CHAPTER 21

Even though I did not feel like sleeping, I did so, because Thalia kept shooting me looks with her eyes, those eyes that reminded me of Zeus.

The reason why Styx was rarely invoked was because her vows were unbreakable. If you do break them, you must pay. No matter how powerful you may be. With death.

And Zeus chose death to get Styx in our side.

I guess, no matter how great his faults were, he truly was a great leader. And King.

I awoke to loud conversation from the clearing near our Camp site. One was Artemis, the other was a boy, no, not Apollo. Thick wisps of mist covered the dozing Huntresses. But the boy hardly turned away from her. He looked angry.

"You missed your mark?" he snapped disbelievingly. "Am I really talking to the Goddess of Hunting?"

"Shut up. Do you have another arrow?"

"Another one? Do you know how powerful that one was? How on Earth could you fire it off range?"

"I didn't fire it off range," she mumbled meekly. "He sensed the arrow."

"And?" he prompted.

"He caught it before it touched his skin and crushed it."

"Wait, you said he touched it! Then that is more than enough."

"What? You need not fire it at the heart or something?"

"At the heart?" he gasped. "What is he, a prey or something? No, skin contact would do."

"Why didn't you save me the trouble and do it yourself?" she growled.

"I already told you, I had a deal with Hermes not to shoot him. Which is why I gave the arrow to you."

"How strong was it?" she asked gruffly.

"It was a white arrow. Stimulates expression of pure love, yada, yada . Only works if he is already in love."

"Not that. Time of response?"

"Twenty four hours at the maximum."

"What? I shot him as soon as we got out of Circe's island!"

"Then that should have . . ." his voice trailed away.

"Um, Hermes is in love with Zhalia, right?"interjected Artemis.

"Yeah, no doubt about that. Mother said he couldn't see anyone but Zhalia in her divine form. Hell, he even sensed her smell."

"So why hasn't he courted her yet?"

"I don't know. I guess love can trigger varied responses. . ."

"Am I really talking to the God of Love?" Artemis yelled, exasperated.

"Touche," he mumbled, with a grin.

"No Eros, seriously. Why is he avoiding her?"

"Could be many reasons. Hermes is a pretty complex person, not like Apollo. He may be afraid of falling in love again, after what happened between him and Marisa. He may be guilty of inadvertently causing Zeus's death by marrying her. He may also be afraid of the responsibility it came with."

"Yes, but nobody is going to force him to carry thunderbolts or something all of a sudden. Hera has plans and even arranged for tutoring whoever is chosen. He will be handed over leadership whenever he is ready. But Father," she trailed off quietly.

"That is unavoidable."

"Yeah," she said sadly.

Even the wind seemed to observe a moment of silence then.

"So, should we use red arrows?" Artemis asked, breaking the silence.

"Can you stand it?" he asked jokingly.

"I guess there is no choice," she replied, gritting her teeth, even though she shuddered.

"There is still time. And the Hades therapy session."

She snorted. "More like Hades threat session."

"I'll shoot him myself on the last day. And we'll get him hitched before he knows it!"

"Is that really necessary?" I snapped.

"Ah, you're awake," Artemis observed.

"You do want him, don't you?" asked Eros.

"Not like this," I snapped. "I'd rather have Apollo thank-you-very-much. At least, he had the decency to court me."

Even though I found it highly annoying, I added to myself, as I turned my back and walked away.

"What is this?" asked Artemis.

"Lover's rant, nothing to worry. Won't last five hours," Eros announced, matter-of-factly.

I hated the fact that he was right.

As soon as Thalia awoke, she pulled me away on the pretext of fetching fruit.

"Now I don't know what you were thinking last night, Miss I-throw-rules-to-the-wind-Joanne, I am going you to report you to Lady Artemis right away. You better think of an apology fast. Just because you are a daughter of Hecate doesn't mean you can skip around wherever you wish. Why don't you -" the rest of her rant did not fall on my ears as I had sensed a very familiar presence nearby. In a carefully concealed clearing. The air sizzled of sex.

"What are you looking at?" she snapped, then followed my gaze. "Stupid mortals," she growled, disgusted.

I felt like I want to run away as fast as possible from the place.

"We should go wake the couple," Thalia announced.

"Er," I shifted uneasily.

"Come on!" she urged.

"Well, just so you know, it is a threesome," I put in.

"What?"

"And they aren't mortals. Well, the girls are dryads . . ."

Thalia's eyes turned furious. "Wait till I teach the scum what happens when he pollutes Lady Artemis's territory," she growled, teeth gritted, sparks dancing in her palm. Suddenly, she sprang towards them.

"No, wait!" I hissed, pulling her back. "The male is an Olympian!"

"What? Who is he?"

I swallowed, then spat it out. "It's Apollo."

"Oh," she managed.

We both stood there, unsure of the next step. It's not like I was madly in love with him or something, but seeing him like that, lying next to two wood nymphs was . . . emotionally scarring, shall we say? After he seemed to like me so much. And after I actually considered choosing him.

"We still need to ask them to leave the place," she said. But with none of the aloofness she had earlier. I sensed Thalia had some past rendezvous with the God and was feeling like shit right now.

And being the helpful sort, I volunteered to wake him up.

"Be careful," she murmured, as I walked up to him. I threw a shield around myself and Thalia, took a deep breath, and knocked on the tree next to them.

The nymphs woke up immediately. Sensing who I was, their eyes widened and they fell on their knees with a frightened whimper.

"We did not wish to, my lady, but we shall accept any punishment you deem fit," they chorused. My heart melted.

"Scram," I said. They obeyed, with looks of gratitude.

Apollo opened his eyes slowly, with a pleased grin adorning his face.

"Hey, pretty Huntress," he responded.

I calmly waited for him to come to his senses and locked eyes with him. His face blanched when he recognized me and sat up quickly, attempting to cover his chest. Thank goodness for small mercies like waist-cloth.

"It's not what it looks like," he managed.

"Uh huh," I responded.

"I can explain," he continued.

"Hmm,"

"Please don't be mad at me," he went on, as he reverted to his usual form and Thalia behind me gasped in painful recognition.

"Done with the cliches?" I asked.

"No, Zhalia, listen to me!" he cried and jumped out of the bushes. I stepped back.

"My name is Joanne, I am a Huntress of Artemis and it is my duty to inform that you have infiltrated and defiled the purity of this place. Please leave immediately."

"Zhalia, it didn't mean anything! I was just . . ."

"Please leave the place," I managed, clenching my fists and turning away.

"No! You must let me explain . . ."

"Look, Lord Apollo, I'm ever grateful to you for saving my life that day, but please, I cannot trust you in this anymore."

He did not have any smart words in reply.

"You need to leave," Thalia said quietly.

"I'm really sorry for this, Lady Zhalia. I never meant to hurt you," he whispered before he disappeared.

It was the only thing he said so far that sounded genuine.

"So, you're the daughter of Eurynome," Thalia observed.

"Yes, now may I please wipe out the unpleasant memory?" I did not wait for her consent as I pushed my feelers into her brain. I wanted to wipe away the incident altogether, but then, I realized Thalia looked like she needed it; as a reminder of how bad Apollo can get and how right her decision was to become a Huntress and stay away from him.

"Just don't tell anyone," I growled, as I turned away to look for something to eat.

I would have spent the rest of the day moping, but Ares visited us.

"I hate these monsters," he growled, brushing the ichor of his shoulders. "Reforming like lightning and some even have the cheek to say smart-ass dialogues. To me!"

"Why do you stay long enough for them to show their cheek?" Artemis managed, rolling her eyes.

"Because I'm a Warrior!" he bellowed, sword raised. "I do not back down from the place, I make them move!"

Thalia surreptitiously mouthed, "Just like Clarisse."

"Have they found a solution at Olympus yet?"

Ares snorted, then began laughing.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"Olympus is in shambles," he replied. Our eyes widened. "Oh no, not because of Kronos,"

"Then how?"

"Eris let loose a bunch of hate darts as a prank and all the minor Gods are fighting with each other."

"What is Father doing about this?" asked Artemis.

"He acts like he couldn't care less. He's busy with Mother. They locked themselves up and don't seem to be coming out anytime soon. Don't go telling that to someone, okay?"

"What is Hades doing then? He's at Olympus, right?"

"Ah, he is wandering the halls and evaluating who are the ones fighting best. He says this is the best way to decide who to put where in the army."

"Making the best out of the situation, eh?" I asked slyly.

"From a situation he indirectly created," he whispered with a wink.

"Honestly, why does everyone lose their sanity during war?" Artemis said, annoyed.

"Because sane people cannot fight?" suggested Ares.

"So are you insane?" I shot back.

"I am known to go mad during war, yes," he retorted.

"By Zeus, Ares, I never knew you could talk so well," said Artemis.

"I keep learning such stuff from the kids at Camp. Like Mother said, I'm even sane enough to listen to sense now."

All the overhearing Huntresses laughed at that.

"Hey Zhalia," he said, once we were alone. "I have to tell this about Apollo, he's-"

"Sleeping around, yes," I finished.

"You know?"

"I caught him this morning."

He wrinkled his nose with disgust.

"He has no sense," he snapped heatedly.

"I agree,"

"He's pathetic, even,"

"Why thank you."

"I mean, you take women to bed after the war, as an indication of triumph; not before the war. The hormones get mixed up, for one thing. . ."

I really did not know whether to laugh or cry then.

We all soon ended up playing a game of croquet. Yes, all; including the Huntresses. Ares wasn't even looking at any of the girls with lust or the like. He treated them like his own kids. And they treated him like he was coach. It was not something you would see everyday.

"Camp's really changed him," Artemis commented wonderingly.

"Or maybe, it's the Amazon influence," I replied. She grinned.

"Yeah, he looked like he couldn't thank Hera enough when she awakened them."

We both smiled as Thalia struck a smooth shot and Ares gave her a thumbs-up.

"You can stay for one more day here, then move," Ares advised.

"I was thinking the same thing too," Artemis mused.

"It is a very nice idea, you know, memory teleportation. I'll try it too."

He waved cheerily to us and disappeared.

"Looks like that guy needs war to keep him happy," Sam commented.

"Have you met Ares before?" I asked.

"I did stay for a bit at Camp, you know,"

I had a visitor in the evening. He crept in quietly next to me while I was alone, enjoying the sunset. We chose not to talk till the sun went below the horizon. Even then, I did not turn to face him.

"Hello," he said. "You have received zero messages today."

"I see," I said, without emotion, though I did smile at that.

"Actually, you have plenty of deliveries, but I'm not giving it to you."

"Have it then,"

"Would you not ask me why I'm not giving it to you?"

"No."

"I'll tell you anyway," he continued.

"Goody," I snarled sarcastically.

He went quiet for a second. I heard the words, 'Sarcasm is simply not good when you are at the receiving end', in his mind.

"It is because I am jealous," he stated.

"Excuse me?" I managed.

He seemed to swallow for a while, then began. "I am jealous of the other Gods, because they have all the time in their lives to do what they wish to. I am jealous of them because they took you on a date and I couldn't. I am jealous of them because they do not go weak in their knees and lose all sense of self when they look at you . . ."

"And you do?"

"Yes," he said, a faraway expression in his voice. "My heart beats like a hummingbird, my breath catches in my throat and I feel like a silly teenager . . . in love." He paused. "I love you Zhalia."

Hot tears streamed down my face.

"Zhalia," he said tenderly. "Won't you turn and look at me?"

I did, but very slowly, so even if it was just a dream, he wouldn't fade away.

"This is no dream," he whispered, lifting my chin gently to meet his eyes.

"This isn't a prank, is it?" was all I could say.

"No," he said gently. His violet eyes shone with pure love as he wiped my tears away.

"I love you," he whispered, as he lowered his lips to meet mine. His lips were soft and tender and tasted like ambrosia. We parted, after what seemed like ages.

"I love you too, Hermes," I whispered.

This time his lips were passionate as well as tender. He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me again and again, whispering his love again and again; like a dam had broken and his love flooded my soul.

"I hear a Huntress," I interrupted, suddenly panicked.

"I am not leaving you," he said resolutely. He sat himself on the ground and seated me on his lap.

"Joanne," Thalia's voice echoed through the trees.

"There is no rule telling me not to come with you, is there?"

"Not that I can think of," he replied, with a grin.

"What about work?"

"I'm on leave,"

"Who gave you leave?"

"Father did. He told me a lot of things. You listened to Styx, didn't you? And he said he was happy I finally fell in love and he said he'd be proud of me if I were his successor . . ."

I barely heard Thalia's voice as she shouted again. And I didn't even notice as we teleported together.

"Hey," he said suddenly, pulling out a small box. "Do you think this is good enough to be your wedding ring?"

I gasped as he opened the box. The ring was solid gold, with a beautiful heart-shaped diamond sparkling in the moonlight. Beside it was another gold ring, with Ancient Greek inscription that said 'Hermes, son of Zeus and Maia eternally wedded to Zhalia, daughter of Eurynome and Ophion.'

"The other one is mine. We are wedding the ancient way."

"That way, he cannot cheat on you, what do you say?" said Lady Hera, who had suddenly appeared from nowhere. Zeus was with her, smiling down at us.

"Why do you spoil this lovely moment by talking of such things?" Zeus snapped.

"Well, I'm just warning the future queen. Part of my duties, dear,"

"You do stretch your sense of duty too much."

"Do you want me to conduct this wedding or not?" she questioned.

Hades, Persephone and Artemis appeared at the scene.

"I can't believe you left us out of this, dad," Persephone said, looking annoyed.

"Is Ares coming?" Hera asked.

"Of course not. He'll tell the whole world about this by tomorrow, the blabbermouth," Hades remarked.

"Is someone else coming?" asked Persephone.

"No, we're the last," said my mother, accompanied by Styx and Circe. While everybody bowed to the Supreme Mother, she grinned and mouthed, "Good work." I grinned back.

"Are the shields in place?"enquired Zeus.

"Yes," answered Styx.

"I'll begin then," Hera said.

Suddenly, with a clap of my mother's hand, I was wearing a flowing silk sea-foam green gown, greek -style, fastened with silver brooches. My neck, ears and wrists were covered with pale emerald and silver jewelry. My hair was done up, with a few curly strands cascading down the sides of my face. I wore a veil too. And a tiara I hardly felt.

"Hades, camera, quick!" Persephone urged.

"What for?"

"I want to show this to Aphrodite. Redefine the notions of beauty,"

Hermes was glowing with happiness, in a brown greek suit studded with amethysts. He winked at me and offered a golden apple that said, 'For the most beautiful woman in the world'.

"Took it from Aphrodite. You know, I was the one asked to pass judgement. After Dad."

Everyone had gathered around us both and linked their hands to form a circle.

"Alright, divine forms everyone," Hera announced. "And Persephone, if you don't know the chant, don't say it wrong."

"I know the words!" she said indignantly. "I'll be damned if I can't memorize my own wedding procedure!"

"Hades, what did I tell you about not swearing in front of your wife?" Hera snapped.

"Yeah, right, like you're some manifestation of virtue,"

"I do have the Graces, you know," she shot back.

And the chant began, in Ancient Greek:

Marriage is the union of the twain

Willing to share both love and pain

Both ups and downs; loss and gain.

Marriage is a merging of soulmates

Whose lives have been entwined by the Fates.

Marriage is but a solemn vow

Of companionship and true love

Of faithfulness and openness

Of nearness and dearness

Of being there for the other

And bringing forth another

New life to share your loveliness.

Marriage is a mystical bond

Whose magic is beyond

The Universe itself.

We stand witnesses to you

Mother Gaia, bountiful and true;

Bless this union upon your soil.

May you the golden rope uncoil

And unite the lovely two.

For the twain have met

The promise shall be kept

Of Love and Fidelity

For all of Eternity.

A lady rose from the earth then, dressed in brown and green. She wasn't very beautiful, but she had the kindest eyes I have ever seen, just like mother; and the loveliest smile.

"My dear sister," she whispered and embraced me.

"Mother Gaia," I said.

"Oh, dear, it is sister Gaia! How I have longed to meet you!"

My mother put an arm around her. "Are you all right?" she asked.

"Yes, mother, but I can only come out from his prison when summoned."

"He has got you too!" I said angrily.

"The bastard!" Zeus snarled.

"Funny you should say that," replied Gaia with a smile. Hera roared with laughter.

"I like you Mother," she said, grinning from ear to ear. "I really do."

"I was just trying to be supportive," Zeus mumbled.

"Brother, are you pouting?" Hades asked slyly. Zeus growled.

Gaia produced a golden thread, which she crushed and sent the energy into our rings.

"Let's do this," Hera said, suddenly looking the part of a clergyman.

"Do you, Lady Zhalia, take Lord Hermes as your husband?"

"Isn't the man supposed to be asked first?" Zeus butted in.

"I am asking the woman first, do you mind?"

"I do," I said.

"What?"

"I do take Lord Hermes as my husband."

"Oh," she said and snapped back to the ceremony. "Do you, Lord Hermes take Lady Zhalia as your wife?"

"I do," he said.

On cue, we put the rings on each other's fingers.

"I want to say it. I thought we discussed this," Zeus hissed.

"I am conducting the marriage dear, if you haven't noticed, so sprinkle the confetti and shut up!"

"Why can't I say it?"

"Because I'm the Goddess of Marriage!"

"Hey, I've never thought about it before, but doesn't that make me the God of Marriage?"

"Oh Gaia, save the poor wedded souls!"

"I am not a bad husband!"

Mom rolled her eyes, stepped forward on the dais and said the immortal words: "I now pronounce you husband and wife."

Zeus and Hera stopped fighting and turned to frown at her.

"You seemed very busy," she replied.

They meekly began to throw the confetti as Hermes lifted my veil and placed a soft kiss on my lips.

". . . And wherever you go, do not draw attention to yourself, stay away from the monsters and the minor Gods, do you understand?" Artemis finished, wagging a finger.

"Yes, mummy," Hermes and I chorused, to receive two hits from her hand.

"You were behaving like Mama bear, just so you know," Hera added. Artemis frowned darkly and began muttering.

"Hey, look after Sam and Juno for me, will you?" I said, just to distract her.

"Oh yes, I will."

"Who is Sam?" Hermes asked.

"Oh, one of my best friends,"

"It is short for Samantha," Artemis added. "Not Samuel." Hermes let out a sigh.

"What if it had been a boy?" I asked.

"You don't want to tempt me," he answered, coming closer.

"You have thirteen days till the Olympus meet," Zeus announced. "Oh and congratulations."

We received the blessings from everyone present. Mother and Gaia looked particularly happy.

"Take care," they said, kissing me on the forehead in blessing.

"Hades, can you do me a favor?" Hermes asked.

"Anything," he said simply.

"Look after them for me, will you?" he said, throwing a cellphone in his direction.

"Hermes, you traitor!" George hissed.

"We stayed quiet during the wedding!"

"We didn't even move!"

"I can't believe you ditched us!"

"Your best friends!"

"Anyway, congratulations on your wedding,"

"Thank you Martha. I'll get you a Paris rat when I come back."

"Congratulations, congratulations!"

"Sorry old boy; Martha said it first,"

"Grrrrrr"

After they had all left, Hermes enthusiastically swooped my up in his arms.

"Where to?"

"Hmm, I don't know. Thirteen days are too little," I answered.

"One city every day," he said, eyes glinting with mischief.

"In disguise," I said, catching on.

"Fake ids and accents,"

"Monster hunting nights . . ."

"I'm thinking of giving dear Aphrodite a scare,"

"What about Apollo?"

"Ah, yes. Him too,"

"Aren't you going to teach me how to steal?"

"You need to learn? After all, you stole my most valuable possession . . ."

He couldn't continue as I had pressed my lips hard on his.

Till now, he never did give me my deliveries due that day.

Author's note:

There you go. My toughest chapter, since romance isn't my strong suit.

Thanks to zenapower3 for the idea of a heart-shaped diamond in the wedding ring.

I'm thinking of bringing Percy and Annabeth into the story. So, what do you think?