Chapter 4
A couple months after having surgery to fix her legs, Artemis managed to talk Hadley into coming down to the fields. The teen having a brace on her knee to help keep it stable. Unlike the rest of the VKs, she had to play catchup on all of her schoolwork. In fact, the only class she has with other students is Remedial Goodness 101 with the other VKs. After failing the placement test, Athena had to come down from Olympus to privately teach Hadley. As the demigoddess finally made it to the field, both goddesses were there waiting for her. "Am I in trouble? I swear that I actually went to bed before two am for once. Or did I sleep through a lesson again?"
"No… but you really need to sleep more. You're still a growing child," Artemis says slinging an arm over Hadley's shoulders. Ruffling the teen's blue hair. "Spend some time at Athena and I's place. Catch up on sleep. Tell us about the Isle."
"You do need to stay awake during lessons if you ever want to take classes with others," Athena points out as she picks up a soccer ball from the ground. "That's not why we're here though."
"Then why are we here? I've been busy trying to beat Crown of Duty," Hadley asks as Artemis leads her to a soccer goal.
"You've been cleared for sports. And Mal told me about how active you were back on the Isle, so I thought we could do some drills to help you build back up your stamina."
"Soccer? I only know how to do flips across buildings and how to climb stuff," Hadley says having grown up doing parkour like Jay, just less showy with it. She only used it to travel from one place to another quickly before Hades realized she snuck out again.
"I know that you did parkour. Which is why I think you would make a great goalie. You're observant of your surroundings. You can think on your feet and act on it," Artemis explains positioning Hadley in front of the net. "We need those instincts on the team."
"So what does a goalie do?" Hadley asks standing in the goal. Despite having gone to all of the tourney games, she never paid much attention to Herkie in the goal. Just Carlos and Jay.
"Block the balls from the goal while staying in the goal zone. Athena and I will practice kicking the balls at you. Block more than ten, we'll drop the staying with us over the weekend. Block less, you have to stay with us this weekend. Father is visiting and wants to meet you," Artemis says helping Hadley get into position.
"Uncle Zeus actually wants to meet me? Is that good or bad?" Hadley asks concern thick in her voice. Over the years, he had been told that Zeus wants revenge on Hades and would use her against him.
"Relax, kid. He doesn't blame you for what your father did. He just wants to meet you and get to know you," Artemis says patting Hadley's cheek. What the goddess refused to mention is that her father did have a plot for revenge against Hades. One that every Olympian was in on. Thanks to Hades, Zeus and Hera could not raise Hercules. Now that they have access to Hadley, they do not plan on letting Hades ever see her again. Perhaps even turning her into a small child or wiping her memory depending on what all Hades had taught her over the years.
"He's not going to hurt me?" Hadley asks, starting to calm down a bit more. Tension leaving her body as she visibly relaxes.
"Our father knows that you are still a child. Us Olympians are thousands of years old. To us, you are still just a toddler learning about the world," Athena smiles as she moves a soccer ball with her foot.
"I know… I know… you only remind me that I'm practically a toddler at least twice a day," Hadley says rolling her eyes. Barely noticing the soccer ball flying towards the top right corner of the goal. The young teen instantly jumps into action. Springing on the balls of her feet, she leaps into the air just in time for the black and white ball to brush against her fingertips before it hits the net. "Not fair! You didn't tell me that we were starting!" Hadley says as she gets up off the ground. As she missed the soccer ball, she landed in the dirt on her side.
"Well… we're starting, squirt," Artemis smirks as she grabs another soccer ball. Preparing to kick it into the goal.
Naturally, Hadley blocked exactly ten. Which is precisely why the blue haired teen is hiding in one of the guest bedrooms of the house belonging to the Olympians. House wasn't really the best word to describe the thirteen bedroom building she was in. Before arriving, someone had decorated the room to the teen's preferences. Artemis and Athena were probably the ones who did that. The room was a dark blue, golden ivy crawling up the walls. The furniture was made out of a light maple, the bedding all black to match the rug.
"Hadley! Come out! They're here!" Artemis calls out before poking her head into the room she and Athena set up for the teen. As the teen heard the door open, she quickly pretends to be asleep on the covers.
"Is she coming?" a soft voice asks from next to Artemis. Peeking into the room around the green skinned goddess, pink aura glowing as she smiles at the clearly pretending to be sleeping teen. "We will meet up with you and the others soon. It seems like she is a bit nervous."
Shortly after the green skinned goddess left, Hadley felt the bed dip under more weight. The pink skinned goddess moves some blue hair out of her little niece's face. "I know you aren't actually asleep. I've raised enough children to figure it out," she chuckles as she brushes a hand against the pale teen's cheek.
"Worth a try," Hadley mutters as she opens her eyes and turns to face the goddess. Pink skin and aura, kind smile? The demigoddess racks her brain trying to figure out the name of this Olympian. The only one she could think of was Hera.
"Nervous about meeting everyone?" You father probably told you terrible things about all of us," Hera says smiling down once she sees the emerald eyes open.
"Dad told me the Uncle Zeus and Hercules will use me to get revenge on him," Hadley whispers unsure if Hera would hear her.
A flash of anger appears in the goddess' eyes. Why would Hades make this child fear her own family? Maybe it is best if Hades isn't in Hadley's life anymore. "They would never use you for revenge! You're just a little girl."
"I'm fourteen. I'm not little," Hadley mutters turning away from Hera. All of this has been overwhelming for her. Growing up, she was told that Zeus and Hercules would do anything to get revenge. Now she was hearing the opposite.
"How about you stay here while I go talk to the others," Hera says smiling. Without waiting for a response, she kisses Hadley's forehead before leaving. Back in the living room, Zeus and Hercules were sitting across from Artemis and Athena. "Hades told Hadley that we will only use her as a pawn. I will not let Hades have any contact with her, not after the poison he filled her head with."
