sweet dreams • leo valdez

19

Delilah woke up that morning with Hazel gently shaking her awake. 

"I'm awake, I'm up!" She insisted, sitting up slowly as Hazel stopped trying to wake her. 

"We should get ready to leave." Hazel told her, getting up to leave the room. "I'm going to see what I can do about breakfast."

Delilah looked over to see Percy sitting up on the sofa, stretching his neck, most likely just having woken up as well. "Your dreams last night. They're your memories trying to return right?" She deduced, though knowing she was right. 

He looked up at her, a look of shock briefly on his face before it was replaced by a tired look. "I think so. I'm starting to remember bits and pieces. Annabeth, my mom, some of my friends. Where I'm from. It's still a bit blurry, but it's coming back."

"Give it time." She advised him, stretching her arms and standing up. "Memories are fickle things. The gorgon's blood, and that good night's sleep is helping along the process a lot. I'm betting that in the next day or so, it'll all be back, clear as day. Like you never forgot in the first place. But even gorgon's blood can't instantly reverse the power of the Queen of Olympus."

He sighed, "I guess you're right." 

"I am." She replied confidently. "Memories are part of the unconscious, just like sleep. They're part of my father's realm. There's a reason that the River Lethe is part of his domain." 

With Percy more settled mentally, they both made their way down to kitchen where Hazel was cooking over the stove. They sat down at the table, watching her and Delilah took the time to braid her hair back. She knew that over the next few days, she'd couldn't be having her hair flying all over the place and in front of her face. 

"Here." Hazel placed down some eggs and bacon on the table, setting some down on a tray with a glass of orange juice. "I'm taking this up to Frank."

Frank had fallen asleep in his grandmother's room, where Hazel had found him last night when she went to check on them before they all went to sleep. 

"Bet you that once we get back to Camp Jupiter, they'll get together." Percy turned to her once Hazel had left the room. 

Delilah shook her head, using her good intuition. "Nah, they're close. They'll get together before we even get back there. I'm sure." That conversation last night was enough to push Hazel, who was probably the one holding back. She had no doubt about it.

"Sure enough to bet ten denarii on it?" Percy challenged her, raising an eyebrow. 

"Done." She replied, unable to resist the chance to be right. She held out a hand to shake on it, which Percy took. "Hold on, do you even have ten denarii?"

"Nope. That's just how certain I am." He replied with a grin. "Besides, I'll just get a loan from Hazel if I need to."

"Well, you're gonna need to." Of course he would ask the girl who the bet was about (and also happened to be a daughter of Pluto) for denarii. It was almost faun-like behaviour. 

Hazel soon came back down, a grim look on her face. "Frank's grandmother said we should go up to the attic. There's a weapons supply there which we can help ourselves to. She'll send him up once she's talked with him."

"Let's get a move on then." Delilah said, eating her breakfast with a newfound speed. 

•

Frank's attic wasn't what they expected it to be. Who would have thought that the Zhang's would have been collecting antique weapons in their attic. And what an immense collection it was.