XIII

                                                                        Ana

        Ana put her head into her hands, looking over towards the Hephaestus cabin longingly. It was cruel. She was stuck in her own mental prison. She fixed the covers on her bed and dropped her bow beside her bed and laid down, staring at the ceiling. She hated that ceiling. She hated the silver thing in her hair. And she hated her bow. She hated it all!

        “Uh, Ana, there’s someone who wants to talk to you,” Thalia said, disturbing Ana’s thoughts. Uncertain, Ana made her way to the front of the cabin as Thalia guided her. Who would want to see her at night, she had no idea. What appeared to be a thirteen year old girl with auburn hair and a bow in hand stood, with a welcoming face.

        “Hello Andromeda, I’m Artemis, goddess of the hunt,” introduced the young girl. “Please sit.” Ana sat in a wooden chair that stood beside her. Fumbling for the chair, Ana fell into the chair ungracefully.

        “I know of your connection between Hephaestus’s child and yourself.” Ana nodded admittedly with shame. “And I understand what you are going through. I was in love once myself, once with a very handsome hunter named Orion. In the end, I killed him, thanks to my blindness of situations, but that isn’t important. He returned and killed off a few of my best Hunters. May they rest in peace. And so, I’m prepared to make an offer. In trade of your immortality and eternal service to me, you will become what you always have been, Poseidon’s child. And you will never be allowed to become a Hunter again. Then you will be able to be with whomever you like and it wouldn’t be breaking any rules. Love is always a big sacrifice, Aphrodite agrees,” Artemis said. Ana, dumbfounded, didn’t think Artemis was anything like Aphrodite. The only thing they seemed to have in common was that they were both one of the twelve Olympians and were both goddesses.

        “I will take your offer!” Ana exclaimed with full confidence.

        “Then please repeat after me,” Artemis said. “I, say your name.”

        “I, Andromeda Stone.”

        “swear by the river Styx that I will turn away to Artemis’s services and may be able to join the company of men once again. I will decline the offer to become immortal and once again remain mortal.”

        “swear by the river Styx that I will turn away to Artemis’s services and may be able to join the company of men once again. I will decline the offer to become immortal and once again remain mortal,” Ana said slowly. Suddenly, it was as if she was running for an hour, and her knees buckled beneath her while everything was beginning to turn black.

        “May you use your wish wisely,” said a voice (she wasn’t sure whose) before she blanked out.

                                                                             …

        Ana awoke in a foreign looking cabin with a feeling of the ocean. It was odd, it was as if she were right next to the ocean, but instead, in a cabin with Percy asleep, drooling. Not intending to wake Percy up, she changed into clothes that were set up at the foot of her bed silently. She smiled to wear her Camp Half Blood t-shirt once again and some comfortable boot cut jeans. As she was about to walk out the door, she noticed Percy turn and murmur something that Ana couldn't depict from the gibberish. See ya later Perce, Ana mentally said.

        She walked to the dining hall, nervously looking around for Leo, wondering what he would think. It was so strange, finally becoming who she wanted to be, then basically quitting three days after. She almost felt guilty to the Hunters, especially Thalia, who had so much relief and happiness when she took the oath. She saw Thalia and walked over, hoping to patch up any misconceptions with her former fellow lieutenant. She came up to her and patted her shoulder.

        “Hey, Thalia?” Ana asked cautiously.

        “Hi Ana,” she said.

        “Look, I hope nothing, well, bad happened between us, I mean, I still really want to be your friend, and-” Thalia smiled and hugged Ana.

        “Hey, it’s ok, really. I used to know what love felt like. It was really special. I’m glad you got the chance I didn’t.” Ana sighed and smiled back. She looked past  Ana and said “Look, there’s ‘flame-o-hotman’ as he calls himself. Go,” She motioned to the Hephaestus table and Ana’s cheeks felt hot. He doesn’t know what I did yet... she thought. She turned around and suddenly felt a wave of happiness and nervousness at the same time when she saw the messy brown hair, the familiar belt, and the dark eyes of Leo; her reason for declining the life of a Hunter.

        He was looking all over the dining hall, as if searching for someone. She walked towards him slowly, trying to avert her eyes.

        “Ana!” she heard him call.  She looked back to Leo to see the adorable smile she fell for and she felt her legs move faster. She started to run, and he started walking faster. She wrapped her arms around him and he embraced her. She felt her eyes sting and she didn’t even try to stop them from flowing. She told him what happened and he stared at her with a look of disbelief.

        “Y-you gave it up? Hunter go bye-bye?” he said, obviously trying to contain himself.

        “Yeah, yeah I did,” Ana said, wiping her face. He hugged her and asked one question,

        “Why?” She only had one answer to that.

        “I love you too, Leo,” she said, looking him in the eye. His hands burst into flames and his face became as red as a rose. He extinguished the flames and put his left hand on her cheek. She looked up at him and he smiled. She smiled back as their faces were pulled together by a force she couldn’t understand. She felt his lips on hers and she melted. She allowed him to embrace her as she felt into him, knowing it was perfect.

                                                                ...

        Ana was smiling; she couldn’t stop. She gripped Leo’s hand tighter as she saw Gabby.

        “You should tell her alone, you guys are basically sisters after all,” he said, kissing her on her forehead. She smiled and walked towards Gabby, her grin not ceasing.

        “You look cheerful for once,” Gabby said. “what’d I miss?” she asked, smiling at Ana’s happiness. Ana explained everything that happened after she got to Cabin Eight to Leo. Gabby listened like a child hearing a story before bedtime. When she was done, Gabby said,

        “Ok, so you gave back your immortality, gave away everything you ever wanted, for what exactly?” she asked, looking confused. Same old Gabby, Ana thought.

        “Leo,” Ana said quietly, nodding towards the Hephaestus table, Leo beaming at her.

        “Wowza. This love stuff is powerful, sheesh,” Gabby said, making Ana laugh.

        “Yeah, it is.”

        “Well, I’m going to eat with my fellow archers, and you, my friend, will go to Cassanova over there.” She hugged Gabby and walked back to Leo, every part of her content.

                                                                        ...

        Leo brought Ana to the nearby lake right before the sun set. He covered her eyes and led her to the edge of the water, sitting her down on a log.

        “What is it, can I open my eyes now?” she asked, knowing where they were because she could feel the tug of water near her.

        “Not yet,” he said.

        “Hurry, the suspense is killing me,” Ana replied.

        “Yes ma’am,” he said, holding back a chuckle.  Ana smiled at the thought of them finally being able to be together in peace, to not worry about duties, to just relax.

        “Ok, open,” he said. She opened her eyes and gasped. There was a giant heart in the sky, one side blue, for water, the other red and orange to represent fire. In the middle there was a simple white heart. She covered her mouth and smiled.

        “You did this? For us?” she asked, tearing up. He sat down next to her and kissed her cheek.

        “Yup, for us,” he said, putting his arms around her. She lay her head on his shoulder and gazed at the setting sky and the beautiful masterpiece her Leo had made, just for them. It was even more magical than anything she could ever imagine.

                                                                        ...

        “Ana, wake up,” said Leo, shaking her lightly.

        “Hmm?” she said, lifting her head off his shoulder.

        “There’s someone you need to meet,” he said, with a sudden caution. Ana wasn’t sure who the next visitor might be, but didn’t bother asking.

        “Mmkay,” she said, still half asleep. Leo grinned at her and helped her up.

        “This, is Ava,” Leo began, guiding her somewhere in the dark. She was a really slow at waking up and didn’t look up. “Ana, look,” he said. She heavily lifted her head and screamed at the being who stood before her.

        “Ana! It’s okay, it’s okay,” he said, holding her tightly. She closed her eyes and refused to open them without an explanation. “Please, Ana, just listen to her, you really need to hear it.” Ana shook her head and started to weep.

        “I don’t have much time Andromeda, please, just hear me out,” the woman pleaded, but Ana couldn’t hear her out, not even a second. How could she listen to the woman who left her with nothing? She searched for her for months before she accepted the life with Gabby’s family. How could she ever trust this woman like she once did? She buried her face in Leo’s shirt and he wrapped his arm around her. This woman was the person she missed for so long, her mother.