Chapter 6

Percy and the others had been travelling throughout the night. When morning light hit the trail, they had been following disappeared. So, they stopped to rest. The group he had ended up with had included Thalia, Nico, Jason and obviously Annabeth. He originally didn't want to have all of the children of the big three on his quest due to their combined scents being very strong and basically a sign saying 'hey come and eat me!'

However, Grover, one of his first options, had ended up on bringing demigods to camp after there had been signs of a group of demigods on the run from monsters recently. With Grover being preoccupied, Thalia fulfilled the position of tracker in the group.

He had also wanted Leo and Frank to be a part of the quest but Leo had some project with his father that he couldn't be pulled away from. Frank and Hazel had to head back to the Camp Jupiter, as he was their praetor and couldn't be away from the camp for too long.

He then chose Nico and Jason to take their places. They both had skill sets that would help, and he had thought about taking them first anyway. Piper had declined his offer for her to journey with them; she had gained many new siblings as of late and wished to make sure they were comfortable in their new home.

They had stopped in a small town on their venture north. Originally Percy wanted to take boat but when the sun started rising and the light becoming harder to see, Annabeth argued they should get more supplies and rest before such a long journey. So far the plan was to head to Canada and take a boat from there, although Percy had argued that a boat would be best for most of the journey however, Thalia, Jason, and Nico disagreed. Even though Poseidon was more amicable than Hades and Zeus, it was still his domain and that made the other two wary of crossing into the domain even with Percy with them. Nico had convinced Percy by arguing that he'd rather not disrespect anymore Gods with small actions such as this. The quest itself was considering disrespectful to some of the Gods.

Despite being somewhat used to the tiredness of not having the luxury of sleep, due to the last war, the group was knackered. They hadn't stopped at all throughout the night. They had to be quick as the northern lights obviously would stay there forever for them to follow. The group was in, to a certain degree, a slight predicament now. Not having the specific location of where the light was going to lead them, the only clue they had gotten was North. So now they sat in a small diner eating pancakes with syrup, while debating how to find out where to go, other than just 'North'.

"Have you ever thought that maybe he was leading us the wrong way?" Nico ventured the possible idea, not liking being on a wild goose chase.

"Why would anyone do that?" Percy spoke as stuffing another forkful of food into his mouth.

"Because, oh I don't know, he doesn't want to be found and disturbed by a bunch of demigods, whose parents banished him from Olympus," Thalia replied with a pointed stare while muttering 'Kelp head'under her breath afterwards.

Percy glared at the daughter of Zeus for the nickname he hated ever so much.

"Either way this is the only lead we have and we have been tasked with finding him," Jason spoke trying to diffuse the tension he could sense from his sister and Percy.

With the lack of sleep Thalia got more snappy, quick to anger, very much like their father. Thalia was under a lot of stress with her Lady Artemis. Before the quest, a few nights ago, Artemis had warned her that if she were to partake in this quest then she would suffer consequences. Percy had asked her at the camp fire if she would come and she agreed. Percy was like a brother to him and although Artemis was her leader and the Goddess she served, she could not outweigh the loyalty she owed to Percy. He had saved her many times in battle and had helped her overcome her mental struggles. He, at the time, being the only other child of the big three understood the pressures they were always under; to be a leader, to be the best fighter, the constant monsters that followed them and to be responsible for the chaos that followed them and many more things that no other demigod could understand. She had learnt to respect him as he did her. They didn't always get along, but they were one of the first duo that were offspring of Zeus and Poseidon that got along so well.

"And what happens if we don't find him?" Thalia raised a question that lingered in the air for a few minutes. No one had an answer, they didn't know what would happen if they couldn't find him.

Annabeth was quiet during the conversation of the four children of the big three. Looking out of the window and across the road. She was listening although it appeared she wasn't. This was an obscure quest. None of it was certain, even their route. It was only when something caught her eye out of the window that she truly stopped listening to her friends. Her eyes widening.

Past

Walking through the forest at night, Keion and Artemis walked, hand in hand, in a comfortable silence. The moon was high in the sky and the stars shone brightly in the sky. They were both very content, as their symbols of their domain reflected that.

They walked to a cliff that overlooked a small beach, the tide was in, so they sat on the edge of the cliff, watching the night.

"Keion, may I ask you something?"

"I believe you just did," Keion smirked, the usual playfulness sparked in his eye. To which Artemis glared back at him, although there was a no viciousness behind it.

"But I suppose you may ask me another question, my lady Artemis."

"Oh why thank you, mighty lord Keion," Artemis sarcastically replied to his teasing, which earned her a chortle of laughter from him.

Artemis noticed many things about Keion, especially more so now, they had been together many years. She noticed how his eyes changed colours depending on the emotions he felt, from ice blue, almost white, when angered, to the deep dark blue of the sky when he looked at her. A mixture of both when he feared something, a deeper dark blue when he was saddened, a light blue when he was happy. Most of the time he controlled his emotions; schooling his face to make it seem like he was unreadable, but his eyes always betrayed him.

"Have you ever wanted children?" Artemis asked.

Keion wasn't expecting that question from Artemis, they hadn't ever spoken of something like this, they tended to avoid the question of marriage and children. She did have vows, although technically she had only made them to herself and weren't as legal as Athena's were, Keion never wanted her to feel pressure of anything like that. Everyone knew Artemis had made these vows to herself after watching the madness of her uncles, brothers, and sisters. They had to watch their children die and loved ones betray them. Zeus, her father, siring many children that weren't his wife's. She did not want that so she had promised to herself to stay a maiden, her hunters were her children.

Raising an eyebrow at the question and sighing slightly; Keion had never thought about children if he were being honest, it was a difficult question.

"I do not want a demigod child if that is what you are asking… My loyalties lie with you, now and always," Keion tried avoiding the question the best way he could.

He didn't want a demigod child, he wouldn't be able to be a father to a demigod, due to the ancient laws. He saw the torment that demigods, powerful demigod especially, had to deal with. The cards they were dealt were never fair in life. He watched many campers die, most of them barely reached old age, unless they were of a minor god. He would want to be able to raise his own child, like his father had him. The main reason also being that he could never betray Artemis' love. He would never give that up, not for anything or anyone.

"And what about a child with me, would you want children in the future?"

Artemis responded her silver eyes pouring into his, trying to find an answer.

"One day possibly, I would like a family with you, but if you do not then I would not mind either way. I love you, and having children or not having children would not matter to me as long as you are by my side."

Keion brushed a tendril of hair from the side of her face to behind her ear. His hand cradling her face, to which she leant into. He brought her face to his resting his forehead on her, staring deeply into her eyes. Her breathe mixing with his. He was so close that the scent of the sea filled her senses; his hand had slid to under her chin to raise her face upwards leaving a trail of warmth in its wake. Slowly, his lips brushed against her, almost hesitantly. She knew this was his way of asking her permission, as she had told him to stop asking her every time if he was allowed to kiss her. Although, she knew he did this out of respect which made her fall for him more so. He gave her the boundaries, that not many men would show to women, letting her take the lead most of the time to ensure she was comfortable. Keion was a perfect man to her. Resting her hand on his chest she firmly pressed her lips against his, granting him permission to continue. One of his hands moving from under her chin to weaving itself in her hair to deepen the kiss. While the other sat upon her hip.

Poseidon, like many of the Gods and Goddesses, had been somewhat confined. Zeus had declared that the Gods that would go behind his back to look for his son would be watched at all times. It was unreasonable, all of them knew that, but Zeus did not want the Gods that voted against his son's banishment to aid the quest. It was best to just appease his brother in these times, he grew tiresome of the arguments they always had nowadays. Being one of the few that would oppose against the God of thunder, as he didn't fear the power of his brother like many did.

Zeus had changed vastly from what Poseidon remembered of the brother that used to be the prideful ruler of the sky. He was still prideful, yes, but he was more fearful, cautious of something for some reason. Hades had noticed this too, the two brothers had spoken about it recently and agreed to watch Zeus carefully, not completely trusting what he was up to.

Poseidon thought about his son Keion. His only offspring that had become an Olympian. He did not believe the lies of a demigod son of Zeus over his son, lies that had gotten him banished, an unfair trial. Keion was loyal to Olympus. The thought of him working with the titans was completely insane and wasn't even entertained in Poseidon's mind. He knew his son better than Zeus knew any of his own children. Keion was not a traitor, not then and not now. The Titans had risen against them and Keion did not stand beside them, did that not tell them anything? He was innocent, with a sentence of banishment.

Over five centuries. That is how long he had not seen his son. It broke his heart to think of him all alone and for Poseidon to be helpless in this situation. When he had been banished, he was angry. The world had not seen the sea like that before. Tsunamis, hurricanes, floods, fierce waters that never settled. That is what the world experienced, when he suffered so did the people of this earth. He regretted hurting so many but the sea was untameable, especially in anger and sadness. Drowning others in his sea, while he drowned in his own pain.

Zeus at the time made sure Poseidon would not go looking, would not speak to him, had not contact with him. Making him swear upon the Styx that he wouldn't go after him. Truly isolating his son from the Gods.

When Percy had been born he saw so much of Keion in him it was unbearable, and yet it filled him with happiness all the same. And when he grew to become a hero, to become so much like the brother he didn't know, it was then he wished Keion could meet his brother. He could see them getting along swimmingly. Keion should've been there to teach Percy his abilities. To teach him how to wield the sword that was originally Keion's. It had been the only thing he had left of Keion, Anaklusmos; Keion had given it to him as he was being 'escorted' off of Olympus. The sword, as Zoe had once told him, was forged for a son of Poseidon. Keion had attempted to give the sword back to Zoe when he had taken it back from Hercules during their duel. Zoe had given it Keion as a thanks for standing up for her against Hercules.

This quest gave Poseidon hope. Hope: that he would see his son again, to finally see him return home where he belonged.

So here is chapter 6!

I hope you enjoy :)

In response to some of the reviews: I am very grateful for your comments and critiques. I hope you will continue to aid me in writing this to the best of my ability. Someone pointed out that I had missed some errors in my last few chapters and I will be working towards editing the previous chapters so that these small errors can be corrected :) I do proof read all of my work, but obviously we are all prone to errors and when it's your own writing it is harder to see some of them. So please be patient while I try and sort any issues out :)

Please review and tell me what you think so far! Who knows you may be able to inspire me more, and tell me what you want to see more of: the backstory of Keion, more of the quest itself, or perhaps a chapter that includes the "villain" as such.

Thanks for reading,

Beth