2005
"Alice, this is meant to be a vacation, so please treat it as such," Zoë said as she attempted to walk away from Alice. She walked quickly down the stairs, a confiscated necklace in hand.
"I'm serious though!" Alice exclaimed as she followed closely behind her lieutenant.
"Trips to Olympus are so rare. Please, enjoy it," Zoë groaned as she turned a corner.
"Rare for us, maybe. You get to come here nearly every solstice with Artemis for holiday," Alice mumbled. Zoë ignored her comments, instead knocking on the door of an open bedroom.
Adela, Jemma, and Naomi all looked up from their card game to focus on Zoë. "Do you know where Aeva is?"
"Try the kitchen," Naomi said.
"Thank you."
Zoë paced down the hall towards the kitchen.
"Zoë, please!" Alice desperately said.
The lieutenant saw the two youngest girls in the Hunt-Diamond and Aeva-playing a game of checkers on the small kitchen table. She walked over and dropped the necklace on the board game.
"What's this?" she demanded, pointing at the necklace.
Diamond looked uneasy and made eye contact with Alice who just shrugged.
"Aeva, what is this?"
"It looks like a really expensive necklace. I don't think a sapphire heart is really Artemis' style but I'm sure she'll love it," Aeva said innocently.
"Where did you get it?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, Zo."
"Really? Because it was in your duffle bag."
"Hey! That's an invasion of privacy!" Aeva bellowed.
"I do not care. Where did you get this? Was it when we were in Los Angelos?"
Aeva's jaw tightened but she said nothing.
"It's when we went on that movie tour, was it not? How did you get this past me?"
"I don't really want to talk about it."
"You stole the Heart of the Sea from The Titanic, Aeva. You can explain that one to Artemis when she returns. Unbelievable," Zoë huffed.
Zoë quickly walked away with Alice trailing behind. As they reached the den, Alice said,
"Just hear me out."
Zoë sighed deeply. There truly was no peace as the lieutenant.
She sat down on the couch in front of the fireplace. Alice quickly sat on the cushion next to her.
"Vacation for the Hunters is on a deserted island or at Camp Half-Blood for a few weeks, not Olympus. Why would Artemis all of the sudden choose a cramped mountain as the prime vacation spot?"
"Perhaps Lady Artemis was feeling spontaneous and thought it best to try Olympus as a different vacation spot, since all the Hunters frequently complain about not getting vacation time here," Zoë said, clearly irritated, turning to look at the British girl.
"Then why is lightning missing from the storm clouds?"
For the first time since Zoë was confronted by Alice, she had been unable to come up with an excuse or avoid a question altogether.
"Why does she demand we stay on Olympus? I can tell she's scared, as are you. I know the both of you have spoken. What's wrong?"
"She's not scared, she's a goddess."
"And all of us are mortals whom she cares about," Alice countered. "What's wrong?"
Zoë sighed and after a few moments, opened her mouth to speak, "There might be wa—"
"Because I'm third in command and I think I deserve the right to know!"
"Alice, I'm trying to tell you," Zoë said impatiently, watching as Alice realized her mistake and silently apologized. "She fears war.
"Lady Artemis says that the Master Bolt has been stolen. Zeus believes it to be Poseidon's son. He's threatening war."
"Poseidon's son stole the Master Bolt?" Alice quietly exclaimed.
"Artemis doesn't believe so, no. She's trying to keep peace but she doesn't know how much more patient Lord Zeus can be. Things are escalating. If we are in the mortal world when war begins, there is no telling what we face, what we face alone, without Artemis. At least up here, Artemis is close and can provide protection for us if we need it."
"How much longer do you think?" whispered Alice.
"Until war? Zeus is allowing until the summer solstice for the return of the Bolt. Otherwise, there will be war."
The two stayed in silence for a few minutes, Alice processing everything Zoë had said. Her attention was brought back to the present when she heard squealing and laughter in the room next to the den. She then heard a distance pop from upstairs followed by a muffled "I'm ok!" and felt Zoë sigh next to her. She watched as Zoë rose up off the couch and went to the source of the noise but this time didn't follow her.