𝓟𝓻𝓪𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓪 - (𝓟.𝓙𝓪𝓬𝓴𝓼𝓸𝓷)

06.

vol i
➵ chapter six ➵

There was no denying that Helia had enjoyed the treatments.
She could admit that her now expertly shaped eyebrows looked better than they had ever done. Her skin is wonderfully oiled, and her hair is intricately braided. Makeup pristine.

She feels beautiful. Truly.

And yet, she can't help but feel a strange sense of uneasiness.
It all just feels too familiar.

Racking her brain, she begins to draw similarities to the island they had so coincidentally landed on, ringing alarm bells.
This was not the path they were supposed to be on.

Discreetly dragging Annabeth to the side, Helia whispers in the girl's ear.
"Don't you think this island looks suspiciously a lot like how Aeaea is described?"
The daughter of Athena looks at her best friend, eyebrows furrowed. "It can't be."
"C.C? I don't think that's a coincidence, Annie. If I'm right, which believe me, I hope I'm not, then we need to find Percy." She nods, agreeing.

The two girls speak to the attendants, requesting to see their host again.
They oblige, directing the girls back to the original room.

Annabeth knocks, calling out, "Miss C.C."
With no answer, Helia pushes the door open, and the two girls walk in and quickly scan the room.

"Where's Percy?" Helia asks, frowning.
From its cage, a guinea pig squeals loudly. He had almost not recognised the two girls.

Gods, Percy didn't think Helia could look any prettier, but somehow, in the yellow sleeveless silk dress, she did. Her natural honey glow seemed heightened, her skin radiating light.
He'd probably have been tongue-tied if he could've said anything other than reet, reet, reet.
Annabeth looks different too, wearing a matching dress, only white. Her hair is newly washed and braided with gold. The girl is also wearing makeup, something he thought she'd never be caught dead in. She looks good, but there's something totally wrong with it.

C.C. smiles at the girls and says, "Percy's having one of our treatments, dears. Not to worry. You both look wonderful! What did you think of your tour?"
Annabeth's eyes brighten. "Your library is amazing!" Helia had to begrudgingly agree.
"Yes, indeed," C.C. says, "the best knowledge of the past three millennia. Anything you want to study, anything you want to be, my dear."
"An architect?"
"Pah!" C.C says. "You, my dears, both of you, have the making of a sorceress. Like me."
"A sorceress?" They step back.
"Yes, my dears." C.C. holds her hand up. A flame appears in her palm and dances across her fingertips. "My mother is Hecate, the goddess of magic."
Helia curses. So she had been right.

"I know a daughter of Athena when I see one, and a daughter of Apollo, of course. We're not so different, girls. We seek knowledge and power and admire greatness. We don't wish to stand in the shadow of men."
Again, a guinea pig tries his hardest to get the two girls attention, but his noises aren't received.

"Stay with me. Study with me. You can both join our staff, become sorceresses, and learn to bend others to your will. You will become immortal."
"But—" Annabeth interrupts.
"You're too intelligent, my dear." C.C. declares, before turning to Helia, "And far too powerful. You both know better than to trust that silly camp for heroes. How many great female half-blood heroes can you name?"
"Um, Atalanta, Amelia Earhart—" Annabeth begins listing.
"Bah! Men get all the glory." C.C. closes her fist, extinguishing the magic flame. "The only way to power for women is sorcery. Medea, Calypso, now there were powerful women! And me, of course. The greatest of all."

"Circe." Helia states, holding the woman's gaze.
"Yes, my dear!" She laughs happily. "You need not worry, girls; I mean you no harm."
"What have you done to Percy?" Annabeth questions.
"I only helped him realise his true form."
The girls scan the room. Finally, they see the cage, with guinea pigs scratching the bars.
"Your friend will be well cared for. He'll be shipped to a wonderful new home on the mainland. The kindergartners will adore him. Meanwhile, you will both be wise and powerful. You'll have all you ever wanted."