Desert Winds (a Percy Jackson AU)

Begging on the Streets

   It had been six months since Hephaestus had died. Six months and Piper still grieved. She grieved not only for herself, but for her mother-in-law, Hera. Piper's mother had married Hephaestus' brother after she was widowed and arranged Piper's wedding. But a plague had swept through Assyria, killing Hephaestus, Ares, and Aphrodite in the process.

Hera had told Piper that she could go off on her own, but Piper stuck with her mother-in-law. Hera had a temper and could be jealous, but she acknowledged Piper and had been kind to when the young woman married her son.

Hera was looking through the stalls of a market while Piper asked people for food. Many of them wrinkled their noses at her. A few made lewd remarks. Many muttered about what they thought she must have done to be homeless at a young age. Finally, a curly haired man took pity on her and gave her a few coins to thank on food.

Piper bowed. "Thank you," she said. "What is your name? I shall pray that the gods bring you fortune."

The man smiled. "The name is Bad Boy Supreme, though I'm generally called Leo."

     "May Ashur and Ishtar smile upon you," Piper said.

    "Ahh, they do," Leo said. "I have a wonderful wife and a good forge."

     He went off to a stall to shop, while Piper returned to Hera. Hera's once pristine garments were tattered and there was a look in her eyes that had not been there before. It was the look of desperation — of grief and hunger. It was a look that Piper saw every time she saw her reflection in a pool of water.

"I got some coins from a nice man," Piper said. "We can eat today. What would you like?"

"Some warm bread," Hera said. "Fresh — not the stale crusts we've been getting as handouts."

Piper nodded. Hera had come from a wealthy family and married a wealthy man named Zeus. When he died, his property went to her sons and when they died, a cousin was given them. Instead of taking them in, Triton snubbed them.

Piper made her way through the stalls. The market was a jumble of smells, sounds, and sights. Sellers hawked their goods in loud strident voices, while customers haggled them for the best deals. The air was heady with the scents of roasted meat, warm bread, and spices; the unpleasant aroma of sweat was about as noticeable as birdsong.

Piper stopped by a stall where a tall man was selling bread. The cut of his garments showed he was affluent for a baker and the scent of his bread was intoxicating. Piper traded two of her coins for a loaf and returned to where Hers had been sitting.

The two women left the market and found an empty street to eat. They began eating, tearing the bread and eating it quickly lest someone steal it from them; it had happened before. "We don't have to live like this forever," Hera said after swallowing her last bite.

Piper tipped her head to one side. "How can we escape this?"

Hera smiled for the first time in weeks. "By finding you a husband."