A Daughter’s Sorrow

Fourteen

Diana landed on her knees in the sand of a beach. The sss shook her head and stood up. She felt a bit dizzy and queasy, "Gods I hate it when they do that." The daughter of Zeus sighed and brushed herself off.

She then saw the mansion.

The woman raced up to the large home, then slowly took the steps one by one and took a deep breath. She was about to meet her cousin Persephone. Who had saved Olympus twice and led two armies.

Diana was excited to meet such a warrior. Even though she had lived longer than most, the sss couldn't help but respect and look up to the twenty year old girl.

With a shaky sigh, she knocked on the big wooden door and waited.

:3

Perci. Perci. Perci.

"Hmm?"

Guest. Guest. Guest.

Only then did the demigoddess hear the door being knocked. The young heroine went to the door, hoping it was d**k and smirked when the Aurai flew past her and opened the door. Even after so long, they still amused her.

There stood a woman holding a shield and wearing silver guards on her wrists. She wore a red armoured corset and a blue leather skirt. A lasso was attached to her hip that seemed to glow gold. The woman also had gold knee high boots and a gold diadem sat on her head. Black hair, brown eyes and tan skin.

‘So much bloody gold!!’ Perci thought.

“Good evening, Persephone Eris Jackson." The strange woman bowed.

"Uh...just Perci please." She said, back, awkwardly.

"It is an honour to meet you, Saviour of Olympus." The blue, red and gold lady gushed.

"Thank you? I’m sorry, I don't know who you are." This seriously couldn’t get any less awkward.

"Oh! I am Diana Prince, daughter of Zeus."

Perci's eyes narrowed dangerously, her sword was suddenly pointed at the woman's throat before the sss could blink, "Do they know you're here?"

Diana gulped and shook her head, her courage suddenly leaving her, "No. Only Artemis does. She sent me here."

"Oh. Okay," Lowering Riptide, Perci gave the woman a lopsided grin, who quickly swallowed her sudden panic, "Come in. I was just about to have lunch."

:3

"Why are you here?" The demigoddess asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well first off, your father sent us to find you." Diana answered honestly.

"Us?"

She then waved her hand about, "Arthur."

"Oh! Okay."

An uncomfortable silence fell over the two.

"Perci... I know you have lost people. I have too. So I understand your pain. Artemis told me why you are here. I also know about the Muses."

The girl nodded at her cousin with a blank look.

Diana glanced around trying to think of a way to clear the awkwardness between the two, "You know the way of a Warrior, and a Soldier. You have the knowledge of a Praetor and a Leader."

Perci nodded again.

"I am an sss. Artemis suggests that maybe I could train you the way I was. I think it would help you with your...nightmares, because you will be focused and even more prepared for what is to come. It did with mine."

Perci looked down at her pizza.

"Besides, I haven't had an equal sparing partner in years."

They met eyes for a second, before a burst of laughter left them both, settling the nervousness between the two.

"Not even Superman?" The demigoddess asked, gobsmacked.

"No. He is too much of a Boy Scout and he is scared of hurting me."

"Pfff!! Does he know what we were actually born to fight?!"

Diana had tears in her eyes, struggling to reel in her laughter. But looking at Perci...

Their laughter filled the halls, before turning into snickers and giggles.

"I heard you fought Ares on your first quest."

"Yeah." The Daughter of Poseidon hiccuped.

"That's amazing."

"Dam straight."

"Dam?" The sss tilted her head in question, confused.

"Inside joke." Perci shrugged.

Diana grinned, "You seem happy. That is good. After my war, I could not sleep. I had so many nightmares, that I was afraid of closing my eyes."

"That was me for about three months. But having the Muses around and them keeping me occupied... it really helped."

Diana smiled softly at her, "Who brought you here?"

"Hestia did. I asked her to."

The daughter of Zeus leant over the table and gripped the daughter of Poseidon's hand, "You are afraid to leave."

Perci nodded and the older woman squeezed her hand.

"You are afraid that if you let anyone in, they will die too."

Again, Perci nodded, tears beginning to well up.

"You are afraid to love for fear of their blood on your hands as well."

The young demigoddess looked down at her lap, a tear falling down her cheek.

Diana quickly rushed around the table and pulled her cousin into a hug, "You will be okay. You are alive and their memory will live on in you."

The Warrior began to cry into the sss's shoulder, "Hush cousin. I am here. I will always be here."

Perci snorted softly, "You can't promise that."

"No. No I can't. So I will still be here for as long as I can."

:3

"Good Perci. Faster. Run at me. Use your godly power.”

“You can be better! Do better!! You are not at your full potential, Perci!!”

“When I want to be, I can be faster than Superman. I can hit harder than him. You can too. So faster! Harder!”

“You are half god! One of the Big Three!! Prove it!! Show me your strength!!"

:3

The ravenette had pushed herself harder and after seven weeks, Diana was proud of the progress she'd made. The demigoddess was powerful. If she had not chosen to become a Hunter, Perci would have been an excellent sss.

‘Although her decision is not set yet,’ the woman thought.

:3

After such hard training, she was sweating and panting. But smiling.

Diana slapped her on the back, "Well done, Perci!! Your progress is skyrocketing!"

The young woman grinned up at her cousin.

Walking out of the gym, the two made their way to the kitchen. The Aurai threw a cold water bottle, which Perci caught and pressed to her forehead.

"Perci," she looked at Diana. The sss was frowning at the table, uncertain, when she asked, "Would you come...back to the mainland with me? I think that maybe instead of charging head first into the war...you and I become a team. You can meet the Justice League and Young Justice. Help me with missions. Sometimes help them. You are more than capable."

Perci bit her lip, "I don't know Diana. What if I start to have nightmares again? What if the people I become friends with get killed because of me?"

Ever since Diana's appearance, no nightmares have plagued Perci's mind and she's actually gotten sleep, "Then protect them. You have trained harder than you did before. You know even more than you did three years ago. I believe you are ready."

"I'll talk to Hestia first... and maybe someone else."

"Of course, cousin."

:3

Perci left the room to stand next to the fireplace.

"What is wrong, child?" The demigoddess turned around to see the Lady of the Hearth smiling at her.

"I don't know what to do."

"Oh sweetheart," Hestia hugged her, "You would do well with Diana. She wants the best for you."

"But I just don't want anyone else to die."

The goddess sighed and looked into the demigoddess's sea green eyes, "You can't wish for someone not to die. Everyone dies. If the fates want death, then death there will be. But strive forward...and kick some ass before your string is cut."

Perci hugged Hestia tighter and smiled then nodded, "Okay. Then...it's time to go."

The Lady of the Hearth leaned back and stared at the ravenette. She wiped away the young woman’s tears and cupped her cheeks, "Artemis told me that when you leave you would have her blessing."

Nodding, Perci started to take off her bracelet.

"No, no!! Keep it, child. Who knows? You may need us still."

:3

The Saviour had asked her cousin to wait outside for her. Diana smiled knowing what the girl was about to do and left for the beach. She bit her lip and entered the atrium, striding over to the fireplace.

The young woman took off a charm and looked at it, arguing with herself if this was a good idea or not, "Dam it. I'm doing it."

The piece of silver was thrown into the burning coals.

Perci turned away from the fire as the silver charm disappeared in a blue smoke and looked into the wide eyes of her summoned goddess. One that she'd never thought she would ever summon.

:3

Perci had feared that when she fell asleep she would meet her fears again. But when she opened her eyes, the girl found herself in a warm loungeroom with a blazing fireplace.

She felt the overwhelming sensation of being at home. The floor was carpeted in red and the walls painted white. Perci was sitting on a white leather couch. In front of her was a small table with two steaming mugs.

The demigoddess leaned over to look at them.

Hot chocolate.

Chaos stood in front of the Saviour of Olympus, a wide smile on her face, "I knew I could count on you, my sweet. You just needed a push."

"A push?"

The primordial walked around the table and seated herself next to Perci. She grabbed both mugs and handed one to the girl, "I sent you Master Grayson. I knew when he left, Zeus's daughter would discover where you were. She would come to you and teach you more than you already know. The way of the sss. Then you would both leave the island and take the world by storm. Diana will lead you to greatness. Together you will defeat Order and save us all."

She held out her hand, "Marshmallow?"

"Why can you not do anything? He's your brother," Perci took the pink sweet and dropped it into her mug.

"I have done once before, but I had other primordials to help me. Unfortunately they're gone, too weak to help me. So only Chaos and Order remain."

The woman looked so sad, which made Perci's heart clench, "Do you know when he is coming?"

"I do not my sweet. But I will tell you when I do." She stood, beginning to walk away before she clicked her fingers, remembering something and turned back to the demigoddess, "I made this for you."

The corner of the room lit up and there stood a costume. It looked like Diana's, but sea green instead of red, black instead of blue and silver instead of gold.

"Oh my gods."

"I know. Some of my best work. I have the watch Tyson gave you too."

Perci grinned when Chaos gave it to her, "I though I'd lost it."

The primordial shook her head, as the girl wrapped it around her wrist.

Chaos then ran her hand over it and the watch became two bracelets. One just a delicate chain with a ticking clock face on it and the other held a single charm.

Perci looked closer at it. The piece of silver was an orb with a small galaxy in it, spinning slowly. She gaped up at the woman who grinned.

She snapped her fingers again and the charm multiplied, each galaxy a different colour, "If you need me, my sweet. And I want to give you this."

In Chaos's hands appeared a silver diadem, similar to Diana's, "The reason Wonder Woman doesn't need a mask, is because her head piece uses the Mist and manipulates the minds of others' to not remember the exact details of her face. They would not recognise her if Diana was to walk right past them, in her civilian form. Only those she wants to see her face, do. It doesn't work on Atlantians and sss's however.”

Perci hugged Chaos, then immediately let go, "Uh...sorry..."

The primordial laughed and pulled the Saviour of Olympus into a tight hug, “I’ll be seeing you soon.”

For some reason, the demigoddess heard both Chaos’s and Order’s voice entwined, whispered into her ear.