***HERA***
Shock ran through her veins as she heard the news. Her head snapped to Poseidon's throne and saw him, tense, eyes wide, hand gripping his trident tightly. Hestia ran to him and enveloped him in a hug, but he just shut down.
Like a robot.
Dionysus started talking about something, but she couldn't hear what he was saying. She could only hear her ichor roaring in her ears, feel it pulse through her veins.
Percy Jackson was gone.
The news finally sunk in. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she didn't let them fall. She was a queen after all.
"We assume he was taken," she finally tuned in. It was like she had clicked a button and had mute the world. She saw red, they dare take the Hero of Olympus from his home?!
Then, shame clouded her mind. He was taken from right under their noses and they couldn't even prevent it. Were they really as good kings and queens as they claimed to be?
The meeting didn't last long and everybody flashed away, each to mourn in their own way. He wasn't dead, Hades had confirmed that much, but he wasn't here either.
Her body was in autopilot. Get out of throne; Go to chambers; Undress. Then, she looked at her bedside table and saw it. The picture she had stolen when nobody was looking. It was after the second Giant War.
The Seven were all squished up and grinning at the camera. They weren't the only ones in the picture. The son of Hades and Zeus' spawn were there too and also that girl, the Dionysus' girl, Odyssia.
She was a nice girl, her mind remembered numbly. She nodded to herself, but her mind was elsewhere. Her hand reached out and grabbed the frame, bringing it for a closer look. They were all smiling, oh so happy.
Percy was there, sea green eyes twinkling with mirth as he threw an arm around the Athena spawn. She was trying to look annoyed, but she couldn't resist a small smile.
Little drops fell on the frame and she brought a hand to her eyes, only now realizing that she was crying. Her butchered heart broke at last.
She fell on the floor, her back resting against the bed. And she cried and cried and cried. But silently. She was a queen after all.
She didn't know how long she stayed there, on the floor, looking at the boy who understood her. Percy was never like the other demigods, he didn't judge a person he knew nothing about, he didn't make assumptions.
He got to know Hera and he understood where she came from. For centuries, she has been betrayed time and time again because Zeus couldn't stop searching.
For what? She didn't know.
She gave him everything that he could ever wish for in a woman, but he still wasn't satisfied. For a moment, she looked around at her empty, cold room and wished that Zeus was here with her, comforting her, telling her that Perseus would come back just so he could strike him with his master bolt.
But those days were gone now. The days where he actually cared.
Hera was the goddess of marriage and her own marriage was broken beyond repair. Her family was torn apart and every time a new demigod came about, she would bleed out. Because that meant someone had cheated.
She feels the pain and the betrayal the other partner feels and she can't help, but channel that anger to the demigods. It's much easier to blame mortals that are fragile and that can be hurt than immortals.
But Percy, he showed her that demigods are not at fault here and that she was being unjust by blaming kids who didn't have anything to do with her anger. Nobody had ever gotten the guts to tell her this and it was strangely refreshing, coming from a demigod nonetheless.
So she tried to change her ways. She doesn't make their lives a living Tartarus, but she's not cookies and sugar either. She stays indifferent, neutral.
People don't hate her, but don't like her either and it's okay for her.
And it's all thanks to Percy Jackson.
An hesitant knock interrupted her thoughts. She hastily wiped her tears, "Yes?" she called out, her voice wobbling a little.
Behind the door, someone cleared their throat and said shyly, "Hera? Are you...Are you okay?" She instantly knew who it was. Zeus. He had warmed her heart a little by asking her that, trying to show that he cared, but she crushed that small amount of hope that had begun forming in the pit of her stomach.
She didn't need to be let down, "Why would I not be?" she tried to sound annoyed, but she couldn't contain the sniffle. He hesitated, but didn't leave, "I was... the bond, I-I felt something wrong. I came to check up on you," he admitted and her heart fluttered.
He actually sounded like he cared. Wasn't that a good thing? She didn't answer and he sighed, trying another approach, "Hera," he said more strongly, "We're going to find Perseus. I swear on the Styx," thunder rumbled and Hera's eyes widened.
She was in shock. Was Zeus as sad as her about the disappearance of the Savior of Olympus? Her body was petrified and she couldn't move, she couldn't get up and walk to the door, open it and throw her arms around her husband.
Her heart wanted to, but her brain was telling her to stay still. Moments passed and Zeus, sighed, electric blue eyes saddened and drooped. I guess he deserved it, this silence, this ignorance for hurting her time and time again.
He didn't have time for this, he had to gather the scouts for the search for the missing hero. He had to fill out the paperwork of Olympus and talk to Artemis and her Hunters and pressure her to search for Perseus too.
As much as he hated it, his kingdom came first. And his wife, his fated one, would have to wait. As always. For a few minutes, he stood there, in front of her door, his forehead resting on the cool mahogany. He wanted to comfort his queen, but he had so much to do.
With another sighed, he dusted himself off, "If you need anything, Hera. You know I'm here for you. Always and forever," and with that, he left, both of them nurturing broken hearts.
And Hera cried and cried and cried. Silently. She was a queen after all. But this time happily because Zeus actually cared and they would work on this together.
Because Percy Jackson, even when he was missing, had the gift of bringing people together.