𝙣𝙚𝙗𝙪𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙨 ,, 𝙟𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚 (slow updates)

chapter five.

      her mother once said to her, "the world's full of monsters, we're teaching you how to get rid of them." and they did show her. she was perhaps the best fighter the camp had (besides percy, that boy was a beast).

      daphne looked to the sky and smiled. "thank you, mother." she said aloud.

———

      the air around them hummed slightly after daphne spoke. her eyes were dewy and her mind clear. she stood up, stretching while looking around the room. to daphne's surprise none of them were without teary eyes. she would've expected at least one of them to be dry eyed. she turned to chiron, looking towards him and bowing slightly, she had done what she intended to. it was a bit of a gamble, but at least it played out right.

      rachel and annabeth were staring at her, neither of them had seen her use such a power before. and they'd known her for a while, like for a long time. annabeth and daph had been fast friends, bonding over their knowledge of random things and estranged parental relations with their father figures. she had been there for the younger throughout the war and in turn, daphne had been there for annabeth when percy went missing.

      while she didn't join the search parties, she stayed at camp, sifting through information and anything she could get her hands on, her mother and aunts had gone almost completely silent. the only proof they were still watching were the small notes that would scarcely appear on her instruments when she wouldn't pack them up properly. no guidance, no blessings, nothing. even her prayers didn't seem to go through. but the strangest thing was sometimes, she would hear whispers when her bow touched the string. when her fingers moved she could hear faint words, barely incomprehensible.

      nothing was making sense. nothing at all. but she's been at camp for all of it, in a little bubble. she only left once or twice a year, for quests or for visiting mount olympus. and suddenly three demigods appear out of nowhere, one of them being an amnesiac and the other two being people who seemingly have memories with said amnesiac. then the amnesiac revealed he knew some stuff but he only used roman names. gods this was so... out there.

      jason was the first one to speak, "what just happened?" he asked, a look of confusion and awe on his face. "what was that song?" both annabeth and rachel nodded along to that question, they also wanted to know.

      "it was... a song my father wrote after i left." she said nostalgia flowing through her voice. "he wrote it for me, i think. it was a lot about mending old relationships and righting wrongs." she knew her father loved her a lot. he didn't know how to show it well but she could tell. a lot of mornings were filled with laughter and hugs when she was really little. he wasn't around too often because of tours, promotions, concerts, and things of that nature. but he tried to make it up to her. it was nice, but she wouldn't give up her time at camp for anything.

      "my father is a good man, i love and miss him. but i can't afford to think about going back to him. he's safer if i don't interfere with his life. i check media outlets once in a while but i can never go back and live with him anymore. not when he's surrounded by too many devices, people. it wouldn't be safe for him or me." she spoke with a bittersweet tone, yet she had a small smile on her face. the other occupants of the room could tell that she wasn't too sad about it. annabeth knew better than to ask further questions or push, it was enough that daphne was telling them of her life before camp, or the muses.

      jason wasn't sure how to feel, he didn't know enough about himself to truly form an opinion about such familial relation. he didn't even know if he still had a family out there, honestly he didn't even know his last name. to him, daphne was being rational and factual, she just wanted to keep her and her dad safe. and if that really was the best way then fine, so be it. he looked around the room, gauging the other occupants' reactions. annabeth had an understanding expression on her face, rachel seemed a bit tense yet relieved? piper seemed hesitant when daphne mentioned media outlets but her expression showed a little empathy. chiron was just... gazing a little sympathetically.

      chiron moved to speak, clearing his throat and focusing his gaze onto daphne. "i think we should... unpack all of that. after we talk about what happened to piper and that strange vision." he said, turning to annabeth. "child, do you know what happened prior to piper losing consciousness? rachel was with you two, right" his brows were furrowed in concern, his tone had taken on that of a worried father, or grandpa due to his age.

      "like we said earlier rachel went into this state of... well i don't really know but she started speaking in a strange voice, like the one for prophecy, but it seemed more hostile, urgent. it sounded older too." annabeth recounted with a hesitant tone. "then she grabbed piper and then it all went so fast, suddenly piper was passed out and rachel was just holding her tightly, then we just rushed over here as quickly as we could."

      rachel added on saying, "the gods have been MIA and the spirit of delphi hasn't contacted me since then. and this didn't even feel like the spirit of delphi. the spirit speaks through me, it resides within already." she started, "no this was a takeover, someone went in and took control of me, made me speak."

      annabeth nodded along with rachel's explanation. "it kept saying to free her-"

      "the same thing just happened to us. in fog vision form." daphne said, giving seymour a flat look.

      chiron motioned for the two of them to recount their experience to the three newcomers. jason and daphne took turns explaining what took place moments before they arrived, mentioning that the lady had claimed to be jason's patron, and how creepy it had all been.

      "your patron? not your godly parent?" annabeth asked, a calculating look on her face.

      "she said patron. she even said my father had given her my life." he said, sighing in frustration. he isn't even one step closer to finding out who did this to him. why can't he just remember? where did his life go?

      daphne cleared her throat, turning the rooms attention to her. "if that happened in hera's cabin, wouldn't the most probable choice be hera? and right before i got to the big house, this voice spoke to me. it said "free me, or the world will burn." that's why i was a little shaken up when i got here, chiron." she said the last bit a little meekly. "if it's hera meddling with us again, does that mean she's trapped? how do you trap the queen of the gods? chiron please tell me it's not titans. i can't do another battle of manhattan."

      the centaur shook his head. "no, my child. that threat has been quelled, but..." he trailed off, a strained expression on his face.

      "but what?" annabeth questioned. "what's going on, chiron? what aren't you telling us? is hera really behind this?"

      "you all need to rest. miss piper especially, we will discuss this later." chiron said with a tone of finality.

      "or now." jason said. "sir, mr. chiron, you told me the greatest threat was coming. the last chapter. you can't possibly mean something worse than an army of titans, right?"

      "it has to be hera." rachel said. "her cabin, the vision, that's got to be the reason the gods have gone silent. chiron tell us. what is going on?"

———

heh it's out now.

i haven't gotten a proper new fc for daph yet so. uh yeah

i'm very sorry for the longer than usual wait but i am very slow, and very busy with family drama.

i thank you for your patience and i'm always up for comments and reviews!

thank you guys! i love you!!!