Chapter Thirteen: Past Loyalty

Olympus, the crown jewel of the Greco-Roman world, always buzzed with activity and life. The great shops for ambrosia and nectar called out their wares to passersby. The air thrummed with power as the various auras blended and melted together in a mass of emotions. Normally, anyone who could see the auras could not distinguish them in Olympus because all appeared white to unskilled observer. It was in this state which a portion of the minor god Eros sat at a table and munched on an ambrosia cake. The god felt the powerful auras of parents before he saw them. Gods, satyrs, and nymphs scattered from around his mother and father as they flashed into Olympus. Normally, the two seemed sickeningly sweet together, especially after a ride; but currently, Ares' aura was strong enough that brawls began erupting across the space of the city. Eros then noticed his mother's state. She couldn't stop weeping and the normally attention-seeking goddess kept her head down and tried to seem invisible. Even Aphrodite's aura seemed tiny and appeared to Eros as only a thin outline of dark and cold blues, purples, and most worrisome of all black which encased her body.

Eros growled and summoned his weapons at the sight of his mother in such a state. "Who did this?!" The God of Sexual Desire roared. "Mother, tell me who this creature is, and I will kill them myself!"

The rage of her son brought Aphrodite back to reality. She smiled at him and shook her head, "Don't worry about it, son," The Dove smiled in an almost psychotic way. "I have a plan well in hand for the seaspawn who dared defy me."

With her usual sweet disarming smile, Aphrodite let go of Ares and walked into Zeus' temple on Olympus. The grandiose structure gleamed and pulled every eye in the vicinity to it.

As Aphrodite walked through the massive temple, she thought of all the generations of power that came before. Durning The First Titanomachy, Aphrodite stayed safe under the protection of Oceanus and only willed herself to rise after Zeus firmly claimed control of the Cosmos from Kronos. Now, forces older than any god pushed The Titan Lord back together at a faster rate than any person, god or mortal, could have seen. In her time under the waves, Aphrodite learned much from Oceanus. In the most ancient libraries in Oceanus' domain, secrets Zeus fought to keep hidden lay bare to the young goddess. With this knowledge, she now walked into Zeus' temple with a master plan to save Olympus and keep Poseidon's illegal son and Zeus' own illegal daughter from laying Olympus bare for Kronos to snap up, if only to save Ares.

"Lord Zeus," Aphrodite bowed as the air filled with the scent of ozone around her. "I bring grave news of traitors to the gods." Aphrodite suppressed a gleeful smile as she watched Zeus' anger wax hot even as he summoned his Bolt.

"WHAT?!"

Aphrodite began crying to sell the bit, "Ares and I were out enjoying ourselves," she looked at the god who was more her nephew than her king and made sure keep the waterworks going as she continued to speak. "Four demigods attacked us: the son of Poseidon, your daughter Thalia, and two odd demigods who did not appear to be Norse, Egyptian magicians, or any Eastern demigods we know."

Zeus restrained himself in thought for a moment. He then looked at the goddess and gestured for her to continue. "I know there is more on your tongue," he said with surprising calm. "Speak to your king freely."

Aphrodite mentally ground her teeth to powder. Oh, how it galled her to grovel before this child! "The son of Poseidon spoke in the tongue you expressly forbade in one of your first acts as king." The Lady of Doves knew her words hit when a massive thunderhead sprouted from nowhere above The King of the Gods. Aphrodite almost leapt in triumph when his eyes glowed so brightly to easily eclipse Zeus' irises. "There is one more piece of information, my lord. One of these strange demigods has some Roman blood in his veins." Venus smiled as Jupiter flashed over Zeus' countenance. "I would humbly advise my king to warn Camp Jupiter and give these traitors a welcome befitting them."

Jupiter's voice boomed. The power in his words rolled through the temple and showed just how Rome could steamroll anyone fool enough to challenge her. Granted, this power had decayed considerably since Rome collapsed in on itself. However, there was no mistaking Jove's intention as he declared, "I make this decree. The Great Wolf must kill and eat any demigod who comes to New Rome without the sign of Rome on his arm."

Poseidon shivered as he felt the ebb and flow of The Seas freeze for a microsecond. The minuscule stop and start of time in his realm urged the god to dip into a locked part of himself. The god's emotions in one of his rare moments must have been plastered all over The Sea God's face because Amphitrite swam up to her husband and put a hand on his shoulder. Then, she made him look at her. The radiant sea pearls in the goddess' eyes pulled at him like a tide of encouragement. When the goddess put her hand to the god's face, his will to stay silent finally crumbled, "I fear my brother just tapped into father's powers slightly via his rage." The Lord of the Sea looked at his Lady in terror. "I think he somehow found the truth about Percy." For a moment, the god's eyes grew more terrified as he scanned his wife's face.

Amphitrite shook her head and laughed. "You forget, 'husband'," the goddess squeezed his hand. "I was your chief attendant when you ruled as Queen." The Mistress of the Waves laughed in delight as Posidaeia's form rippled into a firmer state next to her. Maybe, with some patience, Posidaeia could return completely and regain her former strength. "Percy will come to no harm by my hand." The chief handmaiden's tone turned to tightly packed ice. "I am not so foolish as The Peacock, nor do I crave drama and disaster like The Dove." Amphitrite looked at her queen with the smile of a dear friend, not a lover or wife. "Now, go to Rome, my queen and defend your treaty with The Lord of Light and Order!"

Lupa, the immortal guardian and protector of Rome, could not believe her latest orders to supposedly come down from Jove himself. The god in a fit of lunacy more likely to come from his Graecus half ordered her and her pack to eat any demigods that came near to New Rome without the Roman mark. The wolf matriarch snorted in disgust. She would do no such thing! The children too weak or sickly to make it to The Wolf House would die without her dishonoring the deaths further in murder!

Lupa shook her head and laid down on her paws before she tried to relax and push thoughts of the ridiculous orders away. Thoughts of Romulus and Remus surprised the she-wolf. The goddess hadn't thought of her first sons to start her legacy as den mother to all of Rome's children in a long time. Most of the demigods and legacies she trained reminded her of the boys in one form or another, but they never brought her to memory of how she found the boys on the east bank of the Tiber River.

The day was hot, and hunting proved to be a bust. As she approached the nearest river to drink from the cooling water, the cries of two Human cubs rang in her ears. The wolf's first thought as her ears turned to the sound: Why would Humans abandon children, and for that matter, why would anyone leave them to die?

A tired sigh pulled Lupa's attention from the cubs to the woman who held them gently by a basket. The woman had a sort of grace to her and a bit of a weathered look to her that instantly put Lupa in mind of grizzled pack matrons who saw many moons of territory feuding and leadership pressed upon them. Lupa approached cautiously and laid down on her paws on the bank not far from the woman and cubs. The woman smiled, scratched Lupa's head, and changed her in that moment as divine power flowed through the wolf.

"(I give you what you need to protect these children and any others like them,)" the woman Lupa now realized to be a goddess said in a language she could not understand but felt in her bones. "(Use my gifts well, Lupa, for if you do not,)" the goddess paused. "(My gifts will return to The Sea.)"

Lupa jolted awake in a moment of panic. The she-wolf listened hard for a moment and smiled softly as the babbling of The Little Tiber. Then, she shook her head and growled, "I am loyal to my pups first."

For a moment more, Lupa listened to the calming sound of the river in New Rome. Then, she heard the shouts of battle as the legion readied itself. A twinge in Lupa's gut prodded her to action. The wolf charged, ready to tear apart any threat to her pups. This murderous intent died the moment Lupa saw the form of the goddess who blessed her long ago to protect and properly care for Romulus, Remus, and anyone to come to her after them. Mentally, Lupa shouted in Latin. "(Soldiers, stand DOWN! That is an order!)" Lupa searched along the rearguard and curled her lips in distaste, "Octavian…" The She-Wolf bit off a curse and quickly ran to The Little Tiber to stand between her ignorant pups and The Sea Goddess. Quickly, Lupa bowed. In shocked amazement, the legion followed their matron's lead. Lupa's ears twitched in worry as she heard Octavian muttering behind the line. "Lady Posidaeia, what do you bring?"

Thesea goddess walked out of the river and glared at the Romans. If it wasn't for her, Romulus and Remus would have drowned before they even made it to Lupa. If it wasn't for her destroying navies with sea squalls, Rome would be recorded as nothing but a Greek tribute state in the histories.

The goddess closed her eyes and focused on her son; Now is not the time to bring up old wounds. Then, the goddess turned to The She-Wolf of Rome and the legion. "I know the Lord of Sky has given certain orders," The Queen of the Seas began. Lupa bared her fangs at thought of those orders which seemed to pull Posidaeia's mouth up in a momentary smile before it returned to a grim expression "However, he does not know the evil that will rise soon." Posidaeia shook her head. "He thinks if he does not wish such evil to exist, it shall not come to pass. Unfortunately, he is not so powerful as to simply will slumbering malices away." The goddess took a deep breath. "My son and two ambassadors, and a legacy of Rome are on their way here," The Sea Goddess' face turned stormy. "Respect them, or you shall learn quickly why I once ruled Olympus." Then, the goddess vanished in a spray of seawater.

The Romans all looked at The Little Tiber in shock. Octavian growled and ripped the head off of a hapless royal blue teddybear. He wanted power and strength. Diplomacy was for the weak, and from the sound of it, the Greeks finally found out about Camp Jupiter and were sending a diplomatic envoy to avoid war again. He would be sure to crush this envoy and crush Camp Half-Blood for the glory of Rome and usher in a new Roman Empire with him at the top as Emperor.

Jason Grace, son of Jupiter and Praetor of The Twelfth Legion, looked at Lupa. "What do you think is coming, Lady Lupa?"

The Wolf Goddess laughed, "Not 'what', pup but who?" She smiled at him. "We know they are demigods with at least one being a Roman Legacy. Therefore, I and my pack will test them as such. I shall see for myself just how strong these visitors are before I allow them into New Rome as is my duty."

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