Hey! I have an announcement! So, I recently got a job at the library. It means that I have less time to write, So I will discontinue uploading on Friday. But I will still upload on monday, so don't worry!
It was such a nice, calm day on Olympus. For once, there were no quarrels. Nobody was hurt. Nobody was screaming in agony. It was a really nice, really calm day. Hestia loved those days. They were small in numbers, so she treasured every single one of them.
She looked out of her window. Her house was small, but exceptionally cosy. She liked it that way. She smiled widely. Today was the perfect day to do something as a family. A board game would be perfect! She immediately opened her cupboard and got out the box of monopoly. She had heard that mortal familie often played that together. With the box in her arms, she stepped outside.
It was lunchtime on a council day, which meant that all the Olympians were in the same place (It might sound like an oxymoron, council days and quietness. But it really was the truth, however weird it may be). Hestia walked into the dinner hall, with the monopoly boxed. Everyone's' faces immediately lit up.
'Hestia!' Apollo cheered. He put his fork down. 'Is everything alright?' She laughed.
'I am doing great, Apollo.' She walked over and hugged him. 'Is everything good with you?' He nodded. 'Of course.' He looked at the box. 'What do you have there?' Hestia smiled innocently.
She put the box on the table. 'Monopoly. We still have three hours until you all have to talk. We can play a game!' The entire Olympian council went silent.
Zeus didn't know what to do. On one hand, he did not want to disappoint Hestia. On the other hand, he was sure that the game could cause a rift in the council. That was not a good thing when they were supposed to have a meeting in three hours. Yet, Hestia was there. Maybe the other Olympians would calm down for her...
'Alright,' he said, with a fake smile. 'We'll do it.' He caught the gaze of his daughter Athena, who looked at him like he'd gone insane. She nodded, though. 'Yes. Fun, Hestia,' she said with such a fake grin that Hestia had to see it. The other Olympians also put fake smiles on their faces and nodded and said how great they all thought it was.
Dionysus pushed his chair back. 'You know, I believe this is an absolutely great idea, Hestia, but Chiron asked me to go back after lunch so that we could revise something and also watch at the waterworks...' His voice ebbed away while Hestia grabbed his arm.
'Can't that wait until in the evening?' Dionysus slowly begun shaking his head, until he saw the sad look on his aunts' face. 'I mean... I don't know...' he sighed. 'I'll play along.' he walked back to the table. While doing so, he made direct eye-contact with Hera. She gave him a look that would have killed him if he wasn't immortal and if looks could that. Demeter saw it. She swallowed. Already there was twist. Already she did not know who's side to pick.
Hestia started to give everyone pylons, only to realise that there were not enough pylons for all thirteen of them. She chose one herself and looked around the table. 'One person will have to just watch,' she told everyone. She started to distribute the money into separate piles. Which was a good thing, because that way she did not see the death glares the other Olympians gave each other.
Eventually, they decided that Poseidon got to be the bank and not play along (That way he could not fight about the right amount to pay with Zeus, they thought). Everyone else got a pylon. They decided that Hestia would go first.
She picked up the dices, which was enough to make a wave of rivalry flow through the room. Hestia rolled a three and a five, which made her land on a street. She blinked. 'Do I have to buy it or not?' she asked to no-one in particular. Athena shook her head.
'No, but it is the best strategy to do so.' Ares, who was sitting on the other side of the table, scoffed. 'You cannot help people!' Hermes, who was sitting in front of him, have him a deathglare. 'Shut it,' he mouthed. Ares looked like he wanted to say something hateful back, but Aphrodite, who was sitting next to him, put her hand in front of his mouth. 'Sh. Think of Hestia,' she whispered. Ares decided to keep quiet.
Hestia bought the first blue street, got the card, and gave the dices to Demeter, who was sitting next to her. Demeters' hands were shaking. She threw the dices and rolled four. Her expression darkened as she moved her shoe-pylon to tp the square that said 'income tax.'
Poseidon was looking at the board. He bit his tongue. He wouldn't laugh. He couldn't. Not with Hestia in the room. Poseidon dug his nails into his hand. If his favorite sister would not have been there, he would have jumped up and pointed at his second favorite sister. But he couldn't. 'Poseidon?' a voice broke his thoughts.
'Heh?' He realised Demeter was pushing $10.000 in Monopoly money into his face.
'You're the bank,' his sister reminded him. Poseidon nodded.
'Eh, yeah, yeah.' He took the money, put it back in the box and the game continued.
The dices passed from Demeter to her nephew Hermes. Some people groaned. Hermes was incredibly good at Monopoly. He or Athena were Always the ones who won. Hermes threw the dices and rolled the first train station. Hera scoffed. Hermes jerked his head up and stared her dead in the eye. 'Cheat,' Hera mouthed.
'Shut up, witch,' he mouthed back.
'Hera, Hermes, is there something you want to say?' Hestia asked, so sweet that Hermes and Hera immediately jumped to the conclusion that she noticed what they'd said. 'No, no!' Hera said. She gave Hestia her most charming smile. Hermes did the same thing. 'It is fine, auntie Hestia!' he said, trying to play the best nephew. Hestia slowly nodded.
Hermes bought the first train station (He and Hera shot each other some major death glares) and the game continued. Everytime someone rolled the dices and landed on a spot, death glares were exchanged and hurtful comments were internally made.
After a few rounds, Hermes had all of the train stations (much to Athena's chagrin), Athena owned the two most expensive streets with hotels (which Hermes didn't like) and the rest was trying to at least come in third while keeping their comments about Hermes and Athena having cheated inside their heads. Ares, Dionysus and Artemis were already out (but everyone knew Artemis and Dionysus had lost deliberately. When they actually wanted to win, they could ruin your entire day).
It was Hestia's fourth turn. She owned a few minor streets, one with a house (she didn't own the entire city, but nobody had had the heart to tell her she could not put a house on a street without owning the town). She landed on the 'go to jail!' Tile. She heard a few people gasp. Hestia raised an eyebrow. 'Why should I go to jail? I haven't done anything!' She muttered. Hermes swallowed. 'I gift you my 'get-out-of-jail' free card! Than you don't need to go!' He yelled. A few people gasped again. Hermes never gave up his get-out-of-jail free card. Athena couldn't hide a sly grin. Artemis rolled her eyes. 'He has two, you guys,' she said, while playing with her pylon.
They played further, until Hestia's next round. This time, she landed on Athena's most expensive street (with hotel). 'How much do I owe you?' She asked. Athena swallowed while she looked at the little card.
'Uh... uh... let me calculate!' She looked at the card. She stared at that one ridiculously high number that would bankrupt her poor aunt. 'Uh...' she heard a sigh. Artemis got a phone out of her pocket (the gods had phones these days. There is no way that we have something that they don't).
She touched one of her contacts and put the phone to her ear. 'Ma'am! Is something wrong?' Thalia's voice said.
'No, but I am sure you guys are having trouble with that monster I told you about earlier,' it was silent for some time.
'Uh, yes. You should come, I guess.' Artemis stood up.
'Yall hear it. See you in a few hours.' She pushed her chair back, made a small trip around the table to kiss Hestia on her forehead, and walked out of the throne room.
Athena stared at her card. Artemis had bought her some time, but it wasn't enough. After a few seconds, Hestia's soft voice broke the silence: 'So, Athena?'
'Two thousand dollars.' Hestia looked genuinely surprised.
'Only two thousand?' Athena nodded.
'Family discount?'
'We're all family, Athena.'
'Just pay.' Hestia payed, and they played on.
Not even three minutes later, they heard the sound of somebody typing on their phones. 'Phones away, please!' Hestia asked. A few seconds later, an Iris-message popped up, with Chiron's head. 'I need Dionysus, I think.' Dionysus got up.
'You all hear it. Sorry that I need to stop your game, Hestia, but I have no choice.' He did the same as Artemis, and left the throne room. Athena scoffed. Young gods these days, she thought.
In the end, Hestia won, mostly because Hermes and Athena had been going ridiculously easy on her. Hermes was second, Athena third. The rest was still in a tumult trying to fight out who really got fourth place. Hestia picked up the board and left the throne room.
'I was expecting you,' she said, while looking at Artemis and Dionysus, who were sitting on her front porch. They looked up. 'Sorry, Hestia, but that was too horrible,' Artemis confessed. Hestia smiled.
'I know. They really think that I am that ignorant about evil, don't they?' Dionysus nodded.
'Yeah.' He stood up. 'I need to go back to camp.'
'We still have the meeting,' Artemis reminded him.
'I know, but Chiron wouldn't have send me that Iris-message if there was nothing wrong. He really wants to stay out of Olympian drama. He is not going to give me an excuse to walk away from a Monopoly game.' Artemis shrugged.
'True I guess.' She stood up as well. 'Then I go to. That monster was too much for my girls anyway.' Hestia kissed them both on the cheek and walked inside.
The silence quickly returned to mount Olympus. At five 'O'clock, Hestia took a look at the throne room. Empty. She smiled. Peace successfully kept and not lost over the question of we should keep Zeus's succulent, she thought.