All that Glitters is Not Gold-

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO and sadly, never will. It belongs to Rick Riordan, the amazing author that created them.

Hazel PoV

I felt hollow.

It was all my fault. Everything was my fault. It didn't matter what time period I lived in; bad luck just followed me everywhere. I couldn't get away from it.

Even after coming back from the freaking dead, I had rescued my brother and solved the confusion with Leo, but the Fates just decided to balance the scales.

Percy and Annabeth were gone, falling through practically endless darkness, to the bottom of a legitimate hellhole. I buried my face in my hands, choking down a sob. I wouldn't cry. I wouldn't. I would stay strong.

The Argo II was sailing smoothly through the skies, but the atmosphere was thick with silence and regret. Everyone was mourning. Guilt weighed me down like a thousand pounds of gold, heavy on my chest. I saw it happening. But when I had opened my mouth to scream a warning, my voice had failed me. Nothing came out. And Percy and Annabeth went over the edge.

A chunk of gold popped up beside me, and I angrily seized it and threw it overboard, chucking it into the sea thousands of feet below. I hated jewels and riches. They were worth nothing in my mind. All they caused was pain. It had been a theme throughout my life, especially before my first death, with my mom. She wanted to be rich and famous, and Pluto granted her that much. But I couldn't summon average gems. They had to be big chunks of precious metals, egg sized rubies that brought misfortune. It was even evident in mortal lives. No one who was loaded was happy. They wanted more. They wanted security. They wanted love. They wanted sympathy. But no one had sympathy for the rich. And it was my curse.

It's a known fact that in life, you can't have everything. There were always a million choices and outcomes and twists and complications that stood in the way of happiness. But every single time I saw a mortal family, just plain regular humans with no crazy prophecies predicting the newest potential end of Western Civilization or godly powers, I got jealous and sad all over. Every time I saw it, I couldn't help thinking that they had everything any demigod could ask for. Nice parents. Normal lives. Average teenage worries and problems. Nothing too complicated, at least, compared to my life. And they just had no idea. It made me sad.

All that glitters is not gold, a wise man once said. I snorted in contempt.

I knew that. I knew it better than anyone.

Enjoy? I was just experimenting with Hazel's point of view in this little one-shot, since I'm contemplating whether or not to use her as a PoV in my version of House of Hades. I'm just not sure quite yet, but I wanted to play around with her as a character, try to get a good idea of how to write from her perspective, and I thought it would be nice to write a snippet of how she feels after Percy and Annabeth fall into Tartarus, and just about her curse in general. She's a really interesting character, in my opinion. Anyways, thanks so much for reading! Reviews and constructive criticism are always appreciated! Thanks again!

-NotsoSugarQueen