𝐄́𝐊𝐋𝐄𝐈𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒² || 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐘 𝐉𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐒𝐎𝐍

𝐗𝐕𝐈

✦ 𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒 ✦

AURORA'S CONSCIOUSNESS SHIMMERED BACK LIKE THE FIRST RAYS OF DAWN BREAKING THROUGH DARKNESS. Grogginess clouded her senses as she felt the chill of the room against her once-immobilized limbs. With a start, she realized she was no longer a prisoner of Midas' golden curse. Her eyes flew open, darting around the unfamiliar space as shivers convulsed her body.

This tremble was a foreign sensation, something Aurora, as the daughter of Apollo, was unaccustomed to. Her heritage had always enveloped her in a comfortable warmth, her sun-kissed powers acting as an eternal shield against the cold. Yet now, here she sat, quaking from a chill that no daughter of the sun should ever know.

As her senses returned, memories of what had transpired flooded back. The attack, the touch of Midas, the cold of the transformation spreading through her veins like poison. The shared look of horror and disbelief etched into Piper's face was vivid in her mind, now thankfully just a memory.

Somehow, they had been reverted to flesh and blood. The absence of golden radiance on her skin was both a relief and a stark reminder of their recent brush with a golden death.

The very thought made her mind wander to Percy, her boyfriend who by the way she misses so much, whose voice she could almost hear in her head. 'Golden Girl', he'd call her with an affectionate smile, teasing her about her divine lineage and the way the sunlight seemed to favor her. The nickname had always been a loving jest, but now, it carried the weight of a grim irony.

She could picture Percy's reaction with vivid clarity. Had he witnessed her transformation, his concerned frown would have mixed with a glimmer of his irrepressible humor. He'd never let her live down the moment she became the literal Golden Girl, the playful ribbing an odd comfort amidst the chaos.

A small, involuntary smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, a brief spark of warmth in the lingering cold. With Percy's imaginary chuckles echoing in her mind, Aurora grasped for the comfort of his lighthearted teasing, using it to anchor herself back to reality. It was a small piece of normalcy in an otherwise surreal experience.

As Aurora shifted in her seat, she noticed the weight of something heavy and warm draped around her shoulders. A thick blanket had been wrapped around her frame, its fabric trailing to the floor as she gathered the soft material in her hands, clutching it for warmth. With each second, the icy remnants of Midas' touch seemed to retreat, leaving behind only the shivering aftermath.

Her gaze shifted and found Leo nearby, his usually energetic and playful demeanor subdued by the shared ordeal. He, too, was swaddled in a blanket, his teeth chattering as he rubbed his arms in a futile attempt to generate heat. The sight of him— a fellow victim of Midas' grim whimsy— was a sharp reminder that the threat they faced had nearly claimed more than just herself and Piper.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she turned to Piper's still form. Aurora watched with bated breath as Piper's chest began to rise and fall more steadily, signs of life returning to her friend's once-still body. Piper's eyes fluttered, and with a small cough, she opened them, struggling to focus.