Flash Freeze (On Hold)

Of Frozen Hearts and Frozen Love

Percy crested the hill to Camp Half-Blood. He'd been gone for four months. Athena had required one final task to earn her "permission" to marry Annabeth. He'd only been able to make intermittent Iris Messages back to her. Lately she seemed more and more distant each time he'd called, as if she was distracted. He just wanted to finally tell her what he'd been planning.

Coming down the hill, the campers seemed to have this, fearful look in their eyes when they looked at him. Especially the younger ones. He'd never seen that before from any of them. He approached the Athena Cabin and Clarisse blocked his way. "What do you want here, punk? Princess is busy, and doesn't have the time for people like you," she growled.

Percy took a step back from the venom in her voice. Ever since they'd squashed their beef, Clarisse and him had, had an amiable friendship. "What? That's my girlfriend. Of course she has time."

"You have the audacity to call her your girlfriend after what you did? Jackson, everyone here knows what you did down there. Annabeth might have shaken it off for awhile, but that kind of fear never goes away. You should consider yourself lucky that you're your daddy's little favorite. Or all the gods would have killed you by now. You don't belong here anymore, Prissy. Get lost," she said, shoving him

Percy stood there frozen. He caught the blinds being parted and soft grey eyes peeking out. The moment they locked, the grey eyes quickly disappeared in fright. The sky over head darkened and even from the cabins, you could hear the sound of the waves hammering the beachhead. "I guess you're right, Clarisse. I don't belong here. Of course, I should have known. Every great hero has his down fall. Even Perseus, when he grew too old. This is just mine, isn't it? After my usefulness has run its course, all of you just toss me to the side like trash. Who would want the War Hero around? He's only good at killing. He's only good at leading demigods to their deaths, right?" Percy's eyes hardened, the sea green becoming so dark and cloudy that you'd almost think they were black.

"Remember this day, Clarisse, Annabeth, all of you in this camp. This is the day Percy Jackson died. When you need me, I won't be there. You'll scour the Earth looking for me, and still come up empty handed. Percy Jackson is no more." He turned on his heel and headed back towards the edge of camp.

Chiron cantered up to him. "My boy, you must understand-"

Percy rounded on Chiron so fast, his horse half became skittish and shied away. "I must understand what, Chiron? The fact that even you let this happen? You were like my second father! I trusted you! I trusted all of them!" At his shouting, the land trembled from small earthquakes. Percy's level of anger was growing by the second. "Just leave me be. You're no better than most of the gods. You call yourself a trainer of heroes but you turn on them just as the gods do. I curse you, Chiron Trainer of Heroes. You will slowly lose your ability to teach these children effectively. You'll watch as they believe in your training and go out to die! You will lose faith in yourself even as they lose faith in you. Let's see how long they need you then. Your only repentance will be if you find another child like me and see them through to the end."

He left the stunned centaur behind. Laying a hand on Thalia's tree and patting Peleus on the head, Percy Jackson disappeared into the wind.

-/-

Far to the North, a boy sat gasping for air. Sweat poured from his body and he heaved as if he just ran a marathon nonstop. He felt a chill touch his spine. "Whatever you are, if you're here to kill me, just be done with it already. I've got other things to do than wait on you to gather your courage."

From the nearby tree-line, a woman stepped out. Her hair was stark white, her eyes an icy blue. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Percy Jackson. The god's golden boy."

"I'm nobody's golden boy, Elsa. Stop giving me the heeby jeebies and just tell me who you are."

"My name is Khione. I sided with Gaia in the last war. And it would be just delightful to have you as a statue in my father's courtyard," she laughed.

"As fun as that sounds, I'm really not into the role play theme this year. More on the, 'you touch me and I'll have your blood,' theme right about now.

Khione paused and looked at him. "You are very different from how they described you. That Athenian girl was quite desperate to locate you and she swore I knew something about it."

"Yeah, well if it's anything to you, let's not talk about her. Or you'll find me in a mood that you won't want to deal with. If that's all, I'll be on my way."

"Hmmm. Maybe not. I'm hiding out from the gods...and my father at the moment. If it's all the same to you, I could come with you? Monsters wouldn't dare come close to me. I am a goddess after all."

But the words fell on deaf ears as Percy now looked away from the goddess of snow, "I didn't want to be favored by the gods, nor did I want my camp to betray me the after I won all their battles. It's over now though. I'm done helping them except my father."

"I can understand that, being a goddess is the most tiring thing in the world. And it gets boring only being with my father." she stared away thoughtful, how did a boy once so happy get so moody?

Reluctantly, Percy let out a breath, he did not want to do this but the pestering goddess wouldn't leave him alone, "more like the nymph of snow," he muttered under his breath, his marathon like run long behind him.

Throwing his head back to look at the cloudy sky he heaved another sigh, making his breath cloud above him, "You can join me, as long as we dont converse about my past I'll be fine having you tag along,"

"Yes, you moody teenager." Percy scowled up at the sky, thinking this must be a trick from the gods for leaving their oh-so-precious camp in the dust.

"Let's go," and so the two new... companions set off down the snowy cliff face, toward whatever lay waiting in the dark.