gone girl.
━━━ the epilogue.

❀

Amaryllis didn't like many things about the United States. She didn't understand the point of Thanksgivings-it felt incredibly weird celebrating a holiday that watered down the colonization and the genocide of Indigenous people-or why everyone was so obsessed with their country to the point of ignoring the existence of other countries. She didn't like it when kids from her school would make fun of her accent or how the teachers refused to learn the correct pronunciation of her name. She truly hadn't realised how difficult it was to be an immigrant in the U.S until she had to attend high school.

The only thing Amaryllis enjoyed about American culture-if you could even call it that-was Halloween. It was very similar to Apokries, the Greek Carnival season, only in Halloween everything was much more intense and everybody made it a much bigger deal than it actually was. But Amaryllis loved how people would decorate their houses with big carved pumpkins, how they would watch horror movies just to scare themselves and how kids would dress up to play trick or treat.

So when Rachel sent her an invitation for the Halloween party she was planning in her father's lake house, Amaryllis was counting down the days.

She had invited Percy and Annabeth as well, although she couldn't invite any more demigods from the Camp, since that would attract the attention of monsters. Still, there would be people from her Academy and some of her old friends from Goode, since it was her previous school. Amaryllis had invited Annabeth to her house, so they would get ready together before Percy picked them up. He had gotten insufferable ever since he got this driver's license and insisted on driving them everywhere.

Amaryllis' room was a mess; there were piles of clothes everywhere as she was trying her best to figure out the last details of her costume. Her and Percy had agreed to go to the party dressed as Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann from Pirates of the Caribbean. Amaryllis had tried to replicate the costume from the movie by wearing a puffy white shirt underneath a long dark vest and dark pants that weren't too tight but not too baggy either. She had even thrifted a coat that looked awfully similar to what the actress was wearing in the movie.

"Where is my fucking hat?" she groaned as she looked around for her pirate's hat.

Amaryllis' mother, who was sitting at the bed, fixing Annabeth's hair into two buns, gave her the side eye. "Μίλα όμορφα," she said.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Did you look inside the wardrobe?"

"Yeah, I obviously looked-" She stopped herself. "No, actually, I didn't."

Amaryllis opened her closet and went through a lot of her things before finally finding her hat. She let out a cheerful scream and showed it to her mother and best friend, who both looked unimpressed.

After a few seconds, her mother was done with Annabeth's hairstyle. "Done," she said. "You look great, honey."

Annabeth had decided to go dressed as Leia Organa from Star Wars. She had borrowed a white bed sheet from Amaryllis and with her help, they managed to turn it into Leia's costume, after also taking one of Stavros' belts. She looked great and she seemed to think so too, because once she saw her reflection in the mirror, she grinned.

"Thanks, Mrs Kalomiri," she said. Her mother sighed. "Uh, sorry. I meant Ioanna."

"Mom, how do I look?" Amaryllis said.

"Stunning," the woman said and got up to hug her. "Do you want me to do your makeup?"

"Just the eyeliner," the girl said.

Her mother grinned happily as she started doing her daughter's eyeliner. The past months Amaryllis and her mother were inseparable, trying to make up for the lost time. They spent as much time as possible together-they'd go shopping together, they'd run errands and watch tv until both of them fell asleep on the couch, their heads on each other's shoulders. It was all Amaryllis ever wanted.

Stavros appeared, standing on the doorway with his arms crossed and an amused look on his face. At first, Amaryllis was quite awkward around him. He was her estranged godfather, but now he was also her stepfather. Amaryllis didn't know how to feel about that, but as time passed, she realised Stavros was a pretty cool dude. He loved her mother and he cared for Amaryllis-what else could she ask for?

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you to the party?" Stavros asked. "It's not that I don't trust Perseus, of course, I just-"

Stavros had the habit of calling everyone by their full name. He was probably the only person that called Percy Perseus.

"It's fine, really. Thanks though," Amaryllis said.

"We'll keep our phones turned on," he said. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to call. Do you remember our phone numbers?"

"Don't mind him, girls, he's just being overprotective," Ioanna teased her husband.

It was true that ever since Stavros found out about the whole demigod thing, he was constantly stressed that monsters would appear out of nowhere and attack Amaryllis. It was a valid concern and if she was being honest, she kind of appreciated that he worried so much about her.

"Done," she said once she was finished with the eyeliner. Amaryllis checked herself on the mirror and couldn't help but smile. "You three stay away from alcohol, okay? Only one beer is allowed."

"No beers for the driver," Stavros said and the girls nodded in agreement.

"Come on, let me take a photo of you two!" Ioanna clapped enthusiastically. She rushed out of the room and after a few minutes, she came back holding a polaroid camera. She was really into photography lately, determined to fill entire albums with photos of her daughter and her friends. Her best ones made it all the way to the fridge, which was the highest place of appreciation.

She took a bunch of photos-sometimes forcing Stavros to hold the camera as she went between the girls-until Amaryllis grew tired of posing. Just when she was about to tell her mother, the sound of a car horn interrupted their peace and quiet. Ioanna jumped up, startled and the camera almost slipped from her fingers.

"We should go now," Amaryllis said and grabbed Annabeth's hand excitedly. "Bye mom, bye Stavro."

"No beers for the driver!" Stavros said one last time before the girls ran out of the house.

Paul Blofis' car was waiting outside her house, with Percy leaning against it. He was dressed as a pirate as well and Amaryllis couldn't contain a grin when she saw how attractive he looked. Despite the chilly air of October, his dark red shirt wasn't buttoned all the way up, revealing part of his chest. He wore a weird belt and some rings he undoubtedly borrowed from his mother and around his neck was still the Camp necklace.

"Wow," he said when he saw Amaryllis. His smile was reaching his ears as he took a step closer. "Mar, you look even hotter than Keira Knightley."

A scoff interrupted them and they both turned to look at Annabeth. "That's blasphemous to say," she said. They stared at her in confusion. "What? Just because I'm asexual doesn't mean I don't have eyes."

"Well, you look almost as hot as Orlando Bloom," Amaryllis chuckled and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Come on, we're gonna be late."

"We are going to be late if you two keep admiring each other instead of jumping into the car," Annabeth complained.

Percy winked at her. "Looking good, Leia."

"Shut up, Seaweed Brain," she rolled her eyes. "Amaryllis told me all about your alternative costume idea."

"Mar!"

"Hey, you're the one who wanted to dress as Ariel the little mermaid," Amaryllis shrugged. "I do think I would have made an excellent Eric though."

"You would have," Percy smiled sheepishly and their friend groaned in annoyance as she unlocked the door and sat in the backseats.

After they finally got inside the car, Amaryllis turned on the radio. It took her a while to get to a station where a good pop song was on, but when she found it, she turned the volume up a bit. She loved listening to music while she was in the car-more often than not, she would ask Percy to drive her around when they had nothing better to do, just so she could enjoy the feeling of the air messing up her hair as the music was the only thing she could hear.

She couldn't wait until she finally got her driver's license. Most importantly, she couldn't believe that was currently her biggest problem, two months after she literally died. She supposed the Fates were funny like that.

The ride to Rachel's lake house was longer than expected, but at least it was entertaining. It hadn't been the three of them in a while and it was fun to watch her boyfriend and best friend catch up as she spiced up the conversation with some sarcastic commentary. It wasn't very often that Amaryllis found herself invited to parties, so she couldn't wait. As her friends talked, she realised they mostly talked about ordinary things like pop quizzes, bad grades, mean seniors and even meaner teachers. It felt great, it finally felt like she was a normal teenager.

"Ugh, you had to be there, Annie," Percy chuckled to himself and glanced at Annabeth through the mirror. "Mar singlehandedly saved our soccer team from getting disqualified."

"I didn't even know I was good at soccer until I was forced to try out," Amaryllis said. "Maybe I would have become a regular member of the team, if it weren't for the Darren incident."

"Darren incident?" asked Annabeth.

"He's the class jerk," Amaryllis said, crossing her arms. "Typical, sexist asshole that thinks it's fun to slut-shame girls."

Annabeth looked confused. "Mar broke his jaw," Percy explained and she smirked.

"Yeah, that makes sense."

"And I would have done it again," Amaryllis muttered under her breath. "Besides you're forgetting to mention you beat someone up that day as well."

"In my defense," Percy said, "he touched you. He tried to push you out of the way."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, although she had an amused smile on her face. "It's so typical of you to get in trouble without me holding you back. I'd appreciate it if you didn't get expelled, guys."

"We're trying our best!"

After a few minutes, they finally got to their destination. Mr. Dare's lake house looked as extravagant as one could imagine, though it did give the impression that they didn't visit it very often. The two houses were connected with each other and were made of wood. As the teenagers got out of their car, Amaryllis realised they had been, in fact, late. There were many people hanging out in the dock, but mostly in the front yard, under the trees and the night sky.

Amaryllis walked towards Rachel, the rest following after her. The redhead was staring at the water, her face blank, as if she was hypnotized. For a second, Amaryllis was horrified, thinking that maybe she had gone into Oracle-mode again. But then, the redhead shook her head and turned towards her friends with a big welcoming smile.

"You made it!" she said cheerfully and hugged Amaryllis tightly. She then did the same to Annabeth and Percy, careful not to wrinkle anyone's costume.

Rachel was wearing an extra tall top hat that she struggled to keep on the bush she had for hair. She was wearing an old coat and under it, a shirt and skirt with the wildest, most colourful patterns that seemed like they could cause a migraine to the naked eye. Her face was painted white with a lot of makeup around her eyes, bringing out her eyes.

At first, Amaryllis thought Rachel had dressed as a clown, until Annabeth nodded in approval. "Mad Hatter, huh? It's a good one."

"Oh, that makes sense," she heard Percy mutter under his breath and she was pretty sure they had been thinking of the same thing.

Rachel beamed in excitement. "You all look amazing." She winked at Amaryllis. "Especially you, Mar."

Percy put his arm protectively around Amaryllis' shoulder. "Stop trying to steal my girl, Rach," he said, but from his small smile it was clear he wasn't taking offense at her harmless jokes.

"Old habits die hard," the redhead shrugged. "Anyways! Make yourself at home. The snacks and drinks are over there. I was specifically advised to discourage you from jumping into the lake, but if you really feel like it, I won't stop you. For legal reasons, however, we'll ignore what I just said."

Then she turned to Annabeth and wrapped an arm around her. "Hey, Leia, I wanna introduce you to somebody. They're the nerdiest person I've ever met, you'll get along great."

"Okay?" Annabeth said, though she looked more confused than ever. Before she could say goodbye, Rachel walked towards the middle of what could only be described as a dancefloor and the two girls disappeared amongst the other guests.

Amaryllis turned to her boyfriend with a sheepish smile. The lights that Rachel had decorated the trees with shone a blue and purple reflection over them and she couldn't help but move her head to the beat of the song. Percy stared at her like he wasn't sure if he was dreaming or not. She loved his starry-eyed look, but she loved it even more when she was the cause of it.

He leaned in to kiss her and with a smirk, she leaned away and pulled out a sword. He seemed distraught as he felt the tip against his Adam's apple, but he chuckled when he realised it wasn't her actual sword, but rather a fake one, made of foam.

"What kind of pirate would I be without a sword?" Amaryllis asked with a fake innocent smile.

"A bad one."

"Yeah?" she said and she put the foam sword back in her scabbard. "I bet I could still kick your ass."

He came closer until they were inches away from each other. "I bet I would enjoy it," he said.

She was thankful for the lightning, because she was pretty sure she had turned into a blushing mess. She hated when he did that.

"ABBA!" she blurted out.

"Wha-?"

"There was something in the air that night," Amaryllis sang, pointing at the speakers. The familiar song made her move away from Percy and start moving her body. It was one of those moments she didn't really care if her outdated dance moves were embarrassing, because all it mattered was that she was with the person she loved. "The stars were bright, Fernando!"

"Stop trying to bring disco back," Percy laughed.

She shook her head. "They were shining there for you and me-Shut up-For liberty, Fernando-and dance with me!"

She took his hands and tried to get him to dance to the rhythm. He tried to complain, but at the end, she convinced him. Soon enough, they were both dancing in the most ridiculous and stereotypical way possible, while laughing at each other. Amaryllis' mouth hurt from all the smiling and yet, she couldn't stop as she watched Percy make a horizontal V-sign with his index and middle fingers of both hands, and drawing them across in front of his eyes.

At that moment, she felt like everything she had gone through might have been worth it if it all led there.

After a lot of dancing and a beer for Amaryllis, Percy said he'd go talk to some of the kids from Goode's swimming team for a bit. Amaryllis, not really in the mood for small talk with people she didn't personally know, told him she would take a walk and go find the two other girls that she hadn't seen in a while.

Rachel sure knew how to throw parties, but the girls from Clarion Ladies Academy knew how to have fun. Amaryllis noticed some of them, seemingly drunk, chilling at the stairs of the lake house and mumbling amongst themselves. Then there were some of Rachel's old friends from Goode and thus, Amaryllis' classmates, but no one she really interacted with out of school.

Amaryllis wasn't very popular in school. It took her a while to adjust and it was almost impossible for her to blend in, just like it was for Percy. Most kids thought she was weird, but that only became worse after the Darren incident. Apparently, fighting against the sexist mindset of teenage boys wasn't very kind of her. All she got was a few thanks from the cheerleaders, but most of the teachers except Paul gave her the stink eye and so did the students that had no idea of the context behind the fight. Her ADHD didn't really help either or her apparent "anger issues".

But she didn't care. She had survived things far worse than high school and if anything, it felt sort of liberating to experience normalcy.

She hadn't realised it but she had made it all the way behind the lake house and next to the forest. It was very dark outside and there wasn't much light on the backyard, but considering Amaryllis was a daughter of Hades, she had a really good night vision. That's how she noticed a figure sit where the dock ended and the forest started. The figure was tall and dark and everything about it made her alert.

It couldn't be a monster, could it?

Something compelled her to approach the figure. As she came closer, she finally saw who it was. A very old, frail-looking woman wearing something like a cloak that hid most of her body. Her legs were inside the water, but she didn't look very refreshed. There was something divine about her and Amaryllis could sense that the woman wasn't what she seemed to be.

"Amaryllis Kalomiri," the old woman said. Her voice didn't match her appearance.

"You're a god, aren't you?" Amaryllis asked. She clenched her jaw and brought her finger close to her ring, ready for anything.

"A god or a goddess..." the woman said. "We can take any form we want."

"Why are you here? You... you shouldn't be here."

The old woman pat the seat next to her. "Sit."

Amaryllis shook her head. "No. I want you to tell me why the hell you're here. Why you can't just-just leave us alone!"

She sighed. "Sit next to me, daughter of Hades. I need to talk to you."

The girl debated on whether she should obey or just run, grab her friends and get the hell away from there. Unfortunately, she knew better than to ignore the calling of a god.

Amaryllis sat next to the old woman hesitantly. "Which god are you?"

The woman gave her a wrinkled smile, but it didn't feel any comforting. "I am the one that gifted William Solace the cure that brought you back to life. I am the reason why you're alive."

The blonde girl felt like she had a million questions to ask, but she was left speechless. All that time, she thought Apollo was the one that sent Will the weird potion. For all she knew, of course, that woman was Apollo, but she really doubted he would choose to appear in that form.

"My identity is irrelevant for now. Everything will make sense in the future," she said.

"Then why are you here? Why did you save me?"

"Because, Amaryllis Kalomiri, the Fates aren't done with you. You are needed. And soon enough, you will understand why."

"Does this have to do with the new Prophecy?" the girl asked, trying to ignore how cold she suddenly felt and the trembling of her lips. "Am I... part of it?"

"You are a special demigod, daughter of Hades. Not many demigods can say they have the honour of being part of three whole prophecies," the woman said. The sarcasm felt malicious, but her tone could be interpreted in a number of different ways.

Amaryllis' heart sank. "Three?" she muttered. "No. No. Look, I already survived one Prophecy and I- I barely made it. I don't want to keep doing this. I can't."

"I'm afraid it's your destiny. I confess I didn't think you, of all people, would be the one. If I could have chosen, I'd choose someone..." she glanced at the girl coldly, "less emotional. Less temperamental."

"I'm sorry, am I an inconvenience now?" Amaryllis shouted, the anger flowing in her veins as she got up. Without realising, she had drown her sword and was pointing it to the god. "You don't get it. I'm done with this! The war ended, I was supposed to finally live like a normal person."

"You're not normal," said the woman and she stood up as well. "You are half-god. Your father is the King of the Underworld. Death runs through your veins in more ways than you can imagine."

"What does that mean?" Amaryllis took a breath, trying her best to relax, even though tears had already formed in her eyes. "Why are you even here?"

"To tell you that the time is coming," the god said, nonchalantly though intently. "There is another prophecy, one that is all about you. The key to understanding your role to the story lies in your ancestors, the secrets of your family's past and the mistakes of your father."

"Sure, that explains everything," Amaryllis deadpanned. "Why aren't you telling me who you are?"

"When the time comes, I trust that you'll know," the woman smiled. She looked around the lake house and for the first time, her eyes almost seemed warm. "Enjoy the good times, daughter of Hades. Because they won't last. They never do."

Amaryllis blinked and the god was gone.

She felt her hands shaking as she transformed her sword back to the ring. Her knees were weak and suddenly, every ounce of happiness was replaced with sorrow and something even worse. Fear.

The divine chess continues and Amaryllis is still a pawn.

"Mar?" she hears a voice behind her. She turns back around to see Percy from afar, waving to get her attention. "Hey, I've been looking for you," he said when she walked next to him and away from the dock. "You look weird. Are you okay?"

"Yes," Amaryllis lied for everyone's sake. She smiled but it was empty and she knew her boyfriend could see it.

"Everything is fine."

𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒.

▊and that was the halloween-themed epilogue that took me ages to write! i hope you enjoyed it and i hope it gives you enough closure, but also enough excitement for book 2!

▊any predictions on what the fuck is happening? who was the god? what were they talking about? but most importantly, did you catch the 70s show reference in the chapter?

▊next chapters will be a bonus chapter and an author's note and this story will be officially done.... don't mind me crying, it's fine, im fine.

(it's not. im not)