All's Fair In Love And War

The Sound of Music

I was unconscious for a few days, I think.

There were moments where I could tell what was going on. I heard Will and Nico talking quietly about an infection. From what I could understand in my little dreamland I was in, the back of my skull had cracked slightly and the skin over it had split, then gotten infected.

"...moving too much.... may need staples.... stitches won't hold..."

I usually tried to go right back to the blissful unconsciousness whenever I became aware of someone speaking near me. It was depressing, all the things they talked about. If I could fight off the infection, whether the crack would heal properly, if there would be mental effects.

Then one day I heard a voice.

It had been an uneventful day as far as I knew. I'd 'woken up' only once, simply because someone was moving my head to check the bandages that wrapped around it to staunch bleeding on the back of my head.

I didn't know what time it was. It could have been midnight, it could have been one in the afternoon.

I was a bit more focused on the voice.

It was beautiful, a liquid sound that seemed to slip around the room before finding my ears. I had no clue who this could be, but it was really pleasing to listen to.

Underneath the sweet notes that the voice was singing, I slowly noticed the familiar thrum of a guitar.

A guitar! The mystery guitarist from the basement!

It had to be them. The sound was so perfect and beautiful. If Jason or Piper heard this person, they'd sign them for the band immediately, no questions asked.

But that begged the question: Who was it?

I tried to get my eyes to open, but the lids just wouldn't obey.

The voice and guitar stopped and I ceased moving, wondering if they had left when I started attempting to wake myself fully.

Then a hand slipped into mine and a voice that could have been anyone's, it was too quiet to tell anything, whispered, "Get better, Reyna. Please."

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"How are you feeling, Arellano?" Apollo asked me cheerfully, his wide smile seeming to reflect the sun. Go figure.

I scowled at his attitude. "First of all, my last name is Ramírez-Arellano. If you're going to call me by my last name, do it properly. And second of all, close your mouth, Sunshine, your teeth are blinding me."

A chuckle emanated from the corner of the room. "She's fine."

"I'm so not in the mood for your fooling around, di Angelo." I snapped. My head was pounding like someone was smashing a hammer into the back of it repeatedly.

A sudden pain at the side of my head made me yelp. "Don't do that!"

Apollo held his hands up in a surrendering gesture. "I'm sorry, I just need to check on some bruising."

I scowled and slowly turned my head so he could have a better view of the patch of tender skin he was trying to inspect, just below the bandages for my stitched up, stapled head.

"So aside from the obvious irritation with the world, how are you feeling?" Nico sat next to my bed.

"Like I got attacked."

"Thanks Captain Obvious." He retorted goodnaturedly.

"Nico, what were those things?" I asked.

"Spartoi. Skeleton warriors." His eyes seemed to grow dark just talking about them. "They spawn from ancient dragon teeth and when I find out whoever got their hands on some, I'm turning them over to my father immediately."

"Why?"

"Spartoi cannot be killed unless a child of Hades is present. They're basically the perfect mythological assassins so someone wanted you dead and that's not okay with me. Plus my dad hates the Spartoi because skeletons randomly appearing in various places gives him a major headache."

Apollo stepped away from the other side of my bed. "Alright, I'm done for now. We've mostly been liquid feeding you through the IV, but I think now that you're coherent you need some real food. I'll have someone bring some up."

I nodded and he left me alone in the room with Nico.

"Nico, who came to visit me?" I asked.

"Gwen and Lou and some of the other contestants and former contestants. Why?"

I told him about the voice I heard, the rich, smooth voice and the guitar.

"Really? Is this the same person you heard in the basement?"

"I'm pretty sure it is, yeah." I didn't try to nod, assuming it would only hurt.

"Just another piece of the puzzle." Nico shrugged. "We'll look into it in any way we can. Thanks Reyna."

"No need to thank me, I was barely even awake." I waved my hand at him.

"Still. Heal quick, Reyna, we're all ready to have our sassy Latina friend back."

"Don't make me get out of this bed and punch you."

He laughed. "I'd like to see you try."

[A/N Reyna the sassy Latina. That's the correct term, right? I was recently informed that Latino and Hispanic don't mean the same thing so if I got it wrong, please tell me!]