memory (hiatus)

Chapter 42: Time To Be Reckless!

Disclaimer: the usual, just fill in my little annoying voice saying: not mine, but the troll's. 

Piper's POV:

The second Piper saw Hera, her feet planted in the ground, and she stopped. It wasn't that she particularly liked Hera, no. But she felt a certain kinship to the woman. She'd been with her in the most harrowing time of her life. Also, a male person had taken credit for her work, something that pretty much any female could relate too. And besides that, she was part of the Olympian family. The twistedly powerful, strange family Piper was a part of, too.

Piper turned towards her parents and, well, her brother(it still felt weird thinking that), ready to argue again, for why they had to stay, but they were already gone. 

She searched for them in the crowd, pushing and shoving to get to somewhere-

"Hecate's team failed to intercept it." The words were thrown out with carelessness. 

Piper balled her hands into fists. She'd knew that there was this possibility, but she'd always seen Hecate's team as the end all. What would they do now?

"Piper, come on!" Leo hissed. The scene dissipated and Piper was back in the real world. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her towards the stairs. 

Piper tried to say something about Hera, but it all came out jumbled. Leo didn't stop, running towards the rest of the group. 

For a second, she felt helpless. Nobody could hear her, because she couldn't speak. If she couldn't use her voice, then maybe she'd never be able to save anybody, least of all a certain person locked in a cage, surrounded by guards. 

But then she found it. A small bit of confidence, rising in time with her pounding heart, sunken deep within the dark waters of her emotions, floating, riding the tide. 

"L-leo." It came out shaky at first, her shaky voice a perfect representation of her shaky confidence.

"Leo." Her voice became stronger, stronger with her drive. No matter what her fears were, she couldn't let it stop her. 

In the slow second that Leo turned towards her, her parents caught her eye. Her dad.... and Aphrodite.... and also Jane. 

Maybe it was just the strange surge of strength, or maybe it was the change that enveloped Piper. A change of mindset, a change of opinions on her view on family. And in this moment, Piper didn't know anything but what she cared for and wanted. 

A chance for Aphrodite and Jane to get to know each other, a chance for Piper's fractured family to grow truly whole. Piper wasn't sure when it would happen, or how it would even happen, but she knew that she would make it happen, because they were all her family. 

She wanted s'mores roasting over the fire with all her friends, singing cheesy campfire songs, and talking into the night with the fiery glow. 

She wanted college coming up, calling her friends on the phone and a chance of a normal life beyond it. 

She wanted to pursue her interests after school and make a life for herself, outside of the craziness and danger that was her life currently. 

And really, she wanted to look in a mirror and not see herself as someone stupid or not worth it. She wanted to see her reflection and remember that she could persevere through everything and anything. 

And as her voice grew with her courage and she truly found herself.... she shouted, "Leo!"

Leo spun towards her in surprise. "What? We need to get out of here, Piper."