━━ chapter sixteen
definitely not macy's
( piper )

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(please no hate comments, thank you. i love her, you can hate her, but i just don't want the negativity around her character in my comment section. thanks loves!).

    ━━Piper wanted to run for the elevator.

     Her second choice: attack the strange princess now, because she was sure a fight was coming. The way the lady's face glowered when she heard Jason's name had been bad enough. Now, Her Highness was smiling as if nothing happened, and Jason and Leo didn't seem to think anything was wrong. When Piper saw that Sav shuffled closer to her, looking very alarmed and confused, she resisted the urge to cry in relief. At least she wasn't the only one who thought something weird was happening.

     The princess gestured towards the cosmetics counter. "Shall we start with the potions?"

     "Cool," said Jason.

     "Guys," Piper interrupted, "we're here to get the storm spirits and Coach Hedge. If this━princess━is really our friend━"

     "Oh, I'm better than a friend, my dear," said Her Highness. "I'm a saleswoman!" her diamonds sparked and her eyes glittered like a snake's━cold and dark; sly and cunning with a plan right up her sleeve. Usually, Piper admired people who could think like that, but right now, she was more scared than anything. "Don't worry. We'll work our way down tot he first floor, eh?"

     (No, Piper does not want to work her way down to the first floor. She honestly thought about just running for it down the escalators, grabbing Coach Hedge and the storm spirits, then whack the boys over the head with Coach's bat━that thing had to be useful for something).

     Leo nodded eagerly, "Sure, yeah! That sounds okay. Right, guys?"

     Piper did her best to glare daggers at him: No, it's not okay! Hoping that perhaps her power of persuasion could work through glowers, but it didn't seem to work. Sav seemed as if she was trying something very similar. Her thumb hovered over her ring, but she couldn't do much with a broken arm. Piper would have to protect her, as well as the boys. Sav hates fighting, she hates chaos after a life full of it. Piper will protect her from it, no hesitation. Even if she knew Savreen was capable in her own way━she couldn't help it. Sav was her close friend, and after everything, Piper latched onto her tighter. She was one of the few things (like Leo) that were concrete and real after so long being lied to by the gods. 

    So, Piper and Savreen had no choice except to follow.

     She hated department stores━mostly because she had got caught stealing from several of them. Well, not exactly caught, and not exactly stealing. She had talked salesmen into giving her computers, new boots, a gold ring, once even a lawnmower━though she had no idea why she wanted one. She never kept the damned things. She just wanted her father's attention. The bigger the object, the more expensive, the harder it would be to take, Piper surged towards it because then her father had no choice but to talk to her━to pick her up, to scowl at her, heave with disappointment. But at least it was something. 

     (And now you might not even have him at all if you don't do what you're meant to do, Piper added bitterly, and her mood grew worse).

     "And here," said the princess, "is the finest assortment of magical mixtures anywhere."

     The counter was crammed with bubbling beakers and smoking vials on tripods. Lining the display shelves were crystal flasks━some shaped like swans or honey bear dispensers. The liquids inside were every colour, from glowing white to polka-dotted. And the smells━ugh! Some were pleasant, like fresh-baked cookies or roses, but they were mixed with the scents of burning tires, skunk spray and the worst of all ... gym lockers.

      The princess pointed to a blood-red vial━a simple test tube with a cork stopper. "This one will heal any disease."

     "Even cancer?" asked Leo. "Leprosy? Hangnails?"

     "Any disease, sweet boy. And this vial━" she pointed to the swan-shaped container with blue liquid inside, "━will kill you very painfully."

     "Awesome," Jason's voice sounded dazed and sleepy, like he had just woken up from a ten-year-long nap.

     (No! Not awesome!)

     "Jason," Piper tried to put power into her words, to snap him out of his trance with charmspeak, but her voice sounded shaky, even other. "We've got a job to do. Remember?" But it wasn't working well. The princess woman scared her too much, made her confidence crumble━just the way she had felt back in the Aphrodite cabin with Drew. Piper immediately reached for Sav's hand. She gripped it tight. She hated how she felt sos cared, but she needed to know she wasn't alone; that she had Sav in this with her.

     "Job to do," muttered Jason. "Sure. But, shopping first, okay?"

     The princess beamed at him. "Then we got potions for resisting fire━"

     "Got that covered," said Leo. 

     "Ineed?" the princess studied Leo's face closely. "You don't appear to be wearing by tademark sunscreen ... but no matter. We also have potions that cause blindness, instanity, sleep or━"

     A thought hit Piper all of a sudden. Something in her lurched and she had no control of the way she blurted out, "Wait━" she still stared at the red vial. "Could that potion cure lost memory?"

     The princess narrowed her eyes. "Possibly. Yes. Quite possibly. Why, my dear? Have you forgotten something important?"

     Piper tried to keep her expression neutral, but if that vial could cure Jason's memory ...

     Do I really want that? she wondered.

     Piper felt horrible for feeling this way. But if Jason found out who he was, what would that mean? Would he be her friend? Would he still look at her the way he does? She felt stupid for trying to cling onto something that had never been real, but he had been there for real dark times; she had told him things, listened to him, heeded his advice and felt his arms wrap her up into comforting hugs as she cried━it was hard for Piper to admit that she had done that to no one. That it had all been a trick. She wanted it to be real, and without his memory, there was a part of Jason that still felt like the one she knew at the Wilderness School. That he had been there the entire time, and not some figment of her imagination. 

      How could she be so selfish? If she really cared for Jason, she would give him that vial so he wouldn't be so sad, in pain, confused, embarassed and feeling like he was lost. 

      She would give him that vial, and deal with whatever happened from it, and give him the space he needed━to figure out who he was, what he lost, what he wanted, and for Piper to figure out what was real for her, too. 

      And so, she decided━rather quickly, which kind of surprised her━that her own feelings didn't matter. All that mattered was that Piper hated seeing him so lost and alone. She wanted to help him because she cared about him━real or not ... even if that meant losing him completely. 

     "How much?" she asked. 

     The princess had a faraway look in her eyes. "Well, now ... the prince is always tricky. I love helping people. Honestly, I do. And I always keep my bargains, but sometimes people try to cheat me," her gaze drifted back to Jason. Piper's grip on Sav's hand tightened. "Once, for instance, I met a handsome young man who wanted a treasure from my father's kingdom. We made a bargain, and I promised him to steal it."

     Piper doesn't know how, but she felt the fear that Sav felt. It jerked through her arm like electricity. Those words the woman said, it had struck a chord with her. Piper wondered whether her chaotic-feeling metal detector abilites (as Leo so happily named) worked the other way, too? If she's in contact with someone, they can feel the chaos or peace, or maybe Savreen can transfer her feelings over into others. Because it felt like Piper was feeling much more calm suddenly, and Sav had taken on her fear.

     "From your own dad?" Jason still looked half in a trance, but the idea seemed to bother him.

     "Oh, don't worry," said the princess. "I demanded a high price. The young man had to take me away from him. He was quite good-looking, dashing, strong ..." she looked at Piper. "I'm sure, my dear, you understand how one might be attracted to such a hero and want to help him."

      Piper tried to control her emotions━she tried to use the calm that washed over from Savreen━but she probably blushed. She got the creepiest feeling the princess could read her thoughts.

     (She also found this story disturbingly familiar. Pieces of old myths she had read with her dad started coming together, but this woman couldn't be the one she was thinking of ... right?).

      "At any rate," Her Highness continued, "my hero had to do many impossible tasks, and I'm not bragging when I say he couldn't have done them without me. I betrayed my own family to win the hero his prize. And he still cheated me of my payment."

     "Cheated?" frowned Jason, like he was trying to remember something important. 

     So was Piper.

     "That's messed up," said Leo.

     Her Highness patted his cheek affectionately. Piper could feel Savreen tense. "I'm sure you don't need to worry, Leo. You seem honest. You would always pay a fair price, wouldn't you?"

     Leo nodded, "What were we buying again? I'll take two."

     Sav broke in, squeezing Piper's hand. "So, the vial, Your Highness━how much?"

     The princess assessed Savreen's clothes━her face, her posture, as if putting a price tag on one slightly used demigod. She did the same Piper━she seemed far more interested in her (and she wasn't sure whether that was good or bad). "Would you guve anything for it, my dear?" she asked her. "I sense that you would."

     The words washed over Piper as powerfully as a good surfing wave. The force of suggestion nearly lifted her off her feet. She wanted to pay any price. She wanted to say yes. Her stomach twisted. Piper realised she was being charmspoken. She had sensed something like it before, when Drew spoke at the campfire. But this was a thousand times more potent. No wonder her friends were dazed. Was this what people felt when Piper used charmspeak? A feeling of guilt settled over. 

     And then another thought hit her. How was Savreen resisting it? It was powerful, Piper could tell━it had even made her want to give in. Then, she realised. She glanced at her friend, shocked. Sav wasn't affected because she could sense it. Like chaotic feelings and others like anger and sadness, and peace━she could feel the charmpseak in the air, and she could tell herself it wasn't right. Piper suddenly saw Savreen to be much more powerful than other people understand, perahps even more than Savreen herself understands.

     So, Piper summoned all her willpower. "No," she declared. "I won't pay any price. But a fair price, maybe. After that, we need to leave. Right guys?"

     Just for a moment, her words seemed to have some effect. The boys looked confused.

     "Leave?" frowned Jason.

     "You mean ... after shopping?" asked Leo.

     Piper wanted to scream, but the princess tilted her head, examining Piper and Savreen with newfound interest. "Impressive," she said. "Not many people could resist my suggestions. Are you a child of Aphrodite, my dear? Ah, yes━I should have seen it. And you," that dark gaze settled on Savreen. "You are Harmonia's spawn? Quite the empath, I can see. No matter. Perhaps we should shop a while longer before you decide what to buy, eh?"

     "But the vial━"

     "Now, boys," she turned to Jason and Leo. Her voice was so much more powerful than Piper's━so full of confidence, and she didn't stand a chance. "Would you like to see more?"

     "Sure."

     "Okay."

     "Excellent!" the princess smiled; but it was cold and sly. "You'll need all the help you can get it you're to make it to the Bay Area."

    Piper's hand shot to her dagger. She thought about her dream of the mountaintop━the scene Enceladus had shown her, a place she knew, where she was supposed to betray her friends in two days. "The Bay Area?" she frowned. "Why the Bay Area/"

     The princess smiled again. "Well, that's wehre they'll die, isn't it?"

     Sav's breath hitched and Piper found herself unable to meet her gaze. Swallowed with guilt, she had no choice but to tug her friend along, following the princess, Leo and Jason towards the escalators. 

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     ━━Piper and Savreen cornered the princess as Jason and Leo went off to check out the living fur coats.

     "You want them shopping for their deaths?" Piper demanded.

     The princess hummed as she blew dust off a display case of swords. "I'm a seer, my dear," she said. "I know your little secret. But we don't want to dwell on that, do we? The boys are having such fun."

     Leo laughed as he tried on a hat that seemed to be made from enchanted racoon fur. Its ringed tail twitched and its little legs flailed frantically as Leo walked. Jason was ogling the men's sportswear.

     Piper glared at the princess, "Who are you?"

     "I told you, my dear, I am the Princess of Colchis."

     "Where's Colchis?"

     The princess's eyes went a little said, "Where was Colchis, you mean. My father ruled the far shores of the Black Sea, as far to the east as a Greek ship could sail in those days. But Colchis is no more━lost aeons ago."

     "Aeons?" Savreen asked. The princess looked no more than fifty, but a bad feeling startled to settle over Piper━something King Boreas mentioned back in Quebec. "How old are you━if you mind me asking?"

     The princess laughed. "A lady should avoid asking or answering that question, but my dear, you did your best to be polite. Let's just say the━ah━immigration process to enter your country took a while. My patron finally brought me here. She made all this possible," she swept her hands around the department store.

      Piper's mouth tasted like metal. "Your patron..."

     "Oh, yes. She doesn't bring just anyone through, mind you━only those who have special talents, such as me. And, really, she insists on so little: a store entrance that must be underground so she can━ah━monitor my clintele━and a favour now and then. In exchange for new life? really, it was the best bargain I'd made in centuries."

     Run, Piper thought. She met Savreen's gaze. We have to get out of here.

      But before she could even turn her thoughts into words, Jason called, "Hey, check it out!"

     He had found a rack labelled distressed clothing. From it, he held up a purple tee-shirt like the one he had worn on the school field trip━except this shirt looked as if it had been clawed by tigers. Jason frowned. "Why does this look so familiar."

     "Jason, it's like yours," stressed Piper. "Now we really have to leave," but she wasn't sure he could hear her anymore through the princess's enchantment.

     "Nonesense!" said the princess. "The boys aren't done, are they? And yes, my dear. Those shirts are very popular━trade-ins from previous customers. It suits you."

     Leo picked up an orange Camp Half-Blood tee with a hole through the midde, as if it had been hit by a javelin. Next to that was a dented bronze breastplate pitted with corrosin━acid, maybe?━and a Roman toga slashed to pieces and stained with something that looked disturbingly like dried blood.

      "Your Highess," Piper's nerves were skyrocketing, and it was becoming exhausting to try and keep them together. "Why don't you tell the boys how you betrayed your family? I'm sure they'd like to hear that story."

      Her words didn't have any affect, but the boy's interest was grabbed instantly, and they turned. 

     "More story?" asked Leo.

    "I like more story!" agreed Jason.

    The princess flashed Piper an irritated look. "Oh, one will do strange things for love, Piper. You should know that. I fell for that young hero, in fact, because your mother Aphrodite had me under a spell. If it wasn't for her━but I can't hold a grudge against a goddess, can I?"

     Her tone told Piper the truth; I can take it out on you.

     "But that hero took you with him when he fled Colchis," remembered Piper. "Didn't he, Your Highness? He married you just as promised."

     The look in the woman's eyes made Piper want to apologise, but she held her ground. She just glowered back. She was starting to remember the story now━all of it was coming back to her: a horrible story, really ... along with a name. An infamous name that began with the letter M.

    "At first," Her Highness admitted, "it seemed he would keep his word. But even after I helped him steal my father's treasure, he still needed my help. As we fled, my brother's fleet came after us. His warships overotok us. He would have destroyed us, but I convinced my brother to come aboard our ship first and talk under a flag of truce. He trusted me."

     "And you killed your own brother," said Piper.

     "What?" Jason stirred. For a moment, he looked almost like himself. "Killed your own━?"

     "No," the princess snapped. "Those stories are lies. It was my new husband and his men who killed my brother, though they couldn't have done it without my deception. They threw his body into the sea, and the pursuing fleet had to stop and search for it so they could give my brother a proper burial. This gave us time to get away. All this, I did for my husband. And he forgot our bargain. He betrayed me in the end."

     Jason still looked uncomfortable. "What did he do?"

     Her Highness held up the sliced-toga against his chest. "Don't you know the story, my boy? You of all people should. ou were named for him."

     "Jason," Piper gritted her teeth. "The original Jason. But then you're━you should be dead!"

     The princess smiled. "As I said, a new life in a new country. Certainly I made mistakes. I turned my back on my own people. I was called a traitor, a thief, a lie, a murderess. But I acted out of love," she turned to the boys and gave them a pitiful look, batting her eyelashes. Piper could feel the sorcery washing over them, taking control more firmly than ever. Beside her, Savreen took a deep breath, trying to keep herself steady and of sane mind. "Wouldn't you do the same for someone you loved, my dears?"

     "Oh, sure."

     "Okay."

     "Guys!" Piper grounded her teeth in her frustration. "Don't you know who she is? Don't you━?"

     "Let's continue, shall we?" the princess's voice was but a gentle breeze in the wind; but she was far from gentle. "I believe you wanted to talk about a price for the storm spirits━and your satyr."

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     a/n: piper and sav are a powerful duo, just wait ;)

     we're halfway thru the lost hero now, ahaha. gods, it's a long book. they're all long books. i personally can't wait for sav to meet percy because i feel like they'd be good friends (or are going to be, cos i is writer).

     also, claire and percy's reuinion ... *sobs*

     by the way, never have been to a macy's. pretty sure it isn't in australia, oop. i guess it's basically like a myers ...? or is it all just clothes?

     (sorry if there are any mistakes; see you next chapter!! (it'll be another piper one, it's been a while since we've had her; i've missed writing her thoughts :().