The Five Demigods Who Saved Olympus | Book 1, 2, & 3

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The two made their way back to the reception. Noelle's body was now starting to feel tired as well. Heath noticed it when she began leaning into his side, not being able to walk completely on her own. He wrapped an arm around her, trying to make it seem as natural as possible knowing she didn't want anyone to know of her situation. They walked together through one of the many arches to the reception where the rest of the guests sat before Heath was pulled harshly pulled away from Noelle. She let out a sigh before finding something to lean up against to keep from falling over. She turned to see her father glaring intensely at Heath. She hadn't realized how this had looked. Noelle had gone up to use the bathroom, and Heath followed right after, just as they said earlier. Though, to her, she was mostly joking. She wasn't one to do such a thing in public. She sighed and went to grab Heath's wrist when her father stopped her. Noelle was trying her best not to be annoyed with her father. With what she believed to be symptoms from eating the cursed pomegranate, it became hard to not feel some sort of annoyance or anger with her father. She hadn't before with his over-protectiveness, but now she just couldn't help herself.

"Dad." Noelle said tiredly, of the situation and of her physical being.

"Not that it's any of your business, but nothing happened. Please hand over my boyfriend, and do it kindly." Noelle said. Heath eyed Noelle when Poseidon made no effort to move, continuing to glare at Heath and have his hands tugging on his dress shirt like they were in Amara's quarters previously. Noelle pinched the bridge of her nose. Heath knew she was having a hard time containing herself.

"Poseidon, with all due respect, your daughter is a grown woman now and can make decisions for herse-" Heath went to say, but was cut off by Poseidon's grip getting tighter.

"It's about time I have a talk with you." Poseidon said as he began to drag Heath away. Noelle took a deep breath pushing herself up and lightly grabbing ahold of her father's wrist.

"Dad, we're in a formal setting. Now is not the time for you to-" Noelle started, but Poseidon cut her off.

"It'll only be a moment." Poseidon said. Noelle stepped forward, dropped her father's wrist, and grabbed Heath's instead. She tugged harshly, making Heath wince a little.

"Do not interrupt me!" Noelle said, her voice a little louder than intended. Noelle could feel eyes on her, but at this moment she didn't care. Poseidon was a little taken aback by her shouting. He had been yelled at her before, yes, deservingly so. But, he didn't believe he was in the wrong this time. He believed he was trying to be a good father. Noelle's eyes softened as she took another deep breath.

"Please, this can wait until another time, dad." Noelle said in a softer tone. She didn't wait for his response. She turned to Heath with apologetic eyes for hurting him and gently placed her hand in his. She then tiredly pulled him away to their table. She was thankful to see that none of her group heard her outburst and it had only been a few surrounding tables. The group was laughing about something unknown to the couple. As they sat down at the table, Amara began to tell them what happened while they were gone. Poseidon watched his daughter from a distance. He had thought about how it was completely unlike her to talk to anyone like that. He couldn't accept that as a normal reaction. He walked over to the table that he shared with his siblings, his eyes landing on his brother Hades. Hades seemed uninterested in the conversation being had. He had hoped alcohol would be served, more specifically Dionysus's wine, but had overheard that Donovan had a bit of a problem with alcohol and that there would be none. It made the event much less enjoyable for him. Poseidon leaned into Hades' side, hoping nobody around could hear.

"Noelle has been spending quite some time with you all in the Underworld, hasn't she?" Poseidon asked. Poseidon knew it to be true. Despite it not yet being the seven months she needed to spend there, Noelle was there an awful lot. There hadn't been very many nights Noelle had been staying at Atlantis like he had hoped for her too. Unbeknownst to them, an uninvited Thanatos stood from a distance, listening in on their conversation.