ROYAL CRIES
━━ chapter three

━━ MRS. O'LEARY WAS the only friendly hellhound Elisa had ever met. Mrs. O'Leary was the size of a garbage truck and smelled like sulfur and dog shampoo. She used to be Daedalus's pet, but after his death last summer, Percy became her new caretaker. But since he stayed in New York during the school year, the hellhound became Elisa, Beckendorf, and Annabeth's responsibility.

               Other campers tried to take care of Mrs. O'Leary, but since she was a hellhound and demigods run on impulse, more than once a demigod saw her and went into survival mode. Elisa didn't exactly want a hellhound for a pet, but for Percy's sake ( and since Annabeth also refused to be the only one taking care of Mrs. O'Leary  ), the daughter of Dionysus helped with the monster.

               Mrs. O'Leary saw Elisa and Percy before they saw her, which was a pretty good trick considering her size. The moment the two walked into the arena, a wall of darkness slammed into Percy, knocking him to the ground. Elisa cracked a smile at the sight of Mrs. O'Leary licking Percy's face.

               The boy yelped with shock. "Hey, girl," he greeted the hellhound. "Good to see you, too. Ow!"

               It took a few minutes for Mrs. O'Leary to calm down and get off the son of Poseidon. The boy got on his feet as Mrs. O'Leary bounded over to Elisa with as much enthusiasm. Elisa scratched the hellhound behind the ear, snickering at Percy trying to wipe the drool off of himself.

               "Should I be jealous?" Percy asked.

               Elisa looked at the boy. "Of what?"

               "Mrs. O'Leary seems to like you as much as she likes me," the boy said, motioning to the dog. "I thought I was her person."

               "Oh," said the daughter of madness. "It's only 'cause I feed her in the mornings."

               "I think she likes you because of your stunning personality," Percy said.

               Elisa stopped petting the hellhound, who whined with disapproval. "I'm gonna remind you I'm still on the fence about talking to you," she said.

               Percy rolled his eyes but didn't say anything in return. Mrs. O'Leary wanted to play fetch, so the boy picked up a bronze shield and tossed it across the arena. Instead of bringing the shield back to Percy, the hellhound dropped the slobbery hellhound toy at Elisa's feet.

               Percy gave the girl a mock glare. "She likes only because you feed her?"

               Elisa gave him an annoyed look. "I took care of her a lot while you were gone. Me, Annabeth, and Beckendorf."

               Percy seem to flinch at the last name said, and Elisa wished she could've gone back in time to avoid saying it. Just thinking about the son of Hephaestus made her want to cry. Mrs. O'Leary didn't seem to notice the new air of tension as she bounded back toward Elisa with the shield.

               Beckendorf used to help Annabeth and Elisa take care of Mrs. O'Leary whenever they were too busy to do it. And over time, and as the girls got busier, he wanted to take care of Mrs. O'Leary, taking care of the hellhound no longer being just a task for some friends. He had smelted Mrs. O'Leary's favorite bronze chewing bone. He'd forged her collar with the little smiley face and crossbones nametag. Beckendorf had been one of the few demigods to take care of the monster.

               Neither Elisa nor Percy spoke, afraid of bringing up the son of Hephaestus. Mrs. O'Leary insisted the shield be thrown a couple of more times before she started barking. Her barks were slightly louder than an artillery gun, and Elisa assumed she needed a walk. Percy opened the gates of the arena and she bounded straight toward the woods.

               Elisa didn't spare the boy a glance before jogging after the hellhound. The daughter of Dionysus wasn't too worried about Mrs. O'Leary getting too far ahead. Nothing in the woods could threaten Mrs. O'Leary. Even the dragons and giant scorpions ran away when she came close.

               When they finally tracked the hellhound down, she wasn't using the facilities. She was in a familiar clearing where the Council of Cloven Elders had once put Grover on trial. The place didn't look so good—the grass had turned yellow and the three topiary thrones had lost all their leaves. But that wasn't the surprising part. In the middle of the glade stood the weirdest trio Elisa had ever seen: Juniper the tree nymph, Nico di Angelo, and a very old, very fat satyr.

               Nico was the only one who didn't seem freaked out by Mrs. O'Leary's. He had on an aviator's jacket, black jeans, and a T-shirt with dancing skeletons on it. His Stygian-iron sword hung at his side. He was only twelve, though he looked much older and sadder.

               He nodded when he saw Elisa and Percy, then went back to scratching Mrs. O'Leary's ears. She sniffed his legs like he was the most interesting thing since rib-eye steaks. Being the son of Hades, he'd probably been traveling in all sorts of hellhound-friendly places.

               The old satyr didn't look nearly so happy. "Will someone—? What is this Underworld creature doing in my forest!" He waved his arms and trotted on his hooves like the grass was hot. "You there, Percy Jackson! Is this your beast?"

               "Sorry, Leneus," the son of Poseidon said. "That's your name, right?"

               The satyr rolled his eyes. His fur was dust-bunny grey and a spider web grew between his horns. His belly would've made him an invincible bumper car. "Well, of course I'm Leneus. Don't tell me you've forgotten a member of the council so quickly. Now call off your beast!"

               Mrs. O'Leary barked happily, not minding being called a beast.

               The old satyr gulped. "Make it go away! Juniper, I will not help you under these circumstances!"

               Juniper turned towards Elisa and Percy. She was really pretty, with her purple gossamer dress and her elfish face, but her eyes were green-tinted with chlorophyll from crying.

               "Elisa, Percy," she sniffled. "I was just asking about Grover. I know something's happened. He wouldn't stay gone this long if he wasn't in trouble. I was hoping that Leneus—"

               "I told you!" the satyr protested. "You are better off without that traitor."

               Juniper stamped her foot. "He is not a traitor! He's the bravest satyr ever and I want to know where he is!"

               Mrs. O'Leary barked loudly.

               Leneus's knees started knocking together. "I—I won't answer questions with this hellhound sniffing my tail!"

               Nico looked like he was trying not to laugh. "I'll walk the dog," he volunteered. He whistled and Mrs. O'Leary bounded after him to the far end of the grove.

               Leneus huffed indignantly and brushed the twigs off his shirt. "Now, as I was trying to explain, young lady, your boyfriend has not sent any reports since we voted him into exile."

               "You tried to vote him into exile," Elisa corrected. "But it didn't work out; Chiron and Dionysus stopped you."

               "Bah! They are honorary council members. It wasn't a proper vote."

               Elisa raised her eyebrows challenging. "I'm sure Dionysus would love to hear that. And you know he would take my word over yours."

               Leneus paled, knowing the daughter of Dionysus was right. "I only meant—Now see here, Bardales. This is none of your business."

               "It is, though," disagreed Elisa. "Grover's our friend. He wasn't lying to you about Pan's death. I saw it myself. You're just too scared to accept the truth."

               Leneus's lips quivered. "No! Grover's a liar and good riddance. We're better off without him."

               Percy pointed at the withered thrones. "If things are going so well, where are your friends? Looks like your council hasn't been meeting lately."

               "Maron and Silenus ... I—I'm sure they'll be back," he said, but Elisa could hear the panic in Leneus's voice. "They're just taking some time off to think. It's been a very unsettling year."

               "It's going to get a lot more unsettling," Percy promised. "Leneus, we need Grover. There's got to be a way you can find him with your magic."

               The old satyr's eye twitched. "I'm telling you I've heard nothing. Perhaps he's dead."

               Juniper choked back a sob.

               Elisa scowled at the satyr. "He's not," she insisted. "We would know."

               "Yeah, I can feel that much," agreed Percy.

               "Empathy links," Leneus said disdainfully. "Very unreliable."

               "So ask around," Percy insisted. "Find him. There's a war coming. Grover was preparing the nature spirits."

               "Without my permission! And it's not our war."

               "It is your war," Elisa snapped. "It's everyone's war. Everyone is going to be affected, meaning we all have to do something if we want any chance of stopping Luke and Kronos."

               Her expression got more enraged the less her words seemed to be listened to. Elisa grabbed Leneus by the shirt, making him face her. "Listen to me," she hissed. "When Kronos attacks, he's going to have hundreds—thousands—of monsters like Mrs. O'Leary and they won't just sniff you, okay? They'll tear you apart limb by limb and suck your bones dry. Kronos doesn't give a shit whether you think it's your war or not. He's gonna kill everyone in his way, and the people he doesn't kill are going to wish they were when he takes over. You're supposed to be an elder, right now you sound so fucking dumb. Get off your ass and do something; go out there and see what Grover's trying to stop."

               Elisa didn't push Leneus very hard, but he still fell on his furry rump, then scrambled to his hooves and ran away with his belly jiggling. He yelled back to them, "Grover will never be accepted! He will die an outcast!"

               When he'd disappeared into the bushes, Juniper wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry, guys. I didn't mean to get you involved. Leneus is still a Lord of the Wild. You don't want to make an enemy of him."

               Elisa wiped her hands on her shorts, as if disgusted by the fact she touched Leneus. "If he's my worst enemy in life, I'm doing pretty okay."

               "Yeah, it's no problem," Percy said to Juniper. "I've got worse enemies than overweight satyrs."

               Nico walked back over. "Judging by the trail of goat pellets, I think you scared, Ellie," he said, grinning at the girl. 

               Elisa tried for a smile, but the gesture was hesitant. She knew why Nico was here, and not for a makeshift family reunion. "Someone had to give him a rude awakening." She shrugged. "And I doubt he'll try to do anything to me, not with Dionysus as an honorary member."

               "Did you come by just to see Juniper?" asked Percy.

               Nico blushed. "Um—no. That was an accident. I kind of ... dropped into the middle of their conversation."

               "He scared us to death!" Juniper said. "Right out of the shadows. But, Nico, you are the son of Hades and all. Are you sure you haven't heard anything about Grover?"

               Nico shifted his weight. "Juniper, like I tried to tell you ... even if Grover died, he would reincarnate into something else in nature. I can't sense things like that, only mortal souls."

               "But if you do hear anything?" she pleaded, putting her hand on his arm. "Anything at all?"

               Nico's face turned an even brighter shade of red. "Uh—you bet. I'll keep my ears open."

               "We'll find him, Juniper," Percy promised. "Grover's alive, I'm sure. There must be a simple reason why he hasn't contacted us."

               The dryad nodded glumly. "I hate not being able to leave the forest. He could be anywhere, and I'm stuck here waiting. Oh—if that silly goat has got himself hurt—"

               Mrs. O'Leary bounded back over and took an interest in Juniper's dress.

                Juniper yelped. "Oh, no you don't! I know about dogs and trees—I'm gone!"

               She went poof into green mist. Mrs. O'Leary looked disappointed, but she lumbered off to find another target, leaving Nico, Elisa, and Percy alone.

               Nico tapped his sword on the ground. A tiny mound of animal bones erupted from the dirt. They knitted themselves together into a skeletal field mouse and scampered off. "I was sorry to hear about Beckendorf."

               A lump formed in Elisa's throat.

               "How did you—?" Percy started to ask.

               "I talked to his ghost."

               "Oh ... right." Percy shared a look with Elisa; neither of them liked thinking about the fact that Nico spent more time talking to the dead than any living thing. "Did he say anything?"

               "He doesn't blame you. He figured you'd be beating yourself up, and he said you shouldn't."

               "Is he going to try for rebirth?" Elisa asked.

               Nico shook his head. "He's staying in Elysium. Said he's waiting for someone. Not sure what he meant, but he seems okay with death."

               Elisa let out a small sigh. Beckendorf was waiting for Silena, he was going to see her again. She wanted to tell the daughter of Aphrodite that, but then she'd have to explain how she found out.

               "I had a vision you were on Mount Tam," Percy told Nico. "Was that—?"

               "Real?" Nico said. "I didn't mean to be spying on the Titans, but I was in the neighborhood."

               "Doing what?" Elisa asked, frowning. Percy never told her about that dream.

               Nico tugged at his sword belt. "Following a lead on ... you know, my family."

               Nico's past was a painful subject. Until two years ago, he and his sister, Bianca, had been frozen in time at a place called the Lotus Casino. They'd been there for like seventy years. Eventually, a mysterious lawyer rescued them and checked them into a boarding school, but Nico had no memories of his life before the casino. He didn't know anything about his mother. He didn't know who the lawyer was, or why they'd been frozen in time or allowed to go free. After Bianca died and left Nico, he'd been obsessed with finding answers.

               "So how did it go?" Elisa asked tentatively. "Find anything?"

               "No," Nico murmured. "But I may have a new lead soon."

               "What's the lead?"

               Nico chewed his bottom lip. "That's not important right now. Me and Percy have—uh—something important to do."

               A nasty, sour look crossed Elisa's face. It disappeared, but it seemed like she was trying to mask it. "Why won't you guys tell me? You not, like, planning to kill me in my sleep or something? Offer me up to Kronos as a sacrifice?"

               Percy rolled his eyes at her poorly-timed jokes. He looked almost green in the face. "If we were gonna kill you, we would've done it ages ago, Elisa."

               "Seriously," the daughter of Dionysus insisted. "Why won't you guys tell me about it?"

               Nico kicked his right toe into the ground, kicking up dirt into the air. "Because," he said lamely. "And I—we—" He gave Percy a pointed look, as if to say 'You better go along with this, "—can't tell you. Not because we don't want to tell you, but because we can't."

               Percy did go along with it. Whatever 'it' was. He nodded fervently. "We really can't tell you, Lisa. Totally would if we could."

               Elisa curled her lips, crossing her arms over her chest. "If it's anything dangerous, I'm gonna kick your ass."

               She turned on her heels, adding over her shoulder, "If you get back here alive, that is."

👑  FEB. 5TH, 2023  /  i don't have much to say tbh like,, here's a chapter??

elisa's a gourlboss but we all know that

and percy's a simp for her (as he should be) but we all know that

anyways,, thoughts?? opinions??