Gone Girl.¹

𝟬𝟬𝟲. finding daedalus

gone girl.
━━━ chapter six

❀

Being a demigod was very hard. Having a god as a parent, a god who doesn't really care for you and yet makes you fight their battles is hard. Having to deal with the constant anxiety that monsters are about to start attacking you when you're in the outside world is hard.

However, what Amaryllis was most frustrated about was the dreams.

Half-bloods often had dreams of importance, whether it was a message from a god or a vision of the future. Either way, it was rarely about something positive. Amaryllis used to have the weirdest dreams when she was younger - not that she had ever taken drugs, but she was pretty sure that if she ever took drugs, it would be like just her dreams. Incoherent sounds, voices that she could never recognize, sights of the most random stuff, like a house and a river. And while they made no sense, they still drove her mad. Yet during her time in Ogygia, the dreams had stopped.

Now that she was in the Labyrinth though, it seemed like they'd start once again.

In her dream she saw a memory, but it wasn't her's. It was her father's.

Amaryllis had never seen him in person. He looked just like she was picturing him, with long golden hair similar to some of her siblings' and blue eyes so bright that shone like the sun, making his godly status impossible to ignore. He was tall and muscular, his whole presence was radiant compared to the dark background. It looked like he was underground, in a place very similar to the Labyrinth but Amaryllis could tell it wasn't there. Even though it was a dream, she could almost feel the cold atmosphere of that place.

"Uncle, what a pleasant surprise!" Apollo said with an obvious fake smile. It was only at that moment that Amaryllis realised what she was watching - they seemed to be in Hades' palace. The king of the Underworld was sitting on a huge throne made of bones with a scowl that could only indicate that it was neither pleasant nor a surprise.

"Cut the crap," he demanded. Amaryllis was startled by how deep and terrifying his voice was. "You want something from me. What is it?"

Apollo attempted to strike a charming smile, but it didn't seem to be working. "Oh, please! Can't a god just visit his uncle because he missed him?"

"No."

He shrugged. "Fair enough. I have a favour to ask of you."

"And my answer is no. I don't want anything to do with you, Olympians," Hades said angrily, appearing offended at the mere thought that he would help his nephew out.

Yet the god of the sun didn't seem to accept that answer. "You know that I would have never came here unless it was important, uncle," Apollo insisted. "Please hear me out first."

Hades grunted, but signalled him to talk.

"Thank you. I'm sure you're already familiar with what happened to the Oracle of Delphi." Amaryllis noticed that Hades had a knowing look on his face, but didn't say anything. "One of my children, my sweet daughter, having the gift of prophecy, she thought she could become the new host of the Oracle. I- I warned her that it was far too dangerous, but I didn't know... She died. She couldn't take the spirit and... died."