The Saga of Percy Jackson – Chapter 1
Hestia was in shock. She had just found this little boy with beautiful green eyes that were currently looking up at her in fear. Her stomach clenched painfully as she looked at his youthful features, reminded of how badly she wanted a child but was restricted by her maidenhood from doing so.
"Where is your father, young one?" she inquired.
"I don't know… mom always said that he would come back but he never did." Percy replied.
This was when Hestia made her decision. If Neptune didn't want the boy, Roman or not, she would adopt him as her own son.
"Percy, would you like to come with me to Olympus?" Hestia asked.
Percy was confounded. "Owympus? What's that?" he asked.
"It's a special place where no one can hurt you. You'll be safe there from the monster that killed your mother."
"My mother…. she's… dead?" the boy stuttered, and his beautiful sea-green orbs began tearing up. Hestia's heart went out to the child, no child deserved this, she thought, especially not one this innocent. The boy had just lost his mother – no, he hadn't, she thought with a newfound determination. I will be there for him, and will help him through his loss. She gently placed the boy's hand into her own and they both vanished in a burst of flame.
Somewhere on Olympus
Artemis was mad. Really mad. Her brother had just defiled yet another girl but passed it up as a slip of the tongue and the girl "overpowering" him and "forcing" him to submit to her. More like a slip of his pants, she venomously thought to herself.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud cry of "Artemis" from one of her hunters.
"Yes?" she replied, but the voice was silent. Great, now I'm imagining things, she thought, and decided to visit her aunt. Yes, she hadn't visited Aunt Hestia in a while and she always seemed to help her cool off, and contrary to popular belief, she did appreciate a few kind words every now and then.
The Garden of the Gods, Olympus
Percy and Hestia appeared in a flash of fire, startling a dryad who gave them a dirty look.
"Follow me Percy to your new home" she said kindly to the overwhelmed boy. Percy, however, was in a world of his own, captivated by the majestic arches of Olympus. Everywhere he looked, he would see life itself, whether it be a satyr cussing at a shopkeeper or a nature spirit floating by, but the Palace of the Gods caught his eye. He started walking towards it, entirely unaware of his surroundings, when he bumped into Hephaestus, though he didn't know it.
"Sorry, mister! I swear, I didn't mean to run into you, and" Percy started, but was cut off by the god's gruff voice "No need to apologize, son, the palace is a real beauty, isn't she?".
"Yeah, it's so cool and high and…" Percy suddenly stopped when he realized that Hephaestus was looking down at him bemusedly.
"I forgot how much of a spitfire youngsters of this generation are" the god mused to himself. "I'll see you around, boy", and he took his leave.
Percy decided to look around a bit more, and met some nymphs who looked at him sympathetically, probably thinking he was a lost child, and some occupants even tried to give him food, but he walked past them not even noticing. The target of his thoughts: the beautiful courtyard in the heart of Olympus. He was so taken with the beauty of the fountain and the garden that he didn't notice a relieved goddess who had just noticed him.
"Percy! Where were you? You slipped off while I was talking to you" Hestia told him, but he just sat there with a dazed expression on his face. She internally sighed, and decided to just transport him to her palace, leaving a cussing minor god as he hastily tried to put out the fire that started in his hair.
Back to Artemis
After deciding to visit Hestia's palace, Artemis opted to walk instead of teleporting so as to enjoy the beauty and scenery, though she would never admit it. With all the hustle and bustle, it was indeed a sight to behold, and before she knew it, the door to Hestia's palace loomed in front of her. Opening it, she saw Hestia who hurriedly put something away when she saw her, earning a suspicious glance.
"Hestia? What do you have there?" Artemis suspiciously asked, thinking that the heart goddess had broken her vow.
"Nothing, I was just organizing some of my possessions" Hestia hastily replied, but Artemis knew her aunt far too well to believe her.
"Organizing? Or should I say being defiled by?" Artemis angrily accused. "Who is it that you have defiled yourself for?" before Hestia just as angrily shot back "I have not defiled myself for anybody, do you truly think so little of me, niece? If you must know, I have adopted a boy."
"A boy." Artemis repeated. "You have adopted a boy."
"Yes, a boy whose mother was killed in front of him and is in need of a home." Hestia now calmly replied. Artemis wasn't listening, however, as she stared at the boy's green eyes unbeknownst to Hestia, entranced and captivated by them. "Artemis?" Hestia asked.
Snapping out of her trance, she quickly said "Ah, nothing. I'm glad to see that you have finally found a source of happiness, aunt. I really must be going now."
"Oh? So soon?" Hestia asked, but Artemis just gave her a quick embrace and left.
"Percy, you can come out now, it's safe" Hestia told him, but he was too busy thinking about a certain silver-eyed goddess. "Percy, you can come out, it's safe." She repeated, until a gravelly voice behind her said, "I don't quite agree."
A/N: Thanks so much for the review and to all my followers! I'm incredibly excited, and when I received all these emails from FFNet telling me about the number of viewers, I was in a state of perpetual shock. You guys made my day :).