" Ariadne asked quickly. "Who-who was that he was with?"

Aphrodite gave the girl a pitiful look and a small smile. "My dear, I told you to never doubt his feelings."

She glared at the goddess. "Yeah, well I am," she said. "Who was that?"

"A temptation," Aphrodite said. She fiddled with her fingers. "Every great love story has it. The temptation to run from everything, that moment where another option could arise. But this temptation, it is so strong, so enchanting, it almost derailed Odysseus from his quest home."

She was at a loss for words. "Where is he?" Her voice was small and broken, like her heart was at that moment.

"It's best I let Percy tell you that himself. He may choose to return and leave her, or he may choose to stay."

"Why would be?" Ariadne asked with wild eyes.

The goddess let out a small breath. "Paradise, my dear. He could stay there with a beautiful girl and never age. He would never have to face the prophecy that is nearing closer everyday, the perfect life away from the mortal world—with a perfect girl."

Ariadne's heart broken in that single moment.

Perfect girl. She wasn't perfect, she knew that. But the goddess of beauty and love was telling her that Percy was stuck on an island with a girl considered to be perfect, perfect for him with a perfect life that Ariadne could never give him.

She was no island girl. She didn't belong on a tropical paradise with everything she could ever want and the beauty that one would want. No. She was the girl who had dirt under her nails and wore old shirts and shorts, who hated having nothing to do.

She was the girl who couldn't give Percy the life he wanted or deserved. Ariadne wasn't that tropical girl, her looks less than average, and her anger a problem.

Her heart broke and then just a little bit more.

But her heart was reforming with anger and resentment for the boy. For every second he stayed there and looked at the perfect girl, she was there at camp worried for his life, and he was living in paradise while forgetting their quest.

Her lips tasted bitter at the thought of the quest, and she couldn't force herself to see the bright side of anything.

"Why do you do this?" Ariadne asked in a broken tone. "Why us?"

Aphrodite stared at the girl. "Every great story has love and loss, and yours, my dear, had it a bit more than most."

"You have him something to regret coming home to," the girl told the goddess. "Everyday, he will have to think about if he stayed there. If he had left us, and if he does, if he doesn't come back..."

"He will, my dear," the goddess told her. "He knows his feelings for you."

Ariadne shook her head. "That doesn't matter anymore." Aphrodite looked at her in worry and confusion, her Greek chiton following in the light breeze by the lake. "Because I don't want this anymore."

Aphrodite's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"I don't want this prophecy anymore!" she shouted at Aphrodite. Her purple eyes a haze as they eyed the dark waters of the lake, a hand raking through her hair. "I'm so tired of the heartbreak, the pain. I've already lost too much! I can't-I can't bear to lose anymore."

"You can not just resist—"

"I can and I will!"

Ariadne took a deep breath to control her anger, but it was becoming all too much. "If he wants to stay there on that stupid island with that perfect girl, let him!" she screamed at the sky. "I'm done with him! I'm done with this stupid story of Theseus and Ariadne. Maybe it was best that they didn't work out, because maybe I'm not meant for this, and that I'll find something better. Percy will find something better."

Aphrodite grabs her shoulder and forces the girl to look at her. "If he comes back, it proves how much he loves you," she said. "Is that boy what you want?"

Ariadne smacked the goddess's hand off of her. She took a few steps back from her and shook her head. "No. No, it's not. I don't want this anymore, go find someone else to love a son of Poseidon, because I sure won't."

The wind had picked up. The woods behind them blew wickedly and the trees seemed to grow as Aphrodite stared at the girl with blasting eyes that reminded her of Ares on a normal day.

"If you do this, Ariadne, you will be ignoring all my worries, and you will face the wrath of your prophecy. Think wisely about your decision, because you are deciding your fate and the fate of everyone else."

The daughter of Dionysus glared at the goddess, holding in her angered tears and balled her fists at her side.

"Leave me alone."

And with a wave, Ariadne awoke in her bed, gasping as Zoe laid there and stared at her in confusion.

The girl gasped for breath and looked around at her cabin, seeing it was only a few short hours into the morning, the moon still high in the sky.

Ariadne felt hot with tears and heartbreak. She ripped the hoodie off of her body's be tossed it away, as if it burned her. She sank to the floor while heading towards the bathroom in a hurry.

She couldn't breath, and the girl could feel anger coursing through her. And with a choking feeling the girl ripped off the gold necklace around her neck.

It landed by the hoodie on the floor. They both laid there as constant reminders of her dream, the realization that Percy will always have a 'what if' moment, and that he was only going to run her into the ground one day, and it would get her killed.

That was the moment in time that Aphrodite would never forget. The moment that what she thought would be her greatest story, fell apart right before her eyes.

***

     TWO WEEKS AFTER THEIR ARRIVAL, THEY WERE HOLDING A FUNERAL. Her brothers had noticed a change at the beginning of the week, but never bothered to ask in fear she would explode.

No one had heard her say anything, not even Annabeth or Chiron. All she had done was train and avoid the lake the best she could. She brought Zoe around with her anywhere, and spoke to no one. The girl didn't even show up to dinner most nights and left for her cabin or the woods.

In those two weeks she had returned her schedule was set. It alternated between patrol duty, sword lessons, and helping Juniper de-stress over her worry for Grover, who was still in the Labyrinth.

But due to Juniper staying up every night to watch the entrance of the maze, it allowed them to find out that Quintus left suddenly in the middle of the night without so much as a note about what they were to do with Mrs. O'Leary, who wouldn't do anything except growl at anyone who entered the arena.

The entire camp had gathered in the amphitheater in the late afternoon for the funeral. It left the Aphrodite cabin enough time to make a shroud and set up, which made Ariadne avoid them at any cost.

Ariadne sat with Annabeth in the front. There, beside them, were Beckendorf, and the Stoll brothers. It was decided the night before that each cabin would have a representative say a few words at the service. Ares cabin abstained, which she expected, and the Demeter and Aphrodite cabins would finish.

"It is with a heavy heart, but we must assume he is dead," Chiron said. "After so long a silence, it is unlikely our prayers will be answered. I have asked his two best surviving friends to do the final honors."

Everyone watched as Ariadne took a long silk burial cloth, embroidered with a trident, and set it on the flames. Annabeth gave her a sad glance. Ariadne was the only one who was convinced Percy was alive, no one believed her.

Annabeth turned to face the audience. She looked terrible. Her brunette was void of emotion, but her face was pale as she looked at the fire. Annabeth's eyes were puffy from crying, but she managed to say, "He was probably the bravest friend I've ever had. He..."

Suddenly, her eyes set on something behind the audience. "He's right there!"

Ariadne's head whipped around so quick she thought she had broken her neck. At the entrance of the amphitheater stood Percy. He wore cleaner clothes that fit him better, and his hair was disheveled like it always was.

"Percy!" Beckendorf grinned. A bunch of other kids crowded around him and clapped him on the back. There were a few cursed from the Area cabin. Chiron cantered over and everyone made way for him.

"Well," he sighed with obvious relief. "I don't believe I've ever been happier to see a camper return. But you must tell me—"

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" Annabeth interrupted, shoving aside the other campers. She hugged the boy fiercely.

Annabeth seemed to realize she was making a scene and pushed him away.

"I—we thought you were dead, Seaweed Brain!"

"I'm sorry," Percy said. "I got lost."

"LOST?" she yelled.

"Oh, sure," Ariadne grumbled, having found her way through the crowd and next to Annabeth.

Percy looked at Ariadne like a deer caught in the headlights. He gulped.

Chiron intercepted their stare down. "Perhaps we should discuss this somewhere more private, shall we? The rest of you, back to your normal activities!"

Without waiting for them to protest, he picked up Ariadne, Annabeth, and Percy as easily as if they were kittens, sling them on his back, and galloped off toward the Big House. Zoe followed, having caught sight of her favorite person, and made sure she was okay.

***

     PERCY DIDN'T TELL THEM THE WHOLE STORY. Ariadne didn't need to be a mind reader to know that, he was lying to them about the girl he had been on his little vacation in the middle of nowhere.

He'd explained how he'd caused the explosion at Mount St. Helens and gotten blasted out of the volcano. He told them he'd been marooned on an island. Then Hephaestus has found him and told him he could leave. A magic raft had carried him back to camp.

Ariadne couldn't tell what he had said was tru, but he left out all the parts of the girl he had been with for two weeks, and it made her angrier and angrier.

"You've been gone two weeks." Annabeth's voice was steadier now, but she still looked pretty shaken up. "When we heard the explosion, I thought—"

"I know," Percy said. "I'm sorry. But I figured out how to get through the Labyrinth. I talked to Hephaestus."

"He told you the answer?"

"Well, he sort of told me that I already knew. And I do. I understand now."

Percy told them about how they should use a mortal who could see through the mist as a guide in the Labyrinth, saying that Ariadne had been one, and she led Theseus to safety.

Annabeth's jaw dropped. "Percy, that's crazy!"

Chiron day back in his wheelchair and stroked his beard. "There is precedent, however. Theseus has the help of Ariadne. Harriet Tubman, daughter of Hermes, used many mortals on her Underground Railroad for just this reason."

Ariadne scratched Zoe behind her ear, who laid on the floor by her feet and glared at Percy with her deep eyes. More than once had the boy given the tiger a nervous glance.

She fished her medicine bottle out of her jean pockets, having to take them every four hours and it was easier to have them on hand. The girl popped one into her mouth and swallowed a gulp of water, ignoring Percy's glances.

"But this is my quest," Annabeth said. "I need to lead it."

Chiron looked uncomfortable. "My dear, it is your quest. But you need help."

"And this is supposed to help? Please! It's wrong. It's cowardly. It's—"

"Hard to admit we need a mortal's help," Percy said. "It's true."

Ariadne couldn't take it anymore. She stood up quickly, her chair scraping against the wooden floor and everyone looked to her. "You're one to talk about admiring things, Percy," she spat. The boy flinched. "You show up two weeks after you go missing, acting as if they never happened. We're just supposed to act like your selfish ass and get right back into the quest without even thinking of Tyson and Grover who we haven't heard from."

The girl remembered what was in her pocket and grabbed the gold chain of her necklace and pulled it out of her jeans. She chucked it at the boy who caught it with one hand, looking at it with heartbroken eyes, but nothing could fix her at that moment.

"Keep it," she said. "Give it to your new girlfriend. The one on that paradise island of yours."

Ariadne marched out of the Big House as Annabeth followed: "You are the single most annoying person I have ever met!"

The brunette headed towards Thalia's pine tree at the border, where Peleus was sleeping. The girl sat a bit away from the tree, folding her knees to her chest as she leaned against Zoe who was cuddled into her side.

Annabeth day to her left, fuming as Ariadne glared at the ground and a few vines poked out to keep Zoe occupied. She was swatting at them while laying down, casually growling.

"He wants us to go into the city," Annabeth said. "He said he'll call Rachel Elizabeth Dare and ask if she would help on my quest."

Ariadne's brows furrowed before she let out a groan, "Oh, her."

"You know her?" Annabeth asked, happy someone shared her dislike for the girl.

"Yeah." Ariadne picked at a string on her jean shorts. "When we were at Hoover Dam last year, after... after Bianca died, Percy heard something and told us to go inside. Next thing I know we're running from these skeleton warriors and then we're flying in the air being held by those statue things." Annabeth nodded and frowned, a sign for the girl to go on. "Percy told us about that girl—Rachel—and how she could see through the mist."

The brunette pulled the string off of her shorts. "He said she was annoying," she muttered.

Annabeth leaned her head against her knees. The blonde stared at her sister who was watching her tiger with an angry expression. "You took off your necklace," she commented.

"Yeah." It felt weird for her, not having it there to calm her down, but she wasn't really wanting to wear it after everything with Percy. "Wasn't feeling it anymore."

The blonde nodded. "Who were you talking about when you said his girlfriend? And what island? Circe's?"

Ariadne bit her lip. "Aphrodite was in my dream last night," she said quietly. "Showed me that Percy was being healed by this girl, I don't know her name. But he thought was prettier. And she was. Way prettier than me."

Annabeth placed her hand on hers. "Ari..."

"He could've left, Annie," she said softly. "But he chose to stay. He... he had the option to escape everything. The prophecy, this life, us. Why shouldn't he have chosen to stay? He had the perfect girl, the perfect island to live on forever as an immortal. What am I compared to her? I couldn't give him that, not after..."

Annabeth hated how Ariadne still blamed herself for never being able to save someone or help them. She always said it was her fault, when in most cases, it wasn't.

"After you kissed him," Annabeth murmured.

The brunette nodded sadly. "What time do we leave?"

"Argus said eight," Annabeth said. "If you need help packing—"

"Don't bother," Ariadne said. "I didn't even unpack when we came back."

Ariadne and Annabeth spent another few minutes just talking and sitting in silence together, because gods knows that they need it.

authors note:

When Percy took over Annabeth's quest I was fuming. Not cool, bro.

Ariadne ain't taking Percy's shit. She doesn't like Calypso and definitely won't like Rachel at first, but I promise by TLO they will be bro's because Rachel becomes the Oracle and they will tease the boy.

I promise.

All your comments from last chapter make me so happy! Thank you for the excitement!

Love you guys!