The Forgotten Daughter

A Night in the Woods

Aliana tossed her backpack on the ground next to a tree and sat down. She pulled her legs up to her chest and rested her chin on them, staring into the shadows of the forest.

Annabeth fell asleep almost immediately. Lucky.

Grover and Percy were talking. Neither of them noticed her. Nothing new. Grover was talking about Pan, the god of the wild, and Searchers. Percy seemed very interested, but Aliana had heard all this before.

Her mind reeled as she replayed the recent encounter with Medusa. "I want to see if they shimmer, like your mother's" Somehow, Medusa knew who her mother was, and now she was dead. Was it wrong to mourn the death of a monster? She hung her head, her forehead against her knees.

"Hey, what's up?" Percy's voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

She looked up. "Nothing."

He narrowed his eyes. "Nice try. Spill."

She sighed, rolling her eyes. "If you must know, Medusa knew who my mother is."

"Really?" He gasped.

She nodded. "She asked me if my eyes shimmered... like my mom's."

Percy stared off into the distance. "Did she give you any hints?"

"Right, like the gorgon would stop to tell me who my mom is while she's trying to kill me." Aliana flopped onto her back.

"I just thought... maybe." Percy started.

"I'm sorry." Aliana propped herself up on her elbows. "That... came out harsher than I wanted."

"It's okay." He assured. "Out of curiosity," he bit his lip, "Why are you like that?"

She scoffed. "Right to the point, huh?"

Percy suddenly retreated from the question. "I know that's super personal, I'm sorry I asked. I just..."

Aliana grabbed his wrist. "It's okay. You're right. It's... very personal, but... someone has to find out sooner or later. I'd rather it be on my terms." She took a deep breath. "My dad was a marine. I lived with him on base, wherever he was deployed, on the field and off. I saw a lot of blood, a lot of loss, a lot of death. I guess you could say I was desensitized to it." She picked up a twig and started breaking it into pieces. "But... nothing prepared me for what happened when I was seven." She didn't fight the tears this time. It had been a long time since she had had a good cry. She needed it. "My dad was home for the first time in almost a year. My birthday had been months ago, but he said we still needed to celebrate. It was... the perfect day." She looked away. "That is, until the Chimera showed up. My dad tried to protect me." Fresh tears streamed from her eyes. "He was no match for it. I couldn't do anything. I just stood there... and watched him die." A sob shook her whole body.

Percy was speechless. He just sat their, searching for something to say. "I'm sorry." The words were pathetic and spoken out of a lack of anything else to say, but were the best thing Aliana had heard in a long time.

She smiled at him. "Thanks. And congratulations, you now know more about me than anyone else."

He chuckled. "I'm honored. We should get some rest."

She nodded. "Good night, Water Boy."

He shook his head. "'night"
* * *
She stood at the precipice, a cold wind blowing up from the pitch black depths. She shivered.

"Welcome." A deep voice resounded from the dark pit.

"What do you want?" She challenged the all-too-familiar voice - a voice that had haunted her dreams for several weeks now.

"You know what I want." It replied.

"No!" She shouted. "I'll never help you."

The voice chuckled. "I wouldn't be so sure. Consider the possibilities." A lithe silhouette appeared before her. "I can tell you who your mother is. I can give you the power to prove yourself to her - to make her regret not claiming you."

The figure began to focus.

She stared at the scene, mesmerized. Suddenly, she thought of Percy, Annabeth, Grover. "No! I don't need anything from you."

A deep, guttural growl echoed up from the cavern. "Then you'll join me down here."

A slimy tendril lashed out of the shadows and entangled her ankle.

She fell backwards, the tentacle tightening painfully around her leg.

It started to retract, dragging her towards the pit.

She clambered for a crack or a rock, anything to grab onto. Her fingers caught the edge of an indent in the stone floor.

The tendril pulled harder on her leg.

She suppressed a scream.

A soft noise sounded behind the pain, growing louder. The muffled sounds morphed into a single word. "Aliana!"

Aliana snapped awake, sitting bolt upright, panting, staring at nothing in particular. Wild, primal fear pulsed through her body. She felt a gentle touch on her shoulder. She flinched and whirled.

Percy leaned back, hands raised defensively. "It's okay. It's just me. You're safe."

Aliana let her shoulders relax and her head hung as if her muscles could no longer hold the weight. Her heart pounded incessantly.

"Bad dream?" Percy asked.

Aliana nodded. "Come on." She stood, a slight pain rushing through her ankle. "We need to keep moving."

A/N
Shorter filler chapter, but important.
Hope you liked it. 😁
-Cheshire