Authors Note: Welcome back readers! (And me as well). Man, it's been quite a while since the last chapter, I hope I haven't driven you all away :P . But anyways, I'm not going to bore you guys with me rambling so let's get on with the story.
Chapter 12: A funeral is a must when visiting a new city
"No way, the Muses actually liked your poetry?!" Perseus said, shocked.
"Yep, they said it might be because of my newly developed voice. What did they describe it as...yes! 'As smooth as velvet and as light as the summer breeze.' I was actually doing the gig well! And guess what, I may also have a chance to have my first live concert next month, alongside the Muses! How cool is that!" Apollo said, grinning from ear to ear.
Perseus sighed. "Well, there goes my unlimited supply of bad poetry. It was fun while it lasted. Though I'm happy for you."
Apollo frowned. "I still haven't forgiven you for that but I appreciate your thanks. And hey! Maybe I could get you backstage as well."
Perseus raised an eyebrow. "It's been two months already get over it, you're like what, sixteen? And I could easily just sneak in, I don't need you to help me."
"Meanie." Apollo said, pouting. "You just kissed your chance for an autograph from me goodbye!"
Perseus just stared at Apollo as if he had grown an extra head (which he did at one point). "What in the Fates names is an autograph?"
"It's this new thing I have come up with, where famous people like me give their signatures, which is a stylized name, to people. It'll be written on stuff like paper or a flower pot. It could be a cool new trend." Apollo said. "Want to head into the marketplace?" he asked.
"Sure..." Perseus replied, getting up. "And that autograph thing sounds stupid, especially coming from you. Like who would want your name written on a flower pot, like...why?"
"It'll be from a famous person! It'll have value, could maybe be sold off for like a hundred drachmas or something. And I'll only give it to select people, making it a rarity." Apollo replied.
Perseus merely shook his head. "I swear, you becoming a teenager was the worst thing to happen. If you're going to act five times stupider once you become an adult, you're dead to me."
Apollo clutched his chest as he fell on his knees. "You wound me my friend. I assure you I have gained wisdom beyond the years." he said dramatically. "And these weird scenes or pictures that kinda flash in my head here and there."
"Well congratulations, you're causing a scene now so get up." Perseus chided, giving a light whack on Apollo's head. The two soon enough reached the marketplace, which was bustling with activity. The main seller looked like to be smoked briskets which were quickly being sold out by a surprising customer.
"I want twenty of these for today. Ten of them have to be marinated with refined nectar, five of them with chocolate syrup and another five to be heavily salted. And I want a repeat of these tomorrow as well, with the only difference that ten should be covered with chocolate syrup, rest of it you know what to do. And if you mess up, as queen of Olympus, I'll make sure to ban you from Olympus and make you a beggar in my city Argos!" A very pregnant Hera cried out loud, practically salivating with a crazed look in her eyes.
"Y-yes ma'am." the shopkeeper said, stuttering. "A-and would y-you like our-r complimentary bread with your order, or no?" he asked.
"NO! I don't need more foods, I'll get fat! Why would you even offer that anyways?" Hera shouted.
The shopkeeper gulped. "Um...it's a shop policy...and you might need it for the baby."
"Hmm...very well add it along with the meat. And it should be ready by tomorrow as soon as possible, or else you will be a peacock!" Hera shouted. She then spotted Perseus and Apollo and wobbled over to them. "Hello Perseus...Apollo. Are you here to buy something to eat? Do you want me to buy you something to eat?" she asked.
"Um, no thanks Aunt Hera, we're good." Perseus replied nervously.
"Do you like meat?" Apollo asked.
Hera glared at him but nonetheless answered his question. "I adore it. Just today I had ham and jam sandwiches for breakfast and they were delicious." she said.
Apollo had a pensive look on his face. "Ham and jam sandwiches separate, or..."
"Ham and jam together of course. Do you want some now?"
"Oh no, no, no, we're good Aunt Hera we- oh no." Perseus said glumly as he stared at the revolting sandwich in his arms right now. Apollo was already frantically looking around for a trash can.
"Enjoy your sandwiches you two. Now excuse me, I need some fruits for my evening." Hera said, as she wobbled as fast as she could across the street.
Perseus sighed. "You had to ask? You know she will give us something related to whatever we asked she likes."
"Well yeah! She gave us brownies last time so I thought she'll give us, I don't know, a smoked brisket. I'm hungry but not for this!" Apollo said, holding the sandwich at arm's length. "Where's the trash can.?"
"In your belly obviously." a voice said behind them. Perseus and Apollo turned around to find Artemis, with her hair and clothes messed up and dirt on her face. "What are those things anyways?" she asked.
"What happened to you?!" Perseus said, picking a strand of Artemis's hair and letting it fall down. "You look worse than an aftermath of our hunter games."
Apollo snorted back a laugh. "You look like you went through a stampede little sis."
Artemis rolled her eyes. "I might as well have." she said, stepping on Apollo's foot, who immediately grabbed it and started hopping around. "I got swarmed by these satyrs who wanted some autograph, something weird probably. Just because I want to take an active part in wildlife preservation doesn't mean I'm some kind of goddess for it that I need to be chased over for. And don't call me little for di immortals' sake. Stupid satyrs, stupid boys." she muttered.
Perseus grinned. "I'm not stupid right."
Artemis smiled. "You might as well be if you continue to hang out with my amnesiac of a brother."
"Well it's not my fault that you basically look like a kid and I'm a good foot taller than you two." Apollo said glaring at his twin. "At least age up a bit, it's starting to feel a bit weird that I'm hanging out with two kids."
"Then don't hang out with us, we'll be fine without you. Right Perseus." Artemis said.
"Hmm, yep. Sorry Apollo but you are acting stupider."
"Oh come on, what's wrong with being a teen? Not only you will not be treated as a little kid, but you will look cooler to. I know I do." Apollo said.
Perseus raised an eyebrow. "When you first became sixteen, you strolled into your house, not even really recognizable, and got shot on the head from a blunt arrow because you greeted your mom and Artemis with 'Hellooo, beautiful ladies.' That's just weird.
"Still gives me nightmares." the twins said together, and then stared at each other. "Why would that give you nightmares?" They again said together, and then started glaring at each other.
"Guys, you do have twin speak, just admit-" but whatever Perseus was going to say was interrupted by a loud crash coming from a fruit stall, which unfortunately had Hear as a customer.
"What do you mean you don't have watermelons?! The Olympian marketplace is supposed to be a pioneer, the grand market! How can you not have anything?" Hera shouted, literally glowing.
The nymph handling the shop looked like she already went to the afterlife. "I can check with the owner ma'am, maybe-"
"Oh definitely check with the owner, in fact, I like to talk to the owner myself!" Hera said impatiently.
"I have a feeling that Hera is not pregnant, she just wants to eat a lot hence the pregnancy cover" Perseus whispered to Artemis, who face palmed.
"She is pregnant Perce, it's the hormones." Apollo replied.
"Pregnant women are really scary then."
"All women are scary."
"And all boys are idiots. You're beyond salvageable now, sorry Perseus but Apollo has successfully corrupted you." Artemis said.
"No!" "Yay!"
"Anyways, you're going down to the mortal world, right? Where exactly? Artemis asked.
"Yep, I finally got this under full control." Perseus replied, grabbing a nearby apple with a shadow wisp from an unsuspecting customer. "It's been pretty awesome not having headaches, but now I have to slog with my terrakinesis." he said, taking a bite. "And to answer your other question, I'll be going to Kichyros."
Artemis wrinkled her nose. "Can't you go somewhere cooler, like Athens or Crete?"
"Well, it's Hades's patron city so that's why." Perseus replied, grabbing another apple and handing it to Artemis.
"Makes sense." Artemis said, taking a bite from her apple. "And don't forget to get me a souvenir."
"And me as well. If you can find a headband, that would be cool. I'm planning to grow out my hair so-" Apollo said, but was interrupted by a small voice.
"Um, excuse me Milord." the voice spoke out. The trio turned to find a nymph, a dryad holding out a flower pot. "Can you please sign my pot if you don't mind."
Apollo grinned. "Why of course, lovely lady. Let me just grab my quill, A-ha! Here it is!"
"Oh! I actually wanted Lord Perseus's autograph, if you wouldn't mind of course." the nymph said, directing her question to Perseus, whose eyes widened on hearing this.
"Oh, um, yeah sure, I wouldn't mind really. I think I need a... oh! Thanks Apollo." Perseus said, grabbing the quill from a dumbfounded Apollo's hand. "So... just my name? Well, here you go." he said, handing the pot back to the dryad.
"Thank you so much milord!" the dryad said giggling, and walked away.
"What... just happened?" Apollo said.
Artemis huffed. "Perseus has the nymph's attention, so what. It's nothing new really."
Apollo stared at his sister and then swung back to Perseus. "Are you telling me this is not the first time?! How long were you going to hide the fact that you are a chick magnet?! Holy Hera, I'm getting competition from a twelve-year-old." Apollo said gravely, none of them hearing the nearby sneeze from a certain goddess.
"This was only the second time!" Perseus said indignantly as he glared at Artemis who was wearing a shit-eating grin on her face. "And you're spending too much time with Ares, Apollo. Because he likes to use that word."
"Still, I haven't been even approached by anyone for an autograph, and this is supposed to be my idea." Apollo said. Suddenly, he straightened up and his eyes became glassy which was noticed by Artemis and Perseus.
"Apollo?" Artemis asked.
Apollo blinked and then shook his head. "Sorry, I got another flash scene. Weirdly, it involved Hera."
"Aunt Hera? What did you see?" Perseus asked.
"It was kinda grainy, but I saw her holding a clothed bundle and looking down from her balcony. Don't know what that's about though." Apollo replied.
The three pondered over it for some time, ultimately leaving it. They then teleported away to Delos to have their annual hunt, not knowing about a red and gold string being created by three old ladies in a far off cave.
"Do you have your drachmas? Are they enough to buy anything you want? What about your clothes, maybe we should change them up?"
Perseus sighed. "Mom, I'll be fine, really. Uncle Hades will be around and you could always check on me through the hearth, which I know you'll do." he said.
Hestia frowned. "I wouldn't do that..." she said, but on seeing her son's doubtful face, she sighed. "Okay, maybe I will, but I'll only check on you once. I trust Hades to see that you'll be fine, and I think he'll do a great job."
Perseus grinned. "Only because you threatened him with rotten food for a week."
"Only because he's the lord of the dead, I can't create rotten food. Demeter can though, but I wouldn't want to give her any ideas on tormenting Hades. It'll be a nightmare for him. Which is something since he can give those. Anyways, I've been told that you will be meeting Hades where you train right? By shadow travelling there. Will you be alright doing it alone?" Hestia asked.
"Mom, I can shadow travel from Olympus to Delos alone, plus I already mapped a route to take so I won't be lost. I'll be fine."
"Alright, that makes me feel a bit better. Enjoy your day sweetie, and don't get into too much trouble. Follow the city rules, you may be a god but you're still visiting."
"Yep, okay bye mom!" Perseus shouted, making a shadow form on the wall and then diving headfirst into it. The familiar wind and cold soon greeted Perseus as he navigated through the still unknown realm. Within moments, the opening was found and Perseus tumbled out of a tree, landing on his feet. Loud applause soon followed from Hades who was standing at the end of the forest clearing. Congratulations. You have successfully perfected your landing and have not fallen on your face, thus not having a bloody mouth."
"Shut up, uncle." Perseus said, brushing a bit of snow from his hair as he walked to where Hades was. "Can we go now, I'm dying to-."
"One more pun, and I'll tell your mother about Sisyphus. I've had enough of puns thanks to the Furies." Hades warned with a stern voice though his smiling face betrayed him. "Stay close, don't interact with anyone unless they do first, then again I'll be the one to let you know if you can answer anyone's questions. Leave most of the talking to me, got it?
"Yes sir. Now come on, we only have until the evening uncle." Perseus said excitedly as he ran down the hill. Sometime later, the two finally reached the city gates of Kichyros. It was a fairly large city, with a river flowing through it, giving access to many trade ships. There was a large hill at the end, which was dotted with many houses that housed important citizens and at the top was a large palace of the current king. The town square was a large and bustling marketplace, which is where Perseus and Hades were headed.
"So, what do you want to check out first." Hades asked.
"I'm not sure, but the people over here really like you huh." Perseus said, noting all the banners bearing Hades's name.
"Hmm? Oh those? It's nothing much, just traditional stuff really." Hades said offhandedly
Perseus glanced at his uncle and then at a stall. "They are literally selling your paintings, and is that a Cerberus plushie?! I want one!"
"They are selling my dog's plushies? That's new." Hades said, as he walked to the stall.
"Hello young man, you must be new!" the man behind the shop said. "Welcome to Kichyros, where Lord Hades is our patron god. Oh! And you must be his father, welcome sir."
Hades smirked. "Uncle actually, but I might as well be." he said, dodging the arm jab from Perseus. "My nephew would like one of those plushies please."
"Coming right up." the shopkeeper said, disappearing into the back.
"Anything else?" Hades asked Perseus.
"Apollo wanted a headband, said he needed it for his hair. Artemis just said to surprise her so no clue about her."
"Hmm, that's tricky. You think she'll want a Cerberus plushie?"
Perseus bit back a laugh. "She'll probably use it for target practice. Maybe a headband for her as well?"
Hades shook his head. "She can create one if she wanted. Come on you're her best friend, what would she like."
"She doesn't wear jewelry, but maybe she might like bracelet?" Perseus said.
"Bracelet is a good choice, get it silver so it matches her eyes. And don't worry about price or anything like that, you're with the god of wealth of course.
Perseus laughed. "True, but mom packed for me a thousand gold drachmas so I'm good."
Hades eyes widened. "A thousand?! What is the Fates name was your mother thinking? You better stay close by, don't want you to get robbed now."
"I could just throw them across the city if I wanted to." Perseus said.
Hades sighed. "Yes, but you are now pretending to be a mortal boy for today so you can't. Oh! Thank you, here's the change." He said, giving the money to the shopkeeper. "Here you go kid, a Cerberus plush. Enjoy."
"Thanks uncle." Perseus said as they walked to a nearby shop to find something for the twins. "I think Artemis would like this...stink spray. She's getting swarmed by satyrs lately."
Hades shrugged. "They'll go after everyone who's all for nature. Plus, she has her bow with her so she'll be fine. It'll send a stronger message than 'stink spray'."
"True, oh look they have what we need!" Perseus said pointing at a shop. Hades was making a purchase when he sensed something above him. "Surprising to see him here." he murmured and raised his hand, forming a barrier around him and Perseus.
"Um, uncle? What are you doing?" Perseus asked, noticing that Hades had switched from his tunic to his traditional silk robes.
"Meeting a friend. Watch."
Suddenly, a large shadow descended upon them, forming into a lean and muscular man. He had a set of wings attached to his back and golden colored eyes. "Hello milord." he said to Hades, giving a bow. "Quite a coincidence seeing you here."
"I could say the same. Perseus, this is Thanatos, the god of death. He goes all around Greece guiding lost souls into the underworld, the ones that died with the proper rituals being followed of course. And for this city alone, the souls don't have to wait in line with the others, they are directly transported for judgement. Charon hates that but a perk is a perk. So, I'm guessing you are here for a soul?"
Thanatos nodded. "The king's general has lost his eldest daughter to a sickness. The funeral proceedings are happening now as we speak."
Hades had a grave look on his face. "A real pity. You know what to do." he said, watching as Thanatos took off, flying towards the hill. "Well, I hope that didn't put a damper on our outing." he said to Perseus.
Perseus had a sad look on his face on hearing about the death when he got an idea. "Is it possible that we can attend the funeral? You could even do your lord of the dead stuff. We could be like invisible and all, we don't have to really be there."
"Are you sure?" Hades asked, hesitation and uncertainty laced in his voice. "I really don't want to tell your mother that the highlight of our trip was that I took you to a funeral."
"We could go to other places uncle, it's still what, one in the afternoon? We have plenty of time." Perseus said, glancing at the sun.
Hades still looked a bit uncertain but he knew his nephew was quite resilient. "How about this, we'll go visit the other land marks and then go for the funeral. The proceedings will still happen once we're done with our sight-seeing."
Getting a nod of confirmation from Perseus, Hades removed the barrier around them and changed back into his tunic. He then took his nephew around the city, showing him the temple dedicated to him and the place where he first appeared. He also showed him some fields where cattle dedicated to him was also kept. Hades had a hard time getting him from the armory though, as Perseus quite badly wanted a sword, his only reason being it had a 'wicked handle'.
"You could have the best swords Olympus has to offer, made from the finest celestial bronze. And you want a standard sword from a local armory?" Hades asked his nephew as they went into a deserted alley.
"I just want my own sword. The ones I use for spars break easily." Perseus said. "Are we going to shadow travel?" he asked.
"Yes, since you obviously don't know where to go. Now hold on tight." Hades said as he went through a shadow, immediately coming into a room. "Looks like we are here. Now, let me just make you invisible." he said, waving his hand around Perseus, making him unseen. "There you go, all done. Now, let's attend a funeral."
The two exited the room and began to walk through the hallways. They soon turned up at a large courtyard where there were tons of people roaming around, with solemn looks on their faces. A small crowd was assembled in the middle, where a shrouded figure was laying down. Perseus could see Thanatos as the end of the courtyard, talking to a silvery looking figure and then grabbed it and disappeared.
"That must be the child." Hades said. "I wonder where she will land up in... Αφήστε την ψυχή της να βρει ειρήνη στη μεταθανάτια ζωή και πέρα."
"Αφήστε την ψυχή της να βρει ειρήνη στη μεταθανάτια ζωή και πέρα." Perseus said. As he looked around, he noticed that a rather fidgety man that kept glancing at the guards stationed at each corner of the courtyard. Another man then entered the room and went up to the fidgety man, clasping his shoulders and whispered something to him. The man visibly relaxed and the two exited the courtyard.
"Hades, Lord of the Dead. You have one incoming call from Alecto of the Furies. Accept, or Reject." the familiar voice of Iris, goddess of the rainbow said from a cloud of mist, forming a rainbow.
"Seriously now? That number loving bat..." Hades muttered as he waved over the rainbow. "Accept." he said, and an image of Alecto showed up.
Perseus, curious about the earlier weird interaction he saw, noticed that Hades was busy. "Uncle, I'm going to check on that, uh, statue over there. I think it looks like a baby Ares." he said. Hades merely grunted in acknowledgement as he listened to what Alecto had to say. "What do you mean by the cooks are complaining about Tantalus's cries and moans? Can't you'll mute him or something?"
Seeing that his uncle was distracted, Perseus began to slowly walk to the exit, until he realized that he was practically invisible to everyone and decided to make a run for it. Running through the hallways, he couldn't find them anywhere as he reached what looked like the kitchens. Deciding to now check upstairs if the men had gone there, he walked to the exit when he heard muffled noises coming from the back door. Curious, he climbed up on a platform and peered through a ventilator window and saw something that shocked him. There were four men with swords outside, dragging a large sack with holes behind them. But what shocked him was the fact that the sack was moving and thrashing around, clearly letting him know that there was someone in it, alive.
"Mados is going to be so happy with this capture, imagine the ransom money! I'll say that one thousand drachmas are definitely going to be in our pocket real soon." a burly guy said, as he rested the sack against a tree. "When are those idiots going to be back anyways?"
"Patience friend, they are still scouting the area, finding a suitable route for us to escape through. We'll be quite safe here though; the cooks and servants won't use this room for another hour and we'll be gone by then." another burly guy said, patting his shoulder.
Perseus was angry at what he was seeing, he knew that this was a ploy to kidnap whoever it was and they have succeeded. Yet.
Perseus smirked as he moved his fingers in a pattern, making the shadows formed by the men underneath the sun move. One wisp came out and lightly wrapped itself on burly guy one's ankle, making sure he wouldn't notice. He then did the same for the other men and then made sure to extend the wisps so the four can be dragged away to a large distance. As soon as everything was set, Perseus then silently counted to three and then flicked his wrist.
"One month's worth of- what the- AHHH!"
"What's wron- HOLY ZEUS HELP!"
"The woman, and the money, and the- MMGHFF!"
"I'll rather kill the- EEEEK!"
Perseus laughed as he saw the hilarious reactions of the men, as they were being dragged away from the hostage. "Ironic revenge." he thought as he concentrated and looked through the window to make sure that they were kissing mother earth. But what he didn't know that because he was away from Hades, and with Hades focused on his call, Perseus was soon visible to anyone who would walk into him.
"I'm telling you; this is our window, we should strike- is that a kid?!" a voice said behind Perseus. Perseus turned around and fear immediately pooled in his stomach when he saw it was the same two men from earlier, knives in their hands. The first guy rushed towards Perseus and went for his mouth, making sure he couldn't scream and then held a knife to his neck. "Ichiron! Get the rope out and bind his limbs fast!"
During the commotion, Perseus's control on the wisps broke, freeing the other kidnappers. They quickly hurried back to their original spot, just in time to see their other comrades throwing a tied-up Perseus to the ground.
On the other hand, Hades was still arguing with Alecto when Thanatos appeared at his side. "It's done milord, she has been judged and is now in Elysium. She deserves it."
"That's amazing. Okay Alecto, how about we put soundpro-"
"Um milord? Wasn't young Perseus supposed to be with you?" Thanatos asked.
"He said he was going to check on a baby." Hades said as he wrote something down on a parchment. "Wait, why is everyone looking panicked?" Hades asked as he noticed everyone rushing about, frightened looks on their faces.
"From what I can tell, it seems like someone important is missing. Someone must have disappeared."
"You already said that with missing." Hades muttered. "But where is Perseus anyways? Did he run off somewhere?
Thanatos narrowed his eyes. "Milord, I'm guessing you put an invisibility charm on him, correct? Wouldn't that fade off if he was out of your range?" he said.
Hades nodded. "Yep, if he's nowhere near me, then...Oh I'm going to be a dead god soon!"
"Looks like the gods have been kind to us boys." One of the men, Ichiron said. "We have two captures now! And from the looks of it, it seems like the boy must be from an important family. Look at his clothes, I'll say we are going to be double rich!"
"Where did you get him?" Burly guy two asked.
"Dumb kid was spying on you four from the kitchens. No clue what he would have down if we hadn't found him. Would have gone to his parents or played hero like any kid his age. And what about you all? Why did you all come from separate directions and were not with our target?" the man with Ichiron asked.
The four stared at each other nervously. "You probably wouldn't believe us anyways." an ugly guy said. "Why don't we forget it and make a run for it. We have what we need, and a bonus as well. What's our best rou-" but the guy couldn't finish his sentence due to him being carried up in the air by a shadowy wisp and then smashed into a wall.
"What in Hades's name is going on?!" Burly guy two asked as he stared at the prone figure on the ground
"Th-that w-was the s-sa-same thi-thing th-that g-got u-u-us." Burly guy one said fearfully. "I-it's the s-same rope. It-" but he couldn't finish his sentence as a stone pillar erupted from his feet, making him launch into the air and then come falling back into the ground with a sickening crunch.
"L-Let's grab the kids n-now." Ichiron said as he moved to pick up Perseus, only to see a pile of rope and cloth instead. "How..." he said, but got his answer soon enough when more wisps erupted from the shadows and bound him and the other men to the ground. Perseus the emerged from a nearby shadow, his signature dark blue aura surrounding him and glowing purple eyes. He slowly walked towards the men, picking up a discarded knife, and twirled it between his fingers.
"You really thought I was just some random kid, at the wrong place, at the wrong time. You really thought that you would get away with this crime you all are committing. You really thought that the gods were kind enough to give me to you swine's, let alone even allow this?! And lastly, did you really think you can overpower some 'dumb kid' like me?" Perseus said, calmly.
The remaining men either fainted from the sheer power they were facing or already on the verge on doing so. Ichiron was a blubbering mess, as he tried to speak coherently.
"I-I, we-we, sp-spa-spare us, p-p-ple, sp-sp-"
"Shut up." Perseus said, flicking his wrist and snapped their hands, with cries of pain soon following. He then manipulated the ground to cover their limbs, and hardened it by making sure the composition was something akin to concrete, thus trapping them. The men soon passed out due to the ordeal they faced.
Perseus let out a heavy sigh, as his aura and the glow on his eyes disappeared as well. He then approached the tied-up sack and immediately got a hit on his face by the thrashing. He frowned, and then used the wisps to pick up a knife and used it to cut the sack. Inside of it was a teenage girl, who had red colored hair and was wearing mourning clothes. She had tear lines on her face and was screaming through the gag around her mouth as Perseus approached her.
"Hey, it's alright." he said as he tried to placate the girl. "I'm just a kid, I won't hurt you. Look, the bad guys are already defeated so you don't have to worry about them either." Perseus then moved from the girl's sight so that she could see for herself that her kidnappers were indeed incapacitated. The girl visibly calmed down a bit, but was still struggling with her bonds.
"Can I cut them off you? I Promise I won't hurt you at all, I'll just remove them and... yeah, that's about what I'll do to be honest." Perseus said as raised the knife for the girl to see. She stared at the knife and then at Perseus, and slowly nodded her head, giving him permission to cut her bonds. Perseus gave a sigh of relief as he first removed the gag on her mouth, allowing her to breathe properly and then went to her arms and legs.
"Thank you" the girl said, her voice a bit raspy. "I-I don't think thanks is even enough, you saved my life."
"It's nothing really, anyone would have done the same thing if they were in my place." Perseus said, as he took the cut rope from her and threw it aside. "I don't have water; you will need it. And other stuff I guess." he replied a bit awkwardly. "I'm Perseus by the way."
"My name is Phoebe." the girl said, and then started coughing. "And thank you, truly I...thank you."
"You don't have to say thank you over and over again." Perseus said, smiling. Noticing her clothes, he asked her a question. "You're wearing mourners' clothes. You must be family to...um, the one who died? He said, internally wincing at his words.
Phoebe solemnly nodded. "My sister, she-she died in her sleep. She was very sick, but brave and kind as well. She didn't deserve it."
Perseus gravely nodded. "I'm truly sorry, she sounds quite nice."
"But wait..." Phoebe said frowning, as she stared at Perseus and then at her captors. "How did you come by here when you should be in the courtyard. And how did you even manage to knock them out? You're like, twelve!"
"Oh that..." Perseus said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Well I...was hungry so I went to find the kitchens for some food. And I heard some noises coming from outside so I looked through the window and I saw you being carried away by them. So...yeah."
Phoebe just stared at him. "That doesn't explain that." she said, pointing at the half-buried men.
"Oh...um, help from the gods?" Perseus nervously said, hoping that Phoebe would buy that.
"Perseus!" Hades shouted, as he broke down the door and immediately went for his nephew. "Oh thank the Fates you're alright. You are, are you?"
"I'm fine Uncle Hades. I was just...Oh centaur poop." Perseus said as he glanced at Phoebe who was staring open mouthed at him and Hades.
"You're Lord Hades, I recognize you from the statues and paintings. And you called him uncle...that means you're a god?!" she cried out, looking at the two a bit fearfully.
"Whoops, looks like you have a loose tongue Perseus." Hades said grinning slightly. "That's alright, one memory wipe will fix this-"
"Wait! We can't memory wipe her, that's wrong! I'm sure Phoebe can keep this a secret." Perseus quickly said.
"Um, yeah, I can do it. I can swear on the river-"
"Nope don't even think about it young lady. Never swear on that river for something a bit trivial. You can unintentionally reveal your sworn secret and BOOM! You're dead with a one-way ticket to either Asphodel or Punishment, depending on the severity of the oath you swore."
"Oh. But I will keep my oath, without the river. This is the least I can do after Perseus saved me. I promise. But what will I tell my parents about them." Phoebe said, pointing to her kidnappers.
"Ok, we'll trust you. As for your parents, tell them it was divine intervention. From me actually. You can give them this." Hades said, forming a pendant from his robes. "Tell your parents to burn this along with the shroud. It has my name and all and I'm sure the priests will recognize it so they will believe you."
"Alright, I'll tell them that. And thank you again." Phoebe said gratefully.
Hades gave a single nod and grabbed Perseus's shoulder. "Okay, goodbyes are done, now let's move."
"Wait I-" but Perseus was soon flashed away with Hades, leaving a dumbfounded Phoebe and a bunch of idiots behind. The two then flashed to their usual training spot, on the hill overlooking Kichyros.
"Well, that was quite a day." Hades said as he stretched his back, ignoring his nephews glare. "You can see her again, I can always take you down to the city, or when you get older. Now, if you're mother asks, tell her that your favorite spot was my temple and then the armory. That's pretty much believable for her so-"
"Hades, Lord of the Dead. You have an incoming call from Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth. Accept, or Reject." Iris's voice said out loud.
"Ah shit."
Well that was quite a chapter, and yes, the Phoebe in this chapter in none other than the same Phoebe from the Hunters of Artemis! Which means that the hunters are soon happening, which also means Perseus, Artemis and Apollo are going to be actual Olympian Gods, which also means- you know what, I'll keep that for later. Also, translation for that bold Greek sentence is "Αφήστε την ψυχή της να βρει ειρήνη στη μεταθανάτια ζωή και πέρα- Let her soul find peace in the afterlife and beyond". I hope you guys really enjoyed todays chapter, leave a favorite, follow or review if you want to, and I will see you guys in the next update. Bye...\/
Edit:- I'm a real idiot, I forgot to give the actual translation for the Greek phrase :/. I put it up btw