ROYAL CRIES
━━ chapter one

━━ WHAT WAS ELISA'S PLAN? She didn't really have one. Her best guess at one? Get to a big city, a city where she'll try and blend in. Maybe try and change her appearance enough so that she won't look like all the missing posters that were following her wherever she went.

Although, all Elisa could change about her appearance was her hair color ( she had to steal the blue box dye to even do that ), and cut some really ugly bangs ( she had to steal those pair of scissors, too ). She doesn't know how much that will help her blend in, but it's too late to change it now.

The city she was aiming for right now was Albuquerque, New Mexico. Elisa just needed to get out of Colorado. She knew that the empousa wasn't going to lie about making Elisa's life hell, she already has.

But Elisa thought, that the bigger the city, the more people to blend in with. She doesn't know how she's going to make any money, she's twelve, turning thirteen soon. What could a twelve-year-old do to make any sort of money? She'll probably have to beg some non-chain restaurant to hire her to be a janitor. And that's hoping they even hire her, and that's her hoping they haven't seen the missing posters for twelve-year-old Elisa Bardales yet.

Safe to say, it'll be a miracle if she survives, especially without that empousa on her tail the whole time.

So far, it's been eight restaurants to reject her with no hesitation. But Elisa tried to tell herself with how many restaurants there had to be in Albuquerque, it could be more. Elisa still felt terrible, and the whole world was against her.

She pushed a glass door open, walking into a bakery built with red bricks. The shop's windows were covered with colorful posters, advertisements, some deals offered, and such.

A kind man met Elisa inside. He had dark brown hair that was cut close to his scalp, dark skin, dark eyes, and a sweet smile that could melt anyone's heart. But he only looked to be in his early twenties, somehow dressed like he had a million bucks just lying around. He didn't look like he tried any at his appearance, but he still was probably the shiniest, most eye-catching thing in the bakery.

"You look young to be here by yourself," he noticed.

"Yeah," Elisa glossed over his words. "Look, my family really needs money—"

"I know who you are, kid."

"Mierda," the girl cursed under her breath. "You're not gonna turn me in, are you? I've already been in foster care before, and—"

               "I've been in your situation before, Elisa." The owner ripped a missing poster off one of the walls, it was a missing poster for Elisa. "'Miss Bardales's building was burned down, with everyone inside found dead, along with her mother, Liliana Bardales, and her friend, Silas Flowers,'" he read off the paper. "I don't believe a twelve-year-old is going to burn down an apartment building where she used to live."

"What do you mean you've been in my situation before?" Elisa asked, ignoring everything the man said.

"Because I've been attacked by a monster before, when I was around your age, too. And I know Mist Manipulation well enough to spot it."

Elisa's hands started to shake. She didn't know if it was out of fear, or in anticipation of running away. She pinched her eyebrows together. "Monster?" she repeated. "Like, a bad guy, like a criminal—?"

"I mean, actual monster," the owner clarified. He walked past Elisa to flip the OPEN sign to CLOSE. He locked the door with a silver, clanking key; the noise sounded like it was sealing Elisa's fate. "Look, I'm not going to turn you in, and I'm not going to hurt you, as long you tell me the truth. And I mean the truth. I know I can help you."

Elisa swallowed the fear building in her stomach. Either way, this man was going to turn her in. He was playing her like a fiddle, and there was no way out unless she could find a backdoor, and that was hoping it was unlocked, and the man didn't catch her on the way.

She sat opposite of the man, retelling the man everything that happened on December 16th. He sat patiently, waiting for her to finish. It was a miracle, or maybe it wasn't, that Elisa remembered anything at all. All of it was a blur, a blur of terror, anger, shock, despair—

"Look," she said, "that's the end of it. After the empousa killed everyone, I—I ran away. I didn't know what else to do. She promised to make my life miserable—"

The man nodded, patting her on the shoulder. "I understand," he promised. "I didn't do any better when a monster attacked me. But a warning, don't say their names. They're bad, they bring the monsters to you."

A chill went down Elisa's spine at the thought of Gabrielle or that empousa coming back to haunt her.

The man shook his head. "You practically just told me your life story and you don't even know my name. I'm Callum Belshaw. I'm a son of Aphrodite."

Elisa blinked. "Huh?"

"My mother is Aphrodite, Goddess of Love," he repeated.

Elisa glanced back at the locked door. Callum gave a soft laugh when he noticed. "I'm not crazy," he promised. "Greek gods are real, and your father is one—or mother, depends sometimes."

"Are you sure there isn't a pipe leaking in the place?" Elisa looked around.

Callum shook his head. "Yes, I'm sure, maintenance stopped by a week ago, it cost a fortune, too. But I'm serious, my mom is Aphrodite. You said you have a mortal mom, right?"

Elisa nodded.

"Then it's possible your father's a god—well, Mabel has a mortal mom. Point is, you're a half-blood; have Greek deity, half-mortal."

Elisa stood up, the chair scraping against the wood floor. "Mr. Belshaw, I know you said you could help me, but lying to me saying Greek gods are real—and that my dad is one—isn't helping me."

"I'm not lying," Callum insisted. "I wouldn't lie about this. I wish these were only stories. But I can help you, and I believe you. Look—" He stood up and rushed through an employees-only door. He soon came back out with a book. He dropped it on the white table the two were sitting at. He flipped through the pages until he landed on one with around ten kids, all that looked nothing alike, but all had the same breathtaking beauty.

"These are my siblings, the ones Aphrodite had claimed." Callum pointed to himself, a younger version of himself; maybe fourteen, fifteen at the oldest. "That's me, standing next to me is Mabel. That's Amos, Elias, Valentin—" Callum cut himself off, a wistful smile twisting at his lips.

He looked back at Elisa, the wistful smile gone. "This is real. And you're in danger, especially now that you know of your heritage. You know that you have a godly parent, and that's dangerous. If you will believe—and listen—to me, I can help you."

Elisa nodded.

"First thing you need to know; how to protect yourself." Callum started walking back to the employees-only door. "Follow me. I'm not the best at working with a dagger, but I'm the best shot you got at survival right now."

ˋˏ [ 👑 ] ˎˊ

As it turns out, Elisa doesn't need to beg someone for a job. Callum Belshaw already knew where she needed to go. And he would help her—sort of.

But he says that Elisa first needs to learn how to protect herself.

"This is an acinaces dagger," Callum said, holding a glowing bronze knife. "It's not in the best condition, but it's the only weapon I took with me when I left Camp. It's called Scion, that's Greek for ... 'heir' or 'descendent,' I think. My Greek was never the best, I was always better at French."

"I understood you ..." Elisa said slowly. "Are you sure that's Greek?" she asked carefully, making sure Callum wasn't lying to her.

But he only shook his head and smiled. "You have a natural understanding of Ancient Greek, because you're half-Greek. That's why you probably got diagnosed with dyslexia."

Elisa paused, looking at Callum with wide eyes. She was already inclined to believe Callum. She didn't know if that was the smart choice, but so far, she didn't have much of a choice. He could just be playing her, buying time until the police came. But something just ... told her Callum wasn't lying. Trust Elisa, she knows how stupid that sounds, and how dangerous it was to just believe him so easily.

"And the ADHD. You have dyslexia and ADHD. Your brain is 'hard-wired' for Ancient Greek, that's why you knew what Scion meant, it's a Greek word. And the ADHD, you can't sit still half the time because your body is naturally attuned to fighting monsters. It keeps you alive, so in a way, be grateful for it, even if it's a pain sometimes."

Callum twirled the dagger between his finger with ease and grace. He said he wasn't the best with a dagger, but with the confidence he held the dagger with, Elisa was terrified of meeting anyone that was confident in their skills.

"I will show you a move—an easy one, don't worry—then, I'll hand you the dagger and see how well you do," Callum explained. "You may be a natural, you may not be. A lot of it could depend on your godly parent. So, if your godly parent is Athena or Ares, you'll probably have a much easier time learning with any sort of weapon since they are both gods of war. But since my mom is Aphrodite, and she's not a goddess of war, though she has started quite a few ... Anyways, I had to work my ass off to have any sort of skill."

And it went like that for a few hours; Callum would show Elisa something, he would explain how the Greek world worked, the best ways to stay safe as a half-blood, the best ways to protect yourself, and things she needed know, mainly to not piss off a god or goddess ( especially a temperamental god like Zeus or Poseidon ).

"What haven't I told you?" Callum muttered as he took the dagger back. "I'm not sure ... but, for the night, maybe you can stay here—if you're okay with that, though!"

Elisa sat on the floor, bringing her knees to her chest. "I'm, uh ... sure," she said quickly.

"Or I can stay here, and you can head to my apartment," Callum went on.

"How about I stay here," Elisa said. "I don't even know where your apartment is. It's probably better if I stay off the street with all those missing posters."

Callum nodded. "Right ..." he muttered. "Okay ... I can make some food—you look about starved, and bring some clean clothes, a pillow, a blanket ..."

Elisa watched as the son of Aphrodite muttered to himself, walking around the bakery's back room. Soon he left, promising to be back as soon as possible. And Elisa made a promise to herself that if Callum doesn't come back by the hour, Elisa was taking money out of the register and run. ( She still didn't know where, but she definitely couldn't stay in Albuquerque now that someone had already spotted her. )

To a lot of surprise, Callum came back, looking winded and not so glamorous. But he still definitely didn't look as bad as Elisa, who had run from Durango, Colorado to Albuquerque, New Mexico.

"Here," he said, dropping a blanket, a few pillows, and a bag in her hands. "A blanket, some pillows, and clean clothes. I don't know if the clothes will fit, but they're better than what you're wearing right now anyways."

Elisa looked down at the clothes she was still wearing, the ones from the day she was attacked. she didn't take anything, one: because she didn't have anything left to take, and two: she left in such a panic, she didn't have time if she had any belongings left.

And she didn't have any sort of money or any sort of car. Elisa didn't have anything. And she certainly just couldn't poke her head around everywhere, she was a missing kid. A missing kid that is believed to have killed her classmates, burned a whole building down, killing her mother, and the other residents.

That wasn't true. But for a while, for nearly two weeks to be specific, Elisa was the only one to know that.

ˋˏ [ 👑 ] ˎˊ

Elisa stayed with Callum for a week, just long enough to gather her bearings, learn more about what she was getting herself into, and long enough to learn just enough to be able to protect herself without those weird freaky powers.

Elisa never told Callum anything about those powers and what they did to that monster. The best way she thought to move on was to completely ignore it. But Callum knew something was bothering her, but he just left it alone.

Besides Callum, the thing she would miss most will be his cooking. ( Don't tell Callum she said that, he probably try and pack twenty pounds of food for Elisa to take with her. )

Callum glanced at the blue hair on Elisa's head. "Why would you dye it blue?" he asked.

Elisa flicked a curl out of her face. "It was either blue or pink. I think blue's a prettier color."

Callum scoffed. "Pink is the best color," he argued. "But why even dye your hair in the first place? Blue hair only makes you stand out more."

"Well, I was thinking they would send out pictures of me without blue hair."

"And those gods awful bangs."

Elisa glared at Callum, who was sitting in the driver's seat. "I was panicked, okay?"

Callum grinned and opened the glove department. "Grab that grey beanie." He pointed inside and Elisa grabbed it, shoving it on her head. "And I'll find some gloves for you."

Elisa hugged her green jacket closer to her body. "We're heading to Texas, right?"

"We're heading through Texas," Callum corrected, "and to Oklahoma City."

That sounded pretty far away. Callum said it was a seven-hour drive, probably nine or ten if there was bad traffic. And sitting ten hours in a car sounded straight out of a nightmare for Elisa. Most of the time Elisa got car sick, and having ADHD at the same time was a nightmare. But over the drive Callum would tell Elisa more about Greek Mythology and considering she knew just about none a week ago, she would say she knows a lot.

But Callum also had to go over the plan with Elisa. The plan for when Callum had to leave Elisa.

Callum would drop Elisa off in Oklahoma City, depending on what time they get there, he would leave, and Elisa would be on her own, heading for Camp Half-Blood all the way in New York. Callum said it wasn't ideal, wasn't the best plan he's had, but it was the best they had.

Camp Half-Blood was in Long Island, New York, and they were heading for Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. That was really fucking far. And it took Elisa two weeks alone to get to Albuquerque from Durango.

"A general outline of the plan," Callum started again, "I'll drop you off, and if it's nighttime I'll stay with you. But from Oklahoma, head to Okemah, then Fork Smith, Arkansas, after that—"

"I got it, Callum," Elisa promised. "You wrote it down for me, and your phone number in case I ever needed you."

"But remember that if you call me—"

"You may not be able to get to me," she repeated what he had told her over and over. "I know."

"And remember that it's dangerous for half-bloods to call people, it only attracts monsters, so only do it if you have to."

Elisa nodded as Callum's car passed by a welcome sign to Oklahoma City. A heavy feeling of fear settled in her stomach. She remembered all the times in the two weeks she about died, or felt alone, or—

"We're close!" Callum chirped. "Camp is great," he promised. "I miss it, but I think I'm a little too old to stay there anymore. Oh! And if you see Cabin Ten, that's my cabin, tell them I said hi."

Elisa smiled, swallowing the bile gathering in her throat. "Yeah, will do."

ˋˏ [ 👑 ] ˎˊ

"You need to eat," Callum insisted. "Who knows when you'll get another meal after you leave Oklahoma City."

Elisa looked around the city, pulling the beanie further down to cover her face. Callum watched her before pulling a Ziploc bag out of his jacket pocket.

"Here's a thousand," he whispered. "Use it for food, transportation, a hotel room, whatever you need."

"A thous—!"

Callum clamped his hand over Elisa's mouth. "This is a big city, Elisa," he hissed. "Big city, dangerous people. You can't go screaming about money here, keep to yourself, and don't talk to anyone unless you have to. You're a missing kid, remember, who has a money prize if found and returned alive."

"Okay." Elisa brushed the son of Aphrodite off. "I get it. Missing kid, got it."

"Keep to yourself. Don't make friends, they could be monsters."

"You're really not helping me," Elisa groaned.

"I'm warning you," said Callum. "I'm trying to be the person I needed when I was your age."

Elisa pinched her lips together, her chin started to quiver. Callum's expression softened when he noticed.

"I don't mean to be so harsh, but you know that those monsters have no empathy. They'll tear you to shreds with no hesitation. You're just—" Callum stopped when saw tears build in Elisa's eyes. He pulled in her a hug, rubbing her back.

"Be safe," he whispered. "I'll have your back, even if I'm not with you. Send me a letter when you reach camp, I'm sure Chiron will let you, he's a nice guy. Tell him I said hello, too."

He pulled out of the hug, holding Elisa by the shoulders. Small tear stains were running down her face, the lights of stores around them only illuminating them.

"Oh! And I bought you some gloves," Callum said, digging in his other jacket pocket. "The ones I had wouldn't fit so I bought a smaller pair."

He held out a grey pair of gloves to Elisa. She took them, pulling the tags off before putting them on.

"And they match your hat," Callum grinned, smug he found a pair of gloves that perfectly match the hat he gave Elisa. "I could've got you ugly pink."

Elisa took a breath trying to smile. "I never said pink was ugly, I just think blue is better." She stretched out her fingers, watching the grey fabric move. "I better get going."

ˋˏ [ 👑 ] ˎˊ

Elisa stood outside in the cold with a deep sigh. For almost two years, she was the closest she had ever been to Camp Half-Blood, but that empousa had to ruin it all. For two years, she chased after Elisa across the country, causing the half-blood to never have a moment of peace.

Granted, Elisa was also on the run, still considered a missing kid. Could really live in peace? For even just a moment?

The answer was no because her father was a Greek god.

After two years, the empousa was finally dead. If Elisa wasn't stranded once again, maybe she would have been celebrating.

Elisa sighed, a puff of smoke floating in front of her face. She hugged herself for warmth, that green jacket she has was long gone, and now she was wearing a black one. She pulled the grey beanie further down. Elisa doesn't know why she kept it, it was dirty and hadn't been washed in two years. But those grey gloves Callum bought her were gone only after two months on the run.

Elisa reached inside her jacket pocket, pulling out the sheet of paper Callum gave her. Most of the places were marked off, Elisa having reached the city on her way to Camp Half-Blood. And the last place was marked off; Manhattan, New York, but if she hadn't been chased, Elisa would've made it.

Her eyes flickered to the phone number written in pink ink.

But on the run from the empousa, Elisa made it to a place Callum had not written on the list. Bar Harbor, Maine. A pretty city, don't get Elisa wrong, but it wasn't the city she needs to be in.

She walked down the city, waiting for the train to come back around. She bought a cup of coffee not to drink but to keep her hands warm. She sat outside, shivering, remembering Callum's words to never engage with someone unless she has to.

Her heart skipped a beat with fear as someone walked up to her. A tall boy with brown eyes, curly brown hair, and dark skin was walking toward her. He didn't walk fast at all, and sort of walked with a limp . . .

How Silas would walk. Exactly how he would walk.

As the person got closer, Elisa noticed a small wispy beard on the guy's face.

"Are you going to eat—drink that?" the boy asked, pointing to the cup of coffee in her hand.

"Oh," Elisa looked down at the coffee cup in her hands, "here."

She held out the cup to the boy. She got up, ready to walk away, Callum's words echoing in her mind all over again.

"H—hey!" the boy called after her, sounding surprised. "I need to talk to you!"

Elisa started walking faster, thinking the kid only meant trouble.

"Are you a half-blood?" the boy asked, his voice shaking in the cold.

Elisa's steps faltered. If she didn't know any better, she would blow up on him, cause a huge scene or something, but she just continued to ignore him.

"You are!" he gasped. "I knew it!"

She heard his shoes hitting the snowy ground as he caught up to her.

"Elisa?" he asked, keeping in time with her. "The one from Colorado? Silas—before he went M.I.A.—said he was heading to bring back an Elisa Bardales. You look like her—well, she didn't look so—"

The boy stopped talking when he noticed her expression. Elisa pursed her lips, glaring at him.

"I don't know an Elisa, and I don't know a Silas. So if you don't leave me alone, I will call the cops," she lied through her teeth, picking up her pace. There was no way she was calling the cops, they would bring her in instead.

"I can bring you back to camp!" the person promised. "You know," he said in a much quieter voice, "Camp Half-Blood."

That really made Elisa pause. That was the whole thing she was working for, risking her life for.

The boy sounded a lot less panicked than before when he said, "Yeah! I can help you! I'm Grover Underwood, a satyr, like Silas, but—"

"I'll do anything to get to Camp Half-Blood," Elisa interrupted.

"O-oh, okay!" Grover nodded, pulling out a small white card. He handed it to Elisa, not that she could read the small cursive font with her dyslexia. "I'm Grover," he repeated. "I'm a satyr, and I'm here to find a half-blood and get them to camp, and you can help me!"

Elisa looked down the snowy street of Bar Harbor, Maine with a profound frown. "Where are they?"

"Um ... it's sort of a walk, but Westover Hall, it's this military school. I don't know who yet, but I know they're there. Half-bloods smell strong—not that you smell bad! It's—!"

Elisa turned back to the satyr, tucking her hands in her pocket. "I know what you mean, Grover. I've had time to figure out the whole half-blood thing while I was on the run."

👑  JAN. 7TH, 2022  /  i got attached :((((

at least callum didn't die i guess, but also, grover supremacy !! him and elisa: brotp- favorite character from pjo probs after thalia