PERCY"S POV
He woke with a start at the Crack of dawn- He had been captured by the hunters for only a day- as a prisoner of war. At first, He had tried to get out of the gods' forsaken tent, but it had been enchanted so nothing He did would have any impact on it. Riptide was in his pocket as always- but his hands had been bound- Celestial Bronze chains. Not even gods could break out of chains enchanted like this- let alone him.
He figured he was being treated well, at least for a prisoner of war by the hunters, because Artemis did not wish to have the wrath of Poseidon unleashed upon her hunters. If he was illtreated, the hunters would never be able to go near a body of water ever again.
They had removed the arrow from his chest- and had given him Ambrosia and water- so his wound had healed, but he still felt a searing pain inside of him. Not one of bodily pain, but mental pain.
He had failed again, he had failed his father, the men that had been under his command. Maybe he had drawn the battle and brought Poseidon back, but a warrior did not yield just for a Pyrrhic Victory- they wanted the enemy completely routed. He had not only failed in that regard, but he had let himself been captured. He would of died rather then be used as a Bargaining chip then Zeus- he was nobody's to use. He only fought for his father and the sea. To think that he would be leveraged as just another card in the deck, was something he could not stand.
Yet he knew today, maybe there would be some hope. He had heard whispers and rumors, that the other Olympians were going to try to stop this divine war. He did not know how, but he hoped the loss of Zeus forces would help achieve that. Even one who lived and died by the blade- like the Samurai of 200 years ago, eventually longed for peace.
Even then, if battle was one of the only places He felt alive, defeat drove him to the brink of Insanity. His mind could not cope. How many times had He failed? He had been like Boromir,but at least He had faced death with honor, in combat. Look at him now. He had, like a coward, not even fallen to somebody else's blade- He had yielded of his own exhaustion. His disappointment in himself burned in his head like nothing else. He had failed again. Zoƫ, Bob, Luke. He had failed all of them, and now he had Even failed in battle. He knew these were irrational thoughts- what the fuck was He supposed to do against a goddess? But for one who lived to serve like him- rationality meant nothing. It was all about honor.
He had been mentally beating himself up for an hour before he heard the sound of a lock opening- and a hunter came in, holding a plate of food. She had a look of discomfort on her face, along with one of slight pity. His mind flashed back to 4 or so years ago- what was her name?
Phoebe.
The one the Stolls had pranked. It had only been 4 years- to him it felt like an entirely different life. She set down the tray. A chunk of deer meat and bread- with an apple. She then walked out the door, and locked it again. Great, he was stuck back inside. He did not feel any hunger- and set the tray to the side.
His thoughts had led him to one conclusion- nobody that had taken Zeus side could be trusted. Especially Artemis, as He took his capture personally against her. Even Thalia. In the back of his mind He knew it was irrational- but when had the way of the sword been rational- a burning desire for revenge against the king of the gods, and Hera, along with everyone else that had sided with him had formed in his mind. There was not reason for it, but any warrior would of had such a desire if they were this mentally fucked- He lived for battle- and he probably had some mental issues, so to be defeated badly- the only way he could cope was in rage- against them.
It seems his mind was spinning it's own narrative, disillusioned to the reality of the situation. But he would not yield to common sense for now, that was for sure.
Artemis's POV
The war had not been kind to her or her hunters. She just had to be dragged into this by Zeus. He had held her by oath, as she had sworn on the river Styx to do any favor He wanted years ago- in exchange for him not disbanding the hunters after the incident with Orion. Here she was again, with another son of Poseidon in her camp, this time against his will.
She had to admit, She felt bad about capturing Perseus after shooting a arrow into him- He had befriended Zoe after all, and was close to Thalia. He commanded some amount of respect by the average hunters for his deeds, but most of them were still uncomfortable with a male in there camp- even if it was Perseus- and a tied up Perseus that couldn't possibly escape.
Yet war was war. The fight replayed in her mind- she was surprised that he had even been able to put up a fight after being shot that bad- the punch he had thrown was something you didn't see normally. Of course it had been nothing to her, but still, impressive.
She felt a bit bad for the boy though, having gone through so much, Tatarus, 2 wars, and then being thrown again as another poker chip. But she would have to ponder about that later.
Then a bolt rang out through the sky- Try were calling the council. Perhaps peace negotiations at last. She told Thalia to take over, for now she had to flash to Olympus, with a meeting to attend.
Of course she was early. The god of wine came next, followed by Demeter and Apollo. Here, Zeus and Hestia had already been there, and she braced herself as Poseidon flashed in. Both the brothers gave each other dirty looks, with sneers and comments at each other. But finally the throne room had filled up with the Olympians, and Hera began speaking.
"You all have been called here for a reason , and you know that." She paused before speaking again "My husband and Poseidon have leveled earth, and we must have Peace, or our Pantheon will not last much longer with the amount of damage they have done." She turned in the direction of the brothers
They both were deep in bickering with one another, and had not relented. The same old comments and insults, before Dementer of all people had brought them to attention to Heras speech.
" You will obey this council, both of you. You both may be powerful, but you shall not disregard the traditions of Olympus."
She sighed, before moving onto the ugly part of things. Zeus tried to interrupt- but she silenced him quickly "After the loss of your army, you are in no position to negotiate in favor of yourselves. Both of you will go back to normal. No concessions at all."
Artemis was on the edge of her throne, along with the other Olympians. A few of then had exchanged looks with each other- She did not like that. It was clear they had a plan.
She now took in the other Olympians fully. Her brother was surprisingly layed back as always, even with the intensity of the situation- but under his Facade, she noticed a look of worry. Ares sat as always, seemingly uninterested, but she knew he was a bit disappointed in the end of the war. The drunken Wine god was asleep as always. The rest of them all sat there, waiting for her proposal. A few of them had knowing looks on there face. Not the first time she had been left in the dark.
"What do you propose, sister?'" The sea god asked. The capture of Percy had clearly shaken him, and he seemingly had become much less aggressive, concerned for his well being. Zeus on the other hand, was not contempt with conceding. Athena spoke up.
"Father, calm down. You are in the minority right now. Please concede, nobody else on the council, well besides him," She said, gesturing to Ares with a look of dislike. "Wants it to continue. So stop your petty feud and yield."
Hera now continued. "Peace will be made between the both of you. That is not a request. The council has already decided this."
"Now we move onto the subject of punishment. Both of you have run rampant and wild for years with your feuds. Perhaps we shall remind you who is exactly in charge here. Not you both, but the council. I propose a marriage- between one of Poseidon sons, and Zeus-"
She was cut off by both of the gods exploding. "I WILL NOT ALLOW ANY OF MY SON TO BE MARRIED TO A CHILD OF HIS-" Zeus and Poseidon both released untold amounts of rage, before Hestia silenced them both.
"Enough. We will put this proposal to a vote."
Both Artemis and Athena were also shouting. The thought of being married to a Sea Spawn was to much for Athena- and for Artemis, and a relationship at all would be a travesty for her. But she knew that if it came down between her and Artemis- Athena still had more votes over all. Her world came crashing down now. No. It could not happen. It couldn't happen. NO. NO. SHE WOULD NOT LET IT HAPPEN.
In her inner monologue, she knew the vote would succeed in Heras favor. And she watched, as the hands raised. He was brought to tears at this point.
"And now" Hera said, pausing for dramatic effect. "We decide who marries who."
Sorry for the slow updates but I'm trying the best I can. Leave a review with your thoughts.
