A Daughter’s Sorrow

Three

Night had passed and Perci was sitting on her bed.

Reluctantly she'd agreed to Amph's puppy, uh, seal eyes and her little 'girl's night' but instead a 'girl's day'. Dite had come over and so had the Queen of the Underworld. Both Queens however couldn't grasp the understanding of Perci had been through.

Aphrodite could. She'd lost many a child to the war.

Their task was now set. To relax the Saviour of Olympus until her mind completely forgot about yesterday... For at least a few hours.

Although three of the four were of divinity, the goddesses had decided to do everything the old fashioned way. By hand.

Each had a different mudpack on, which Perci had to admit was a little funny. Especially with Aphrodite's face being bright blue. Perci's aunt and cousin, Persephone, was arguing with Amphitrite over what colour her toenails needed to be.

"Blue!"

"Pink!"

"Blue!"

"Pink!"

Dite then stood between them, being the taller of the two and smacked them both up the back of their heads. Her vicious scowl then morphed into a mischievous grin, "Purple!!!"

The Love Goddess's tone was final. Purple it is.

:3

Over the next few hours, clothes were worn and critiqued.

Hair brushed and styled. Nails coloured and decorated. Faces cleaned and painted beautifully with makeup.

Perci, though her sadness had depleted so, it was still there, weighing down on her chest, its grip on her heart, tight. The four were spread out on the Heroine's bed, watching a giant flat screen that Persephone had snapped into existence with her fingers. Laughter filled the room as well as a small chuckle from the girl every now and then.

"-plan on falling in love with you, and I doubt if you planned on falling in love with me. But once we met it was clear that neither of us could control what was happening to us." Aphrodite sniffled as she quoted the movie.

Perci pinched her brow and shook her head, a small smile on her lips. She would have to ask her father why he sunk the 'unsinkable' ship.

Suddenly, the world around the demigoddess seemed to slow to a stop. She frowned. Then in her head she heard from a warm but sad voice, "Come to the garden, child. We must speak."

Perci is not an i***t. A seaweed brain sure. But not an idiot... Sometimes.

Wearing only a pair of grey pajama shorts and a Cookie Monster singlet, the Daughter of Poseidon crept away from her goddess-ridden bed and out the bedroom door. It seemed like she was in a trance, because this disembodied voice was pulling her to the garden.

Perci was nervous, but curious and with Riptide in her pocket, the ravenette continued to follow it. The empty hallway opened up to show two large glass doors trimmed in gold. When she reached them, they swung open.

The demigoddess continued out the doors following the stoned pavement. The garden was huge and flooded with flowers of every size and colour. It had been a gift from Persephone to Amphitrite for her birthday.

Stopping at the centre, Perci turned her head side to side to find her mystery voice. There was a flash of light to her right, making the Daughter of Poseidon spun around with her sword uncapped and pointed at the throat of the intruder.

Hestia.

Dropping Riptide, Perci rushed forward and hugged the Lady of the Hearth. The goddess was shorter of the two, and squeezed the girl who had begun to shake. She stroked the tousled , raven locks of the lone Heroine of Olympus, shushing her, "I know what you want. You want to be disappear and forget this war. I can help you, brave one. I can take you away from all of this." Hestia whispered.

Perci pulled back and looked at the delicate and sad face of the goddess. Her tears swimming with tears, she hoarsely asked, "For how long? I don't want to be gone forever."

Hestia nodded, running her thumb over the demigoddess’s cheekbone, "I'll send you somewhere special. A place where you won't age, so when you come back, you won't have changed."

The Heroine nodded and gave her a grateful but watery smile.

"I will visit you often as I can, so you can choose when to come back. No one will know where you are besides me. And maybe Hermes if you want something from the outside world."

Though Perci knew she would be searched for, she also knew she needed this.

The opportunity to be safe from monsters. To not be bothered by the gods and forced to fight again in another prophetic war. To be free of the Fates.

The girl nodded and Hestia smiled, "Let me bless you first, Perci. So you can feel warm even on the coldest of days. Fire will be yours to control as well as the sea. Where you will be going, everything will be perfectly suited to you, so you will need not worry about anything."

Hestia stood on her tiptoes and kissed the demigoddess's forehead. Perci felt warmth flood her body and she felt a small spark of happiness. One she didn't think she'd ever feel after the war.

"Stay strong child." Hestia hugged her again, before making the girl vanish with a soft look and a wave of her hand.

:3

Perci watched in horror as Gaia slowly ripped Annabeth's throat out. The primordial threw her at a huge pine tree, a sickening crack echoed through the forest. The blonde's head lolled to the side, blood dripping down her neck and shirt. Her grey eyes were losing light as she looked to her best friend.

The Daughter of Poseidon screamed Annabeth's name.

Perci seized up and the ground started to shake, the lake beginning to flood the camp. She turned and glared at Mother Earth. Gaia actually stepped back at the intensity of her look.

The warrior’s sea green eyes began to glow with the rage and power pumping through her veins. The primordial, even though she was made of dirt, stumbled as the Earth crumbled away before her.

In Camp Jupiter, less than a few months ago, Perci had once summoned a small hurricane to fight and protect herself when she was attacked. But her little play with wind then, was now a crippling storm, trapping Gaia and her in the eye of it.

Fear became apparent on her face as Perci's stalked closer with her sword at the ready. The primordial attacked but was clearly no match for an enraged demigoddess who did not fear death. In less than a minute, Perci had Gaia kneeling before her begging for life, promising the demigoddess anything to live.

But the ravenette shook her head. Emotionless, she leaned in and whispered into her ear, "Rest in Pieces, bitch." Then shoved Riptide down through the primordial's proverbial breastbone and heart, exiting out at the small of her back.

Gaia crumbled into the dirt with a pained wail, the sword following and embedding into the ground.

Perci fell to her knees and it began to rain.