Kingfisher: The Oneshots

Gilded Traitor, Part Two - Haunted

The girl woke, sitting up so fast it scared the living daylights out of Leo, Jason, and Hedge.

"Hera!" She shouted, looking downright furious. She actually stood up, not sparing anyone else in the cave a single glance, and started pacing and muttering obscenities under her breath. "Stupid, scheming, conniving little--" she cut off abruptly, then looked up at Jason, Leo and Hedge. "Bitch."

"Um," said Jason, looking uncomfortable, "You want to pull up some rock? The fire's nice and warm."

"Okay," the girl replied. She took a deep, calming breath and sat down across from Leo and Jason, looking at them skeptically. "How about some introductions?"

Jason nodded. "I'm Jason. This is Leo, that's Coach Hedge, and that girl over there is Piper."

"I'm Rebecca," the girl said. "Rebecca di Angelo."

"What were you doing in Midas' house, Rebecca?" Jason asked.

"I was looking for a friend of mine. Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. You haven't seen him, have you?"

"Unfortunately, no," Jason said. "We're on a quest to save Hera. She's been kidnapped."

Rebecca arched her eyebrows. "Oh, really? No wonder she seemed so distant."

Leo frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I just had a dream vision from her," Rebecca said. "But she's forbidden me from talking about it."

"Are you from Camp Half-Blood?" Jason asked.

"You could say that," Rebecca said. "I don't really hang around much when I'm there, though."

"Why not?" Leo asked.

Rebecca frowned at him. "Personal reasons."

Behind Rebecca, Piper started to wake up. Jason went to bring her closer to the fire.

"Oh, god." Piper's teeth chattered. "He turned me to gold!"

"You're okay now." Jason leaned over and tucked a warm blanket around her, but she still shivered. Firelight flickered against rock walls.

"L-L-Leo?" Piper managed.

"Present." Leo attempted a grin. "We had to dunk you in the river to get you back completely. Tried to dry you off, but ... it's really, really cold."

"You've got hypothermia," Jason said. "We risked as much nectar as we could. Coach Hedge did a little nature magic—"

"Sports medicine," The coach agreed. "Kind of a hobby of mine. Your breath might smell like wild mushrooms and Gatorade for a few days, but it'll pass. You probably won't die. Probably."

"Thanks," Piper said weakly. "How did you beat Midas?"

Jason told her the story and introduced Rebecca.

Piper's eyes widened. "You're her! You're the gilded traitor."

Rebecca stiffened, going completely on defense mode. "What did you just call me?"

"Sorry, that came out wrong," Piper said. "You're supposed to be a part of our prophecy. King of giants' plan to be foiled / by the gilded traitor turned loyal. Annabeth told me about you. You're a traitor because you fought against Camp Half-Blood but you came back, making you loyal again. And you got turned to gold by Midas, making you gilded. You're supposed to help us!"

"Oh, no," Rebecca said, shaking her head furiously. "Absolutely not. I've had enough quests and action for a lifetime. The only reason I'm out searching for Percy is because Annabeth called in a favor. It's not up for discussion."