I 02. I

𝑮𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑮𝒐𝒓𝒆

❝ grand canyon ❞

     HE DOUBTED THIS WAS NORMAL. Nothing about it seemed like anything that would happen accept for in a movie. He was lost, and without a doubt, confused.

Jason Grace stood on the skywalk with his two supposed best friends. He was an amnesiac, and he couldn't remember how he had gotten on that bus, or why he has been holding Piper's hand. All he knew was that they had just been attacked by other worldly beings with superpowers and he could somehow fly. He thought he was going crazy.

He was convinced Leo had already lost his mind when the boy pointed out that there were flying horses in the sky. But with a quick look, his blue eyes widened as they saw a dark shape descending from the east—too slow for a plane, too large for a bird. As it got closer he could see a pair of winged animals—gray, four legged, exactly like horses—except each one had a twenty foot wingspan. And they were pulling a bright painted book with two wheels: a chariot.

"Reinforcements," Jason said. "He's told me an extraction squad was coming for us."

"Extraction squad?" Leo struggled to his feet. "That sounds painful."

"And where are they extracting us to? Piper asked.

Jason watched as the chariot landed on the far end of the skywalk. The flying horses tucked in their wings and cantered nervously across the glass, as if they sensed it was near breaking. Three teenagers stood in the chariot—a tall blonde girl maybe a little older than Jason, and a bulky dude with a shaved head and a face like a pile of bricks. The last person had already leaped out of the chariot while it was still mid-flight.

All three of the extremely confused teens watched with gaping mouths as the figure jumped and rolled onto the skywalk. They dodged a few cracks in the glass, a sword materializing in their hand, and they finally gained a good look.

It was as if she wasn't even real.

She was beautiful, all of them could clearly see that. Her hair was in tight ringlets that rested in a high ponytail, held together by a blue scrunchy while a few pieces stuck out, eyes catching onto the grey streak running through her hair. Her eyes were as bright as gems, purple seeming to make everything hazy, and warping their mind and distorting reality. A few cartilage piercings rested in her ears and an industrial one poked out. There was a long, jagged scar on the left side of her face, but that did nothing but make her look even more hauntingly beautiful.

There was something about her that made Jason catch his breath. Leo looked ready to faint, and Piper tilted her head, but there was a twinkle in her eyes. It was as if this brunette girl was a goddess that suddenly dropped from the heavens above to save them.

All three wore jeans and orange t-shirts, with only two having shields tossed over their backs. The blonde girl pulled a knife and ran toward Jason's group while following her friend, and the bulky dude was reining in the horses.

"Where is he?" the brunette demanded. Her eyes were so terrifying, that with one glance, Jason as ready to beg for forgiveness without knowing what he had done. The purple were so startling and dangerous. It was as if she radiated with power.

The blonde's grey eyes were fierce and uninviting.

"Where's who?" Jason asked.

The blonde frowned like his answer was unacceptable. Then she turned to Leo and Piper. "What about Gleeson? Where is your protector, Gleeson Hedge?"

Leo cleared his throat. "He got taken by some... tornado things." He was trying to seem macho in front of the stunning girl, but she looked ready to kill them all with one swipe.

"Venti," Jason said. "Storm spirits."

The brunette arched an eyebrow. "You mean anemoi thuellai? That's the Greek term. Who are you, and what happened?"

Jason did his best to explain, thought it was hard to meet those intense gray eyes. He couldn't even look at the brunette's purple. They were making his throat close up just thinking about them. About halfway through the story, the other guy from the chariot came over. He stood there glaring at them, his arms crossed. He had a tattoo of a rainbow on his biceps, which seemed a little unusual. He introduced his friends to the scary looking group.

When Jason had finished his story, the blonde girl didn't look satisfied. The brunette looked ready to collapse the Grand Canyon. "No, no, no! She told me he would be here. She told me if I came here, I'd find the answer."

"Sis, it's okay," the blonde said comfortingly. She wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "We'll find him. You and me can beat it out of her ourselves."

"Ari, Annabeth," the bald guy grunted. "Check it out." He pointed at Jason's feet.

His left shoe was missing.

"The guy with one shoe," said the bald dude. "He's the answer."

"No, Butch," the brunette insisted. "He can't be. I was tricked." She glared at the sky with such fury Piper thought it would light on fire. It was as if it had some something terribly wrong. Leo felt lucky he was not earning a glare like that. "What do you want from me?" she screamed. "What have you done with him?"

The skywalk shuddered, and the horses whinnied urgently.

"Ariadne," said the blonde girl, Annabeth, "we have to go. Who knows when those storm spirits will show up again. We can't risk it."

The scary brunette, Ariadne, fumed for a moment. "Fine." Her purple eyes settled on Jason with a resentful look which made him want to shrivel in on himself. "We'll settle this later."

Ariadne clenched her jaw. She spun around and stalked away, marching toward the chariot. To make them quiver, the girl tossed her gold sword up into the air, letting the light hit it just right to make it look as if it was burning, before it transformed back into her ring. She tucked Lunacy back onto her finger.

Piper shook her head. "What's her problem? What's going on?"

"Seriously," Leo agreed.

"We have to get out of here," Butch said. "Annabeth and I'll explain on the way."

"I'm not going anywhere with her." Jason gestures toward the brunette. "She looks like she wants to kill me."

"I do," Ariadne piped up from where she stood by the chariot. She leaned against it casually, her arms over the sides, while she stared intently at the blond boy.

"Ariadne's okay." Annabeth rolled her eyes at her friend. "She's had a hard time. She had a vision telling her to come here, to find a guy with one shoe. She was told that the answer to her problem would be here."

One of the pegasus whinnied. The brunette ran a hand over it's snout and it calmed down. She smiled slightly.

"What problem?" Piper asked.

"She's been looking for one of our campers, who's been missing for three days," Butch said. "She's going out of her mind with worry. She hoped he'd be here."

"Who?" Jason asked.

"Her boyfriend," Annabeth said, "and one of my best friends. A guy named Percy Jackson."

His name seemed to cause an unsettling feeling to rest over the air. It was as if his name was a warning of someone you wouldn't mess with, someone that the sky seemed to grumble at the sound of.

Annabeth and Butch eventually led them toward the chariot. Ariadne hopped in, leaning against the side once more. Piper, Leo, and Jason stood in the back of the chariot, while Butch handled the reins, and Annabeth adjusted a bronze navigation device. Ariadne did everything in her power to not look at Jason. They rose over the Grand Canyon and headed east, icy wind ripping straight through Ariadne's arms, but she paid no attention to it.

Behind them, more storm clouds were gathering. She huffed.

The chariot lurched and bumped. Ariadne messed with the purple ring on her hand and pursed her lips.

Meanwhile, Leo was busy. "This is so cool!" He spit a pegasus feather out of his mouth. "Where are we going?" There was a mad grin on his face. The brunette girl perked an eyebrow.

"A safe place," Annabeth said. "The only safe place for kids like us. Camp Half-Blood."

"Half-Blood?" Piper questioned defensively. "Is that some kind of bad joke?"

Ariadne went to reassure her it was nothing having to deal with race, but Kason beat her to it. "She means demigods. Half god, half mortal."

Annabeth noticed her friend's tense look. Her shoulders were square, as if she hated that Jason knew all this. The blonde understood. When Percy first came to camp he knew nothing, and sometimes he was still confused, and this new kid knows everything—it was irking the brunette to no end.

"You seem to know a lot, Jason. But, yes, demigods. My mom is Athena, goddess of wisdom. Butch here is the son of Iris, the rainbow goddess."

Leo choked. "Your mom is a rainbow goddess?"

"Got a problem with that?" Butch said.

"No, no," Leo said. "Rainbows. Very macho:"

Jason and Piper looked at the silent teen in the chariot. She faced the clouds, a stern look on her face, which made her even scarier in their opinion. "What about?" Piper asked the kindest she could. "Who's your parent?"

She clenched her jaw. "Dionysus."

"Like the wine god?" Leo inquired.

"And the god of madness," she muttered darkly, eyes looking at Jason, who gulped.

Her father was a touchy subject at the moment. She had a dream with him the night before, and he basically told her to stop looking for Percy, that she was better off without him. She had gotten so angry with him and they erupted into a terrible argument where she woke up breathing heavily.

"Butch is our best equestrian," Annabeth stated. "He gets along great with the Pegasi."

All three of the returning campers felt a small sadness. Butch had learned everything from Silena, and they all missed her deeply.

"Rainbows, ponies," Leo muttered.

"I'm gonna toss you off this chariot," Butch warned.

"Demigods," Piper said. "You mean you think you're... you think we're—"

Lightning flashed. The chariot shuddered, and Jason yelled, "Left wheel's on fire!"

Piper stepped back. Ariadne looked over. Sure enough, the wheel was burning, white flames lapping up the side of the chariot.

The wind roared. Behind them dark shapes formed in the clouds, more storm spirits spiraling toward the chariot—except these looked more like horses than angels.

"Why are they—" Piper began to say.

"Anemoi come in different shapes," Ariadne said. "Sometimes human, sometimes stallions, depending on how chaotic they are. You better gold on to something."

Butch flicked the reins. The Pegasi put on a burst of speed, and the chariot blurred. Her vision went black for a few seconds before they were in a familiar place.

A cold gray ocean stretched out to the left. Snow covered fields, roads, and forests spread to the right. Directly below them was a green valley, like an island of springtime, rimmed with snowy hills on three sides and water to the north. A cluster of buildings like Ancient Greek temples, a big blue mansion, hall courts, a lake, and a climbing wall that seemed to be on fire. Then, there wheels came off and the chariot dropped out of the sky.

Annabeth and Butch tried to maintain control. The Pegasi labored to hold the chariot in a flight pattern, but they seemed exhausted from their burst of speed, and bearing the chariot and the weight of five people was too much.

"The lake!" Ariadne yelled. She gripped onto the side of the chariot, and steadied Leo by gripping the back of his shirt. "Head for the lake!"

And then—BOOM.

The biggest shock was the cold. Ariadne knew she was underwater, and her vision was blurry, partly distorted from her shivering body.

Thankfully she had learned to swim years ago. Then faces appeared in the green murk—girls with long black hair and glowing yellow eyes. They smiled at her. She groaned loudly.

Piper was tossed, gasping and shivering, onto the shore. Nearby, Butch stood in the lake, cutting the wrecked harnesses off the Pegasi. Fortunately, the horses looked okay, but they were flapping their wings a and splashing water everywhere. Jason, Leo, and Annabeth were already on shore, surrounded by kids giving them blankets and asking questions.

Jason pointed at the lake. "Where's Ariadne?"

Annabeth turned to the water, and watched as her best friend argued and yelled at Naiads who were tossing her around. The brunette had never mended her relationship with the creatures. Percy was usually there to chase the creatures back into the water.

"Ari!"

The brunette glared. She ducked under the water and swam as quick as she could to the shore. A hand grabbed her arm and pulled her up onto the shore. Katie Gardner gave her a concerned look, and Andrea blasted hot air from the big bronze leaf blower; and in about two seconds her clothes were dry.

There were at least twenty campers milling around—the youngest maybe nine, the oldest college age, eighteen or nineteen—and all of them had orange t-shorts like hers. Pollux had a grip on her arm, tightening the blanket over his younger sister's body.

She glanced back to see the Naiads giving her funny faces. They waved a teasing goodbye, while she flipped them off. A second later the wreckage of the chariot was tossed from the lake and landed nearby with a wet crunch.

"Ari! Annabeth!" Will pushed through the crowd with a bow and quiver on his back. "I said you could borrow the chariot, hot destroy it!"

"Will, I'm sorry," Annabeth sighed. "I'll get it fixed, I promise."

Ariadne gave him a nod of reassurance. Will scowled at his broken chariot. Then he sized up Piper, Leo, and Jason. "These are the ones? Way older than thirteen. Why haven't they been claimed already?"

"Claimed?" Leo asked.

Before Annabeth could explain, Will said, "Any side of Percy?"

Everyone looked to the brunette. She sighed and looked at them. "No."

The campers muttered. Her heart broke just thinking about how he was still gone, and they were no where near finding out where Hers had taken him.

Another girl stepped forward—tall, Asian, dark hair in ringlets, plenty of jewelry, and perfect makeup. Somehow she managed to make jeans and an orange t-shirt look glamorous. She glanced at Leo, fixed her eyes on Jason like he might be worthy of her attention, then curled her lip at Piper.

Drew.

Ariadne had met her a little over a year ago in a boutique. She's hated her ever since, and the feeling was mutual. It was mainly because she still tried to charmspeak Ariadne with no luck. And it didn't help that Aphrodite basically made it clear that her own children weren't as beautiful as the brunette girl, which the daughter of Dionysus always felt terrible about.

"Well," Drew said, "I hope they're worth the trouble."

Leo snorted. "Gee, thanks. What are we, your new pets?"

Speaking of pets, Ariadne let out a shrill whistle. Her voice cut through the tense conversation. "Zoe!"

At first, the new kids expected a girl to run in, but were basically frightened when a giant white tiger busted through the crowd and growled at them. The tiger nudged Ariadne who shrugged and smirked, she always loved doing that to new campers.

Percy found it hilarious, and he was always a bit soft when she did it and immediately apologized and guided the kid around. He always found it sweet and made sure she knew.

"No kidding," Jason said. "How about some answers before you start judging us—like, what is this place, why are we here, how long do we have to stay?"

"Jason," Annabeth said, "I promise we'll answer your questions. And Drew—" she frowned at the glamour girl—"all demigods are worth saving. But I'll admit, the trip didn't accomplish what I hoped."

"Hey," Piper said, "we didn't ask to be brought here."

Drew sniffed. "And nobody wants you, hon. Does your hair always look like a dead badger?"

Piper stepped forward, ready to smack her, but Ariadne said, "Piper, stop."

Piper did. She wasn't a bit scared of Drew, but Ariadne's whole aura radiated dangerous power and her voice was this deep melodic tone, one that seemed sharp like a knife blade. Piper felt terrible for anyone who was her enemy.

"We need to make our new arrivals feel welcome," Annabeth said, with another pointed look at Drew. "We'll assign them each a guide, give them a tour of camp. Hopefully by the campfire tonight, they'll be claimed."

"Would somebody tell en what claimed means?" Piper asked.

Suddenly there was a collective gasp. The campers backed away. Ariadne tilted her head when she realized their faces were bathed in a strange red light, as if someone had lit a torch behind her.

Floating over Leo's head was a blazing holographic image—a fiery hammer.

"That," Ariadne said, "is a claiming."

"What'd I do?" Leo backed toward the lake. Then he glanced up and yelped. "Is my hair on fire?" He ducked, but the symbol followed him, bobbing and weaving so it looked like he was trying to write something in flames with his head.

"This can't be good," Butch muttered. "The curse—"

"Butch, shut up," Annabeth said. "Leo, you've just been claimed—"

"By a god," Jason interrupted. "That's the symbol of Vulcan, isn't it?"

All eyes turned to him. Ariadne stood straighter. "How did you know that?"

"I'm not sure."

"Vulcan?" Leo demanded. "I don't even like Star Trek. What are you talking about?"

"Vulcan is the Roman name for Hephaestus," Annabeth said, "the god of blacksmiths and fire."

The fiery hammer faded, but Leo kept swatting the air like he was afraid it was following him. "The god of what? Who?"

Annabeth turned to Will." Will, would you take Leo, give him a tour? Introduce him to his bunk mates in Cabin Nine."

"Sure, Annabeth."

"What's Cabin Nine?" Leo asked. "And I'm not a Vulcan!"

"Come job, Mr. Spock, I'll explain everything." Will put a hand on his shoulder and steered him off toward the cabins.

Annabeth and Ariadne turned their attention back on Jason. Usually, Piper didn't like it when other girls checked out her boyfriend, but Annabeth was standing oddly close to another girl with only one arm, and Ariadne didn't seem to fare that he was good looking.

Blond hair, sky blue eyes, and a small cut right above his lip; it wasn't her type. Ariadne preferred a raven haired, sea-green eyed, cocky smiling boy. Finally she said, "Hold out your arm."

Jason had taken off his windbreaker after his duo in the lake, leaving his arms bare, and on the inside of his right forearm was a tattoo. It was darkly etched, impossible to miss: a dozen straight lines like a bar code, and over that an eagle with the letters SPQR.

"I've never seen marks like this," Annabeth said. "Where did you get them."

Jason shook his head. "I'm getting really tired of saying this, but I don't know."

The other campers pushed forward, trying to get a look at Jason's tattoo. The marks seemed to bother them a lot—almost like a declaration of war.

"They're burned into your skin," Ariadne noticed.

"They were," Jason said. He winced. "I mean... I think so. I don't remember."

No one said anything. It was clear the campers saw Ariadne and Annabeth as the leader. They were waiting for a verdict.

Annabeth looked at the tall brunette. Her purple eyes were boring into Jason's head, and he winced once more, as if his brain was getting hit with a jackhammer.

"He needs to go straight to Chiron," Ariadne decided. "Drew, would you—"

"Absolutely." Drew laced her arm through Jason's. "This way, sweetie. I'll introduce you to our director. He's... an interesting guy." She flashed Piper a smug look.

Before they could move, Drew was rigged back with an excessive amount of force, and a pained look glazed over in her eyes. Ariadne scowled toward the girl. "Be nice. You're to drop Jason off then leave. I'll meet him up there in a few minutes."

Drew nodded timidly. She flinched when the vine unraveled from her wrist. There was a red line tainting her once perfect skin, and the brunette stared her down.

They eventually headed toward the Big House.

Ariadne looked at Piper. "Good luck."

She walked away, toward the one dead patch of grass in all of camp. Pollux left to head toward his cabin. He knew where she was going, and he didn't want to follow. Zoe was at her heels and purred softly.

The daughter of Dionysus sat on the ground and closed her eyes. A headache came on, and somewhere beneath their feet, the earth moved and groaned in horrific agony.

And a Queen of the Gods smirked to herself when she felt the intense power flow from the earth.

authors note:

Sup bitches

Look at me finally updating. I still hate school and we're back in person next week so fuck that

My parents had me drive around a parking lot and that shit is terrifying and now one of my best friends is moving to Nevada so sat boi hours

We welcome Jason Piper and Leo to this little club and my girl Ari is missing Percy and so am I, really

Hope everyone's doing great and shit

I've been listening to too much Sabrina and josh and just one direction so I'm in my feels if you couldn't tell.

I had the weirdest fucking dream where someone mentioned my Horns and Swords fic on a tik tok of best docs they've ever read and Rick actually commented and said something on his Twitter about how much he loved it

I also had another small dream the other day where Ariadne was actually canon and now when I see all of these tumblr posts I freaking am waiting for ari's and it never comes. I'm tempted to post them on here and have an Ariadne version beneath it?

Would that be something you all want?

Q: What does your name mean?

A: It's a fucking flower and a Disney Princess so

I hope you all enjoyed this. Tell me your favorite part and what you're most excited for

Hope everyone hates Hera as much as I do!

Love you guys