━━ chapter six
her tragedy begins
( savreen )

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    ━━"Is she okay? Will she be okay?" Savreen settled herself at a kneel next to the couch as they settled Piper down. She was still breathing, but she wouldn't wake up. Claire had rushed down the hall to get a medkit while Sav was left with Jason, Annabeth, this red-head Rachel and Chiron (a centaur with a wheelchair?).

    Jason stood behind her, and hesitated before he placed his hand on her shoulder. He squeezed it, and she glanced up, seeing fear in his blue eyes. For a second, she saw the Jason she knew; the protective, sweet one. "We've got to heal her," he insisted, and Savreen nodded, agreeing. She leaned forward and brushed Piper's hair out of her face, feeling her skin. "There's a way right?"

    As Savreen pulled her hand away, Chiron put his on her forehead and grimaced. Sav's heart raced even more. What's wrong? Is she okay? She's not going to die is she? After everything that had happened his morning, Savreen couldn't just lose her best friends. That was a cruel tragedy, even for her. 

    "Her mind is in a fragile state," said Chiron. "Rachel, what happened?"

    "I wish I knew," she said, looking tearful. "As soon as I got to camp, I had a premonition about Hera's cabin. I went inside. Annabeth and Piper came in while I was there. We talked, and then━I just blacked out. Annabeth said I spoke in a different voice."

    "A prophecy?"

    Prophecy?

    Savreen worridly glanced up at Annabeth, who also decided to squeeze her other shoulder. She was scary, but right now, not as scary as Piper's fragile state on the couch. 

    "No. The spirit of Delphi comes from within. I know how that feels. This was like long distance, a power tryning to speak through me."

    Claire returned with a leather pouch, kneeling next to Piper and murmuring a small hymm in Ancient Greek (okay, Sav will freak out later about how she just understood it was Ancient Greek). Once she was finished, Piper's skin looked a little healthier. As she did, Annabeth turned to Chiron, "I don't know what happened back there━I've never seen anything like it. I've heard Rachel's prophecy voice. This was different. She sounded like an older woman. She grabbed Piper's shoulders and told her━"

    "To free her from a prison?" Jason guessed.

    Savreen's blood went cold. Her grip on Piper's hand tightened. She suddenly remembered the old woman, free me, she had said. They couldn't ... surely they weren't linked, were they? That would be crazy ... (you're at a demigod camp, Savreen, is it really?)

    Annabeth stared at him. "How did you know that?"

    Chiron made a three-fingered gesture over his heart. "Jason, tell them. Claire, the medicine bag, please."

    Claire looked like she might object, but passed it over anyway. She wrapped an arm around Savreen and gently pulled her away from Piper to give Chiron room as he trickled drops from a medicine vial into Piper's mouth. Jason explained what had happened. The room had frozen, and a dark misty woman spoke, claiming to be Jason's patron.

    He finished, and no one spoke. Savreen didn't know whether she should say anything. About her memory, or the woman she saw saying similar things. Or how she said she was a daughter of Harmonia (and she might believe her), or about the necklace burning in her pocket. So, she kept her lips sealed, listening as Jason shook his head, looking very confused, and very scared.

    "So does this happen often?" he asked. "Supernatural phone calls from convicts demanding you bust them out of jail?"

   "Your patron," frowned Annabeth. "Not your godly parent?"

    "No, she said patron. She also said my dad had given her my life."

     Claire scratched at her nose. "Hades became my patron after I died and came back," she muttered to Annabeth. Savreen blinked, glancing at her with Jason, both of them with an equal expression of, say that again? "Could be something similar...?" by the sound of her voice, Savreen could tell she wasn't sure. "Back on the skywalk, you said the storm spirit claimed to be working for some mistress who was giving him orders, right? Could it be hte woman you saw, messing with your mind?"

    "I don't think so," said Jason. "If she were my enemy, why would she be asking for my help? She's imprisoned. She's worried about some enemy getting more powerful. Something about a king rising from the earth on the solstice━"

    (Savreen was starting to feel sick at how similar their two encounters were).

    Annabeth turned to Chiron. "Not Kronos. Please tell me it's not that."

    The centaur looked miserable. He checked Piper's pulse. At last, he murmured, "It is not Kronos. That threat is ended. But..."

    "But what?"

    Chiron closed the medicine bag. "Piper needs rest. We should discuss this later."

    "Or now," Jason said. "Sir, Mr Chiron, you told me the greatest threat was coming. The last chapter. You can't possibly mean something worse than an army of Titans, right?"

    "Oh," Rachel suddenly let out in a small voice. "Oh, dear. The woman was Hera. Of course. Her cabin, her voice. She showed herself to Jason at the same moment."

    Savreen took a deep breath, her hand reaching into her pocket before she could stop herself. Her fingers latched around the beautiful jewell of a terrifying necklace. That woman she had seen had been the same woman that gave her this cursed object. That was Hera? Wasn't she the queen of the Gods? Why did she ...? Sav felt weak and light-headed. She wondered whether she could lie down. 

    "Hera?" Claire snarled. "She took you over? She did this to Piper?"

    "I think Rachel's right," said Jason. "The woman did seem like a goddess. And she wore this━this goatskin cloak. That's the symbol of Juno, isn't it?"

    "It is?" Annabeth scowled. "I've never heard that."

    Chiron nodded, looking very reluctant. "Of Juno, Hera's Roman aspect, in her most warlike state. The goatskin cloak was a symbol of the Roman soldier."

    "So, Hera is imprisoned?" Rachel asked. "Who could do that to the queen of the gods?"

    Claire shared a glance with Annabeth, as if agreeing with her to say, we would love to. Annabeth crossed her arms, "Well, whoever they are, maybe we should thank them. If they can shut up Hera━"

     "Annabeth," Chiron warned, "she is still one of the Olympians. In many ways, she is the glue that holds the gods' family together. If she truly has been imprisoned and is in danger of destruction, this could shake the foundations of the world. It could unravel the stability of Olympus, which is never great even in the best of times. And if Hera has asked Jason for help━"

    "Fine," she grumbled. "Well, we know Titans can capture a god, right? Atlas captured Artemis a few years ago. And in the old stories, the gods captured each other in traps all the time. But something worse than a Titan...?"

    Savreen tapped a few words of comfort in Morse Code to keep her calm, imagining it was Leo saying them, not her. 

    "Hera said she'd been trying to break through her prison bonds for a month," said Jason.

    "Which is how long Olympus has been closed," nodded Claire. "So the gods must know something bad is going on."

    "But why use her energy to send me here?" Jason asked. "She wiped my memory, plopped me into the Wilderness School field trip and sent you a dream vision to come pick me up." Sav's gaze fell. Another shot to the heart to remind her that this Jason wasn't her Jason. "Why am I so important? Why not just send up an emergency flare to the other gods━let them know where she is so they can bust her out?"

    "The gods need heroes to do their will down here on earth," Rachel said. "That's right, isn't it? Their fates are always intertwined with demigods."

    "That's true," Annabeth said, "but Jason's got a point. Why him? Why take his memory?"

    "And Piper's involved somehow," said Rachel. Sav's heart jolted. She didn't dare speak a word. She was too scared to. "Hera sent her the same message━Free me. And, Claire, this must have something to do with Percy's disappearing."

    Claire's eyes glazed over with a new determination (or fury?). She spun on Chiron. "Why are you so quiet, Chiron? What is it we're facing?"

    Chiron looked pained; like he had aged years in just moments. "My dear, in this, I cannot help you. I am so sorry."

    Annabeth blinked. Claire tilted her head, surprised. "You've never ... you've never kept information from us. Even the last Great Prophecy━"

    "I'll be in my office," his voice was heavy. "I need some time to think before dinner. Rachel, will you watch the girl? Call Argus to bring her to the infirmary, if you'd like. Savreen, is it?" Sav nodded. "You can stay, too, if you want. Annabeth, Claire, you should speak with Jason. Tell him about━about the Greek and Roman gods."

    "But━"

    The centaur turned his wheelchair and rolled off down the hallway. Claire gritted her teeth after him. Annabeth cursed something under her breath in Greek, and Claire nodded in agreement. Savreen didn't think it was very nice to centaurs. 

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    ━━Jason left with Claire and Annabeth off to some cabin Savreen didn't know about to help his memories. She thought she might be relieved to have less people around, but Savreen still felt like she was on eggshells beside Rachel, checking Piper's temperature every now and then. Her head felt heavy as she thought back on the conversation they all had, about Hera wanting to be freed, and how Jason had never been been there in the first place. That unsettled her far more than the Hera thing. She had become best friends with a person who didn't even exist. A whole relationship; friendship, with its ups and downs, was made up in her head. She had told things, important things, to a ghost. 

    And yes, of course, she worried about the whole Hera thing. She still hadn't uttered a word about it to Rachel, scared what it meant, or that she was somehow wrong. Savreen hated chaos; she hated stress, even though she's lived through a lot of it. (That's probably why she hated it so much). She had just almost died fighting storm spirits, arrived to a place she didn't know, surrounded by people she's never seen before, and now they're talking about how they must save a gooddess? Savreen just wanted things to slow down. Maybe there was another daughter of Harmonia at camp. Maybe they can help instead. Not Sav. Let her not have a tragedy in her life. For once. She's tired of it.

    When there was a bell that rang across the camp, Rachel told Sav she could leave for dinner. To just go down to the pavillion, find Connor and Travis Stoll, and they'll help her. Savreen felt bad to leave Piper, but deep down, she appreciated the chance to get away. To have a moment alone. 

    Stepping out of the Big House, she saw the camp mile down to the roof-less pavillion, all in groups. Savreen took a deep breath and started down the slope towards it, watching the sun be swallowed down in the trees.

     Reaching the cabins, she continued to slowly trek towards the pavillion, unsure on who to ask for Connor and Travis Stoll (whoever they were). She was starting to feel overwhelmed again, and wondered whether maybe she could just run away somewhere and hide. But where would she go? Sav had no one. 

    She was alone.

    "Sav!"

     Spinning around, Savreen couldn't stop the ginormous smile that grew on her face until her cheeks hurt. Leo Valdez grinned down at her from the forge, fixing his army jacket better on his shoulders. Immediately, she felt lifted. The weight she had was gone. Leo rushed down to meet her, immediately throwing an arm around her shoulders and pulling her in for a side hug. 

    "There you are, preciosa," she didn't say anything, just happy he was back and he was beside her. "I found you! Like always."

    Savreen managed to roll her eyes at the nickname, even if it made her heart flutter. "So, I guess we're back together, again?"

    He joined her in the trek to the pavillion, dragging her along with a skip in his step. Savreen chuckled, shaking her head at him. "They can't keep two best friends away from each other for too long." Leo gave her a squeeze to his side. Savreen smiled, closing her eyes slightly and wrapping an arm through his jacket and around his waist, where he was the warmest. Her other hand grasped his hanging over her shoulder, both slender fingers clutching the others. 

    "Where have you been?" she asked him, eyes sparkling. 

    "Where have I been?" Leo arched a brow, giving her a big, impish grin. "I have met the family, learnt about a curse━which is great━and the dude that took me on the tour has a metal arm?! How cool is that?!"

    Sav gave him a nudge, "He probably doesn't find it cool, Valdez."

    "Oh, 'course. But━like━how cool?━oh, what's this?" like that, the conversation changed as Leo noticed the new ring on Savreen's finger. She was used to this with him, and she didn't mind it.

     "Oh!" Savreen grinned as well. She slipped off the ring and showed it to him. They walked down the slope. "It's my demigod weapon."

    "Scary."

    "You'll love it, look━" with a tap of the indent, the chakram sprung to life. Leo gapped, awestruck immediately.

     "What?" he let out with a flurry of words following it in Spanish that Savreen didn't understand. "Can I touch it━?" she made it fold back into the ring and he scoffed, shaking his head. "No, that's impossible. How in the━?" she passed it over to him and he was enamoured, constantly opening the chakram to life and letting it fold back in. Savreen watched him, smiling gently. 

    How could she miss someone so much in just the hours past?

    "If Miss Ana Mari saw us now, can you imagine what she'd think?" Leo chuckled, holding the ring up in the light of the brackets they passed, the fire flickering in Greek columns. 

     Savreen laughed at the thought. "She'd think us as crazy!"

    "Aw, come on, mi cielo," Leo passed back the ring, and Savreen slipped it onto her finger again. "We learnt some important lessons back then. One━" he held up a finger in the number, "━never cry in public."

     Sav nodded, chuckling. "Leave the emotional breakdowns until you're very much alone."

    "Two," Leo waggled the second finger in her face, "always keep moving."

    "Always," she leaned in close, smirking. She didn't realise the hitch in her best friend's breath. 

     "Three," he held out his hand in a mocking bow to Sav. She cackled, holding her hands to hide her mouth. "Always be the gentleman to beautiful ladies. Such as yourself."

    She shoved him, and he almost fell back onto the grass. Leo chuckled after her as he stood back up. "You're such a tease, Valdez."

    "Always for you, preciosa," he threw his arm back over her and they made it to the pavillion. "Come on, wait until you meet the siblings. They're quiet and moody, you'll love them."

    The two best friends made it to the pavillion, where the other demigods settled themsleves on the different tables, waiting for their food. Some already had theirs, and were lining up infront of a brazier where they tipped half of it into the fire (uh, weird? But, okay). Leo caught sight of his siblings and led Savreen over to them. They all sat together at a table, eating their already half-scraped-off-into-the-fire meals. 

    "Hola," he announced their prescence. "This is Sav! She's the girl I was talking about." Leo squeezed Savreen, grinning. "It's cool for her to sit with us, yeah?"

    Savreen grinned, trying to seem as sweet and nice as possible. But it faltered when his siblings shared a glance. Leo frowned, tilting his head when a sister of his shook her head and said sadly, "No, she can't, Leo."

    "Oh," he said, a little miffed. He held Savreen closer. "Well, we'll just sit somewhere else, then━"

    "No, you guys can't sit with each other because you aren't siblings," one of his brothers cut in. "It's the rules. Are you determined yet?" Savreen's eyes widened when she realised he was speaking to her.

    "Uh, no ..." she didn't know why she lied. Maybe because she wasn't sure how to explain her predicament.

    "Well, then you gotta sit with the Hermes cabin," he pointed to big table at the end. "You won't be unclaimed for long, don't worry. Sorry, Leo. It's just how it is."

     Savreen looked at Leo, and their eyes locked. They would have to say goodbye. Again. Why was this place always splitting them up?

     "It's okay," she shrugged, pushing through her hurt. "I'll see you later, Valdez."

     Sav akwardly left Leo and walked to the Hermes table, introducing herself. She sat down beside Connor Stoll, glancing back and seeing Leo watching her the entire time. 

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    a/n: this was short bUT thEY ReUNITed for like a few minutes. (and noooo, i didn't take inspo for their conversation from mal and alina, wdym). 

    i love them. savreen's so much more happier and relaxed to be loud and joking around leo, and she calms him down, and keeps him centred. (i don't know spanish, so i'm sorry of his little terms of endearment for sav are wrong punctuation wise. i'm trying). 

    (i wrote all of this today so quickly. like omg how?)