The Forgotten Daughter

Prophecy

Aliana sat alone at breakfast as usual, prodding at her food disinterestedly. She couldn't get her mind off the prophecy. She wanted to tell Percy and Annabeth about it, get their help in deciphering it, but if she did, then they would want to help her finish it. Not that she would be opposed to help, but she didn't want to get them hurt or killed. They'd had enough of that for one summer.

Suddenly, Percy plopped down beside her at the picnic table. "Care for some company?" He swung his legs over the bench and shot her a forced smile.

She gave him a look. "I thought I told you to leave me alone."

He sighed, letting his smile fall. "Chiron told me about the prophecy."

Aliana froze.

"He didn't give me any specifics." Percy assured. "I just asked him why you were so upset and he said it was probably because of a prophecy you had received the day we got back."

She stared intently at her food.

He watched her. "Aliana, I want to help. Maybe we can figure this thing out together."

"That's what I was afraid of." She mumbled.

"What?" Percy asked.

She sighed. "You've already been through so much this summer. I didn't want to add anymore."

"Are you kidding?" He stabbed his fork into his food. "This has been the best summer of my life. So, pile it on."

Aliana shook her head. "Fine. Meet me at the edge of the woods after breakfast."
                                     *   *   *
Aliana leaned against a tree trunk. What was taking Percy so long? Breakfast had been almost an hour ago.

Finally, he appeared among the trees and spotted her. "This is the edge of the woods?" He gestured to the thickly layered trees. "You can't even see camp."

She shrugged. "Have you ever actually spent time in the woods?"

"Ahh.. no." Percy scanned the thick foliage overhead.

"Come on." She beckoned as she walked deeper into the forest.

"Where are we going?" He asked as he followed along clumsily.

She spoke over her shoulder. "Somewhere we can talk in private."

They wandered through the trees in an aimless path, leading Percy to believe that they were completely lost. Then, Aliana stopped at the base of the thickest tree Percy had ever seen.

"Um... what's private about this place?" He surveyed his surroundings.

Aliana rolled her eyes. "Look higher."

He tipped his eyes towards the higher bows and gasped.

A small treehouse rested in the branches. It had a porch wrapping around the outside and two windows on either side of a crude wooden door.

"Woah." He stared in awe at the simple wooden structure. "Did you... build this?"

"Yep." She turned to face him, walking backwards up to the base of the tree. "Welcome to Cabin 13 - the Forgotten Cabin. Currently only one occupant." She pulled a rope free of the ivy, scaling the trunk. "I'll be right back." She planted her feet against the tree and walked up the trunk. Grabbing the railing at the top, she swung over onto the porch and pushed a rope ladder off the edge, down to Percy. "Heads up!"

Soon, he clambered onto the porch and rose to his feet.

Aliana came out of the treehouse holding the prophecy as he gawked at the view. She chuckled. "This way." She led him to a trail of boards fastened to a branch and climbed them up to another smaller platform.

"Another level?" He admired as he pushed himself onto the deck.

Aliana shrugged. "Why not? I've been adding onto this thing ever since I finished it. This has to be my favorite addition."

He leaned on the railing. "I can see why."

She stood next to him, scanning the lush forest from above.

"So," he broke the peaceful silence. "can I see this prophecy?"

Aliana's heart skipped a beat at the mention of the foreboding verses. She handed him the scroll, her hand shaking slightly.

He stared at her quivering fingers as he unrolled the paper. He read the prophecy silently, his grip tightening on the parchment as he reached the end.

"Told you." Aliana sank to the deck, hugging one knee as she let the other leg dangle through the opening for the ladder.

Percy sat beside her. "Do you have any idea what it means?"

She sighed, resting her chin on her knee. "Not really. But I think the second verse has already happened.
'To greatest heights and deepest depths
Her destiny will guide her steps
To navigate through dark and dreams
Everything is not as it seems.'" She recited. "We went to Olympus and the entrance of Tartarus. I dealt with those dreams during the entire trip."

He examined the verses carefully. "What about the last line. 'Everything is not as it seems.' What does that mean?"

She groaned. "I don't know. Maybe it's talking about how Kronos is trying to escape." A cold chill sank in around them at the name.

Percy shivered. "Maybe. But Chiron told me that prophecies can be tricky and easily misinterpreted."

"Yeah," she agreed. "I know."

He furrowed his brow. "That being said, maybe the 'time of Half-bloods comes to an end' part isn't talking about death."

Aliana shook her head. "It literally refers to the Fates in the previous line. What else could it mean?"

"Fair enough." He granted. "Who's the Abandoned Son?"

She sighed and flopped onto her back. "If I knew that, this whole thing would be so much easier."

"Tell me about it." He leaned back against the railing. "Why did the Oracle have to be so vague?"

Aliana chuckled. "This is only a little bit worse than normal. You got really lucky with how straight forward your prophecy was."

He chuckled. "And mine was only one verse long."

She heaved a long breath and stared at the scroll in Percy's hand. So much pressure, so much mystery. And it was all riding on her.

Percy looked at her and frowned. "I think we need to do something else, something to get your mind off of this prophecy." He stood. "Any ideas?"

She smiled up at him. "Well, for starters, you could stop mentioning it."

He laughed. "That would probably help."

She pushed herself up and met his gaze. "Ever been hunting?"