Desert Winds (a Percy Jackson AU)

The New Job

    Piper sat down on a low stool and stitched up a torn shawl. Hera sat a couple feet away from her and was stitching up a blanket. "Piper, I must come clean to you," Hera said, looking up.

Piper paused the mending and gazed back. "What do you mean?"

Hera bit her lip. "You see, I know of Jason because my sister, Juno, was married to his father. Jupiter was the brother of my husband."

Piper nodded in understanding. "We're related by marriage."

"Yes," Hera said.

They both returned to their stitching. As she pushed and pulled the threaded needle through fabric, Piper thought of Hera's plan. It seemed mad. It was desperate and could go very badly. They could end up in an even worse state then they currently were.

Piper's thoughts were broken by the sound of footsteps. She looked up and saw Michael striding into the room. "It's break time!"

Now that harvest was over, Michael worked in the house. Many of the other men who had helped harvest Jason's field were temporary workers, but Michael's long-standing ties with the family kept him around.

     They ate a simple lunch consisting of a bread bought at the marketplace with cooked onions and leeks. They washed down their meal with beer. It tasted funky, but there was a much greater risk of getting sick from water.

      "It's good that you guys are here," Michael said. "We lost a servant a few weeks before you arrived."

     "Really?" Hera asked.

      Michael swallowed. "Yes, her name was Reyna. She was very clever for a woman and hard-working."

      Pier set down her bread. "What happened to her?"

     Michael shrugged. "Who knows? She just disappeared seemingly overnight."

    Piper exchanged a glance with Hera. Hera's ox-like eyes narrowed and Piper's shoulders slumped. She doesn't want to talk about it now, Piper thought. The rest of the meal was passed in tense silence.

    When Michael left, Piper opened her mouth to speak. Hera shot her a withering look and the words died on Piper's lips. She obediently sat down on the wooden stool and began mending a torn tunic.

     "I'll not hear any qualms with my plan," Hera said.

     Piper couldn't help herself. "But Reyna disappeared!"

     Hera raised one eyebrow, setting down her mending. "And what does that have to do with you? Nothing, you are one of the only female servants here. You have a good chance."

     "But what if Jason had something to do with Reyna's disappearance!" Piper exclaimed.

     "You are being silly," Hera chastised. "Now stop with your foolish wanderings and—"

       Piper yelped and Hera shot her a look. "Now look what you've done. You were so worked up that you stabbed yourself with the needle. Throw these worrisome thoughts away and focus on your work. That is the only way you can escape a life of destitution."

    Piper sighed and wiped the blood off of her pointer finger with her opposite thumb. She had serious concerns with Hera's plan. The more she learned of it, the worse it seemed. But what other choice did she have? Piper sighed and wondered what she had done to deserve this.