Gladiators

Chapter Twenty Two

They fought against the raging snow storm, trudging through snow that reached their knees as they slowly took a trail up the mountains. Suddenly, they snow seemed to thin, and they could finally see in front of them. They saw a giant castle, standing tall against the sky. Only, it was made of ice and snow. It shined with the sunlight bouncing off of it, near blinding with its brilliance.

Percy shaded his eyes against it, and they began moving forward, the snow becoming easier and easier to maneuver through until there was no more snow left. It was like they were in the eye of the storm.

Then, the wind picked up dramatically, almost knocking all three of them off their feet. They steadied themselves on their feet and kept going until they finally reached the base of the castle. When they got a closer look, Percy noticed that it was so cold that it was coated in ice.

"How are we going to get in?" Nico asked just as the giant wooden doors of the castle that stood twenty feet tall swung open. Percy shivered at the chilly current of air that hit them, unbearably cold. It was clearly below freezing, and they hadn't packed warm enough clothes. Horrible planning, of course. But they hadn't known how far north they would be going. Now all three were freezing, about to enter a slightly frozen castle.

Percy went to go into the castle, and the boys hesitantly followed him in. If it was possible, it was even colder inside. Percy could see his own puffs of air, and he could feel the frozen pain of his cheeks. He felt stiff, and he just wanted to curl up in a ball to try to stay warm. His fingers were practically numb.

Percy covered his mouth and nose with his hands to try to warm himself a bit, but the feeling of warmth only lasted a second before the brittle coldness entered his system once more. His hands traveled to his hair for a moment, and he realized that his black hair has some ice on it.

They walked down a dark stone hallway, passing giant portraits. The portraits were of random people. They all looked solitary, angry, depressed, or a mixture. None of them were smiling or looked happy. The curtains on the small windows were black, and the furniture was all dark colors. Gold and silver vases were everywhere, filled with frozen flowers. The palace was elegant, cold, and dark. The gold and silver made the place have a very conceited feeling shrouding the air. Depression hung in the air like the persistent smell of a skunk.

"Anyone else not like it here?" Jason asked in a whisper, staring at the paintings as if they could see him as well. He looked disturbed by the life-like art. "I don't know- it's kind of cozy." Nico replied, looking around with a sort of comfortableness to him. Percy shook his head at his two companions and kept moving.

Soon they came upon a throne room- there were stairs at the other end of the room that led up to a throne made of pure ice. The flooring of the room, along with the rest of the castle, was this creamy floor tiles. The only thing on the walls was some see-through, sparkly drapes that were around all the windows. Icicles hung from the window panes, giving away how cold the room truly was.

There, sat upon the icy throne, was an ebony-haired, dark chocolate brown-eyed woman in a white dress. Her skin was as pale as snow, and a silver crown sat atop her head of black curls. She was beautiful, that much was true. She stared at the three as they entered the room, and slowly she descended the stairs, her eyes never leaving the three. Percy was caught in the depths of her dark eyes- they were bottomless pits of rage and ice. Bitterness haunted her eyes.

"Percy Jackson, Jason Grace, and Nico di Angelo, how nice of you to come." She said in a sickly sweet voice. Then, they heard a slam behind them, and the boys spun around to see two men with icy white hair and purple feathered wings, muscular arms crossed over their wide chests. The men looked distinctly alike, and they both were the size of oxen. One wielded a jagged bronze sword that looked like an icicle. Percy couldn't see a weapon on the other one.

Percy turned back to the woman, but Jason kept his eyes on the men. Percy finally realized who he was facing- Khione, goddess of snow. If Percy had to guess, he'd say the two men were her brothers, Zethes and Calais. But there was no sign of Boreas or Aphrodite's lover.

"Now, why would you three be in my domain?" She asked, still in that falsely sweet voice. Percy took a step forward. "We're here because you took someone. Someone very important to a goddess." Percy said, keeping his head high. Just like that, a huge gust of wind blew them back, pressing them tightly against the wall. They couldn't move. The jet stream of cold air didn't stop.

"Why should the mistress of love get her happy ending? The goddess of love? More like the goddess of heartbreak! She's caused me so much pain, I'm just repaying the favor." Khione growled viciously, stepping towards them. The bitterness was in her eyes, and hatred swirled in those dark depths, too.

"What did she do to you?" Jason asked, struggling to move in vain. Khione narrowed her eyes at Jason, her glare chilling. "She had Poseidon decide he wanted a child with me. I lost that child. Then, she did the cruelest thing imaginable- she had me fall for someone, only for him to die and for me to have his child. I loved that child. Then the Fates killed my second child. If you cannot feel love, then it turns into hate." She hissed, the hatred she spoke of clean in her voice.

But pain swirled in her eyes, and her lips were trembling. Her eyes sparkled with tears, but her muscles shook with rage. Her inner turmoil was clear. Percy wondered how long she had bottled up those dangerous feelings.

Weeks?

Months?

Years?