Thank you for the new followers and favourites!

Before we start, I'd like to inform you all of a recent development- I'm going to undergo a surgery to expand my lower jaw (it is smaller than my upper one due to genetic defects) in early June, and as of late the doctors have begun pre-surgery procedures-the first step is fitting small rubber bands between my tightly packed teeth to increase space between them. As such, my mouth is in constant pain as my teeth are literally being wedged apart. This results in me being unable to focus due to the pain, and as such updating is gonna be slow. The rubber bands are to be removed on Tuesday AEST, and I apologize for not updating yesterday.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Turning to Drew, she extended a hand. "Cmon Drew, let's not keep your mom waiting, yeah?"

Drew smiled and took her hand. "Well, gladly, Persi!"

Together, they pushed aside the tent flap and walked towards the trio of goddesses gathered around the camp hearth.

—

Time: same time

3rd person POV

"Hi, mother!" Both Drew and Persi said at the same time, with Persis greeting Hera and Drew greeting Aphrodite. Both girls looked momentarily stunned, before they blushed slightly and burst out in another peal of laughter.

"What's so funny?" Artemis questioned as she watched the two girls laughing. "N-nothing!" Persis stammered out between peals of laughter. "It's just-the synchronised response. Oh-ahahAHAHA!"

Finally, after both girls subdued their childish laughter, they straightened their posture and politely bowed to the goddesses in front of them.

"Mother, I love to see you visiting us, but…what brings you here today?" Persis asked Hera, whose face darkened at the words.

"Ah…my queen has quite the reason to visit," Aphrodite began, "and it is very, very important. Both of you should listen closely."

"So," Hera said, "I've been implicated in a bad situation." Persis drew in a sharp breath before she slowly walked forwards. "…mother? Are you okay?"

"At the moment." She said, sighing. "A giant has captured me. Porphyrion, the king of Giants, offspring of Gaia, Mother Earth, and Tartarus, the personification of the pit. He hopes to drain my of my powers as he raises his brethren to full strength, conveniently fading me in the process."

The atmosphere seemed to freeze up as Hunters and demigoddesses alike froze and stared at Hera.

"Mother!" Persis broke the silence as she cried, flying into an embrace with her mother. "I'll come get you, don't worry! Where are you trapped?" She cried hysterically, unwilling to lose another family member.

"Daughter, you can!t help me. Not now. I have a plan to help me escape, and unite some…forces." Hera sighed, and continued. "Persi, don't seek me out. I have a plan, and I believe it shall work. But I do not have long, so we must make this quick."

"Mother, what do you mean, you don't have long?" Persis asked, worry etched into her features.

"I'm maintaining a second form. A shadow of myself, if you will. My main body is currently captured and…daughter, don't freak out when I say this, but I'm also being tortured." Hera said, and Persis' eyes widened before she hugged her mother tighter. "Mother…hang on then, I'm going to come for you one way or the other."

"Daughter, don't. As I said I have a plan-" Hera flinched as a small cut opened up on her cheek, and ichor began flowing from the cut. "MOTHER!" Persis cried hysterically as she desperately tried to help Hers close her wound, but as she pushed some healing power into her mother, Hera's form flickered and a surge of power pushed back at her, eating at her power and causing Persis to stumble.

"Daughter. You can't help me now. The least you can do is listen closely." A tear ran down Persis'cheek as she could only imagine the torture her mother was enduring, while she could do nothing to help.

"So, I assume all the hunters know this, since you've had to have been to the place before. Do you remember the Romans?" Persis shook her head, and a small smile appeared on Hera's face.

"Good, it seems our efforts have worked then. But the romans…they exist, and so do their gods." Persis' eyes widened even more at this information, and so did Drew. "But-aren't they Just you guys, but with different names?" Drew exclaimed, and Hera let out a pained smile. "In a way, yes. But, you must understand that the Romans are more strict and militaristic. When we changed from Greek to Roman, essentially we're the same, just less forgiving and more war-like. Think of it as…a split personality of ourselves."

Hera took a breath, and continued. "Anyway, since we are essentially the same, we are essentially two minds trapped in the same body. Alas, sometimes others go out and visit you mortals in our Roman forms, and sire children. Those become Roman demigods, and are sent to a place I'm sure many of you hunters are familiar with. Camp Jupiter, also known as New Rome."

Persis nodded numbly as she took in this information. "So…essentially, there's two camps. Camp half blood and this camp Jupiter…camp Zeus. But if we're fundamentally the same…why are we separated? And why did you previously imply that not knowing the Romans is a good thing? We could have gotten support in defending Olympus, we could have had less losses…our friends wouldn't have to have died in such large droves."

Besides her, Drew placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, comforting her as she began to shake, her memories surfacing and assaulting her mind. A silent tear slid out of her eye as she remembered her friends, gone, suffering painful and needless deaths due to her being just seconds late, due to her inability to defeat her own enemies.

"Persis." A voice made Persis look up, as Aphrodite spoke. "I understand your sorrows. I understand you have lost people dear to you. However, we have done this all for a reason. You must realize that whenever Greeks and Romans meet, conflict inevitably brews. You are fundamentally different from each other-take, my children, and the children of-" Aphrodite closed her eyes momentarily, and shifted into a more regal appearance, "-Venus as an example."

She then shifted back to her original form, before she continued, "they are still the children of love, but they are far, far more different than each other. For example, while your brains are wired for Greek, Romans are wired to learn Latin. And while my Greek children are generally more independent and powerful, and have a more diverse range of abilities, their roman counterparts have less abilities and are less powerful as individuals. Yet, you Greeks fail at working together, always easy to begin pointless squabbles, while romans are unable to hold their own when the circumstances call for it."

Hera now took over from Aphrodite. "Roman demigods are powerful when they are working as a combined system, like cogs in a war machine. Greek demigods such as yourselves work best when you are independent or are in small teams."

She shivered momentarily, before continuing. "Roman demigods are hardwired to live under a strict system to fit into a disciplined and militaristic life. Greeks on the other hand, are carefree and are better off working independently, utilizing your skills to your advantage, while Romans discard their innate abilities and focus on swordsmanship and combat prowess. That is why, when Greeks and Romans meet, conflict occurs. You guys simply have too many differences to try and work together in tandem. Plus, there are deep-rooted feuds between the romans and Greeks. While Rome conquered the lands of Greece, they admired our gods, our culture, so they twisted it and adopted it as their own. The Greeks have not forgiven the Romans for taking their culture, while the Romans have not forgiven the Greeks for sowing discord within their lands."

"But mother, why are you revealing this all to me?" Persis asked, and Hera chuckled lightly. "Well, that is a good question. and I have a good reason to answer it."

Hera took a deep breath, and flinched slightly as another cut opened up on her arm. Persis winched uncomfortably at the new wound, but Hera brushed it off like nothing.

"Seeing as I am unable to keep new wounds at bay, I fear my time here is running short. So, I'll give you a quick rundown of it." She took a deep breath and began. "Decades ago, in the land beyond the gods, Gaia attempted to rise with the help of a mortal and her demigod daughter, twisted by her beliefs and words. When she was about to rise, the brave demigoddess ruined Gaia's plans by rekindling the spirit of her mother, saving it from the brink of Gaia's clutches. She then sacrificed herself to disrupt Gaia's son, Alcyoneus, from forming completely, while her mother died protecting her daughter."

"She must be a brave maiden then. It is sad we didn't get the chance to recruit her into the hunt…her selflessness could have been a great addition to our ranks." An elder hunter spoke up, and though Persis winced, having forgotten their audience, Hera smiled at the hunter's words. "Indeed, she was. Sadly, her soul departed for her father's realm before her true potential could be revealed."

She flinched again as she continued, "Anyway, after Gaia's plans were ruined, her son Alcyoneus was not simply destroyed. His energy dissipated, causing Alaska to fall further from the reaches of us. However, as the Demigoddess' mother had attempted to raise Alcyoneus in Alaska, he was to be rooted in that land, and began naturally forming, drawing his dissipated energy naturally. Around two to three decades ago, a Roman expedition was sent to Alaska, with the goal of-and I quote, 'restoring honor to Rome'. Of course, it failed miserably, and only a few soldiers and one Praetor returned from the doomed expedition, having lost their famed eagle standard which was blessed by Zeus in the process."

"This alerted our Roman counterparts, but since a civil war between Greece and Rome was almost about to come to blows, we couldn't care less about the new threat and had to do everything to suppress both sides from exiting their camps. And just when the whole saga was forcefully pushed into the ground, the second titan war came about, and we had to once again distance ourselves from the issue in Alaska to save our very thrones. And now, it seems like Gaia has finally began her last moves to rise to power, as our sources in Alaska have gone completely silent and monsters have began to appear in greater hordes."

"I…see." Persis broke the stunned silence that followed. "But mother, what do you want me to do in this situation? I certainly cannot go to Alaska alone, nor can I come save you from your prison."

Hera sighed. "Daughter, I have made up a plan beforehand, as Hestia, your other mother-" shocked gasps came from the hunters as Hera continued "-had foreseen this event. She believes it is time to reunite Rome and Greece, however we do not have time for a gradual recombination of both sides. Thus, I had to resort to my backup plan-to forcefully reunite both camps by forcing an exchange of leaders."

Persis began to put the puzzle pieces together. "So…from what I've heard from you so far, the Roman leadership, or these so-called Praetors, are the leaders of Rome, and he or she was sent to camp half-blood…but who from camp was sent to Rome?"

"Well, daughter," Hera smiled, "that would be you."

Stunned silence ensued, and Hera flinched once again as another wound opened up on her body.

Finally, Persis spoke. "But…I'm no leader. Hell, I can barely save my friends from the threats I caused, much less lead them into battle. Plus, when I left, camp was in chaos, but it was clear that I had no place in it to begin with."

Drew, having stayed silent for this whole time, spoke up. "Actually Persi, I think you're wrong." The other girl wheeled on her, ready to argue, but Drew held up a hand to stop her. "Persi, I remembered you leading us into battle at the Empire State Building. You acted with little hesitation and great confidence, leading us into battle with courage, showing little fear when all of us were pissing our pants, motivating us to fight for our lives, for our parents. You, are a natural leader, able to get even us independent and rowdy Greeks to follow your lead, your plans."

"But camp…"

"Hon, come on. No buts. When you left, there was still a lot of hostility towards you, but after a while everyone realized we had become headless chickens after we exiled our own leader. Annabeth was in no shape to lead, overcome by her Hubris, and the Camp counselors were too busy trying to manage our own cabins to even care about cooperation. To be completely honest, it was just utter chaos. People would be fighting one another, youngsters were rowdy and everything was a mess. It wasn't until then many realized that they needed you, and began regretting their decision to treat you so unfairly when you had clearly contributed so much."

Drew took a breath, before continuing. "Ever since you left, camp has basically split itself in a fruitless civil war. Athena's cabin, blindly following Annabeth's lead, is currently opposing the Apollo, Demeter, Hephaestus and Hermes cabins, who regret their actions and are seeking to undo their wrongs, while the Ares cabin is egging them to fight each other. The minor god's cabins, as well as the Zeus, Hades and Dionysus cabins, are standing on the sidelines, unwilling to go at each other's throats as it will destroy camp."

Persis looked at Drew in shock. "Shit…Drew, I didn't realize that the situation was that bad. It's my fault I left, if only I could have withstood their arrogance and stayed-"

A hand clamped on her shoulder, shocking her into jerking her head up to look at Drew's steely eyes. "Babe, it's not your fault. None of that is. If you hadn't left, you would have been broken beyond belief, while camp would have descended into chaos one way or the other with Annabeth leading her little anti-Persi crusade. Besides, your mom mentioned a 'leader exchange'. One way or the other, you'd have to leave camp, and I'm glad that you left camp on your own terms instead of being forced to leave due to the situation now."

"Thank you, Drew. You're a good friend to my daughter." Hera's voice snapped them both out of their little bubble, and they both turned towards her as she smiled at them both. "Thanks for being there to support her when she goes into her self-pitying moments. Her loyalty is unwavering in times of danger, but it is also a big detriment to her mental well-being."

"No worries, milady, Persi was the only one who could tolerate my behaviour at camp anyway-I'd be glad to help support her in her time of need." Drew remarked, and Persi pulled her into a hug. "Oh Drew…I really wish I knew this Sid elf you sooner, we could have been great friends…" she mumbled as she wrapped the beautiful girl in a tight embrace.

Meanwhile, Aphrodite looked on, sensing something developing between her daughter and her favourite demigoddess. She could sense the happiness and bond of friendship radiating off them both in waves…but there was also something else, a small fire kindling within both of them.

The flames of love, the flames of desire.

She looked on in wonder as both girls broke the embrace and stared into each other's eyes. Persis' expression morphed into a smile, and she squeezed her friend's hand as they turned back to face the two goddesses. A small smile also played on Drew's face before her expression turned serious, and the girls let go of each other's hands.

"Well, it seems like the bond of friendship, though still young and fresh, is strong between you two." Hera remarked, as a content smile graced her lips. "Now, I must depart. My energy level is ebbing, and I must return before my main body begins to fade from exhaustion. Drew, I'd like you to accompany my daughter in these treacherous times-she could use your support, just like you can rely on hers."

Hera then turned her gaze onto Persis, who stared back with gratitude and worry. "Daughter, do not worry about me, and do not despair from the lack of contact. I shall be freed soon, and one way or the other, I will contact you before that. But for now, you must train, and seek out the wolf house, not far from here. You will then find the next step in your journey."

Persis nodded firmly, and Hera smiled proudly before her body began to fade. "Oh and daughter, embrace the Roman within you. There is a reason you are this strong, you know? Poseidon wasn't the only father who gave life to you, but all shall be figured out in due course. For now, goodbye my daughter," Hera said, and Persis gave a small wave and a timid "goodbye" before that form of her surrogate mother faded from existence.

"Well, seeing as I don't have much to do other than aiding mortals and immortals alike-" Aphrodite winked at Persis "-in their mission to find love, I shall be going soon. But, Persis, before you go, and I have a word? In private, I mean."

Persis nodded, and Aphrodite beckoned her to follow as she walked towards the tents of the hunters. "So, tell me which tent is yours." Aphrodite said, as she scanned the circle of tents. "It's not here, milady." Persis said, as she grasped Aphrodite's hand and pulled her towards the outskirts of the hunter's camp. "This," she said, gesturing to a silver tent with a small trident and a shield painted to the side, with a peacock feather and hearth on either side, and a leaping deer on top, "is my tent."

"Why…do the hunters not like you?" Aphrodite said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Do they now hate women too? If yes, I'll be sure to give them a good-"

"NO! It's not like that, Aphrodite! Calm down!" Persis hurriedly said, before she continued to explain. "Since I'm lady Artemis' champion, I can in theory act as the Hunt's guardian. With the recent increase in monster frequency and ferocity of attacks, we believed something was going on," Persis said, and gestured to the hearth in the middle of the camp before she continued, "and back there we essentially got the confirmation that something was aloof. But, that's not the main point-since I'm good at close and ranged combat, I decided to volunteer to set up my tent on the outskirts of the camp so I can keep watch and see if lady Artemis figures anything out."

Aphrodite looked at the girl in admiration, before she spoke up. "That's…noble, but I'm not sure you should do it…it would be a waste of physical and inner beauty if you perished, for any reason, and since you're only partially immortal like the hunters and can fall in battle…it won't be such a great thing."

"Well, it would be an even greater waste if no one was to be able to appreciate it, no?" Persis said with a light chuckle, before she unzipped the tent flap and held it open. "Lady Aphrodite, goddesses first."

Aphrodite stared at the girl in awe and admiration as she stepped into the tent. She could surely learn a thing or two from this powerful yet humble demigoddess.

"I'm sure you remember, Ikm able to designate places as a sanctuary by marking locations with a hearth-it's already been done here, and I must say it's quite a pretty branding. Helps decorate the walls." Persis said, before turning to Aphrodite. "Milady, you can speak freely here. Even gods can't eavesdrop on our conversation." She said, and Aphrodite nodded.

"Seeing as I'm the goddess of love…I'm sure you know what I'm here to talk about. Don't worry, it's the exact same conversation I had with you outside of the junkyard of the gods." Persis' brows scrunched together at the mention of that particular event. "Milady…I'm sure I can remember that particular conversation, by yt if you called me here, there must surely have been a new development, or else you eon's want to speak the exact same sentences to me."

"Smart girl!" Aphrodite said cheerily, before she continued. "Just then, when you interacted with Drew, I noticed a small fire burning within you two. The fire of love, the fire of desire. But, when I reached deeper into you both, I realized that you two are quite…special. I don't know if Drew's speciality was caused by her behaviour, and yours by my blessing, but you both have another connection to someone else. And if I looked correctly, it's the same person."

"Uh-what? Are you saying I can't stay faithful to someone, because I'm designed to have more than one partner…and are you saying my other partner is Drew, and my feelings, and potential relationship is nonexistent?" Persis asked, and as Aphrodite opened her mouth to speak, Persis raised a hand to stop her.

"Forgive me my lady, but…I'm not exactly ready to accept the truth that I won't be able to stay faithful if that fire within us decides to burn brighter and greater. Plus, after that whole Annabeth clusterfuck of events, I'm…quite frankly, I'm just not ready to accept love into my life yet again. When push comes to shove, I'll gladly accept it, but I'm afraid and scared. I don't want Drew-or anyone else-to become another Annabitch all over again." Persis said, before pausing to catch her breath.

Aphrodite smiled. "Don't worry, my child. The fire I saw in you was a golden flame-only true love can attain a golden blaze. And on that day, when I explained my abilities to you…I left out something too. My blessing wasn't just to make you look pretty and irresistible, I also included a small blessing so that you wouldn't have your heart broken by anyone else. Essentially, any flames of love that burns within you will only be golden-any love you experience will only be true love. So, either you experience true love, or you experience no love at all."

Persis sighed in relief. "Thank you, lady Aphrodite…I had no idea you cared for me. As for your daughter…she's good looking and-and I do kind of like her, but at the moment I just love her as a friend. She might have been bitchy and rude in camp, but I'm sure that was all a mental defence to protect whatever is inside…and I think she's shown me who she really is…a good natured and caring girl under the harsh and rude facade. If it really comes to that, I'm more than willing to accept her as an important person in my life."

Aphrodite smiled again. "My dear girl, I thank you for seeing past the surface of my daughter. Drew's life has been nothing but misery up to this point, and she's in need of your support. Being the humble and loyal girl you are, I'm sure you can help her discover the true meaning of love, and allow her to step out of her past and embrace her new life."

Persis bowed at the love goddess. "Thank you, milady. I'll be sure to help her and support her in every step." Aphrodite smiled, before placing a hand on Persis' shoulder. "Persi, I know love hasn't been fair to you prior to this. You fell in love with Bianca, only to lose her in the junkyard of the gods. Zoe grew close to you, and then was lost on mount Othryts. Silena, your original crush, turned out to be a spy, and when you finally though you found solace in Annabeth, she turned around and betrayed you. I cannot say that love has been well to you, and you probably hated me. I'd like to apologize to you, as prior to the battle of manhattan, I'd sunk so far down a bottomless pit, unable to realize the fact that you mortals also have lives, and it is unfair for me and my son, Eros, to toy with your beings wherever you go. I'd like to make it up to you somehow…and I hope that by guiding your feelings and emotions, you can finally find solace in people you hold dear."

"My lady,..I forgive you. I've come to know that gods are cruel, and your actions were simply harmless in your eyes." Persis sniffed, and continued, "I know how hard it is to change your ways, since you've been around for quite a few millennia, and it must've been a painstaking process to change your behaviour for the better."

Persis smiled at the love goddess, who had silent tears streaming down her face. "In fact, if you kept toying with my emotions, I would still have forgiven you, since it is your nature, your domain, your right to do so. And I thank you, for trying to change for the better, for aiding my in my journey to find love."

By now, Aphrodite was hugging the demigoddess in her arms, mumbling apologies to her as she cried, reflecting on every heart she had broken, every soul she ruined just to have 'entertainment.'

"Persi, I promise you that I'll change for the better. No more pointless love games, no more unnecessary suffering. I promise." Aphrodite said, hugging the demigoddess. It was a while later till she gently pushed the love goddess away, smiling at her.

"Aphrodite, I'm glad you realized your errors, and I'm happy that I could be the one that inspired you to change for the better." They smiled at each other, before Persis broke the silence. "Well, I guess we should go back to camp now. I bet they're worried about us." Aphrodite smiled, before she grabbed Persis' hand and led her back out of the tent.

"Persis, again..thanks for being so forgiving. If you don't mind…can I have a word with Drew?" She asked, and Persis gladly nodded. "I won't deny you any mother-daughter time, milady. Now go, before they think we got kidnapped too."

—

Time skip: minutes later

Persis POV

After Drew came back out with Aphrodite, she seemed happier. More lively.

Of course, I couldn't miss the glances thrown my way as well.

"Persis, Drew." Artemis greeted us both as we approached the hunter's hearth. "Lady Artemis." We both bowed, and she stared at us angrily.

"Persis! No bowing, and none of that lady nonsense, how many times do you need me to say that?" Artemis fumed.

"Sorry, Lady Artemis." I said, bowing while I did so. She stormed over, and a second later I was smacked upside down as Drew snickered besides me.

"PERSIS! You dare mock me in front of the hunters? And Drew?" Artemis seethed at the demigoddess in front of her, who was busy rubbing her sore jaw. "Owiee…sorry Artemis. Won't happen again."

"Good. You might be my champion, but that doesn't mean you can follow Apollo's footsteps and get away with it." Persis smirked. Lebst can I say, Ikm awesom-"

"SHUT UP!" Artemis yelled, massaging her temples. "Hades, I should ban you from even seeing Apollo. He's such a terrible influence."

"Okay, okay, sorry milady. I just wanted to have some fun, that's all." Persis said, shooting a sideways glance at Drew, before her eyes returned to look at the goddess in front of them.

"Riiiight. You expect me to believe that, when you're ogling the girl next to you." Persis turned bright red and looked away as Drew turned her head to look at Persis in shock. "Ah, can't give a witty comeback now, fish head?" Artemis smirked as Persis glared at her.

"Shut up."

"Okay, as you wish, my champion." Artemis' smirk vanished from her face as her expression turned serious. "Now, from what Hera has said, I believe you need to get to the wolf house. Since I'm friends with-ah, people, who run the place, I'll get you to the wolf house tonight. Sounds good?"

"Yes, thank you Lady Artemis." Persis said, before turning to her friend. "Well Drew, let's pack up and go now, shall we?"

—

A/N: :death:

This has been one of the longest chapters I've ever written so far. Around 4.6K words, completed in a few hours. Christ, this was much much longer than I anticipated.

I think I accidentally used too many words to describe the differences between Greek and Roman demigods, and why they shouldn't be mixed together. Regardless, now we're getting into the HOO timeline, Pre-'Son of Neptune'. As you can see in the last chapter, Jason and Piper (and Leo) have already arrived in CHB, and now we're going to chuck Drew and Persis into the wolf house for some training.

I plan on making Drew an Optio when she joins, and Persis a Centurion (of the 5th, so she can reform it from a sloppy mess into a proud legion)

Also, I'm editing the timeline again. A week After Persis joins, she'll be sent back to the wolf house to fight against Porphyrion with Jason, Piper and Leo. She'll then have 5 months to whip the 5th cohort into shape, before the doors of death are forced open and Thanatos is officially captured. Then, Persis will begin the son of Neptune quest, and then the Greeks will come 2 weeks after the quest is over. (Something nasty will happen, buy the way)

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter. I certainly enjoyed writing it, and now my eyes are dying (as are my hands).

As usual, contact me via Reddit, discord or PMs (FFN users), and don't for get to leave your reviews and comments down below if you wish to see anything improved/ changed,

Reddit: /user/fat_corona_cat

Discord: Fat corona cat#4269

FFN: Le_idiot

Looking forward to see you in the next chapter!