Miss Quinn

80 ~ Nico di Angelo, the Son of Hades

Emma danced with a few minor godlings, some nymphs, and even shared a dance with her father. But then she realized she needed to tell her mother she'd be home soon. Emma excused herself from the party to find a quiet place for an Iris-Message. She spotted a fountain about halfway down the road from the palace. There was no one else in sight. She went over to it and dug a drachma out of her bag that somehow she'd managed to hold onto throughout the quest. Apollo had said she had minor Photokinesis, which meant she could probably make her own rainbow. She found a clear rock in the bottom of the fountain and focused on the light particles around her, trying to make them form a single beam of light to pass through the rock. For a moment, it wasn't working. Then a small, colorful rainbow reflected off the water. It wasn't much, but there it was.

"Oh, Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering." She threw the drachma into the rainbow. It shimmered, and the coin disappeared. "Beatrice Quinn, 25 Mellbrook Lane."

The rainbow shimmered again and expanded, forming a screen. Emma's mother's face appeared. The screen was dark, and at first Emma thought it was because her beam of light wasn't strong enough, but then she realized it was nighttime in London. Her mother was sleeping.

"Mum," Emma said quietly. Beatrice stirred.

"Mum," Emma said a little louder. Beatrice rolled over.

"Mother!" Emma said. Beatrice's eyes shot open. Her face, which had been fearful at the initial shock of being woken up, relaxed when she saw her daughter.

"Emma?" Beatrice asked. "Where are you?"

"I'm on Olympus right now, mum, but I'll be home soon. By tomorrow evening, hopefully."

"Olympus?" Beatrice asked. "What on Earth are you doing there?"

"Winter Solstice, Council of the Gods, blah, blah, blah, lot's of boring political stuff, blah, blah, blah, but we had to save Bessie."

"Bessie?"

"He's a mythical creature that, if sacrificied, will give the person who sacrificies him the power to destroy the gods. Basically, the gods wanted to destroy him, but Percy was arguing that Bessie was harmless."

"And how are you?" Beatrice asked. "I got your letter about the distress call. Did everything go alright?"

Emma smiled. "Oh, yeah, everything went great! Except, you know, losing one of my best friends, and then sneaking off on a quest to save her, watching two hunters die when I wasn't powerful enough to save them, and then having another best friend join the hunters, which means I might never see her again." Emma watched her mother's face form a look of sorrow.

"Oh, Emma, I'm so sorry. But at least you're okay."

Emma looked back at the palace. "Yeah, I guess."

"Did you save your friend?" Beatrice asked.

"Yes. But I feel like I could've saved the others, too. I know I shouldn't wish for more power, but sometimes I want to be able to save whoever needs saving, not just the people I have the ability to save." Emma wanted to hug her mother and cry into her chest, letting herself be a daughter and not a hero. She wanted her mother to wrap her arms around Emma, hold her tightly like she used to. But Emma knew she couldn't have everything. She'd be home in a few days, and that was good enough for her.

"Emma," her mother began. "You are an extremely brave girl. You have more power than most people you know. You have the ability to save people whom others cannot. But you can't expect to save everyone. You live a dangerous life, and sometimes you're going to lose people. But that happens, okay? And if you can't save them, that's not your fault."