𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐝𝐲; 𝖺𝗇𝗇𝖺𝖻𝖾𝗍𝗁 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗌𝖾

Yay, another quest (Roman version)

It took Ivy more time than she wanted to admit until she finally was able to fall asleep.

Even if she knew her death had been temporal from the start, and that technically even if she died again now she would simply come back, she couldn't help but dread closing her eyes.

That cold feeling, all the lights fading and her mind disconnecting from her body, it wasn't something she ever wanted to feel again.

And the worst part was that she might feel it again. Her mind had been in a constant 'what if after we close the doors and unchain Death, I die again?'

It was possible. That was the whole point of the quest. The Dead should stay dead. And now she was officially a part of the Dead club.

But she tried not to think about that. Maybe dear old grandpa would ignore her. After all, he was the who killed her. He owed it to her.

But well, at least the bed was comfortable. She had been longing a real one for a long while. She hadn't crashed in a safe, comfortable bed since... well, she couldn't even remember.

Of course, except for her time passed out on the infirmary's bed. But that didn't count cause she hadn't fallen asleep on it.

She had dreams, of course. She always had dreams, but they passed like blurred images from the window of a train.

She saw a curly-haired faun in ragged clothes running to catch up with her.

"I don't have any spare change," Ivy called.

Well, it was more like she didn't have any money, period.

"What?" the faun said. "No, Ivy. It's me, Grover! You and Percy have to stay put! I just talked to him. We're on our way to find you guys. Tyson is close — at least we think he's the closest. We're trying to get a lock on your position."

"What?" She called, but the faun disappeared in the fog.

She and Percy had to stay put? Did the faun know them?

Then Annabeth was running along beside
her, reaching out her hand to cradle her face gently. Subconsciously, Ivy leaned against her touch.

"Thank the gods!" the blonde called. "For months and months we couldn't see you! Are you all right, V?"

V. . . She liked how that sounded when she said it.

She remembered what they told her Juno had said — for months she has been slumbering, but now she is awake. The goddess had intentionally kept her and Percy hidden, but why?

"Yeah. Are you real?" she asked the girl.

She wanted so much to believe it she felt like Hannibal the elephant was standing on her chest.

Her fear of dying again didn't matter anymore, she only cared about Annabeth. She wanted to stay there with her. She liked how it made her feel. Her head didn't hurt anymore.

But the blonde's face began to dissolve. She cried, "Stay put! It'll be easier for Tyson to find you guys! Stay where you are! I lo—"

Then she was gone and Ivy's heart sank. What was she gonna say?

The images accelerated. She saw a huge ship in a dry dock, workers scrambling to finish the hull, a guy with a blowtorch welding a bronze dragon figurehead to the prow. Did she know him too? He looked like someone she'd seen before.

The scene shifted. Ivy stood on the Field of Mars, looking up at the Berkeley Hills.

Golden grass rippled, and a face appeared in the landscape — a sleeping woman, her features formed from shadows and folds in the terrain. Her eyes remained closed, but her voice spoke in Ivy's mind:
'We meet again, Ivy. You're valuable to me. Join me. Come north. Meet Alcyoneus. Juno can play her little games with Greeks and Romans, but in the end, you will be my pawn. You will be the key to the gods' defeat. You will come to my side.'