A/N: Hey guys, for those of you who've followed me as a writer... it's been a while; I'm aware. I kind of did a purge of some of the stuff I feel like was bad. But we do get this one! I think i'm gonna update it every week (it's already been written completely). So... yeah.
Content notes for the whole story: sexism, death/dying, war, violence
Bianca discreetly chewed on her lip as she stood on the left side of her father's throne. Sure, she would be looked down upon as immature, if they caught her, for doing such a thing, as she was sixteen years old, but nobody would notice. She was invisible to most everyone, pushed back into the shadows until she very nearly was one herself. She was pretty much dressed like one, anyway. A modest dark purple velvet dress that was almost the color of ink. But the front was a dark lavender embroidered with flowers. The dress appeared to be laced under Bianca's chest, for aesthetic purposes. At the elbows, dark but transparent fabric belled out, forming a triangle shape, if she were to extend her arms out like wings, which would never happen, because that would be looked upon as childish. To further put her in the shadows, her black curly hair—despite her wearing her beautiful gold circlet with the obsidian stone set in the center—was in her face. She felt like a ghost, especially since she was in a shadowy room lit by only torches; no windows.
And yet, despite being often chastised for doing little things looked upon as immature, Bianca was standing in a war counsel, when her fourteen year old brother wasn't yet allowed to. She'd been doing so since she was fourteen, but Nico needed to be fifteen. Strangely, he was the heir to the throne; not her, despite Bianca being older. This was because he was the first—and only—son born to the royal family. For some reason though, Bianca was the one who was old enough to attend the meeting. She'd have to ask her Papa why, after the counsel was over.
Thankfully, the war counsels did not sugar-coat the status of the realm. It was dire. The three kingdoms were in trouble. Giants from another realm were attacking them, and had rallied angry civilians who hated the monarchy. It was hard to get them to sign up to fight if the remaining villagers, farmers, and townspeople were skeptical. The three kings promised better rights and to treat them better once the war was over and they no longer had to worry about the attacks from the giants and their armies, but some people demanded rights immediately, or for more binding promises. This made it even more difficult than things needed to be. The giants were very dangerous and powerful creatures. They wanted the power that the realm was rumored to have. Each king had descended from three brothers who had been somewhat gods of different parts of the earth. Bianca's father, King Hades, had come from the brother who'd had power over the earth and the contents underneath, therefore living in areas with mines full of riches and many caves and tunnels. King Poseidon had come from the brother who'd ruled the sea, and the part of the realm with the most lakes and rivers. These bodies of water contained plentiful seafood. Farmers could farm because there was plenty of rain there. King Zeus was descended from the brother who'd ruled the sky. His kingdom was on the prosperous mountains, where many thunder storms occurred, though they never did any harm.
Legend had it that the three kings could harness the powers of their kingdoms, but none had been successful so far. Many people had died trying, so it was forbidden for even the kings themselves to attempt to do so. From what Bianca knew, the only way to try was to use the symbol of power for the kingdoms. She had seen the Helm of Darkness in person, though it was locked away in a vault, which was heavily guarded. She wasn't allowed to touch it, but her father had decided that at sixteen, Bianca was old and mature enough.
The war was so bad that the kings were considering lifting the law that forbade them from trying to use the power. Just to try to save the kingdoms. The draft was only making people rebel, which caused reason for the age requirement to be lowered to fifteen, and raised to fifty-five. Women were not drafted, for the kings thought that women could not fight, hence why no girl inherited the throne.
"We must do something!" Hades argued. "Half of my people are hiding in caves, praying for a miracle, while the other half is demanding that we do something about their rights and the giants."
"I agree, but we cannot risk something bad happening to our realm, or the people living in it. We have our children to think about." Poseidon cautioned. His son stood at his right side. He was already fighting, though not at the front line. His name was Perseus. He was a true soldier at twenty. Bianca knew him to try to desperately lighten the mood every once in a while with a joke or two, but now, things were much too serious for the mood to be lightened in the least. The two made eye contact. They were aware of the fact that Bianca might marry him once the war was over, but then again, he'd been courting a young Duchess from the Chase family, of Zeus's kingdom. Bianca had seen them at a war counsel including people of lower ranks than there were at the current ones; back when the war wasn't so bad. Presently, there were the kings, their children (if they were old enough), the generals (if they were not the kings' children), the advisors, and the Oracle, along with her attendant. She had a power that nobody argued with, despite her being a woman. She was to be a maiden, as long as she was the Oracle. Her name was Rachel Elizabeth Dare. She was always treated with the utmost respect, and called 'O mighty Oracle' by everyone, unless she'd taken a particular liking to them. Bianca really admired her. She was a powerful woman who really stood out, what with her bright red curls and bright green eyes. Bianca secretly wished that she could be like the Oracle.
"Both of you are right." The Oracle spoke out calmly. "However, we can't ignore the Hunters of—"
"We do not speak of them." Zeus interrupted her, his voice cold and full of hurt. The Oracle gave him an irritated look. "I apologize, mighty Oracle."
"Thank you. As I was saying, we cannot just ignore what they do." She reminded them. "Without them, we would have lost already. But, we do need to focus on what you three can do. Give them rights. Help the poor. Plenty of people are stuck on the streets now. We must help them. Your people are scared and angry. They don't know what to do in such a frightening time. They want you to do more."
"What do you propose we should do?" Hades asked.
"Pay the families whose men are fighting, to start." She told them simply. "Give them safe places to go. Give them food, blankets. They need things. Earlier in the war, we were able to focus on battle strategy only, but we need our people to work with us, not against us. Tell them this. Have them elect representatives to be informed of a few things. Obviously, we cannot tell them everything, but for now, it's good if they have some sort of power. This will lead them to trust us more. People trust me because I come from them, and I talk with them. I listen to them." A silence fell over the group. "All who oppose to this plan?" Nobody spoke or raised their hands. "Then it's settled then. Now, we should take a break for a meal before we actually discuss battle strategies." Bianca stepped back as her father moved his chair back to get up from the table. She moved her gaze to the floor. Hades lightly touched her shoulder briefly, guiding her to follow him back to their family's rooms in the barracks.
The barracks was a safe place hidden inside a hill. It was very out of the way, so no one would ever find out about their war councils. In fact, the kitchens were in a cottage in the nearby woods, connected by a trap door, so no one would see the smoke from the pipes. The royal families and their accompaniment would enter through the kitchens, having traveled in disguised carriages.
"Bianca, please eat with your brother. I must talk with my advisor." Hades told her, once they arrived at a wooden door.
"Yes Papa." She murmured, bobbing her head. Bianca opened the door, slipped inside, and shut it quietly. She lifted her head to see her brother and sister. Nico looked up to see that his sister had entered the room. He smiled, abandoning his studies to come over to hug her.
"Bianca. How did it go?" He asked. Bianca's heart sank a little.
"Nico, you know I cannot tell anyone what happens in there." She scolded gently. He sighed, pulling away, nodding. Bianca looked to Hazel. Technically, Hazel wasn't supposed to exist. She was the product of Hades' affair with a palace dancer, from their summer home, to which they no longer went. Hades had been grieving over the loss of his wife's death during Nico's birth. Her mother had given him their child, for she could not take care of Hazel. Though he loved all of his children dearly, they had to treat Hazel like she wasn't his child. Her title was not princess, but she was their playmate growing up. It was not until they were old enough to understand propriety and the rules of society did the three learn that Hazel was their sister. Bianca saw how painful it was for everyone involved to act as if Hazel was not who she was—a princess and their sister. Hazel was only thirteen. She was just over a year younger than Nico. She'd one day marry well, because Hades had that power. He wanted to give Hazel everything she deserved, but could not. So he'd do the best he could.
"We mainly studied." Hazel reported. "I helped him." Bianca smiled, for she was with her siblings. She could be herself when she was with them, for they loved her for who she was, and she them.
"They'll bring us our meal soon." The princess promised, clearing the table off. She saw a few drawings of horses, which were from Hazel. She loved horses. "These are very nice, Hazel. Your drawings are beautiful." The dark skinned girl smiled. She was dressed in a simple, but nice and colorful dress. Not nearly as formally as Bianca was. Nico was dressed well, though his clothing was somber. Their governess, Demeter, laid out their clothing each morning. Hades would usually tell her what to set out. This was his way of saying that Hazel was their ray of sunshine and hope in dire times. Despite everything, he loved her and she was his little girl. He wanted to make things up to her, though he couldn't communicate with her very much.
Demeter came in, holding a tray of food. The three teenagers had sat down at the table, all looking to the door the second it opened. Bianca hoped that she wouldn't have to stand up. She'd just sat down. It felt so nice to not stand still for hours at a time.
"Now, I expect all three of you to eat well, especially you, Bianca. It's imperative that you don't interrupt the war counsel with your stomach grumbling." The woman informed them.
"Yes ma'am." Bianca murmured.
"For goodness's sake, girl, don't slouch." Demeter scolded. Bianca bit her lip instinctively. "And don't bite your lip either. You are a princess. You cannot be childish."
"Yes ma'am." She whispered, fixing her posture. The only time people really vocally acknowledged her was when she was alone with her family members. Otherwise, she was stuck in the shadows. But she was always to be quiet and mature. She had to be perfect.
She ate slowly and quietly, eating a good amount. Nico and Hazel were both relaxed; not nearly as stiff as Bianca. Hazel was cut lots of slack, which was fair. The whip would be cracked down on Nico once he turned fifteen. Bianca just wanted to hug her little brother and protect him from the upcoming years. She wouldn't feel the urge to protect him so strongly if it weren't for the war. She just hoped that it would be peacetime before he was old enough to go out into battle. Nobles usually had to be eighteen. Three more years for this war to end. It had been going on for three already.
At first, they'd thought that they could handle it. The realm had thought that the royal armies could take care of the giants. But then more just kept coming, bringing death and destruction with them. People began volunteering to join the army, but then they realized just how futile it was, and stopped signing up. Then came the drafts, and then people began resisting… Bianca had seen everything go from the home she loved and knew to a troublingly dangerous place; especially because she'd been allowed to attend the war councils not even a year into the war. She had barely just turned fourteen, and Demeter pulled her aside and was telling her the rules.
Above all, Bianca wanted to do something to end the war. Anything. She felt so useless just standing in the shadows.
Once the meal was finished, the three siblings played a word game until there was knock on the door, followed by their father's voice. "Bianca, the meeting will resume soon." She reluctantly stood, smoothing her dress and hair, and then straightened her circlet before exiting the room carefully. She could feel Nico and Bianca's eyes on her. She didn't have to look back to know that Nico's gaze was one of longing. He wished to go with her. Bianca dreaded the day that he would be old enough to join them.
She followed her father back into the meeting room, and took her place at the left side of his chair. She wished she could sit down, like the sons of the kings, but she was a daughter. The Oracle had already been in the room, chatting with her attendant. His name was Apollo. From what Bianca knew, he was Zeus's nephew. Though she knew that the two resided in a cave on a hill by the sea. Nobody knew just where.
Bianca glanced up to find that the Oracle had finished speaking to her attendant, and he stood behind her, no longer sitting next to her. He was the Oracle's shadow, but everyone respected him. He defended her from any and all harm, though Bianca highly suspected that the Oracle could take care of herself in a fight. He also wrote down her visions, hunches, and prophecies, and took care of her when she passed out after having a prophecy. He was, Bianca supposed, a sort of nurse or servant. And yet, it was a position of honor. She wondered if people would still respect the position if she were to take it. Bianca glanced at Apollo again, but found that the Oracle was staring at her. Bianca looked down at the floor, clasping her wrist with her hand behind her back. It was cold in the meeting room. There was nothing in there to keep them warm. At least in the rooms, they kept hot irons around the room to keep everyone warm.
Zeus entered the room, directly followed by his son Jason. He was fifteen; almost a year younger than Bianca, but not quite. Poseidon was the last to enter, Perseus at his side. The Oracle beckoned lazily with two fingers; not even lifting her hand from the table, and Perseus went to her side, kneeling. She patted the seat next to her, and he sat there. Once everyone was seated, the kings looked to the Oracle to begin.
"Before we resume our meeting, Hades, why don't you have your daughter sit next to you? She is a princess after all. The princes are sitting. Why not her?" The Oracle looked pointedly at Bianca's father.
"Sit, Bianca." Hades murmured softly, pulling the empty chair out. She gratefully sat down, looking at the table, hoping her hair would hide her blush. She prayed that people wouldn't take notice of her. She felt uncomfortable when people stared at her for too long, mainly because she just wasn't used to it.
Then, the meeting began. Giants could be killed, but it wasn't exactly easy; especially when there was a seemingly endless army of them. The battle plans had to be careful and calculated. Their collective army wasn't very big, so they had to devise a way to work with what they had, while keeping as many men alive as possible. Bianca knew that she would never need to learn from the battle strategies, for she would never be planning for war. She was just there because it was traditional to have the royal children's children—once old enough—stand in to understand just how serious war is.
Once the war counsel was finally over, they all stood up, preparing to go back to their rooms and stay there overnight, and then go back to their castles.
"Hades, stay back a moment." The Oracle requested. The king stiffened and sat back down. Bianca settled back into her seat too. "However, your advisor and general may go." The two men got up and left without being dismissed by Hades. Once the room was empty for everyone except the Oracle and her attendant, and Hades and Bianca, the Oracle began to speak. "I'm coming back with you. I will be staying at your castle for a while, along with my attendant, of course."
"We'll be happy to have you, mighty Oracle." Hades smiled warmly. He looked like he was forcing it.
"I'd love to get to know your daughter during my visit." The Oracle informed him, smiling. "You two may go." Hades stood, taking Bianca by the shoulder and guiding her out. He brought her to his office before turning to look her square in the eyes.
"Do you have any idea what the Oracle would want with you?" He asked urgently.
"No, Papa." Bianca replied softly, her voice scratchy from lack of use, but full of surprise.
"The Oracle never does anything without a reason." He warned her. "Keep that in mind, Bianca."
"Yes, Papa." She promised, before looking down at the ground again.
A/N: Feel free to let me know what you think, if you want.
