amaranthine - pjo

chapter ii

After what felt like forever, Meria slowly peeled her eyes open, straightening her back as distinctive cracks could be heard in her bones. A groan left the girl's lips as she took her surroundings. She was lying on an old wool bed in what seemed like a wooden cabin. She searched for any signs of danger before falling back onto the bed with a big hump!

Next to Meria laid an old rucksack, and when she peered into it, she saw a little box, along with a pouch and a piece of parchment. Slowly lifting the piece of parchment, she unpeeled it and read what was written.

My Daughter,

I wish you luck on your upcoming quests, and I am in hope that you will return to Olympus and be successful in proving your worth before the council. Hecate has been requested to hide your identity with this mist, and from now on, you will go by the alias Alice Mitchell, an unclaimed camper if you know who shall question it.

In the box, you shall find weapons crafted by the Cyclopses made from the best materials in Atlantis. Along with that, I offer you, Nectar and Ambrosia in case you are harmed. In the small pouch, you will find Drachmas and some Mortal money.

I wish you success on your quest, and I have faith that you will be victorious,

Poseidon.

Meria smiled slightly to herself, happy that at least her father had some faith in her. Meria grabbed the small box and found three rings, each with beautiful engravings of her father's attributes. Placing one on, she twisted it delicately and found a beautiful sword made of Celestial Bronze. When she twisted the other two rings, they transformed into thin daggers, and if Meria was quite honest, she found them wicked. In the box was also a small portion of Nectar and Ambrosia tied in a cloth.

Twisting back the weapons into the jewelry, Meria opened the small pouch and found a Credit Card and a Drachmas sack. She smiled in gratitude and thanked her father for the gifts he had granted her.

Groggily standing up, Meria threw the bag on her shoulder and opened the door. She did not expect Mr. D to sit by a small table and play pinochle with a satyr. Her eyes widened as she took in her surroundings, realizing exactly where she was. Camp Half-Blood.

Meria then took notice of how warm it was, which confused her immensely. It was just the Winter Solistice, and she highly doubted that it would be so warm at this time of the year.

Dionysus looked up from his cards at the sudden noise and groaned when he saw Meria. The girl raised her eyebrows in annoyance at his reaction and scoffed in disbelief.

"Finally, you're awake. Old Barnacle Beard thought you died. Took your sweet old time," Dionysus said, rolling his eyes and turning back to the game.

"How long was I out?" Meria asked as she sat at the table, looking at the Camp. She had been there a few times before when she joined Dionysus for a weekend and spent time with the campers. Something she quite liked doing, the girl felt pity for the campers for how life had treated them and, as always, surprised to see how carefree and happy they seemed despite their situation.

"Four months, more or less," Dionysus said lazily, not even caring in the slightest.

Meria was thankful she was sitting down because she was sure she would have fallen from the shock. Four months? She barely had two months left to find the Masterbolt, and she had only just woken up. The satyr sent the girl a comforting smile, knowing how she must have felt.

"You're kidding me."

"No," Dionysus snorted.

Meria massaged her temples in stress of what was going to happen. She didn't even wait long before an idea dawned over her. She wasn't far from a school she knew that a special someone attended. Meria quickly grabbed her backpack and requested Dionysus to have Argus drive her to New York.

It was about time she met her brother. 

The trip to Manhattan wasn't long, as Argus had dropped her off near a Metropolitan Museum of Art. Something was telling her she had to be there.

Meria blended fairly easily with the other people, wearing a hoodie along with a pair of jeans. Her hair was in the plait she had most of her life, the one Hera insisted she kept wearing, and within the years, Meria found herself wearing it nearly every day.

When she neared the Museum, she saw a man in a wheelchair that looked similar to Chiron. She laughed it off before looking back, realizing that this man looked really, really similar to Chiron.

 As if sensing that somebody was watching him, the man lifted his head to look. His eyes widened slightly as he realized who it was, and he quickly nodded his head in respect.

Meria herself was surprised to see that the man was actually Chiron and he was in a small wheelchair, and she wondered how on earth his body fit there. Letting her mind wander off, Meria didn't realize she began daydreaming and was knocked out of her trance when she saw that Chiron rode to her and was talking.

"Sorry?" Meria asked flabbergasted

"Lady Meria, it is nice to see you once again," Chiron repeated, smiling at her. "If I may ask, why are you here?"

Meria looked confused before saying, "if I am honest with you, Chiron, I don't know. I felt the need to be here, but I have somewhere else to go. Yancy Academy, if you know by any chance where it is?"

Chiron looked surprised at what she said but didn't show it too much, "well, you are in luck as Yancy Academy is right here," he said as he pointed his hand towards a group of kids around a fountain eating lunch.

Meria's eyes searched through the children when her eyes caught a tall boy with brown hair and oddly shaped legs. Compared to the other children, he looked a couple of years older. He looked like he was about to pass out and was shaking drastically.

"Now, if you can excuse me, I have to check on our potential recruit," Chiron said, riding his wheelchair towards the Museum.

Meria had a gut feeling about who he was talking about. But knowing Chiron knew what he was doing, she walked towards to lanky boy. She patted his shoulder, and the boy jumped in fright. He turned his eyes towards her, and if he already looked pale, well, he was nearly white now.

"L-La-Lady Meria," the boy stuttered out, giving her an awkward bow, and Meria quickly realized that this boy was a satyr.

"Hello, satyr," Meria smiled politely. "I see that you are doing your job here at Yancy Academy, and I would like to ask you if you perhaps know a boy named Percy Jackson."

"M-m-my lady," the satyr cried, "Percy is a good person; he doesn't know what he is doing. Please spare him."

Meria's eyes widened in surprise. Did the satyr think she was here to hurt Percy? "Goodness me, satyr," Meria breathed out a laugh, placing a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. "I am not here to harm Percy; I am only in search of him to recruit the boy back to Camp. Please, tell me your name,"

"Grover Underwood, My lady," Grover said; he was still anxious and tense but found himself to be calmer when Meria said she was here not to harm Percy but help him. He didn't dare question why, fearing she would do something to him.

Suddenly, Chiron came over to them, worry lines stretching his face. "I fear a Kindly One has come to attack Percy." Despite the severity of this situation, he said as if it was an everyday occurrence.

Meria widened her eyes and quickly looked between a panicked Grover and the worried yet calm Chiron. She quickly located the Museum's entrance and sprinted towards where Percy could be, trying to catch any possible noise that could indicate where he was. 

A sudden screech was heard when Meria turned the corner to see a Fury explode into dust. Percy's sword - she wondered where the boy had gotten it from - retracted back to a pen, and the boy stood still in shock.

Meria took a moment to take in the boy's features; if anything, Poseidon had spoken the truth. Percy looked like a baby replica with him, just without the beard, but everything else fits. From a mop of black hair and tanned skin to the sea green eyes he had, the same ones she did. Meria smiled lightly, realizing that this was the closest family she had, not counting Poseidon, of course. And despite Kym and Triton being her siblings, they both were children of Amphitrite, and Percy was Sally's son, just like she was her daughter.