Dividing Up the Spoils
Now I would never complain about being in heaven; but after this many times up here, you'd almost think that I was the one to die for once. Here I was, on Olympus yet again following another war. After Leo went and kamikazed into Gaea, we at Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter held a funeral service for him and the other demigods that had lost their lives in the battle, not that there was a body of his to burn on the pyre. Even the gods came to pay their respects to the fulfiller of the prophecy of seven. Indeed, the world did fall to fire, just not in the sense that everyone had feared. This was much worse.
The seven was a family unit. Leo was without a doubt the annoying uncle that you try to stay away from, but was always the life of the party. Much like his former half-brother, Charles Beckendorf, he was also an anchor for all of us. But back to the point.
Following the service held for Leo and the others who gave their lives in the battle, the gods decreed that the time had once again come to render up the rewards that the demigods had earned; in particular, the demigods that had a direct impact on the prophecy. So once again, for the first time in months, Olympus was my destination, and it did not fail to impress me as to how much my Wise Girl had improved this place. Sure, Olympus had looked perfect beforehand, but somehow, this place was like perfection to the twentieth power after Annabeth had put her touches in. Speaking of which, she was doing a lot better, now that Tartarus no longer plagued the forefront of our minds. She strode along side me, hand in hand, looking rather pleased with herself as all of the other demigods gawked at her work.
Oh, how I missed that look. I couldn't resist the urge to kiss her cheek as we made our way up to the palace. Her cheeks flushed scarlet and she turned to me with a quizzical gaze.
"What was that for?" she asked.
"The look on your face just then," I replied. "That smug look of pride in your work. I missed seeing it. It makes you look even more like a goddess than usual."
The blush returned to her cheeks as she swelled with pride, squeezing my hand as though she were trying to leave her print embedded in my skin for the next century. Of course in that perfect moment, someone had to break the peace. Someone behind us cleared their throat and we both turned to see Athena.
"While even I can appreciate your words to my daughter, do try and keep your company in mind, young man."
Her chastising did little to faze me and I just gave her a crooked grin before wrapping my arm around Annabeth and continuing our little parade up to the main throne room.
I looked behind us to the mass of demigods and gods strolling up to the palace. Most looked grim and exhausted, not that I blamed them. The other members of the seven looked like they hadn't slept in days; which was true to some degree. Frank and Hazel both looked down stricken. Hazel told me about how familiar Leo was to her after another person she had loved before she died, so I knew very well that she was taking this hard. Frank of course felt the effects of Hazel's mood and I'm pretty sure he felt guilty after the tough time he had put Leo through in his crusade to keep him away from Hazel.
Reyna was nearby them, looking almost no different than normal, minus the dark circles under her eyes and the slumped shoulders. Despite the fact that she was in the Greek Olympus, she took no real notice. That alone showed how above nothing else, she was exhausted.
Piper strode next to her, an aimless gaze shone as her kaleidoscope eyes searched to and fro for something unseen. I realized with a start that Jason was nowhere in sight. Of course, the herd of demigods following us did not make things easy.
Before I could raise any questions about it, we found ourselves before the oversized double doors of the throne room. Even I found myself taken aback by the craftsmanship and design. Annabeth was a master of her work.
Anyways, the doors opened before us and the gods took their leave of our group and asserted themselves onto their thrones. Hades once again sat in his little guest chair and Hestia remained by the hearth in the middle of the room. The mass of demigods shuffled in, but even with over three hundred of us in the room, we still looked like nothing more than a small task force in the vast space before us.
Zeus took this as his opportunity to rant off how well the demigods had done and how despite our differences, the Roman and Greek camps were finally able to unite for the first time in history and topple one of the most powerful deities ever to exist. I won't lie, I lost interest after maybe five minutes. Did he plan this speech ahead of time?
After his eternal speech, he brought the matter to a close with his next statement. "Now, this is the second time these demigods have aided us in our time of need in two years. Let us all hope that we no longer have to fear the rise of any other powers who seek to topple us so that we may enjoy this peace. And for the moment we have been waiting for and dreading all at once, it is time to reward our heroes before us."
Four hours later… Seriously, I was not expecting the gods to go person by person, but it looks like everyone was getting their share of the spoils, no matter how small. So many names and faces went by, it was like taking a panoramic photo while rolling down a hill, just an endless swirl.
The only thing that ever stood out was there were a few demigods not present. I couldn't bring myself to blame those that weren't here. There was a lot of important things that everyone needed to do the day after the battle; for example, sleep. However, the time came for the most influential demigods to receive our rewards.
Reyna was the first to go. The gods offered her the unification of the Amazons with the demigods. The shock on her face was apparent, though she held her ground against the offer.
"It would be wrong of me to force her hand in anything involving herself or the Amazons that follow her. As such, I respectfully decline. Rather, I would wish to step down as praetor of New Rome and offer my position to Dakota, should he accept it."
The Kool-Aid drunken senator stumbled forward, and dropped to the floor. Given his current condition, I wasn't sure if it was a show of respect or him just passing out. He gazed up at Reyna wide-eyed.
"Um. I mean, sure I accept," he slurred. "But why pick me?"
Reyna shrugged, "You may be unorthodox and wasted on sugar every other day, but you are among one of the most humble of the centurions and I feel that we need more humility within our ranks." She gave a gentle smile. "Such is the case as you come from the Fifth Cohort. That and after these past few years, I could use a rest. Lead well Dakota. You can choose your replacement as centaurion when you recover from your current shock."
Zeus stood. "So be it. From this moment henceforth, Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano, you no longer stand as praetor of New Rome. The praetors now stand as Frank Zhang and Dakota...err...what was your last name again?" Zeus looked down at Dakota passed out on the floor, a sugar crash being the probable cause. Zeus sighed, "Well you were right about unorthodox. Nevertheless, enjoy your rest Ms. Arellano."
Reyna gave Zeus a slight bow and returned to the group.
The gift giving continued as the group was granted their wishes. Frank no longer had his lifeline dependent on a piece of firewood. Hazel's curse for evil jewelry to appear before her was half lifted, preventing people who touched it from having horrible things happening to them, though her ability to control it was dampened. Piper was given Khione (she seemed too distracted to argue against it). Annabeth was offered classes by both her mother and Hephaestus on the art of building and crafting so that she could use new techniques for her architecture plans.
Nico decided that he wanted to shadow travel without fatigue so that he could travel between the camps without worry of passing out. The gods argued that this was something out of even their own abilities, as even Hades would tire from the effort. As such, they gave him an unlimited fund gift card that worked at any eatery. I wanted to joke about resurrecting the dead with more cheeseburgers, but I held my tongue.
"Jason Grace! My son! Please come forward."
It was then that I remembered my concern from earlier. No one moved or came forward or even said "Give me a sec, I'm back here." Piper looked flustered as her thoughts of Jason missing were just about confirmed.
Zeus sighed. "We have had enough absences today! And I will not allow one of the seven of the prophecy, especially my son, to go unrewarded!"
He held his fingers to his temple. "Ah, there he is."
With a blinding flash of light, Jason appeared, sitting on the ground. That was the normal part. The shocking part (haha, got you Sparky) was that he had his hands behind him, his pants were missing, oh, and he had Gwen, the other centaurion of the Fifth Cohort, riding him like a bronco.
The silence was broken by Piper. "Ja… Jason…? What… "
That pulled Jason back to reality as he looked over to his girlfriend and then to the mass of demigods behind her. Then he looked to the other direction to the gods, all of whom were just as startled by the situation.
"Dammit… I didn't see that coming," he mumbled.
Gwen climbed off of him and tried to reach for her pants, but those were back wherever those two were having fun.
Zeus coughed. "Well… uh, I guess he really does take after me."
He chuckled to himself, but no one else dared to make a sound. The tension was so thick in here that you could cut it with a knife. Piper in particular looked shattered. Her eyes fractured in color, split just as her heart was by the scene before her. Annabeth moved to hold her and even Piper in her fury knew better than to try and overpower Annabeth.
Zeus broke the tension yet again, "I think we can agree that Jason has already claimed his prize. But I will give him a pass and some pants, along with his new lover here."
He raised his hand and both of the two demigods were once again clad in their clothes. "I move to give him the same gift as mister di Angelo."
The other Olympians gave a reluctant nod as a gift card appeared in his back pocket.
"As for the young lady, I believe my son is enough of a reward," Zeus joked.
The two demigods attempted to sulk back into the crowd, trying to hide themselves, but the crowd gave them no such opportunity. The mass of demigods split down the middle, making a path that led right out the front doors. Both of them shuffled toward the entrance. Jason attempted to reach for Piper, who lunged at him with her fists balled only to be restrained by Annabeth.
"Hey, Jason," Annabeth warned, "I think it would be best if you just took a hint and left."
Piper had tears streaming down her face, but she didn't utter a single sound this whole time; as if she were afraid that she would get blasted for what she felt like saying.
Jason dropped his head and trudged out of the throne room with Gwen. It was a pity to think about. One moment he was a hero. The next, no one wanted to have anything to do with him.
As the moment passed, I focused to the best of my ability on the present situation. I came to the sudden realization that it was my turn. It took only a few moments for everyone to recover from the incident that just passed as many of them came to the same realization.
"Percy Jackson! Please step forward," Zeus bellowed.
After Jason's little scene, I decided to just listen to what I was told. So I came forward and bowed before Zeus to then go and kneel before my father. A kind smile shined down at me, his eyes glowing with pride. "Rise my son." Again, I just listened to them and did what I was told.
Poseidon stood from his throne and opened his arms, "Twice now has my son become a savior of Olympus. Twice now has he been subject of a great prophecy. Is there anyone who would deny that he is worthy of the greatest of gifts?"
No one dared to deny him. He turned to me. "Percy, I know you have already once rejected godhood. You stated your reasons why. Humble as they may be, even you can agree that your life; past, present, and future; are anything but normal."
I had to agree with him on that. My life and luck always had a way of twisting and turning. I steeled myself, getting ready to become the first person in history to reject godhood twice.
"Percy, you are equal with that of the gods. Many Olympians have yielded before your power long before you ever realized your full potential."
Ares' attention turned towards the leather of his jacket, paying no interest to the subtle jab.
Poseidon continued, "I know you do not want godhood, as it would leave your friends behind. Loyalty is indeed a fickle friend in that regard. As such, Zeus and I have talked and agreed to grant you a gift which has not been bestowed upon any mortal for millennia. We cannot make all of your friends gods with you, but we can offer eternal youth to you and those closest to you so long as a single condition is met."
This sparked my interest. The idea of becoming immortal had always held appeal, but I was not going to subject myself to outliving everyone that I knew and loved. The opportunity to bypass the drawback seemed too good to be true.
I looked to Annabeth, who still had her arms around a sullen and sniffling Piper. She gave me a look that said "At least hear them out."
I looked to my father again and spoke, "What exactly is that condition? Do we like have to become soldiers in the Olympian army or…?"
Zeus and Poseidon chuckled. The rest of the Olympians, minus Aphrodite, looked confused. I realized with a start that while my father may have talked with Zeus about my reward, he had yet to discuss this with any of the other Olympians. That worried me. Why would he need to keep my reward secret, and why was Aphrodite the only one besides those two who seemed unfazed?
"No, my son," Poseidon spoke. "You can be made immortal without becoming a god so long as you agree to host a new home as a harem."
If any time passed at all, I didn't realize it. I tried to clean out my ears to make sure I didn't imagine his words. "I'm sorry, what was that?"
"A harem. For you and your friends to become immortal, the female ones anyways. You can gain it through ancient law by owning them in a harem."
The casual manner that he spoke in was a slap in the face. "Owning them" he said. Like slaves. Like property. Not people. I balled my fists in pure rage. How could he think that I would agree to this!? He himself just brought up loyalty a few moments ago! It was at this point that the hard headed thunder god decided to step in.
"We know that it is a lot to process, and that our generosity has never extended to this degree. So in order to save you the brain power, we have already set this gift in motion."
My jaw dropped. "What?"
Zeus grinned, "You see? He is speechless! I knew this choice would play out well!"
My shock went unnoticed by most, but my friends could see by the look in my eyes that the gods were about to catch these hands. Annabeth in particular was stunned. If I made a move, I knew she would just as readily decapitate Zeus's over inflated head for this.
Zeus continued. "The details are simple. Every god must pledge one of their children or followers to your harem. If any god is incapable of doing so, another must pledge an additional one in their place. Your father already ordered the construction of your palace on the phantom island of Galínios, which was led by your brother, and has issued some nymphs as handmaidens for you. That is his contribution. While I am not exactly fond of doing this, you have shown above anyone else that you have earned it. I pledge my daughter Thalia Grace to your harem."
Artemis just about flipped, "WHAT?! You would pledge one of my hunters to this?! Her oath cannot be broken!" Something tells me that she wasn't too happy about losing her lieutenant.
Zeus sighed, "Artemis please. The laws of the harem go back to the titans. Your vow of maidenhood holds little authority to these rites."
Artemis, despite her silvery eyes glowing with fury, just slumped back into her throne in shock.
Zeus spoke once again. "Now let every god and goddess before us pledge one child or follower who is close to young Perseus to serve in his harem. They and he will be immortal."
The Olympians looked uneasy, each one daring the others to go first or speak out with nothing more than silent stares. To everyone's surprise, Demeter spoke first.
"I pledge my daughter, Katie Gardner, to your harem."
Katie stared back with her mouth open, but the look soon turned to indifference. She shrugged and sighed, simply accepting her place. I guess she wasn't going to challenge her mother.
I was about to, but I was cut off when Apollo went next.
"I know about your history with my oracle, so I suppose I can give her a freebie if it means protecting my children from this. I pledge my oracle, Rachel Elizabeth Dare."
Rachel was the one mortal to be here on Olympus, and she just walked up to me without any surprise and acquainted my shoulder with her fist in a gentle manner. Her calm demeanor made me wonder if she had already foreseen this.
She looked at me, "Guess things are going back to the way they were."
With that out of the way, Aphrodite went next.
"After the incident that occurred a few moments ago, I have no reason to think of anyone else. I pledge my daughter, Piper McLean, to the Jackson harem."
Piper took a few moments to register the words. When she did, her hands curled in front of her mouth to stifle any potential screaming. Her listless gaze turned to me, showing me the once vibrant and joyous eyes dulled from the recent events. She dropped Annabeth's arms from her shoulders and sulked over to where I was with puffy eyes. When she made it to me, she tackled me in a hug a buried her face in my chest. I rubbed her head and took notice of the harpy feather that rested in her braids.
She looked up to me bleary eyed and croaked, "Please… just… be gentle."
I was too in shock to realize that I was just made an immortal rebound for Piper. Not that a part of me minded. Sure she was beautiful but...wait- why am I thinking that?! Looks like the whole harem thing is starting to twist my thinking. I shook the thoughts out of my head and rubbed the top of Piper's, giving her a small smile.
Aphrodite chimed in, "Well isn't that sweet? I think I may see more than just a physical relationship developing between you two. Oh, and one more thing. Since Khione was Piper's reward and she is now yours, consider Khione to be yours as well. Just make sure that you have Piper's say so before you do anything with the poor snow goddess."
With Aphrodite's pledge taken care of, Dionysus stepped in. "I would only have sons to offer young Perry Johansson."
I sighed, of course he would choose to forget my name again. Some things never change.
He continued, "And unless he chooses to— what was the phrase? Come out of the closet? Whatever. My point being, I have no options of any daughters to just give to Percy."
Lucky me, Aphrodite called out again. "Ooh. I know. Since I think someone could use an attitude adjustment, I pledge Drew Tanaka into Percy's harem in Dionysus's stead."
I recalled Drew snickering when she saw Jason with Gwen, so I guess this was like karma. But I gained nothing out of it. Drew was the definition of the Aphrodite daughter that no one wanted. Sure she was popular and gorgeous, but that was where it ended. Piper believed in the power that came with love and raw emotion whereas Drew cared only about the power of infatuation and using it to manipulate others.
I thought that I was supposed to be close to these people. I was consoled only by one fact, I could make her life hell if she continued to badger Piper. That gave me a few ideas of things I could let Piper do to her if she ever got out of hand.
Again I realized that I was losing control over my thoughts and fought those ideas out of my head as best as I could. But the more I tried to fight the idea of having a harem, the more I seemed to bend to the idea of having one.
It was like the gods weren't even gifting it but rather saying, "we need to keep Perseus locked up so that way he can't hurt any of us, but let's distract him with some 'friends' so that way he doesn't realize that it is just a prison." That idea infuriated me enough to clear my head just in time to hear the next god speak.
"I may not like this idea anymore than I approve of you being with my daughter, but now both seem to be out of my hands, young Perseus," Athena spoke. "I… I grant to you my daughter, Annabeth Chase… to… to hold a place in your harem."
I just about passed out on the spot. Soon it was Piper holding me up instead of the other way around. Annabeth, realizing this, walked right up to me and supported me even further.
"You aren't going out like that, Seaweed Brain."
She then squeezed my hand hard. I looked at her and she gave me a look that said, "We'll talk about this later." How did I get this good at reading her expressions?
Hephaestus went next. "Try as I might, my only children who ever grew close to Percy both went up in flames. And they were both male, so…"
He made a fair point. I never acquainted myself with too many of the Hephaestus kids other than Leo and Beckendorf. Most of the others were either always in the forge, so I never saw them, or they were involved in prank wars with the Stolls, so I tried to avoid them.
The shadows the pulsed through the room gave evidence of the next speaker.
"Nephew… do not make light of this decision. I do not wish to be known as a god who offers his children as gifts. You have become close with all of them."
A sigh of reluctance passed through Hades' mouth as he sunk into his chair. "But as I can give you a subject as well, consider this a gift of multiple levels."
He held up his hand as a dark cloud of shadow grew from near the hearth. The cloud melted away as most of the campers from Camp Half-Blood gasped. Standing there was the raven haired, blue eyed beauty who gave her life fighting a drakon, Silena Beauregard.
She gasped and held her heaving chest as she breathed for the first time in almost a year. Recognizing she wasn't alone, her eyes shifted up and looked at Hades, then to the mass of demigods, then to me, who was still being more or less carried by Annabeth and Piper.
All things considered, she was pretty calm. If I were to guess, her mind was fractured into pieces, but she remained calm nonetheless.
"What's going on?" she asked.
Hades sighed, "My dear, I have brought you here to give you an opportunity. A chance to escape the Fields of Asphodel. A chance to escape the Underworld and it's will." Silena's eyes went wide with shock. She was speechless.
She was put in Asphodel? But she died a hero! My mind raged at the gods as I saw how their promises were twisted. If that promise had been twisted and not every person who died in the war against Kronos was given Elysium, what else hadn't been kept?
Hades took Silena's silence as a cue to keep speaking. "If you agree to stay with Perseus and his… friends, we will grant you immortality."
Yep, she was stunned. She could only nod in agreement before dragging herself towards me and hugging me, much to Annabeth's dismay, and sat down at my feet, her head hanging downward as she pressed her fingers to her temples.
"Very well," Hades said. "I pledge Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite to serve in Percy Jackson's harem."
Hades forgot to mention that small detail to Silena moments prior. She shot her eyes back up and jumped from the floor when she heard when she heard those words. Her jaw hung low, her blue eyes teared up in fury.
A familiar guilt settled upon me as I looked at her. I pulled out of Piper and Annabeth's grips and hugged Silena from behind and whispered into her ear.
"I'm sorry… I didn't ask for or want any of this…"
She sniffled slightly, leaned back against me, and slid back down to sit on the floor. She didn't look as upset as before, but rather she looked… indifferent. Like Rachel, she looked like she just accepted the fact that she was mine for the taking.
"I am sorry, my dear," Hades mumbled. "It was the only way."
With him done, Ares was the next to go. "Unlike most, I don't think my children would handle being put into this too well. Prowess in combat is about all they've had in common at this point. Everything past that is nothing but a rocky relationship at best."
He glowered at me with begrudging respect. "Since I can't just go giving up one of mine, I don't think my sister will mind if I use one of hers. Sorry about this, but… Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano, since you're no longer a praetor, I'll go ahead and pledge you into the developing harem."
Reyna dropped to her knees. She was so close; so close to escaping the life that controlled her. She was so close to having her life go the way she wanted, just to have some war god pull rank to take control of her life all over again. Wasn't it bad enough that I had Annabeth and Rachel under the same roof? Now I had to throw in a third girl who openly had feelings towards me and had rather borderline hostile feelings towards the others?!
I wanted to hug her. I wanted to scream at Ares that it wasn't fair! I wanted to slap him around and pummel him into the sand like I did several years ago. But as I moved to do so, Annabeth moved in front of me and shook her head. I realized what she was doing. If I lost myself and went toe to toe with Ares, there was no telling what the gods would do to me. I was on his turf.
He seemed to take notice, "Heh, not too happy, huh, punk? Well get used to it." He leaned back in his throne looking rather pleased with himself.
Only when my head cleared of the rage did I realize that Hermes was speaking.
"I would offer a child or follower, but I believe that this council can agree that Percy Jackson has only ever come close to one of my own, and that was not for the better."
The gods, and even some of my fellow camp mates, nodded at that.
"As such, I cannot condemn an unknowing child or follower of mine," he coughed, taking a moment to glance at Ares, "... to serve as a concubine for young Perseus."
Given the reasonable answer, I couldn't say that I blamed him. The best relationships I had with anyone who belonged to him would have been with Luke or the Stolls, and that says a lot.
Why couldn't every god and goddess just say something like he did? If you want to lock me away who knows where, just let me get occasional visits from my Wise Girl and I will be happy.
Huh… Locked somewhere with occasional visits… That just made me realize something.
For the first time in what seems like hours, I spoke up. "Were Calypso and the other peaceful Titans ever released from their prisons?"
Nervous glances passed between the gods. My very simple request from the last time I was in this situation had been neglected.
"Forget this whole harem thing then! My wish is to reinstate my previous wish. Free the peaceful titans!" I locked eyes with each and every one of them.
"Perseus…" I looked in the direction of the voice to find myself staring up at Athena. "While I concede that we did make a mistake in not letting them go, you cannot request the exact same reward twice. Also, try as you may, you cannot reject the gift of the harem. As my father said, this is law that predates even us." She regarded me with a hint of respect, "I say we make a compromise. We free those titans that are peaceful. As I have heard, Iapetus has also turned over a new leaf."
"Um," I spoke up. "He prefers to be called Bob. Also, he went down fighting Tartarus to help Annabeth and myself escape from him."
"Bob the Piercer? Tartarus?" She looked beyond bewildered. "Well in any regard, he should resurrect in due time and I will oversee that the Titans, the peaceful ones at least, are freed from their captivity. However, in order to make up for Hermes not having anyone to offer, why don't we give you the one Titan who changed your mind about them to begin with. I pledge to you Calypso, daughter of Atlas, to hold a spot in your harem. It seems fitting that I should do so. I requested her first love, Odysseus, be taken from her. Now it seems fair that I should return her to her last love."
Oh dear. The gods just forced every girl that ever confessed to having romantic feelings for me into a single home. So should I blow up another volcano, or should I let this play out?
Before I could point out that little fact, Hera decided to open her mouth. "While that is nice sentiment and all, let us not forget who fought against us."
It took all of my willpower to not take one of her cows and drop it onto her face. After everything she had done, and all of the manipulating she did to myself and my friends, she should be the last person talking about who was against who.
Athena seemed to share my sentiment. "Perhaps we shouldn't forget. But unless we wish to continue this needless cycle of wars, we can at least forgive them. We are better than jailers, Hera. Or perhaps you would wish to have us remember who it was that manipulated the fates of every demigod before us."
Hera shrunk back into her throne. "I did what was necessary to save the modern world and Olympus. You cannot deny the results. In any case, let us return to the present matter. As I have no children of my own," she glanced at Zeus, who coughed uncomfortably, making thunder rumble outside. "I find myself in a situation in which not only have I no child to offer young Percy, but my domain would prevent any followers from joining him as well."
I sighed with relief. The last thing I needed in my life was more Hera. I could tell that Annabeth felt the same way. With the amount of "presents" that Hera's spirit animal has left her, I couldn't say that I blamed her.
Hestia stepped forward from the hearth. Considering her relative stillness and silence prior to this, it startled me to see her move.
"I must lament that I too fall into the same realm as Hera. As I have no children, nor any followers, I lack the means of providing Percy anything that he does not already have or want."
I was thankful that maybe the whole forced induction may have come to an end. But then someone had to ruin that.
"Very well," Hades spoke, a grave tone making his thoughts clearer than words ever could. "I was trying to avoid this but now I see that I have no choice… Hazel, please step forward."
Hazel came forward just like asked, though she looked like a deer in headlights. Her face was a mix of mortification and pleading. I wasn't about to just let this slide.
"Stop! Just look at her. She doesn't want this! Besides, she already has a boyfriend. Frank!"
Hazel went ashen and pale all at once, which was a look that I new all too well.
"... We," she piped. "We just broke up. Just during the walk up here. We thought it would be best to let him be a praetor without having me to distract him from his duties. As, I'm not a praetor…," she shot a look at Reyna, who looked down sheepishly, "I would not always serve the best interest of the legion by remaining with Frank."
My jaw dropped and my heart stopped, and not in the "oh my gods, that girl is beautiful" kind of way, but more of the "way to go, you idiot, you played yourself" kind of way. Good job brain for letting my mouth get ahead of you. I looked to Frank, who looked ready to punch Hades and run from the room at the same time.
Hades rose from his chair. "So it is settled. I pledge my daughter, Hazel Levesque, to serve Percy Jackson in place of Hera's nonexistent children and followers."
There were plenty of giggles and Hera sized death glares, but the moment passed, forgotten by all except for the goddess.
As the said moment passed, every Olympian turned their head to the last of them who had yet to pledge a maiden in my service. The very same one who had fought this idea from the start. And if I had kept up with my counting correctly (hey I was nervous and wasn't sure if I kept up) she was about to sacrifice more than any of the others.
Artemis shrunk into her throne and almost looked like she tried to become invisible, but the spotlight was already on her. She was cornered. There was nothing she could do.
"None of my remaining hunters are close to Percy Jackson." Artemis reasoned. "While I may respect him for his feats and his many appealing aspects, most of my hunters do not share my sentiment. The only hunters who got close to Percy are dead, so my input cannot be made as they are in Hades' control."
Hades did not seem to like that.
"Don't you dare lie to this council," he spat. "If that were true, I would not have offered my daughter. I would have brought one of your prudes back to grace his bed! You know very well that my daughter, Bianca, escaped when the Doors of Death were opened and rejoined the Hunt! Also. You scattered dear Zoë's spirit among the stars before she could be claimed by Thanatos. You have control of both!"
Artemis looked even more panicked as every pair of eyes in the room was on her, except for mine. Rather mine were locked on my dear uncle, filled with fury for putting her on the spot like this. She took notice of my anger towards my uncle and sighed. That caught my attention. Never before has she given up, especially over something this crucial. Her shoulders sagged and her face was sullen.
"Bianca," she croaked, "could you and Thalia please step forward?"
That was when I realized that my favorite child of Zeus hadn't come forward when Zeus called her out to serve me. Not that I blamed her. From the crowd, two figures in silvery hooded cloaks came forward and lowered their hoods. From under one of them came the scowling daughter of Zeus, electricity sparking across her face as she glared at me.
She then looked down and trudged over to me and whispered in my ear, "I'll punch you later. Feel free to punch back."
If she was settling for a punch, then I knew that she wasn't holding this against me. She just needed to vent. I gave her a slight nod and she took her place behind me.
From under the other hood, a familiar face with olive skin and black eyes emerged. Her silvery aura was faint, but it remained nonetheless. The last time I had given Bianca serious thought was years ago, when I got to see her as a child when Zeus killed her mother. That hadn't been too pleasant. Seeing her now reminded me of that, as she looked so much more like her mother since she no longer hid her face.
As would be fitting, she looked anxious. Considering what was at stake, I thought anxious was pretty reasonable. She glanced at me with a sort of longing and then went to present herself to Artemis. The moon goddess looked down at her hunter. She then sighed and waved her hand.
The room began to glow with a silvery light as wisps of power seemed to be pulled in from the roof and fell in front of Artemis' throne. I realized too late what was happening, as within moments, a figure stood before Artemis as a lump formed in my throat. It was the second hunter who died trying to fight by my side. The hesperide who rejected her sisters and her father to join the Hunt following an encounter with Heracles. The obsidian eyed lieutenant of the hunters, Zoë Nightshade, stood before the entire room. She looked as regal and dutiful as ever. With her eyes locked on the floor at Artemis' feet, she knelt before her matron goddess and spoke.
"I have heard thy call milady. I will carry out my duties as necessary," she glanced over to me, "despite how… unprecedented those duties may be."
Artemis shrunk down to a normal human size and jumped from her throne to the floor in front of her fallen hunters. She leapt at them both and gave them a small group hug as she teared up.
"I… I am sorry my friends… that it had to come to this," Artemis sobbed.
She pulled back and looked both of her hunters in the eyes before nodding begrudgingly and returned to her godly size and sat on her throne.
With difficulty, she spoke. "I… pledge my hunters Zoë Nightshade and Bianca di Angelo to serve Percy Jackson in his harem, should they approve."
Zoë nodded, her face as impassive as ever. Bianca, not happy with being resurrected only to wind up as a concubine, took a bit longer, but nodded her head, albeit with sagged shoulders and a mournful expression.
Artemis glared at Zeus and Hades in defiance. "Father and uncle. While you may have both sacrificed your daughters to this cause, neither of you have sacrificed as much as I have. I have now lost three hunters. My group was already in a sour state following the massacre led by Orion." Her voice cracked as she said his name. "Let it be known that you have all but robbed me of my position, as I now have very few followers left." She then stood up and vanished in a flash of silver light.
Aphrodite took this as an opportunity and stood from her throne. "Well, now that she is gone, I feel no shame in granting all of you my blessing. No longer will you be plagued by the monthly pains of your cycle. Not to say you won't have it at all, in case you do wish to bear Percy's children somewhere down the line. But you needn't worry about having them anytime prior."
A furious blush painted my cheeks red at the idea, but I realized it was even crueler that she would mention such a topic. They could only have my children. They had no option in choosing anyone of their own free will. Would my children even be allowed to leave the harem? Would they remain children forever? What happens when they get old enough to understand their parents are just sex slaves and a master? This was too much to process.
"Also," Aphrodite continued, "you needn't worry about any unwanted hair in unwanted places nor would you need to worry about unwanted blemishes. My blessing removes all such maladies."
I kind of enjoyed that thought, but wanted to slap myself for even going that far the very next second. These were my friends (some more so than others) and they had no reason to be locked away with only one man for company and to serve for the rest of their immortal lives.
Zeus then came back into the picture. "Now there are some ground rules. First, Perseus can have one of his maidens as a headmistress. I do believe we know who that will be already." He glanced at Annabeth with approval. "Also, he can marry any of his members, but no more than three. Percy and those select four women may come and go from the harem as they please. The remaining members can only leave while accompanied by Perseus. None of them can harm Perseus, or use any supernatural abilities outside of Galínios, unless he grants them the permission to do so. Such cases being during combat training or… more interesting manners of bed sharing." I slapped my hand over my eyes at this.
Zeus continued, "As I overheard my daughter's comment to you earlier and you agreed to it, she will have a temporary pass until the act is finished, so brace yourself for that Percy. Lastly, none of this gift is optional. Percy, this gift has already been laid into place, so you cannot deny it. I'm sure Hermes said something similar to you about that when you were still new to this world. I believe it was a thermos and vitamins at that time. Regardless, this also means that you must bed every one of the members of your harem. Should you fail to do so, this gift will turn inward and your friends that you fail to bed will begin to suffer indescribable pain until you relieve them."
I just dropped to my knees, which startled Silena, who was still sitting right in front of me. I just gaped at the king of the gods. "This isn't fair. In your attempt to reward me, you have condemned the lives of several others. I can't just accept that!"
Poseidon spoke up, "Son, I know that you may feel this way, but these laws are ancient. We would have been more lax, but this is the only way we can make this many people immortal without making them gods."
I just collapsed and sulked to the floor and hung my head. There was nothing I could do at this point. I may be able to go toe to toe with an individual god or titan, but I can't overpower all of the gods and fate bound ancient laws.
Zeus coughed, not retaining his usual imposing posture. "Well, I do believe that has settled the matter. Young Perseus. You are to go to your new home with your friends immediately. Do enjoy yourself and let this meeting be adjourned." He spread his hands and I got blasted by a flash of light that left a metallic taste in my mouth.
A/N - Well, that was a monster of a chapter. Phew, well the rest of the chapters won't be quite this long, so don't you worry. I just couldn't stand how most writers skip this part entirely. Like, come on guys, this is the set up. Either way, be sure to leave a review. This is Ronin signing off.
