Olympian Sniffles update part 3 takes a serious turn for a change!
I always found the relationship between Thalia, Jason and their mother interesting, but this chapter proved very challenging to write because, unlike most of the other gods and their partners, I don't believe Zeus can look back on his relationship with Beryl as a good memory. Even though Jason never really knew her, Thalia could be dug into, and I did enjoy and find it interesting to write this chapter on a more serious note like I had previously done in Poseidon's arc.
There will be more serious moments coming up in the Underworld, which I am very much looking forward to writing!
DISCLAIMER:
Honestly why do we have to keep writing these... if I were a child of Athena like Thennie I wouldn't run out... or Uncle Rick. There you go!
"... And so, Mister Herakles married a beautiful goddess, and together they had two sons, and they lived happily ever after." Eileithyia shut the book as Hera lifted Hebe from her older sister's lap.
"Thank you, Eileithyia." Hera whispered, before carrying Hebe off to bed.
"I'm so glad she's always out by the end." Ares began. "It saves a lot of questions about why Hebe married that show-off..."
"What surprises me is the fact that their marriage actually happened." Jason said, fiddling with his hot chocolate mug. "Hera hated Hercules, or Herakles, so why would she let him marry her?"
"It took a lot of apology letters, a few intoxicated glasses of nectar and the world's largest temper tantrum to pull it off." Eileithyia replied. "Hebe was the cup-bearer to the gods, and one night after Hercules became immortal, he was dining with us when he accidentally pushed his chair into her as she was walking around the table. Hebe fell over and her pitcher of nectar broke, but she wasn't hurt. When Hercules offered to help, she was so embarrassed that she ran out of the palace. The next night, though, Hercules was waiting for her in the kitchen and apologized for bumping into her, and for the rest of the evening, whenever she wasn't busy serving, they talked."
"That was also the first night we discovered Ma could be a good pitcher in the MLB." Ares added. "Hercules tried to take Hebe's hand once and bam! There was a grape-sized bruise on the side of his face, courtesy of Hera at the other end of the table."
"Did you ever have any children, Eileithyia?" Thalia asked, clearing her throat. The five of them sat in the living room on Thalia and Jason's last evening there, drinking hot chocolate and listening to Eileithyia read the most mythologically accurate version of Hercules they had heard in a while. Thalia and Eileithyia had become good friends over the course of the week and were now on a first name basis, which was nice for Thalia because adding Lady to Eileithyia only made her name longer to say. Eileithyia shook her head in response to her question.
"If you mean immortal children, no. My father kept me busy with work. Lots and lots of deliveries!" Zeus eyed his daughter in that way adults do when they both know something was said they know shouldn't have. "But, I do have demigod children every once in a while..."
"Speaking of baby making, I've got a date to head off to." Ares said, standing from the couch. "Any messages you punks want passed on to Aphrodite?"
"Wear protection!" Eileithyia stated. "I really am getting tired of going over there!"
"Protection turns us off."
"Ares, you heard your more-sexually-educated-than-she-should-be sister." Hera warned, coming back into the living room. "Wear protection."
"And tell Aphrodite to stop sending Hera nudes to forward to you when your inbox is full." Zeus added. "They make your mother jealous."
"Excuse me!" Hera gasped, glaring at her husband as Ares vanished. "I do not get jealous of Aphrodite!"
"Trojan War, baby. Trojan War." Zeus replied. Hera crossed her arms and scowled.
"You didn't even stand up for me…" she grumbled, looking away.
"At least I wasn't the one who chose another goddess in your place."
"Fine. Be that way." Hera waved her hand and vanished. Zeus sighed and rested his head in his hand.
"Is she really still upset about the Trojan War?" Thalia asked. Eileithyia nodded.
"I… I should probably go get some rest so I'm in good shape for tomorrow… good night, everyone!"
"Good night." Jason and Thalia replied in unison as Eileithyia left the room, leaving them alone with their father. They sat in silence, waiting for someone, anyone, to start talking. As far as Jason knew, he, his sister and their father had never had a conversation together before, much less knew anything about one another, apart from watching his children fight to the death from first class seating or reading myths that talked about what a player their dad was.
"I guess we go back tomorrow, huh?" Thalia began, starting their seemingly obligatory final conversation with Zeus off on an awkward note.
"I cannot stress how careful you two will have to be." Zeus began, his tone serious. "We have been lucky with the spread of the virus so far; only three of you have been affected. If you allow the virus to spread into a cabin containing more people, I worry about how rapidly it will spread and how many lives could potentially be at risk. As we have told you, it a disease passed on by physical contact from one body to another, and that includes the doctors who would be treating patients in their comas." He paused. "How did you get sick in the first place, anyway?" His children shuffled uncomfortably.
"Percy got it out of the blue, and you ordered the Hunters to stay within Camp Half-Blood until we're certain the Sniffles are gone." Thalia began.
"Camp Jupiter received a destress call from Camp Half-Blood from a young camper saying they were under attack, so I went ahead to inspect before we sent any troops. Only, they were fine." Jason continued. "I guess what happened was… I gave Thalia a hug after she apparently touched Percy at some point-"
"Oh, I hit him. Back pats. Then I hugged Jason." Zeus exhaled deeply in a somewhat subtle sigh.
"I can't blame you; you didn't know about it to begin with. I don't suppose Artemis told you much, either. We can blame this on your protectiveness of Jason."
"What do you mean?"
"When you were little, Jason, Thalia hardly let you out of her sight." Zeus explained, watching Thalia make a face he wasn't sure meant she was hiding a smile or grimacing from embarrassment. "She would sneak into your room in the night and sleep on the floor beside your crib, carry you everywhere, get mad if anyone so much as looked at you-"
"Okay, okay! We get it! I was overprotective!" Thalia yelled, her face flustered. "I had… I had good reason, though. I couldn't let… you know. Anyone would be protective of their siblings if-" She cleared her throat, meeting the eyes of her father and brother. "Sorry, I-"
"I understand, Thalia." Zeus interrupted. "I'm not criticizing you for your actions; rather, I'm proud. You were strong and acted accordingly when Jason left, and yes, your mother was wrong, she was broken and insecure, but that is not all she was. You remind me of who she was before everything fell apart. When we met, she was on her way from a studio late at night. I was in the area and heard someone screaming. Beryl was being threatened and cornered in an alley, trying to defend herself. I managed to get her out, and she insisted she did not need my help and would be fine, and I fought back to take her home and make sure she stayed safe. She still put up a fight, and I continued mine. Finally, her gratitude began to show, and she let me escort her back. The following night, I had returned to the studio to report the incident, only to find she was on her way as well. She offered me dinner as thanks for what I had done, and as we talked, she admitted she had felt scared and very glad I had showed up to help her. My stubbornness to help her sparked her ego and attention cravings, though it was her fault she let it grow to such… But I fought back against her demands, Thalia."
"I remember." She replied, softly. "I remember watching when you thought I wasn't awake. And I remember you telling me I had to be strong, that giving in to others wasn't the answer, that I had to fight for myself and for Jason until he could, too. I was glad when you left, though. It meant mom didn't receive happiness she didn't deserve."
"Are you saying you wanted her to suffer?" Thalia shook her head and met her father's eyes.
"No. I wanted to find a way to save her. I wanted the three of us to be happy. But she was too cruel. She never looked at us like we were her children, only prizes she'd won by being with you. I… I couldn't find a way to love her. She wouldn't let us be happy if she couldn't."
"Thalia." Jason took his sister's hand. "What matters now is we're together. She's gone and resting. She didn't win; you kept her from getting what was wrong. You kept her from me."
"Because you both fought for what you truly believed was right, as you continue to do." Zeus added. "You are stubborn, as am I, but you are much wiser, much more willing to spread that stubbornness to the cause of others. Your determination reminds me of your mother, but you have found strength she never could have grasped. Your values and desires clashed, but you never said that you would not stop trying to find a way to save her. I'm certain Athena will tell you that the greatest wisdom is understanding when one must accept defeat, and once more how one should chose to lay down their sword. I am sorry I could not be there for you when you suffered. As cruel as it sounds, however, you did not need me."
"I can tell you that I hate her…" Thalia began, staring at her lap. "But I can't feel that hatred. It's dead, I've left it behind me. Artemis is like a sister and mother, and Jason is alive… It feels so good to be looked at as a person, as another living being with choices, not a trophy. You know, I used to hate the fact I was turned into a pine tree." She laughed softly as her eyes met Zeus'. "I heard it was from pity, and given how much strength I had used from square one of my life, I felt pretty weird, like that was the first time you're really noticed what I had been doing. But now, I'm glad to be here. I'm glad I didn't die as who I was before, and that I had time to grow a little more."
"Papa?" They all jumped in their seats.
"Hebe, you know better than to sneak up on us like that!" Zeus chided, glaring at the small goddess behind Jason and Thalia's couch. Jason looked over the back on the couch, feeling his heart pounding against the cushions as he watched Hebe tiptoe slowly out from behind it, pressing a pad of drawing paper close to her chest with her arms. "Come here. Are you having trouble sleeping? I told you before; the weasels are all gone. Mama checked before you went to bed, didn't she?" Hebe nodded shyly and slowly put her drawing book on Zeus' lap and mumbled something before running out of the room.
"What was that about?" Thalia asked as Zeus opened Hebe's book.
"She's just being shy; she's probably sad you're both leaving tomorrow." He replied, turning the book toward them. "Look." Jason squinted.
"Is that supposed to be us?" he asked, staring at the waxy crayon drawing on the page before them. It showed seven people standing in a disorganized line with words printed above them in pencil. Jason could see Hebe hunched over her drawing gripping her pencil in a fist as she wrote Papa, Mama, Hedy, Airies, Ellie, Jaysin and Taleea.
"My family, + Jaysin + Taleea." Thalia chuckled. "That's cute."
"I assure you she's much more pleasant to be around when she isn't pregnant." Zeus began, folding the cover over Hebe's drawing. "I'm certain she'll try to visit you again after you leave. She likes having someone to show her little world to."
"I'll pass if I have to hear the names of all her stuffed animals again." Jason said, and caught himself thinking of what a field day Octavian would have had in Hebe's toy room.
And that's what happens when Hermie doesn't know how to end a chapter that was very emotionally charged! Send in the Hebe for a semi-final round of Hebeness!
That wraps up Thalia and Jason's little adventure with Zeus and the family! I hope I don't run low on ideas for the next few gods who don't have immortal kids to work with... Luckily, I have the next section all planned out!
Here's a preview for next time! Buckle your seat belts and get out your gold coins! We're headed straight for the Underworld to visit Uncle Hades and Auntie Sephie!
"Do you have any Advil?"
"We do, in fact, have Advil, which you are taking from my medicine cabinet along with a dozen other bottles."