The Curse of Oenone (Daughter of Olympus II) - [Leo Valdez xF!Oc]

The Son of Olympus

First impression of Heracles: Hot. He's a god, so of course he'd look the part. He kind of reminds her of Percy, if Percy were a Gym-bro.

Piper's the first to speak. "Hello."

"What's up?" Hercules replies.

"Uh, not much." Piper glances at Ara, and the girl encourages her to keep going. "Well, actually, a lot. I'm Piper. This is Jason and Ara. We—"

"Where's your lion skin?" Jason blurts out.

Piper elbows the boy. Luckily, Hercules seems to find the outburst funny. "It's ninety degrees out here. Why would I wear my lion skin? Do you wear a fur coat to the beach?"

"I guess that makes sense." Jason pouts. "It's just that the pictures always show you with a lion skin."

The god glances at the sky with annoyance. "Don't believe everything you hear about me. Being famous isn't as fun as you might think."

"Tell me about it," Piper mumbles.

"Are you famous?"

"My dad... he's in the movies."

"Don't get me started with the movies! Gods of Olympus, they never get anything right. Have you seen one movie about me where I look like me?"

"I'm surprised you're so young," Piper agrees.

"Ha! Being immortal helps. But, yes, I wasn't so old when I died. Not by modern standards. I did a lot during my years as a hero... too much, really." He eyes Jason. "Son of Zeus, eh?"

"Jupiter," Jason corrects.

"Not much difference," Hercules shrugs. "Dad's annoying in either form. Me? I was called Heracles. Then the Romans came along and named me Hercules. I didn't really change that much, though lately just thinking about it gives me splitting headaches... At any rate, if you're Jupiter's son, you might understand. It's a lot of pressure. Enough is never enough. Eventually it can make a guy snap."

He looks at Piper. "As for you, my dear, be careful. Sons of Zeus can be... well, never mind." He locks eyes with Ara. "You're the newest Olympian sensation, aren't you?"

"Ara Jackson," she considers shaking his hand, but she doesn't want him to feel how much she's shaking.

He tilts his head. "Who was your godly parent?"

"Aphrodite."

Hercules burst out laughing, making Ara want to punch his nose. "Has the quality of heroes decreased, or are Aphrodites more sturdy than in ancient times?"

"We've always been sturdy," she scoffs.

"So the quality decreased," he muses. "That sucks."

"You su—"

"Lord Hercules," Piper intervenes. "We're on a quest. We'd like permission to pass into the Mediterranean."

Hercules turns to her, still chuckling. "That's why I'm here. After I died, Dad made me the doorkeeper of Olympus. I said, Great! Palace duty! Party all the time! What he didn't mention is that I'd be guarding the doors to the ancient lands, stuck on this island for the rest of eternity. Lots of fun."

He points at the pillars.

"Stupid columns. Some people claim I created the whole Strait of Gibraltar by shoving mountains apart. Some people say the mountains are the pillars. What a bunch of Augean manure. The pillars are pillars."

"Right," Piper replies. "Naturally. So... can we pass?"

"Well, I have to give you the standard warning about how dangerous the ancient lands are. Not just any demigod can survive the Mare Nostrum. Because of that, I have to give you a quest to complete. Prove your worth, blah, blah, blah. Honestly, I don't make a big deal of it. Usually I give demigods something simple like a shopping trip, singing a funny song, that sort of thing. After all those labors I had to complete for my evil cousin Eurystheus, well... I don't want to be that guy, you know?"