Chapter 19

Percy POV

I had just finished comforting the six gods .

Who knew Zeus was such a big Mama's boy.

Maybe it was because he had stayed with his mother the longest, while the others were trapped in a smelly cave (Kronos's stomach).

The three girls were still sobbing messes. Metis was also visibly deflated. Rhea was after all her favorite aunt. A bright flash of light caused us to turn around to inspect the reason. I jumped to my legs, uncapping riptide when I saw Oceanus standing not even fifteen foot from me. He looked unfazed by my actions and spoke in a cold tone." Put the sword down boy, I have not come to fight you. I come with a message from my younger brother. "

Turning his gaze away from me to Metis, he spoke,

" Hello daughter. How are you doing? Even though the council is reluctant , I have convinced them to give you a chance at redemption. You will not be punished for your traitorous actions. Join us daughter. Become the Titan I wished you would become."

"Where were you when that brute Atlas tried to rape me? You say you care for me. Only aunt Rhea came to save me from that big bastard. So no father, I will never join you, even if I get killed. " She spat

Oceanus's face grew red. He was about to say something, but bit his lip at the last moment. Looking at me, he spoke," Kronos has sent this message that if you want to see Rhea alive, you have to surrender. The six gods and Metis will be spared. You, Perseus will become an eternal servant to Lord Kronos. Otherwise, Rhea's head will be sent to you on a silver platter. "

Everyone seemed conflicted at this offer. They must be thinking about Kronos sparing

them. But I knew first-hand that Kronos was the cruellest Titan next to Atlas. He would never spare the others. But I also had to figure out a way to rescue Lady Rhea. Thats when an idea popped in my head. I remembered the lessons about the Titans that Annabeth used to give me. She had said that the Titans were even more egoistic than the gods. Hurt their egos and you could easily manipulate them into making rash decisions.

" Is Kronos really that scared of us eight weak beings that he has to capture his own wife to make us surrender? Now I get the real reason why Rhea abandoned Kronos. He is a coward. " I spoke in a mocking tone.

Oceanus clenched his fists but didn't say anything.

Continuing, I said," How about a challenge? I challenge the Titans. Let's have a duel between me and your champion, one week from now. If I win, you release lady Rhea and let us leave peacefully. Plus, you give us one month of peace. If I lose, I die, and the gods surrender. The duel will be to death. No one will interfere in the duel. No powers allowed. Go and inform your council of this challenge. I hope the council is not cowardly like your stupid king."

He narrowed his eyes ,but flashed out without saying a word. I turned around to see the six gods looking at me in horror, hit Metis had a thoughtful look on her face. It changed into a smile and she gasped in realization. Maybe she had understood the politics behind my challenge.

" That was a brilliant move Percy. The council's ego will surely be hurt by this and they will accept the challenge. This will give us a chance to eliminate their strongest fighter, plus free aunty from those monsters. Also, it will give us one month to plan our attack."

I nodded as a look of realization passed the other gods faces. " Not that I don't trust you, but how are you so sure that you will win the fight, Percy?" Asked Hades. Always the calculative one.

" Well, I hope you heard my terms for the challenge. It clearly stated that powers can't be used. It means that it will be purely based on skills. I am sure that the council will either make Atlas , Iapetus or Hyperion fight me as they are undoubtedly the best fighters amongst them. Hyperion will not be much of an issue as he relies on his light powers in battle. My skills are much superior to his skills in combat. Iapetus may be a problem, but I have trained with Tartarus in fighting against a spear, so that will not be lethal. Only Atlas has the ability to match me in hand to hand combat. But, he won't be able to use his domain of strength and endurance to fight. This will be a big disadvantage for him. Even Kronos knows that this will most probably be won by us, but he won't be able to convince the council, as it will be humiliating to their honour."

The six of them were looking at me with awestruck faces and open jaws that made me burst out laughing. The first one to snap out of their trance was Hestia. " When did you get so smart Percy? Last I remembered, you were charging wildly at Iapetus, without a plan? " This drew a round of chuckles from the others. I pouted and said,

"That's rude."

" Awww. The poor wittle baby is sad."

This made me blush silver while the others laughed. The previous tension in the room had vanished. Seeing that it was getting dark, we decided to go to bed. Just as I was about to head to my room, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and caught myself staring at warm brown eyes.

"Yes , Hera, is something wrong?" I asked. Seriously, I had been feeling pretty strange in her presence these days. I sometimes found myself staring at her during meals. I also caught her staring at me sometimes. I also felt butterflies in my stomach when her hands made contact with mine. I had only once felt this way for someone before. But she had been killed right in front of me, by a scythe wielding maniac. But this feeling was stronger than what I had felt for my wise girl. I couldn't be falling for this goddess, could I?

"I have seen that you are stressed due to this war. So I wanted to take you to a special place that only I know of. Would you like to come?" She asked with pleading eyes. I smiled back gently and said, " of course I will. Lead the way ,milady." I held out my hand. She giggled and took my hand. I felt us flashing somewhere. When I opened my eyes, the first thought that came to my mind was, ' Wow. '

We were standing on a cliff. Below us , I could see the vast expanse of the sea. The water was sea green like my eyes. Oh! Wait. Now I have golden and sea green eyes. My bad. Hmm. Come to think of it, there is also a sky blue and black colour in my eyes( the latter from Chaos adopting me).

Uhhh. Got distracted again. Is it even possible for immortals to have ADHD? Guess I am just wierd.

Anyway, the waves were calm. I could feel the calming presence as tides were one of my domains. There were various trees all around us. Suddenly, a flock of peacocks came rushing towards us . I was a bit surprised at this. They made their way to Hera and tried to get as close to her as they could. Damm! The peacock was her sacred

bird. Really should have paid attention to Annabeth's lessons about the gods.

Hera called me over . She picked up a peachick and placed it in my hands. The small bird looked at me with eyes wide with curiosity. It gently cocked it's head and nuzzled in my chest. A small smile graced my lips. "Her name is Delilah. She likes you."

I turned to Hera who had spoken. " You can understand them?" I asked surprised. Then I realized how stupid my question was. Of course she understood them. They were her sacred birds for Chaos's sake. She just gave me the 'duh' look and rolled her eyes. I blushed in embarrassment. She let out a small chuckle.

The peacocks moved away from her and started to go towards the forest. As I set Delilah down , she turned her neck and plucked one of her feathers. She put it in my hand. She then made a cute gurgling noise and ran away to catch up with her family. I studied the feather carefully before tucking it on my chiton.

I turned and saw Hera sitting on the grass, singing a soft song. I walked towards her and sat next to her. The song was strangely familiar. Reading my expression, she answered, " When you were in the comatose state , I sang this to you everyday. "

I smiled softly and said," It is a beautiful song. "

"This was the lullaby Mother sang to me before Kronos ate me."

I nodded, not knowing how to respond. " I am sorry about lady Rhea getting captured. I promise that I will do all within my power to save her from those horrible Titans. I swear on the Styx."

She looked a bit surprised but then softened up. " Thank you Percy. I know that you will save her. It's just that my father is known as the 'Crooked one' for a reason. He will surely make things tricky and difficult for us."

" Tell me about it" I grumbled , remembering how he had messed up my life from when I was twelve years old till now. The number of friends he had taken away. Of he would have not tried to seek revenge, I would be able to live like a normal teenager, obsessed with blue food and skating. Going to school, having friends and possibly a girlfriend.

I sighed heavily . I never wanted to be a demigod. People thought that I was lucky to be the 'great' son of Poseidon, the Slayer of the Minotaur, holder of the sky and the other crap. But really, all I wanted was a calm and peaceful life.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when I felt something on my shoulder. I looked down to see that Hera had leaned onto me and had rested her head on my shoulder. I was glad that she couldn't see the blush on my face. " Can you sing to me Percy?" She asked in a cute innocent voice. I couldn't find the will to deny her request.

I had been told by my mother that I had a very beautiful voice. She had taught me to sing when we had gotten rid of Gabe. It was a good way of relieving my stress. But I didn't show it to my friends because I didn't want to gather even more attention to myself than I already had. So , I started singing to her. I hadn't planned on any specific song. As I went on, the words came to my mouth automatically. It was as if I had sung this song a million times.

Then I realized that I wasn't singing a song, I was telling her my story from the start, singing it out aloud. I expressed my anger and disgust while singing about the eight years with Gabe. My eyes watered and love flowed through my words while singing of my mom. Then I retold the story of my first quest. The thrill and nervousness I felt. The anger and sadness about my mother being taken, the betrayal from when Luke tried to kill me. Then I sang about Tyson,my baby brother. His innocence, happy nature and also our quest. Then I sang about the third quest to save Artemis. The pain of losing Annabeth. The sadness about Bianca's death and guilt about breaking my promise to Nico. The feeling of pain when I took the sky and the guilt and remorse about Zoe's death. Then I spoke about the labyrinth, blowing up saint Helen's mountain. The guilt of breaking Calypso's heart and abandoning her . Finally, I sang about my final battle, the pain of bathing in the Styx, the pain of seeing my friends die, the fear of losing Annabeth when she took Ethan's knife for me. I felt the pain and guilt of Silena's and Beckendorf's deaths. The guilt of seeing Annabeth die in front of my eyes, knowing I wasn't strong enough to save her. Finally I sang about my anger and hatred towards Kronos, my fight with him in the throne room. Then I spoke of the curse of Kronos, the meeting with the Fates and Lord Chronus, my second chance at life,also about meeting the six gods and the journey till now.

When I finished, I was openly crying. Due to this war, I hadn't really got any chance to mourn for my friends' death. That's when I saw that my shoulder was wet . The emotions in my voice had caused Hera to cry with me.

" I am sorry, lercy. You have had such a hard life. " She sniffled.

I gently lifted her head and wiped her tears. " Why are you apologizing Hera? It is not your fault. I know that I have had a hard life, but it has shaped me into what I am now. The hardships and losses I faced have just made me stonger. Please do not pity me Hera, because I hate pity. I am proud of the man that I have become and it is only because of my hard life."

She smiled a little. " You indeed are the strongest person I have ever met."

Our eyes met and time seemed to stop. I know this sounds cliché, but it really felt like it. Maybe it had something to do with me, I am the god of time afterall, but eh. Who cares? Sorry. Got distracted again. I need to do something of my ADHD.

Slowly, we leaned in towards each other. Just as our lips brushed, I realized that I was indeed in love with Hera. She understood me like Annabeth did. She took care of me in my comatose state. As our lips met, I felt as if I had reached the isles of the blessed. It was a bliss feeling. We stayed like that for what seemed like hours, but was only a few minutes.

When we pulled away, I was speechless. "Wow" we said together. She blushed and hid her face in my chest. "I love you Percy." She mumbled. A hundred megawatt grin spread through my face. " I love you too ,Hera."

She smiled widely and threw her hands around me. Taking advantage of this, I threw her over my shoulder and ran towards the edge of the cliff. She yelped in surprise by my sudden movement. Once we reached the edge of the cliff, I brought her down to her feet. Before she could speak, I grabbed her waist and jumped off, free- falling towards the sea beneath. Hera was full out screaming. I made the water cushion our fall. As we reached the bottom of the sea, I made an air bubble around us. The first thing Hera did after realizing that she could breath underwater was punch me hard on the shoulder. " Couldn't you have at least informed me?" She glared at me.

" Now where is the fun in that , my little peacock?" I asked. She blushed when I called her that. " I hate you." She muttered.

"Aww. But that's not trye. We both know that you love me."

I spoke teasingly. She blushed a brighter shade of gold. " Shut up." She mumbled.

Then she looked around her. " Wow. I never knew that the bottom of the sea was so beautiful." She caught a multicolored fish and petted it." Yeah. It's really awesome, isn't it?". She nodded. We spent some time chatting (more like making out) and then returned to the house. She was asleep by the time I entered her room. I slowly laid her on the bed and tucked her in . Just as I was about to leave, she grabbed my hand. " Stay with me." She said sleepily. Her puppy dog eyes completely broke my will. How was I supposed to ever win against her in an argument if she gave me this look?

Sighing, I laid down next to her. She immediately cuddled up to me. She passed out in two minutes. As I was falling asleep, I heard her mumble " My Percy." In her sleep. I chuckled a little and let darkness overtake me with a big smile on my face.

(A/N. Here in this chapter I gave you a Pera moment. Comment and please vote. Any and all suggestions are welcome. First I thought about adding normal song lyrics , but then I thought that they were speaking in ancient Greek. So , that idea went out of the window. Please vote and follow .

Peace out.)