※Rewritten※

Second video is at the bottom of the chapter, please play it if you can :)

Hazel smiled with excitement in the mirror they provided. She knows that Nico was halfway finished with his song and that meant she was next. Her and the little ukulele she borrowed was going to perform next. Hazel had spend the better part of the prep-week learning the one song with the daughter of Apollo, Olivia, who lent the instrument to her. And it made her happy, the sound the mini-guitar-like instrument made was so preppy and gave a soft happy sound.

Nico was just outside of the tent walls singing about his sorrows, Jason sang to Piper about how she was too good for him; Piper made her presence as the bubbly and fierce force of happy known when she began a little dance party on stage, and Reyna stood her ground like the royalty she was, tall, proud, and powerful, just like her name. But Hazel wondered if the song she chose was enough to match the level of intensity that everyone before her seemed to pass with ease. Was the ukulele a good idea in her performance? There was only one way to answer that.

"Hazel," Frank walked up behind the golden-eyed beauty. "You ready to perform?"

"Mhm, just a little nervous, ya'know?" Hazel smiled and scrunched her curls once more, making sure they looked perfect. "But it'll go away when I'm on stage."

"You're gonna do great, just sing like you did in practice and you'll be fine," He kissed her forehead softly and gave a thumbs up when she looked back from the stairs. Nico had just finished and Braxton was waiting for Hazel to introduce her. And then Nico stopped, the crowd clapped and Braxton came out smiling.

"Now, performing House of Gold by Twenty-One Pilots," Braxton extended his hand to where Hazel stood. "Hazel Levesque!"

Hazel looked out to the crowd with a bright smile, nervous and excited, and waived her hand before strumming the beginning chords of the song. "She asked me 'son when I grow old, will you buy me a house of gold? And when your father turns to stone, will you take care of me?' " 

The happy melody contrasted with the solemn lyrics and put a bittersweet smile on the crowd. The song, though slightly sad, was like a promise. It was a praise to their mother, to make sure she would be taken care of and made happy, even when the world around them was turning to ash. Many of the sons in the crowd felt as if the song represented their goal in life. To not just live a happy life, but to make sure that their mother, the giver of their own life, was treated like a queen. To protect her and give her endless joy that could never repay what she had given for them.

All children felt like that, even those who didn't have a mortal mother but towards their father. They wished to, someday, give back to their parents what they gave to them. And Hazel sang out her promise to her mother, her mother who did everything for Hazel. She tried to protect her from the evil that tricked her. She tried to give Hazel a normal life, even when her profession was far from normal. She gave Hazel everything, and Hazel couldn't give it back. But she can promise her that she'll be happy, like she had done for her.

"I will make you queen of everything you see," Hazel smiled into the mic knowing that many are taking her song to heart. "I'll put you on the map, I'll cure you of disease."

She didn't see the sea of flashlights like Nico did, nor did she see the crowd dance and sing along with her. She saw them smile at her. She saw children hug their mother tightly, little boys and girls wrap their little arms around their father, holding them close. She saw mothers and fathers with glossy eyes and a bittersweet smile knowing they made the same promise to their parents.

And once again, Hazel strung the chords of the chorus. Softly singing the words to the hearts of everyone around, "She asked me, 'Son when I grow old, will you buy me a house of gold? And when your father turns to stone, will you take care of me?' " A soft smile spread across my face every time those words were sang knowing my step-dad did actually turn to stone. "I will make you queen of everything you see," She strung the chords after the words were sang, giving more emotion at the end of the songs. "I'll put you on the map."

Another chord. "I'll cure you of disease."

A bright smile just like the beginning of her performance decorated her face as she ended her song. The crowd stood and clapped with vigor like they had done to everyone before her. And before she knew it, Hazel walked off stage as Annabeth and I walked on stage.

Before we had to trade places, before Hazel finished, I stood with my wise girl inside the tent. She was terrified to perform. Her hands gripped my shirt tight and her neck was placed in the crook of my neck and I could feel her heart beating fast. It was a strange sight. I had never seen Annabeth this scared, this vulnerable, before, wait, no, I have. She was like this after I had saved her from the sirens. She held me close then and she's holding me close now, scared and terrified of the world around her for a moment.

"Hey, you're gonna be fine out there, okay?" I rubbed her back. "I'm gonna be there with you, remember? At the piano, by your side, as you sing and blow them away like you always do." She squeezed me tighter. "Because that what you do, you leave them breathless, like you do to me."

"I do?" She asks.

"Always," I smile and kiss her cheek. "Now, you feel ready to show them a daughter of Athena is more than brains?"

Annabeth leaned away from me, her arms still at my sides, but the fire in her eyes were back. Those grey eyes I love looked at me with the same ferocity they had since I meet her and I was putty in those eyes. The amount of times I would do anything for her was more than the grains of sand on the earth. It was like she was a queen and I was a knight, ready to fulfill the wish she made. But, right now, she wanted me to be on stage with her, and that's what I'll do.

"Ready," She nodded and kissed me before walking to where Hazel stood before her own performance. "Lets do this."

I followed Braxton as he left the tent to the piano. The glossy black instrument that I learned to play all those years ago, and the same ivory keys like the one in the tent that I played for Piper. I dressed up a little for this, trying to mimic the way actual pianist look when they perform, but all I did was wear one of those tuxedo-shirts you find a Walmart under an actual tuxedo suit jacket. Many snickers at my appearance were heard from both the crowd and the stagehands, but I didn't care.

"Performing Faded restrung by Alan walker, with the accompanist Percy Jackson," I waived to the crowd when Braxton announced my name. "Here is Annabeth Chase."

I turned to look as my wise girl was she cautiously stepped on to stage. I raised one of my eyebrows curiously because she had changed her clothes. She was just wearing a flowy yellow blouse and her usual jean shorts, but now she stepped out in a simple white dress. It was nothing fancy. A regular summer dress with two noodle-straps across her shoulders attached to a solid white top that faded to a loose lace skirt. It ended right above her knees and I swear she looked so beautiful.

She smiled to me and nodded, telling me to begin playing. And I did. I pressed a foot on one of the petals and laid my fingers on the black and white keys before me. My right hand playing the melody that emphasized the words of the song. My left hand playing the deeper harmony, a consistent rhythm of three chords over and over that gave depth to the powerful song. And after a few seconds, I heard her, her soprano one voice carried over the music I made. "You were the shadow to my light, did you feel us?"

"Another star, you fade away," She sang. "Afraid our aim is out if sight, wanna see us alight."

Her voice was soft as she sang, like every word were a call for someone. I couldn't see her but I knew she had caught the attention of everyone in the audience. They were captured by her voice and presence under the bright spotlight that made her glow. It was crazy how Annabeth looked on stage. She radiated a feeling that yearned for a soft touch, a mother's hug, a lovers embrace, the gentle hand of a child's in yours. It wasn't overwhelming but comforting.

Annabeth walked to stand beside me, her hand on my shoulder as I continued to play. "These shallow waters never met what I needed, I'm letting go, a deeper dive."

"Eternal silence of the sea," Her hand left my shoulder and grasped the mic joining the other. "I'm breathing alive."

The orchestra picked up at the pre-chorus and died down slightly, "Under the bight and faded lights, you've set my heart on fire, where are you now?" I pressed on the chords harder trying to match Annabeth was she poured her heart into the song. Every word echoing in the quiet camp and rolling over the crowd in waves. The cellos and violas giving the bright undertones of the song, hitting the song with their melodies and harmonies that gave life to the song. But Annabeth kept singing the song like it was a desperate need for someone.

"I'm so lost, I'm faded," She sang the very last line. Her breath uneven. But I continued to play the very last measures of notes and ending the song.

A standing ovation erupted from the crowd when I finished and I saw Annabeth relax a little. She let out sigh of relief and smiled brightly to them before leaving the stage, my hand in hers and a kiss on her cheek.

Words: 1765

https://youtu.be/bDmzGLrdjxQ