DEUS EX MACHINA | PERCY JACKSON

Channeling my inner Liam Neeson

4 months after Seph and Leo arrived a camp

It rained for 2 weeks straight after Leo died. Seraphina didn't leave her mothers cabin for those 2-long-weeks either.

Mr. D, the camp director, said that the rain was probably due to Hera weeping for the death of her son.

Seraphina didn't cry. She wanted to, but she couldn't. She was angry, furious. She wanted to mourn her brother but was overwhelmed by the torturous rage towards Ares.

She wouldn't speak to Rose, and especially not to Clarisse. Although Clarisse was not her father, she understood Seraphina needing her space from the daughter of the war God. Seraphina knew Clarisse loved Leo fiercely. She was one of the people who cried the hardest at Leo's funeral. Yet she couldn't bring herself to speak to her.

A knocking at the front door of the cabin echoed through the cold and dark marble-coated room. Seraphina laid in bed, under her luxurious silk covers. The curtains weren't drawn, the fireplace wasn't lit, and it was filled with a deafening silence. Hera had locked the cabin doors, giving her daughter the time she needed to mourn her brother alone, no one could get in unless Seph told them so.

"Seraphina." A hoarse and soft voice came from outside. The rain had finally begun to settle and she could hear the clop of horse hooves outside the cabin. "Seraphina, please open the door so that we may speak." Chiron said gently.

Seraphina sighed and snapped her fingers and the front door opened. Sunlight began shining through the front door, and Chiron entered. She pulled her covers over her head and curled up into a ball.

Chiron walked to each large, arched window and drew the curtains open, allowing light in. He snapped his fingers and a fire grew in the hearth.

He stood over her canopy bed. The sheer curtains around the bed frame were closed, and the centaur could only make out the silhouette of the girl under her covers.

"You've been missing all your classes." Was all Chiron was able to say.

"Yeah, my twin brother died, in case you forgot." Seraphina retorted from under her duvet. Chiron sighed. He opened a side of the curtains of her canopy bed and Seph peaked her head out to look at him. Her under eyes were dark and her face was sunken in. She looked to have lost a lot of weight.

"Your friends and fellow campers miss you, Seraphina. You could use their support, and they could use yours."

Seraphina rolled her eyes.

"Does my father even know yet?" She said blankly. The thought almost brought tears to her eyes. Almost.

"He was alerted earlier this week. He was out of country and caught the earliest flight back to Boston, he should be coming for you soon." The man said.

She almost sighed in relief. She just wanted her father to hold her and tell her it would be alright.

"I wanted to come let you know he should be here in a day or so. But, I would strongly discourage you from leaving camp so soon. Ares is still out there, looking for you." He looked out the window, seeing the clouds beginning to dissipate and the evening sun setting over the lake.

"He'd be wise not to come looking for me. If he would, I would throw him at the feet of my mother and make him beg for mercy." Seraphina snapped. She sat up in her bed and shaded her eyes from the sun beams coming in.

Chiron just chuckled under his breath. "I wouldn't mind watching that." He mused.

Seraphina nearly smiled.

Then she stopped, and began to think.

"If I were to leave camp, do you really think Ares would come and find me?" She asked. Chiron raised an eyebrow. "Most certainly."

Seph swung her legs out over her bed and walked over to stand beside Chiron.

"And if I were to capture him and return my mothers stolen scepter..." she began. Chiron shook his head.

"Absolutely not."

"Why"

"Because we can't afford to lose you, too."

Sephs nose scrunched. "You have no faith in me."

"I have more than enough faith in you." He looked down at the girl. Her blonde hair twinkled in the light. "I believe you could bring Ares down to his knees. I believe you would retrieve your mothers scepter." Her eyes widened, only slightly.

"But what happens when you go to Olympus to return it? Zeus would gladly smite you himself, and you had delivered yourself and his wayward son to him on a silver platter." He finished.

"My mother wouldn't let that happen-"

"You're mother couldn't stop it if she tried" Seraphinas breath hitched in her throat.

"It would be wise for you to remain here until Mr. D is able to contact your mother about getting her other son under control."

"And how long would that take. Hm? Days? Weeks? Months? The Gods have minds of their own, they do what they please, and so shall I." She felt a tear fall down her face.

"If my mother won't avenge my brothers death, then I will." She stood tall. She looked older than she did when she had arrived at camp, Chiron thought.

"I will be leaving with my father when he arrives to pick me up and take me home." She stated. Her face was now bright red and burning hot tears streamed down her face.

"Whatever you wish, Miss Gold." Chiron nodded his head, turned around, and left.

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In the morning, Seraphina sat at the front of the camp. Her bags were packed and sat around her, as she waited for her fathers car to come around the bend.

She waited. And waited. And waited some more. The sky went from light to dark, and her father had not arrived.

She took her things and decided to spend one more night in camp, waiting for him. Maybe he was just preoccupied with work, or got lost.

Maybe.

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Seraphina was startled awake. People running around outside, yelling for someone. Yelling for her.

"Seraphina! Seraphina?" She heard Clarisse call out. She quickly stood up and exited the cabin. Clarisse saw her and looked relieved.

"Clarisse? What's going on?" The girl asked. "No one knew where you were. Your father hadn't come to pick you up and everyone was worried that you,well, were taken." Clarisse finished.

"Taken? Why?" Seraphina was confused, and Clarisse bit her lip and went to grab her best friends hands, but Seph pulled them away.

Mr. D and Chiron speed walked towards Seph,  both looking disheveled. "What's going on?" She asked.

"Ares has taken your father." Mr. D said, clearly out of breath. Seraphinas heart could have stopped there. "He took him and said if you didn't hand yourself over to him, he would 'dispose of him like he did your brother'." Dionysus said in air quotes.

Seph felt nauseous. Her stomach churned before she turned around and lost whatever bile was inside her stomach. Clarisse held her hair while other campers turned away.

"I'm fine." Seph held up her hand, making Clarisse back off. She wiped her mouth and spit one more time. "I'm fine." She reassured.

She walked into her cabin, and the others waited outside for about ten minutes before she exited. She was showered, dressed, and had a backpack over her shoulder. Rose appeared next to Clarisse and they looked worriedly at eachother.

"And where do you think you're going?" Mr. D asked.

"To save my father, return my mothers scepter, and avenge my brother." She stated, now awakened with a new fire in her eyes.

Rose only grabbed her hand and squeezed it tight. She nodded her head, "then I'm coming with you."