cover image for those who want a detailed version: (google drive site adress) file/d/1kayRvM2tg_dSnahjIWrgGHo6xF7Imy07/view?usp=drivesdk
apparently ffn hates links so manually type the google drive adress.
A/N: So this is a little side project (okay probably gonna be main) project for me. I was inspired by some Percy adoption stories, as well as betrayed Percy stories (idk why but I kinda hate percabeth, maybe it's because too many poor authors stick to the plot). Anyway I decided to combine three of my favorite things together, and so… Tadaaa! Fem!percy getting betrayed and ended up being adopted. This idea was (kind of) taken from FirstoftheAbyss (I really liked his spin on the events okay), and seeing as how his story got discontinued/is on indefinite hiatus I decided to nab their original idea and go on a spin.
Now before you come and smack me on the arse, I'd like to say that I'm only taking the general plot of the story at the beginning. I am not gonna be a bad little thief and steal the whole thing (despicable behavior tbh). Anyway, I'll give you guys some context to the story because I can't be arsed to rewrite everything.
So, this AU differs slightly from canon material, with Persis being friends or at least upholds a good status within Olympus (for example, Ares didn't curse her and Hades didn't try to kill her in the underworld). She is also very close to Hestia…like a daughter. I think you know where I'm going with this. Anyway, only Zeus has a bone to pick with Persis due to his massively inflated ego, and all other gods either have some respect for Persis or are very close to her.
This AU fic begins in the Olympus throne room at the climax of the last Olympian. Luke, who has a prior relationship with Annabeth and Percy (who's called Persis in this fic, which is the female version of Persia and has the same meaning as Perseus last I checked. Her nickname is Persi/Percy/Perce) dies, and Annabeth's hatred explodes at seeing Percy give Luke a final kiss and holding him in her arms as he dies, when she believed she would get the chance to say her goodbyes too. Events proceed as normal, until Annabeth's hubris takes over and exposes Percy's relationship with Luke and her (she technically helped Luke and tried to bring him back to their family secretly, which kinda earmarks her as a traitor). Soon, Percy slowly gets shunned by the people she holds dear, and eventually with only Poseidon, Hesita, Hera, Artemis, Chiron and a couple of Demigods (the stolls and Katie and of course clarassie) still being friendly with her (while Poseidon, Hera and Hestia love her in a parental way), Percy decides to leave camp, goes to stay at her parents only to find them killed…and now, let's pick this up 2 weeks after she leaves camp.
Oh wait! Before you do-if you find my writing erratic, that's because of my music choice while writing-I, for some ungodly reason, decided to listen to Fredericus Rex Grenadiersmarsch while writing. Don't ask why. (okay it's because ich liebe Preuße but shush) And don't judge! It's got a good melody! Anyway, I hope the writing isn't too infuriating, and let's actually pick this up 2 weeks after she leaves camp.
Prologue
(3rd person POV)
In a cold, dark night, illuminated by the barest slivers of moonlight, a girl shivered under a thin blanket within a cave, dimly lit by a dying fire. Tear tracks stained her cheeks as she sobbed into the blanket.
She was out in the wilderness, somewhere near the east coast, trying to save Demigods. Her heart had been shattered twice, first with her love abandoning and shunning her, then seeing her family dead in front of her eyes.
Her only solace was to try and save as many of her own kind as possible, and even she was failing at that. Her demigod companion she'd found on the west coast, Hazel (Hazel Levesque, her name wasn't just a coincidence-she's on the west coast now, remember? I just wanted her to be the one who found Hazel after Nico rescued her from the underworld), had mysteriously disappeared as she tried to travel from the west coast to the east, with mysterious Wolf paw prints on the ground and a strange aura lingering in the air.
Hazel hadn't even told Persis her Last name yet.
(About the aura thing being sensed by Persi, it's the Roman Goddess lupa. But since Persi isn't Roman-she's Greek, their auras clashed together and she could sense that something was off. Also, she's more sensitive to scents and auras in this story.)
Now, she sat in a cave, crying her eyes out as she relieved her failures over and over again. She cried for Hazel, whom she was positive had been abducted and killed by monsters, for her parents who's lifeless eyes stared at nothing as she entered the building, for her relationships at camp because she was a fool and tried to save luke.
And of course, she cried for Luke, who she knew sacrificed himself to save Olympus.
Tears rolled down her smooth and tanned cheeks as she poured her sorrows out into the fire in front of her. Her hair, which had been messy enough before, was even more messier. Her hair had grown back out since the titan war ended, and though she did try and regulate it at camp, it had now grown to near her waist ever since she'd left. Her aura (I prefer not to use scent here since it feels creepy, because I'm describing her) didn't help her mission-nor did it benefit her, as she had been attacked more than 10 times during her 14 days in the wild. Her armor was poorly dented, her shield long gone, and her clothes were grimey and ripped.
Her sea green eyes had lost a bit of its luster and shine. Ever since Hazel was abducted, she'd become reclusive and sad, and her beautiful eyes reflected this change, becoming dull and misted.
Her arms and legs were covered in minor scratches, a tiny cut on her cheek was bleeding, and her torso had been badly scratched up-she almost died, if not for the healing powers of water and nectar, she certainly would have.
Long after her tears had dried and her sobs turned into hoarse croaks and pained moans, Persis finally drifted off to an uneasy sleep, her breathing stabilizing, her mind free from the mental torture she inflicted on herself.
But the moment of peace was that-only a fleeting moment. Loud footfalls brought Persis out of her little slumber, and she hurriedly uncapped Riptide, fearing what was in store for her.
"You smell?" A booming voice spoke in terrible grammar. Persis gripped her sword even tighter-she could almost guess what was after her.
"Yes, I do smell that. Smells like the sea…smells like Poseidon's spawn." Another voice chimed in. This one was also male, but she didn't know what other common monsters could speak other than cyclops, dracaenae and empousa. Plus, dracaenae and Empousa were female monsters. That voice…it was definitely male.
She gripped Riptide's Hilt even tighter, her knuckles bone-white, as the moonlight in front of the cave entrance was blotted out. Definitely a cyclops. Slowly backing into the cave, she made a mental note to extinguish the fire. Slowly pushing a palm out, she started to gather the moisture in the air.
"Come ON!" She furiously muttered under her breath as a small bead of sweat dripped down her brow and immediately joined into the slowly growing orb of water in front of her palm. The process was painstakingly slow, and as she gritted her teeth and pushed all her power into gathering moisture, she heard loud footfalls directly outside the cave entrance-before a satyr dropped out of nowhere, causing her to almost jump out of her skin.
It was then she noticed the faun wore nothing except a small loincloth,covering his groin. That was odd. Satyrs usually dressed decently in their missions.
For a good few moments, Persis stared at the mostly naked satyr, and the satyr stared back. Unable to bear the silence any longer, Persis spoke up.
"Why did camp send a satyr to me? I thought I'd already made it clear that I have no fucking intention of going back. Plus, why are you mostly naked?"
"Ba-aaa! I'm not a satyr, FAUN." The faun retorted, sending an angry glare towards Persis.
"Faun? Never heard of you. You're either making jokes to calm the atmosphere, or you're a part of some random nature group Grover created."
"Jokes? You're making jokes! Also, who the hell is Grover? I don't know him." The faun spat out, narrowing his eyes. "You're…off. You have an odd aura, your weapon is bronze, and you obviously know a thing or two about u-me, just not accurate."
Persis stared at the faun. "You sure you don't know who Grover is? The new lord of the wild?" She was on full alert now, but seeing as the faun hadn't made any moves yet, she decided to try and get to the bottom of this.
"Uh…anyway, camp did send me to get you. Come on, we gotta make haste." Persis narrowed her eyes. Something was off here. How did he not know Grover? And why was he surprised at her weapon, riptide? If the faun had even been to camp half-blood, he'd know all of these things, and would probably not be surprised. Also, the loud footfalls she'd heard earlier definitely belonged to a cyclops-she had no doubt about it after hearing the poor grammar it had. And since cyclops hated satyrs-or at least, would not be afraid to kill them on sight-why was this 'faun' still alive?
"Who am I?" The faun slowly turned around, his eyes uncertain as he stared at Persis. "I asked, who am I. Or are you so out of your mind you don't know who I am, faun?"
"You're…" the faun stared at her, unable to answer. In truth, he didn't know the demigoddess in front of him. All he knew was she could manipulate water, and had seemingly tossed a ball of water at the fire in front of her when he arrived-which obviously didn't do much apart from dimming the fire a bit.
"Emma." He settled on a feminine and modern name-that path was always what parents named their kids anyway. He saw the demigoddess smile, and for a second he let out a small sigh. The plan was going to continue uninterrupted after all.
In that split second, he congratulated himself.
"Imposter." The word stopped him cold, halfway through his turn. "So…the jig is up, yeah?"
Persis noticed the hand of the faun drift towards his left thigh. It had been sheltered from her gaze this whole time, but as the faun creature yelled "BRIAN" and leapt towards her, she saw a flash of moonlight reflected on the edge of a golden dagger, which was surging forwards to meet her.
She instinctively raised riptide, and the dagger clanged off her trusty bronze blade harmlessly. She twirled around to face the faun, but he was quicker than she'd anticipated. A golden glint caught her eye as the dagger once again thrusted towards her. She slashed riptide, catching the cross guard of the dagger and forced it back with a tight two-handed grip.
With her back facing the cave entrance, she could only grumble as she heard sounds of demolition behind her. "WHERE SATYR! ONLY FAUN!" Roared a deep voice, as sounds of something hard smashing against rocks could be heard. The entire cave shuddered slightly as rocks gave way, and Persis could only assume whatever was standing at the cave entrance was too big to get in, and it was demolishing said entrance to force its way in.
But she could care less about the cyclops behind her now, as the nimble yet surprisingly strong faun was pushing her hard, stabbing and slashing at her. In her weakened and tired state, she could only Muster so much of a defense against this seemingly superpower satyr creature. It had managed to nick her twice, and was pressing her hard, forcing her to slowly back towards the entrance. But now with her brain clearing, her movements weren't so sluggish and her body finally cooperating, she was able to begin pressing back on the faun. Slowly but surely, she noticed it panicking as it's defence grew sloppy and disorganised. She grinned as she parried a hasty stab, before slashing down and wrenching the dagger out of the faun's grip.
"Uh oh." The faun uttered, as Persis thrusted riptide forwards and ran the faun through. The faun slowly dissipated into golden dust as Persis withdrew her blade from its torso, and turned towards the cave entrance, ready to fight the cyclops destroying her temporary shelter.
Only to be faced with a massive sodden club that smashed into her torso, flinging her into the cave and slamming her back into the cave wall.
As Persis collapsed face-first onto the hard stone ground, her vision blurred and her mind spun. She could barely make out the dimming hearth, but what surprised her was the sight of a small girl, dressed in a brown robe, tending to the dimming flames.
She didn't know if it was just a figment of her imagination, but she had nothing to fight the cyclops with. Riptide was just out of reach, and her whole body was on fire. As she desperately reached towards the hearth's dimming flames, she could feel blood running over her lips and down her chin. She couldn't breathe, and she felt like she was drowning.
She desperately croaked out at the girl, "Hestia…help me, please."
The last thing she saw before she blacked out was the flames of the hearth exploding into a column of fire.
—
Hestia was sitting in front of the hearth within the throne room, tending to the flames as Sus Hal, when she felt a slight disturbance in her realm. It took some time, but she finally located the source. To say she was just a bit surprised at the source was an understatement- she couldn't fathom why the disturbance would come from a cave near the west coast. And when she viewed what was going on through the hearth flames…she was taken aback by shock.
She saw an adolescent girl with a bronze sword fighting against a satyr. Their movements were quick and precise, and she couldn't help but notice the girl's clothes were grime and torn, and the girl herself was covered in wounds. As she spectated the fight, she noticed a cyclops trying to demolish the cave entrance, and the girl seemingly didn't notice it. The satyr was also surprisingly wielding a golden dagger…and she hadn't really seen those weapons since the fall of Rome…and the Roman camp.
She decided to focus more of her power into the hearth to see what was going on, and her conscience partly manifested just in time to see the girl run the satyr through. As the satyr uttered his last words and dissipated, she was more than shocked to realize who the girl was as she stared into those mesmerising sea-green eyes.
It was Persis Jackson, saviour of Olympus, who had mysteriously disappeared from Camp Half-blood two weeks ago, with only Chiron and Poseidon having an inkling of where she'd gone to.
Her heart raced as she processed the revelation-and questioned why she was out in the wild, and in such a sorry state. She knew Persis had left camp, but she couldn't fathom how in Hades did Persis manage the trio from east to west in two weeks, while being off the grid at the same time.
Her eyes widened as she noticed Persis spinning around-she did hear the cyclops after all-only to be brutally bashed back into the cave wall. Her heart clenched in pain as she watched the Saviour of her home struggling to reach her trusty sword, lying some distance away from her,
And then she saw her beautiful sea green eyes, stricken with pain, lock onto something next to the hearth. She then heard four words that struck her heart painfully.
"Hestia…help me, please."
She decided in that split second that she was no longer going to act as only a bystander. As she watched the outstretched palm of Persis droop, she knew she had to intervene.
And so, summoning a massive column of flame, she stepped out of the hearth and vanquished the cyclops in a deadly stream of fire emitted from her palm, before turning back and rushing to the side of Persis.
Right away, she could see Persis was in a bad shape. She bore multiple cuts, some shallow while some ran deep, and blood was also coming out between her lips, already forming a small puddle below her chin. She carefully flipped Persis onto her back, and lifted her shirt up to see the extent of her wounds-before almost throwing up in disgust.
Her torso was a mass of black and blue and purple, and some parts of her chest felt squishy and broken. Blood was flowing out of her mouth more quickly now, and Hestia knew Persis wouldn't last long without divine intervention. She gently placed a hand on Persis' chest, and another on her forehead, before pushing her healing powers into Persis. She stared at Persis' beautiful face, and took note of her half closed eyes. No, she thought to herself, she can't be gone already. Please, don't let me be too late. She could only continue to pour power into Persis' still chest, as she willed for any other god or goddess to come and help her, as a single tear ran down her cheek while she remembered the kind and good-natured demigoddess who would always speak to her while they hung out next to the camp hearth.
Right on cue, Thanatos flashed in next to her, and gently knelt down next to Persis, followed by Hera, Aphrodite and Artemis. "What's going on-oh." Hera frowned as she stared down at the demigoddess lying in front of Hestia, while Thanatos gently lay a hand on the Goddess' shoulder.
"Hestia, I know you want to save her, but she's not only suffering from physical damage. Her soul's been badly marred as well, having her fellow demigoddess who she was trying to rescue snatched away under her nose was a hard hit. She doesn't have any mission to live for, and her emotional damage is far too great. Her soul…it's basically given up the will to put up a struggle. Hestia…I'm sorry, but please let me take her away in peace before my sibling arrives."
Hestia fiercely shook her head, another tear trailing down her cheek. "N-no. There must be another way. S-she doesn't d-deserve this." She pushed her powers even harder into Persis, but all it seemed to do was slowly stem the bleeding and heal the bruising slightly. But as she increased her power in magnitude, she felt it being rejected, pushed back by Persis' body.
"Hestia. Listen to Thanatos, please. You won't want her to suffer any longer than she already has to." Hera gently said to Hestia. "N-no. T-there has t-to be a wa-way." Hestia was choking back sobs as she tried desperately to help Persis, who was her daughter in all but name. Tears were now freely flowing as she tried desperately to keep the life in Persis' body from leaving.
"There…might be a way." Thanatos muttered, "but you need to act fast. I sense my brother approaching quickly. Either give her a peaceful end or-"
"TELL ME!" Hestia yelled, and the other deities were momentarily shocked at the outburst of the normally calm and composed goddess.
"You see…it's not easy, and it would normally require her consent-"
"I DON'T CARE! Tell me now, please!"
"Okay…so, you need to repair her deepest emotional damages to reignite her will to fight back. You must give her a new family, and give her a new sense of mission so that she doesn't feel lost and has something to fight back her injuries with. Right now, her body accepts your powers but her soul is teetering on the edge." Thanatos explained, and all the goddesses instantly understood.
"So…she needs to be adopted by one of us, and given a patron." Hera summarised. "Yes…but it's not that simple. Since she can't respond to you now, you must use a blood adoption to turn her into your daughter. And since you can't talk to her or give her a mission…one of you must claim her as your champion."
Silence filled the air for a moment, before both Hera and Hestia spoke up at the same time. "I'll adopt her." Artemis then stepped forwards. "Seeing as she is a brave woman and a maiden, I…I shall choose her as my champion." Aphrodite chimed in. "I'll give her my blessing too!"
"Well then…that solves it. Quickly now, my brother isn't far away." Thanatos said, and Hera hurriedly conjured up a dagger before quickly slicing a shallow gash in the centre of Persis' palms. She then sliced a small gash in her right palm, and gestured to Hestia to do the same to her left. Freeing up her hand, she allowed Hera to slice a shallow gash onto her palm, before they locked eyes and nodded.
Grasping a hand of Persis with their sliced palm, they spoke in unison. "Εμείς, η Εστία και η Ήρα, τη διεκδικούμε ως κόρη μας στο αίμα!" (We, Hestia and Hera, herby claim Persis Jackson [her] as our daughter in blood!)
The trio began to glow with a golden-orange aura, as ichor spilled from the shallow gashes mixed with the red blood of Persis. Her previously limp body arched upwards as her blood turned from a dark red to a reddish gold. (Insert Rose gold color) Her eyes flew open as the sea green violently churned inside her orbs, before her left eye begun to change colour. Slowly but surely, her left eye's sea green essence of the sea began to transfer to her right, while a crimson colour took it!s place, alone with brown flecks. Her face also changed, her features becoming more regal while somehow becoming more enticing. Her hair, originally raven black and messily straight, now had slight, soft curls, while her hair transited from raven black roots to honey brown ends.
Aphrodite now stepped forwards, and a soft pink glow encompassed Persis, causing her hips to slowly slim, her legs to become more slender and her features more pronounced and feminine. Her muscles slimmed slightly, while her abs became less defined and more smooth.
Her chest, however, had yet to move. Thanatos knew that if Artemis didn't act soon, the actions of Hera and Hestia would have no meaningful result other than to turn her into a more exquisite corpse. What was worse…he could sense his brother closing in on the area.
"Artemis! It's your turn now. My brother is quite close-you must hurry." Artemis hurried forwards, before doubting for a second. "Won't this power overload…you know, kill her?"
"No, it won't. She's been adopted by 2 godly parents, and is of a god. She won't combust, as her mortal essence is pretty much removed from the equation. Now…hurry!" Thanatos said, and Artemis gingerly placed a hand on her chest, before she chanted, "Περσία, εγώ, η Άρτεμις, Θεά του κυνηγιού, σε διεκδικώ ως πρωταθλήτριά μου!" (Persis (+Jackson, sadly Google can't translate this), I, Artemis, Goddess of the hunt, hereby claim you as my champion!)
The golden orange glow that had wrapped around Hestia, Hera and Persis had mostly faded by now, and a strong silvery glow now encompassed Persis. Her body shuddered as it took in the new powers blessed by Artemis, and her irises were now surrounded by a small ring of silver, which quickly transitioned into the other colours of her eyes. An intricate tattoo also appeared on her arm, stretching all the way from her forearm to her shoulder, and ending at the base of her neck.
As the glow faded and all goddesses other than Hestia Stepped away from the still body of Persis, they could only hope that they had given reasons for Persis to keep fighting death, to stay alive. Hestia kept pouring her powers into Persis, muttering under her breath as she prayed to anything out there to ensure Persis was safe. A tear escaped the corner of her eyes as Hestia looked down at the still form of her adopted daughter. "Persis…please, please, please come back to us…we need you…p-please…"
Without her noticing, the teardrop had slid down Hestia's cheek and down her chin, hanging at the tip of her chin for a few moments before dripping down onto Persis' forehead.
A split second later, Persis coughed hard, spewing rose-golden blood all over her tattered shirt and Hestia's hand. Drawing in pained breaths between coughs, she slowly blinked and opened her eyes as she rolled onto her side, choking and spewing out the remaining blood in her throat. Thanatos let out a small frown, but nodded his head at the efforts of the goddesses present, before flashing away silently and quickly.
It was then Persis' eyes slowly focused on the blurry figure that placed her hands on her chest. "H-Hestia?" She croaked out, reaching out a hand to grasp hers. It was until then her recent power surge caught up with her, and she drew in a sharp breath before falling into unconsciousness once again.
Still pushing powers into her battered daughter, Hestia slowly moved Persis into a sitting position, before hugging her unconscious daughter and leaning Persis' head against her chest. Giving a tired smile to the other three goddesses, she tiredly told them, "I'll inform you if she wakes. Then we'll help her out on her newfound powers." All three nodded, and two of them flashed away. However, Hera lingered, before she spoke. "So…should I tell Poseidon about this?"
Hestia nodded. "Persis is his daughter after all, so yes. Thank you for asking, sister." Hera smiled, nodded and then flashed away too.
Now alone with only her daughter in the cave, Hestia cuddled her newly adopted daughter, before she sighed in content. Illuminated only by the fierce fire that crackled in the hearth, she pressed a small kiss to her daughter's forehead, before allowing herself to drift off to rest, with her daughter sleeping peacefully in her arms.
First chapter done!
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