The Forgotten Daughter

The Stone

"No." Percy took a step back as if he needed space to breathe. "That's not possible."

"Think about it." Aliana met his gaze. "I couldn't hit my target and the barrier around camp is made to keep monsters and mortals out."

"No." He denied. "Maybe the Hellhound was too close. Or maybe it was a glitch in the barrier. Or..."

She grabbed his hand to stop him from pacing and floundering. "If the Hellhound were too close to me, that's even more reason for the boundary to let me though; and it's magical. It doesn't glitch."

"No." He grabbed her wrist. "There has to be some other explanation." He walked forward purposefully.

Aliana put her hands protectively out in front of her. A zapping yellow energy kept her from crossing the border.

Percy refused to give up.

"Percy." Aliana pleaded. "It won't work." She felt a heat and shock in her hands. It grew until it was unbearable. "Percy!" She pulled free of his grip, clutching her hand close to her chest. "It won't let me through." She locked eyes with him, feeling the tears welling in her eyes.

They stood in silence, staring at each other.

"There you are!" Annabeth's voice broke the silence. "Where have you been?" She paused when she noticed Aliana. "What's going on?"

Aliana hung her head, looking at her hands. "We... found out what the stone does."

Annabeth perked up. "What?"

Aliana sighed. "It might be better if I just show you." She reached out.

A faint yellow energy formed around her hand as she touched the barrier. The warm shocking feeling grew until it zapped her violently and she pulled back.

Annabeth's eyes widened. "The border won't let you through." Her voice was barely a whisper. "That's not possible."

Aliana met her gaze sadly. "We were attacked by a Hellhound. I missed it five times."

"No!" Annabeth protested. "I've read about every artifact. None of them can do this."

Aliana gave her a weak smile. "You can't find all the answers in a book." She took a deep breath. "I'll be fine... but it looks like finding the stone is up to you now." She turned and walked into the woods.

"Aliana!" Annabeth moved to follow her.

Percy grabbed her arm. "Let her go."

She met his gaze defiantly, but didn't struggle.

"She left us with a quest." Percy stared after Aliana. "We're going to find that stone and we're going to find a way to reverse this." He turned back towards camp. "We should tell Chiron what happened."
* * *
Aliana hesitated before knocking. She couldn't believe she was doing this. Why was she dragging him into this?

Before she could change her mind and run, Mason opened the door. "Aliana?"

She met his gaze. "I had nowhere else to go."
                                   *   *   *
Percy took a deep breath as he finished explaining everything to Chiron.

The centaur stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I never thought it was possible. Zeus assured us that the stone was lost."

Percy shot Annabeth a quizzical look, but she was as confused as he was.

Chiron sighed and looked at them. "Do you know where she went?"

They both shook their heads.

He nodded and began to pace, clopping back and forth across the wooden floor.

Suddenly, he stopped. "With ebbing tide and fading knowledge."

"What?" Annabeth asked, sick of waiting.

Chiron looked up. "The prophecy. The first line of the third verse. 'With ebbing tide and fading knowledge.' I had never understood what it meant," he met their gaze. "until now."

Annabeth gasped. "You think it's about... us."

"It makes sense." Chiron agreed.

Percy and Annabeth turned to look at each other.

"Ebbing tide." Chiron gestured to Percy. "And fading knowledge." He indicated Annabeth. "It seems that the two of you were always meant to aid in this quest."

"And now we have to finish it." Annabeth locked eyes with Percy. "For Aliana."

Percy nodded. "For Aliana."
                                   *   *   *
Aliana stared at the floor as she finished her story.

Mason had his eyes fixed on her. "I... didn't know it was possible for a Half-blood to lose their power."

Aliana shrugged. "I guess it is." She held back her tears.

He moved and sat next to her. "Are you okay?"

She started to nod, but broke, letting her tears escape down her cheeks. "It feels like I'm losing everything. My power was the only clue I had to who my mother is, to who I'm supposed to be. Now it's gone."

Mason grabbed her hands and waited for her to look at him. "Hey, if your mom hasn't claimed you, that's her loss. You've survived this long without her. Knowing who she is won't change anything. Her identity shouldn't direct your life. We define who we are, not our parents."

"Easy for you to say." Aliana heaved a long breath. "You know who both your parents are."

He nodded. "Yeah, I do. I know that my mother is a dead grocer, and my dad is an arrogant jerk who rejected me and left me to fend for myself." His grip on Aliana's wrists tightened.

She touched his leg with her restrained hands, her fingers caressing his thigh gently.

The contact caught his attention and he released her.

In turn, she gently held his hands. "I'm sorry." She met his bitter gaze, flashing a sad smile. "I guess we both have crappy parents."

He chuckled, giving into a small grin - a genuine smile.

"But," Aliana continued, "like you said, our parents don't define us. When our family fails us, we turn to our friends."

His smile widened and he finally looked up. "Thanks, Ali." The nickname seemed so natural now. "You should get some rest. You've had a long day."

She nodded and stood. "Yeah, you're probably right."

"Take the bed." He urged. "I'll be okay on the couch."

She looked at the old couch then back at Mason. "No, I can't ask you to do that."

"I insist." He pressed. "You'd be surprised how many times I've crashed on this couch. It's more comfortable than it looks."

Aliana sighed. "Fine, but just for tonight." She walked into the meager bedroom and closed the door quietly behind her.

A/N
Hi! So, my family is weird and we  didn't celebrate Christmas until today so I didn't get the chance to write until now.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. You probably noticed that I switched perspectives in the middle of the chapter. There will probably be more of that in future chapters, so keep an eye out. 😁
Well, thanks for the reads guys.
-Cheshire