Persephone's Cage [Connor Stoll]

chapter four

 Everywhere she looked, there was a painting. On the cave walls, the floor, some were even on the ceiling. Lilly had to give the girl credit, she was incredibly talented. As an artist herself, she aspired to be like this mortal.

"Hey, you two!" A feminine voice called out. Connor and Lilly faced the direction, and saw a redhead. Her hair was wrapped up into a bun, a few pieces of her curls falling loose around her face. Her clothes were splattered with paint the color of rainbows, a palette resting perfectly in her hand. A paintbrush was in her other hand, and she looked at the two with bright green eyes. "What're you both doing here?"

Lilly gulped, and explained to Rachel what had occurred. She looked deep in thought, even going as far as setting down her paint palette. "So, Chiron sent me here. He said..maybe there was a quest. For..for me." Lilly looked unsure of herself.

Rachel nodded, and motioned them to follow her deeper into the cave. There was a couch and a table, which were littered with scraps of food and dishes. "Sorry for the mess. I didn't expect anyone over this soon." She muttered sheepishly. "Sit down."

Lilly followed her direction, plopping down gently on the couch. Connor followed suit, and she frowned. Lilly scooted a little further away from him. "Come on, it's not like I stink!" Connor whined, before pausing. He lifted up his arm and took a whiff, scrunching his face up in displeasure. "Okay, maybe I do."

"Shut up." Lilly clenched her first. "I'm sorry about him. So, how does this work?"

Rachel laughed at the two, before settling down. "Hold out your hands and try not to freak out."

Lilly hesitantly put her hands out in front of her. Rachel grasped them tightly, and instantly the room grew a few degrees colder. Rachel lost anything that made her...well, Rachel, and her smile dropped. Her eyes burned a deep green, fog of the same color surrounding them. Lilly gave Connor a frightened look, which he returned.

"Daughter of Light,

Will help make it right.

Find the pomegranate seeds,

In a place where you will bleed.

The seed will guide you where you need,

For the Son of Thieves will guarantee,

That Persephone's Cage will be broken,

Leaving a mother's words unheard, unspoken."

During Rachel's prophecy, she gripped onto Connor's hand, her scary green eyes locking onto him. The fog soon disappeared, the light leaving Rachel's eyes. She nearly collapsed, before Lilly grabbed her arms and held her up.

"Ha, sorry." She breathed out, holding her head. "That doesn't get any easier. So, it looks like you do have a quest." Rachel nodded towards Lilly, then Connor. "And you're both a part of it. No matter how much you dislike it, your fates are intertwined."

Lilly grunted. Of course, her first quest and she was stuck with someone as dumb as Connor Stoll. "So exciting." She mumbled.

"Oh, come on! I'm not that bad!"

"I'd rather be in the Underworld than be with you."

"That's cold, Dixon."

Rachel clapped her hands, gaining their attention. "Hey! We don't have time for your bickering!" She placed her hands on her hips. "A goddess is in trouble, here! Now, get out of my cave and save the day, like you demigods do."

***

Lilly felt uncomfortable, as she always had around big crowds. She was sandwiched between Will and Travis. They had gotten together the head counselors for a meeting, trying to find a way to decipher the mystery of the prophecy.

Will gently rubbed her back, and she gave him a tiny smile. He had always been the one protecting her, despite being younger than her. That was one of the reasons she stepped down from her post as head counselor. He was more mature and level headed when it was important.

"Lilly, could you please retell what you heard?" Chiron sat in the back in his wheelchair, hiding away his centaur form. With a gulp, the girl followed his words, standing up. All eyes fell onto her, and she felt intimidated. She sighed deeply, and spoke the words of her prophecy.

It was silent at first, everyone absorbing the information. Then, all Hades broke loose, which was ironic as Hades himself was sulking in the back corner.

"'In a place where you will bleed'? Where is that supposed to be!" Miranda Garnder shouted.

"It's definitely cryptic." Malcolm Pace, standing in for Annabeth Chase spoke.

"The seeds guiding them? That just sounds stupid. How could seeds guide anyone?" Clarisse La Rue grunted.

"Silence!" Chiron shouted over the chaos. "We must decide the next course of action."

Lou Ellen Blackstone spoke up, clearing her throat. "Well, we know Lillian is the Daughter of Light in this prophecy, as it was given to her by the Oracle." She shifted her gaze. "And it was no coincidence that Connor, a son of thieves, was also there."

"Yeah! Plus, didn't Lilly say that Rachel said their fates are intertwined?" Nyssa from the Hephaestus cabin spoke. She was holding Leo's place. "That's proof right there that they're our heroes."

Malcolm frowned. "But where do they start? It doesn't give us much to go off of in terms of a location." He pointed out.

"You're right, but it says the seeds will guide them." Lou Ellen replied. "It has to be some form of magic, so they have to find a place that has that sort of magic."

"And where would that be?" Travis asked.

A hand shot up, turning everyone's attention to him. "What about Medea?" Landon spoke. He was sitting in for Piper McLean as the head of the Aphrodite Cabin. "She had a shop up around Chicago, right? I'm sure she has a bunch of magical items."

"Didn't your sister destroy that place with Jason and Leo months ago?" Nico di Angelo narrowed his eyes at the boy, and Lilly sensed a distrust in him. She wondered why.

Landon shrugged. "I'm sure there's some remains. Plus, it wouldn't hurt to try. Do you have any better ideas?"

Nico crossed his arms, leaning back in his seat. He had nothing to say. "We can't just go on a hunch." Pollux, the quiet Dionysus kid spoke up. "Don't forget. Persephone is the spring goddess. She normally would go up once spring began, allowing it to bloom. Spring is in two weeks, which means Lilly and Connor only have two weeks to find this pomegranate that will help them find her." He paused. "Without Persephone, spring won't come."

The kids went silent, thoughts racing in their heads. "Without spring, the world as you know it shall become out of balance." Hades himself spoke up. "You must act quickly, demigods. You have no other choice."

"So, Medea's shop it is." Connor Stoll said, and the other demigods agreed. With a few more words, the meeting dispersed, leaving just Lilly and Connor with Chiron and the God of the Underworld.

Lilly felt intimidated. How could someone like her lead anyone? She wasn't the main character. She never was. She was just some dumb background character no one noticed. She wasn't smart, powerful or even useful. Maybe the gods had made a mistake.

"Lilly." Chiron's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "You are ready, my dear. I've seen you grow into a wonderful fighter. Your fatal flaw is your inferiority, but you mustn't let it get you. You are stronger than you know."

He placed his hand on her shoulder, and gave her a kind smile. "What about me, Chiron?" Connor whined.

The centaur gave him a glance, and kept his smile. "You'll be just fine, because I know Lillian can keep you in line."

"That's all I get?" Connor groaned. "No 'you're so brave, Connor!' or 'you're amazing, Connor!'?"

"You're so annoying, Connor." Lilly rolled her eyes. "Come on. We have a quest to complete."