Dancing with Death

Happy the Dragon

Eliza jogged up to the mechanical dragon and examined every inch of its bronze plating. Finally, her gaze settled on Leo. He was absolutely covered in grease and he obviously hadn't slept.

Thomas was standing among the gawking campers. He watched the dragon move fluidly as it studied the congregating campers with marked anxiety.

Leo patted he dragon's neck comfortingly and slid to the ground.

Jason stared at the metal dragon as it shone in the sunlight. "Dude! How?" He couldn't say anything else.

Leo smiled self-importantly. "I fixed the dragon problem. It was just some corrosion on his main circuit. He's feeling much better now. Isn't that right, Festus."

"You named it Festus?" Annabeth asked.

Jason took a minute to translate the word. "Happy the dragon."

Leo's triumphant smile shrank to an embarrassed grin as he shrugged. "Why not? He's pretty happy, especially now that I cleaned him up."

Thomas inched closer to the dragon and it released a quiet growl. He took a step back. "It's incredible."

Leo turned at the sound of Thomas' voice and, of course, the first thing he noticed was the metal leg. "Kind of like that leg of yours. That's awesome!"

Thomas flexed it, blushing a bit. "A guy's gotta make do with what he has, right."

"You made it." Leo observed. "You're a son of Hephaestus too?"

Thomas nodded. "Pleasure to meet you, brother." He extended a hand.

Leo took it. "Pleasure's all mine." He stared at the leg. "You've gotta show me how you made that."

Thomas chuckled. "Maybe when you get back from your quest."

Leo's smile widened again. "I guess I'll have something to look forward to."

Annabeth cleared her throat. "Speaking of the quest, you three should get moving."

Jason nodded and moved closer to Festus. "Come on guys."

Suddenly, it hit Eliza. Jason and Piper and Leo were really leaving. They would be facing giants and who knew what else. They could get hurt or worse. She couldn't let them go alone. She couldn't sit back and do nothing while they put their lives on the line.

"Wait!" She rushed over to Jason. Piper and Leo had already mounted the dragon's neck. "I want to come with you." She held Jason's gaze, pleading with her eyes.

"But..." he shot Annabeth a quick worried glance. "the prophecy didn't say anything about you coming along."

"It didn't say anything about me not coming either." She countered. "Besides, we don't know who my godly parent is. For all we know, it could've."

"It's too dangerous." He held. "Annabeth said there's a rule about only three people going on a quest. If you come, there will be consequences for breaking that rule."

"I don't care." She grabbed his hands to focus his attention on her. "Jason, ever since you woke up on that bus, you are the only thing in my life that feels real." She gazed up into his concerned blue eyes. They may have been the same age, but Eliza was a good head shorter than him. "All my memories from the Wilderness School are fake. Everything before that is a blur. All I know is that someway, somehow, we do know each other." She noticed something flash through his eyes, maybe recognition or realization. "Don't tell me you haven't felt it too."

He broke her gaze and nodded. "You're right. I have felt it, an inexplicable connection." He stared at the ground. "I think we do know each other... which is another reason I don't want to put you in harms way."

"You know what." She replied. "I was wrong. There's one other thing that I know. I have to protect you, no matter what, because I cannot lose the one thing in me life that's true." She released his hands and crossed her arms. "So, allow me to rephrase. I'm coming with you, whether you want me to or not."

They held each other's gaze until Jason finally broke. "Fine, but I'm not responsible for what happens to you."

She smirked. "Don't worry, Airhead. I'd never dream of blaming you."

He rolled his eyes. "Just get on the dragon before I change my mind."

"Yes sir." Eliza gave a little salute and climbed onto Festus' neck behind Piper.

Jason mounted the bronze beast behind her and urged Leo to take off.

Soon, they were soaring through the brisk air, headed West.

Eliza glanced over her shoulder at Jason. His blonde hair whipped wildly in the rushing wind as he surveyed the shrinking scenery below them. She didn't know how or when, but they had met before. He reminded her of the life Juno had replaced. She had to protect that, she had to protect him. He was her only clue. But one thing didn't make sense. If she and Jason came from the same place, why didn't Juno completely wipe her mind. Why use the Mist to hide her life when she could just take it like she did to Jason? On top of that, why had the goddess called her a mistake? What had she done in her real life to make Juno hate her? And, more importantly, who was her godly parent?

A/N
Sorry, it's shorter today.🙁
Hope you enjoyed it anyway. As always, I would LOVE to hear your thoughts/predictions for the story.
Until next time. Thank you all.
-Cheshire