The Battle Has Just Begun

5 - The Arrow Has Been Released

Piper:

Piper slowly opened her eyes, blinking to adjust the bright sunlight streaming in from the windows. When her eyes fully opened, she sat up ignoring the stinging pain in the back of her head, and looked around, taking in her surroundings. 

She was in a room large in quantity, with high windows, fancy curtains, and window seats. There was a small table, with Katoptris and Jason's sword on it, which were sitting unsheathed next to a bowl of fruit. 

In one corner, there was a white closet, which was standing next to a matching dresser. There were a mini-fridge and a small oven too. There was a full built-in kitchen alongside that as well. There was a TV hanging off the wall parallel to the bed she was settled in. 

She noticed the bed was against the corner of the room, and to the right side of it was a small bedside table, which had a bowl of ambrosia and a bottle of nectar on its top. 

There were some bandages and a few other first aid items too. When she heard a groan, she twisted to find her eyes landing on a wounded Jason, who was lying on the bed next to her. He began stirring, and soon, his eyes opened. 

He looked around and sat up when he saw Piper. He moaned when he used his injured arm to support his weight. "Careful, you'll tear it even more," Piper said, helping him up.

"Where are we?" Jason croaked.

"I don't know."

"Are you hurt?"

Piper shook her head.

"Are you feeling alright? Everything good?"

Piper hesitated. She opened her mouth, then closed it.

"Piper, is everything good?" Jason repeated, his voice laced with concern.

"I'm fine, my head's a little woozy but fine."

"Is it bleeding? If someone knocked you out, it must have been a hard hit. Turn around, let me take a look." He said.

"No, I'm fi-"

"Pipes-"

"You're the one who's injured!"

"Piper, turn around. Now," He said sternly. She widened her eyes at his tone and did as he said. He threaded his fingers through her thick hair, parting it and reaching for her scalp. When he got to his target, he felt for bumps. 

And when he found one, he started rubbing it gently. Piper inhaled sharply. It stung, but she didn't want Jason to know. There were more important things at hand.

"Does that hurt?" He asked softly.

"No, not at all."

He added a little more pressure. "Okay, okay, it hurts! But only when you press on it. So, I'm fine."

"There's blood."

Piper opened her mouth to speak when his words truly sunk in. "I'm still fine. You can stop."

He didn't stop right away, only when she spun around out of irritation did he remove his hand from the back of her head. He tried to keep his face neutral, but judging by Piper's expression, she saw the smirk growing on his face. 

He changed the subject. "What's the last thing that happened?" He asked.

"All I remember is something lurking behind the bushes, us going to go check, and you getting hurt, then I think that's when I got hit and got knocked out. There was someone behind us."

"Yeah, I turned to tell you to run and get help, but you fainted. Then something hit my head, and I went down too." Piper took a deep breath at that.