AN: So, I am happy everyone enjoyed the last chapter. Here is the next, I hope you all enjoy this one as much. I'd like to remind everyone that for more information, especially on characters, my website is linked on my profile.
I hope you all enjoy!
One More Day.
Chapter 7: Lupa, Mother of Rome.
Lupa didn't talk much to her young charge.
What was she to say? She was very aware the young daughter of Poseidon was indeed Greek by birth, but she also smelt the bloodline of Venus on the girl.
It was clear to her the girl was just as Roman as she was Greek, which made her protective of the girl.
Her cubs, the demigods she trained, may think she was a bit cruel with her methods, but she had to make them strong.
Make them understand that life was not a game, there was no restart button. If they lost, they didn't re-spawn somewhere and start over.
So she made sure they were trained like warriors, because warriors was who they were. Who they had to be if they wanted to live. The weak...well there were very few her wolves ever ate. Very few, she could count them all on both her hands.
By telling many of the at first weak ones that if they failed her training and test they'd be eaten, it made them work harder. Give them reason not to fail, because who truly wanted to be eaten by a wolf?
There was more honor in dying in battle, like a true Roman.
When Hera had come to her, a obviously pregnant girl around seventeen floating behind her, she'd been shocked. Hera didn't usually visit, especially not as Hera.
Soon enough it was Juno she was talking too, probably because the goddess of marriage knew Lupa would listen more to the Roman goddess opposed to the Greek.
Lupa herself was purely Roman, she had no Greek counterpart.
Juno had told her who the girl was. To hear that this was the hero of Olympus, the one to fight Saturn – Kronos – and win had been a shock. The girl was so small, petite. How could she fight anyone?
Juno had told her she'd slumber til May, and have no memory. That she was to tell Persephone Castellan that she was the daughter of Neptune, and nothing more.
It hadn't been in the plans Juno had given her that she'd wake months early, or that she'd have even a memory of her name, much less know she was married or even remember she'd been pregnant.
Lupa hadn't agreed with some of what Juno ordered her to do.
Taking the child once it was born and giving it to Juno to hide away had been one of those orders. Apparently the goddess thought the child would be a hindrance until the war was over.
Lupa was quite happy to find Persephone had woken early, and had known certain things.
Like her bloodline to Venus for example. That was sure to help her, the fact she could sense the girl had recently been blessed by, not a goddess or god, but by a Titaness had startled and pleased her even more.
Juno had been playing a deadly game when she'd taken Percy. She threatened not only Neptune – Poseidon – but the girls husband – Luke – who she knew as Lucian. God of demigods, betrayal, rage, redemption and mischief.
Having two major gods like them mad at you wasn't something Lupa would want.
She was also aware Percy would some day soon become a goddess as well, and with a father such as Neptune, a patron such as Ops (Rhea to the Greeks) and a husband such as Lucian – Percy was bound to be a force to be reckoned with.
She mostly kept quiet, knowing she could not do what she usually did when training a demigod. She currently was no training her, she couldn't, not with the demigod expecting a child.
Lupa herself was a maiden goddess, she had no children. She thought of the demigods as her adopted children, like how she'd raised Remus and Romulus years, and years ago.
She tried to keep her young charge entertained, but she had no experience being a friend. She was a warrior herself, she was a trainer of heroes.
Emotions could at times become a weakness so she rarely showed much of any sort of emotions that could be used against her.
While she could not train Percy at this time she could see about any gifts she'd received from Venus.
It had taken a week, but they found that while she had no active power from that line. She did understand Latin almost as easy as she did Greek.
She had also inherited her beauty from Venus, the reason behind her blemish free skin and the reason her eyes seemed to change with emotions - seeming bright sea green one moment and as blue as the Circassian sea the next.
She had a low form of Charmspeak, she drew people to her with her personality, but it was not true Charmspeak.
Her slight inheritance from the Venus bloodline hadn't truly been anything that would help her in the future, besides the ability to speak decent Latin and understand it easily enough.
So Lupa decided to teach the girl proper Latin, and begin the history of Rome as an empire and what being a Roman demigod meant.
Despite being what Lupa thought was around six months pregnant, Percy seemed happy to have something to do other then sit around, sleep and eat what food Lupa could get for her.
If the demigod hadn't been up the duff – as she'd heard mortals call it at times, though come to think of it, it sounded really weird – Lupa would have expected the girl to find her own nourishment.
She was the first demigod she'd hunted for food for since Remus and Romulus themselves.
The middle of January was when things began to change. She was talking with Persephone, quizzing her on the history of Rome and how it pertained to the gods and demigods – when there was two flashes of light outside the room.
"What was that?" Percy asked, and Lupa looked over at her and narrowed her eyes in a warning.
She may have been kinder to the pregnant girl, who would one day be a goddess, but she had still let her know who was the dominant person around here. The alpha wolf so to say.
"Stay here, I will go and look," Lupa said.
She prayed to Ops – seeing as Ops was Persephone's Patron, and she believed the Titaness (wherever she may be) would want to protect her champion – that it wasn't Juno. In any shape, or form.
Lupa opened the door and exited the room, shutting the door behind her. She didn't far when she saw two gods she hadn't been expecting, but was relieved to see.
"Lady Diana, Lord Lucian," Lupa said, kneeling before them.
Diana smiled at her friend, it was in honor of Diana that Lupa wore the chiton she did and used the bow and hunting knives on her person.
The two had been close friends for a long time now, even when she was in the form of Artemis.
Lucian grunted, nodding, his face stoic as he gazed at the wolf goddess. He only had one concern, and that was Persephone.
The two Olympians didn't change much from Greek to Roman. Diana's auburn hair was lighter and a little redder than Artemis's hair.
Her eyes were also a pure silver color, lacking the yellow that her Greek form did. Otherwise they were identical.
Lucian was a bit grumpier, but that could have more to do with his missing wife and unborn child, and he of course became more militaristic like them all – minus Minerva.
His hair was a darker blond, his eyes a darker blue. Otherwise he was identical to his Greek form.
"Rise, Lupa," Diana said, smiling. "We were wondering if you had seen someone recently."
Lupa raised to her feet and inside it clicked. They were looking for Percy.
"My wife," Lucian said, sort of gruffly. "She's been missing since October. I need to find her, Venus believes you might know where she is."
Lupa knew she had a choice. She could play dumb, like Juno had told her if someone came asking, or she could reveal to them Percy, who was in the room behind her.
Looking at Diana, her old friend, and the newest god, Lucian she decided. She wouldn't want the god of rage, or betrayal upset with her, his titles spoke for themselves.
She also knew he'd once been the vessel of Saturn, she didn't want to know what the god had learned from his time with Saturn inside his body.
Diana was also her friend, and she was loyal – a trait most wolves had.
"Juno will be upset, but I can not deny my knowledge of Percy's whereabouts," Lupa said, and she saw both Olympians eyes light up. "Come with me, she is just inside there."
Lupa turned and opened the door and came inside. Percy looked up when she did and soon Lucian and Diana followed her in, and at first it looked like she didn't recognize either god. Though Lucian had a look of pure joy and relief on his face.
Then Percy's sea colored eyes widened and she grinned.
"Luke!" she cried and shot to her feet, though she stumbled from the heavy load she carried with her – she had really gained some weight over the last month.
Lucian and Diana were there in an instant, Lucian catching her before she could loose her footing even more.
"Percy, I have been worried," Lucian said, his eyes misted over in a way unusual for a Roman.
Percy smiled and then canted her head to the side.
"Your eyes, they're darker," she said, lifting her hand to run over his cheek, tracing the scar which rested there.
Lucian flinched slightly at this, realizing she realized the small differences between him and his Greek counterpart.
Knowing he couldn't exactly tell her the difference yet, he smiled and quickly allowed himself to return to his Greek form when she was distracted by a concerned Diana.
"Sit back down, Percy," Diana said, looking over her. "I want to run some scans...to make sure everything is alright. Gods knows Apollo would kill me if I didn't."
Percy chuckled, though she still hadn't an idea who this goddess was. It took her a minute to realize and then it clicked.
"Artemis," she said and Diana raised her head and smiled.
"Diana," she corrected softly. "Artemis is what the Greeks called me."
"Oh, right," Percy said and then looked back to Luke who she vaguely realized looked more emotional and...were his hair and eyes lighter?
She must have imagined they were darker before, she thought to herself and Luke sat down next to her, nearly pulling her onto his lap, and burying his face in her hair, and kissing along the side of her neck.
She laughed.
"I've missed you too, lover," Percy said, leaning into Luke's hold.
Diana smiled at the couple, and she noticed Lupa looking away as if trying to hide the small quirk of the lips she couldn't hold back.
"Is the baby alright, Diana?" Luke asked, knowing it would be best to not call the currently Roman goddess Artemis.
Diana shot him a slightly narrowed look.
"If someone would move their hand and let me work..." she trailed off and Luke smiled sheepishly and removed his hand from where it was rubbing his wife's swollen belly.
There was a comfortable silence, but also concerned look about both soon to be parents. Lupa stood watching, trying to be as disinterested as she could be.
"She's as healthy as any baby I've ever seen," Diana finally said, looking up with a small grin.
Percy sighed and grinned.
"It's a girl?" Luke asked.
"Apollo was right, it is definitely a girl. She's a little ways through her sixth month. I believe she'll have the baby between April 5th and 11th."
Percy seemed both excited and scared about that.
"You'll be here, wont you?" Percy asked, looking up at her husband.
Luke smiled.
"Not even Zeus himself could keep me away on that day," he said, running his hand through her soft dark hair.
Percy returned his smile and leaned up, allowing her lips to meet his.
It occurred to her while the kiss deepened and turned more passionate, that this was their first kiss since she'd been taken by Juno – Lupa had let that out not long after she'd woken up.
It was something she liked about Lupa, she was stern, but loyal. She didn't hide something once she let it go, many would have slipped and tried to cover it up.
But Lupa was a honest, sometimes cruelly so, woman or wolf depending what form she was in.
"What is this?"
Percy and Luke broke apart and she was shocked to find Diana had a hold on the silver chain which was around her neck. A silver lion head pendant.
"Oh...my patron gave it to me. When I woke up it sort of...appeared."
Luke and Diana shared looked.
"There is a inscription," Diana said, having turned the silver pendant over. "Familia in fide."
Percy nodded.
"Family in Loyalty," she translated, to the slight surprise of Diana.
Luke expected it, he was aware she was of Roman descent as well, Latin probably came to her as easily as Greek at times.
"This is the symbol of Ops," Diana said, her eyes wide as she looked at Percy with realization.
"Ops?" Luke questioned, trying to remember why that sounded so familiar. "I take it you don't mean Black ops."
Diana sent him a sharp look, Lupa fought back a snort and Percy couldn't help but giggle – and she didn't giggle often.
"Ops, as in Rhea Ops right?" Percy asked, remembering how her patron had spoken to bless her.
Diana blinked but nodded.
"More or less, Rhea is what the Greeks called her. How did you get this, you said it was from your patron..."
Percy bit her lip and nodded.
"She's the reason I woke up so early and even remembered the few things I do. She's slowly been waking up since the pact of the big three was created. She made me her champion, to help in the war," she said, and gripped the pendant, and it began to glow in a silver-blue light.
She made a pulling motion and instead of pulling the pendant off it simply elongated until she held a beautiful silver dagger with a lion and wings design.
"A new weapon," Luke said and Percy nodded.
Everyone realized that while the pendant was still around her neck, the inscription was gone, but was now on the blade of the knife.
"It's amazing," Diana said, her eyes wide. "It's made of Silver Othrys. Weapons made by the Titans."
Percy blinked, unsure what the metal was before, and clinched the handle of the long dagger in her fist and it glowed and disappeared. The inscription reappearing on the pendant.
"Everyone always wondered what had become of Rhea after the war," Diana suddenly said. "You said she was sleeping before now?"
"She told me Kronos put her into a deep sleep and cast her into Tartarus where no one could find her," Percy said.
Luke looked at his wife in concern.
"You're not telling us something," he said and Percy bit her lip.
She hadn't even told Lupa about everything she'd talked to Rhea about. Especially when it came to Rhea giving her a sort-of quest to free her somehow and the proposal of becoming her host body.
Rhea had assured her that it would only be temporary, she had no desire to stay long enough that she'd create a new body for herself like Kronos had attempted.
It wouldn't work like that for her anyways, she wasn't scattered the same way Kronos had been. Her body was in perfect health, it was just so weak.
If it were not for the fact some demigods remembered her, her home on Othrys, her power as a Titaness, and Olympus, she'd probably have faded thousands of years ago.
"It's nothing..." Percy began when she felt a sudden sharp movement int her gut. "Oh, I think she kicked me!"
"What?" Luke asked, his eyes lightning up.
"Maeve, I think she kicked me," Percy said.
Luke smiled and placed his hand on her stomach to try and feel it as well, and then raised an eyebrow.
"Maeve?" he asked and she flushed.
"It's the name we agreed on, isn't it?" she asked, unsure if she'd remembered it correctly.
Luke grinned and pulled his wife in for another kiss. Forgetting his worries about her new patron for now.
"It is," he said. "I love you, Sephie,"
"I may not remember a lot, but I know I love you too, Luke," she said.
Diana smiled at the couple and stood, walking over to Lupa who seemed like she was unsure what to do, not used to such show of emotion in her wolf house.
"You won't tell anyone we were here, old friend?" Diana asked.
Lupa smirked.
"That you were where?" she asked, faking obliviousness.
Diana laughed, but dreaded having to pull the couple away from each other. It was impossible for her or Luke to stay much longer, from the look Luke sent her way he was aware of this as well.