One by one the thrones were filled with gods and goddesses and one by one their gaze zoned in on him until eventually the entire council had assembled. He could already tell that the meeting would be a strenuous one, far too many of those gazes were filled with hate for it to not be. He didn't think he was on bad terms with that many Olympians but apparently he was. Though most of them looked more suspicious than hateful.

The most notable gaze came from the ruling couple, both glaring daggers at him. And of course his father was firing right back. The tension in the room was palpable without a single word having been uttered yet and the time until the last god, Dionysus, finally arrived seemed to stretch out as the two brothers silently conversed. Once Dionysus had arrived though, Zeus stood up immediately, silencing the whole room.

"Olympians, a terrible crime has been committed today. Mere hours ago my wife and I received word that someone had snuck into the garden of the Hesperides and had engaged the dragon Ladon in a fight. Upon sending Artemis to investigate, Poseidon's son, Perseus Jackson, was found guilty of sneaking into the garden and stealing an apple of immortality. We have built our rule upon a strict set of rules and punishments and now a demigod has broken one of the most important rules by breaking into one of our sacred sites for his own greed. Today we will decide the punishment for his crime!"

Percy had to give it to Zeus, he was a good speaker. At least he was a good speaker so long as no one was allowed to argue against his speech. And luckily for him, his father was there to give him exactly that chance. Before Zeus could continue his speech and quite probably suggest a punishment, Poseidon spoke up.

"Then shouldn't my son get the chance to speak in his defense first before we vote? After all, most of us know little of what went down in the garden."

Poseidon's voice was uncharacteristically gentle and calm and even Percy was unsure whether he was actually that confident or if he was just reigning himself in. Yet he could hear some supportive murmurs across the room indicating that other gods agreed with Poseidon. And just like Percy did, Zeus also heard the murmurs and begrudgingly nodded his head, giving in to the council's will. "Very well, the boy gets a chance to explain himself."

With his uncle's agreement as his cue, Percy got up and into the middle of the throne room. Once there he glanced around quickly trying to read some of the gods' faces. Shouldn't have done that in hindsight. "First off, I would like to ask you, Lord Zeus, what crime I'm being accused of exactly?"

As much as he wanted to add a sassy comment right now, he knew Zeus would take offense immediately and it could very well ruin his chance of getting away with eating the apple. "You broke into a sacred garden and stole the fruit of immortality. By doing so you've put yourself above the Olympian council to grant immortality at your leisure rather than at that of Olympus."

Oh how glad he was that Zeus just didn't change. If he had left his crime at stealing the apple then Percy would have been in trouble. He did that after all. But Zeus just wanted to go all the way and couldn't resist blowing it out of proportion. Make it seem like he defied Olympus through his action.

"In that case, Lord Zeus, I would like to remind you that you yourself have already extended the offer of immortality to me years ago. Additionally it was by your choice that the apples of immortality were left in the mortal world rather than here on Olympus making them an obvious goal for mortals to strive for. Isn't that precisely why Ladon was placed there, the very dragon I overcame to reach the apple? As a challenge to test ones worth? And not to mention you yourself declared me worthy of not just immortality but godhood even after the defeat of Kronos in this very room, so to say that I have defied the will of Olympus is blatantly false."

Percy had tried his best to sound like what he imagined a lawyer to sound like and he thought he did a pretty decent job. The main goal of the speech was, as his father had advised him, just to give the other Olympians some justification in voting for his pardon. A quick glance around the room, particularly at the surprised face of Athena, told him that he had done at least a decent job at his defense. Zeus still looked every bit as pissed as before though.

"Is that all? In that case the council will now vote on the punishment befitting your crime. Olympians, decide your vote, punishment or no?"

So apparently the voting had changed slightly. Instead of the usual raising hands he was used to, one god after the other gave their opinion. First was Dionysus, who voted to punish him, then came Hermes who voted against a punishment. Aphrodite voted against his punishment before Ares voted for it immediately after. He didn't really know why but the support from the love goddess sent an unpleasant shiver down his spine, especially since it was paired with what he could only call a predatory smile.

Next up Apollo abstained from voting, surprising Percy quite a bit. He thought the sun god was on good terms with him but apparently that wasn't enough. The reason for Apollo's hesitation however showed itself right after as Artemis voted for his punishment. Right, her oath. He could have figured that one out in advance. To his relief both Demeter and Hephaestus voted against his punishment however, tilting the scales back in his favor.

As anyone would have expected, Poseidon and Athena agreed to disagree leaving only the ruling couple to make their decision. Zeus agreed to his punishment instantly but to his and everybody else's surprise, Hera voted for him to not be punished. For a moment he was just stunned, staring at the goddess who had hated him ever since he could remember. He had been sure that punishment awaited him but Hera's vote had caught him unprepared. And not just him either. Next to Hera, Zeus was staring incredulously at his wife.

The mutual confusion of him and his uncle was however cut short as Hera herself spoke up. "Now that the matter of his punishment has been settled, I believe there is a more joyous occasion we also have to discuss, no?"

In an instant Percy's confusion turned into a sickening swirl of nausea, his mind going haywire. Figures Hera wouldn't just help him out of the goodness of her heart, she just hated Artemis even more. And it just so happened that in this specific instance hurting Artemis also came with the added benefit of hurting him too.

Just like he had, the rest of the gods had also become aware of their queen's intention. Zeus was still trapped between looking incredulous and angry, a somewhat indignant look on his face while Poseidon and Apollo were both trying to gut Hera with their eyes. Artemis herself was just staring at the floor in front of her throne, not meeting the eyes of anyone in the room and keeping her face in an iron mask. Unlike with the previous vote, this time there was no way to get out of it either. There wouldn't be a saving vote to annul everything, that chance had already passed.

"Given that Perseus returned now, I believe it's about time he also gets his ring and we proceed to plan their big day. Wouldn't you agree, dear?"

There was a poison in her tone as she addressed Zeus, all but verbally forcing him to take her side. In his stupor, the king of the gods simply nodded as his wife continued to take over the meeting, pointedly ignoring the angry stares she was receiving from half of the people present.

"Hephaestus, bring his ring here. After that we will decide how to carry out the formal rites and set a date for the marriage. Aphrodite will arrange the venue and I will officiate the wedding. Is there anything I'm missing?"

She was looking at Aphrodite in particular, knowing the goddess to be on her side. The love goddess immediately picked up the ball, joining in on the conversation. "We'll have to prepare a grand stage since it's an Olympian wedding, so I'd propose we get together for that later, Lady Hera. After we've made our plans we could then relay them to the groom and bride."

She put additional emphasis on the word bride, no doubt relishing at the way Artemis flinched in reaction to it. Just like Percy himself, she probably felt utterly powerless, unable to change her situation, her fate. Right now, Percy and Artemis were both powerless, forced to just watch as the two goddesses continued.

Fortunately for them though, multiple other gods were also less than excited to see this continue and among them Apollo knew how to stall the queen of the gods. "But isn't that too soon? They are engaged but couldn't hold the usual rites and as such it would only be appropriate to let them follow them now, right?"

While his intentions were obvious to anyone in the room, it didn't matter: Apollo had found a loophole that could buy some time for Percy and Artemis. And quite a few gods were willing to support his suggestion. A supportive murmur filled the room, Zeus nodding along with his son's words too. "That would only be right, we can't ignore our customs even for an Olympian wedding!"

This time it was Poseidon speaking up, his voice slightly sour as he spoke about the wedding but it was clear that he too valued the chance of delaying it. Hermes and Hephaestus both joined in as well, then came Demeter and Zeus. A majority of the council stood against the rapid approach of Hera and Aphrodite.

While the queen of the gods was visibly upset at how the situation had turned out, she composed herself quickly. After all, the wedding had been delayed, not canceled. "How right you are, Apollo. Then I propose for the families to join over the next six months and the wedding shall commence right after. Is that acceptable?"

Despite the fact that many probably wanted to push the wedding back further, they no longer had any justification to do so. Hera had already accommodated their wishes once, she wouldn't do so a second time. Because of that, a wave of nods passed through the council signaling the finalized plan. At this, Zeus took the lead of the meeting once more, begrudgingly giving his orders.

"In that case, Perseus will get his engagement ring from Hephaestus once the meeting is over. After that he will stay with Artemis and her hunt for three months before moving to Atlantis for the three months thereafter. Is that acceptable brother?"

Percy glanced at his father who was brimming with a swirl of emotions he didn't even want to try identifying. A grim nod was all the sea god gave in acknowledgement of the deal. He also knew that he'd not get anything better than this. The air was filled with tension after that, glates flying left and right but that was hardly Percy's problem at the moment. While he wasn't too concerned with having to stay with the hunt, he was bothered by the certainty with which his future was now laid out.

As such his swirling mess of thoughts brought with it the unwanted side effect that time seemed to simply fly by, the meeting ending before he really knew it. It was only back at his father's palace that he really came back to his senses. He had just watched his fate be decided without even having a say in it. It was unsettling, a frustrating feeling of powerlessness he had hoped to leave behind after having last felt it at the hands of Gaea.

As such, even back at his father's palace, he just stood there, trying to somehow reign in and order his thoughts and emotions. He only vaguely noted that they were in a different room now until Poseidon pushed him to sit down. Then he finally realised that he was in a bedroom not the hall he had been in earlier. "Rest, Percy. You've had a long day."

His father was looking at him with concern, clearly aware of the turmoil in his mind. However he couldn't rest yet. He had been ordered to get his ring…even the word itself felt strange and foreign now. And he also had to talk to Artemis, preferably before he arrived at her hunt and ended up in a state similar to his late half-brother. "Percy, I will handle things while you rest up."

Poseidon's voice was firm and unyielding and Percy knew right then and there that he would only get to leave this after he had slept for a while. His father wouldn't budge on this. Maybe that would be better, he didn't know if he'd have a breakdown after receiving his ring. So he resigned himself, dropping backwards onto the bed and staring at the ceiling. "Fine" He really didn't feel like talking right now, only adding a small 'Thanks dad' when his father left the room.

After Poseidon left, Percy just laid on the bed for a while. It was comfortable but his head was too much of a mess to fall asleep. At least he thought so until his body decided on its own that it would now get sleep, apparently quite strained from having to fight Ladon and then endure that meeting. And as his body drifted off to sleep, his consciousness drifted off to sleep.

Fortunately his sleep this time was a dreamless one, his body and mind getting the rest they needed. As such he actually felt refreshed when he woke up, a moment of reprieve from his inner turmoil and usually plagued sleep. Said moment ended however when he spotted a slender ring put on a shelf next to his ring. It was a fine piece of craftsmanship, blue and silver intertwining in a wavy pattern with some lines eluding to the crescent shape of the moon. Next to the ring was a pair of green gloves that his father had prepared to hide the ring again.

With a sigh he put on the ring, the small object feeling awfully heavy. His new gloves came on right afterwards, hiding the ring again. He'd have to go to the hunt soon but he wanted to have a word with Artemis before then. He didn't know if she wanted to see him at all right now but he felt that it was necessary to clear the air between them. The only question remaining was how he'd even find her in the first place.

With that in mind, Percy figured that he needed to find his dad first. As a fellow Olympian he might have a way to reach the moon goddess directly. He had a feeling Iris messages wouldn't reach her. So Percy left his bedroom, wandering through Poseidon's palace. Unfortunately for him, the palace consisted of an arrangement of rooms, buildings and gardens so it took Percy a while just to find the room he had been teleported to yesterday but once he got there, he found his father inside.

"Percy, my boy…how are you holding up? Did you sleep well?" His father was smiling at him, although there was a clear weight behind the smile. Still, Percy appreciated the question, appreciated that his godly parent cared at all. "It's…okay. I'm still a little overwhelmed by…this but I'm managing." He held up his gloved hand, the ring still vaguely visible underneath. "On that note, do you have any way I could contact Artemis? I wanted to talk to her about everything."

While he wanted to kick back and stay with his dad while he still could, he knew that he needed to talk to her. Otherwise there'd just be bad blood between them for something neither of them did. Poseidon looked over his son for a bit, gauging his attitude. He didn't know what reaction to his engagement he should expect from Percy but his son seemed to at least be able to stay composed under the situation. "I will ask her to meet you later then."

Percy nodded, glad to have set things in motion at least. He was sure that this would be a rough time for him but when were things ever easy. At least he would be able to meet his old friends once again. As his father sent out a message from Artemis, apparently contained in a single glowing sphere he created, he sat down opposite of his dad. He hadn't been able to leisurely talk with him in years so now was as good a time as any to catch up with him.

Alright, the chapter got a little less done than I had originally expected. Turns out writing politics is annoying, especially since I wanted to include wordplay without making it confusing for readers. Percy has been passive for the majority of the chapter and meeting because he just has no place since he is still very weak compared to an Olympian. And I'd like to have my adult version of Percy be a little more composed and rational.

Other than that I suppose I'll get to write the first proper conversation between Percy and Artemis next chapter. It will probably be a rather sober conversation. Yeah, I think that's about it from me. Regarding the upload schedule, I want to get at least one chapter done per week, though I might do less if I'm busy. I'm not going to set sharp times for myself though.

See you soon

M