A Thousand and One Nights (a Percy Jackson AU)

The Shade

      Percy had trouble falling asleep. Thoughts of Rachel swirled in his mind. He could recall the scent of lavender that she would put in her hair and how her skin was as soft as polished wood. Thoughts of his dead wife mingled with longing for another and this longing made him detest himself. He was not supposed to fall in love with another woman! He could not be in love — no!
    It must be that his desires were only stirred by Eros rather than Aphrodite. That must be it; he was not in love, but rather so longest that he was latching onto the only woman besides his mother that he spent any length of time with. That was it. He relaxed and fell asleep.
        First he dreamed of soft blonde hair against his cheeks and he felt soothed before the sharp pang of guilt pierced his heart. As the image faded and was replaced by a figure and a face that made his heart ache, the pain only intensified. It was his Rachel painting an amphora like she would in life, but her pale skin looked almost translucent and when she stood up and smiled, the wind seemed to blow through her.
         "I'm sorry Rachel," Percy said, cupping her face; it was as cold as it was in death.
         "You have nothing to apologize for," Rachel said. "Heracles took another wife after he killed Megara."
      "I'm not Heracles," Percy said. "Heroes are governed by different rules than mortals."
       "There is no shame in loving another," Rachel said softly. "Women are forced to do it all the time, though you may not notice. When a kingdom is conquered, women are forced to bed with those who slew their husbands and fathers. Would you blame them? Would you say they are disloyal?"
      Percy shook his head.
       "You have grieved long enough Percy," Rachel whispered. "Ithaca has grown weary of you. For your own safety you must have an heir."
       "I could not," Percy said. "Since Hades stole you I have felt as if I am a shade in his house too."
      "Percy, you have someone to love right next to you," Rachel said. "You just need to wake up and see her!"
     She threw a hairbrush and it hit his forehead. His eyes opened and he woke up instantly. To his surprise, he realized that Annabeth's face was right beside his. Her slumbering eyelids hid her stormy grey eyes from his view. She must have rolled over in her sleep. Her blonde hair framed her face perfectly, making her look like a statue of Athena brought to life.
         Percy shifted and his hand brushed against something smooth that lay underneath Annabeth's hair. He picked up the object and felt his heartbeat quicken. Laying in his hands was the same ornately painted hairbrush that Rachel had thrown at him in his dream — the same one that he had buried her with.