Early morning of July 4th, 1996
Hera did not want to visit the hags again. It has only been exactly 2 years since she made the short trip from her palace atop Mount Olympus to their temple about halfway down the same mountain, but she was already dreading the task.
But they wouldn't wait any longer for her decision. Even the Fates themselves had limited patience.
It was early morning, so early that the sun had yet to rise in fact. Even from up here on Mount Olympus, thousands of feet from the ground below, Hera saw only a tinge of light creeping up from the horizon. Wind whipped through the deserted streets, making hollow sounds.
She stood outside the small temple of the Fates that was set into the mountainside, eyeing the bronze handle of the door apprehensively.
Just as she reached out to open it, the door swung inward on its own just like two years ago. They were expecting her.
With a huff of annoyance, she strode inside. It was a small temple, but Hera knew there was more to it.
The temple consisted of simply one room, made of a plain grey marble stone. Small slit-like windows in the walls let in the sunlight during the day, but it was dark now in the pre-dawn. In the center of the room was a pedestal to set offerings upon, though it was currently empty.
The back of the room was darker, so Hera conjured up a torch in her right hand for light.
As the room became illuminated, her eyes fell upon the carving on the back wall. It depicted the Fates the way most paintings or carvings depicted them; Clotho the Spinner on the left, she who spins out the thread of life for each mortal being; Lachesis the Apportioner in the center, she who decided how long the threads, and the lives along with them, would be; And Atropos the Inflexible on the right, smaller but somehow even more terrible looking than her sisters, she who cut the thread when it was a mortal's time to die.
Above each of them were their respective names written in Ancient Greek, and below the carving was their collective name; the Moirai, which translated to the Fates.
Hera approached the carving slowly, walking around the empty altar. Many demigods and minor gods who came here left fresh fruits and gold and other offerings for the Moirai, in the hopes that they would be blessed with good fortune. But the Fates spun the threads the way they wanted, and no amount of offerings would sway them.
Taking one more step forward, Hera reached out and pressed her palm against the center of the marble carving. As soon as she made contact, the marble carving shuddered. Withdrawing her hand, she watched as the carving slowly pulled back from the wall then moved aside, revealing a tunnel leading downwards and a crude staircase carved into the floor.
Before Hera could take another step forward, she heard a voice whisper from down the stairs.
"Enter, queen of the gods, and seek the guidance of fate..."
Hera shivered at the voice as it seemed to slowly make its way through one ear then out the other. She didn't know which of the three had spoke to her just then; they all sounded the same to her. Old and wise of course, but raspy and a little condescending, as if they knew everything that was going to happen and nothing could ever surprise them...Which, unfortunately, was true. It made Hera feel uncomfortable around them.
As she descended the stairs, Hera could feel the air growing cooler around her and she knew she was getting closer to the center of Mount Olympus itself.
The air was still and the narrow walls of the tunnel were slick, so she kept one arm wrapped around her waist as her other arm held the torch in front of her.
Finally, Hera reached the end of the tunnel, which opened into a huge cavern. She couldn't see the ceiling, nor could she see the back of the cavern. The walls attached to the doorway she now stood in simply curved away until she couldn't see them anymore.
It was dark, but the Fates sat on a bench about 50 feet in front of Hera, and bright candles floated in the air around them to provide them with light.
The women didn't look up from their work as Hera approached, and just continued what they were doing. Clotho on the left was holding a ball of brown yarn, Lachesis was measuring the thread coming off of it, and Atropos waited with her shears for Lachesis to finish measuring so she could cut the thread. They wore plain dresses formed from old dirty rags, and their skin was like wrinkled leather. They must have looked beautiful in their younger years, but Hera wondered if fate itself even had younger years. Probably not.
"So, you come to us for guidance yet again, Hera," said Lachesis from the middle, looking up at Hera.
Hera cleared her throat, gripping the torch more tightly.
"Yes, I have. You three know as well as I do that the Titans are stirring. Prometheus, the slime ball, has escaped from his torture and we know what he intends to do. He's going to eventually try to free Krios, Koios, Hyperion, and Iapetus. And then they will seek to save Kronos from his own fate! We can't let-"
Clotho held her left hand up, still holding the ball of yarn with her right.
"Silence, Hera," she rasped, even her quiet voice echoing through the seemingly endless room.
Hera's expression turned indignant. This was why she disliked the Fates so much. They always acted so superior to the gods, even Zeus and herself, the king and queen!
"You approached us exactly two years ago, when your husband, Zeus, bore a second child with his mortal mistress. You told us you sensed the Titans of old stirring, including the consciousness of the worst Titan of all. And you began to create a plan involving this newborn baby boy."
Hera rolled her eyes, nodding.
"Yes, yes, I know! When the Titans rise, the Giants will certainly come after, just as they did millennia ago."
Clotho nodded. "Yes indeed. Just as it has been before, so it will be again. However..."
Lachesis picked up her sister's sentence, smiling crookedly at Hera as she continued measuring the string she held.
"These two wars will be different than the original ones. During the first Titan war, the gods were at their full power. They had the prayers of many mortals to empower them, and their strength was futher fueled by their will to overthrow their evil forebears. But now, they are weaker. They relied on mortals for strength, and the mortals lost their faith in the gods and have nearly forgotten them. The Titans are not dependant on mortals for power, and their thousands of years of imprisonment have added to their rage. If things remain the same...the gods will not win the coming war."
Hera had considered these things before, as soon as she sensed that the bonds holding the various Titans starting to weaken. But now, with the Moirai confirming these fears, Hera started to worry.
"So that's it then? There's no way to win? The Titans of the four corners of the world will rise, and wake Kronos, and he'll overthrow us? I refuse to accept this!" Hera shouted, stomping her left foot so hard it cracked the stone floor.
After the echo faded, the room was silent for a moment. Hera was about to speak again, but the woman on the right, Atropos, had lifted her shears to the string and cut it with a soft snip.
Hera paled. She knew all about how these hags were crazy about yarn, and how they tied each mortal life to the strings. But she had never watched in person when one of the strings was cut.
It didn't mean that person died right then, of course. The cutting of the yarn represented how a person's life would end, while Lachsis measured how long it would last and everything that happened during it. Hera wasn't much into knitting or anything, but even she understood the gravity of deciding someone's fate.
After Atropos cut the yarn the excess string vanished, leaving only the completed life of the mortal that it represented. The ball that Clotho was holding seemed to pull in the rest of the string until it was just a simple ball of yarn, neatly wrapped up. It started glowing a bright brown, the same color as the yarn itself. Clotho released it, and it ascended into the air above until it disappeared.
Before Hera could speak, two glowing balls of yarn, one sea green and one sky blue, came down from different parts of the room and landed in each of Lachesis's hands. Hera recognized these two from her last trip here. The green one was the life of Percy Jackson, the sea god's brat. The blue one...
"Jason Grace," Hera said with disdain.
She had mixed feelings about this demigod. She normally hated most demigods, especially ones that her husband sired with any mortal women, like Jason's older sister Thalia. Jason, however...Hera felt differently towards him. After all, it wasn't actually Zeus himself that was the boy's father, but Zeus's Roman form, Jupiter. It was the first time two siblings had been born under different aspects of a god, and Hera knew it would endanger many people if they grew up together. Which is why, as soon as she learned of Jason's existence, she started hatching a plan to seperate him from his sister.
She visted the Moirai two years ago, just after Zeus brought her this newborn baby boy that she named herself, and sought their advice on the situation. They told her many things that she, and many other Olympians, didn't know. Like how Poseidon also broke the pact and had a boy named Percy Jackson.
They also informed her that a great evil was coming, which Hera recently figured out is the Titans.
Lachesis held the two balls of yarn out to Hera, showing her that each round ball had a tiny strand of yarn barely an inch long protruding from it, whereas the previous brown ball had a string several feet long.
"These are the lives of Perseus Jackson and Jason Grace. But they are unfinished. When you came to us two years ago, we promised to only spin them two more years of life, so you would be able to choose their paths. We did this, against our better judgement. But two years have passed. What is your plan for them, Queen Hera? Let us hear it so we may decide their fates."
Hera closed her eyes for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts. The Moirai said that the gods, in their present state, would not be able to fight the coming war even with the help of their demigod children.
How could they improve their current state to make themselves stronger? Hera doubted that going to Ares's gym here on Olympus and doing a few sets of push-ups was going to cut it.
She looked at the two balls Lachesis was holding out to her. Percy and Jason. Poseidon and Zeus...No. Poseidon and Jupiter, Greek and Roman...That's it!
She almost dropped her torch in excitement.
"Greek and Roman," Hera said aloud, feeling a tingling in her spine as she said it. She hadn't even thought about her Roman form, Juno, in years. Yes, all the gods still had those aspects to them. Some gods even had more or less demigod children in certain aspects. For example, Hermes has way more kids as Hermes than he does as Mercury.
But Hera...as the goddess of marriage, she values her relationship with Zeus even when he does cheat on her, so she has no Roman demigods that she would have to change form for. But now...thinking about it, she missed her Roman form. She was always more important to the Romans then she was to the Greeks. They prayed to her more, which made her more powerful. She wasn't Hera, she was Juno Moneta, she who warns, the patron of eternal Rome
Hera closed her eyes again, focusing on her old Roman self. She hadn't done this in ages, but it wasn't something she could ever forget.
A bright flash of light momentarily lit up the area, and she felt herself change form. Her simple white dress turned into hooded black silk robes. A goatskin cloak, her old symbol as the patron of Rome, appeared over her shoulders.
She inhaled then exhaled slowly, feeling this different power flowing through her body now.
"Greek and Roman," Hera/Juno said, more calm now. She knew what to do. "The Greek demigods of Camp Half-Blood will not face the coming threat alone, nor will the Romans of Camp Jupiter. They will fight together."
The Moirai all smiled at the same time, seeming satisfied that she reached this conclusion.
"Yes, Juno, you are correct. The two sides must work together," Clotho said, her hands folded on her lap.
"However..."
Juno turned to the side in surprise. Atropos, the one with the shears, had finally spoken up. Her voice was the same as her sisters's, only quieter and somehow even more depressing sounding.
"Greeks and Romans have never gotten along. They fought recently, in 1864, though no demigods alive know this now. They no longer even know of the other's existence. If you have them meet now, they will not trust each other. They will tear each other apart, only making the job of the Titans easier. How will you resolve this?"
But Juno already had an answer to this as well.
"The boys, Jason and Percy. If they grow up how they are, they'll be sent to the correct camps. The son of Poseidon will eventually arrive at Camp Half-Blood, and Jason will be given to Lupa when he is old enough, so she can train him and send him to Camp Jupiter. But if this happens, it will be as you said, Atropos. When the two sides learn of each other, they will be shocked and confused and protective of their territories. So I will switch them now while they are still young, and let each one grow up and enter the opposite side. And when the time is right, I will show each camp that they are not alone."
Atropos nodded.
"Good. And what of the boys's fathers? Do you think they will let you do this?"
Juno considerd this for a moment, but quickly brushed it off.
"Poseidon has always trusted my judgement," Juno said slowly. "He will not be happy, having to lie to his son, Perseus, and pretend to be Neptune, but he will agree to it. I will personally offer to be the boy's protecter to assure Poseidon that he will be safe. And I will do the same for Jason. Jupiter will adhere to this plan. After all, I'm his wife."
Lachesis cackled, an ugly laugh that sounded like the wicked witch of the west.
"You sound quite sure of yourself. What if they do not agree to this?"
"I must do it anyway and hope that they will not interfere. It's the only way," Juno replied stubbornly.
The three Fates looked at each other, most likely having some sort of telepathic discussion.
Then they nodded at the same time, and Lachesis handed the two balls of yarn to Clotho.
"We agree that your plan is the best way to proceed, Juno Moneta. What will you do now?" Lachesis asked.
Juno knew what she was going to have to do next, and the idea was almost as daunting as visting these old hags.
She closed her eyes again, focusing on the location of the son of the sea god, Percy Jackson.
"I must put this plan into action. It's time to switch the demigods."
And with that Juno disappeared, leaving the Moirai to finish spinning the thread of the two young demigods to decide their fate.
This line break consists of seven words.
At least Juno didn't have to go far to reach her destination. She simply concentrated on Percy Jackson, and she materialized in the living room of an apartment.
She turned to look around and almost banged her elbow into a box. Some queen she is.
It seemed that Percy and his mother moved into this apartment recently. Open half-empty moving boxes were still clustered in the corners of the room, and Juno could see more in the adjoining kitchen. There was no furniture yet except for two chairs and a small coffee table, but a few pictures were already hung on the wall.
One showed a woman who was probably Percy's mom, Sally, in her younger years and with her parents. Juno hadn't seen what Sally looked like until now, but she could see why Poseidon would fall for her; she was very beautiful in the picture, wearing a mint colored sun dress, and had a wonderful smile. She looked like the kind of person who could make anyone feel at ease. Much like Poseidon's immortal wife Amphitrite, actually.
Juno entered the hallway, which had one door on each side plus one at the end. The door on the end was open and was obviously the bathroom.
The door to the right was open a few inches, and Juno could see some light from the sunrise filtering in through the blinds.
This one was Sally's room. Juno couldn't see much through the small opening, but Sally was asleep on her bed, the light having not reached her yet. Looking at her, Juno felt a pang of guilt. As a mother herself, Juno knew what it was like to love her child. Why, if anyone had kidnapped her baby Ares when he was young...Okay, bad example. Ares was a brat. She would have been glad for a break from dealing with him. But still, she had to do this. And maybe, if the Fates were kind to Percy, they would let him reunite with his mother someday.
She considered leaving a note or something, but decided against it. It would be better if Sally never knew what happened.
So Juno turned around, facing the last door. This one was also slightly open so she entered, making sure to be absolutely quiet.
Percy's room was small, since he was still only two years old and didn't need a large room yet. The walls were plain white. A simple wooden crib was in the back corner of the room, at an angle, and something hung above it in the shadows.
Juno approached the crib silently. Just as the sleeping baby came into view, she stepped on a loose floorboard and it creaked slightly. She froze, holding her breath.
Percy, wrapped in a small blue blanket, rolled over in his sleep. His tiny hands clutched his blanket tightly and his facial features twitched randomly as if he were having bad dreams. He had slightly pudgy cheeks and a small but messy mop of black hair on his head.
Juno exhaled in relief, then examined the object hanging above the crib.
It was a mobile, slowly spinning around. It was obviously hand crafted, made of thin pieces of wood and...fishing line? Small seashells hung from various lengths of the string in all different colors, though the color blue seemed more common than any other. The shells were placed in a way so that they didn't chime often as it turned, but when they did it was soft and quiet.
It dawned on Juno that Poseidon must have made it for Percy himself.
Rather than pick him up herself and risk waking him, she simply willed the blanket that he was wrapped in to slowly rise upwards out of the crib and towards her. As he got within arm's reach, she lifted her arms and placed him on them. She pulled him towards her chest and just stared at him for a moment.
Juno realized that this was the first time she had ever held a mortal child. She could feel Percy breathing evenly in her arms now, his face calmer as if his bad dreams had ended. Was this what it felt like to be a normal mother? Not having to be the queen of a superior and powerful race of gods, or decide whether or not to answer the prayers of any mortals, or anything?
Percy was living proof that even Juno did not know every thing, he was something that she could never have, he was...
He was drooling.
"Ugh, disgusting!" She whispered. Some of his drool had leaked out of the blanket and touched her wrist. It steamed slightly before disappearing.
Juno assumed it was because she was in her Roman form, whereas Percy was the son of a Greek god. The quicker she left, the better.
She was just about to teleport the both of them out of there when an alarm sounded from across the hall. Just a simple alarm clock. Someone stopped the alarm, and for a moment it was quiet.
Then the bedroom opened slowly, and Sally entered. She was dressed in pajamas, her eyes were red and puffy since she just woke up, and her hair was a mess, but she had a smile on her face as she was about to wake up her baby boy for the day.
"Percy, rise and-"
She froze as she saw Juno holding her child, and for a moment the two women just stared at each other.
Then Sally stepped forward uncertainly, and Hera shifted Percy to her arm so she could could raise her right hand.
Sally panicked and surged forward quickly, screaming her baby's name, but Juno snapped her fingers at that moment, and she and Percy Jackson vanished.
Give me an "L"! Give me an "I"! Give me a... "-ine break"! What does that spell? Line break!
One short flash of light later, Juno appeared in a wooded area near the Wolf House in Sonoma, California.
The area was densely populated with redwood trees, and Juno could see one wall of the old mansion through the trees ahead of her.
The place was a popular tourist spot for mortals visiting this town, but they didn't know what lived in these woods. Those who decided which demigods were worthy to join the Roman legion at Camp Jupiter lived in the ruins of the mansion ahead, and they simply hid in the woods when too many mortals gathered around.
Juno wondered if they sensed her presence yet.
After all, wolves had a keen sense of smell.
It was even earlier here than in New York City, and therefore even darker. There, the sun had barely risen. Here, it was still black as night.
When Juno landed here on the uneven ground, she wobbled slightly but managed to keep Percy tucked in her left arm.
He had awoke however, his sea green eyes blinking around and not seeing anything familiar. Then he looked up, his eyes barely open as he had just woke up.
"M-Mommy?" He said slowly, mistaking the goddess for Sally. Yes, all they had in common was being female and having brown hair, but Percy was pretty young and still tired (and judging by who his father was, probably not very bright to begin with).
"Hush, child," Juno said quietly, trying to smile reassuringly.
"You're not my mommy!" Percy yelled loudly, his eyes filling with tears of confusion.
Okay, so the smile didn't work.
"Lupa, I need you!" Juno called out, raising her voice as Percy started crying.
After a few moments filled with only the sounds of Percy's frightened crying, a shadowy figure approached from the woods ahead of them. As it got closer, even Percy stopped crying to look at it. Even though it was dark Juno didn't dare conjure up another torch, as wolves despised fire.
"I was sleeping. Why are you disturbing me, Juno?" Lupa asked, speaking telepathically in Juno's mind as she stopped a few feet in front of the goddess. Her features were mostly visible at this distance. Lupa was almost three times the size of a normal wolf, standing about seven feet tall on all fours. Her fur was a dark chocolatey brown, causing her bright silver eyes to stand out in contrast.
Juno dipped her respectfully. She and Lupa didn't meet often, but they had a strong bond together as protectors of the old Roman empire.
"I have brought you a new child, Lupa, a son of Neptune. This one is inportant."
She extended her arms, holding Percy out for Lupa to examine, as was custom.
Lupa padded forward silently, stretching her neck out to sniff at Percy. This caused the boy to giggle, and he put his hand out and patted Lupa on her large snout.
"Big doggie," he said brightly.
Juno's eyes went wide. Wolves did not like being compared to dogs, not one bit.
Lupa narrowed her eyes at Percy, but didn't react further.
Finally, she took a step back.
"This is no son of Neptune," she said, her lips twitching as if she were restraining a snarl. "This is a child of Poseidon, a Greek half-blood. Why have you brought a Greek here? You know this is wrong."
"I have my reasons, Lupa. Please, have faith in me. It is imperative that you train him as long as you can, then send him south to Camp Jupiter."
"But why? You know as well as I that Greeks and Romans do not mix. The twelfth legion of Camp Jupiter will find out he is not their kind, and they will kill him as a Greek spy."
Juno pulled Percy back to her, who was wisely staying silent.
"The Romans and Greeks must learn to trust each other, and soon. This is the only way to fight what is coming."
Lupa narrowed her eyes again, but this time at Juno.
"What is coming? What do you know? What are you planning, you meddlesome goddess?"
"Calm yourself, Lupa. All will become apparent soon. Just raise this boy as you would any Roman demigod. Teach him the ways of the legion and, when he is ready, send him south. They will accept him as one of their own, and will not suspect a thing."
Lupa closed her eyes for a moment, thinking it over. Juno hoped she would agree without arguing too much more. Sure they trusted each other, but nothing like this had ever been attempted, passing off a Greek as a Roman. The she-wolf would just have to believe in Juno's secret plan.
"Fine," she relented. "But do not blame me if his secret comes out and they execute him!"
Juno breathed a sigh of relief, and placed Percy on the ground on his feet.
"Thank you, Lupa. Everything will work out fine, I'm sure."
Percy was unsteady on his feet and almost fell over, but Lupa leaned forward and straightened him up with her nose.
"Careful, little pup," she said, speaking in his mind as well as Juno's now.
"Whoa," Percy gasped, his large green eyes staring at her in amazement.
Now Juno knew that wolves didn't have much of a happy side, but she could've sworn that Lupa's eyes crinkled into an almost-smile at that.
"You may leave us now, Juno. I will take care of the boy from now on. The other wolves and I are only training a few other young demigods currently, so the son of Poseidon may meet them now."
"Neptune," Juno corrected her.
The wolf had just started walking away through the trees, with young Percy stumbling after her over the branches and leaves, when she heard Juno's voice.
"Yes, of course," she replied as the two disappeared among the trees. "Perseus Jackson, son of Neptune."
If a line and a break had a love child, this line break would be that child.
After Lupa and Percy left, Juno walked the short distance around the Wolf House to its main entrance.
The building itself had been constructed years ago, by a famous writer named Jack London.
Not much is known about his younger years, but he had actually been brought here to this area that was sacred to Romans and trained by Lupa and her wolves. After he was deemed worthy, she sent him to Camp Jupiter to join the Twelfth Legion, where he stayed for several years. The wolves had made a lasting impression on him, however, and after he graduated from the legion he wrote several famous books about wolves, like 'White Fang' and 'Call of the Wild'.
After he became successful he attempted to return to this land and build a house out of stone and logs, intent on living out the rest of his days in it. This land was not meant to be lived on though, and the completed mansion burned down before he moved in, leaving only its stone skeleton behind.
Jack London died some years later, and his ashes were kept somewhere on this property in memoriam.
History aside, the old burned out building seemed too cold and empty for Juno's liking.
When she got to the entrance of the building, she sat down cross legged in the doorway at the top of the stairs, and put the second part of her plan into motion.
As she could tell that Beryl Grace, Jason Grace's mother, was still asleep, Juno sent her a message in her dreams. She told the woman that Jason belonged to her whether she liked it or not and that even his name was testament to that, as Jupiter had let her name the boy Jason, after her favorite mortal hero. Beryl was instructed to bring Jason to the entrance of the Wolf House in Sonoma, California by the afternoon. If she did not, Juno would come for him herself and she would not be pleased.
Juno felt confident that Beryl would listen to her command as the lady had become quite unstable ever since Jupiter had left her the second time, so she closed her eyes and waited for the mother to arrive.
Several hours later, the sun was up and the heat was almost at full strength for the day. Apollo was apparently hard at work, probably flying his sun chariot across the sky in the form of some sports car like he usually did, the idiot.
The sounds of laughter filled Juno's ears, and she opened her eyes.
A woman with bright red hair was making her way along the trail leading to the Wolf House while her two kids chased each other around as they followed their mother.
One of the children, the girl, had medium length black hair that was so messy she must have styled it that way herself. Her eyes were a bright electric blue. Fitting, since she was a daughter of Zeus, the god of lightning.
She appeared to be around nine years old, and she was chasing her younger brother around as they walked.
The boy, who was only two and couldn't outpace his older sister, complained every time she tagged him.
"No fair, Thea!" Jason whined, pronouncing her name wrong because of his age.
Thalia grinned, grabbing Jason by the back of his shirt and pulling him back.
"It's not my fault you run about as fast as a tree, Jason." she laughed, rubbing her knuckles roughly on the top of his head and making his short blonde hair almost as messy as her own black hair.
Jason groaned, pulling himself free of his sister's grip and running to hide behind his mother.
"Mommy, Thea messed up my hair!"
Their mother, Beryl, caught sight of Juno and they locked eyes for a moment.
"Oh no, Thalia. I forgot the picnic basket in the car," she said, stopping and placing her hand on Thalia's shoulder. "Would you be a dear and go get it for me while your brother and I find a nice place to eat lunch?"
Thalia frowned, glancing back the way they'd come before looking back at her mother.
"Well...okay, sure." She said uneasily.
Beryl smiled and kissed Thalia on the forehead.
"Thank you, darling."
Thalia pulled herself away, wiping her forehead off with the sleeve of her black shirt while Jason stuck his tongue out at her.
She noticed this and balled her fists at her side.
"Why don't you go eat another stapler, Scarface?" She taunted, causing him to reach up and touch his lip as he remembered what he had tried yesterday.
'Eat another stapler?' Juno thought to herself. 'Why would someone try eating a stapler at all?'
As Juno was contemplating why mortals were as dumb as they were, Beryl put her hand on Jason's head protectively.
"Go, Thalia. The basket?"
Thalia nodded, then smirked at Jason.
"See you in a minute, dork!" She said, but it was obvious to Juno that Thalia loved her brother very much. She just showed her love through teasing, that's all.
She turned and ran back down the trail, presumably towards their car for the picnic basket.
Jason watched her go for a moment, but his mother grabbed his hand and tugged him towards Juno, who was still only noticed by the mother so far.
"Come, Jason."
They continued walking to the stairs, and Jason finally saw Juno sitting there at the top under the doorway.
"Who's that, Mommy?" He asked curiously, but Beryl remained silent as they climbed the steps.
They stopped at the top of the steps, right in front of Juno.
"Hera," Beryl greeted stiffly, her attitude as stubborn as ever in front of the goddess.
"Juno, actually. We are in Roman territory right now." Juno replied calmly as she watched Jason squirm behind his mother's legs.
"I don't care who you are! You want to take my son away from me!"
Juno's gaze hardened. This was the second time today that she had to take a child from his mother. She didn't like it. It made her feel terrible, in fact. But she had to go through with it. Who knows? If the Fates were kind to Percy and Jason, maybe they would see their mothers again. Juno had to continue and keep faith that the Fates would do what was best for everyone.
"Your son has a destiny, and he can not fulfill it with you. It must be this way."
Beryl balled her fists, looking just like Thalia did minutes ago. Except Beryl knew that she had no choice. She could not defy a goddess's orders.
She knelt down next to Jason, taking both of his hands in her own.
"Jason, my baby. You have to go somewhere else for awhile," she said, her voice strained and tears filling her eyes.
Juno knew that this woman was an actress from what Jupiter had told her, but she could tell that Beryl's emotion was sincere. As broken as she was by the love of her life leaving her twice and by the alcohol she drank, she still didn't want to lose her only son.
Jason's eyes filled with tears of confusion, just as Percy's did.
"What? Mommy, why are you leaving me?" He asked, gripping her hands tightly.
But she let go, allowing Juno to take Jason's wrist. He tried to pull free, but the goddess kept a tight grip as she prepared to leave.
"Goodbye, dearest. I'll see you again someday. I promise," she said, her voice cracking on the last word.
Meanwhile, Thalia had retrieved the basket and was jogging back when she heard the commotion. Though she was about a hundred feet away, she could still see something was wrong at the top of the stairs.
"Jason?" She called, dropping the basket as she started running towards them.
"Thea!" Jason screamed, reaching his free arm out to her.
But Juno placed her left hand on top of his head, and his body went slack as he lost consciousness.
Before he could even crumple to the ground, Juno and he disappeared.
She felt a rush of cool air as they travelled almost instantly across the country, going from California back to Manhattan in New York.
Then everything came back into focus, and Juno stood on the sidewalk of some street.
It was still afternoon here, about 2:30 or so. Random buildings lined the street, everything from pizzerias to barber shops, from antique stores to yoga centers.
Yup, definitely Manhattan.
But Juno was only interested in the building they appeared in front of. An orphanage.
Jason was still unconscious from her magic, so she quickly picked him up before anyone became suspicious of her being with an unconscious toddler.
The sidewalk was mostly deserted, so she walked towards the orphanage's front door.
Stenciled into the glass window of the door were the words Saint John's Adoption Center.
Juno knew that Jason would be scared and confused when he woke up, but she had to trust that the people of Saint John's Adoption Center would take care of him.
In fact, she vowed that she would visit both him and Percy from time to time until she was sure they were comfortable with their living arrangements. Sure, it will take awhile. But they were still young, and they'll understand when they're older why Juno had to do what she did.
She conjured up a pile of purple blankets on top of the welcome mat, then placed Jason on them and covered him up.
"Good luck, Jason Grace," she murmured to him as she stood up, adjusting her cloak. "May the Fates bring you happiness before you are thrust into the world of demigods and monsters and..."
She paused, smiling faintly as Jason rolled over in his sleep and revealed the crescent shaped scar on his upper lip.
"Try not to eat any more staplers." She finished before vanishing, just before a worker inside the building opened the door and saw a two year old boy abandoned on his doorstep.
[Author's Note]
Hello! Thank you for reading this! I had a lot of fun writing it, even if it did take me awhile. Sorry, but writing does take me a bit. Oh well! Quality not quantity, right? Unfortunately the next chapter will probably take even longer, as there are a few details I need to work out. But please bear with me! I have no intention of dropping this story, and I have a lot planned for it. Oh, let's just say that I have ten books planned, which will be split into two series running parallel to each other. Does that sound interesting? Good. I love you all! Please, drop a review if you have the time! As a budding writer, I need all the tips I can get! Thank you, have an amazing day! -Lawd English