Titan Base | Mount Othrys
Watching her sisters torment the young demigod made her uneasy. It sickened her to know they got pleasure from dancing around the boy, but she remembered when she too would dance through the garden leading mortals and demigods to their death, how it would feel like such a fun game toying with the unfortunate soul that stumbled upon their garden. Boys were always a favorite of her sisters, not seeing any in the garden aside from their father, they had a fascination with them. For Zoe it didn't matter who they were, she enjoyed hearing their tales of far-off lands and adventures they had been on. Breaking her out of her thoughts she heard the low murmur of her father's voice from the other side of the garden. He was walking toward the top of Mount Othrys, where the land met the sky. Walking beside him was a figure she had not seen here before. It looked like a woman, though she wore a long dark cloak with a hood pulled over her face. As they walked up the mountain, she strained to hear their conversation, but it was no use. She still did not know who was holding the sky, it could be some unwilling demigod or a minor deity they convinced to join the cause. Whoever it was she would bet they were regretting their decision now. Holding the sky is no small feat, it could break the strongest of beings. She had seen how her own father had slowly decayed, how his mind had slowly grown mad with rage, it would destroy those too weak to take on the task. Her thoughts drifted to the image of Artemis holding the sky all those years ago.
Racing to the top of the mountain her side throbbed in pain a fire spreading through her torso, but that didn't matter anymore when she saw her. Her goddess. Chained to the sky, muscles rippling under the weight, golden ichor tainting her pale skin. Marks of torment and abuse littered her body but the determination on her face made it clear no pity was needed for the trapped huntress. A seething rage radiated from her, eyes narrowed, and jaw clenched like an animal waiting for the opportunity to lash out. Sensing her presence, the goddess met the Hesperides eyes and a flash of what looked like fear crossed her face. Quickly looking to her left Zoe followed her gaze until her eyes landed on the figure of her father, watching intently with a smirk across his face. She vaguely registers the whispered plea to leave from her huntress, a whisper so quiet the other demigods would never have heard it, but it was too late. No-one could harm her goddess and get away with it, least of all her father.
She squeezed her eyes shut; the memory too painful to continue. That was the last time she saw her huntress before the life was ripped out of her by the fates and she found herself in front of Hades in the depths of the underworld. She only hoped Artemis had fared better on Earth than she had in Elysium, that she had the strength to continue and not wallow in self-pity like the Hesperide had. Everything ends she supposed, even forever.
Hunter's camp | White Mountain National Forest
Green. Summer always brought so much green. It had been over a week since the summer solstice and while the moon goddess could already tell the days were beginning to shorten, the rest of the world was still enjoying its beautiful green summer. The animals were grazing in the meadows, her hunters running through the forest and as for herself, she was sitting on the grass in the centre of camp, maps and notes laid out around her as she explained the art of tracking to some of the younger girls. Still in her 20-year-old form her long auburn hair was tied into a long braid down her back. It had been two days since her brother had left her to her camp. Two days since she broke down twice over the mere thought or memory of a girl, she could not even picture. The headaches had become less frequent, aside from the few flashes of images she could never recall that brought blinding pain with them, she had felt almost back too normal. Almost. The deep ache in her chest still persevered, unknown to her the roots of the cause, she just felt a sense of longing.
Just as she was quizzing the younger ones on their knowledge, she felt a presence. Her brother, Hermes, had appeared at the corner of camp. He quickly walked over to her.
"Sister, you must come to Olympus. Father has called a conclave" He explained, his voice unusually serious.
"A conclave? This soon after the solstice? What about?" She replied as she rose from her position on the floor, meeting her brother. The hunters quickly gathered the maps and notes off of the floor and left, giving the two Olympians privacy.
"I'm unsure. Father said it was of great importance but didn't say anything else." He looked around, as if making sure they were out of earshot of the hunters. "Something feels different though don't you think? I cannot explain it, but it is as if something big is coming. Do you feel it?"
The huntress furrowed her brow. She supposed there was an unease in the air, a tension in the forest. She had been so focused on her own problems she had neglected to feel when the shift had happened. "I suppose I do. Come we better go before father has our heads." sighing she followed her younger brother, letting Thalia know she would be back soon, and the two of them flashed to the hall of the gods.
Hall of the Gods | Mount Olympus
Appearing in the hall of the gods her mind spun, and her vision blurred. Steadying herself without drawing too much attention to herself she focused her senses and met the eyes of her sister Athena. Concern flashed on the goddess of wisdoms face before Artemis turned and walked to her throne hoping her sister would not bring this up later. She had enough of Athena and her twin pitying her. Focusing instead the rest of the room she saw the other Olympians taking their respective seats in the throne room, bickering as normal. She frowned when she saw that Hades and Persephone were also here, standing by Zeus and Demeter's thrones respectively. With a bang of his fist the throne room quieted to a hush, eager eyes trained on the King of the gods.
"As you are all aware, I do not call emergency meetings lightly" Zeus stated. "However, it has been brought to my attention there has been activity amongst the Titans, and we should act accordingly. Hades if you would" He gestured to his brother to take the floor.
Walking to the centre of the room the King of the dead addressed the Olympians. "There has been unrest in the underworld, activity I haven't seen in centuries. Upon further investigation it would appear some of the Titans have escaped their chains once more, this time without the help of Cronus." Whispers broke out amongst the Olympians.
"How has this happened? They have barely been back in their prisons" Athena questioned.
"You're losing your touch Uncle" Ares seethed.
"Enough!" The king of the gods bellowed as a hush fell over the room once more. "Hades continue".
"As I was saying, this level of activity has not been seen for centuries. It appears they have managed to access the upper levels of the underworld, namely Elysium. Many souls have disappeared from there along with the Titans."
This spread panicked looks across the faces of the gods. If they could access Elysium what would that mean for the souls living there, what would that mean for Olympus. Images flashed through Artemis' head, images of those she had lost who now inhabited Elysium. Or at least they did. She had no doubt this thought was crossing the minds of the rest of her family. Fear, anger and sorrow marred their faces as she looked around the room.
"How could this happen!" Ares shouted standing from his throne, fire blazed in his eyes as he glared at his uncle.
Shouts filled the room as gods lashed out at the god of the underworld. Artemis too was furious with the god of the underworld but stayed silent, as did Hera, Athena and Persephone, the goddesses knowing not well could come of screaming at each other.
Zeus stood from his throne "SILENCE." He cried "This is the reason why none of you were told. You are all too human, to flawed. You cannot be trusted."
The room fell silent as the deities regained their composure, until suddenly one spoke up.
"Wait, what do you mean we were not told?" Aphrodite questioned. She had a good point Artemis thought, how long had her father and uncle known.
"When exactly where you going to tell us?" Ares barked, fire in his eyes blazing hotter than ever before.
"I never knew you cared so much Ares" Zeus replied "I thought you wanted demigods fighting their own battles" the god of war growled as his grip tightened around his sword.
"They are missing, their very souls are disappearing. This is a godly matter do you not think?" This time the angry voice came from Aphrodite, her beautiful face twisted into a sneer as her hands gripped the edge of her thrones arm rests.
"I agree" Athena concurred.
"We can make a deal with them, rescue our children then attack when they least expect" Hermes added.
"There will be no deals!" Zeus shouted as he banged his fist on his throne. "You are weak to make deals rather than face the enemy. This is why I had to hide this from you, so your loyalties would stay true to me, and you would not bow down to the titans".
"You think us so weak we would fall to our knees in front of the titans? Even if a deal were made, it is obvious it would be a ruse. We would never surrender to their ways. It is you who is flawed father, to think we would turn our backs on Olympus shows the paranoia that Cronus had is rife in you" Ares spat at the king.
"Do not question me child. I made this decision to protect all of us, even if just one of you had defected it would be enough to turn the tide of war. That is something I could not risk." Zeus growled.
As Artemis watched the display between her father and her brother, she noticed Athena's eyes grow wide as she turned to look her way. Meeting her eyes, she saw realisation dawn on the goddess of wisdoms face before she quickly looked away.
"Who, exactly, has been taken by the Titans father? Anyone of…importance?" Athena questioned. This confused the huntress, she knew her sister was getting at something, but she normally was not this cryptic, that was more Apollo's style. The room fell into silence and as she looked around the room the other gods averted their gaze. Settling her eyes on her father he met her eyes then turned to her sister.
"My sources say that there are certain souls we should be more worried about than others that the Titans have captured." The king replied.
"Like whom?" The huntress spoke up, her father turning to face her once more at the sound of her voice.
His piercing blue eyes held her yellowy silver ones as his brows creased, his lips formed a thin line as he drew in a breath. "No one you need to worry about daughter."
Before she could reply her twin spoke up, speaking quickly as if to interrupt anything more she could say. "Who is your sources father, how can we trust what they say to be true?" Sending her brother, a glare for interjecting in her conversation she turned back to her father, curious for his answer.
"They can be trusted, in fact, I believe you and your sister would trust them even more than me." Zeus replied.
Titan Base | Mount Othrys
What felt like hours later Zoe still waited for her father and the cloaked figure to descend from the mountain. She did not mind waiting, years in the hunt had made her grow accustomed to it. Still, they had been gone a while, so long that she was starting to think they had a separate path down the other side she did not know about. Just when she was going to get up to stretch her legs, she saw the figure descending from the mountain, this time without her father. Subtly following the figure with her eyes, she busied herself with the flowers she had been weaving as a distraction from her days of boredom. She had no interest in flower weaving but there was not much else the Hesperide could do, besides, it made her look busy when in reality she was spying on the many titans that came through the garden. She followed the figure as they made their ways toward the trees and then she lost them. Confused she stood from where she was sat on the grass. Stretching her limbs in an attempt to make it look subtle, she moved her head in a bid to gain better vantage on where the figure could have gone. Suddenly the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She whipped round to find the cloaked figure stood directly behind her only a breath away from her. Flying backwards she coiled her body in apprehension for attack, a low growl leaving her lips as she clenched her fists.
"Calm yourself Zoe. There is no need to be afraid, I mean you no harm" The figure said. The voice was definitely a woman's, one she strangely recognised. It was soft and inviting, not at all what she was expecting. Slowly the woman raised her arms, reaching for the hood that obscured her face. With a swish of her wrists the face of the woman was revealed.
"Leto?" The Hesperide whispered. Sure, enough standing in front of her was the titaness of motherhood. She could hardly believe it, her lovers' mother was standing in front of her, but before she could relate in not being the only one here, she remembered where here was and instantly her shackles were back up. "What are you doing here? Have you abandoned your children so easily? What could the titans be offering you for you to discard of your loyalties?"
"Careful Zoe, you may be a Hesperide again, but I am still of higher rank than you. You should show respect to your elders" as Leto's eyes grew cold, they reminded her of Artemis' when she got angry. Shaking the thought from her head she listened as Leto continued. "I would not abandon my loyalties like others, though I cannot speak of the true reason of my presence here too loudly should the wrong attention be attracted. I will visit you here at night, my cousins will be indisposed with other matters. Then I will tell you all you wish to know." Lifting her arms once more she pulled her hood over her head and turned to walk away.
"Wait! My sisters, they will see you if you come at night. How will you get past them?" She questioned the elder titan. As Leto seemingly disappeared into the shadows, she heard a light chuckle.
"My dear, the same way I got past you. Who do you think taught my daughter how to stalk her prey so well" and with that she was gone? Zoe chuckled to herself, like mother like daughter she thought as she sat back down on the grass to continue her weaving.