★ 。＼｜／。★

𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗘

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖎𝖙𝖗𝖊 𝖛𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖙 𝖊𝖙 𝖚𝖓:
DAMASEN THE GOOD
GIANT

★ 。／｜＼。★

BELLE COULD DEAL with being trapped by plants. As a daughter of Demeter, she knew her way around the way they worked and how they could be controlled. She had gotten out of that situation easily, but when she had been separated from Percy, she had no idea what to do. All she had done was sit down on the ground and allow that fear of him leaving her seep into her head. She had become so overwhelmed that she had cried her absolute heart out, thinking that the boy that was literally her other half had left her in the most horrible place in the history of ever.

But now that she had been cured from that curse, watching Percy die slowly from Gorgon's blood poison and having no way to help him at all — that was way more excruciating than what she had experienced back in that forest.

At least all of Percy's weight had been removed from her. Bob had slung her boyfriend over his shoulder and carried him while Small Bob curled up on Percy's back. The Titan walked at a fast pace in the direction that Belle guessed was sideways. However, it was almost impossible for her to keep up. Her lungs rattled and made it hard to breathe. Blisters had appeared back on her arms as well. Belle knew she probably needed another drink from the Phlegethon, but they had left the river far behind them. She had kind of gotten used to the pain anyways.

"Bob, how much longer until we're there?" Belle asked, the words hard to get out.

"Almost too long," Bob called back. "But maybe not."

Belle nodded. "Fair enough."

It wasn't very helpful, but she decided to take what she could get. The landscape suddenly changed again. It still went downhill, but it sloped at an angle that made it too steep to jog and too treacherous to just blindly walk along. The surface was sometimes loose gravel or patches of slime. Belle had to step around random bristles that were sharp enough to impale her foot and clusters of strange looking rocks. She wondered what part of Tartarus' body they were in now. Actually, scratch that. She didn't want to know. Belle was sure it would just make her nausea come back again.

As they continued to walk, the air got thicker and smelled of sewage. The darkness wasn't quite as intense as it was before, but Belle was only able to see Bob because of the glint of his white hair and the gleaming of his spear point. He hadn't retracted the spearhead since their fight with the Arai, and although it made Belle a little nervous, she didn't exactly care right now. All she wanted to do was find a place where Percy could be helped.

Speaking of Percy, he flopped around on Bob's shoulder, causing small Bob to readjust his nest in the small of Percy's back. Occasionally he would let out a groan of pain, and every time he did so, Belle felt like her heart was being punched all the way to her gut.

Belle remembered the tea party she had with Annabeth, Piper, Hazel, and the Goddess Aphrodite back in Charleston. It seemed like that was a million years ago. Aphrodite had sighed and reminisced about the good old days of the Civil War. She had gone on and on about how love and war always went hand in hand and how she had made up excellent love stories for the girls. I also decided to make Belle's princess fairytale more interesting as well, Aphrodite had said. And didn't I?

She definitely had. Her and Percy had their ups and downs, but falling into Tartarus together? That was more than interesting. As for fairytales . . . they always had happily ever afters, right? Belle had always rejected the idea of her being a princess, but right now, she was holding out for her happily ever after. There could be exceptions to the legends saying that no tragic hero had a happy ending. Belle and Percy had to end up happy. They deserved it.

Belle began to think about how Percy wanted them to go to New Rome together. When he had first told her of the idea, she didn't know what to think. She was mostly confused as to why Percy would want to leave Camp Half-Blood. But as she gave it more thought, she soon began to realize that she would absolutely love going to college and settling down in New Rome with Percy. That could still happen if they survived, and if Rachel had gotten her message and delivered it to Reyna.

She decided to focus on the present. Belle clenched Sunflower's keychain in her hand nervously as she continued to climb down the hill. Her muscles ached more than before and her knees wobbled dangerously. Percy groaned again and muttered something she couldn't quite hear.

Bob stopped suddenly, and Belle almost ran into him. "Look."

The terrain levelled out into a black swamp ahead in the glom. Yellow mist hung in the air. Once again, Belle could feel the many plants all around there before she even set her eyes on them. There were clumps of reeds, scrawny leafless trees, and a few sickly-looking flowers that bloomed through the muck. Mossy trails swerved between bubbling tar pits. Belle looked down, and right in front of her, large footprints with long, pointed toes were sunk into the bog. Unfortunately, Belle knew what made them. She had even fought one in the Battle of Manhattan.

"A Drakon?" Belle guessed.

"Yes," Bob replied, smiling down at her. "That is good!"

Belle blinked. "You and I have very different definitions of the word good. Why exactly is marching into a swamp where a Drakon has been a good thing?"

"Because we are close."

Bob then charged into the swamp. Belle stared after him incredulously. Guaranteed Bob was still recovering his memory, but she wondered if that was messing with his brain that made him think a Giant was good. However, Bob had Percy, and she would lose them in the dark if she stood there any longer. Belle quickly hurried after him, praying to Demeter that she wouldn't fall in a sinkhole as she hopped from moss patch to moss patch.

At least this terrain stopped Bob from walking so fast. Belle was able catch up and walk closer to him so she could be near Percy again. She reached up and touched his forehead, pulling her hand away with a concerned frown. His forehead was dangerously hot from a fever. Percy kept muttering either Belle or Beauty, and every time he did so, Belle had to hold herself back from crying again. Small Bob merely purred louder and snuggled up into Percy's back.

The yellow mist finally parted to reveal a muddy clearing, almost like an island in the muck. Stunted trees and mounds of rock dotted the ground. In the very center was a large, domed hut that was made of bones and greenish leather. Smoke was rising from a hole in the top and the entrance was covered with curtains of scaly reptile skin. Two torches made from colossal femur bones that burned bright yellow flanked the entrance. However, that wasn't what Belle was focused on. No, it was the Drakon skull. About fifty yards into the clearing and halfway to the hut was a massive oak tree that jutted from the ground at a forty-five-degree angle. The jaws of a Drakon skull circled around the trunk.

"Yes," Bob announced. "This is very good."

He really had to reconsider his definition of good. Belle didn't feel good about anything in this place.

Before she could protest and tell Bob they should get out of here, Small Bob arched his back and hissed. A mighty roar then echoed throughout the swamp from behind them — a sound Belle hadn't heard since the Battle of Manhattan and hoped she would never hear again. Her eyes widened and she whirled her head around to see a Drakon charging towards them.

What was unfair was that the Drakon was the one beauty Belle found in all of Tartarus. Its hide was made of splashes of green and yellow. The eyes of the Drakon were the same shade of sea-green as Percy's, which was Belle's favorite color. Its frills unfurled around its head and Belle was amazed how regal the monster looked. This Drakon was about as long as a subway train and its massive talons were digging into the mud as it pulled itself forward with its tail whipping from side to the side. It hissed, and jets of green poison spit out. The poison smoked on the mossy ground and set tar pits on fire, expelling the scent of fresh pine trees (which Belle appreciated) and ginger. Like most Drakons, it was wingless, longer, and looked more like a snake. It also looked very hungry.

"What kind is it?" Belle questioned, fearing that this one could also only be killed by a child of Ares too.

"Maeonian Drakon," Bob answered. "From Maeonia."

"Uh, all right. Can we kill it?"

"Us? No."

Belle nodded. "Okay, cool."

The Drakon roared again and filled the air with more pine-ginger poison."

"Bob, you take Percy and get out of here," Belle instructed, unclipping Sunflower's keychain from her belt loops. "Maybe if I can't kill it, I can distract it long enough for you to get Percy to safety."

Belle didn't know what she was going to do to execute that plan, but all she knew was that as long as she still had the strength to stand, she couldn't let Percy die. Not under her watch.

"You don't have to," Bob revealed. "Any minute—"

"ROOOOOAAAR!" a new voice bellowed.

Belle turned just in time to see a Giant emerge from the hunt. He was about twenty feet tall — typical height for a Giant — with a humanoid upper body and scaly reptilian legs. There was no weapon in his hands and he only wore a shirt made of sheep hides and green-spotted leather instead of armor. His skin was the color of cherries, and his beard and hair were the color of iron braided with tufts of grass, leaves, and flowers from the swamp. The Giant bellowed in challenge, and Belle went to flip Sunflower so she could have her sword, but he wasn't looking at her. Bob grabbed Belle's arm and pulled her out of the way as the Giant stormed straight at the Drakon.

The Giant and Drakon clashed. Poison spewed from the Drakon, making the Giant lunge to one side. He grabbed the oak tree and pulled it straight from the ground, roots and everything. Belle frowned momentarily from him destroying such a good tree. The old Drakon skull that was next to the tree crumbled into dust while the Giant hefted the tree like it was a huge baseball bat.

In effort to bring the Giant closer to its gnashing teeth, the Drakon lashed out its tail and wrapped it around the Giant's waist, dragging him closer. However, as soon as the Giant was close enough, he shoved the tree straight down the monster's throat. Belle's eyes widened in shock and her fist clenched tightly against the keychain in her hand. Her hand flew to her mouth as she watched the gruesome scene unfold right in front of her eyes.

The tree pierced straight through the Drakon's gullet and impaled it on the ground. Roots from the tree began to move and dig deeper until they touched the Earth, anchoring the oak down until it looked like it had always been in that spot. The Drakon thrashed around to try and escape, but it was no use. It was already pinned down. The Giant then brought his fist down on the Giant's neck. Belle flinched as a loud CRACK echoed throughout the swamp. The Drakon went limp and began to dissolve until all that was left was scraps of bone, meat, hide, and a new Drakon skull whose open jaws ringed around the oak tree.

"Good one," Bob commented.

Small Bob purred in agreement and started to clean his paws.

The Giant kicked at the Drakon's remains and examined them critically. "No good bones. I wanted a new walking stick. Hmpf. Some good skin for the outhouse, though."

He ripped some soft hide off of the dragon's fills and tucked it in his belt.

"Oh, um . . ." Belle trailed off. She decided against asking the Giant if he really used Drakon hide for toilet paper. "Bob, who's your friend?"

"Belle . . ." Bob patted Percy's legs. "This is Percy."

She blinked, hoping he was joking, but Bob's expression didn't change. "No, I already know Percy. I meant the Giant. You know, the one you promised could help?"

"Promise?" the Giant repeated, glancing over at them from his work. His eyes narrowed at them. "A big thing, a promise. Why would Bob promise my help?"

Bob shifted his weight uneasily. Titans were scary, but Belle had never imagined seeing one stand next to a Giant before. Bob looked awfully small next to the Drakon killer.

"Damasen is a good Giant," Bob stated. "He is peaceful. He can cure poisons."

Belle watched as Damasen the Giant ripped chunks of bloody meat off of the Drakon carcass with his bare hands.

"Peaceful, you said?" she inquired. "Yep, I — I can see it."

"Good meat for dinner," Damasen voiced. He stood up straight and studied Belle carefully. "Come inside. We will have stew. Then we will see about this promise."

When Belle first walked into the hut, her first thought was that it was cozy. She never thought anything in Tartarus could be described in that way, and despite the fact that the Giant's hut was pretty big and was constructed of bones, mud, and Drakon skin, it was definitely cozy.

A bonfire made of pitch and bone blazed in the center. Its smoke was white and odorless and rose through the hole in the middle of the ceiling. The floor was covered in dry marsh grass and gray rugs made of wool. At one end of the hut was a massive bed made of sheepskins and Drakon leather. Freestanding racks that were hung with drying plants, cured leather, and Drakon jerky was at the other end of the hut. At the very back was a flock of sheep huddled in a pen. The whole place smelled of stew, smoke, basil, and thyme. Besides the stew and smoke smell, the basil and thyme kind of reminded Belle of the smells of the herbs in the Demeter Cabin back home.

Bob placed Percy on the Giant's bed. Percy nearly disappeared in the wool and leather. Small Bob hopped off of Percy and kneaded himself into the blankets, purring so strongly it rattled the bed. Belle then decided they couldn't go anywhere else now. She inwardly sighed and clipped Sunflower's keychain back onto her belt loops.

Damasen walked over to the bonfire. He tossed the Drakon meat into a hanging pot that looked like it was made from and old monster skull before picking up a ladle and stirring the pot. Belle watched him for a second. She had come here for one reason and one reason only — so that Percy could be healed. Belle built up her courage and marched straight up to the Giant.

"Listen, I don't know you, and you don't know me, but Bob promised you could help us," Belle began. "My boyfriend is dying, and I need to know if you can cure him."

Her voice seemed to catch on the word boyfriend. That really didn't cover it, did it? He was so much more than that. Soulmates was pretty much the right term. Belle and Percy had been through so much together that he was a part of her, one that she certainly couldn't live without. They were two halves of a whole that became complete when they were together. And when they were separated, they were, well . . . lost.

Damasen glowered down at her under his bushy red eyebrows. Belle had met some large scary humanoids before, but Damasen seemed to unsettle her in a different way. He didn't seem to be aggressive. Instead, he radiated extreme sorrow and bitterness. It was almost as if he was so wrapped up in his own misery that he didn't like Belle for trying to make him focus on something else.

"I don't hear words like those in Tartarus," Damasen replied. "Boyfriend. Promise."

"But you've heard of Gorgon's blood," Belle argued. "Please, I am begging you to cure that. Unless Bob painted you out to be larger than you actually are in the art of healing."

He scowled at her. "You question my talents? A half-dead mortal straggles into my swamp and questions my talents?"

"What else does it look like I'm doing?"

"Hmph." Damasen handed off the ladle to Bob. "Stir."

Bob did as he was told. Damasen went over to his drying racks and plucked various leaves and roots Belle couldn't see. He popped a fistful of that plant mixture into his mouth, chewed it up, and spat it into a clump of wool.

"Cup of broth," Damasen ordered.

Bob ladled some broth from the stew into a hollow gourd. He handed it off to Damasen, who then dunked the chewed up ball of gunk in it and stirred it around with his finger.

"Gorgon's blood," he muttered under his breath. "'Hardly a challenge for my talents."

He lumbered over to the bedside and propped Percy up with one hand. Small Bob sniffed the broth and hissed, scratching the sheets with his paws. Belle watched as Damasen made Percy sip the broth. She decided not to question the broth mixture, since plants had some excellent healing properties if used the right way. Belle locked her hands behind her back as Damasen handled Percy with surprising gentleness and murmured words of encouragement she couldn't hear every so often. Percy's color improved with every sip. He soon drained the cup and his eyes fluttered open. Percy looked around with a dazed expression. He soon spotted Belle and gave her a drunken grin.

"Beauty," Percy slurred.

She laughed slightly. "Hey, baby."

"I feel great."

His eyes then rolled up in the back of his head and he fell back onto the bed, beginning to snore.

"A few hours of sleep," Damasen announced. "He'll be good as new."

Belle let out a breath of relief. "Thank you. I mean it."

Damasen stared at her mournfully. "Oh, don't thank me. You're still doomed. And I require payment for my services."

"What, uh, kind of payment?" Belle inquired nervously.

"A story." Damasen's eyes glittered in anticipation. "It gets boring in Tartarus. You can tell me your story while we eat, eh?"

— [  ♡  ]  —

this is me telling you to go stream fearless (taylor's version). you're welcome

anyways

me when damasen shows up: GO BITCH GO BITCH GO BESTIE 🕺🏼🕺🏼🕺🏼

also belle doesn't call percy baby very often but every time she does my heart goes WHOOSH

gifs by 1-800-SIMPINGFORSEB !