Apollo's POV
I was chilling in my palace on my throne when Aphrodite and Poseidon barged in
"GET YOURSELF TO MY REALM IMMEDIATELY!" Aphrodite screams "THEY'RE RUINING MY GARAGE, AND THE CEREMONY TOMORROW WILL NOT HAPPEN IF ARIANA KILLS PERCY!" She vanishes in a puff of rose petals
"WTF?" I ask Poseidon
"Ariana is pissed at Percy because she gave up three years of her life for him and he didn't say thanks, and some problems with the inheritance of my throne" Poseidon adds
"Ah," I get up "But why do you need me?"
"Because it has something to do with her mental health and we have no idea how to do anything about that" He admitted
"Ah. Ahprodite's garage, I guess?"
It was a shitshow. Ariana was actively strangling two people and had pinned a sword beneath her foot, shouting something about watching his friends die.
"She's intense. And hot like fire!" I say. "Uncle P, don't look at me like that! I'm just saying she's hot!"
"Oh, thanks the gods. Apollo!" A hurried whisper comes from the car to my left, where Annabeth is hiding. "We think Oceanus is using Ariana as a host through the weird scars on her left arm, but we have no idea how to hold her still for long enough so you can heal them" A loud booming sound echoes from our right, where the sword beneath Ariana's foot has begun to splinter at the hilt
"OWIE OWIE OWIE OWIE" The sword screams
"JACK!" One of the kids in Ariana's chokehold starts glowing, and then a large explosion ensues, leaving a yellow kid, a slightly broken sword, and an absence of weapons
"Dude, you just 'Peace of Frey'd Ariana!" The other kid she was choking says
"Technically, she's being used as a weapon, so it must have counted," Annabeth says
"This hurts so much" the sword moans
"I'm still confused about how the heck A SWORD is TALKING" I gesture to it
"Hey! I'm not just a sword! I'm the sword of Summer! Weapon of Frey!" the sword protests
"It's a Norse mythology thing. My cousin is a son of Frey, the god of summertime" Annabeth says "Jack, I'm sorry Apollo hurt your feelings"
"Apollo, like- the sun god?" Jack asks
"We're getting off-topic. Magnus can only stop Ariana for some much time-"
"What the heck happened? Why is the garage destroyed?" Ariana stands up from the rubble "I remember getting mad about my powers and how much work I put into keeping Percy safe, and then there's a blank spot" She's back to normal, but her towering crown of gold, gems and seashells still rests on her head. It's nearly three feet tall, and I have no idea how her head is withstanding the weight of that thing. I can't withstand the weight of my own ceremonial crown half the time. I walk up to her and grab her left arm
"Ariana, your family told me you've been neglecting the wounds on your arm for a long time, and now Oceanus has used you to kill your brother. Please show me the wounds" I ask
"NOPE!" She tried to escape
"Ariana, please," Annabeth asked "If that happens tomorrow, at the wedding..."
"OKAY FINE! Only because you're guilt-tripping me" Ariana waves her hand, and the sleeve on her left arm dissolves. A lot of gasps echo through the room when they see the swirling wounds dripping Ichor and blood, the letters carved in elegant handwriting "επιρροή εξουσία μαριονέτα" Influence, power, puppet.
"Dam. That got really intense really fast, but I can't read Greek" Alex says
"it reads "Influence, power, puppet" and it means while these marks are on my arm, I can never be free of him" Ariana hangs her head "I'm sorry" She summons her blade...it swings into the air...and it comes down into and through her shoulder in one clean slice, severing her left arm from her body. She's left with no arm or even a shoulder blade. The severed limb falls limp onto the ground, the fist still clenching until it releases. She's bleeding Ichor, and she didn't even scream. She's a blank slate, devoid of emotion. I run my hand over the cut, and it heals.
"W-why did you do that?" Annabeth reaches out to Ariana
"It was the only way to be free of him, and the poison he spreads" She looks up from her feet, and not even a single tear is in her eyes "I had cut off the sensory inputs from that arm anyway when the pain got too intense." She walks toward Percy "And you still owe me a thanks for the three years of my life I spent protecting you"
"Thanks, Ariana. I never knew how much you sacrificed for me" He wraps her in a hug, and she returns it with her only arm. A loud honk from Aphrodite and her handkerchief lets us know how she feels.
"THIS WOULD MAKE SUCH A HEARTFELT TV DRAMA!" She wails. Ariana rolls her shoulders
"It feels different without the weight" She comments "I guess this is my fault. I told him I could defeat him with one arm tied behind my back. He did this curse, and I think he wanted me to cut off my arm"
"Okay, we get it. Can we get on with last-minute wedding things?" Annabeth says "Percy, we have two options for Honeymoon destinations. Hawaii or Argentina?"
"Hawaii!" Percy scoops her up again as Annabeth makes a reservation on her phone. When she gets confirmation, Percy plucks the phone from her hand and tucks it in his pocket "I just want to spend time with you without all this wedding stuff"
"I have work e-mails, Seaweed brain" Annabeth scowls. He hands her the phone, and he's still carrying her as she works
"I'll just find a corner somewhere and let you work" He whispers. Annabeth nods, and they walk away together.
"They are too cute" I whisper to the sword
YOU ARE READING
Ariana's Trials
FanfictionSecond book after "Percy and Ariana Jackson" Ariana and the rest of the demigods sent to Berk had defeated Aegir and slowed the other enemy's arrival. Ariana, who has taken the place of Thalassa, the goddess of coral, needs to complete her trials in...
