𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬'𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 • 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘺 𝘫𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴𝘰𝘯

Zoë Gets A Quest

A/N: Gif above is what I imagined Miranda to look like.

Percy's Pov:

The least the Oracle could've done was to walk back to the attic by herself. 

Instead, Grayson and I were elected to carry her. I didn't figure that was because we were the most popular. 

"Watch her head!" Grayson warned as we went up the stairs. But it was too late. 

Bonk! I whacked her mummified face against the trapdoor frame and dust flew. 

"Ah, man." I set her down and checked for damage. "Did I break anything?" 

"I can't tell," Grayson admitted. 

We hauled her up and set her on her tripod stool, both of us huffing and sweating. Who knew a mummy could weigh so much? 

I assumed she wouldn't talk to me, and I was right. I was relieved when we finally got out of there and slammed the attic door shut. 

"Well," Grayson said, "that was gross." 

I knew he was trying to keep things light for my sake, but I still felt really down. The whole camp would be mad at me for losing the game to the Hunters, and then there was the new prophecy from the Oracle. It was like the spirit of Delphi had gone out of her way to exclude me. She'd ignored my question and walked half a mile to talk to Zoë. And she'd said nothing, not even a hint, about Y/n or Annabeth. 

"What will Chiron do?" I asked Grayson. 

"I wish I knew." He looked wistfully out the second-floor window at the rolling hills covered in snow. "I want to be out there." 

"Searching for Y/n?" 

He had a little trouble focusing on me. Then he blushed. "Oh, right. That too. Of course." 

"Why?" I asked. "What were you thinking?"

"Nothing," he said awkwardly.

We stayed in uncomfortable silence. Before any of us could say anything, Thalia tromped up the stairs, Grover following behind. She was officially not talking to Grayson or me now, but she looked at Grover and said, "Tell Percy and Grayson to get their butts downstairs." 

"Why?" I asked. 

"Did he say something?" Thalia asked Grover. 

"Um, he asked why." 

"Dionysus is calling a council of cabin leaders to discuss the prophecy," she said. "Unfortunately, that includes Percy and Grayson." 

The council was held around a Ping-Pong table in the rec room. Dionysus waved his hand and supplied snacks: Cheez Whiz, crackers, and several bottles of red wine. Then Chiron reminded him that wine was against his restrictions and most of us were underage. Mr. D sighed. With a snap of his fingers, the wine turned to Diet Coke. Nobody drank that, either. 

Mr. D and Chiron (in wheelchair form) sat at one end of the table. Zoë and Bianca di Angelo (who had kind of become Zoë's personal assistant) took the other end. Thalia, Grayson, Grover, and I sat along the right, and the other head councilors—Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, and the Stoll brothers—sat on the left. The Ares kids were supposed to send a representative, too, but all of them had gotten broken limbs (accidentally) during capture the flag, courtesy of the Hunters. They were resting up in the infirmary. 

Zoë started the meeting off on a positive note. "This is pointless." 

"Cheez Whiz!" Grover gasped. He began scooping up crackers and Ping-Pong balls and spraying them with topping.