The Woman Behind the Veil
The moment they stepped inside the shop, which was, by the way, completely filled with stone statues, well, technically that would not be strange, considering it was that kind of store. Though they were supposed to be garden gnomes, not life sized people. Percy figured that in order to own things like these, customers would need enormous gardens and be truly weird if they wanted, for example, a smiling couple frozen in place or a massive gargoyle that looked like it had been caught in absolute panic.
But the hunger Percy felt, just like the others, completely ignored little details such as the statues' eyes following them. And the smiles on their faces did not match their frozen expressions; if anything, they looked like someone had captured them in the worst possible moment.
Even Harry, who sometimes liked to think he was more cautious and observant than his obviously more impulsive brother, could not keep his eyes off the food set up at the very back of the store.
As if the smell itself were stronger than the Imperius.
It was practically a junk food paradise. There was a fast food counter with a lit grill, a soda machine bubbling softly, an oven for buns, and a nacho dispenser overflowing with melted cheese. Several picnic tables were covered in food, as though Auntie M's, as the woman had introduced herself while guiding them in, had been cooking all day for a football team. Or maybe two. Or three. The burgers were stacked into an actual mountain, and the pile of fries looked deep enough that you could stick your head inside and start chewing until your arteries gave up entirely.
"Uh… well… are you expecting company?" Harry asked, staring at the sheer amount of food.
"Oh, yes, of course. On rainy days, a great many people wander this way, more than you would think; hikers, or those who lose their way in the forest and need somewhere to wait for help. So I always prepare all of this to welcome them. You see… my shop is not exactly in the busiest place in the world. And every one of them is a potential customer, so I must make a little effort, must I not?" she said, her voice smooth and almost gentle.
Honestly, that made perfect sense to all of them.
"Um… but we do not have any money to be customers," Grover said softly.
"That is quite all right, do not worry. This is a special case. I could never deny such adorable orphans a little food. Besides, I had customers before you arrived, so all of this is extra," she added.
"Well, that is great then. Thank you," Percy said quickly, remembering the manners Arthur and Luther had drilled into him. He gave a slight knightly bow, dipping his body just a bit, one hand over his chest and the other behind his back in formal gratitude.
Annabeth glanced at him, clearly seeing Percy act like that for the first time.
Auntie M seemed slightly delighted; even with her face covered, one could almost see the smile beneath the veil as her gaze lingered on Percy.
"What lovely manners. You will grow into quite the little heartbreaker," she said softly.
Suddenly, something chimed in the kitchen.
"Oh, right, the cake. I will be back in just a moment. In the meantime, please, help yourselves," Auntie M said before leaving the room.
Percy, who felt Annabeth staring at him, turned toward her.
"What?" he asked.
"I never thought you had good manners," she said, watching him closely.
"Of course I do. I am a knight in training. According to Arthur and Luther, I must always show my highest respect to beautiful ladies," he replied confidently.
"Then why do you not show me some respect?" Annabeth shot back, her tone dry, almost mocking.
"You? Yeah, sure," he said before turning away, his attention fully captured by the burgers.
Annabeth immediately glared at him.
"You are such a seaweed brain," she muttered.
Percy did not even look away from the food in front of him.
Meanwhile, Harry and Grover, already eating fries, looked at the two of them for a moment, then at each other, shaking their heads.
Auntie M returned almost at once, carrying a tray of milkshakes in different flavors and setting them down in front of the four of them, who were practically burying their faces in the food, sometimes forgetting to breathe.
Percy had a triple cheeseburger; Annabeth grabbed a milkshake and sipped it with her eyes closed, savoring the flavor; Harry held fries in both hands, which would have made Ron proud; and Grover… well, he was biting into the wax paper from the trays, apparently too content to even notice.
"Mm?" Harry suddenly paused, fries still clutched in both hands, mouth full. He seemed to hear something and started looking around. "Turn into stone?" he said abruptly, confusion crossing his face.
Percy lifted his head at his brother's words.
"What?" he asked, but before he could press further, he went back to eating, his eyes beginning to droop, heavy.
Annabeth as well; as if being full was making them far too relaxed.
Grover's eyes were already closed, chewing in his sleep.
"Oh? What is it, little one? Who would turn what into stone?" Auntie M asked suddenly, giving a slight start at Harry's words as she quickly brought her hands to the veil covering her head, as though adjusting her hair beneath it.
Harry did not answer right away. He turned toward the nearby window instead, as if searching the forest for something, staying silent like he was trying to listen. But he heard nothing beyond the faint rain falling softly, almost ready to stop.
"Maybe I was wrong," he said at last, glancing back at Auntie M and offering her a small smile. "Sorry, could you tell me where the bathroom is?"
"Of course. Down the hall to the right," Auntie M replied, pointing toward a corridor behind the food area.
"Thank you," Harry said, giving the same courteous bow Percy had done earlier.
"There is no need for such formality," Auntie M said, looking genuinely pleased by the respect shown by both boys.
What she did not notice was that during the bow, Harry had slipped his wand into his hand. He gave her another polite smile before turning and walking toward the restroom. Hidden beneath his clothes, he aimed his wand at the nearest person and murmured,
"Renervate."
Then he disappeared straight into the bathroom.
"Well… um… so you make the statues yourself?" Percy asked, clearly fighting against the pull of sleep, as if talking might keep him awake.
"Oh, yes. A personal fascination of mine," Auntie M said gently. "My sisters used to help me, long ago. But they went elsewhere some time ago, so now… I take care of everything here. They are beautiful, are they not?" she added, stepping closer to one of the statues in the center of the dining area.
It was the figure of a young woman holding a basket of flowers, a delicate smile carved on her face. But in her eyes there seemed to be a panic that did not match the frozen expression at all.
"The only thing that sometimes troubles me are their faces. They are the most difficult part. They always are," she said, caressing the stone girl's cheek with unsettling tenderness.
Annabeth, who had been on the verge of collapsing into sleep, suddenly opened her eyes a little wider and steadied herself against the table.
"Two? Sisters?" she asked abruptly.
"Oh, yes. You guessed correctly," the woman replied, and her smile no longer seemed so kind. "We had a small disagreement. Or rather… something came between our sisterhood."
She began speaking, her voice as soft as a lullaby, and the drowsiness hanging over the room seemed to deepen.
"Long ago, a wicked woman, very jealous, decided to separate me from my beloved. At that time he loved me very, very much. She caused a terrible incident to my body," she said, lifting her hands, the only visible part of her beneath her strange garments.
"My sisters stayed with me as long as they could. But that wicked woman would not stop. She sent hunters after us again and again. Until the two of them could endure no more and left this world because of one of those men. Because of her, I lost everything. My beautiful appearance. My love. My family," she said, and this time her voice sounded broken.
Percy frowned as he listened. He felt a genuine stab of pity. Who would do something like that to such a pleasant woman? To a lady.
Annabeth, on the other hand, seemed to wake a little more and swallowed hard.
Grover, meanwhile, had already fallen asleep with his mouth open, tiny bits of wax paper stuck to his clothes. And Harry had not returned from the bathroom.
"Your eyes are so beautiful, Annabeth," Auntie M said suddenly, looking directly at her. "It is a shame they resemble that woman's so much," she added, shaking her head slightly.
At those words, Annabeth's face went tense.
Two sisters.
A jealous woman.
An "incident" to her body.
Her eyes opened just a little wider. Now they were filled with panic.
But she did not have time to react.
Suddenly, a heavy weight struck her; sleep dragged her down without mercy, and she fell forward onto the table, completely unconscious. Percy, who could no longer hold his eyelids open, slumped in his chair as well, snoring almost instantly.
Auntie M watched the three of them fall asleep and let out a faint smile. Then she turned toward the corridor where Harry had gone and began walking that way.
"Little one, did you fall asleep in the restroom?" she called softly as she moved down the hall.
The moment she was far enough away, Grover, still with wax paper in his mouth, snapped his eyes open and straightened up.
"Oh, no," he muttered, fully awake now. He had heard Auntie M's story and, like Annabeth, realized who she truly was.
"It is… Medusa," he whispered, trembling, before looking at his sleeping friends. He jumped to his feet and began shaking them.
"Percy, Percy, wake up," Grover urged.
"Mmm… just five more minutes," Percy mumbled, trying to curl up in his chair.
Grover quickly switched to Annabeth and shook her, but she seemed to be in a much deeper sleep.
At that moment, he saw the corridor where Auntie M had gone suddenly freeze over. A layer of frost covered it in a single second.
Grover swallowed.
He had seen that ice before.
Then the owner of that ice came running out, completely frantic.
"It is huge! A giant snake! A really big snake!" Harry kept repeating as he stared at Percy's sleeping form. He rushed over and immediately started slapping him.
Grover froze for a second, glancing at Annabeth, unsure whether he should do the same.
But Harry moved faster.
He pointed his wand at her and shouted,
"Renervate!"
"Uh? Huh?" Percy jolted awake, his cheeks stinging badly and utterly confused… just in time to receive another slap from Harry.