𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫. ── 𝐣𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞

𝐱𝐱𝐢𝐢. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲

BY THE TIME SHE GOT TO THE RIVER, AELLA WAS COMPLETELY DRENCHED.

She and Jason had walked 7 miles to set up camp, in the pouring rain, (thanks, Jason), all while they carried a golden statue on their back and Jason harnessed storm spirits to bring them 500 miles away. Aella had to resist the urge to jump off the nearest cliff.

While they set up camp in a cave, Leo had partially unfrozen from his involuntary slumber.

Jason sat down next to Aella. "Leo and Piper would wake up in about an hour. Do you wanna get some rest?"

Aella nodded. "Sure. I'll stay up for watch, that lightning bolt really drained you."

"No! It's fine! You don't have to stay up."

"Jason," she turned to face him, and held his hands in hers. "you have to sleep."

He blushed a bright red. "But you—"

"No. You will sleep."

"Fine," he shook his head, spraying water all over the cave floor, "I'll sleep." He put his head on her shoulder, and within a beat, he was out cold, curled up against her.

She sighed, and examined the cave around her. Next to her, a campfire blazed, turning the air sharp with smoke. Firelight flickered against rock walls. They were in a shallow cave, but it didn't offer much protection. Outside, the wind howled. Snow blew sideways. It might've been day or night. The storm made it too dark to tell. Soon, she started nodding to sleep.

"Aella?"

She whipped her head around to see Coach Hedge, who had returned from scouting their base camp.

"Oh... yeah Coach?" She replied.

"Get some sleep. That crackpot king wasn't easy on you either."

"Really?" Her eyes widened.

"Yeah, it's not easy. I'll keep watch." 

Aella yawned. Maybe she did need some sleep. Or maybe—never mind. Hypnos was probably laughing at her from Olympus. SUCKER!

"Fine. Thanks Coach."

As she drifted off to sleep, an image came into her head. A dream, of course! She thought. A tired demigod could never get a break. Soon, the image became less blurry and clearer. It was a man, one who was tall and lean, with golden skin and winged— "Dad!"

She leaped towards him and enveloped him into a hug. 

"Elly, oh my goodness. I've—I've missed you."

They stood like that for some time. Aella's eyes welled from the embrace. Ever since the battle for Olympus, she hadn't seen her father—for months. After all this time, all she wanted was a family that considered her an equal, but with her absent stepfather, her dead mother, her father who was a literal god, her adoptive mom who was a baking goddess (go Sally!), and her super powerful cousin, she had never had that. No matter what she did for Sally, Percy would always come first for her. She was nobody's priority. 

She broke down sobbing. "Dad... Percy's gone. I—Annabeth and I tried to look for him but—" 

Hermes knelt down to her crouched figure. "Hey, Princess...you'll find him. Don't give up hope."

Aella sniffled. Once again, she was two years old crying at the sight of her mother's dead body. She was three, crying to her step-father who had left her to die in a dark, cold forest. She was four, when Sally Jackson took her in as her own, discovering that she was her niece. She was eleven, when the only parental figure who had ever loved her disappeared. She was twelve when she vowed to never be weak, to be strong for all the people around her. She was fifteen, and her brother killed himself in front of her. That day, she was broken.