The Owl Princess

Book 7: Chapter 3- Thanks Be to Apollo

The appearance of the lioness greatly worried Prince Percy. What if the lioness had harmed his beloved Annabeth?
Princess Annabeth had not been seen since the lioness started plaguing them. Prince Percy, Prince Jason, Frank, Princess Reyna, and Princess Thalia went out every day trying to find her and hunt down the beast.  She would be safe during the day. An owl can quickly fly away and hide from a predator while a girl fumbling around in the dark was an easy target.
"Prince Percy is a man obsessed," Frank told Hazel. "He's had us climb over every inch of this island trying to find her.  He seems to see traces of the princess everywhere: a white chiton between the rocks, long, blonde among the trees, things like that. Whenever he thinks he's gotten close, she vanishes like a nymph."
Hazel picked up a basket filled with laurel boughs and started twisting them into a wreath.

"What is that for?"
"It's for Lady Piper," Hazel replied. "She's going to leave it as an offering to Apollo, to give thanks for her recovery."
She and Prince Will, with the help of Prince Nico, Athenaíí, and Aphrodisia, had nursed Lady Piper back to health. Hazel felt exhausted after brewing countless cups of yarrow-willow bark tea and pouring out dozens of spoonfuls of elderberry syrup. Luckily Lady Piper, never one to enjoy being fussed over, had now reached the point where she felt strong enough to do simple tasks for herself.
"Thank you, " she said when Hazel returned to the cave. 
She took the laurel wreath and placed it on the fire. It crackled and released a calming, pleasant scent.
"O Apollo, shining health-bringer. I offer you this wreath of sacred laurel in thanks for my recovery. Thanks be to Apollo, and thanks be to my friends, " She flashed a smile which could have launched a thousand ships. "I have survived a fever."
Hazel brought forward nine pieces of Phthois, a griddle bread made from honey and feta. A hunk of phthois was burnt as an offering along with the laurel wreath. The rest Lady Piper distributed among those who cared for her during her illness.

The most surprising among their number was Athenaii. From the way she was often tart with Lady Piper, Hazel got the impression that she did not particularly like her. But not liking someone and wanting them dead were two different things.
"let's go for a walk, " Lady Piper said after the sacrifice finished.  "I've been cooped up in this cave for long enough." 
"I don't see why not, " Hazel replied. "As long as we don't stray too far." 
Lady Piper pouted.
"I'm serious. That lioness is still on the loose."
"We'll be careful." 

They strolled along the beach, gathering dried seaweed to use as fuel as the sun started to set.
"Look, " Lady Piper said. She pointed to a dozen or so seashells in all shapes and sizes scattered along the shoreline. "Gifts from Amphitrite."
She bent down and gathered them up into her basket.

"What are going to do with those?" Hazel replied.
"I don't know yet, but I realized that I haven't yet gotten a wedding present for Percy and Annabeth. I'm thinking of making them something with these shells; Annabeth loves shells."
She looked up to the sky, hoping to see her friend flying past. Hazel reached over and put her hand on Lady Piper's shoulder.
"The island isn't that big," she said. "Princess Annabeth's bound to turn up somewhere."
"It's Percy who worries me. He's out looking for her from first light to last light, and it's as much as Jason can do to get to rest or eat."
The Prince had a hollow, wild look in his eyes as if he hadn't gotten much rest in the past several days. Each night, he stared at the waning moon and mumbled about how they were running out of time.
"Poor man. I wish I had an oracle's gift and could tell him everything will be well."
"My basket's getting full. I'm going back to the cave to get another one."
"I need to sit down for a moment. I'll wait here for you to get back."
With her basket under her arm, Lady Piper turned towards the cave. Hazel sat down inside a notch carved into the limestone cliffs by centuries of waves. Pebbles fell from the rock roof, alerting Hazel to the fact that someone stood over her head.
"I see Piper is feeling better," She heard Princess Thalia say.
"A part of me wishes she'd died," Princess Reyna replied. Hazel could see her buskin-clad feet dangling in front of her.
"Don't talk like that!"
"Why shouldn't I?"
"If my parents taught me anything useful, it's not to boast unless you can back it up."
"What do you mean?"
"Once words leave your mouth, they take on a life of their own. Sometimes, you wish they were never born...what I'm saying is don't run your mouth off and say things you'll regret."
"I'm not running my mouth off."
"If something bad did happen to Piper, you'd feel terrible for saying what you did."
"Why does everyone always stick up for her? If she'd said the same things about me, no one would care."
Princess Thalia laughed.
"You know, Prince Will said you were a prickly she-wolf, so I poured his wine on him. He then called me a maenad and I broke the kylix over his head."
"Thanks."
"What are friends for?
"So we're friends now?"
"I guess so."
"Then I'll just have to accept it, however hard it might be; facilis descensus Averno; noctes atque dies patet atri ianua Ditis; sed revocare gradum superasque evadere ad auras, hoc opus, hic labor est."
"What does that mean?"
"It's an old Latin proverb. It means something like: going down to hell is easy, getting out again is the hard part."

"There's wisdom in that. We've all gone down into hell. Who knows if we'll ever get out again."