The Forgotten Daughter

Confrontation

Aliana burst out of her room and threw her pillow at Mason. "You have some explaining to do."

He almost jumped through the ceiling. "What's wrong?" He was still half asleep.

She scoffed. No way was he playing dumb. "How could you do that?"

"Do what?" He rubbed his eyes.

She laughed hysterically. "Don't. You know what I'm talking about. How could you betray me like that?"

A look of worry flashed across his face for a split second before it was gone. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do." She gripped the knife sheathed to her thigh. "Who are you?"

He raised his hands defensively. "I don't know what you think you've figured out, but I would never lie to you."

"Then don't." She fought the urge to draw her blade. "Explain, now." Her voice cracked ever so slight as she tried to hide her hurt.

"Okay." He conceded. "Just promise you'll listen."

She nodded.

He took a deep breath. "We showed up to camp at the same time. You were being chased by a monster. I knew it was only a matter of time before it caught you." He stared at his lap. "I couldn't stand by and let it kill you, so I ran to help. By the time I reached you, you were unconscious. I managed to kill the monster and get you to the Big House."

"But..." her mind was reeling.

"Please, just wait until I'm done." He cut her off. "We were both young, like really young, and we didn't make friends very easily. We were all each other had." He looked out the window as if remembering the good old days. Then his smile fell and he hung his head. "But it didn't last long. My powers were unpredictable. I couldn't control them. It was one thing when I accidentally almost burned down Cabin 11; it was another when I used them on you."

Aliana opened her mouth to talk, then thought better of it. She wouldn't know what to say anyway.

"You hit your head. For a moment I thought I'd killed you." He bit back tears. "I rushed you back to the Big House. Thankfully, Chiron was able to stop the bleeding, but I'd run off into the woods. I prayed for the gods to spare you... and they did, but they didn't spare me."

She met his gaze in confusion.

He couldn't look at her. "You lost a lot of your memories from your first week or two at camp. You remembered the important things, but I wasn't one of them." He took a long ragged breath. "Later that day, I was alone in the woods. I symbol appeared over my head. At first I was overjoyed. I'd finally been claimed. But then, the symbol cracked and shattered. My father was saying that he didn't want me as his son - that I wasn't worthy to be associated with him." Angry tears rolled down his cheeks. "I saw a flash in the woods and I followed it. I found a stone circle with a pillar in the middle. Something glowed on top of it and I was stupid enough to walk closer." He scoffed at himself. "My father used his stone to strip me of my power - to make me mortal. He rejected me."

"Your father is Zeus." She muttered under her breath as an even more important revelation surfaced. "You never had a friend who was a half-blood. The reason you know so much about us is because you're one of us. You're the Abandoned Son."

He squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Ali. I never meant to hurt you." He reached for her hand.

She pulled away. "Then who were you trying to hurt. Whose power were you after?"

He looked at her shamefully.

She stepped back. "Percy. You were after Percy." A spark of anger flared to life in her chest, burning away any pity she felt for Mason. "Why?! Why would you do that? He never did anything to you! He doesn't even know you!"

"Exactly!!" He pushed himself to his feet. "Trust me. I don't like that I have to do this, but it hurts less when it's not someone I know."

She shook her head. "You're wrong. You don't have to do this."

He stared at the floor. "It's the only way to get my powers back. It's the only way I'll be able to be at camp with you again."

"At what cost?" She pressed. "Are you willing lose yourself - everything you are - just to be a half-blood again?"

He slowly looked up. "It's not so that I can be a half-blood." He stared at her longingly.

"You're insane." She shook her head. "I don't care who you used to be. I don't care if we were friends. We're not anymore; and I can't let you do this." She turned towards the door to leave.

"I was afraid you'd say that." He lunged at her, forcing a sweet-smelling rag over her mouth

Aliana struggled, but his grip was too tight and the sweet fumes from the rag clouded her mind. Blackness rimmed her vision as she reached for her knife. Her hand felt detached from the rest of her body. Her fingers buzzed and she couldn't quite curl her fingers around the hilt of her dagger.

Mason's voice whispered softly in her ear, sounding distant and fuzzy. "I'm sorry, Ali. I hope you'll understand one day."

She tried to jerk free one last time, but her limbs felt like they were made of lead and her eyelids were growing heavier by the second. She fought the drowsiness, but it grew stronger with each breath until it finally dragged her under and the darkness overcame her senses.