72 hours part 4 The Final Day
Poros POV Thursday 6 AM
"Come on Nico." I said trudging through the snow. It may have been the tail end of winter but on top the rocky mountains in Montana there was still plenty of snow
"Why are we even up this early?" Nico whined pulling his aviators jacket closer "Or on top of this freaking mountain?"
"Because this is when and where the twilight gate to the underworld appears." I shouted over the wind. "If we're going to see your father I'd prefer to be as discreet as possible and that means we can't use the more convenient entrances." We'd trekked up the mountain most of the previous day before making camp near where the gate was. Nico had been far more peaceable then but the weather had also been much nicer. Now it was borderline blizzard and sadly the area weakened gods the closer they get to the gate.
As we reached the crest of the mountain I set eyes on the gate. It was a simple stone arch with what appears to be glass or clear crystal inside. Next to me Nico was practically shivering so I wrapped him up in my trench coat. It was only a few more minutes till twilight and then he'd be plenty warm.
Slowly light returned to the sky and the gate activated. For a moment the glass shifted showing hundreds of images like a mirage before settling on a black hallway lit with torches burning with a blue flame. "It's time Nico, follow me."
Together we stepped through the gate and into the underworld. Immediately I felt relief as my abilities returned to me. The Twilight gate sat on the border between different states of existence, a cosmic horizon of sorts. Gods typically don't like being near to such things as it destabilizes or weakens our powers, we need to be in one state or the other. There are a few exceptions of course, the moon being the most notable as it shifts states every night if only slightly.
Beside me Nico stopped shivering and stepped out of my coat. "Is this the Underworld?" He asked with a touch of uncertainty.
"Yes it is, I know it doesn't look like much but keep in mind this is just a hallway in the Underworld." I mocked smirking at his look of indignation.
"I know that!" Nico groused "It just it's the Underworld. It's the land of the dead but it feels so alive. I...feel alive."
"Well this is your father's Domain, I'd be more worried if it didn't perk you up a bit." I replied.
"What should we do?"
I glanced down at the dark haired boy "I'd wait here I'm sure Hades has already sense my presence here and has sent someone to collect us."
"Indeed he has." came a smooth deep voice, shortly after a man appeared from the shadows. "My name is Thanatos now follow me." he ordered walking down the hall. Nico seemed frozen at first but a pat on the back and a nod from me got him moving.
Percy POV Thursday 6:30 AM
'Percy' the voice was so faint I barely heard it. I couldn't see anything and I felt numb. 'Percy' the voice said again and I realized I was dreaming although I felt more lucid than normal. Dimly I wondered if I had forgotten to turn on Apollo's machine again. It had happened a few times and the dreams always followed. I started to feel a pull and I just let it take me where it would. Before I tried to push the dreams away but I'd learned the hard way that a week long migraine would follow if I did.
Slowly a room came into focus, on one end was the chimera something I remembered all to well from the St. Louis Arch. On the other were three demigods, one was seemed to be unconscious and turning blue while the other was bleed profusely from a gash on his hip. The third which seemed to be unharmed and held a golden sword looked extremely familiar. With a start I realized it was Jason 'why is he here' I thought. Normally my dream took place in ancient or medieval times.
"Lord Percy." Jason said "I don't know if you can hear me or if you even care but we need your help. Matthew is poisoned and Roger looks like he's about to pass out. Please help us." Even though it was just a dream and I knew this event was just a figment of my imagination I had to do something. I could feel water in the far wall, probably from the plumining. I tried to summon it to me and it was surprisingly difficult almost like it was farther than it should be. I pulled harder till the pull in my gut became excruciatingly painful and the wall exploded.
I laughed at the look on Jason's face and directed the water towards the chimera. I planned to drown it like I did last time but I didn't have enough water, only a few gallons, and the thing had too many heads to breath with so I willed the water around his main head and froze the water. As the chimera thrashed about having forgotten the demigods completely Jason left carrying his unconscious friend through the hole I had made in the wall. Suddenly a wave of exhaustion hit me almost as bad as when I held the sky up and my world went black once more.
Hades POV Thursday 7 AM
I tightened my grip on the arm rest of my throne as Thanatos walked in with my son and a god who bore a remarkable resemblance to my brother's son Percy. 'This must be the man encountered in the gods junkyard.'
"My lord I have brought them as you asked." Thanatos declared with a bow.
I dismissed him with a wave of my hand and fixed my gaze on my son and the intruder. "I'm curious how did you enter the underworld Charon and Orpheus' entrances are well policed and I've sensened no breaches."
The god gained a knowing smirk not unlike Athena's "We came through the twilight gate." That was interesting the Twilight gate had been lost since the move from Rome to Spain. Zeus threw a fit once he learn of the fact. What made the gate so valuable was its ability to open up a gate to almost anywhere depending on the time of year and the desire of the one using the gate.
I leaned forward and rested my elbows on my knees with my fingers interlaced in front of my face. "How did you find it?"
"Lets just say my nephew stumbled upon the tools to find it almost a year ago. I just borrowed it." He replied. 'Tools to locate lost artifacts such a thing could be a great benefit but the way he described it left me puzzled. Does he mean an actual object or is it something else?'. I wanted to ask more but when the man smiled I knew I would get nothing further out of him on the subject.
He had walked into my home with my son and waited for me to send for him. He had taken great care and his motives were a mystery to me. Honestly it felt like he was sizing me up. His intent wasn't hostil but it still left me on edge. "I normally don't question when one of my children find their way here, most do in time, but this is the first time one has been escorted by a god not under my rule so I must ask why?"
"I'm not here to bargain or make demands. I just wish to ensure the future. There's a war coming and your son needs training. Training that I don't have the time to provide and with war coming he's going to need your help more than ever. We both know that the lord of the sky's spell can't detect any thing that happens in your domain. I would train him but where I am going he wouldn't survive." He explained.
"So you brought him to me out of the goodness in your heart?" I questioned.
"In part, he is unable to properly take care of himself and I felt it wrong to leave him on his own. Also because the lord of time is actively seeking a potential child of the prophecy and we both know what will happen should he succeed. Besides it's not like your king cares what happens to your son." He said practically seething at the last part.
"You don't seem to care for my youngest brother, why is that?" I asked.
"Let's just say I have a score to settle with him but with war looming I'll have to wait." He replied calmly. So he's angry but has it under control and he's patient. I almost looked forward to seeing him confront Zeus.
I nodded in understanding "Before you go there is something I must ask. Are you truly my brother or did you call yourself Uncle P. in an attempt to gain the demigods trust?"
For a moment he was silent then an amused grin split his face followed by a chuckle "I swear on styx you would be right to call my brother." (AN: explanation at the end of the chapter) The ground shook and thunder boomed signifying the oath was accepted. I was honestly stunned and my apparent brother took the opportunity to flash out to who knows where. Leaving me alone with my son.
I took a deep breath and stood up from my throne "Nico follow me to my office." My son gulped but did as I ordered. Along the way I asked a few questions about my son's time with his uncle. In the two and a half days they were together he had been given a stygian iron sword, a new change of clothes, and had been taught some basic sword stances. Over all he had been well looked after by his uncle.
Once we reached my office I picked up an ornate box on my desk. "Something you will learn during your time here is that death is not something to be trifled with and is an intrical part of life for both mortals and gods. However a the god of the underworld I am granted certain amount of leeway."
I paused making sure to look my son in the eye, this wouldn't be easy but it was best he dealt with it now. "The prophecy your sister was apart of demanded that the life of a quest member have their life be taken by a parent. To satisfy that demand I claimed Bianca's life after she has been mortally wounded. That being said I claimed her life two minutes before the Fates dictated she was to die. She is still entitled to those final minutes." I paused to hand him the box. "In here is your sister's soul, once I leave and you open that box you will have exactly two minutes to speak with her, make it count." and with that I stepped out of my office.
Annabeth POV Thursday 11 AM
I sat on the couch trying to read but I just couldn't focus. At 2 PM I or rather Mom had the hearing where who got custody of me would be decided. Percy and I were supposed to be going along as we would be affected in one way or another. Mom had been certain that we would get through this without any issue yet she insisted on having a big "family meal" beforehand instead of after. She even pulled us out of school for the day, she never lets us do that ever, she was worried and that worried me. "Annabeth can you go wake up Percy, the food is almost ready."
"Yes mom."I replied placing my book on the coffee table.
"Hey Percy Mom's got breakfast ready!" I yelled knocking on his door. I got no answer not even a snore so I cracked the door open a bit. "Percy are you alright?" On his bed Percy was completely still only the rise and fall of his chest let me know he was still alive. I walked over and lightly shook him noting how pale he looked.
"Hmm?" Percy said as he stirred.
"Percy are you feeling okay?" I asked.
He nodded "I'm just tired, like really tired."
"Well you better get up Mom's been cooking all morning and it smells really good." Percy groaned and waved me off. I went back to the dining room to find the table covered different dishes. There was waffles, french toast, Pancakes, eggs, Bacon, three kinds of sausage, sliced fruit, grits, oatmeal, and hash browns. Not to mention Orange Juice, Milk, and Chocolate milk. "Whoa!"
"I hope your hungry." Mom said as she walked in with a Quiche. She placed it on the table then checked down the hall "It's been awhile since I've had to maintain four full bodies at the same time." She whispered "I'm spread a little thin and accidently made triple what I planned."
A few minutes later Percy came trudging down the hall "Percy are you feeling alright?" Mom asked furrowing her brow "Your looking a little pale."
Percy nodded and plopped into a chair "I'm fine I just tired and really hun..gry..." he trailed off as he stared at the table having apparently just noticed the amount of food on the table "I don't know if I'm that hungry." I couldn't help it I started laughing. Percy looked at me still half asleep like he didn't understand then shrugged and reached for the pancakes. He never got them however as his plate exploded into light and smoke "WHAT THE?!" Percy screamed as he fell backwards out of his chair. When the smoke cleared Percy's previously empty plate now held a bear claw, a biscuit, and a sunny side up egg.
"Um...mom?" I asked looking to my mother.
"I'm gonna make a call, don't move an inch." Mother replied standing up and carefully slipping a sausage patty off the table so Percy wouldn't notice. She walked right past my brother into the living room and turned on the gas fireplace. 'To Percy' she mouthed before tossing the sausage patty into the flames. Almost at the exact moment the patty disappeared into the flames another puff of smoke appeared on my brothers plate leaving behind the very same patty.
Mother looked shaken, Hades I was freaking out to, but she took a deep breath and walked back into the room. Percy for his part didn't take his eyes off his plate once until mother came back. "It's ok Percy go ahead and eat." she said calmly sitting back into her chair "Make sure you finish what's on your plate before you dish up more."
"Is it safe?" Percy asked picking himself off the floor and retaking his seat.
"Completely." Mother replied. Cautiously Percy picked up the bear claw and took a bite. As his teeth sank into it golden smoke seemed to flow out not that he noticed. When he swallowed the food literally glowed as it passed down his throat so brightly I could follow it with my eyes. Percy closed his eyes and shivered, almost immediately the color returned to his face. When he opened his eyes they glowed faintly for a moment "Can I help you?" Percy asked having noticed that I was staring."
"Nothing." I said quickly going back to my meal. Breakfast for the most part was fairly normal after that aside from Percy eating a disturbingly massive amount of food. You'd think he hadn't eaten in days.
Athena POV (Atlantis) 1 PM
I took a deep breath and I flashed into Poseidon's palace. Today I would be meeting my future daughter in law. I still felt it unwise to entrust this girl with our son's life when neither myself or Poseidon had even met her. However, Triton had asked us to trust him and given that he had embraced both myself and Percy as family so completely I felt I had to trust him.
I appeared in Poseidon's throne room which was empty save Delphin "It is good to see you Delphin." I greeted.
"Milady it is good to see you as well." the Dolphin god replied. "Lord Poseidon asked me to guide you to the meeting." And with that he lead me to a small room down the hall.
In side Poseidon was pacing although he stopped the second he noticed me. "Athena you made it." He said in relief walking over to me. "Do I look alright? I know she's already met me in passing but…"
"What you've met her! When? And why didn't you tell me? I could have been better prepared." I growled.
With a small degree of satisfaction I watched my dear fiance's face pale as sputtered an explanation. "W-Well I-I only f-found out yesterday...I-I tried to tell you but with every thing that happened yesterday I-I just got side tracked."
"My lord your son has arrived." Delphin interrupted.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Poseidon breath a sigh of relief "Thank you Delphin please send him in...quickly."
Moments later Triton walked in with a familiar black haired woman. 'Oh heavens how am I going to explain this to Artemis.' I thought.
"Lord Poseidon." Zoe greeted before noticing I was present. "L-Lady Athena what are you doing here?" She said in surprise.
Before I could reply Triton moved closer and put his arm around Zoe's shoulders "I told you I wouldn't keep any secrets from you and that includes the biggest secret of my family. A secret which Athena is very much privy to. To be honest it would be extremely awkward if she wasn't but that's beside the point." Triton said with a small chuckle. When nobody else joined he cleared his throat and continued. "Okay so my father wanted a chance to speak with you first we moved forward in anyway."
After hearing this the former huntress straightened up and squared her shoulders like she was preparing for an interrogation "Zoe nightshade" Poseidon breathed "you need not be worried. I am well aware of the kind of person you are and I am proud of my son for finding such an amazing woman to stand beside him. However I must ask that you swear on styx never to share what you learn in this room. Only six people know this secret four of which are present."
Zoe looked down for a moment thinking it over before giving Poseidon a determined look "I Zoe nightshade swear on styx to your terms."
Poseidon looked my way and smiled prompting me to step forward. "The first part of this secret is that I am no longer a maiden." The level of shock on her face was admittedly extremely amusing but sadly today I didn't have time to enjoy it. "You see after World War 2 Poseidon and I started dating and fourteen and a half years ago I gave birth to a son."
"Percy." Zoe breathed understanding dawning in her eyes.
"Yes Percy Jackson is our son." Poseidon stated. "In order to protect him from my younger brother we aloud Hestia to place a curse on him that would essentially block his connection to his domains temporarily. Physically and Emotionally he is already capable of handling the strain of god hood. However since he is basically being starved of the godly energy he should be receiving his body and mind is maturing much more slowly. He's technically a god but despite having ichor in his veins should he die right now he will not reform, he would go to the underworld like any other mortal."
Zoe was silent for a moment as she digested what he said. "What will happen when he turns sixteen? If he has ichor in his veins then the great prophecy doesn't apply to him."
"In exchange for keeping his true origins a secret the Fates declared he would be a possible candidate for the prophecy." I stated.
"I see." Zoe replied "It actually clears up a lot of the mysteries about him. How he can see a gods aura, how he withstood the weight of the sky, and how he can be unusually intelligent for a son of Poseidon."
"What do you mean unusually intelligent?" Triton asked with feigned annoyance.
Zoe actually laughed "I'm not saying your a fool but even Atlas recognized that he was unusually attuned to battle strategy." she said.
"Well I for one am happy to have another girl in the family." I said embracing her.
"I'm glad you're here as well. I was a little scared that I would be like an outsider in this family but having someone who once swore to be a maidan as well is a comforting thought." she said before turning to Poseidon. "Were you able to contact Artemis? I tried to Iris Message her but I couldn't get through to her or the hunt."
Poseidon shook his head "Sadly no with everything that happened with Apollo and Hades yesterday Olympus is in chaos and not even Apollo knows where she is." He replied. "I know you want her to be at your wedding but I don't think we have time to wait. With Apollo married Zeus has called a meeting for six tonight to reevaluate whether or not a suitable bride should be selected for Triton. Opinions on the subject are changing and if my brother gets involved he would never allow the two of you to marry. To be on the safe side we need to have this wedding in the next four and a half hours or it might never happen."
"I understand." She said.
"We'll wait to hold the ceremony till four so we can try to give Percy, Annabeth, and Artemis a chance to be present. Till then prepare what you need, we'll have the ceremony in the throne room." Poseidon said. Zoe nodded and followed Triton out of the room.
"Honey" I said softly once they had left "I hate to pile more on top of this but we have another problem." Poseidon sighed heavily and motioned for me to continue. "Someone is sacrificing to Percy."
My dear fiance stood still as a statue for a few beats "Come again?"
"Someone knows he's a god and I don't know who. We were sitting down to eat when the food just poofed onto his plate. I've already talked to Hestia about just keeping the sacrifice but she says to do so would be in direct violation of ancient law." with every word Poseidon's face got more and more grim. "She's trying to find out who sacrificed to him but we can't let him go back to camp until this is taken care of."
"Can't we dedicate a palace to him?" Poseidon asked "I mean with a private residence connected to him for the sacrifices to sent to we should be fine."
I thought about it, dedicating a palace was a lot like having a housewarming party but there were issues. "No we would need at least six god's not counting Percy to be present and unless I miscounted we only have five. You, myself, Hestia, Triton, and Delphin. Even if there was another god we could contact how the Hades could we explain away the toast in his honor. No one is just going to miss that."
Percy 2PM
The courtroom looked smaller than I expected but I guess there was really no need to hold this kind of thing in a large room. The judge had entered several minutes ago but he hadn't said anything he was just looking at the papers the guard gave him about the case. Mother had on a brave face but deep down I knew she was worried. The night before I had caught her talking in her sleep muttering about the 'intricacies of godly DNA' and whether or not mortal technology would even work.
Annabeth technical had no mortal parent at this point, the machine might not even recognize the blood they took from us earlier. Finally the judge set down his papers "I apologize for making all of you wait. I wanted to make sure I understood the case before we began. Fredric Chase?"
"Yes your honor?"
"You claim that young lady here" He gestured to Annabeth "is your daughter Annabeth Chase is that correct?"
"It is your honor." He declared
"I see you have included a picture of your daughter in the papers your provided the Police when you reported that she had been 'illegally adopted' by Miss Jackson here. Sending aside the validity of the adoption for now I have to ask why this photo is of a seven year old girl when this young lady is around fourteen or fifteen?" He said leaning back in his chair.
Fredrick glanced back at his wife that sitting just behind him. "Annabeth and her stepmother didn't get along very well and when she was seven I was convinced to let her stay with a friend Carl Brunner. I admittedly haven't had much contact with my daughter since other than a handful of letters Carl sent to me tell me about her." He stated. I looked at Annabeth who seemed confused, apparently Chiron hadn't told her about those. But it was just like him to do something like that. He probably hoped they would reconnect someday. I was a bit curious though why he chose Carl for his first name.
"I see." The judge said slowly "May I have a look at those letters?" Frederick nodded and passed them over to the guard. The judge took a moment to flip through the letters before speaking again "And what lead you to believe that this young lady was your daughter?"
"That's a bit of a long story. Recently I convinced my wife to let Annabeth come home so we could try and be a whole family again. I tried to contact Carl but he wasn't answering so I flew out to try and meet him at his home just outside manhattan. When I arrived I found the house had been ransacked. Naturally I called the Police but they claimed to have no leads. I was distraught till I remembered that in one of Carl's letters, the one from last August, he mentioned she had a friend named Perseus Jackson. From there I was able track him down and then learned of this falsified adoption. Carl Brunner is still missing though." He stated.
The judge nodded in understanding "I understand where you're coming from Mr. Chase and I do find it strange that this young lady both resembles your daughter and has the same first name. On the other hand I have had her adoption records looked at very closely and the officers involved have found no issues with them at all. Miss Jackson here adopted Annabeth with her father's permission as he was not home often enough to properly raise her." The judge stated. "Miss Jackson you were once in a relationship with her father is that correct?"
"It is, we separated a number of years back and due to a clerical error I was forced to formally adopt her instead of just having her move in with us." Mother replied.
The judge nodded again "And we have records to support that claim but to put everyone's mind at ease we've ordered a DNA test be done. You should have had your blood taken before this meeting began am I correct." We all nodded "Good normally we would need to wait several days for the results to come back but I was able to push it to the front of the line. We should be receiving the results any minute now."
As if on cue one of the security guards walked through the door and handed a folder to the judge. He looked over the contents briefly and looked up "Miss Jackson you are free to leave with both of your children."
"Thank you." Mother said almost tearfully before gathering up her things. Fredrick for his part looked blown away and tried to protest but the judge reminded him that DNA doesn't lie and warned him against bothering us further. He also wished him luck in finding his real daughter.
Athena POV
As soon as we moved past the doors to the courtroom I dropped to my knees and hugged both my children as tightly as I could. They didn't know but I couldn't risk using the mist to help us, Annabeth's fate was completely dependent on what the machine said. Annabeth returned the embrace eagerly while Percy let out a half hearted whine of "moooom." before returning it as well. I was so relieved we had I wanted to stay there holding them we had places to be. "Alright we better get moving we have a wedding to get to." I said getting confused looks from both my children "I'll explain on the way."
Thomas POV 5 PM
"Uuuugggghhhh" I groaned from my spot on the floor "everything hurts."
"Pain is just weakness leaving the body." Ares stated.
"What movie did you steal that from?" I asked.
Ares grinned "Who says that I wasn't the first one to say it." I honestly couldn't tell if he was joking. "Well you did a fair job controlling the heat this time, you can head home when you want." He said packing up his things
'Or can move again' I thought. "Hey what is the heat anyway? Is it something unique to children of Hera?"
"No all demigods can use it, in fact the heat is not even its proper name. I just called it that because that's how you described it. Typically god's call it the light. Basically the heat you feel is just how your body reacts when you harness godly energy is the same way a god does naturally by the time they turn 16 years, Hercules is actually the most famous demigod to harness this power."
At that I propped myself up on my elbows so I could actual look at the war god "Then shouldn't I have super strength or something?"
"No the exact gifts, enhancements if you will, vary from demigod to demigod. Sometimes it's strength others it's speed, reflex, or the ability to process what you see faster. Like watching the world through one of those slow mo cameras. Or it can be a mixture of those four option. You are evenly balanced in all four categories which means you don't overly excel in any of them. It's through mastering all of them that will make you stand out."
"Man that's so cool!" I said flopping back on the floor "Wait if this light can 'enhance a demigod so much why don't we learn to use it at camp?"
Ares zipped his bag closed and stood there "That is an excellent question with a very simple answer and that answer is that not all demigods will ever unlock this power usually only one in every generation even with aid. Chiron knows this and felt it would be better for you to train as you do than waist precious time on longshots. On the flip side with the light you could technically make yourself a symbol of power, wouldn't be nearly as powerful as a gods but still."
"I see." I said from my spot on the floor until his words sunk in "Did you say symbol of power?" but he was already gone.
Apollo POV 6 PM
I hated that this was actually happening. I looked around the council room to see that everyone save my twin had arrived. "Where is Artemis?" Zeus questioned.
Everyone glanced around not knowing themselves till Hestia spoke up "She is busy with a hunt and asked me to take her place for this meeting." She said. It made sense Artemis was hardly ever on or near Olympus for more than a month after a council meeting. The rest she spent hunting only visiting Olympus or the camp upon necessity. For unimportant meetings like this one she often asked Hestia to represent her. Hades we'd all done it at one time or another.
Zeus sighed "Fine, I'm sure you all know why we're here so I just cut to the chase. Who here feels that Poseidon's son and proclaimed heir should be married as soon as possible if only to ensure a proper line of succession should Triton begin having children." I knew Triton wouldn't sire any children outside of marriage after all we pledged that we would be better than our father's at Dionysus's domain ceremony. We even got tattoos that would fade if we broken that pledge. Nevertheless many hands rose.
Some like Aphrodite and Demeter genuinely wanted to have Triton married for various reasons. Others raised their hands simply because Zeus had worn them down over the centuries. As it was only Poseidon, Hephaestus, Athena, Hestia, and myself voted against it. With the motion carried Poseidon met Zeus's grin with a neutral look. "Now that that's settled let's talked about candidates. I think" the lord of the sky began but a cough from his elder brother stopped him.
"Forgive me Brother but if this meeting is about about ensuring a clear line of succession for my rule then shouldn't we take this opportunity to sort out the line of succession for your rule as well?" the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop "After all isn't that something you said should be done as soon as possible?" Poseidon added as if it was only an afterthought.
Zeus for his part looked as calm as ever as he looked around the room. 'Nice one' I thought Zeus had been dodging that one since Greece now he'd either need to let Triton's marital status go or risk creating dissension among his own children. "I agree with Poseidon you should have a proclaimed heir as well." Aphrodite added "All in favor?"
Almost instantaneously six hands rose into the air, those hands belonging to Ares, Hermes, Aphrodite, Demeter, Dionysus, and Poseidon. Hesitantly Athena and Hestia raised their hands as well. Artemis was going to be furious she missed this.
"Motion past." Poseidon declared before smugly leaning back in his chair. I noticed Athena giving him the 'shut up and back off' look but the sea god either didn't notice or didn't care. "If you wish we can give you a few months to sort out who you want to succeed you." He added.
Zeus discreetly glanced at Demeter who gave him an expectant look, if anyone else noticed this they did not show it. I always thought Demeter was in love with Zeus but for some reason she never did anything about it. "No I've been deliberating this for sometime and I believe I am ready to make my final decision. However before I tell my decision I have this to say to my children." Zeus said making eye contact with each of us.
"Anyone of you on this council have what it takes to be a king or queen and that is what has made this decision so hard for me. While each of you have factors that make you a convincing candidate there is one I must demand. To be an effective ruler you must have a strong spouse to support you." I had to bite my lip at that Hera didn't support him Hades I knew for a fact she hated him. He probably only said that to both insult Poseidon and support his position that Triton should be married. "And it is for that reason I've decided to exclude those of you who are not married to a god or goddess."
That remark got him a number of dirty looks from all his children especially Athena who was his oldest and by tradition rightful heir. Then I realized that meant either Hephaestus or myself were about to be named heir. The forge god would make the most sense he's the child of the current king and queen plus his wife was already on the council. When Zeus continued I got prepared to congratulate Hephaestus "With that said I feel the best choice to be my heir is...Apollo."
At that point I my congratulations died in my throat and instead sounded like a high pitch whine. I looked around at the rest of the council completely dumbstruck. Most were disappointed at not being chose but were clapping anyway Hera for her part looked deeply betrayed meanwhile Demeter was beaming. 'That look' I thought 'I should have known.'
Poseidon rose from his throne and in a booming voice that rose above the sound of clapping said. "Well Apollo I wish you the best of luck as the new prince but I really must be going, you know duties and all that. Oh but first I am proud to announce that my son Triton was married today to an immortal sea spirit. I know you all want to meet the newlyweds but you'll have to wait until after the honeymoon." He laughed before flashing out and leaving all but Athena stunned who left moments after he did.
Time skip
It had been a few hours since the council meeting and I had been proclaimed heir. After all the half hearted congratulations I took a walk to clear my head before heading back to my palace where I informed my wife of what had occured while we sat on the couch.
"I can't believe he made you king. Not that you wouldn't make a good king but still." Persephone laughed "He probably only did to make Demeter happy."
"He probably thinks that this will get me back in line to." I added leaning back on the couch "from his perspective this was a win win, throw me a bone to get me to behave and make your mother happy at the same time. It's just like his to choose an heir while thinking about his next lay."
"Of course you couldn't expect to have anything else on his mind." she made me wonder about somethings I had noticed since we got married.
"Persephone I have to ask but why haven't you gone to see your father or mother since you were freed from Hades?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Then could you tell me why Hades smiled when he was leaving Olympus after we married yesterday?"
"You must of imagined it he wouldn't…" She began.
"My love you do realise I can tell your lying to me." I said cutting her off. She moved to get up but I held her in place. "Please talk to me I'm your husband and I love you. There is nothing you can say that will make me look at you any differently."
"I don't consider Zeus or Demeter my parents okay." She yelled. "Every day as child the would abandon me in a field expecting some random nature spirits to take care of me while they had their fun." She paused taking a number of deep calming breaths while I rubbed her back. "After a few days the satyrs and Dryads stopped taking care of me. That's when Hades showed up, he was furious they had just abandoned me and looked after me until my so called parents came back."
"Hades reminded them of their responsibilities but they didn't care. Hades told Hestia and they took care of me over the years when my biological parents left me on my own, which was almost every day. They fed me, clothed me, taught me academics, right from wrong, gods they would even grounded me when I acted up." she smiled at the memory. "They raised me and when Hercules was made a god and Zeus offered to let him any of his daughters I ran to Hades for help. I hoped he could prevent his brother from forcing me to marry that muscle head.
Of course later when I learned that Artemis Athena, and Hestia had gone to lady styx to swear to be eternal maidens I was practically kicking myself. I mean the solution so simple and yet I was going books on ancient law to find a way out. Eventually I decided that getting married was the only way out."
"Wait you came up with the idea to marry him!" I exclaimed.
She bit back a laugh "You should have seen his face when I brought it up to him. He looked so horrified. He turned it down of course and said it would be our last resort if all else failed and he made it crystal clear that I was nothing more than a daughter to him. Personally I think that was only half of it the other half was that he was in love with someone else."
"Really!" I said honestly stunned "Who?"
"I don't know." She said softly "When I was younger I found letters he'd written her but never sent in his desk. Hundreds of attempts to tell her how he felt but never worked up the courage to send. Some were simple and elegant, others included amazing poems he'd written, and some were clearly written while he was drunk. He even had a small number of necklaces and bracelets he bought for her. I think because of who he was he was scared she'd run in fear if he ever told her."
"Did he ever tell her?" I asked
Persephone shook her head "When I was hiding out in the underworld he finally worked up the courage to tell her but when he came back he seemed broken. He wouldn't tell me what happened only that things could never work out. He went to burn the letters but he just couldn't bring himself to. Instead he took it all and locked it all in one of his vaults. He was never the same after that. He used to smile often and even laugh occasionally now he barely even smiles."
End of Chapter notes
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AN: Ok so I know these last few chapters haven't that popular but trust me they'll be important later. Next Chapter we will be back onto the main story but I do intended to move quickly.
Now I know a lot of you are probably in an uproar over the oath Poros gave Hades and while I originally planned to have this explained near the end of the whole story I've just decided nip these potential flames in the butt. Something you should know about me is that i love to study History and I try to incorporate actual facts, events, and traditions into my stories.
Now the oath Poros gave merely says that if Hades called him brother he would be correct. Hades is assuming Poros is his full blooded brother when in fact Poros is his brother in law. Now a lot of you may say "But Athena and Poseidon aren't married their only engaged so Poros can't be an in law yet." Well this is where me being a history buff comes in. In ancient Greece (like pre Athens Greece) it was forbidden to have a child without being married and the child would be killed or abandoned to avoid the shame that followed.
However there was a rare tradition where that could be avoided so long as three conditions were met. First the child was born in a temple where a priestess served as the midwife. Second the parents agreed to raise the child together. Third the priestess/midwife gives her blessing for this to occur. At this point the previously single parents are now considered married. (Admittedly when I read about it I thought it was a cross between a shotgun wedding and eloping.) Percy was born in Hestia's temple/palace where she was the midwife, Poseidon and Athena did agree to raise percy together, and they did so with Hestia's blessing.
The idea is that this tradition is so obscure that none of those involved have realized what has happened. As for how Poros knows well he's been trapped in a dead god's palace for 3000+ years. If that had happened to me I would have read anything I could get my hands on. Hera doesn't know because she never bothered to check if either of the two were married.
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Okay so you might be wondering about Thomas getting a symbol of power and that I might be overdoing it. First off I'm not sure if he will I just brought it up in case I did decide to do so. And even if he does trust me when I say it will be greatly limited compared to an actual god's symbol of power.
Side note some of you may have notice I never gave Thomas a last name that is because his father is a mortal character that already exists in one or more of Rick Riordan's books and as I drop more hints about him in the coming chapters feel free to guess if you wish. Same goes for Hades's mystery goddess.
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Lastly I want to take a moment to outline the early life of a god or goddess as it is important to the rest of the story. First when a god or goddess is born they age and mature rapidly due to the amount of energy they receive from their domains. At their first birth day they look to be about six years old. After that the grow at the same pace as a mortal. When they turn 13 they are physically, mentally and emotionally 18. This is when they receive their domains. When they turn 16 they learn to harness their light and then imbue an existing weapon with power to create a symbol of power. At age 18 they would fully take over their duties whatever they may be.
Hopefully these with help keep some of the flames at bay.
