King Zeus sat in his throne, rage pulsing through his body. There was times before where he wasn't like this- a more modest, caring King, but the war with Ruthage had turned him into a beast he was afraid to recognize had taken over. It'd taken a toll on him- his wife no longer slept in the same chambers as him, the two remaining children that kept in his presence, Dionysus and Hermes either refused to look at him the same or were too drunk to recognize the difference. The Olympus council was assembled, a set of a dozen southern kings, all with their chips in Zeus's command, all angry at his failures. Zeus had given them all the same reason- the gods simply favored Ruthage, and Olympus was going to turn the tide. That was what he'd hoped when he called in the last favor he had with family, sending Hades to finish the job with Perseus Jackson's lover.
The council chamber was a long hallway, a large oval roundtable situated in the middle. Zeus sat opposite the chamber's doors, at the head of the table, the seat opposite of him empty. It was where his daughter, Athena Olympios had once sat. A shadow formed on the far side of the room, Zeus immediately standing. Hades rose from the ground, limping and holding his weakened left arm.
"Brother." Zeus said, "Get a mage!" he called, servants at the doors sprinting out of the room.
Zeus stared at Hades' crippled state in worry. Either he was successful, and had killed more than just the mage, or Zeus was about to hear the words that surely would seal his fate.
"Hades, do you have a report?"
"I…" he said, voice quiet, before throwing himself into the chair opposite of Zeus, "I arrived at the Ruthage camp, and had my knife to her throat, but Lady Artemis has blessed her. I could not kill her."
"You were bested by Lady Artemis?" Zeus hissed.
Hades shot up, anger overriding the pain, "I had her dead, but that damned son of Poseidon saved her god forsaken life. If it were up to me, I wouldn't have stepped foot into that camp with bad intentions, as anyone seen taking your side right now has surely sealed their own fate." Hades hissed, the council of kings looking at him wide-eyed. "Oh, the council doesn't know?"
Zeus shook his head at his brother, "Do not."
"Lord Perseus Jackson of Ruthage, the man leading the armies that now bear down on this kingdom, has sworn to slay every remaining member of Zeus's bloodline before him, swearing to the gods that he make Zeus watch." Hades spat, eyes locked with his brother's, "If I had to guess, these armies march for every Olympiad army after this city has surely fallen."
"Our walls can withstand the greatest of sieges, Hades." Zeus retorted.
"What of when you run out of resources, a famine overtakes the kingdom? Or what about if you eventually run out of bodies to throw at the Ruthage ranks, Zeus? What will you do then?" Hades walked out from the where the chair was, circling to meet his brother face to face, "Have you not heard?"
"Of what?" Zeus's voice was slow.
"The Astibad navy denies any ocean trade coming to this part of the continent. You can only trade on land, and that trade must go through the army that wants your head, Zeus. You have lost, and I must go tell Poseidon why I attempted to murder his son's wife!" Hades exploded, a shadow collecting underneath him, the Lord of Mages sinking into the ground, disappearing. The same servants then rushed in with a medical mage. Zeus stared where Hades once was. Silence overtook the chamber.
"I must go." one southern lord stood, rushing out of the room.
"I have contacts within Ruthage, and I can ask Poseidon for a barter for our safety." Antares, one of Zeus's closest advisors and allies said, standing. "You all know how to contact me." he finished, walking out of the room. Zeus stood still, staring at the same spot, as the chamber emptied, one-by-one.
"What's the update from your side?" Poseidon asked, sitting on his throne.
"We've attempted one siege, dealing mediocre damage to the walls that they'll surely have repaired by the time we're ready to assault again." Achilles spoke, "we're waiting patiently for the opportune moment, Poseidon."
"Perseus's idea?" Poseidon's face peaked into a smirk.
"No. Achilles'. I wanted to rush down their armies and brute force, but Achilles convinced me otherwise." Percy said, full-confidence. Achilles admired Percy's humility.
"Any man willing to paint themselves in their own failures is a good one, Perseus." Achilles said, and Percy just weakly looked back and thanked him.
"Is there something more you aren't telling me?" Poseidon asked.
"Why do you speculate?" Percy responded.
"I've got multiple southern kings contacting me within the last half-day or so, asking to barter for their safety. It seems Zeus loses allies very rapidly." his father spoke.
"Hades." Percy said, snapping his fingers.
"Hades?" Poseidon responded.
"Hades came to our camp while we locked blades with the Olympus defense, and tried to kill A-" Percy caught himself, feeling his anger bubbling, "Annabeth, but luckily Lady Artemis fought him off. I knew something wasn't right about it."
"Zeus must've called in a favor with his brother." Chiron added, "Hades has never been one to fight against Ruthage. He has always supported us."
"Then he must've gone back to Zeus and shamed him." Percy muttered. "Achilles, go put the scouts on notice for white flags or large groups pulling out from the kingdom, non-Olympiad." Achilles nodded, leaving the tent.
"Is she okay?" Poseidon asked through the message. "Annabeth."
"Do you ask for my sake or your own?" Poseidon scoffed at his son.
"I'd hope you expect me to have more care for a soon to be Princess of Ruthage, Perseus." Percy sighed, "Queen, one day." Percy instantly grew into a smile at the thought.
"I haven't checked. I've been too anxious, but Artemis herself works to heal her, so I have confidence."
"You love her very much, Perseus, but I implore you to remember what's at stake here. While the odds heavily favor us, the war is not won until Zeus is either in our possession or better, dead. Do not let her state impact your focus on the end goal." Percy nodded.
"Achilles has already warned me of the same, father."
"As I expected he would." Poseidon responded. Percy and his father just stared at one another through the message for a moment. "I love you, Perseus." his father said.
"This will be unlike any siege you've ever lead. Olympus is not Doru or Roden."
"Yes father."
"I want you to dominate, as you always have, but I also want you to come back to me. I am not of mating age, Percy." his father joked. Percy let out a laugh, but his body was tense.
"I will."
Percy stood in front of the Ruthage army, the same distance they were a few days prior from the walls of Olympus, now generally repaired, but still cracking. Olympus didn't open their gates to send their attackers, Percy just watched as the guards patrolled the walls, eyeing the army wearily.
"What are we waiting for?" a soldier asked.
"We're waiting for them to send out a defense, to fight honorably." Achilles responded, "But honestly, Olympus has no honor." the few that heard it laughed. Percy was just stone-faced, staring dead into the eyes of an archer at the top of the gate.
"Ballista ready!" a voice called, multiple waves back.
"Fire." Percy said, and the man next to him threw up two red flags, and the ballistas unleashed upon the Olympus walls, the ground beneath Percy shaking on impact. The damage was more than the previous time.
"How many more shots do we have?" Percy asked.
"Ten a piece, sir." the signalcaller responded, and Percy nodded.
"Signal a reload, and fire when ready." Percy said, "Oh, and are the mages ready?" the signalcaller nodded.
"Douse them."
The ballistas were loaded, only two, but enough to make a strong impact. Four mages per cannon stood behind the loaded ball, casting a spell to curse the stones.
"Ready!" the lead cannoneer called, "Fire!"
The ballistas shot off, the stones lighting ablaze once released from the cannon. Percy watched as two flaming hut-sized stones sailed across the sea of bodies and made impact with the walls. This time, the ground shook again, but much more than the previous time.
"Call for a reload, and aim for the center gate." he said.
"Sir, we've already breached the walls!" A scout said. Percy looked ahead, seeing two large openings on either side of the center gate.
"That's not the front door, though. I told him I'd bring down his front door. Call for the reload." Percy growled. The scout grew restless, as did the rest of the army standing behind their general, seeing another wave of fire sail through the air, making contact with the two-foot thick gate. The smoke cleared, and the gate had stood strong, although lit ablaze.
"Bring the mages forward!" Percy called, as through the two openings in the wall, Olympus marched out what small defense they had left. Stomping forward was two-dozen mages, all trained by Artemis herself.
A wedding gift.
"Start it." Percy said, and the mages linked arms, chanting an incantation Percy didn't understand, before breaking their lock and reaching their arms out, a sea of fog appearing ten feet from the ground, that kept going and going. Percy barely caught the fog catch what was left of the Eastern walls of Olympus.
"Excellent." Percy's voice was wicked. The mages marched back into Ruthage lines. "Start the colors." Percy told Achilles, who turned on horseback, galloping down the lines of the army, informing cohort commanders, and the army started to march with Percy. Just like how it'd began a few days prior, a slow, controlled march turned into a rage-induced charge. The Olympus defense was small, pitiful in Percy's eyes, and caught off guard by the fog wall and lack of help from archer defense, Percy barreled down on the front lines, twenty yards between him and the nearest Ruthage soldier when he made contact.
Zeus and Hera stood in the Olympus castle, looking down on the field of fog. You could not see a thing from their vantage point, and Zeus only prayed it was more clear for his archers. The only thing he picked up was the sound- the charge, then the collision of the Ruthage army and the Olympus defense. Like a tidal wave hitting a five-foot ocean wall, Zeus cringed at the sound.
"What have you done, Zeus?" Hera muttered. "My sons are on that field now." Hera shook her head.
"I did what any king would've done had they seen the opportunity that I did. Do not dare blame me." Zeus hissed, eyes peeled on the two entrances, barely visible from the castle.
"Milord! We've sealed the castle gates and walls. They'll need a lot of magic to break through." Hecate, Zeus's wartime mage spoke.
"Good." he muttered, but he knew it only delayed the inevitable.
Percy made contact with his katana drawn, cutting through spearmen like butter. Duck, dodge, parry, kill, kill, kill. He saw red. Achilles had held him back in the camp but now was his time to let it unleash. No mercy. He cut a swordsman's hand off, and the man, no older than twenty, begged for Mercy underneath Percy's boot, but Percy drove his sword into the man's heart and twisted, before pulling it out.
"Percy!" someone called from Ruthage lines. Percy fought his way back. Achilles met him, removing his sword from an Olympus breastplate. "The First is making significant progress, but the others are at a standstill!" Achilles said, ducking under a wild spear and stabbing someone in the groin.
"The cohort follows me, then! I'll fight us to the gate! We'll split them!" Percy commanded. Achilles looked dumbfounded, but nodded nonetheless.
"Fight with your general, First!" he roared, the unison of the cohort replying with an "Aye!" Percy was the tip of the spear- blazing a path through the heart of the Olympus defense force, the cohort following him. It went from one front to three fronts, as the first cohort raged through the center of the defense. Percy found himself near the front of the gate, soaked in blood. He cut his way through three more files, and there it was- the empty doorway into Olympus.
"Perseus!" Achilles roared from behind him. Percy turned, and the First Cohort had fully split the defense. Achilles locked eyes with Percy, shaking his head.
"I'm sorry." Percy shrugged, Achilles' face turning helpless, and Percy sprinted into the city.
The outer parts of the city were still populated, much to his surprise. Percy quickly found a cloth store, stripping himself of his blood-clad armor and into an Olympiad cloak that made him look like he was from Olympiad's slums before returning to the streets. The people no longer stared at his armor, instead looked past him to the wide-open gate, screams of death coming from it. Percy had half the sense to feel bad for some of these people, but he knew the populace would be fine in the end. He kept his eyes locked on the large castle in the center of the city, where Zeus no doubt kept to himself. Percy went from a walk to a jog, to a sprint. His sword was not convincingly concealed. He arrived at a checkpoint, heavily guarded by at least twenty-five men and he suddenly wished he had Annabeth at his side to charm their way past this cohort. Percy's hand went into his cloak, hand on the hilt of his blade as he approached the cohort. One man stepped forward, dressed in centurion armor.
"Transport permit." the man demanded. Percy's hood was down, and he just looked the man in the eye. Luckily his helmet had taken most of the blood from the field, but his hair still matted to his forehead with sweat. "I said, transport permit." the guard spat, pulling his sword out. Percy just stepped through the man's guard, unsheathing his katana and with three quick attacks- all landing, the centurion fell to the ground. Percy held his blade out towards the rest of the cohort.
"Let me through." he said simply. Two of the twenty charged him, and Percy just sidestepped a wild slash from one that went into the other's breastplate, eliciting a scream of pain, and Percy cut down the unharmed one, both falling to the ground in their own blood.
"Let. Me. Through." his voice was louder. Percy held his sword out still, and the cohort parted nervously, letting Percy walk up to the gate, still closed. He turned back around, "tell them to open it." he said, and one of the cohort members looked up towards the wall, calling and signaling something, and the gate opened. Percy re-sheathed his sword and walked through. The middle class of the city was much more well-kept. The lack of defenses made Percy think two things: either Zeus had put all his eggs into that defense outside of the walls, or there was something much larger waiting for him at the final gate. Percy ran through the middle-class ring of the city, the people weary of him, being alerted of the events outside. Percy had made it close to the gate to the upper-class ring of the capital when he heard a woman's scream. He hissed at himself to ignore it, but turned anyways, to see two guards dragging a woman away from by the arms. He noticed what he assumed to be the woman's daughter calling out for her mother behind the three. Percy hated himself for it, but he drew his sword, stalking down the two guards.
"What's your business with her?" Percy called out. The two guards, shocked at anyone who'd interrupt them, turned.
"Lord Zeus has given soldiers policing privileges. Who are you?" the one on the right asked.
"What has she done wrong?"
"Spoke out against the King, a crime in Olympiad's eyes." the one on the left answered him. Percy shook his head.
"Let her go, I'll let you live." The two guards scoffed at him. Percy heard the rumble of battle nearby, and knew he had to get going. He hissed a curse at himself again, before throwing his sword into the right guard's throat, the man dropping dead. The left guard cried for his companion, before charging Percy, who slid under a swing and pulled his blade from the guard's neck, and with two parries he slashed through the swordsman's attack and stabbed him through the breastplate, the guard dropping dead. Percy pulled his sword from the man's chest, catching the eye of the daughter of the woman he'd saved from a cruel fate. Percy turned back to the woman, who was on the ground, shaking.
"Please…" she asked.
"I will not harm you. I am Perseus Jackson of Ruthage, and the army that bears down on your city won't harm you either. We come for your tyrant of a king, that is all." Percy sheathed his blade, holding his hand out. "Do you know of a way into the deepest ring?" The woman looked into his eyes, before nodding.
"Can you lead me?"
Annabeth heard a thud, and felt a pain in her chest, and she fell off her horse. That's all she remembered. She woke up in a tent- surrounded by women she didn't recognize. She tried to sit up, but a pain in her chest prevented her from doing so.
"Annabeth?" the auburn-haired woman spoke her name.
"How do you know my name? Where am I?" she said.
"Oh my gods." the black-haired one spoke.
"Annabeth, what do you remember?"
"My father's farm… in… Tetun, I think." she rubbed her temple, a migraine coming over her, "Ah- it hurts." she groaned, barely strong enough to reach up and touch her forehead.
"This is bad. Very bad." the black-haired one said, leaning over Annabeth and rubbing her forehead. "Blunt-force trauma. Shit! How did we not see it before?" she said.
"Brain injuries are masked by mortal wounds, Thalia. I taught you that." Not-Thalia said. "Annabeth, do you remember a place called Azotela?"
Annabeth's face scrunched, "only from the maps I studied… my mother said that's where witches went." Not-Thalia scoffed.
"Artemis, now is not…" Thalia spoke, and the now-named Artemis waved her off.
"We must let her rest." Artemis waved her head over Annabeth's forehead, and the woman fell into unconsciousness.
Percy was led through the tunnel by a Silena, the woman he'd saved. They were underneath the walls of Olympus.
"Here." Silena whispered, pointing up. A grate was above her, dripping small amounts of water. "This will take you into the heart of the upper class, but it is heavily guarded. Zeus ensured that the most mighty of his forces were assembled to protect him."
"Selfish prick." Percy scoffed. He moved to grab the grate, but Silena put a hand on his arm.
"Zeus has taken advantage of us… his citizens ever since he's entered war with you. I want you to make him pay." Silena whispered.
"I will." Percy said back. Silena leaned forward, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "When the Ruthage forces come through, ask for a man named Achilles, and tell him where you've brought me." Silena nodded. Percy looked back up, moving the grate out of the way and boosting himself up. He was street-side, just quick enough to put the grate back in place and duck out of the way of a guard unit patrolling the streets. Seven of them- all heavily armed and clearly trained. Percy ducked through an alley, the castle just barely rising above the nearby houses, still giving Percy the waypoint he needed. He passed through the back streets of multiple high-level manors that clearly belonged to important people, seeing the guard formations out front. Senators or councilmembers, surely.
"Hermes! You cannot fight!" a woman spoke loudly, catching Percy's attention.
"My men need me, Peitho." Percy stuck his head up, catching a glance at the son of Zeus through a window. He moved to the opposite side of the manor- silently opening a glass pane and slipping into a living room. He heard no footsteps of guards, and made his way from the living room to the servant's quarters, before catching a glance of the two in the kitchen. Percy slowly drew his katana. He rushed into the doorway, pointing the sword at Hermes' throat. Peithos gasped, grabbing a knife.
"No! Stop!" Hermes hissed, and his wife trembled with the knife in her hands.
"Drop it." Percy said, keeping his eyes on Hermes'. "I don't want to, Hermes, but I will."
"What are you doing here, Percy? You haven't broken the inner gate!" Hermes said. Percy pushed a finger to his lips, telling Hermes to be quiet.
"You're going to listen to me, loud and clear, Hermes." Percy's voice was a wicked whisper, "I've cut the fingers of three of your siblings, I'd hate to make it four."
"What do you want?" Hermes asked, defeated.
"I want you to walk me into your father's castle, and in exchange, you and Peithos won't be killed in front of your father." Percy said, and Hermes shook his head.
"Do I have a choice?"
"You always have a choice, Hermes, but which reality do you want to live? I'm giving you an option where you and your wife can escape, and live free of the Olympios name." Percy offered.
"What's the catch?"
"You just have to live the rest of your life knowing you led Perseus Jackson into your father's castle." Percy shrugged. Peithos was stood frozen to Percy's left, Hermes was across the kitchen island from him.
"Swear you're going to guarantee our safety."
"My armies march down that gate as we speak, and the orders on any of the Olympios is capture, not kill." Percy said, "What happens after that capture is my discretion." Hermes spat on the ground.
"Fine." he said, grabbing a cloak off the hook to his right, "Every entrance has been enchanted to be impossible to open, but one has been left open, but heavily guarded. I can take you to it, but I cannot guarantee your entrance to the castle."
"Good enough." Percy said. He turned to Peithos, "if you warn anyone, just know I hold my blade to your husband's throat." the woman nodded hastily, as Percy sheathed his sword and flicked his hood up, following Hermes out of the manor. They were close- Percy could tell by the increase in guards, but they didn't bat an eye once they saw Hermes.
"What's the real exchange here, Perseus?" Hermes whispered as they walked the streets.
"You lead me to the castle's entrance, you and your wife go free. I told you."
"Legend of your ruthlessness tells otherwise." Hermes hung a sharp left down an alley.
"Despite what you may think, I am not here for you, Hermes. I am here for your father." Percy pulled his hood down, seeing their cover. "How close are we?"
"Close." Hermes said. "I might be able to get you in. My father sent for a mage not long ago." Hermes round a corner out of the alley, back onto the street, where Percy saw at least a thousand men lined up before the castle's main gate. A worthy distraction. He then saw the entrance Hermes spoke of- a small door, similar to the one Jason had let them into the Hyphen castle with, guarded by two giant men with longswords. Hermes led the way, walking first.
"Lord Hermes." one of the men spoke, bowing.
"This is the mage my father sent for, healing." Hermes spoke softly.
"That mage already arrived." the other man said.
"He called for a different one. The last one didn't… satisfy his needs." Percy almost wanted to puke. The guards laughed at Hermes, and opened the door. It led into a large hallway on the lowest level.
"This is the furthest I can take you." Hermes said.
"Where are you going?" Percy asked.
"My mother is being kept somewhere here, I must find her." Hermes said. Percy scowled.
"Take me to her. I will help you free her." Percy said. Hermes looked skeptical, before sighing.
"I cannot believe I'm working with you right now." Hermes walked down the long hallway, before going up a small spiral staircase. Percy assumed they'd climbed over five stories before Hermes pulled off into a long hallway, leading to at least twenty doors.
"One of these?" Percy asked, but Hermes held his hand up. He walked to each door, holding a hand to the knob, before he finally found one where he nodded to Percy.
"She's guarded." he whispered. Percy nodded, before kicking the door in, immediately slitting the throat of the guard on the doorside, and two strikes cut down the other spearman. Hera sat chained to the bed in the single room, staring wide-eyed at Percy.
"You." her voice was trembling, the same as Peithos, before she saw Hermes walk in. "Hermes? How can you lead him-"
"He's helping, mother. Guaranteeing our safety from father." Hermes rushed to Hera's side, pulling a dagger from his cloak and cutting through the cuff. Percy heard rushing down the hall.
"Hush!" he said to the two. He took a peek out, seeing three guards marching down the hall. He held his hand up to the two Olympios, waiting for the three guards to pass, signaling the hallway was clear. "Take me to your husband, Hera." Percy said, and Hera just stared at him.
"You've caused me enough pain, Perseus. I will not let you any longer." she refused.
"I'll cut you and Hermes down where you stand. That's the other option." he said.
"You promised." Hermes hissed.
"Terms changed, Hermes. I apologize." he said, genuinely sorry, before looking back to Hera. "Do you want to witness another of your children fall, or will you take me to the man that locked you in a bedroom while his kingdom falls?" As if on cue, an explosion rocked the castle. "My ballista fire upon the castle's magical shield."
"I… will lead you to him." Hera sighed. "He's three floors up, unguarded." Percy frowned.
"Liar. He wouldn't go unguarded." Hera shook her head.
"I don't lie. He said he's avoided the inevitable long enough." Percy's eyes squinted in suspicion, but he let Hera lead the way. She led them back to the same flight, but went down one floor, and through two halls to another tight stairwell. Three more floors up, and they were in the center of what Percy assumed was the grand hallway. He poked his head out, and Hera was right- there was no guards in the space. He stepped into the center of the hallway, staring down the grand doorway that was closed.
"You two are coming with me." he said, and Hera and Hermes reluctantly followed him as he opened the doors up, revealing a King Zeus with two women in the center of a sunken living room.
"Who dare-" Zeus stood, his manhood moving with the wind, when he laid eyes on Percy. Zeus stood still in shock, before running to the window behind him, butt-naked.
"You haven't even breached the castle gate!" Zeus growled, and Hera and Hermes emerged from behind Percy. Hera let out a sob at the sight, and Hermes turned away.
"For all the turmoil I've been through, just to get here… this is sure the entertaining sight." Percy said. "You two should leave." He said to the two naked women in the center, and they immediately rushed past Percy, down into the hallway.
"You two betrayed me?" Zeus hissed.
"I think your treatment of family speaks for their actions, Zeus." Percy answered for them. "Unless you two want to stay and watch, orders are to capture any member of the Olympios family, and I'll see you both soon." Hermes nodded, rushing back into the hallway, but Hera stood at Percy's side, much to his surprise.
"You've spent so long calling Poseidon filth, saying how you've won the war, yet my final sight of you, my husband, will be this." Hera spat. "Your son's final sight of you will be your lack of faithfulness to your wife, how will that affect him?" Zeus grabbed a strewn aside pair of pants, throwing them onto his body.
"You two will have the opportunity to air your issues at a later time." Percy drew his sword. "If it were up to me, Zeus, I'd cut you up, from every knuckle to every muscle, and I'd have mages keep you alive so you can feel the entire thing."
"Why don't you then, oh ruthless Perseus?" Zeus mocked.
"I want someone else to do it." he said. He walked forward, with one strike, Zeus's pants dropped from his waist to his ankles. "Cuff him." he said, and Hera walked forward and cuffed her husband with the exact same trap he'd used on her.
"No, I won't save you the mercy by cutting your throat, as I did your children, but I'm going to make you feel every ounce of shame as I walk you ass-naked out of your castle and through my army." Percy whispered.
"Fire!" Achilles said, and the archers rained another round of flaming arrows on the magical wall.
"It's too strong, Achilles! We can't break it without more mages!" Chiron said, and Achilles hissed. Where was Annabeth when he needed her?
"Set up a perimeter! Bring forth a messenger!" a small man ran forward as the army within the central ring scattered to secure the kingdom, "Go back to camp and send for Lady Artemis, and Lady Annabeth if she has risen." The man nodded, sprinting off.
"Aim!" Achilles said, but the door started to open.
"What the fuck…" a soldier whispered, as an ass-naked King Zeus walked out of his castle, held at swordpoint by Percy. Everybody was silent at the sight- shocked that Percy had snuck into the castle, or the naked Zeus, Achilles couldn't decide.
"This is the man who killed my sister?" Ature spoke up. "The man responsible for the deaths of millions, comes face to face with us finally, like this?" Ature's voice was full of disgust. The crowd of Ruthage soldiers murmured in agreement. Ature spat at Zeus's feet.
"Pathetic. I thought you were a King once, Zeus, but you are no more than a filthy slum-dwelling maggot." Ature said. "Tell me, Perseus, why didn't you kill him yourself?"
"He needs to feel the shame, and there's too many people on this continent who want a piece of him, I couldn't take the whole thing." he said, leading Zeus further out, Queen Hera following him, clearly not as a prisoner, head held low.
"Perseus! What's the business with the Queen?" Achilles said, and Percy gave Zeus to a couple soldiers, laughing as they escorted Zeus off, and walking to Achilles.
"Queen Hera, Hermes and his wife all assisted in my capture of Zeus, and are thereby given royal pardons and will be accepted as war heroes back in Ruthage." he said, and Hera gasped behind him. Percy turned.
"I may have been ruthless to your children, Hera, but I know a mistreated woman when I see one. I told you I would give you your freedom." Hera ran forward and hugged Percy, before removing herself.
"Sorry." she whispered.
"Can we pull out, Chiron?"
"There's a lot of citizens here, Perseus. A power struggle would occur if we were to completely pull out, for sure." Percy nodded.
"Take a third of the army to stabilize control of the city, Chiron. I trust you and Queen Hera to oversee the shift in power." Percy said, and Chiron nodded. Percy turned to Hera.
"I've told this many times to a many different rulers, but you are under Ruthage rule now. You are not an independent kingdom." Percy warned, and Hera nodded. "I'll be back soon to talk more, Queen Hera, but I must return to camp."
"Of course, my king." Hera bowed.
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