For days Aricia felt the burn of the hellhound's bite as the venom coursed through her veins. It ached worse than anything she had ever suffered before, save Zeus' punishment a few years ago. Her body felt like it was both on fire and being eaten alive by ice. Like she was lying on a bed made of broken glass covered by a sheet made of hornets.

She was only very vaguely aware of people at her bedside coming in and out through the course of her thin stream of time conscious. Hera never left, the goddess stayed still as a statue as she hovered over her child. "I was always there Aricia, I was always watching you." She whispered.

"I tried my best to make life easy for you, but it never worked. I'm so sorry my poor little baby girl."

Aricia tried to speak, to let her mother know how much her words meant to her. But she was still too weak from the venom to utter little more than a moan or a whimper. Speech was too painful still. Aphrodite came in sometimes and talked to her, thanking her for her message.

"Silena was my favorite child; she meant so much to me." The goddess of love often said. "She doesn't want you to die yet. She wants you to grow old with that boy and live a full life with him."

Hera nodded in agreement. "You need to live and grow up, grow up and have children of your own." She touched Aricia's cheek delicately. "Don't you want that my dove?"

Aricia's dream twisted in to pleasant fantasy of her and Rahl growing older one day, getting married, having children of their own to raise and love. She'd have a daughter surely, small and sweet and safe from the life her mother lived. She would call her Silena.

Apollo came once, with his son Rahl at his side. As the god chanted healing mantras over her Rahl sat on the bed with her and held her hand. She felt his lips touch hers and managed to open her eyes. Rahl saw and smiled broadly. "You're going to be alright. Keep fighting."

"Rahl…" She whispered. "I love you, and I don't want to die without telling you." Aricia smiled and looked over to where her mother was still sitting. "The pain is lessening." She lied.

Hera knew that she was just trying to lessen her worries. "Baby, don't be brave." She whispered. "I know that you are still in great pain. Lay back and let Apollo help lessen it."

"Do I look better than I feel?"

"Yes, yes you do." Hera promised.

It was true, well somewhat true. Color had come back in to the daughter of Hera's cheeks, but it was probably from the fever that still ran through her. Some hours she shook from the fever and other times her teeth clattered together like she was freezing.

Zeus visited her and added another blanket to the numerous ones on top of her. "I have spoken to Hades." He told Hera.

"Has he agreed to help?" Hera stood up, her brown eyes hopeful. "Please, our brother must know she wasn't trying to cheat her fate."

"He does, for his son Nico explained her presence in the Underworld. Still, he is reluctant to help her for she was trespassing."

"Heroes are allowed anywhere if they have the nerve." Clarisse, who was taking her turn to visit Aricia whispered out loud. "He can't punish her for being there. Can he?"

"Hades unfortunately can do whatever he wishes in his realm." Zeus said and put his hand on Aricia's forehead. "Her fever still rages." He stated and knelt down to touch his daughter's face. "Come on child, you can't die like this. This is not the death of a hero."

"Father?" Aricia groaned and turned her head towards Zeus. "Does Uncle agree to help me?"

"He does not." Zeus admitted. "You will need to do this by your own strength."

"I am weak." Aricia said softly.

"Then don't speak; save what strength you have." Zeus counseled and looked at Hera. "Come with me Hera, we must speak."

"I can't leave her alone." Hera protested. "She could fade at any moment."

"I will be brief, this will not take long." Zeus took the goddess' hand and pulled her out of the room. Hera looked miserable, and justly so. "You must rest." Zeus told her, "She won't recover any faster if her mother withers at her side."

"There is no hope…" Hera said. "She is going to perish."

"Shhh, don't speak such things lest you make them so." Zeus comforted her. "She has survived much; she is too stubborn to die."

Apollo suddenly appeared and bowed before saying, "Your Majesties, please the child is asking for you."

Hera nodded. "Does she show any signs of improvement?"

"No, but she does not grow weaker. It is stalemate as of now." Apollo admitted. "She could go either way."

Hera rushed in but Aricia had slipped in to unconsciousness once again. Clarisse was leaving and ducked her head in respect to the goddess. "She will live goddess, she is too damn stubborn to die."

The goddess chuckled. "My husband just said the same thing."

Clarisse nodded. "It is true." She bowed again and left the room.

Hera sat on the side of her child's bed and fondly stroked her face. "My little baby, I remember every day we spent together so well…"

The baby inside of Hera's womb flexed and kicked as if it were impatient to be born. Hera had been able to hide the secret pregnancy for two weeks and within a few days the child would be born. Immortal pregnancies were nice and quick, unlike the horrific nine months a mortal woman suffered.

"Calm down my child, it is not time yet." Hera cooed and rubbed her swollen stomach. What would this one be like? Would it be a boy or a girl? "Soon I'll be able to hold you."

Artemis happened by and stared wide-eyed at the goddess' stomach. "What is that…?" Hera narrowed her eyes and glared at the child of Zeus and Leto. The forever maiden, never to have a child of her own stared and stepped forward. "He will punish you."

"He is not going to harm me, or our baby." Hera snapped. "The child is innocent of all crimes he will charge her of."

"Zeus will not want her, you know that."

Hera stood straighter and a dangerous aura surrounded her. "He betrays me at every turn. You yourself are living proof of that. You and your brother, Athena, Dionysius, Hermes, and Thalia are enough proof. The one in my stomach was created without infidelity."

Artemis shook her head. "He will not see it that way."

"Get out!" Hera demanded.

Once she was alone Hera hugged her stomach and whispered, "I'll protect you baby, I swear on Styx I will make sure you grow up."

Hera touched her daughter's forehead and felt that it was cooling a bit. She leaned in and said, "Silena Beauregard would not want you to die like this. You need to keep fighting so that you can keep living. Earn Elysium Aricia, earn your reward. Do not fade like an elderly mortal in a nursing home. You are the child of Zeus and Hera, a goddess in your own right. The time has come for you to fight."

Aricia cracked her eyes open and she smiled. "I feel stronger Mother, I feel like I can stay awake longer." She said and sat up to look around the room. "This was where I slept when I lived here." She noticed. "It has not changed much."

Hera nodded and smiled. "You have though; you're far different from the child you were when last we spoke in person."

"I wanted to be a hero, so I could make you proud of me." Aricia said. "I didn't want to just go through life afraid, so I did something about it."

"Aricia, I have always been proud of you my sweet. Your life has brought me so much joy and you have proved yourself as a hero to me many times." Hera slid in to bed next to her daughter and held her against her.

For a moment it was just like Aricia was no more than a mortal child sick in bed home from school with her mortal mother trying to give her comfort. "I wish we weren't goddesses." She murmured. "Life would be simpler."

"I know, sometimes I wish for the same thing Aricia." Hera admitted. "But we are what we are, no more and no less. This is what Fate gave us, and we must do with it what we can." Hera held on tighter and sighed. "Fate gave me you; it must not take you away."

The thought of Silena's final words in the Underworld were what drove Aricia to fight her weakening body. 'It is not your time.' Silena and Hera wanted Aricia to live, and so live she would. Aricia let out a deep breath and turned so she faced her mother. Hera cradled her child's head on her shoulder and smiled warmly as she rocked her back and forth. There was probably no more comforting touch in the world than Hera's for she was the ultimate mother.

"I'm not going anywhere." Aricia promised. Her eyelids were growing heavier and she snuggled closer to her mother's body. "Can I sleep?" She asked.

"Not right now, I think Apollo is going to come back to give you something." Hera said and smoothed Aricia's hair back out of her eyes.

Hera looked at the purple irises staring back at her. She missed the warm chocolate brown eyes that the child was born with. "When you go back to camp, things are going to different." Hera whispered. "Rahl and Britani know you're secret, and you all must prepare for the giants."

"Yes, I know." Aricia said. "I'll try harder, I am not going to let the giants win. Olympus is for the gods and goddesses who've already won it once. We shouldn't have to teach them a second time who is superior."

Hera laughed at those words and nodded. "Indeed we shall."

The goddess stood up and tucked the blankets snugly around her daughter. Apollo entered the room with Rahl again who thought the goddess was going to destroy him. Hera narrowed her eyes and nodded at Rahl. "Be brief, she is very tired."

"Tired is better than hallucinating." Apollo said. "Her fever has broken, so her chances have just jumped higher."

"She is going to live." Rahl added. "There's no way she's going to die." He went over and kissed her. "Are you?" He asked.

Aricia sat up and shook her head. "I won't die on you Rahl." She leaned over and kissed him back.

Within a few days Aricia was able to get out of bed and walk around her room. She felt well enough to return to Camp Half-Blood and finish her quest. When she approached the subject with the others they all agreed with her. Britani had a new outfit on, a blessing from her mother Aphrodite. Rahl and Clarisse had new clothing on too from their parents as gifts.

"It's time to return." She told her mother. "I ask for your blessing before I leave."

Hera nodded. "You have it, as you always do."

Aricia looked at Zeus and bowed. "Father?"

Zeus smiled and embraced her. He had never done so before in her entire 17 years of life. Aricia felt tears in her eyes but forced them back as she returned her father's hug. "You have my blessing." Zeus said at last.

Aricia's clothing did not change, but on her silver peacock feather pendent she looked down and saw the chain was glowing slightly, as if electric. Zeus chuckled and nodded. "Your attacks have a little extra bite now."

"Thank you Father." Aricia said and stepped back with her companions. "Are you all ready?"

The other three demigods voiced their confirmations and Aricia let out a deep breath. "Okay, send us back."