Kings are Not So Great

"Seriously, Thalia?" I asked the said girl.

She shrugged. "What? He could know something."

"I don't trust him," I snarled.

I looked around. The room was spacious. There were gold statues all around. Some looked surprised. Others looked annoyed especially this one girl who looked as if she was frozen saying "Not again!"

"Well, neither do I but we have to try. Pretend you're a hunter," Thalia said, adjusting her quiver.

"Pffft. Right." I was the only one not wearing a silvery outfit. Instead, I donned: Black cargo pants plus a dark green military-style jacket and my purple Camp Jupiter shirt. I totally blend in.

We came across a big white mansion as we followed Lycaon's trail. We took a peek inside and found ourselves being attacked by a tall guy with a sword. We found out that he was the son of King Midas. After negotiating a truce and an audience with his father, what's-his-face led us into the room we were currently in. Apparently, it's supposed to be a throne room.

We stayed silent. I glanced at the other hunters. They looked as apprehensive as I did. I smiled in satisfaction. A door opened and all the hunters stood up.

A short, round man walked in. He was wearing a tall sleeping cap, and a sharkskin suit. Obviously, he was King Midas. He was, after all, the reason why we came here.

Midas was followed by the tall young man with dark curly hair who attacked us earlier. He was wearing a black sleeveless shirt exposing his well-toned arms which were littered with battle scars. Similar scars marred his handsome face. I couldn't seem to remember his name. Lichtenstein? Lithuania? No wait, those are countries.

"Well what can I do for you, ladies? Interested in buying gold?" he asked. His belly bounced up and down as he walked. I cringed.

"No thanks. We prefer silver," I said.

"Hmph. Not serious investors. I should turn you into gold and be rid of you lot."

"You're Majesty, please," Thalia spoke up. She gave me a pointed glare. "We would like to know some information. And your gold is very valuable to us."

Midas thought for a moment.

"Well then what information would you like?" he asked putting his hands together.

I nudged Thalia who nudged back.

"Uh well…" I began, unsure of what to say.

"Lycaon!" Thalia blurted out.

"Yeah! The werewolf king! Would you happen to know what he's up to?" I asked while stepping on Thalia's foot. She should be the one doing this! Not me! I'm just an honorary member. She was the leader.

"Why would you ask me of all people?" Midas sat back and stroked his beard.

I waited for Thalia to say something. I really can't suck up to people.

"Well…" she began. "You're very knowledgeable." I resisted the urge to slap my face.

"That I am but you see, my, ah, sponsor is against helping people like you," Midas replied, smilingly gleefully. "You may choose to either be turned into gold or die by Lit's sword."

"Lit?" I asked.

"Oh that would be my son, Lityerses. A terrible name, I know. So which is it?" I was a little too stunned to reply.

"Both then."

"Scatter!" Thalia shouted. Midas and Lit ran forward. I ducked under Midas' arm and shoved him back. I saw Thalia fighting Lit but the latter had the upper hand.

I ran forward and summoned my sword. I blocked Lit's strike and pushed him out of the way.

"Run!" I yelled at Thalia.

We sprinted for the exit. We slammed the door shut as soon as we were out then we grabbed a pole lying around and stuck it through the handles. Then the Hunters and I turned around and ran as fast as we could.

Once the white house was out of sight, we paused and caught our breaths. I glared at Thalia.

"I told you that was a bad idea!"

She snorted. "It was a good try! I just think we should've burned that house."

I rolled my eyes. "That'll take up too much time. Let's just get going." Thalia and I turned and the other Hunters followed.

Lycaon would have covered a good distance in the time we wasted. We had to make up for it.

/*/

After a while, we made it to Pikes Peak. The signs Lycaon's pack left led to the mountains.

"Where are they?" Thalia asked me.

I knelt on the ground and felt the vibrations. Thalia knew of this ability of mine. I could tell where things were just by touching the ground. It was sort of like I had a built-in seismograph.

I've had this ability for as long as I could remember. The things I sensed used to overwhelm me but Lupa helped me control it before she sent me to Camp. This ability was probably what caught Diana's attention. The goddess of the moon said that it would help me be a good hunter and that I should embrace it and use it to my advantage.

That's what I was doing now.

I looked at my companions and nodded.

"He's close" I mouthed and pointed forward.

We crept forward making as little noise as we could. At first I couldn't understand or identify who were talking but as we drew nearer, I heard Lycaon laugh.

"I can smell your fear. A few more minutes of life, heroes. Pray to whatever gods you wish. Zeus did not grant me mercy, and you will have none from me." Someone cursed and drop something heavy. He sounded vaguely familiar. Another seemed to pull something (a mallet?) out of a bag. A third heft a heavy object like a mace. That was probably my cue. I quickly took aim at the nearest wolf and fired. I ducked back down. The Hunters followed suit and fired.

I notched another arrow then fired at Lycaon. He caught it. However, as soon as he did, he screamed in pain and dropped my arrow. I shook my head. Lycaon, it's obviously silver. Dodging it would have been better.

I notched a third then fired it at the Werewolf King. It lodged on his shoulder causing him to stagger.

Not so tough now, huh?

"Curse them!" Lycaon shouted. "This isn't over, boy." Then he disappeared. The other hunters entered the clearing. I turned to face Thalia.

"Time for me to go," I said. I stretched out my right hand. She swatted it away and gave me a hug instead.

"Thank you." She pulled away. "Be careful out there, Icicle."

My breath caught in my throat. Reyna used to call me that. I forced a smile, stepped back, and waved before moving away. I returned my bow to its previous state and summoned Maelstrom. Soon enough, I heard the flapping of wings.

You're not going to go with them for the rest of the way? Maelstrom asked as soon as he landed.

I shook my head. "I'd rather go alone from now on."

Maelstrom whinnied. Nobody likes being alone.

"Well, I do." I hoisted myself up onto Maelstrom's back. "To my safe house. There's something I need to check."

/*/

I sat cross-legged in front of an ice-green bowl full of water. Or rather, what was once water.

I growled in frustration willed the water to unfreeze for the nth time. Okay, I'll admit it, I'm nervous. Maybe apprehensive is the better term. Either way, I end up freezing almost anything liquid I come in contact with whenever I feel jittery. I took a deep breath and dropped a seashell into the water without accidentally freezing the water.

Oh, I should back up a bit. Right now, I'm in my safe house trying to communicate with my father, Neptune. The safe house is actually just a little room-like thing full of supplies I stocked up over the years. I made sure to have one at very strategic spots. Was I afraid that someone might find my safe houses? Well, mortals can't find it but demigods can. I'm fine if a demigod finds my safe house. The supplies can save their lives. I keep nothing valuable in my safe houses anyway. Except maybe for the seashells I was trying to use at the moment.

On my thirteenth birthday, I receive a blue envelope with a bunch of seashells in it (Weeee). It came with the ice-green bowl I now had on my lap and a note saying "When the time is right we shall talk." After asking a bunch of Limnade Naiads what in the world the seashells were for, I found out that they were actually for communicating with Neptune. I drop one of those little things into the bowl (which apparently has to be filled with water), wait for a few seconds, then poof! I can talk to Neptune. I tried once before but it didn't work. Maybe it's because the "time wasn't right" or something like that.

But now, I really needed to talk to him. I don't think I can visit my mother in the Philippines feeling like… whatever I feel. I don't know if he's proud of me or what. I tried so hard to do my best in everything, to earn as much medals as I could, to even reach the position of Camp Prefect. I acted as disciplined as I could which resulted in people from the first three cohorts jeering at me even more. I earned the respect of the Fourth Cohort after saving their butts from a drakon nearly losing my life in the process. That's another story, though.

I turned my attention back to the bowl on my lap. The water had frozen again and I nearly threw the damn bowl to the wall. Then I noticed that my face wasn't reflected on the ice. It had frosted over but I could see an outline of a man's head. I put the bowl back on my lap and wiped the frost off.

Sure enough, I could see Neptune's face on the ice. He seemed to be sitting down wearing Roman armor. His jet black hair was cut Roman style. His beard was a little scruffy giving him a sort of rugged look. His skin was a deep tan and he had frown lines in between his brows.

"Father," I breathed out.

"At last you've found the right time to communicate with me," he said, his deep baritone voice resonating with power. I stayed silent unsure of what to say.

"You were banished from Camp." It was a statement, not a question. For some reason, that made me feel angry. I forced myself to remain calm.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"Word travels fast," he simply said. His expression was hard to read. Was he disappointed? Angry? What was he feeling?

"Is that all you're going to say about this?" I said, my voice rising a bit. It was getting more and more difficult to keep my anger in check. My hands were trembling and frost began to spread on the floor from where my hands were resting. "For years, I've been trying to get your attention. People have insulted me, disliked me, simply because I was your daughter. I was accused of working for the enemy countless of times. Yes, you sent me the sword and shield I wield. You sent me these- these sea shells to communicate with you but you only answered now. Father, I needed you to say something. Anything at all to reassure me that I was doing okay despite what everyone else thought. If it weren't for Jason and Reyna, who knows what I would have done? Now, I've been exiled from Camp Jupiter, my home and all you're going to say is 'Word travels fast'?"

My breath came out in little puffs of smoke. The whole room was covered in ice. I didn't care.

Neptune frowned and leaned back. "I'm sorry, Selene. It's just that, us, gods, we can't really speak to our children."

"Minotaur dung," I mumbled. Neptune shot me a stern look. All my etiquette seemed to be thrown out the window at this moment. I just didn't care anymore. "Juno visits Jason several times. When she does, she manages to insult me so why don't you have time commend me?"

Neptune paused as if he was contemplating. "Selene, you know as well as I do that I am feared by the Romans. The other gods wouldn't appreciate it if I communicated with you. They think that my children have to be taught to survive without hearing anything from me. They know that you would have been tormented but they believed that those hardships would make you tamer than all of your other siblings."

I said nothing. Yes, what father said made sense but still.

"I needed you," I whispered. Neptune's eyes softened as if understanding my plight.

"Child, you are very much unlike your siblings. You are the only one among my children who possesses power of the earth and ice. I granted you those gifts because I believed they would suit you more. Indeed you have shown amazing control over your powers. Despite your banishment, I am proud of all you have accomplished. You have proven that my children are capable of great restraint. You achieved so much in your eleven years in Camp Jupiter. I apologize for not being able provide you with as much guidance as I hoped I could." He sighed heavily. "Just be careful. Your fatal flaw would be your downfall."

I managed a small smile. For some reason, I felt lighter.

"Thank you, Father," I said softly.

"Stay true to yourself. Right now, I would advise you to go to the Wolf House, as you originally planned." His eyes twinkled. My mouth opened slightly in shock. I didn't tell him I intended to visit Lupa. How did he know? "Then you should visit your mother. She worries."

I grimaced. "Did you tell her?" Neptune tilted his head.

"She may have received an anonymous letter informing her of what happened to you."

I wanted to curl up in a little ball and disappear from the world. My mother would probably be having a panic attack right now.

"Relax, Selene," Neptune said. "She understands."

I stared at him curiously. "Okay then?"

Neptune laughed. "You're just like her." He paused "Selene, I'm sorry I have to end this conversation short. Jupiter ordered all of the Olympians not to communicate with our children."

I nodded. "I understand. Thank you, father."

He smiled one last time and waved his hand making the image disappear.

I bit my lower lip. I was alone again.

I stared at my reflection. My black hair was tied, as always, but a fringe remained on the right side of my face. The small pale scar above my left eyebrow stood out. I touched it lightly. I got it a few years ago when I proved my loyalty to the Legion.

No matter what I do, it was never going to go away. I used to hate it but now, I came to accept it as a part of me. With all the shenanigans happening, my scar seemed to tell the world that no matter what it throws at me, I'll get back up.