there must be more than this provincial life.
[ percy jackson x original character ]
[ book three in the belle series ]
[ the mark of athena, the house of hades, & the blood of olympus ]
[ bonus: the lost hero, the hidden oracle, the ship of the dea...
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𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖎𝖙𝖗𝖊𝖙𝖗𝖊𝖎𝖟𝖊: FOUR DEMIGODS ALMOST DROWN
★ 。／｜＼。★
BELLE'S EYES FLICKERED in between the nine Nymphs uncertainly. The odds were not looking very good for the four Demigods, and Belle was sure even though she had Sunflower, Percy had Riptide, and Jason had his gold sword, that they couldn't defeat these Nymphs by fighting. She glanced back at the place where they had come, but the doorway had disappeared. Naturally.
"Who are you?" Percy demanded.
The Nymph in the center niche turned his head towards him. "Ah . . . names. We once had names. I was Hagno, the first of the nine!"
Belle frowned and shared a look with Piper. Apparently, they were both thinking the same thing. It was a cruel joke that a hag like her would be named Hagno.
"The nine," Jason repeated. "The Nymphs of this shrine. There were always nine niches."
"Of course," Hagno replied, baring her teeth in a vicious smile. "But we are the original nine, Jason Grace, the ones who attended the birth of your father."
Jason slightly lowered his sword. "You mean Jupiter? You were there when he was born?"
"Zeus, we called him then. Such a squealing whelp. We attended Rhea in her labor. When the baby arrived, we hid him so that his father, Kronos, would not eat him. Ah, he had lungs, that baby! It was all we could do to drown out the noise so Kronos could not find him. When Zeus grew up, we were promised eternal honors. But that was in the old country, in Greece."
The other eight Nymphs wailed and clawed at their niches. It almost seemed like they were trapped in them.
"When Rome rose to power, we were invited here," Hagno continued. "A son of Jupiter tempted us with favors. A new home, he promised. Bigger and better! No down payment, an excellent neighborhood. Rome will last forever."
"Forever," the other Nymphs hissed.
"We gave in to temptation. We left our simple wells and springs on Mount Lycaeus and moved here. For centuries, our lives were wonderful! Parties, sacrifices in our honor, new dresses and jewelry every week. All the Demigods of Rome flirted with us and honored us."
The Nymphs let out shrill wails and sighed as they remembered what they used to be like.
Hagno snarled at the group of Demigods. "But Rome did not last. The aqueducts were diverted. Our master's villa was abandoned and torn down. We were forgotten, buried under the Earth, but we could not leave. Our life sources were bound to this place. Our old master never saw fit to release us. For centuries, we have withered here in the darkness, thirsty . . . so thirsty."
