[I will be changing a few things this chapter to fit Ariadne's story line. But other than that, it's the same.]

I 023. I

𝑯𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔

❝ out, out, out ❞

     THE COOKIES WERE BURNED. And they tasted stale in her small mouth, but she ate them anyways, because this was one of those rare moments where her mom wasn't drinking and laying in her bed. She was up and humming the familiar song she had heard all her life, baking trays upon trays of chocolate chip cookies.

Ariadne swallowed the last piece of her cookies while watching her mother with a hesitant expression, her small frame in the large armchair in the living room. She was only five, her birthday had been two days ago.

There were still party streamers hanging from the ceiling, as her mother was fine with putting them up but not taking them down. Her grandparents had been over for the first time since she was born, she had overheard her mother saying that too herself.

Her grandparents were kind and brought presents, but they also made her mom cry by bringing over a stack of papers to give her. She thought it was letters from her father.

She picked up another cookie before her mother gave her a smile, "Are you excited to go to the doctor?"

Ariadne shook her head no. She didn't like the doctor, hated it, actually. Her mother let out a small laugh before picking her up gently. She seemed happier. "We're going to figure out why you keep seeing your imaginary friends."

They weren't imaginary. They were real things she was seeing. Monsters with horns and forked tongues, one-eyed men who were as tall as some buildings. There were older kids fighting them with swords and knives, yelling out in a language she seemed to understand.

"Real," she whispered to her mother who narrowed her eyes.

"Fake."

She was quiet after that. The girl didn't talk or sing with her mother in the car, only looking out the window and watching as kids ran around with their parents on the playground. Her mother had never down that with her.

The sight of the building was daunting to her. She was only five and the idea of the doctors scared her— needles and finger pricks which caused her pain. Her mother guided her into the building while holding her hand, giving her daughter a comforting smile.

Ariadne didn't know what her mom was doing at the front desk but she played with the small toys on the table before her. Her hands were drawn towards the small three headed dog stuffed animal and snake lady, having them fight with small giggles in between sound affects.

To the other patients and people in the waiting room, it seemed to be a normal thing for a child to play. But to her mother, who knew what her daughter saw, it was terrifying. She let her daughter play with the animals until it was their turn to see the doctor.

The girl hugged her mom tightly, inching away from the woman in the white coat. Her mother apologized and whispered to the girl, "Ariadne, she's trying to help. Let her." The voice her mother used scared her so much she let go, the women picking her up and taking her into a room as she cried.

"No! Mommy! Mommy!"

She was forced to do a few tests, pointing out different letters only to see worried looks on the doctor's face. Her body wanted to run around rather than sit down and she couldn't concentrate, but when she was handed the small toy sword rather than a pencil, she felt alive and laughed.

Her mother watched with a worried look until the girl glanced up, her smile diminishing. The women gave her a glare and mouthed something she couldn't see.

The doctor gave her a smile and asked her something, "Do you have trouble with the alphabet, Ariadne?"

She looked towards her mother who glared even harder and mouthed wider, "Lie." The women didn't want anything wrong with her doctor, so she didn't see any signs of what her daughter could be.

Ariadne's face fell and she gave the women a sad look. The doctor tilted her head and asked again, "Do you have trouble with the alphabet?"

Her heart picked up and she tried telling the women yes, but the girl was afraid of her mother. She gave the women a glare before grabbing a pencil and throwing it, not being able to communicate properly.

Her voice picked up and screamed out as the doctor tried calming her down, hands on her arms which triggered something in her. "No! Please don't hurt me, mommy!"

The doctor froze at that statement and looked over at the women who had shocked eyes. She sent the girl out with one of her nurses to eat a popsicle, only for her to throw it across the room and break pencils in half.

"Out!" She shouted. "Out, out, out!" Her feet ran around the small room and kicked the wall multiple times, creating dents and holes in it. She grabbed a broken pencil end and stuck it through the wall as she screamed even more. "Crazy! Crazy, crazy, crazy!"

Ariadne was forced to be restrained by a nurse as she thrashed around, tears streaming down her face while she watched her own mother act out as well. She was forced to listen to her mother scream about how she wouldn't have a crazy daughter or see the girl she gave birth to be a lunatic.

She caught the words, ADHD, Dyslexia and IED. But that sent her mother off, "I WON'T HAVE ANYMORE TESTING!"

The girl just wanted to go home and eat burnt cookies like that morning, where her mother was humming and happy. But she had to watch as her mother destroyed the room with words and added more to the damage to what Ariadne had already done.

Her words were all jumbled and she could only say two things: "Out! Crazy!"

And maybe that was her problem, she had only grown up on two words. Wanting out of her own home and feeling as if she was crazy every day of her life, all because of what she saw.

But she never fully got out of her mother's hold, and even to this day, she felt crazy.

***

IT WAS AROUND ELEVEN WHEN SHE APPEARED ON DECK. After her dream, she left Annabeth down there to sleep because the blonde needed it. Her feet brought her towards Percy who stood at the edge, being lookout for him.

Annabeth was originally on the job, but after a few hours she met Ariadne downstairs to lie in the hammock because she was sea sick. The brunette herself wasn't surprisingly, she was just tired.

Her arms leaned against the rail sides of the Queen Anne's Revenge. It was Blackbeard's ship which they stole. Out of all the yachts at the port, Percy chose the seventeenth century pirate ship. But the ship listened to all his commands, and he manned it well enough, guess it was the Poseidon part of him.

The ship had a new captain. A slightly idiotic and very impulsive thirteen year old son of Poseidon. Wow, what a sentence.

She watched as a few reptile like monsters swam below and under the ship, making her feel extremely nervous. Percy was still jumpy from being a guinea pig. He apparently still had an urge to eat lettuce, which they didn't have.

Percy leaned against the side next to her, both of them watching the waves. He glanced over at her face and seemed to hold his breath when he saw her in the moonlight.

Her curly hair still had gold threaded between the strands, she hadn't taken the crown off her head either. Both of the girls had washed off their makeup, but that didn't mean Ariadne was any less pretty in his eyes. Her amethyst eyes were like nightlights in the dark, and he wondered if Artemis had blessed her to look so pretty in the shadow of the moon or if that was just her.

The brunette felt eyes on her and glanced over, but only saw Percy looking at the water with a blush coating his cheeks. She let her lips part as she looked at his sea-green eyes which were prettier than any ocean she had ever seen. His raven hair was over of his eyes but the wind blew it back, he truly looked in his element. Butterflies erupted in her stomach but she cleared her throat, eyeing the water once more.

Percy pursed his lips, "Did you like it?"

"What?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Circe's island," he hesitated, "did you-did you like it?"

She shrugged, "It would've been better if you weren't turned into a guinea pig. But yeah, I did like it."

The boy nodded before looking at the sails steering them in a different direction. He moved over and grabbed a rope and fix it while she watched him easily work. She smiled slightly before feeling her heartbeat pick up and turned towards the water again.

He walked back over and resumed his position from before. The girl sighed before looking down at the ring on her right hand. "A seventeenth century pirate ship, huh?"

"Hey," he rolled his eyes, "you and Annabeth trusted me."

"I thought we would be on a yacht or something. Feel like celebrities."

"Yeah, we totally look like celebrities."

She gave him a hair flip, "I don't know about you, Kelp Head. Annabeth is a princess according to the cab driver and I'm a singer, I guess you're just our sidekick."

"Sidekick?!" He laughed. She gave him a grin before he punched her shoulder softly. "I bet I can sing better than you."

Ariadne smirked, "Prove it."

That made him shut up, but a grin spread across his face as Ariadne laughed loudly, eyes glowing. She let it die down but kept a smile on her lips. "Can you sing?"

"I thought that was obvious, Kelp Head."

"I mean well, can you sing well?"

She shrugged and gave him a coy grin. "I like to think I can, but, I'm not quite sure."

Percy faced her fully with a determined look in his eyes. "Then sing. I'll tell you if you can."

"Wow," she teased. "You know how to make a girl swoon." He blushed slightly but shook his head at her, arching an eyebrow. The girl sighed, "What do you want to hear?"

"I don't know. Anything, really."

She contemplated for a few seconds until a song her grandmother sang to her on her fifth birthday, the one her mother grew up hearing.

"Schoolbag in hand, she leaves home in the early morning." Percy feels as if he's hearing an angel sing, his heart beats faster and faster while he watches her in awe. "Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile. I watch her go with a surge of that well-known sadness."

Ariadne had never sung this song for anyone but herself. She felt as if it was her mother's, but since her mother wasn't there, it was time she sang it for someone. Percy was the lucky person to hear it.

"And I have to sit down for a while. That feeling that I'm losing her forever. And without really entering her world, I'm glad whenever I can share her laughter. That funny little girl." The moon seemed to glow brighter, but neither noticed. "Slipping through my fingers all the time. I try to capture every minute, that feeling in it. Slipping through my fingers all the time. Do I really see what's in her mind? Each time I think I'm close to knowing, she keeps on growing."

The girl took a small breath, "Slipping through my fingers all the time."

Her voice had woken up Annabeth from below, who panicked and thought they were near the sirens, but she only realized it was her brunette friend. The girl made it up the stairs passed midnight and noticed Ariadne and Percy next to one another, laughing quietly as Percy was being teased about his singing.

He could sing well, but he only let the brunette hear a part before he lost confidence and stopped. At that moment, they heard Annabeth behind them.

They passed a smoking volcano island. Sea bubbling along the shore. "One of the forges of Hephaestus," Annabeth said. "Where he makes his metal monsters."

"Like the bronze bulls?" Percy asked.

She nodded. "Go around. Far around."

He steered them clear of the island, and soon, it was a patch of bronze and red in the distance. The boy looked to Annabeth and Ariadne. "The reason you hate Cyclops so much... the story about how Thalia really died. What happened?"

Both of their expressions went dark. The brunette looked to blonde, it was only fair that Annabeth tell the story, seeing as she was closer and had been on the run with Thalia.

"I guess you deserve to know," Annabeth finally said. "The night Grover was escorting is to camp, he got confused, took some wrong turns. You remember he told you that once."

Percy nodded.

"Well the worst wrong turn was into a Cyclops's lair in Brooklyn."

"They've got Cyclops in Brooklyn?" He asked.

"You wouldn't believe have how many, but that's not the point," she continued. Ariadne let her gaze to the water. "This Cyclops, he tricked us. He managed to split us up inside this maze of corridors in an old house in Flatbush," the brunette shivered slightly. "And he could sound like anyone, Percy. Just the way Tyson did aboard the Princess Andromeda. He lured us, one at a time. Thalia thought she was running to save Luke. Luke thought he heard me scream for help. And me... I was alone in the dark. I was seven years old. I couldn't find the exit."

She brushed the hair from her face. "I remember finding the main room. There were bones all over the floor. And there were Thalia and Luke and Grover, tied up and gagged, hanging from the ceiling like smoked hams. The Cyclops was starting a fire in the middle of the floor. I drew my knife, but he heard me. He turned and smiled. He spoke, and somehow he knew my dad's voice. I guess he just plucked it out of my mind. He said, 'Now, Annabeth, don't you worry. I love you. You can stay here with me. You can stay forever.'"

Percy seemed shaken already. "What did you do?"

"I stabbed him in the foot."

"Are you kidding? You were seven years old and you stabbed a grown Cyclops in the foot

"Oh, he would've killed me. But I surprised him. It gave me enough time to run to Thalia and cut the ropes on her hands. She took it from there."

"Yeah, but still... that was pretty brave, Annabeth," Percy complimented. That's what Ariadne had told her, but she denied it.

Annabeth shook her head, "We barely got out alive. I still have nightmares, Percy. The way that Cyclops talked in my father's voice. It was his fault we took so long getting back to camp. All the monsters who'd been chasing us had time to catch up. That's really why Thalia died. If it hadn't been for that Cyclops, she'd still be alive today."

They were sitting down now, and the brunette watched as the Hercules constellations went by.

"When we made it to Half-Blood Hill," Annabeth said, "Ariadne was there waiting for us. She helped pull me, Luke and Grover through. When she went back for Thalia..."

Both of their friends look towards the girl who glared at the floor. "I was too late," she mumbled grimly. "If I had just moved a bit faster, I could've stopped that Cyclops from grabbing her."

Annabeth shook her head. "It wasn't your fault. You tried."

Ariadne didn't listen to her. She clenched her fists tightly before looking towards Percy, "Go below. You need some rest."

He nodded before standing up and making his way below deck. Ariadne and Annabeth watched the night sky with saddened. The blonde looked to her friend. "It wasn't your fault," she whispered. "It's true, Aria, no one blames you, not even Thalia."

"I blame myself," the brunette told her. "And that's enough for me to hurt."

***

PERCY SHOT UP FROM HIS HAMMOCK. The brunette girl was shaking him quickly. "Perc, you were having a nightmare. You need to get up."

"Wh—what is it?" He rubbed his eyes. "What's wrong."

"Land," she warned him. "We're approaching the island of the Sirens."

All three of them stared at the island in the distance— a dark spot in the mist. She let out a nervous breath. "I want you to do me a favor," Annabeth said. "The Sirens... we'll be in range of their singing soon."

"No problem," Percy assured her. "We can just stop up our ears. There's a big tub of candle wax below deck—"

"I want to hear them."

Ariadne almost here a heart attack. She wasn't not about to let her best friend listen to something that could cause her death.

"Why?" Percy asked.

"They say the Sirens song the truth about what you desire. They tell you things about yourself you didn't even realize. That's what's so enchanting. If you survive... you become wiser. I want to hear them. How often will I get that chance?"

Percy took a bit to agree but he nodded, going with it. Annabeth looked to Ariadne who was staring at her with a hard glare. "No."

"Aria," Annabeth tried, "I won't have another chance to do this."

"You can get killed, Annie. This can kill you."

"I know. But it's a risk I'm willing to take."

Ariadne grit her teeth before shaking her head, "No." the blonde's face fell and she looked angry. "Not without me."

The blonde lost her anger as both her and Percy were surprised. "What?" Percy asked.

"I'll do it with her. Because I'm not going to let my best friend doing something this risky without me," she gave Annabeth a small smile. The girl looked to Percy, "You can handle us both, right?"

Percy became angry. "You're not doing it."

"Why? If Annabeth is, why can't I?"

"Because, you're only doing it to protect her. And you can do that without hearing them."

Ariadne sighed, "Maybe I have a question I need answered, too. I can do this, but can you? Can you watch us both?"

The boy contemplated the idea before nodding reluctantly. He ordered ropes to wrap around both of the girl's middles, tying them to the foremast.

Percy looked to Ariadne who was watched the island come closer. "Don't untie me," she said, "no matter what happens or how much we plead. We'll want to go straight over the edge and drown ourselves."

"Are you trying to tempt me?" He joked, but it fell flat in the tense air. The boy promised to keep them secure before he stuck two large wads of wax into his ears.

Percy made at face at both girls who giggled at the sight of him before turning to the wheel. Ariadne watched as the ship skirted around the jagged rocks and fog, if they had sailed any closer, they would be shredded.

At first, both of them were fine. Until Annabeth heard something that caused her eyes to widen, looking around. The brunette didn't hear anything until—

"Ariadne?"

She looked around with a confused look. That sounded an awful lot like... "Mom?"

"Ariadne?! Oh, my love, it is you!"

"Mom?" She called out towards the rocks, trying to see her. "Mom?! Where are you?"

As she started struggling against the ropes, so did Annabeth. The girl was looking around madly, reminding her of the time she ran into the forest when she heard her mom's voice. "Mom! You're back?!"

"I'm over here!" she shouted loudly. Tears were piling in her eyes when the voice didn't reply, but her eyes turned to Percy who was looking at her with worry. "Percy! Perc, let me go!"

Annabeth was also calling out his name, but he only turned away, not looking towards them. She frowned before looking around even more.

"Aria, hey, Ari, everything's okay."

She froze at the voice, looking at the island.

"Everything's alright, Aria, I'm here. I've got you, you're safe."

"Luke?" She called out. "Luke— is that you? I can't see you!"

"Swim over! I'm okay. Swim over and I'll meet you. Grover's here too."

"He is?"

"Yeah. He's set up a picnic, just like old times."

Her heart was pounding in her chest before tears started falling down her face. She thrashed against the ropes before Luke spoke again. "Are you coming, Aria?"

"Yeah!" She shouted. "Yes, yes, yes!" The girl looked to the son of Poseidon, "Percy! Let me out— I need to see him."

Percy just shook his head and ignored her as she cried and cried. The girl heard her mother once more. He knew about her mom, he knew how much it hurt her. And if her mother was back, why wouldn't he let her see her?

"Ariadne, my love, everyone's here. Come on, swim to us. If you don't right now, you'll miss us."

That was enough for her. She twisted her ring— which Percy forgot about— into Lunacy before swiping the ropes off. She placed the ring back onto her finger and running towards the edge of the boat.

"Aidan!" Percy yelled after her but she was already diving into the water. He panicked, and seeing Annabeth bring out her knife, he grabbed a handful of wax and stuffed it into her ears before kicking her weapon away. She blinked a few times before he rushed off the side of the boat after the brunette.

Ariadne was paddling against the rough waters, going underwater and resurfacing while coughing out water. She was only worried about her family— Her mom, Luke. The girl almost ran into a rock but she managed to move away in time.

Her eyes widened once she was back in her mom's house Kentucky. The familiar backyard and swing set were behind a few people on a red picnic blanket. Food spread around them as she paddles faster, but she wasn't the best swimmer and that was a problem.

Luke was wrestling with Grover, who was trying to reach a few tin cans. Her mother— her beautiful mom— was holding hands and laughing with her father. Both looked happy and large smiles over their faces.

As she reached a hand out towards Luke— she had saved him— something wrapped around her ankle and pulled her back. "NO!" She shouted loudly. "Let me go!" Mom! Mom! Luke— don't leave me! Mom!"

Arms wrapped around her middle. She thrashed around, kicking and scratching at her stealer. "Mom! Luke! Guys, I'm right here!"

She was being pulled away by the waves moving quickly, but that didn't stop her. "MOM! Dad! Luke— guys, don't leave me! Please!"

Next thing she knew, she was underwater. Her lungs screamed out while water poured in as she fought against her stealer—

"Aidan!"

Percy?

They were pushed back up and her mind clouded. She scratched and kicked even harder as the tears didn't stop. "Let me go!" Her hand was stretched out, "MOM! Don't leave me again! Don't—"

Ocean water shrouded her in dim light, filling her lungs with the taste of salt. She couldn't breathe and her lungs were on fire, burning for some air, they screamed out.

Her hearing was turned off and she was gasping and coughing, her need for air so strong she lost all that she had left. Bubbles pushed forward and formed a large shielded around her and whoever held her tightly. Air filled her lungs thankfully, she clutched someone's shirt.

She looked up and met Percy's eyes, the sea-green so calm it helped soothe her anxiety. But it did nothing to sooth her aching heart. For nothing was real in that moment... her mom, dad, Luke, Grover... it wasn't real.

Tears fell from her eyes as he hugged her tightly, not letting her go. Sobs racked her body so much— she was afraid her bones rattling in her body. Her heart was broken in a hundred pieces, fighting to repair itself. She couldn't hold it in, everything hurt, she just wanted it to end.

Percy cared them back towards the ship and away from the Sirens. Away from their death grip on her brain and heart. And away from her deepest desires, answering the question she wondered all along.

Ariadne Phoenix was broken. All because she realized her mother truly never did want her, she was only for decoration.

Ariadne didn't speak to anyone. It left Annabeth frustrated and she huffed before walking away. The brunette knew that wasn't the right thing to do, as the blonde herself did experience the same thing as her. But she couldn't get the words out, all of it was wrapped around her brain.

The air was tense with silence and the sound of the wind knocking against the wooden ship. A blanket was wrapped around her shoulders, to shield herself from the sea. But it did nothing to dry her clothes.

Percy sat next to her once Annabeth went below deck. He frowned at the brunette who's purple eyes stared ahead. "You okay?" The girl only blinked a few times and pulled the blanket around her tighter. "Aidan, you need to talk to me. Annabeth talked to me, it's your turn."

Her throat tightened and she felt like she was going to throw up. The girl looked down at her dirty shoes and picked at the dirt on them. "What did she say?" Her voice was raw.

"Something about her fatal flaw being hummus?"

She stopped for a second. Her eyebrows furrowed before giving him a glance, "Hubris?"

"No," he shook his head, "hummus."

Her eyes rolled, "Yeah, I got that. But it's called hubris. Deadly pride."

Percy blushed slightly in embarrassment before clearing his throat. The boy looked at the brunette who was staring towards her shoes. "Did you figure out your problem?"

She stopped picking at her shoes and blinked away the few tears that appeared in her eyes. The girl looked towards him. "Yeah."

"What—what was it?"

"My mom. I wanted to know why she abandoned me."

He nodded and didn't push anymore. "You didn't ask about your powers?"

The girl shook her head. "Why should I if I already know the answer."

"What's that?" Percy asked, sea-green eyes focusing on the girl. He hated seeing her this way— broken and quiet. The boy missed the brunette girl who would tease him  and call him Kelp Head, or make jokes and sword fight.

"I'm going to have to make a difficult choice. About who's side I'm on."

Percy didn't know what that meant. He was confused by he looked towards the girl, "That's not all, is it?"

Ariadne took a deep breath and stuttered for a few moments. That wasn't it. Two questions had been answered for her by the Siren song, and she hated that she knew both. Her fingers pulled the blanket tighter and wished she was back at camp and in her cabin. But they weren't, they were in the middle of the ocean.

"My fatal flaw," her voice was quiet. Her hands shook and he took them in his, keeping them still. "Through the whole thing... I-I felt angry. At myself, at my parents... at Luke."

He nodded, "I saw."

"You did?" her lip quivered.

"Yeah. Is that your flaw, anger?"

The girl swallowed a lump in her throat. "No, I have a Savior Complex" He opened his mouth to say something else but her eyes widened, "Perc."

He looked forward and saw a blotch of land— forested hills and beaches and green meadows. The nautical senses confirmed it for him, that was where they needed to be, their destination.

Ariadne looked at the island and her heart stopped— they had reached the home of the Cyclops.

authors note:
Okay but, like, I didn't even realize that I hit 1k on this story.

My mind is officially blown. This is the first time it's happened. I love you guys so much and thank you for reading!