**So... it's a been a while. I've got a lot to say, but I'll save that for the end. For now, enjoy a little Piper and a whole lot of Gruniper.**

PIPER

Piper tried to calm her breathing. She didn't like what she had seen in the past, and even less what she had seen in the future. Despite what she had seen, she felt frustrated and annoyed to be back in her own bed. Something had happened, something that involved her and her family and Jason and Ares. That couldn't be a good combination.

Part of her knew it was the past. It had already happened, so what was she supposed to do about it? She had already done what she'd needed to do, and she was here and so was Jason. If she had to go back, if it was predetermined in some confusing way that made her brain hurt, she'd figured she'd be taken back; but she couldn't help but remember that last scene she had seen. She didn't want to jump to conclusions, but the congregation dressed in black, the crying she had seen, her babies in front of her but Jason not at her side...

Should she tell Jason? Maybe she could bring up meeting her grandparents; maybe she could tell him that their fates with intertwined with his grandfather's. But could she mention her fears about the meaning of the congregation in black? Could you put something like that on a person?

She shivered, laying in bed. She'd felt an innocent bystander when her unchosen journeys had begun, but now she was part of this, like it or not.

* * *

GROVER

Grover couldn't believe it.

He'd been gone for seven years.

That's what Juniper told him, and judging by the anxious look on her face, this was not a joke.

Seven years.

How much had happened, how much had he missed in the time he'd been gone? Were his friends still at Camp Halfblood? Did they still remember him? Did they miss him, did they look for him, did they even care?

"We have to get back," Grover whispered with a sudden intensity. They were still sitting in the cafe where they'd gotten enchiladas together.

"I was trying, Grover, I was trying," Juniper replied softly.

"You're sure you can't get back to your tree?" Grover hated to push her, but he needed to get now more than ever. So much could have happened, so much could have changed.

Juniper sighed. "I'll try once more."

Juniper closed her eyes, gripping the arm of her chair until her knuckles turned white. Once again she began to fade, slowly but surely she grew transparent, until she was barely more than a shadow...

And then again, just like before, she jerked backwards, gasping in a sharp breath as she returned suddenly to solidity.

She didn't open her eyes.

"Juniper?" Grover said sharply, leaping out of his chair. He hurried over to her; she still had a pulse, that was good, but she was clearly unconscious.

At this point they were the only ones on the terrace. He thanked the gods for that, digging a bit of mortal money out of the bag Juniper had brought with her, slamming it down on the table, and lifting up his girlfriend.

He ran, kicking off the tennis shoes he'd put on to disguise himself, knowing they'd only hurt rather than help him in his sprinting. He wasn't sure where he could go; they were far away from Camp Halfblood, far away from anything he knew.

And what would happen to Juniper? She laid unconscious in his arms as he tried to maintain a calm facade and make his way out of the restaurant, but he could feel his hands shaking against Juniper's body. He was alone, and he didn't know what to do.

After exiting the restaurant and ducking into an alley to avoid being seen running around frantically with a helpless body in his arms, he snuck behind buildings and trees, running everywhere in a fit of desperation to find somewhere he could think.

The forest had an effect on Grover that calmed him down, allowed him to think more clearly. Plus, in his reasoning, perhaps getting Juniper into nature and near another one of her kind would wake her up even if she couldn't get back to her own tree.

At last, after running so long he couldn't count the minutes, he saw a park ahead. It advertised woodland trails, and with an audible sigh of relief Grover saw the crowded buildings give way to a small but sprawling forest. Still as inconspicuously as possible for his current situation, he galloped into the trees, breathing in the fresh, woody air.

At least, that's what hei imagined he'd find. Rather, he was greeted with a mouthful of polluted, smoky-smelling air. But it wasn't smoke as in that of a forest fire; he would recognize the smell of burning plants and trees. No, this was something more mechanical, like an old-fashioned factory with huge smoke-stacks had been erected in the middle of the forest.

Instinctively, Grover reached for his reed pipes. Perhaps he could play something to calm himself down, to heal Juniper, to heal this forest. But of course, they had been taken from him by whatever had trapped him in his own woodland prison for seven long years.

Out of nowhere, a figure leaped out from behind a tree. At first glance, Grover thought Juniper had jumped suddenly out of his arms and landed nimbly in front of him. The girl, who couldn't have been anything other than a wood nymph, had similar chestnut hair, petite features, even a leafy green dress like Juniper wore when she was at home in her tree. Now she'd traded the traditional outfit for jeans and a green t-shirt (had Grover mentioned she looked good?) but she bore such resemblance Grover had no doubt that she, too, was a wood nymph from a Juniper tree.

"Satyr, Lord of the Wild! Thank goodness, have you come to save us?" The nymph's eyes were wild and wide, her hair messy, hands shaking.

"I.... um... From what?"

Her face fell. "Oh. Nevermind. I'd heard stories about a satyr, who'd taken the mark of Lord of the Wild when Pan faded and I thought... well, perhaps you're just another victim."

"Victim of what?"

"I don't even... I'm not even sure. Someone came in, a man, with all sorts of machines and some sort of magic, spreading it through the forest, cutting us all off from our trees or lakes or whatever it is we inhabit... there's frenzy everywhere."

"I... wow." Grover hadn't come up with anything better yet to say. He still hadn't gotten over the shock of being in a coma for seven years; now all of this was sprung on him as well?

"Who's that in your arms?" The nymph asked, voice tinged with fright as she took in the limp figure splayed across Grover's arms.

"My girlfriend," Grover said defensively. "I mean... Her name is Juniper, she's a wood nymph as well, and it seems to me that she's been cut off from her tree just like you. She tried to get back a few times, kept fading out and growing all transparent, and then... this."

The nymph in front of him nodded gravely. "I'm from a Juniper tree as well. That's what's been happening to all of us. Whoever came in here didn't actually kill our trees or poison our lakes or any of that, he's just locked us all out of our lifesource and created general dischord."

"Do you know of anything we could do for her?" Grover asked. "I've practiced natural healing, and I usually have my reed pipes with me, but I don't have anything, and, well... I've never seen anything like this before."

"I could let her rest by my tree, if you'd like. Perhaps that would give her a little strength back, possibly? I myself haven't been so weakened as your Juniper clearly is, but I've kept near to my own tree. Where is her tree?"

Grover gulped. "New York. Camp Halfblood."

"New York? It's a wonder she's still alive! Even without all this pollution and chaos, that would be enough to take any nymph to the ground. I suggest you get your girlfriend back as soon as you can, whether she can inhabit her tree or not. In the meantime, let me take her to my tree for a few moments and maybe she'll regain some of her strength."

Juniper still in his arms, Grover followed the nymph back to her tree. She stopped a few feet away from it as if an invisible wall surrounded her tree. Grover felt at the air where she had stopped, but he couldn't feel anything.

"The wall won't work on you," the nymph said, watching him. "Only on the nymph whose home it is. It might help you Juniper to get close to the tree, but she won't be able to enter it as it's not her home."

Carefully, Grover laid Juniper down on the forest floor, propping her back against the tree. He just watched her for a moment, taking in the way her hair flowed down her back, the soft features that made her look so delicate in a state like this, the way she looked more peaceful and content in her sleep than she had since Grover had woken up.

He wondered what the others at home had thought of his disappearance, if he had really been gone seven years. All this time, had Juniper been the only one who'd cared enough to come and look for him? What about Percy, what about Annabeth or Thalia or any of the other satyrs at the camp? He felt a surge of gratitude towards Juniper, who has going through so much to come and help in once everyone else had seemingly given up. He tucked a strand of chestnut hair behind her ear and sighed.

"You really love her, don't you?" The nymph asked, breaking the silence.

For a moment, Grover was silent. It was like him to joke, it was like him admire all of the beautiful nymphs and goddesses that he came across, and no one expected him to commit. But sitting in front of him was a girl more beautiful than any goddess, more faithful than any friend, stronger than any monster. It surprised him how easy the words he said next came out of his mouth.

"I do," Grover said. "I do love her. I've never loved anyone so much."

It was at that moment that Juniper's eyes fluttered open.

Had she heard what he'd just said?

"You love me?" That was the first thing she asked after she woke up. Not where she was, or what had happened, or what in Hades they were going to do. That was the moment Grover knew.

He didn't have anything with him, anything near what she deserved, but Grover knew suddenly that he had to do it.

"I love you so much, Juniper," he said. He picked up a twig from the ground, willing it with all of the natural power he could muster to twist into something beautiful. "I know I haven't said it much, but..."

But you haven't given up on me yet, is what he didn't say. Seven years, and she hadn't given up hope, hadn't stopped searching or hoping or caring for him.

He summoned a flower blossom from a nearby tree, perfecting his creation.

"Juniper, I don't know what I did to deserve someone like you, someone who cares as much as you do. I'm terrible at things like this and so I haven't told you this nearly enough, but I love you more than you could ever know," Grover said. This was hard for him. He wasn't good at this, but he had to get it out. "You said you were afraid of losing me to some other nymph, Juniper, but that will never happen as long as you'll have me. I'm not sure why you'd want to spend the rest of your life with me, but I know I'd want to spend mine with you. This is far from the most romantic way I could do this, but dammit Juniper, will you marry me?"

As he offered her the woodland ring he'd haphazardly created, he realized the commotion had attracted a crowd. All around him, worn and tired creatures of the forest watched the two of them. But despite the nymphs' and naiads' torn dresses and messy hair, despite the satyrs' scraggly beards and damaged horns, they were smiling.

None, however, were smiling quite like the little nymph with the chestnut hair and her back against the borrowed Juniper tree. She was tired and weakened and she didn't know what was coming next, but she knew the satyr on one knee in front of her. Though she had small features and a big heart, her the smile on her face was enough to stretch the distance between that forest and New York and then some.

"Dammit, Grover, of course I'll marry you."  

***

So, if you have anywhere to be or anything, you  might want to skip this author's note. Forgive me, I've got a lot to say >.<

Well. I wasn't even planning on doing that when I started the chapter. But ask any fiction writer, and I'm sure they'll agree: sometimes the characters truly get minds of their own.

So I've said this so many times before, but to anyone who has been reading this from the start, thank you once again for this dedication. I think I'll borrow a quote from Grover in this chapter to sum up how I feel about each and every one of you beautiful people: 

"I don't know what I did to deserve someone like you, someone who cares as much as you do. I'm terrible at things like this and so I haven't told you this nearly enough, but I love you more than you could ever know."

Whew. I've been through a lot these past months. I did go through some medical issues, but those, thankfully, are all sorted out now. In addition to that, I had my first kiss, my first boyfriend, (and, yeah, my first breakup)... nonetheless, all of you wonderful readers have been with me longer than any boyfriend or crush and since this is truly my passion, I hate that I've let it get in the way of finding even a few minutes to dedicate to my writing and my readers. 

While I do still enjoy having a life (somewhat of one), and I can't guarantee and update every Friday or something, I've begun to plan out the rest of this book more carefully so that I won't be plagued with writer's block for months at a time again. Just please keep in mind that I am not going to stop this book unless I say I have stopped this book. It may take awhile, but I will get another chapter out until I finish this book and the one after that. 

Also, just know that while I may not respond to all of them, I read each and every one of your comments. I try my best to respond to the more meaningful ones, but they all mean a lot to me. Everyone things that because I've got a lot of reads on this book I'm some sort of famous author who doesn't bother with her commenters, but I still can't believe any of this. If any of you need help with writing or just want to chat, feel free to message me any time and I really do respond :3 (assuming your message isn't just: UPDATE. THEN READ MY BOOK. YOU'LL LOVE IT!!!). Since I haven't been on Wattpad a lot lately, I may have missed some of your messages if you've sent me any, so feel free to message me again if you want a response! (NOTE: I often miss message so my profile/message board/whatever you want to call it. If you want to talk to me, pm me).

So yeah I got a bit carried away there with the author's note. But I mean every bit of it and I seriously can't express my thanks and my apologies enough.

On a lighter note, one other thing I want to mention before I'm done. Since I'm on spring break I've recently started writing another book, a romantic comedy with a bit of vintage mystery. It's called Free Bird and I've posted a couple chapters. Check out my profile if you'd like to see a description. It's sort of a rough draft, but I'd really appreciate any feedback!

Thanks and I love y'all so much!

Evelyn

p.s. let's just pretend that author's note isn't longer than the chapter itself lol

p.p.s Wattpad won't let me do it officially, but this chapter is dedicated to Glenn Frey, one of my favorite singers from my all time favorite band. His music has encouraged me to take it easy, take it to the limit, and most importantly to keep pushing through in the long run. Rest in peace, Glenn, and fly like an eagle.