(Chapter uploaded: August 8, 2021)
Book 1: The Daughters of Olympus and the Tablet of Destinies
Chapter 1:
(VERY IMPORTANT Author's Note, PLEASE READ!)
Hello guys, gals and non-binary pals to the first chapter of the first book in the Daughters of Olympus series!
Now, what is the Daughters of Olympus series? I'm glad you asked!
'Daughters of Olympus' is the sequel series to my PJO continuation story, 'Champion of Olympus', set ~14 years later. With COO set ~1 year after the events of Blood of Olympus.
The COO & DOO stories include ALL canon events/characters— bar a select few, those being the entire Trials of Apollo' series and all the characters that premiered in it.
Now, you may be asking why? Well, the answer is simple; I started writing COO before TOA was finished, and, as such, didn't want to include it. I also haven't nor will likely ever read it, so there's that.
If you somehow haven't read the first story, 'Champion of Olympus', then I would HIGHLY recommend doing so. You will be very lost when it comes to some major events/characters that I created that aren't PJO canon.
For those who don't know me, hi, I'm Hephaestus, a Percabeth, Pertemis, HiccStrid, IzuMomo and Flowerpot fanatic who is also an aspiring professional writer. Not to mention a fan of vanlife and someone who wishes to live in a small remote cabin in Norway writing books and listening to good dark jazz music.
Jeg kan også snakke litt norsk!
Vote for my next stories on my FF Profile!
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Twitter: My main Twitter( hephaestusbuild), an pjo rp Twitter for Hephaestus( IsForging), an Astraea rp Twitter( Stronger_ThanU)
Instagram: (HephaestusBulds) where I post commission art and my own sketches and artwork as well as random diy stuff I might be doing for DnD
World Anvil: (search 'HephaestusBuilds' or 'Leonidas-verse') where I created what is practically my very own wiki for the Champion of Olympus and Daughters of Olympus series', which I call 'The Leonidas-verse'. Read with caution, as there will be spoilers for the series. But mostly character introductions/pages and some info about them
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I wanna give a huge thanks to the wonderful betas over on the Harry x Fleur discord that helped make this chapter as good as it is!
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Chapter 1: My Dad Kicks My Ass
[End of May, 2025]
Astraea quickly dodged a punch aimed to remove her head from her broad shoulders.
Sidestepping her opponent, she nimbly ducked under his swing and delivered a quick jab to his ribs.
But the man didn't even flinch, and closed in again for another series of blows.
It didn't matter if Astraea was only half his age, or had less practical experience, she didn't give up.
She was like her father that way.
She'd take him down, even if it killed her.
An unexpected kick aimed at her face brought her back to the fight, which she ducked under expertly, her foe's shoe grazing her curly strawberry-blonde fauxhawk.
She jumped, rolled, spun and dodged his heavy strikes, keeping her stance low to avoid his longer reach. His fist flew at her from an odd angle.
Golden wings burst from her back, beating frantically to get behind him. The large and open fighting gym was more than large enough for her twelve-foot wingspan to flap freely. She tucked her wings in, rolling under his strike with the intention to kick the back of his knee.
But he was too quick and kicked her away, lunging forward to continue his attack.
Folding her wings behind her back, Astraea kept them safe from any rogue strikes. She danced around the man, rolling under his barrage of attacks, wishing that there was something in the vacant room for her to dodge behind.
A cool bead of sweat dripped from her hair as she threw out her heel into the mans' knee— causing him to buckle under his own weight. Sweat softly splashed on her bare shoulders as she continued her assault.
Her breath; a perfect metronome as her heavy fists landed a series of blows against his solar plexus.
Her footwork; rhythmic, despite her bulky physique as she slammed her elbow into his unguarded chin.
Her smile; a cruel grin as she felt him suck a breath at the unexpected hit to the gut.
Her pride; roaring with pleasure as she dealt pain.
His knee impacted her unprotected stomach, knocking her back a few paces, causing her to suck a quick breath. She barely managed to block his attempt to grab her by the middle and drive her to the ground.
She drove her heel into his foot, distracting him enough to spin around his back and choke him from behind with her left bicep as her right arm pinned his dominant arm to his side.
A backwards headbutt into her nose sent a shockwave of electricity into her brain, causing her to let go and fall to the padded ground on her back and into the padded wall.
But the pain only pissed her off, and with a primal growl, she delivered a kick at the man as he spun around and lunged to pin her against the wall. Her kick knocked him to the ground beside her and she immediately took the chance to grapple him.
Astraea knew he had the advantage on the ground, so she tried everything she knew to keep herself on top.
She fought back as he attempted to twist her onto her back, sending fist and knee into his ribs.
But he didn't budge.
A semi-professional career at wrestling and half a lifetime of fights to the death would do that.
As well as near-invulnerability.
So Astraea thought back to the first lesson she learned when it came to being on the ground in a fight:
'Get up or on top, by any means necessary'.
She added the 'by any means necessary' herself.
With a shout, she threw her legs up to squeeze his neck and with another swift motion slammed him to the side.
His shoulder hit the black mat with a solid 'THUD', his head impacting a heartbeat later.
But her opponent didn't falter, he gripped her legs with enhanced strength and easily freed his neck. Spinning, he rose to his feet. A vicious blow to her cheek blurred her vision.
A small stream of blood dripped from her lip— but it wasn't the first time, and it wouldn't stop her.
Nothing would when she started seeing red.
"GrrrrAAAH!" She let loose a furious cry as she ran at him, gloved fists raised.
Her first two punches landed heavily on his face, but her third was halted by an uppercut to her chin.
She hit the mat again. But her opponent didn't use the opening to grapple her again, but instead decided to fight dirty.
"Is that really the best you can do, Astraea?" He smirked, expertly attacking her pride. "You're pathetic."
Her unyielding anger bubbled up from the pool that stayed at a constant simmer, yelling in rage as she jumped at him.
He wasn't ready for the brutal punch to the center of his chest, and she didn't let up when she heard him suck a breath. She continued her assault, throwing out a series of expertly-performed punches to his face.
Stumbling back a few paces, his eyes were unfocused and blurry. She drove her padded knee into his unguarded stomach, keeping up her momentum.
"Better, but not nearly good enough!"
His knee came out of nowhere, driving itself deep into her stomach with enough force to lift her into the air. She wasn't able to catch herself before she hit the mat, the air sucked from her lungs.
"Wanna call it another win for me?" He asked, his voice fuzzy in her ears. "Just give up."
"I don't fucking give up!" She sprung to her feet with renewed strength, clearing the distance between them in a blink, throwing out a powerful haymaker into his face, sending him back a few feet.
Left, right, left, right knee, left elbow, another right hook. She kept up her all-out attack with savage brutality.
Her heart pounded, adrenaline pulsed through her veins, her ever-rising anger built up and up until she was ready to explode as her strikes became sloppy and predictable.
"Control your anger." He deflected her left swing effortlessly and landed a solid punch to her nose, sending her flying back onto the mats yet again.
She felt her nose fully burst this time, but she didn't care— she didn't even register it, all her mind was focused on was fighting until either her opponent went down or she couldn't fight anymore.
Losing wasn't an option.
And neither was forfeiting.
Her pride wouldn't let her admit defeat to anyone, not even her opponent.
What did it matter if he had fought stronger, tougher and smarter opponents than her before he was her age?
None of them had her unbridled pride.
Nor her uncontainable seething rage.
With all the subtlety of a crazed bull, she lunged forward, rage shredding her throat while it turned her vision red.
She was a step from cracking his skull in two when he expertly swept her legs out from under her. She landed heavily on her back, her wings groaned as her weight pinned them to the ground.
Before she could ever think about getting up, a fist flew at her face with the power to break her jaw—
—But the fist stopped a single centimeter from her nose, and Astraea felt the rush of her 'combat-high' fade instantly.
"You need to control your anger, Astraea." Her sparring partner removed his fist before offering her a hand up. "You would have had a few good openings if you would have just kept your cool. And what did I say about keeping your wings hidden? You always have to focus on hiding them. It'd reveal your identity as a Half-Blood and put our family at risk."
Astraea grumbled before accepting the hand and was helped to her feet. She blew her sweaty strawberry pink-blonde hair out of her eyes. And, after a breath of internal debate, she decided to listen, and mentally willed her golden wings to magically hide in her back.
"I know that, dad. Y'say that all the time. It's just hard when you provoke me like that."
Her dad gave her a pointed look. "Well I'll keep saying it until you learn to control your anger. Besides, the whole reason why I provoke you like that is to help you learn to not get so angry so easily."
Taking off his gloves, he grabbed a water bottle and threw it to her, which she effortlessly caught. "I know it's hard for you, Astraea. Gods know your father had anger problems too, and they obviously got passed down to you. I know that I told you that anger can help you in a fight, but only if you can control it and use it, otherwise, it will control and use you."
He fixed her with a stern and warning look. "If you don't learn to control and master your temper, then it will be your downfall."
Astraea drained the bottle before rolling her eyes, snorting, "Stop being all doom and gloom, it's no big deal. I can still kick anyone's ass I want, besides yours' and moms'. Now, come on, old man, let's get started on dinner. I'm starving."
Her dad wiped the sweat from his forehead before combing his fingers through his hair, letting out a small sigh. Knowing his warning wouldn't get though to her, she was too aggressive and short-tempered.
Just like her biological dad.
He headed to the door, saying, "What do you mean 'we'? I'm the one who does all the cooking while you burn the food and sneak 'tastes' of the food while my back is turned. Go get cleaned up and find your sister, then help her set the table."
~A page break asking you to leave a Review~
Astraea summoned her golden and red-tipped wings as soon as she closed the bathroom door. She hated keeping them hidden, but there was no arguing with her dad.
She had learned after years of experience that he wasn't going to change his mind. He didn't understand how it made her feel to keep them out.
He couldn't.
So whenever she was within his view or in public— which the latter was very uncommon, she kept them hidden in her back. And as he was a stay-at-home dad/coach for her and her little sister, that was more often than not.
With a small flap, she stretched them out, a few golden feathers fluttering to her feet. Damn, now she'd have to find a way of throwing them out without her dad noticing.
She studied herself in the mirror, seeing her bruises from her sparring match with her dad already fading away. It sure helped being a Half-Blood sometimes, and damn did Astraea love it.
It also helped avoid such awkward conversations like, "how did you get that bruise on your face?", "oh, my dad punched me".
Yeah, those didn't tend to go well. Luckily for her, she didn't have to worry about teachers or concerned adults seeing her bruises. Mostly due to the fact that she was homeschooled and rarely left the house a few times a month. Clothes shopping or special occasions were her only escape from her million-dollar prison.
If only her dad would let them go to Camp this summer, that way she could actually make some friends and not have to hide her wings at all times.
Deciding she didn't have enough time before dinner to take as long of a shower as she wanted, she washed the sweat off her face and neck with a cloth.
After running a fluffy pink towel through her sweaty strawberry-blonde hair, she quickly braided it back up into her usual fauxhawk. It didn't really matter if it was messy, only her family would see it.
Giving her stomach an evaluating look, she was happy to find the precursors to abs appearing. All the hours working out with her dad in their world-class home gym several times a week was starting to pay off. Having a famous and fairly-wealthy retired pro athlete as a dad sure helped when it came to getting any exercise equipment she could ever want.
She had always been stronger than the average child— stronger than the average person, actually, but it wasn't until this summer that she saw the physical changes.
She shot up to five foot eight overnight and didn't show signs of stopping. But given how tall her biological parents were, it didn't surprise her. Her shoulders were broad and her muscles defined, making her vastly different than she knew most girls her age looked like.
Not that she really minded— she didn't have any friends and didn't interact with anyone her age besides her sister, who was almost literally half her size despite only being a year and a half younger. Astraea felt pride in her body, it was a result of her hard work and dedication. Besides, she loved working out.
It made her feel closer to her biological father.
She figured that that might sound weird to some people, but she didn't care. Astraea was too young when he died to remember him, so when her dad told her of her father's passion of working out, Astraea strove to find that connection with him.
And damn did she find it.
Not to mention abs. Abs were nice.
A voice from the other side of the door brought her out of her musings. "Hey, Astraea," called out Aurora, her little sister. "Stop checking yourself out in the mirror already. Dinners' ready."
~Page Break~
After dinner found thirty-two year old Percy Jackson doing the dishes with his youngest daughter, Aurora. The thirteen year old was making small talk about a test she recently aced as she dried a pan. But she was brought out of her story when he used his ability to splash her with the water.
"Ahhh! Daaad, stop!" She cried as he sent another small splash of water at her face.
"Who's gonna make me?" He laughed, swirling the water in the sink around in a threat of splashing her again. "You?"
"I just dried my hair!" She said, using her hands to block a quick stream of water. "Dad, no." But she couldn't help but giggle as he 'booped' her on the nose with the water.
"Use your powers to stop the water before it hits you," He playfully instructed as he whipped a thin stream of water at her. "Manage to hit me, and you'll get out of dish duty for a month."
But he was disappointed when instead of using her hydrokinesis, she used a large dish as a shield. Finally, he stopped his playful attack and, with a subtle wave of his hand, brought all the water that was on the floor, walls and countertops back into the sink.
"...I'm sorry, dad." Her face dropped and she averted her eyes from him.
Letting out a breath, he put a reassuring hand on her thin shoulder. "Don't be sorry, Aurora." He instructed, giving her a fatherly smile. "I know it's hard for you, but I know you'll get it in time. You're a child of the seas, after all. It's in your blood. One day, I'm sure you'll be stronger than me."
No pressure, she thought.
She was saved from replying when her older sister Astraea stomped down the stairs, walking past the spacious kitchen and into the family room. She was in a pair of pink pajama bottoms and a tank top, her golden-red angel wings on full display for all to see.
Percy jerked around and suddenly pulled the blinds shut, before immediately peeking through them worriedly.
Astraea caught the paranoid reaction out of the corner of her eye and instantly knew what was coming. She let out a swear under her breath.
"What are you doing, Astraea?" He all but demanded, turning to face her. His face a mix of paranoia and frustration. "You know better than to walk around with your wings out."
Her nearly twelve-foot golden wings rustled in annoyance. But she chose to reign in her frustration. "Well, why would anyone be in our backyard anyway? And how? We have a six foot fence, not to mention like two dozen magical wards around the house. You said yourself that a Titan would have a hard time getting in."
She gave a miniscule flap of her wings, water dripping off of them as she did so. "Besides, y'know I need to dry off my wings when they get wet. So just chill already, will ya?"
Percy's eyes narrowed slightly, taking a step towards her, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "It doesn't matter, Astraea. You know the rules, so don't argue with me. I already told you when we were sparring earlier to hide them."
Her own vibrant golden-red eyes narrowed dangerously. "Yeah, I heard you the first time. Seriously, I'm just drying them for fucks sake." She mumbled as she began to walk away.
Percy faltered for a second, not used to this kind of attitude from her. "Don't give me that attitude, young lady." He gave her a strict look. "You know that you aren't allowed to summon your wings in the house. They're too big and you run the risk of being seen."
Astraea rolled her eyes as she reached the stairs and couldn't help muttering under her breath, "Well considering you don't let me go to school, let alone fly, when exactly am I supposed to fucking summon them?"
Percy felt a low growl in his throat as he heard her comment. He and Annabeth were fairly lenient when it came to Astraea cussing, but not in this situation.
"Don't use that language with me, young lady." He ordered strictly. "It's for your own safety—."
"'For my safety'? Fuck that!" Astraea scoffed, loudly slamming her fist on the banister. "You let Aurora go to school, leave the house and have friends! Why not me?!"
Percy was genuinely surprised by her sudden outburst and instantly felt all the anger and combativeness drain from him. Astraea had a fiery temper, sure, but never with him.
Never like this.
He took a calm step forward, reaching out to put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Astraea, it's not that simple. If only you knew—."
"Don't touch me!" She swatted his hand away and glared at him with watery eyes. She scoffed again, but this time it was subdued. "You don't treat her like this."
Astraea's eyes shot towards her little sister who had turned pale and was silently watching the fight, which was without a doubt the worst fight they had gotten into from behind the counter.
Letting out a low mumble, she continued, "Oh yeah, it's because she's the favorite while I'm the one you don't want anyone to know about."
Her glare hardened and her little sister visibly recoiled. "Because she's your real daughter. While I'm adopted." Her words were like venom, silencing and freezing the two around her. After a breath, she spun on the spot and quickly stormed up the stairs. Slamming her door with enough force to rattle the walls.
Percy dropped his outstretched hand as he felt his heart drop.
He had no idea Astraea felt that way. She hadn't said anything before beyond the occasional request to go to school the next year. Letting out a heavy breath he didn't know he was holding, he ran a hand through his messy hair.
His internal musings halted by the arrival of his wife.
"What just happened?"
Percy sighed again, looking to his wife who had just gotten home late from the office. She hadn't even put her purse down yet. He absently greeted her with a quick peck on the cheek before starting for the stairs.
"Astraea… just yelled at me." He told her, unable to believe it. "I didn't know she was that upset about it. I'll go try and talk to her—."
But Annabeth stopped him with a hand around his wrist before handing him her bag. "Better let me talk to her, she's mad at you, not me." She shrugged. "Besides, I haven't seen her since yesterday morning."
Suddenly, a timid, stuttering voice sounded from behind them. "Y-you should really just let Astraea go to school… She has full control of hiding her wings now… A-and you said you'd let her go to school with me when she could."
Percy and Annabeth looked at their youngest child with surprise, but didn't say anything. So Aurora continued, "...J-just saying, okay? Astraea is really upset about not being allowed to l-leave the house or have friends."
Percy raised a brow in confusion. "This is the first I've heard of this."
But Annabeth gave him an unreadable look, "That's because that girl never gets mad at you, babe. Usually she's mad at me. She probably didn't want to say anything for a long time and it just built up until she exploded. I can't even remember the last time you two got into a fight."
Annabeth looked back to her youngest daughter, a genuine reassuring smile on her face, "Thank you for telling us what Astraea told you, Aurora. I know you two are pretty good at keeping secrets, but it was right to tell us. I'll go check up on her and see if she wants to talk with me."
Facing her husband again, she said, "We'll talk about letting Astraea go to school next year in our room after I'm done checking up on her. She's old enough for us to trust her not to reveal her wings. She's not a child anymore, she's almost fifteen." Without another word she climbed the stairs and headed into her daughters' room.
Percy stepped up to his youngest child and wrapped a calming arm around her shoulder, bringing her in for a hug. In a soft voice, he said, "Don't worry, Aurora. You know Astraea isn't really mad at you, it's my fault she said those things."
Giving her a supportive smile, he asked, "Is there anything you want to say to me or your mom? Your mom and I want you to know that you can always be completely honest with us… So… is there anything you want us to know?"
The tiny girl was silent for nearly a full minute, and Percy could almost see the gears spinning at a million miles per hour in her head. Finally, she shook her head, her long black princess curls swaying from the motion.
Her answer was even more subdued than before. "...Not really…"
Percy couldn't help being skeptical, though he didn't show it. "Any more problems at school?"
"It's-fine." She mumbled out quickly.
"...I heard you up late last night…" Percy started, hesitantly. "...Are you still having nightmares? Because I'm sure I can talk to Hypnos about—."
"I appreciate it, dad. But I really don't want to talk about it." She mumbled quickly before avoiding his gaze and running upstairs into her room without letting him respond.
Percy stood alone in the center of the spacious kitchen, wondering when he had stopped paying attention to what his girls were feeling.
~Page Break~
It was just after eleven and Astraea knew that she wasn't going to get much sleep tonight.
She kept replaying the fight with her dad in her head over and over again on repeat. She had never yelled at him like that before. But the single point that brought tears to her eyes everytime was how she yelled at her little sister.
"What the fuck is wrong with me?" She mumbled to herself as she sat in the dark on her large poster bed. "Why did I yell at her like that?"
She honestly didn't know why she said those things about Aurora. Her little sister was sweet as can be, and was always there to listen to her complain about their parents. Sure, Aurora could get a little annoying when she corrected Astraea or acted like a know-it-all, but her sister didn't deserve the anger that was meant for her parents.
With a nod to herself, Astraea decided to go to Aurora's room first thing in the morning and apologize for being such a dick. Hopefully she'd forgive her after she begged a few times.
But would her dad forgive her?
And should she forgive him?
Her dad.
He was so— so amazing and kind and loving and funny and caring and yet so overprotective and paranoid and worried and unable to see how he made her feel.
Astraea did honestly regret the comment about him loving Aurora more because she was his biological daughter while she was adopted, though.
Because in her heart she knew it wasn't true.
Not even close.
Her parents didn't have favorites, she knew that. Sure, she got along better with her dad than her mom, and Aurora tended to get along better with their mom, but Astraea knew that they both loved and cared for them equally.
Regardless of who the biological daughter was.
She decided that she was going to at least apologize for that, after all.
With a huff, she climbed out from under her covers and made her way to her large window, sliding it open silently with practiced ease. After checking to see if her door was locked and scanning the neighborhood for people, she summoned her golden angel wings and jumped into the air. Flapping hard to gain altitude in the dead cool evening air.
She flew mindlessly for nearly an hour, no real destination in mind. Though she made sure to avoid the city in order to limit the chance of her being spotted, of course.
Not that someone was likely to see her this high up through dark clouds, but her dad was right about one thing: If the Zealots saw her, then she'd be putting her family at risk.
She rose another hundred feet just in case.
Astraea absolutely loved flying. But since her dad didn't let her, sneaking out like this was the only time she was able to.
She didn't know why she loved flying so much. ...It was like something in the sky was calling her, if that made any sense.
That probably didn't make any sense.
But she was a Half-Blood, and her mom told her that their lives rarely made sense.
Though considering her birth mother was the Titaness of the Dawn and the Mother of the Wind and Sky, there could be a connection.
Her birth parents.
Just thinking about them made her heart ache slightly. Not out of sadness of having lost them, but out of a sadness of having never really known them.
Astraea could still remember the first time her mom sat her down to tell her about her birth parents like it was yesterday. She had been so devastated to learn that the wonderful people who had been raising her for as long as she could remember weren't her actual parents.
She remembered running away into her daddy's arms as her mom tried to explain.
She remembered weeping so heavily that she had nearly hyperventilated.
She remembered telling him that mom told her that they weren't her birth parents. And begging for it not to be true.
But she also remembered what he told her, "Yes, it's true. We aren't your birth parents. We weren't the ones who created someone as beautiful and strong and courageous as you. But, we've always tried to make sure to give you the love that not every child gets…"
"...So that makes us your parents…"
Astraea bit her lip as she flew, wiping away a rogue tear. Trying her best to figure out how she was going to apologize to them in the morning.
As she flew higher and higher above the clouds, she scanned the heavens for her birth parents.
She saw countless stars, a half dozen constellations and a few lunar beings dancing and flying around the dark skies… all but her parents.
They just sat there silently.
Unmoving.
Like they were dead.
They never waved when she looked their way. Never smiled when she neared. Never whispered sweet words of love reserved for parents and children as she called out to them. Never comforted her as she silently wept herself to sleep.
They never would. She knew that. But it didn't make seeing them unmoving in the stars every night hurt any less.
She flew higher still, her wings straining at the effort and her lungs burning as she pushed herself through the thinning air. Her parents were destined to live among the stars forever.
While she was destined to never be with them again.
And she couldn't tell you how much she wished she could just fly until she reunited with them.
But it was impossible. They had died saving Olympus and the world when she was ten months old. And her mother, the Titaness Eos, has used the last of her strength and last breath to create a new constellation of her and her husband, Leonidas Dione Reed— her father, called The Lovers.
Astraea would give anything to just be able to talk to them.
Just once.
She ignored Ursa Minor as it ran up to her, looking to race again. Instead, she climbed ever higher into the moonless heavens. She wasn't in the mood.
She just wanted to be alone tonight.
After another hour or so, the cold and exhaustion was getting to her, so Astraea decided it was about time to head back. She had homeschool with her dad in the morning and he'd be suspicious if she was falling asleep at her desk. Again.
She was not looking forward to the uncomfortable conversation they were going to have in the morning.
But she wanted to make sure she apologized for claiming that he didn't love her.
~Page Break~
Tiny bare feet beat frantically against the ground, the thundering sound of hooves behind them. Gaining on them. Around trees, through bushes, over rocks and under branches, they ran. The three of them.
Trying to escape the cowing cackle of petrifying laughter and hooves behind them.
The smallest of them stumbled over a twisting tree root, crashing to the ground and letting out a cry of pain. "Come on, Theo!" The eldest boy yelled to his youngest sister, scooping up the four year old into his arms. "We have to keep running!" Andrew grabbed the arm of Julie, his other sister, and pulled her behind him through the brush.
Andrew didn't know what was going on. All he remembered was waking up to find his house on fire and people with torches and masks killing his mom. Andrew tried to help her, but she screamed at him to take his siblings and run away, to leave her and save themselves. The eleven year old hated it, but he obeyed his mom and fled with his two sisters into the night.
He didn't know where he was taking them, or who was chasing them— other than they had horses, but he knew one thing: if they were caught, his sisters would be killed. Just like their mom.
So Andrew half pulled-half carried his sisters through the eerie vastness of the moonless night.
"Don't let 'em escape!" A gruff voice called out through the shadows, sending a chill down Andrew's spine.
"Burn the devils!" Another called, this time a woman.
Andrew ran and ran, frantically stumbling over tree roots and through bushes, trying to get away and protect his sisters. Trying to find someone to help them. He looked around for any adults, parents, police or other children, but could barely see his hand in front of him as he ran through the woods.
"W-what's going on?" Theo asked him, crying in his arms.
Andrew covered her mouth the best he could as he ran. "Shh! They'll hear us." He whispered breathlessly.
"What happened to mom?" Julie asked from next to him, making sure to keep her voice down as they hid in a bush to catch their breaths.
"I don't know." Andrew lied, whispering, shielding Theo's body with his own. "But we need to get to town and find Sheriff Stone. Mom said to find him if we're ever in trouble."
"But what can he do?"
"I don't know." His shoulders dropped, but he kept on a brave face for his sisters. "But mom said to, so that's what we'll do."
"If you're sure—."
"Where'd they go?" A voice called out, not so far away. The sound of hooves got louder. Andrew hoped they would be hidden in the dark bushes, but what he heard next, broke that thought.
"Bring up the dogs!" Nearly a dozen barking dogs could be heard off in the distance, and Andrew knew that they would be found now. So he grabbed his sisters and ran again.
"There they go! After 'em boys!"
The dogs were closer now, with men on horseback close on their tails. Andrew cursed as they reached a clearing, knowing that it'd be easier for them to see them. He was about to pull his sisters to the side when a shot rang out in the night.
'BAM!'
Andrew's heart fell as Julie let out a cry beside him, falling to the ground a second later. A bloody hole in her head.
"Julie!" Theodosa yelled, trying to reach her fallen sister.
"No, Theo! We have to leave!"
"But Julie's hurt—."
"Leave her! We'll both die if we stay here!" Tears fell from Andrew's eyes as he swept her up again and dashed into the trees.
"But—."
"No! Mom told me to keep you safe, and that's what I'm going to do!"
Thundering hooves echoed after him, the barking of hounds caused his blood to chill. The animalistic cries of men reminding him of the stories of the Underworld that his mom told him about, where the souls of the damned would cry out in agony and terror for the rest of time.
Where his mom said their dad came from, but where even he was terrified to live.
If only he was here, Andrew thought. But mom said he couldn't leave the Underworld. So if we're ever in trouble, to find Sheriff Stone.
A maw around his leg pulled him to the ground, causing him to drop Theo. In a second several more dogs were on him. Pinning down his arms, legs and back of his neck with their teeth. He heard Theo screaming his name, but it was like he was hearing her through water, everything was muddled and distant.
Then Andrew realized what was happening; he was dying.
He supposed that he should be afraid— and he was, don't get him wrong, but a small part of him was also relieved to not feel the pain for much longer. And if he were lucky, then he and his sisters would finally meet their dad in the Underworld.
"Drop 'em! Drop 'em! Good dogs, good dogs!" A horse stopped in front of them, a man climbing off the animal. He moved the dogs away and grabbed Andrew by his pajama shirt, flipping him over on his back with savagery.
Theo was still screaming next to him, uselessly trying to kick the people in masks away from her. "Tie her up already! Don't let a little girlie get the better of ya!"
A cloaked man grabbed Theo only to let out a hollowing scream of pain as his hands started to decay. "AHH!"
"She's a demon!"
"Careful!" A woman ordered. "Tie her up behind a horse, bring 'em into the middle of town."
"Theo, no! Leave her—!" Andrew was silenced by a swift kick to his stomach.
"Careful with him too. Never know what kind of devil powers these creatures have."
Andrew was bound and gagged, a cloth sack pulled over his head. He couldn't see Theo, but from her muffled cries, she was being treated the same. Before he knew it, they were tied behind horses and dragged through the woods. It was only when he felt pavement under his burning skin did Andrew realize they were taken into town.
"Bring 'em to the center of town." A gruff voice ordered. "Tie 'em to the posts of town hall."
A gloved hand grabbed Andrew by his wrist, and he tried to fight back, but it was no use. With his arms and legs bound, he couldn't do anything but shake. Theo continued to scream muffled cries of terror next to him.
Andrew wished there was something he could do to save her, anything, but there wasn't. Against two dozen adults with guns and dogs, he was helpless.
A bat to his stomach knocked the air from his lungs. Boots to his head made his brain go fuzzy. Blades slicing into his skin made him breathlessly cry out in pain. Andrew could feel himself fading, knowing there was nothing he could do to stop them. Conceding to his fate.
But muffled screams of his little sister lit a flame inside him. He felt shadows burst from his skin, striking out at the masked people and slicing limb from body.
His body shook violently as shadows flailed out in all directions, suffocating and mutilating everyone around him.
"Kill the demon already!" A woman yelled. Andrew was just turning his head to the sound when he heard a rifle fire.
'BAM!'
Theodora cried out as her brother fell to her feet, unmoving. She had managed to get her hands free when he had fought against their attackers, but hadn't been unable to untie her legs yet. The four year old wept violently as she hugged her brother, frantically pushing away the hands that attempted to grab her.
"No! Leave me alone!"
"Tie her up already!" The same woman ordered. "Then worry about the other one."
"W-why did you kill our mom? Why are you t-trying to kill us?"
The woman crouched down in front of her, pulling down her mask, a cruel smile on her tattooed face. "Because your mother had children with a devil. And devil-spawn like you have no right to live on God's earth." She drew a knife from her waist and stabbed Theo in the stomach, twisting the knife with savage glee. "So give thanks, child, for God will show you mercy."
~Page Break~
Percy and Annabeth Jackson turned off the TV with shocked silence. Annabeth held onto her husband in the darkness of their living room, tears streaming from her eyes after seeing the evening news report.
"How can anyone do that to children…?"
"...I don't know, Beth. But sometimes people can be worse than Monsters."
The two had just seen a breaking news story from a small town in Alabama where three children had been found brutally beaten, tortured and eventually lynched in the center of town. The mutilated bodies of the children were found hanging between the wooden posts on the town hall the next morning by the mayor and the Sheriff was quickly called.
Horse, dog and boot tracks were left everywhere, but no other evidence could be found. But, it was clear who had killed the children. There was only one group that was willing to brutally torture and lynch children like that;
The Zealots.
A group of religious fanatics that saw all half-bloods and those of divine descent to be devils and demons. And saw it as their duty to cleanse them from the earth.
The Zealots numbered somewhere in the few hundreds to thousands, though Percy secretary believed that they numbered even greater than that, and that they kept their true number and strength hidden.
Ever since the half-bloods of the Theocratic Republic City-States of Greece— a growing society of half-bloods from around the world that gathered in Camp Half-Blood, publicly announced themselves to the world eight years ago, startling reports of violence and oppression against half-bloods started to rise.
And it wasn't before long that half-bloods had started being murdered in the streets. And the biggest and most violent group called themselves the Zealots.
That they truly were. Deeply religious radicals who desired the eradication of every half-blood in the world. It was why Percy refused to let his daughters attend Camp, in fear of them being sent out into the world on a Quest. And also why he didn't let Astraea out of the house very often. She had been born with golden-red angel wings, and those alone would give her identity as a half-blood away. He knew she had better control over hiding them now, but that fear was always there.
If the Zealots were to find them, he didn't want to think about what they would do. Especially if they learned that he was one of the half-bloods that fought in Manhattan during the Promised Day.
But he pitied the poor fool who broke into his house and tried to harm his family. They'd quickly learn why his name meant The Destroyer.
He helped his wife off the couch and led her to the stairs. "Come on, Beth. Let's check on the girls… I need to see them before I go to bed."
They made their way upstairs and silently opened Astraea's door. Percy felt a breath of relief escape his lips. She was fast asleep, curled up in her fluffy pink covers. Quietly closing the door, they went to the next door and opened it without a sound. Another breath escaped his lips, relieved to see his youngest fast asleep in bed, having fallen asleep reading a large book.
Annabeth's face contorted as she bit her lip to keep herself from crying, worrying for her girls. She couldn't imagine her own children being submitted to the same savagery. She hugged her husband tightly.
"Don't worry, Annabeth." He whispered silently into her hair. "Nothing will happen to our girls. I'll keep them safe, I promise."
Closing the door just as silently, the two made their way to their room and got ready for bed. Making sure to burn extra offerings for the gods to keep their girls safe.
To be continued
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(Author's Note:)
Well, there's the first chapter of Daughters of Olympus, my planned 4 book series. And MAN have I been wanting to start this series forever! Y'all have no idea how much I've already fallen in love with this story and it's' characters. And don't worry, we'll be meeting more new characters soon!
And, brutal child murder, oof. That was hard to write, and made me procrastinate for a few days. It took the lovely people over on the Harry x Fleur discord yelling at me to get me to write this. Thank you Alex VA for calling me a maggot, lol.
I also realized the other day that this is now the second story that opens with brutal, graphic and terrible child murder… so there's that…
Anyway…
By the way, are there any open Percabeth, Pertemis or Percy Jackson discord servers for fanfic readers/writers? And can I get a link? I recently joined a Flowerpot one months ago and love it! And I'd love to talk about Percy Jackson with some fellow fans.
Or My Hero Academia ones? I have an idea for a Izu x Momo multi-quirk story I wanna get thoughts on.
Fun Fact: When I first thought up Astraea, it wasn't for an actual story. I had originally been bored and thought, "what would Leonidas' child be like if he had one?" and Astraea was born. Well, her original name was Stella. I'm really glad I changed it.
When I started COO I didn't intend on writing a sequel, much less a four book series. But, as COO itself was planned as a short story to only get my feet wet as my first PJO story, you can see I'm not good about sticking to original plans, lol.
Question of the Day: 'What are the things you're interested in reading in this story?' Or, 'Who is your Godly parent? Any pantheon.'
Next time: To Camp Or Not To Camp?