Chapter Text
Be with me always—take any form—drive me mad! Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! It is unutterable! I can not live without my life! I can not live without my soul!
Emily Brontë /Wuthering Heights
HEAR MY ROYAL CRIES!
( ❝ you can talk to horses. ❞ )
TILL YOUR VOCAL CORDS RIP!
( ❝ that's not the same thing as madness! ❞ )
━━ ELISA BARDALES has lived a pretty ... abnormal life. ( Although abnormal didn't feel like a strong enough word to describe what she's experienced in all her fourteen years of life; perhaps 'mind-boggling' would work better. ) There wasn't one moment in time when she felt like a regular kid. It felt as if something was hanging over her head, a constant warning for her to be careful. Perhaps it was a sense of impending doom—a sharp jab in the back of her mind, as if she knew something was coming.
Or maybe she was just a kid with an overactive imagination trying to get by with a loveless mother and an absent father. That's what her teachers always said.
But it didn't feel that way. It felt like there was more to Elisa, more than anyone knew.
If she hadn't been so used to it, it'd probably have driven Elisa insane. But maybe she already was. Her classmates swore that she was.
And traveling across the country—twice, actually—both for stupid reasons Elisa doesn't even want to talk about. Then to top it off—meeting Percy Jackson, the 'savior of Olympus.' Elisa wasn't sure how much she believed that considering just how scrawny and socially inept the boy was.
Whoever was watching over Elisa seemed to enjoy watching her suffer. The son of Poseidon never seemed to catch a break, and that included everyone who associated—willingly or not—themselves with him. That's why Elisa planned on staying far away from the boy.
She didn't know who—or what—was warning her, but they had never led her wrong before, besides meeting Percy Jackson, they really did her dirty with that. Hopefully, they wouldn't now. Especially when she needed it most. ( Traveling by yourself across the country with no means of help was not easy, trust Elisa, she would know all too well. )
Perhaps all of this would lead her to whoever cursed her to live such a tragic, pathetic, mournful life. But that would be unlikely, luck was never truly on her side.
But one can only hope, right?
THE CAST . . .
❝ THE ROYAL ❞
ELISABET ❛ELISA❜ BARDALES
( as described in the book )
DAUGHTER of DIONYSUS: Dionysus is the Greek God of Wine, Grape-Harvest, and Madness. He is the son of Zeus and Semele; his Roman counterpart is Bacchus. Famous for his birth, Dionysus was sewed to his father's thigh after Hera tricked Zeus to reveal his divine true for to Semele and her body burned away. ( Horrifically, Dionysus stayed there until he was ready to be born—as a demigod, no less. ) But most well-known for his invention of wine ( which would ultimately lead him to become a god ); when Hera learned of Dionysus's survival, she cursed him with madness, ultimately causing him to wander the lands, where he learned how to harvest grapes to create wine. So moved by this invention, the Olympians offered Dionysus immortality and a seat on the council. Symbols often associated with Dionysus are grape vines, his silver goblet, and his thyrsus.
❝ THE ROYAL PAIN ❞
PERCY JACKSON
( as described in the book )
SON of POSEIDON: Poseidon is the Greek God of the Sea and Earthquakes, and the second of the three sons of Kronos and Rhea, making him one of the oldest and most powerful Olympians. His Roman counterpart is Neptune. Involved in many Greek myths, some of the most notable that have withstood the test of time are his challenge—and loss—for possession of the city of Athens and the story of his birth ( and ultimately being swallowed by his father ), and his fight against Kronos alongside his siblings. Symbols often associated with Poseidon are horses, dolphins, and his Trident.
❝ THE BRAINIAC ❞
ANNABETH CHASE
( as described in the book )
DAUGHTER of ATHENA: Athena is the Greek Goddess of Wisdom and Strategy. Her Roman counterpart is Minerva. The goddess Athena is a calculating goddess—weighing all options before she made her decision. As such, she was revered for her wisdom and unmatched intelligence. Many myths and legends involve the Goddess, however, two of the best known are the story of how she was born ( sprang to life from Zeus's head wearing full battle armor ) and the story of how the city of Athens was named. Symbols often associated with Athena are owls, spears, olive trees, and Aegis.
❝ THE HELPFUL SATYR ❞
GROVER UNDERWOOD
( as described in the book )
SATYR of the WILD: Satyrs ( or Fauns in their Roman forms ) are nature's spirits that were created when Ouranos's blood was spilled across fertile soil after he was murdered by his son Kronos. Protectors of nature, many satyrs have been sent out in search of the lost god, Pan, God of the Wild. Those not chosen to search for the lost god are sent out all across America in search of half-bloods, where they would spend time befriending, protecting, and helping to ( hopefully ) bring the half-blood to one of the only safe places for them—Camp Half-Blood. Symbols often associated with satyrs are reed pipes, which many satyrs use in combat.
❝ THE ODD MORTAL ❞
RACHEL DARE
( as described in the book )
CLEAR-SIGHTED MORTAL: There are some mortals who have clear-sight, which is the ability to see through the Mist. And Rachel's abilities are even stronger than demigods at times. No one knows why there are some mortals who can see through the Mist, not even the gods understand this ability. Some mortals with this ability have been candidates to host the spirit of the Oracle of Delphi.
❝ THE GHOST KING ❞
NICO DI ANGELO
( as described in the book )
SON of HADES: Hades is the kind of the Underworld and the Greek God of the dead and riches, and the firstborn son of Kronos and Rhea, making him the oldest and one of the most powerful gods. His Roman counterpart is Pluto. Not involved in many myths, Hades does have some that have stood the test of time and are pretty well known; one is his fight against Kronos alongside his siblings, which the gods ultimately won, and another well-known myth is the kidnapping of Persephone and eventual marriage. Symbols often associated with Hades are his Bident, serpents, and his Helm of Darkness.
BUT I WON'T RELY ON YOU TO FIX ME!
isabelle fuhrman! . . .
bianca di angelo!
as described! . . . callum belshaw!
as described! . . . zoë nightshade!
kiko mizuhara! . . . drew tanaka!
as described! . . . silena beauregard!
as described! . . . castor winward!
as described! . . . pollux winward!
as described! . . . clarisse la rue!
jonathan daviss! . . .
charles beckendorf!
as described! . . .
thalia grace!
austin north! . . .
luke castellan!
ryan potter! . . .
ethan nakamura!
DISCLAIMER !
i own nothing in the pjo universe besides elisa bardales, her story, & the other characters i have made. everything else belongs to rick riordan. all rights go to him, besides elisa bardales and any other characters i have made.
any gifs used in the book do not belong to me, they belong to the original creators. i have simple edited the size of them to fit what i want. the graphics, although, do belong to me completely.GRACIE'S NOTES !
also! if i get anything incorrect, or just anything comes off as weird ( as i am just an author trying to be more inclusive ) tell me & i'll absolutely fix it! my goal is not to hurt or insult my readers, i write bc i enjoy writing!
also, major warning! this book will talk about alcohol abuse, foster care, neglection of a child, mental illness (depression, anxiety, ptsd, etc.), mentions of suicide, suicidal thoughts, and the regular pjo themes. do not read this book if any of that is trigging to you. reading this is not, and never will be, more important than yourself.
this is sort of an impulsive post i've had the idea for elisa since like june of this year. it has changed a lot over the months, but there was one thing i could never figure out: if she was going to have a love interest or not. i eventually decided she was going to.
also don't steal, that's not cool!