After that Hestia followed her mother until they arrived in a beautiful courtyard with grass made of shadows and ice, decorated with all manner of statutes, and a huge white oak in the center. Once there Rhea led her to a bench where the pair sat down before Rhea faced her with a beaming smile.
"So, how have you been?" Rhea asked eagerly to which Hestia smiled before having a mother-daughter talk for the first time.
...
So they spoke for several hours, Hestia telling her everything that had happened in the decade of silence and how she'd been handling it.
Rhea looked particularly livid with her account of the council meeting leading to Sally and Paul Blofis' murders and Andy's kidnapping. Apparently she'd already had all the details but hearing it from Hestia herself and how'd she felt during it had just had more oil to the flame.
Rhea than informed her of how she'd stopped considering Hera, Zeus, and Poseidon her children long ago while being on the fence about Demeter. Another surprise had been that Hades had been in cahoots with them for a few months now and they'd been looking for the best opportunity to take her from Olympus.
They didn't want her to suddenly disappear since it would (correctly) lead the Olympians to thinking they were being betrayed. It was better that they thought a new enemy had appeared and was slowly kidnapping all their assets and important gods rather than having them try to 'clean house' as it were.
Hestia understood the reasoning even though she felt a little disappointed that they couldn't have told her sooner. Olympus had stopped housing her family for some time now and it was only after Poseidon had struck her that she'd truly come to realize it.
The hearth had all but died in that decade of loneliness in the throne room and now Hestia could feel that for the first time since the very day of their triumph over the Titans, the Hearth of Olympus had been extinguished.
After they talked on that the conversation settled down into a comfortable silence as the pair looked on at the courtyard around them. It was then that Hestia thought about bringing up the topic of Percy so she fidgeted for a moment before poking her mom lightly to get her attention.
Once she had it she spoke shyly, "Mother … I need advice on something …"
"Yes?" Rhea asked with a tilt of the head.
"H-how … would you go about telling someone you like them?" she asked nervously as Rhea's eyes widened before she glanced away.
"Well, it all depends on the person I guess," she answered after a few seconds. "Some people are best to approach directly while others require a more … subtle touch."
"Oh," Hestia murmured as she thought about Percy.
'Definitely the kind of man that needs direct and blunt … and possibly a sign considering how dense he could be at times,' Hestia thought as a faint smile formed on her lips even as she blushed. She wanted to tell him but was extremely nervous about it.
What if he thought she was joking? She is a virgin goddess after all so maybe he wouldn't even think it was possible to be with her.
She was already sure of herself being willing to break that oath if it was him … but she wasn't sure if he felt the same about her. It had been a decade on the mortal world and apparently five times longer down here … so what if?
"So who's the lucky man?" Rhea asked breaking Hestia out of her thoughts,
"Huh?" she replied in surprise as she looked at her mother again.
"Who have you fallen for?" Rhea asked again making Hestia blush shyly.
"… P-Percy …" she whispered but her mother didn't look surprised at all.
In fact she just nodded in understanding but something in her eyes worried Hestia. It was brief but she caught it. A glint of guilt but it disappeared quickly and Rhea stood up before Hestia could ask about it.
"Come on, it's time for dinner," Rhea said with a cheery tone that Hestia found suspicious while she was offered a hand.
However, Hestia shook it off for now as she accepted the hand and was lead back into the House of Night …
...
"So, how are you liking it so far?" Percy asked her as they walked around in the courtyard again.
Hestia sighed contently as a reply while the pair simply walked closely to each other. Dinner had been a rather pleasant and entertaining affair in the House of Night.
At first Hestia had been a little uneasy with how everyone, and she meant everyone, got together in an absurdly long table to sit and eat together.
It had been such a foreign feeling to her, having everyone together like that as they ate, joked, teased, and generally had a wonderful time together … like a real family.
She hadn't even really been that surprised when she met more protogenoi and was formally introduced with some she'd known about but never encountered such as Damasen, Medusa, and Lamia (those two really surprised her).
Hades and Persephone had shown up as well much to her delight and then the dinner had progressed as it usually went with the addition of filling Hestia in on the details of what exactly had been going on in the past decade.
Learning that all those great heroes had effectively become immortals beyond anything the Olympians or Titans before them could ever hope to match had been humbling to say the least.
That and with Percy's new look she found it even harder to not look at him, especially his eyes which were so similar to her own made her feel warm inside. However she'd been a little disappointed when her mother and Nyx took the two seats at his sides but she didn't let it bother her much.
'At least now we're alone,' she thought happily as she glanced at him as he walked beside her. He looked so handsome with those eyes and darker hair that made him feel mysterious and dangerous … and she'd be lying if she said that didn't like what she saw.
However, now wasn't the time for those thoughts so she shook them away making Percy glance at her curiously.
"So Percy …" she said softly as she stopped walking and turned to fully face him. "Can I telling you something?"
"Of course," he said as he looked down at her. 'Why did he have to get so tall?' she mused before continuing.
"You know … I missed you after you left."
"I missed you too," he replied as he stepped a little closer. "Every day I thought about you. I've been waiting decades just to bring you here, to keep my promise just to you."
Hestia's heart jumped with his every word as smile grew on her face.
"It was the same for me and in that time I realized something …" she trailed off as she raised a hand to gently cup his cheek. "And that is that … I love you."
At her words Percy's eyes widened before they suddenly dimmed with guilt making Hestia start to worry. A cold dread gripped her heart. It got even colder when Percy brought a hand up to hers and gently pulled it down as he looked into her eyes.
"Hestia … I love you too," he said but before she could smile he continued. "But … I love another as well."
At his words she felt as if her heart was breaking as tears started to well up in her eyes. A shaky breath wracked her body as she took an uneasy step back and spotted a figure just past Percy's frame.
There she saw Rhea standing beside the oak with the same guilt in her eyes as she watched on sadly.
"I see …" she mumbled as she looked back at Percy with growing sadness. "… I was too late … wasn't I?"
"No! That's not it!" Percy said in sudden panic as he took a step towards her but she took a step back.
"Then what!?" she shouted as her sadness turned to anger.
She'd been alone, hoping he'd come back, and when it finally happened all it was to keep one promise even though he'd obviously moved on, and with her mother of all people! "Am I just the seconds you wanted in case it didn't work out!? You're already obviously happy with her!"
"Hestia …" Percy said softly as he looked at her sadly, the glow of his icy blue eyes dimming.
"No!" she shouted as more tears spilled down her cheeks. "I won't let anyone lead me on or use me!"
"But I do love you!" he shouted in reply but she didn't want to hear him.
She was about to turn around and flash away but then a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around her. She knew it was him and tried to thrash out of his grip but he was too strong so she resorted to something else.
In a sudden spark her entire body was shrouded in raging flames, the ground beneath them hissing and steaming even as she continued her struggles.
It seemed in vain though as she felt her own body mutiny against her, relaxing in his embrace even as she tried to keep her rage rather than feel heartbreak as her entire body was shrouded in orange flames and slowly turning into Greek fire.
"Just leave me alone!" she cried but he brought his lips to her ears and whispered, "I'm never leaving you alone again Hestia." He then turned her in his arms as her struggles got weaker as she looked at him, seeing that he was crying as well.
"Never again," he said before he brought his lips to hers.
She wanted to fight it, to push him away and curse him but another part of her softened in his arms. His kiss carried passion and unmistakable love even as the embrace itself was tender. Her struggles soon became non-existent as his arms moved to pulling her in by her waist while her hands rested against his chest.
The flames that had been once raging around her died out leaving both of them steaming. Slowly Percy pulled away before looking down at her while wiping away the last of her tears with his thumb.
"I love you both Hestia and I would never hide that from you or try to play with your heart. I just wanted you to know the truth," he said gently. "I've already come to terms with it along with Rhea.
Now it's up to you but know this … I will love you and accept your decision regardless of what it is." He then kissed her one more time before he released her from his arms and stepped back to give her space as she looked at him.
She saw Rhea still observing them sadly but she didn't focus on that right now as she looked back at Percy. Right now she wasn't sure what to do and her emotions were too raw to make any decisions so she took a breath to steady herself before looking Percy dead in the eyes.
"I would like some time to myself," she said and he nodded immediately in understanding.
"Okay and if you need anything, just call and I'll be right there," he replied as he turned and walked towards Rhea.
The pair gave her one last look before they dissolved into shadows leaving her alone in the courtyard. She stood silent for a few minutes before she walked towards the oak.
Once there she rested her back against it before sinking to the floor and pulling her knees to her chest. Her eyes were still blurry with a few tears as she thought about what just happened … and what she was going to do about it …
===================
Don't forget to throw some power Stones, to keep the story going.
...
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