Hey guys:) It's been a while, hasn't it? So, how's life? Good? So I finished reading Blood of Olympus a few days ago and my life isn't good. In fact, this is the worst state I have been in all my years of living. IT'S OVERR! What am I going to do with my life?
But I don't want to discourage anyone from reading it because it seriously was one of the best books I have ever read.
Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO
Winter arrived on the unsuspecting land of Atlantis, blanketing the ground with soft white snow that gave children yet another toy to play with. None of the villagers were particularly worried about the lack of a stable food source during this unforgiving season when their houses were filled to the brim with enough grain to sufficiently feed them for the next three months.
In a particularly large room located at the castle was the royal couple, huddling close to the fire with woolen blankets over their shoulders and a mug of tea resting peacefully beside them. Princess Annabeth was reading once again, sometimes glancing over towards her betrothed when she thought he was not looking. His very existence captivated her and it brought her an illogical amount of pain whenever she was away from him even for the shortest time.
Meanwhile, Thalia Grace was seated on one of the armchairs, watching as frost covered the glass windows and snowflakes fell to the earth. She had always found winter to be such a beautiful time of the year and she was glad that she could spend it with the people she cared about the most.
Unfortunately, Nico had duties to attend to back in Elysium and he could only stay for three more nights. She was not quite prepared to see him leave when she had gotten so attached to him. She wondered how her brother must have felt to see Piper enter the horse-drawn carriage that will send her back to Olympus. The maidservant vaguely remembered seeing tears in the Lady's ever-changing eyes as she waved goodbye to her newfound friends.
There was silence for the most part, the crackling of fire, the scratching of quill on paper, and the shuffling of feet being the only sounds heard in the large room. If one listens hard enough, they would be able to hear the faint laughter of children enjoying themselves in the winter's cold, throwing balls of snow towards their friends and making random shapes on the white ground. It brought a smile to the noblemen's faces, despite the current sense of emptiness they were currently feeling as a group.
The small thud indicated a book being closed and placed on a nearby surface. Annabeth stood from her place on the carpet, leaving the comfortable warmth of both the fire pit and her fiancé in order for her to look for another literary masterpiece to read. She wandered through the aisles between the cases, fingers grazing through the leather bound spines just within her reach. The printing press was man's greatest invention to date and this library was the proof of that.
The royal messenger entered through the giant double doors cautiously, careful not to disrupt the comfortable silence as much as possible. His steps were well calculated, making sure to only place his feet on the parts where the floor does not squeak. He wasn't particularly afraid of the Prince's reaction but, rather, the maidservant's. Thalia can be terrifying when she wants to be and that was the reason why she was greatly admired by the Princess.
"My lord," Connor inquired softly as he knelt down in front of Perseus as a form of respect. "King Poseidon requests your presence immediately. It is of urgent matter."
Without even the slightest question or concern, the said Prince stood and stretched, extending his hand towards his beloved before walking out the door with the Princess.
Connor guided them through the halls until they reached the King's study. Poseidon was leaning against the back of his comfortable chair, addressing multiple letters regarding the many concerns of the citizens. It was unusual for the usual extrovert ruler to be isolating himself so much. Percy was sure that this was the first time he has seen his father since the start of winter.
"Father, you asked for me?" The Prince regarded politely as he sat down on one of the seats in front of the oak table.
"Ah yes, my son." The King looked up and smiled slightly, not the kind that reached his eyes though. Annabeth frowned from her place by the window. "There is something very important I want you to know and there is a possibility that you may not want to talk to me after."
Perseus nodded once, giving his father a sign to continue. Unlike before where the young heir kept a smile on his face, he remained stoic and serious, mentally preparing himself from the supposed-painful blow his King was about to give.
Poseidon sighed, "Tyson… he's your brother." The man confessed with eyes downcast and guilt plastered all over his exhausted face.
There was a moment's silence and the king wondered whether or not he was already alone seeing that there was not one word uttered the moment he finished his statement. He also wasn't sure whether it was wise of him to raise his gaze and meet the sea-green eyes they both shared.
"How do you know?" Percy finally asked with a slight tremor in his voice, refusing to show the betrayal and anger that his heart was currently feeling as of the moment.
"The same way I know that you were my child. He has his mother's eyes, Perseus, the same way you have mine." The ruler explained in a fit of desperation. He wasn't sure what he was going to do once his one heir decided to leave him and return to that wretched place.
He noticed how tightly fisted Percy's hands were, blood dripping down his palms at how deeply his nails dug at his skin. "You told me that you only slept with my mother, that you couldn't bring yourself into being with other women because you loved her too much. And here you are, telling me that I have a brother who just so happens to be 4 years younger than I am. What is your excuse, then, father? If I could even call you that."
Poseidon flinched at his son's harshness, trying to remember exactly why he decided to become unfaithful to his one love. "You will not forgive me even if I explained the situation to you. I do care about you, Percy. You're my son, I am sure of that, and I love your mother so much but, there are certain needs a man has and I was too weak to overcome it without doing anything too drastic. I was a coward for avoiding the truth, for not telling you the moment I had the chance."
"Just give me some time, my lord." The prince responded with ice in his tone. "I am to retire to my quarters now." He bowed stiffly once, giving his fiancé a look before they exited the room together, not even bothering to spare a final glance to the remorseful father.
Perseus refused to look back as Annabeth called his name almost desperately. He was walking too fast to the point where she couldn't catch up no matter how hard she tried. Her heart was filled with dread at the thought of her prince's isolation. He must have felt betrayed, unable to fully trust anyone now. She wondered faintly if he's beginning to doubt her sincerity after confessing her love for him.
They did not return to the library. Instead, the kingdom's heirs headed towards the garden in the middle of the castle pavilion. The prince remained quiet as he sat down on the marble steps, staring at the snowflakes making their way to the ground. "I don't know what my mother would say once she realized that the king has been with someone else, that I have a brother. It would break her heart. She loves my father with all that she is and he remains unfaithful to her despite their unofficial commitment."
"My love," Annabeth cooed as she kneeled in front of him, taking both of his hands in hers. "Your father made a mistake, that is it. All human persons are not consistent with making the correct decisions and the consequences of the choices he made fourteen years ago just made themselves apparent today. You are still the eldest son. Your mother is still his one love. Do not bother yourself with petty, trivial things such as having a sibling."
He hung his head in defeat, examining the snow covered grass with curious fingers. "Even in the direst circumstances, your thoughts still revolve around your mother. Your selflessness has taught you the meaning of true happiness and your father still lacks that quality. If… if you bring her here, maybe they would be able to converse properly. If all things go well, then Atlantis will have a queen."
"Do you truly believe in what you say?" He looked at her and, for the first time, she saw tears running down his pink-tinted cheeks. She did not know if she was giving him any justice by calling him beautiful at his moment of misery but it was most certainly true. Even in his worst, he still remained to be the most handsome man in existence.
She took a deep breath and nodded, allowing his heat to envelop her in the best way possible. His strong arms remained around her waist as they journeyed back towards the library, hoping that their companions will not worry about their extended leave of absence. Annabeth learned the difficult way that Thalia was overly protective of her friends, to the point of demanding where they were or asking multiple questions about a certain bruise that they acquired during some small accident.
To the surprise of the princess, her maidservant did not attack her on sight. In fact, there was no one in the library to begin with. Sheets of parchment and a bottle of ink with a quill were resting peacefully on top of the table whilst a mug of freshly brewed tea remained untouched by the windowsill.
Perseus gestured for a servant to come over, "Milady, have you seen where Thalia, Jason, and Lord Nico had ventured off to? They don't seem to be inside the library."
"Ah yes, my lord." The maid stuttered slightly, color dusting her cheekbones as she shuffled her feet shyly. "I saw them heading towards Lord Nico's temporary quarters. Do you wish for me to accompany you?"
"No, no, that would not be necessary." Annabeth replied all-too-quickly, slight harshness evident in her tone of voice. "We know our way, thank you."
For a moment, there was an air of hostility. It was only when the prince took initiative to step in between the two females that they calmed down. "Calypso, I think it is best for you to return to your duties now." He stated with authority, hoping she understood the reason as to why she needed to be dismissed.
As they watched the servant stride away, Annabeth grasped his arm all-too tightly. The frown in her face didn't seem to disappear therefore Percy decided to wipe it away for her. He tilted her chin up and met her lips with the same passion as their first kiss and the kisses following that. "I am not unfaithful like my father." He assured her with a smile. "I love you and I will never fall for anyone other than you."
"Thank you." She replied, his unique scent acting as a drug to her rapidly-beating heart.
They met with their friends inside the guest bedroom just as Calypso said so. As expected, Nico and Thalia were in one corner whilst Jason remained in the other. It didn't seem like they just had yet another Grace-sibling argument considering how both seemed to be in a relatively good mood.
At the sight of their newly-arrived companions, their happiness morphed into a grimace and Jason stood to meet with his 'brother'. "Connor told us what happened. Is what your father said true?" Unlike in other kingdoms, the idea of the slightest disloyalty from their king was unheard of.
"Unfortunately, yes. My father would never lie about a thing as serious as such. We are too alike that way. It is not Tyson's fault that he remains as the center of this issue therefore you should not blame him for being the son of my father's mistress." His bitterness was most evident as he finished his statement. His features were dark despite the sufficient lighting coming from the open window, as if he tried to convince himself that everything was fine when he knew perfectly well that it was not.
Of course, this was not overlooked by the remaining members of their comfortable group. They've become rather sensitive to the Prince's constantly shifting emotions and have been very well versed in the art of reading facial expressions, especially when they were friends with someone as stoic as Prince Nico of Elysium.
"How do you truly feel about your situation, Perseus? You do not seem to believe the words you have uttered." Thalia remained at her seat but she was more than ready to approach Annabeth's lover and comfort him any way they can. It was not easy living with that inexorable fact that you have a brother who does not have the same mother as you do. At least Jason and Thalia did not stay long enough to see their father remarry, again, and meet with their new half-sibling.
"It's difficult to process, honestly. Until now, I am having difficulty understanding such a thing. I had always assumed that, once I've reclaimed my rightful place as heir to the throne, all would be well. My mother would return to my father and they would finally be wed. I assumed that, if ever I do have a sibling again, he and I would be related completely. To think that I was labeled as the son of a prostitute, a good-for-nothing whore who flirted with men in order for us to survive. Mother deserves better and my father has not given her that."
Annabeth approached her betrothed with caution. He was emotionally unstable as of the moment; one wrong move and every single water source in the kingdom would explode. She does not want him to feel the guilt of drowning hundreds of innocents due to his father's disloyalty. "Write to your mother, my love." She cooed soothingly, placing a palm gently on his bicep while the other stroked the side of his face. "Tell her that we will come and fetch her from that wretched kingdom. She will be accepted here. If you truly believe that the king does not deserve to be your mother's husband, then she will not be."
"You do not understand, Annabeth." He replied sorrowfully as he pulled her into an embrace. "I am glad that you are trying but my mother and my father should be together. They are as compatible as you and I are. Yes, I agree that she should be brought here with me and I will return to her once the time is right but as of now, I have to rebuild my relationship with my father and my half-brother. I will write to her tonight, explain to her what had happened. I will not keep the truth from her as the king did to me. She deserves to know."
A loud knock interrupted their emotion-filled conversation. There was the slightest bit of apprehension in the air as the crowned prince instinctively pulled his beloved behind him. Even Jason seemed to be cautious as he approached his supposed-lord slowly and carefully.
The door opened without permission and a large man entered. At first, he looked threatening. His height was enough to intimidate plenty of people but the size of his arms was another thing. Fortunately, once the sunlight illuminated the visitor's face enough, they managed to see one working calf brown eye and an unruly tuft of brown hair. He was adorable, really and Annabeth fought the urge to pinch Tyson's cheeks. In reality, it would have been difficult for someone her size to reach up that high for a petty thing such as that.
"Brother!" The blacksmith cried out with enthusiasm, bounding over to the Prince of Atlantis with his arms opened wide. Perseus tensed up for a moment, not very used to being hugged by a person half a foot taller but four years younger than he was. It took him a while to finally relax and almost smiled when he heard his half-brother tear up in joy. "Momma said that I had no brothers but papa told me that I had and it made me really happy."
Annabeth's heart warmed at the sight and Jason almost forgot the smallest bit of hatred he had for the giant of a boy for causing his friend's grief. It was not Tyson's fault he was the son of a king. One cannot simply change ones parentage. Thalia, too, unclenched her fists and relaxed from her fighting stance, watching as the two brothers got to know each other better.
It took the group a while to readjust to the haunting figure of Tyson. Nico had a much harder time coping with the presence of another but he soon realized how he and Percy were very much alike in some ways. Except that Tyson was larger and pulls people to embraces more frequently. He was such an innocent soul that the Elysian prince was afraid of corrupting him.
"How did you lose your eye, Tyson?" Perseus said this with such tenderness and genuine concern that the apprentice allowed a tear to escape his remaining eye.
For a moment, there was silence. The prince feared that he might have struck a nerve or if he had offended his new relative. He needed to treat Tyson the way his father has treated him: with love and care. "It's alright if you do not wish to tell us." Percy assured as he the thick arms of the giant of a boy. "I don't want to force you into doing something you are not willing to do."
"No, brother." The boy replied abruptly. "No, no. It's fine! Momma said that when I was a baby, there was an accident and our house burned down. Tyson managed to escape with momma but he was hit by a piece of fire on a wood and it burned."
Percy smiled at his younger brother kindly, enough to melt the hearts of millions of civilians. "You know the first thing I thought when I saw you, Tyson?"
A large calf-brown eye stared at the Prince's sea-green ones. "What?"
"That you were brave. You're so young and yet you had the courage to face the King and present him with a sword you had helped make. You are not ashamed to be who you are and share about your painful past. Those are the qualities that make the best warriors. I am proud to call you my brother."
Tyson smiled brightly, "Brother!" He agreed happily before embracing Perseus once again.