Daughter of Hera
A/N: Thank you all who reviewed on my previous chapters! I appreciate the support! As always, please review, constructive criticism welcomed and no flames (not that I got any till now). Thanks! I would also like to thank the following reviewer:
The-Council-with-Queen-Crimson: Thank you so much for appreciating my idea! It really helped me out that you described exactly what I can improve in my writing! I'll make sure to be more describing with my writing! Hopefully, this chapter will be more satisfactory:)
Disclaimer: Do I have to say it? Fine… I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians much as I would like to have it to my name. It obviously doesn't work that way. *sigh*
"I'm not. Anyway, it's time to meet my Nana. Best of luck."
"Why?"
"You're going to need it."
Philia was smirking. Francois was obviously over-reacting; he loved his grandmother and was just exaggerating. She knew, she could sense these things. She let him drag her to an even louder area where most of the younger generations were dancing. She heard a lot of people greet Francois; he was obviously a well-loved family member. No surprises there, she chuckled.
As they reached the middle of the dance floor, she was met with the most peculiar sight in all her millennia-old life. Right there, an old lady dressed in a gown, wearing gloves and a skewed hat, was dancing and hopping so energetically that her hat was bouncing on her head and by some miracle, managed not to fall off. She was grinning wildly and was having much more fun than the boys she was telling to 'speed up, young man, you won't get a girl if you dance like this'.
"That's my Nana. Hey Nana, meet Philia. She's a friend from work."
"Just a friend, dear? Are you sure? There is so much pote-"
"Not now Nana. Sorry, Nana just wants me to get married and settled down." He grinned and ran his hand through his dark hair, making it stick up even more.
"Well, my dear, any grandmother would want that." Turning to Philia, she said."Honey, would you mind coming aside a minute?" I nodded and she led me to a much quieter area. "My Lady, an honor to meet you." She bowed as much as her back would allow.
"Ma'am why-"
"No need to pretend Lady Hera. You see, I can see through the mist. I am mortal but I can sense demi-godly and godly auras, not to mention monsters too."
"Well I hardly expected it. My pleasure to meet such an energetic mortal at last."
She turned towards me with a serious expression. "My Lady, I know it's not possible but… I love my boy most out of all the grandchildren. I knew he was something special from the moment I set my eyes on him as a baby. Please don't break his heart. Even if you have to leave, contact him once in a while. Please, for my sake."
Philia swallowed hard and nodded.
"Good then, Philia darling, why don't you rejoin the party? Have fun!" she said turning back to her usual happy self.
Philia wandered out looking for a drink, greeting people who introduced themselves to her. She finally grabbed a glass of champagne from the drinks table and moved to the dance floor. Why not have fun? She shimmied her way in and danced along with everybody. She spotted Francois not far away and danced her way over.
"Hey!"he grinned his disarming smile," Enjoying yourself?"
She nodded. "Let's dance together." She had to practically shout to be heard.
"Yeah sure." They made their way to the middle of the floor and moved to the rhythm. The song ended and the DJ, an uncle of Francois', announced a slow song.
"May I have this dance, my lady?"He took her hand and bowed, kissing her fingertips. She curtseyed in response. "Why yes, kind sir!" she smiled coyly.
He put her hand on her waist and pulled her close. He couldn't help noticing that they fit together perfectly, like they were made for each other, in all ways; as if she was a missing part of him. They waltzed around, never looking away from each other's eyes. His warm brown ones into her cool brown ones. The song drew to a close. Too soon, both noted.
They pulled away from each other, jerking out of a reverie.
"Let's get some dinner." Francois suggested. She nodded and he took them to a dining area. It was magical. It was in a secluded area, surrounded by trees on all sides except a small path. Fairy lights were hung all round and tables were set in a circular pattern, draped in white tablecloths. Chairs were set around the tables and a huge buffet table took up a side. He got them plates and she surveyed the spread. Cheese, barbecued meats, bread and various other dishes took up an area. Jugs of rich cream and fruit stood in another. Dishes of dessert and salad were spread in another.
"Wow… this is quite a spread."
"Yeah, the theme was supposed to be Greek food hence the cheese, grapes, bread and meat. But a lot of my relatives thought we should have traditional food so it's kind of a mix."
"It's wonderful. Come on let's eat."
Francois grabbed two plates and handed one to Philia. Both of them piled food on their plates and sat down at a table away from the others. They chatted lightly throughout the meal.
"Want some lemon cake and ice cream? I baked it you know." Francois asked.
"I just hope it's not poisonous." She giggled.
"Only one way to find out."
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After dinner:
"Do you want to take a walk?" Philia asked. "I'm full so I want to walk around a bit."
"Of course. Come on, I know a secluded area where we can sit comfortably- no interruptions."
They walked slowly, Francois leading the way, both drunk in the comforting presence of each other. They walked down a cobblestone path and entered a cove. Philia's breath hitched as she saw the natural beauty surrounding her. A small bubbling brook divided the clearing into two parts with a bridge over it. A pretty sitting area made of flat rocks was situated nearby.
Philia ran in laughing, twirling her arms around her while Francois just watched with an air of contentment. He finally broke the silence.
"My mom said my dad proposed to her here, after a beautiful picnic."
She kept silent until she suddenly burst out.
"Sometimes, I wish I'd had an upbringing like this. Doting but slightly strict parents, aunts and uncles who adore me, brothers and sisters I could play and fight with… it's like a fantasy world to me, completely alien. I wonder how I would've turned out if my childhood had been like yours."
"Maybe you would've been happier, slightly rosier but I doubt you would've been any less smart or beautiful." He said softly causing her to blush prettily. He walked towards her and gently lifted her chin up to look at him, noting how her gold eyes seemed to melt into liquid in the moonlight. Slowly, imperceptibly, they leaned towards each other till their lips met gently. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her close and she tangled her hands in his lush chocolaty hair. He gradually deepened the kiss, seeking entry with his tongue. He received slightly parted lips in response. Both battling for dominance, neither realized when someone stumbled into the grove.
Someone cleared their throat. No reaction. "Get a room you two!" they shouted. They backed away from each other hastily, Francois with an annoyed expression. "Fine, we will!" he shouted back, dragging Philia away. "Come on Philia, we're leaving."
He waved goodbye to his mother, got in the car with Philia and drove away.
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"Sorry about that back there. My family has no idea about privacy. I guess that comes from four cousins sharing a room and bathroom." Sighing, he dropped his keys on the table near the door and led Philia in. "Let's go up to the pad, more comfortable there."
"The pad?"
"Yeah, me and my brother did it up: movie watching, kitchenette, bed; for all those days when you don't want to spend the night in a bedroom and want to watch bad horror films till 5 AM in the morning."
"Sounds like a lot of fun."
"It is; specially with two people around." God, did he just say that out loud? He was relieved when she only giggled and didn't slap him or anything.
He climbed the stairs rapidly with her following behind. He pushed aside a curtain to the right and walked in. For the second time that night, Philia found herself lost for words. It was a huge area divided into two. One side had all the bachelor-pad stuff: bar, video games and hot tub. The other side was totally different. It had posters of great movies on one wall and one a full wall movie screen on another. There was a couch-bed in the middle and beanbags and cushions scattered around. It led to a kitchenette with all sorts of movie-watching goodies. On the third wall was a big window looking out to the park.
He was about to say something when it started raining heavily.
"Oh shit! How am I supposed to go home now?"
"Well, you can't go out in this rain so why don't you crash here tonight? I mean, we could watch a movie. It'd be fun."He trailed off awkwardly. He was glad she didn't take notice of that.
"Thanks, it would definitely make my life a little easier."
He gestured to the big couch. "Why don't you take a seat and pick a movie? I'll knock up some popcorn."
"Caramel for me please!" she called after him, receiving a shout in response. She scrutinized the shelf full of CDs for something to watch. Her eyes alighted on the perfect movie. Nightmare on Elm Street. Time to get scared out of your wits. She'd already put the film in by the time Francois returned. He set the bowls on the table and flopped on the couch next to Philia.
"Nightmare on Elm Street? Really?"
"Yeah, I haven't watched it and wanted to give it a try." After a pause, she added in a small voice, "Will you mind if I held your arm if I get too scared?" Laughing, he nodded.
They were barely 10 minutes into the movie when a really scary screen came on and lightning flashed outside the window. Philia screamed and threw her arms around him, burying her head in his chest. She looked up a minute later to find him looking at her with love swimming openly in his eyes. She smiled at him gently, a genuine one. He kissed the top of her forehead and smoothed back the hair from her brow. He tugged the blankets over them and handed the bowl of popcorn to Philia. He would chortle every time she screamed or hid her face and calm her down. Gradually, she snuggled up to him and rested her head on his chest.
When he looked at her again, she had fallen asleep with a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips.