𝐒𝐰𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠 // 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑦 𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑠𝑜𝑛 ＆𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑙𝑦𝑚𝑝𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑠

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐗𝐋𝐈.

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"𝑖 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑤𝑒 𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝑠𝑜 𝑤𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑠𝑜 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔. 𝑖𝑓 𝑤𝑒'𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟'𝑠 𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚𝑠, 𝑤𝑒
𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡"
— 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧

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𝐄𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄, 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐍 from her conversation with Aphrodite, tried to focus on finding Noah. She was pushing her mother out of her mind completely as she traveled, getting closer and closer to Chicago every day. Evangeline was banking on the fact that Hades had returned Noah to their old apartment, because she didn't know where else he could be. Noah would be confused, of course, and Evangeline needed to find him before he went mad.

        She was remembering things about their last interaction now. The way he kissed her head and told her that she would be okay without him. Noah smiled so much for her, even though he must have been terrified. If he could do all of that for her, Evangeline was sure she could manage her ADHD enough to tolerate the long journey to the city she hadn't been to in years. Evangeline almost doubted that she would remember where her old apartment was.

        Evangeline gathered her hair once more into her clip, taking a deep breath as she stepped off of a train that landed her in the heart of her city. It was dangerous for anyone other than a local to be walking through the neighborhood that Evangeline lived in, but she knew if she could handle the Chimera, she could handle a petty thief. She turned down alleyways and crossed streets until she came upon her former apartment building.

        Only the gods knew what was waiting for her on the other side of that door.

        Evangeline didn't have her key anymore, so she resorted to busting open the weak lock once she found her apartment door. She opened the door. She stepped inside. The air in the living room was just as stale as she remembered it being. There was still the lingering scent of alcohol, but it wasn't fresh. Evangeline hoped that meant her father wasn't there.

        There was a noise in the kitchen, and Evangeline gripped the dagger Annabeth had given her, inching around the crumbling wall. Her dagger clattered to the floor when she laid eyes on the figure responsible for the noises. Noah Clement was casually leaning against the old sink, holding a mug of coffee to his lips. "Took you long enough." he smirked, and Evangeline wanted to burst into tears at the sound of his voice.

        She threw her backpack away without any care as to where it landed and found herself throwing her arms around Noah's neck, not used to be so close to his height. "When did you get back?" Evangeline asked, her face tucked into the crook of Noah's neck.

        "This morning. I didn't believe Hades when he said it had been six years until I saw you," Noah pulled away from Evangeline's grip, holding her face in his hands. "You've really grown up." tears glistened in Noah's eyes as he looked at his little sister, who wasn't little anymore. He was still holding the appearance of an eighteen year old, and she wasn't a twelve year old terrified kid anymore. Evangeline was grown and raised, and she didn't need him anymore.

        Evangeline cried, her head burried in Noah's shoulder. "I missed you so much." she sobbed, holding Noah so tightly.

        Noah just hugged his little sister. "Dad's not here. Place looks like it's been abandoned." he said through his tears, wiping them away.

        "If no one knows we're here, maybe we could stay. I don't have any money and I doubt Hades supplied you before he 'un-golded' you." Evangeline pulled away from Noah, using her sleeves to push away her tears.

        "Well, you'd think that," he began, and then Noah dug into his pocket, coming out with a wad of cash. "Claims its an apology for kidnapping me for six years." Noah shrugged.

        Evangeline took the money with wide eyes. "This is a lot of money, Noah. We could easily go live anywhere we wanted." her eyes lit up and she looked up at her brother, his face wearing the same expression.

        "How much do you think an apartment in Charleston is?" Noah asked, folding his arms across his chest.

        "Way less than this." Evangeline smiled. Charleston was the city of Evangeline and Noah's dreams. They always wanted to go there to get an education, and of course to live. It was a nice dream to have when they were at their lowest with their father.

        Noah kissed Evangeline's head once. "Pack up, kiddo."

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𝐍𝐎𝐀𝐇 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐄𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄 eventually made it to Charleston, South Carolina. They were leaving their home in Chicago behind, leaving their father behind. This was a new beginning. During the journey, Evangeline had detailed her entire life over the course of six years to Noah, explaining who her mother was, and of course everything with Luke. "Any guy who borderline stalks you in your hospital room is destined to betray and kidnapp you." Noah held a handful of sand as they sat on a beach outside their new apartment.

        Evangeline rolled her eyes. "He didn't stalk me. And I loved him until it all happened. It's that special kind of love, the one that swans have until one of them dies." she brushed sand off of a seashell, her legs crossed beneath her.

        Noah frowned. "You really think that kid's the love of your life? That you won't love anyone ever again?" he hoped that wasn't the case, but he figured he didn't quite know how much love Evangeline had in her from her mother.

        "Maybe. I don't know. Luke was special to me." Evangeline shrugged, tucking her shell into her pocket.

        Sensing Evangeline's saddened mood, Noah tossed his sand at his sister's face. "Just because your mommy is the goddess of love doesn't mean you have to fall in love." he teased, and Evangelined jabbed his ribs.

        "Oh, I forgot to tell you. Mommy dearest manipulated the entire camp into forgetting that her four daughters existed." Evangeline said quickly, laying her head back against the sand. Noah's eyes widened. He had missed gossiping with his sister.

        "Oh, you 'forgot', sure." and so it began the awaited reunion of Evangeline and Noah Clement. Evangeline lived through borderline hell for her entire life, but it was all worth it to live with her brother again. She never thought it would happen. Yes, everything was different, but Evangeline knew that she could leave the world to the changers, and just be free. That was her swan song.

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