In the middle of Concertia lay a huge circular building. This was none other than the Accords Hall, where the town held big debates and meetings. The Three Kings and their families sat with the townspeople as Hestia held her hand up for silence.
"My Lords," she addressed the kings first, "thank you for your haste in getting here. I hope your journey wasn't too much trouble."
"None at all," Poseidon smiled at Hestia. "But what has happened?"
Perseus, or Percy as he liked to be called these days, sat in-between his two older brothers, Triton and Tyson. This was the first time he'd been called out of the Sea Domain, and the trip filled his entire being with excitement. He could barely sit still in his seat, but managed as to not embarrass his father publicly.
"Our brother Apollo came to my house late last night, saying he had urgent news. I shall leave the rest to him." Hestia bowed graciously to the Kings and took her seat.
Annabeth sat with Piper as Apollo walked onstage. She tried to pay attention to what he was saying, but found it difficult with the royals so close. She had only heard stories about them her entire life, and now they sat within three feet of her. Only one royal interested her in particular: Perseus, the son of Poseidon. Her mother warned her everyday about the dangers of the ocean, but Annabeth felt drawn to the mysterious obsidian haired boy. She saw as he hid a tiny grin of excitement and shuffled his feet yet again, and smiled herself.
Piper, on the other hand, focused on a certain Sky Prince sitting next to his sister. Jason often found himself bored to death of meetings like this, only because he had to attend so many of them with Thalia. He'd never lost his title as the "wanderer", so his eyes looked about the Accords Hall. He felt someone's gaze on him, and turned to face the townspeople's section of the Hall.
He caught eyes with her. She had her glossy, braided brown hair laying on her shoulders, and when Jason met her eyes, he caught his breath.
Her eyes, they constantly shifted, changing colors. From brown to green to blue, to colors that were not even on the rainbow. They were beautiful. He could't pull his gaze away.
The girl blushed and broke their gaze. Jason found the simple movement to be gorgeous. He felt Thalia harshly but quietly slap his shoulder and faced the front.
Meanwhile, Apollo had been explaining what happened to him last night. "That's what the Prophetess told me. I brought her here today so-"
He fell silent as green mist covered the room. The mummified body of the Oracle drifted in front of all of the townspeople and royalty.
Somewhere in the back, Frank shuddered and avoided her gaze. He and Leo always found the Oracle to be creepy; they hated to even think about her. The first time Frank saw the Oracle was when he was two. Ares was going to leave for war the next day, this time not taking his family with him in fear of their safety. This made Emily extremely worried, because her husband was always sure of his battles; would this hesitation cause him his last battle?
Ares kissed baby Frank and Emily and left with his troops. Emily spent the entire morning cleaning the house's weapons (that's what she did when she was nervous) and eventually the worry consumed her and she collected her son and her neatly polished butcher knives, and went out to the backyard.
Emily set Frank into his outdoor baby seat, and he watched as she used the knives like darts. He laughed and clapped every time she got one in the center.
Then, green mist pooled around his chair. Emily went to go get him, but the fog was like a wall. The Oracle drifted into their backyard and approached baby Frank.
He began to cry, because this strange woman-thing looked like something out of his nightmares.
But the Oracle simply picked up baby Frank, causing him to shriek even louder. Emily was desperately trying to break into the wall.
The heart of his father he doth hold
He'll grow up one day to be strong and bold
He shall lead his allies along the right path
And lead his enemies somewhere from which they can never come back
The Oracle and the fog disappeared in an instant. Emily dropped the knife and caught Frank before he smacked onto the ground. She cuddled him until he fell asleep, and took him back inside the house, making sure to close every door and window.
Ever since then, Frank has been frightened of her.
Leo caught his gaze and put a finger in his mouth, sticking his tongue out, then smiled. Frank returned the smile. Hephaestus saw what his son was doing and lightly smacked him on the back, telling Leo to pay attention.
Hazel sat with her father and her brother, admiring the simplicity of Accords Hall. She noticed a boy smiling at his friend. He shifted his gaze until it caught hers, and he smiled. Hazel's eyes widened, and she raised her hand in a tiny wave, blushing. This made the boy grin, but his mother noticed and told him to look forward. Nico was gazing at Hazel from his peripheral vision and smirked.
Will sat next to his father, head in hands. He had said goodbye to his aunt the previous night, and had been up reading a nursing journal. He hadn't fallen asleep until three, and then his father woke him up at 6:30 for them to be prepared to go to Accords Hall. To say he was exhausted was an understatement.
Once the Oracle had everyone's attention, she stared over the crowd. Finally, her eyes sockets glowed green and she began to speak.
The forsaken ones awake
The sevens' destiny to make
Wisdom's daughter to be stolen
A life taken as a token
The second the Oracle finished speaking, seven children bent over, screaming as they clutched their heads. Their parents were furious and worried, but the Oracle said nothing. She simply raised her hand over the Kings and said, "These are the ones chosen/Your forgotten enemy has awoken/They come to steal all you have gained/To make the world writhe and scream in pain."
"Forgotten enemy?!" Zeus cried incredulously. "That's impossible! I remember every enemy I've ever had to face!"
The Oracle tilted her head, and the seven children began to scream louder. "My King, I meant not you alone/There were others whom with you shared your home/They were raised and brought up with thee/My Lord, I spoke to all Kings three."
"All the Kings!" Athena cried, gently passing her daughter to her husband before standing. "My Lords, an enemy that you all faced together has awaken. Can you, by any chance, remember who?"
Zeus exchanged looks with Poseidon. Poseidon looked angry and frustrated, as he couldn't think of anyone, while he held his screaming son.
Hades stood, approaching his brothers. "I believe I know which forgotten enemy they speak of."
His brothers looked at him with anticipation.
Hades took a deep breath and spoke the name. "Ouranos."
The sky rumbled as Zeus' expression turned stormy. "Is it true, then?" he asked the Oracle. "Our dear grandfather had awoken?"
The Oracle nodded. "Ouranos and his wife walk again/They both plan to bring about the end/By sending their children to come and fight/And steal all three kingdoms by next moon's light."
"Next moon's light?" Apollo asked. "We just began this month!"
The Oracle nodded. "The seven only have twenty-eight days/Which ends by the next moon's gaze/To stop Ouranos' plan/And the world can only hope that they can."
"O Great Prophetess, what must they do?" Aphrodite asked.
"A ship they must sail/The ancient lands they shall scale/To find Ouranos' sons/And with this plan be done." The Oracle shuddered and closed her eyes, and the green fog slowly started to disappear. "I can say no more of the journey/I have made sure that these ones are worthy/They shall bring this land great pride/Should they succeed and blast Ouranos back to the sky."
The Oracle lowered her hand, and the screaming children stopped and slumped to the ground. "Without their help, we cannot cope/For they are our only hope." She sighed, her breath rattling in her chest as she gazed upon the faces of the children.
Perseus Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Jason Grace, Piper McLean, Frank Zhang, Hazel Levesque, and Leo Valdez.
The Oracle gave a final nod and disappeared.