Percy P.O.V

I asked the front desk to give me a wake-up call at six o'clock, so I could get my morning swim in. On an ideal day, I would be able to go for a swim once in the morning, and once in the evening.
The pool at the Chateau Frontenac was too small and shallow to do proper laps but it was better than nothing.

Swimming came naturally to me; I always felt more myself in the water.
When I finished my morning swim, I returned to our room. Annabeth was still in bed.

"Percy," She said in a low, groggy voice that seemed to come out of her nose, "You're up already?"
"I've been up for a couple of hours," I answered, "I went for a swim. So what's on the schedule for today, Anna-Bête?"
A couple of days earlier, the four of us had gone to see a stage production of Beauty and the Beast at the Capitole de Québec theater. It was pretty good, except that I couldn't understand a word of it. Annabeth explained to me that Beauty and the Beast in French is La Belle et La Bête, so I started calling her Anna-Bête.
Annabeth yawned and stretched like a cat across the bed.
"We're meeting Piper and Jason at Place Dufferin for breakfast at nine," she said, "We're going to plan our day from there."
She wrapped herself in the top sheet and slid off of the mattress and over to a taupe colored settee by the window.

I wanted to sit down next to her.
"Un-uh, you're soaking wet. Please put on some dry clothes before you can sit on the furniture."
"As milady wishes."
I slid off my swim trunks and let them fall to the floor before sitting down on the settee beside her and wrapping myself up the top sheet.
"You're cold."
"Then warm me up..."
I threw my arms around her and pulled her close, burying my face in her long, curly hair. This was undeniably the best way I could think of to warm up.
"As nice as this is, I'm getting hungry. We should get ready to go down for breakfast."
Annabeth had traveled with a number of stylish frocks and hats but none of them suited her as well as her own bare porcelain skin. She put on a flouncy beige number tied at the waist with a bow and a matching hat to go out.

If I had my way, she would have spent the entire day lounging around our room, naked.
"I like Jason and Piper," she said while putting in a pair of owl-shaped earring, "They seem happy together."

"I'm glad they've found happiness," I answered, "They've had a rough time recently."
"I know, I read about it in the paper. It's was terrible. Some poor man was murdered during the whole mess."
"Beckendorf was a friend of ours. We all decided that we would look after his widow."
Annabeth smiled at me. She walked over, took my hand and kissed it.
"My dear, loyal Percy."

After having breakfast at Place Dufferin, one of the restaurants at Chateau Frontenac, we walked down to the Cathedral-Basilica de Notre Dame de Québec (which is a mouthful to say).

Annabeth and Piper walked up and down the nave while Annabeth poured over her guidebook and pointed out architectural details. I could easily spot Piper because she wore a bright orange-yellow frock and cloche.

The walls of the cathedral were a creamy white color and decorated with gilded moldings and flourishes. Its altar was carpeted in red and had dark brown wood paneling.

From listening to Annabeth, I learned that Notre Dame de Québec was the oldest church in North America, north of the Spanish Colonies of Florida and New Mexico.
I went over to the cathedral's shop and bought a St. Monica card for my mother; St. Monica was always one of her favorite saints. I also paid for the four us to take a tour of the cathedral's crypt.
A/N St. Monica is the patron saint of domestic abuse victims.
Walking out of the shop, I passed a girl sitting in a back pew, who was praying the rosary. Her black dress with a lace collar matched her pale complexion and dark hair eyes.

She had paired her black and white dress with red nail polish, red shoes, and a red headscarf.

Her pale face had a serious and pious expression as she prayed, kind of like the picture of St. Monica on the prayer card. I recognized her as Khione Boreas, the daughter of Abraham Boreas.
Jason had told me that he had seen Khione with Atlas Titan the day before and overheard that the Boreiads were going to sell us out somehow. I wondered how the duplicitous bitch had the nerve to kneel in church and pray to God. I wanted to call her out but my Ma raised me better than to make a scene in a church.
I walked over to where Annabeth was admiring a statue. She gave me a wry smile as I took her hand.
"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much," she said, "Which mannerly devotion shows in this."
"It's time to take a tour of the crypt," I replied before kissing her hand.
Our guide was a young nun from the nearby Ursuline Covent. First, she showed us the effigy of François de Laval, the first bishop of Quebec who founded the seminary which later became the University of Laval.

A/N The University of Laval is where I studied for five weeks this past summer.
Then we decided down to the crypts: an austere and dramatically lit corridor where the bodies of the bishops of Quebec are interred.

Back up topside, Khione was standing by a rack of votive candles, taking with a male companion. When I looked at the man who was with her, I was taken aback.
Something about him reminded me of Gabe Ugliano, something I couldn't put my finger on. Perhaps it was his nasty sneer and tobacco-stained teeth or the rat-like squint of his eyes? Perhaps I was just seeing the old bastard's ghost everywhere?
I didn't know why I let a dead man haunt me. I was now grown and strong and not the scared little boy I had been then. If Gabe was still alive, I could easily beat him in a fight. But I still had nightmares about what the son-of-a-bitch had but my Ma and me through.
Long story short, I instantly hated Khione's gentleman companion. And apparently, Piper felt the same way. She covered her mouth with her hand to keep a shriek from being heard.
"Atlas," she said.
So it turns that I was dealing with a scarier animal than my dear departed stepfather. Atlas Titan was a genuine monster while Gabe Ugliano was just your ordinary, garden-variety ass-hole.
If I was shocked to see Khione in a church, it seemed blasphemous to not drive Titan out with crosses and holy water.
"So they're stalking us," Jason said, "Dirty scoundrel, he's trying to freak us out. How the Hell does he find out where we're going?"
Titan leered at Annabeth as she walked by him on my arm. She turned pale and avoided looking at him.
"Percy, do you know him?" she asked.
"No," I lied, feeling horrible for keeping things from Annabeth but I had no idea how to explain this whole situation to her. The best thing I could do was try to keep her out of danger.

Piper P.O.V

I returned back to the hotel after we visited the Cathedral because I had come down with a bad cold. Tucked up in bed, I started reading a book I picked up the day before.
It was a collection of Native American myths and legends. Reading these old stories was comforting; they reminded me of the Cherokee folklore my Grandpa Tom used to tell me about back when he was still alive. They conjured up images of sitting on Grandpa Tom's lap, his wrinkled, leathery face and bristly grey and white beard surrounded by a halo of pipe smoke.
Holding up a book to read it was just about the only thing I had the strength to do. My head was weighed down by what felt like ten tons of mucus; my sinuses were filled to burst and caused a throbbing headache; the sounds in my ears were muffled; my voice was weak from all the phlegm in my lungs and I coughed and gagged; my entire body ached.
The first story in my book was about Kugaluk, an Inuit from the northernmost part of Quebec, who is captured by a giant while out hunting. The giant brings Kugaluk back to his igloo and when the giant and his wife fall asleep, Kugaluk slits the giant's throat and escapes across the tundra. The giant's wife chases him to a frozen river. Kugaluk crosses the river and cracks the ice so that the giant's wife can't cross. She asks "how may I cross the river?" and Kugaluk replies "drink the river dry." The giant's wife begins to drink from the river but the saltwater causes her to explode and this is why there is fog on the tundra.
The second story came from the Micmac tribe. It was about a young man called Petit-Fils or "grandson" who goes looking for a wife. He searches all around but cannot find a maiden who suits him, so he builds one out of wood. The wooden woman comes to life, à la Pygmalion and Galatea, and tells him to prepare a home for her in his wigwam because she will marry him in three days, that is, if he resists his curiosity and not look at her until then. Petit-Fils cannot help himself and looks into the wigwam to see a beautiful young woman with a round, pale face. She disappears and he goes looking for her in the spirit world, where he encounters a white bear who carries a glowing ball. Petit-Fils wins the glowing ball from the bear and carries it with him on his eternal search for his bride. He is the sun while the wooden woman with the round pale face is the moon. The sun and moon are always in orbit but never meet.

A/N I am currently taking a class on the history and culture of Quebec. Our first chapter is about the Native American tribes who lived in Quebec before European settlers arrived and the two stories I've mentioned "Kugaluk and the Giants" and "The Wooden Woman" were part of our reading.

Putting down my book, I picked up the telephone and dialed the number for room service.
"Bonjour," I said into the receiver, "Je voudrais une tasse du thé à la menthe au citron et au miel... chambre sept-cent-soixante-cinq...merci beaucoup."

A/N "Hello, I would like a cup of mint tea with lemon and honey...room seven hundred and sixty-five- thank you very much."

I nodded off after I finished my tea and was woken up by Jason.
"I went to a drug store and got you some medicine," he explained.
He put a bottle of aspirin tablets and a bottle of cough and cold syrup in my lap. The syrup was a dark bluish-black like sloes and thick like molasses.
"I suggest you don't drink a lot of that... it's probably ninety percent dope and booze."
I laughed and poured a dose into my teaspoon. Jason fetched me a cup of water from the bathroom sink so I could take a couple of aspirin tablets.
"What did I ever do to deserve you?"
"Be Piper McLean, that's what you did?"
I kissed him on the forehead. He kicked off his shoes and lay down on the bed next to me, his head in my lap. I stroked his closed cropped blond hair. Jason reminded me of a big, cuddly golden retriever who always wants pats and snuggles and to be everyone's buddy.
A/N this scene was inspired by this piece of Jiper fan art by Viria. Imagine this Jason and Piper in 1920-30s clothing. Also, there is actually no difference between Jason and a golden retriever.

"What did you and Percy and Annabeth do after I left?"
"We went to the Plains of Abraham. It's an old battlefield and Annabeth was in her element. Her parents are both big history buffs and brought her to battlefields all throughout her childhood: Gettysburg, Monmouth, and Yorktown."
"Sounds like fun."
"They're turning the land into park and historic site. Annabeth went on and on about what a shame it is that they are letting these old fortification towers fall to ruin."
"Shame I missed all of that."
After we had cuddled for a while, talking about their visit to the Plains of Abraham, Jason got up and began to go through his suitcase to find his swim trunks.
"I'm meeting Percy down at the pool. I'll be back in a few hours. He and Annabeth are going to eat at Aux Anciens Canadiens but I told him I was going to stay in tonight because you weren't feeling well, so you and I'll order room service."
As he walked out of the room, I was treated to perfection that is Jason's backside in swim trunks. I hate to see the boy leave but I love to watch him go.
An ass like that and so attentive and considerate...damn, I'm the luckiest girl in the world.
"Be careful," I called as the door was close.
Jason stopped in before it shut.
"Don't worry about me, Pipes," he replied, "I can take care of myself."
"I know, but I still worry."
Seeing Atlas earlier that day had really shaken me up and I feared for Jason's safety. It hit home that I had married a man who could die any moment.
"I love you."
"I know, now get some rest."

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