Personae Non Gratae (a Percy Jackson AU)

It's Raining Babies

***Hazel***

"Hazel, why are you sad?" a voice asked.

I looked up from my bowl of cold oatmeal to my husband of six months, Frank Zahng. Frank is the sweetest and kindest husband I could ever ask for, but I've learned that having a perfectly good husband doesn't entail a perfectly good relationship. "Frank," I said, playing with my oatmeal instead of eating it. "I'm afraid that you'll leave me."

Frank's face softened. "Why would I ever do that?" he asked, placing his hand over mine, which-despite our six months of marriage-caused me to blush.

"It's been six months and every month I bleed," I said softly.

"Hazel, I don't care if you're not pregnant yet-" he said.

"But what if I can never become pregnant?" I asked. "What if I'm an infertile woman?"

The word infertile sent shivers down my spine. In a country where the worth of a woman is determined by her ability to birth children, I was worthless. "You don't know that," Frank said. "You don't know that you cannot get pregnant."

"But Annabeth is already pregnant again," I said, tears now spilling down my cheeks. "She already has Atalanta. Soon she'll have another child and I may be barren!"

"It could be my fault," Frank said, now looking as red as a tomato. "Sometimes men are infertile."

"I just want to have kids," I said.

"I would too, Hazel," he said, "but I have you and that's good enough for now." 

 ***

     Frank returned home with two hares, which I help him gut. Frank has been trying to find a job, but in the meantime, he has been hunting to put food on the table. I roasted the rabbits in the oven after coating them with herbs and we enjoyed the meat for dinner. Despite the home-cooked meal and the tenderness on my husband's face, I felt miserable. 

      The rabbit tasted as bland as ash in my mouth and I had to force myself to eat it.I tried to tell myself that I must eat well if I am ever to become pregnant, but I still had no appetite. After I cleared the dishes, I heard a knock on the door as I started washing them.

       Frank tapped my shoulder, causing me to drop a plate. It falls to ground and breaks into two. Frank and I both turn red. "I'm sorry," I said, as I crouched down to pick up the debris.

      "I should get that," Frank insisted. "There is someone at the door who needs to talk to you."

     I gave him a puzzled look and walked over to the door. I feel my heart start to pound like a cheetah as I take in the sight of my mother. "Mom?" I asked cautiously, wondering what she wanted with me now.

       "Hazel," my mother cooed, her face streaked with tears. "Oh, Hazel. I should never have sold you. I succumbed to bitterness and followed the advice of Gaia."

       "Gaia?" I said, remembering the cruel woman. "You're still friends with her?'

       "No, my precious," my mother said. "After I realized what I had done, I stopped talking to her."

      "Then why didn't you help me?" I asked, tears beginning to trickle down my cheeks. "Why didn't you love me?"

      "I will always love you," my mother said and she folded her arms aground me.

       Despite myself, I could not stay angry at my mother. I had seen what bitterness did to her; I would never want to become what she did. "I've come to tell you something important," my mother said.

     "What?" I asked.

    My mother looked at her feet as she answered. "I was reading your fortune this morning," she began and I started to feel some unease; my mother had been accused of being a witch for reading fortunes. "It said that I shall never see grandchildren."

***Atalanta***

Dad was tired

He has been away a lot

There's a new guy

He's big 

I was hungry

I was scared

I was hungryold

Mom was crying  

I cried too

***Rachel***

         I woke up in my cot and felt the familiar aches and pains. I looked down at my pale arms and legs to see fresh bruises blossoming over my older ones. I felt a sting on my cheek and raised my hand to touch it, wincing as I realized Octavian must have struck me.

      Octavian was one of my many customers and a regular. He was a blonde man who was stronger than he looked. His cruelty shown in his blue eyes, which looked more like jagged icicles than calm pools of water. I hugged my knees and tried not to think of how this had all come to pass-how my freedom had been taken away, but I was swept away by the insistent memories.

       It all started when my father took my mother and I on vacation. Despite the sun-baked earth and persistent sunlight, I had enjoyed the pristine beaches. All of my happiness evaporated, however, when I left the hotel we were staying at one day and got lost. I took a few wrong turns a ended up bumping into a tall, blonde man with a scar running down his cheek. "Get away from here now!" he told me, his eyes wildly darting around.

      I had been too stubborn to listen. "I just need directions," I had said. "I got lost and can't find the hotel that I'm staying at."

      "I can give you a ride," a voice had said and I had whirled around to see a tall man wearing an impeccable suit. "What's the name of the hotel?"

     "Lotus Hotel," I had said in relief. "This place is amazing! We meant to stay for only a few days, but dad ended up booking us for three weeks!"

     I had followed the man into his beat-down car, unaware that it I'd never see my parents again. Kronos did not take me to the Lotus Hotel. He took me to his barracks where I got my first and only job-one that left me with bruises every morning and tears every night.