𝑪𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒐𝒓𝒔－ 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐨𝐧

𝑵𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒏.

I 019. I

𝑪𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒐𝒓𝒔

❝ nico ❞

     BEFORE SHE LEFT OLYMPUS, ARIA AND HER HAD A TALK. It was mostly about school and what they would do. She had decided Ariadne would be better off in Miami.

Of course there was a lot of arguing on Ariadne's part. She didn't want to leave New York, it was close to camp and to the Jackson family. But Aria wasn't having it.

"Ari," the goddess said, "I can keep you safe in Miami. There's a great school down there, and I think you'll enjoy it."

"But I like New York," the girl said. "There's other schools, and I'm near camp, I can go there if anything bad happens."

Aria sighed. "Ariadne, your father and I talked, he thinks it's best you go back to Florida after Christmas break. You have the barrier, and Beckett misses you."

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "I'm not going," she argued.

"Yes you are."

Her father stood behind them, raising an eyebrow at his stubborn daughter. "It's best," he said.

Ariadne grit her teeth. "What do you know what's best for me? You've been stuck at camp for years, and wouldn't it be better if I'm closer to camp, anyways?"

The god glanced at his wife who shook her head. He placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder, squeezing it. "Ari. Chiron agreed as well. If both you and and that Perry are in the same place, after all of this, it's not safe for you."

"His name's Percy," she mumbled.

He ignored her.

Ariadne looked at her two parents and nodded. She shut her eyes tightly while they did their best to lighten the mood.

"I'll see you for Christmas," Aria said before taking her husband's arm and walking away."

She wasn't looking forward to it.

Compared to Mount Olympus, Manhattan was quiet. Friday before Christmas, but it was early in the morning, and hardly anyone was on Fifth Avenue. Argus, the many-eyed security chief, picked up Annabeth, Grover, Percy, and Ariadne at the Empire State Building and ferried then back to camp through a light snowstorm. The Long Island Expressway was almost deserted.

As they trudged back up Half-Blood Hill to the pine tree where the Golden Fleece glittered, Ariadne half expected to see Thalia there, waiting for them. But she wasn't. She was long gone with Artemis and the rest of the Hunters, off on their next adventure.

Ariadne smiled at the sight of the piece of fabric tied to one of the branches, the very one she had tied on after their first quest.

Chiron greeted them at the Big House with hot chocolate and toasted cheese sandwiches. Grover went off with his satyr friends to spread the word about their strange encounter with the magic of Pan. Within an hour, the satyrs were running around agitated, asking where the nearest espresso bar was.

Ariadne, Annabeth, and Percy sat with Chiron and some of the other senior campers—Beckendorf, Silena, and the Stoll brothers. Even Clarisse from the Ares cabin was there, back from her secretive scouting mission.

She had a scar on her chin, and her dirty blonde hair had been cut shot and ragged, like someone and attacked it with a pair of safety scissors. It didn't seem as if the quest had been easy.