Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Male Reader Insert)

I Meet the Forgotten Goddess

Character Information:
(Y/N): Your Name
(L/N): Last Name
(H/C): Hair Color
(E/C): Eye Color
(H/L): Hair Length
(S/C): Skin Color
(F/C): Favorite Color
(F/F): Favorite Food
(F/D): Favorite Drink

(Y/N)'s POV

I sat by the firepit in the middle of the commons area. The only thing on my mind was where Percy was. I don't know why he had left, and why he hadn't told anyone—not even Annabeth or Chiron.

Was he really so mad at me because of our argument that he'd run away? No, that didn't sound like Percy at all. It had to be something else.

I sighed. It was just nonstop crap this whole summer. More stuff to add into the stress meter. I really needed a break, but I knew that wasn't possible. War was coming, and we would need to leave camp any day now.

"You have a lot on your mind," came a voice next to me.

I jumped. Two seconds ago, no one had been sitting there. But now a girl about eight years old was sitting cross-legged right next to me. She had mousy brown hair and a simple brown dress. She wore a scarf over her head. She poked the fire in the pit with a stick, and it seemed to glow more richly red than a normal fire.

"Who—? What—? Where—?" I stuttered out, trying to calm myself down from the heart attack I nearly had.

The girl smiled, amused. "Did I scare you that badly? I apologize. It was not my intention."

I realized that her eyes were as red as the firelight. There was something off about her.

"You are worried for your friend," the girl told me. "Perseus Jackson."

"Well, yeah." I didn't know why this girl was talking to me. And I'd never seen her at camp before. "I mean, we all are. He just...just disappeared. And I don't know why."

The girl nodded. "And you think you have something to do with it."

I looked at her, incredulous. "What? N-No..."

"Deep down, you feel responsible." The girl studied me with those strange eyes of hers. "Fear not, he left to pursue some other task."

I blinked. "How do you know that?"

"I saw him yesterday," she said. "He was very kind. He recognized me, and hardly anyone does these days."

"Huh?"

The girl chuckled. "I am not mad. It is natural. I am hardly known, yet am always near. I am the place you return to after all the hardships."

I looked at her and then at the firepit. Realization hit me, and I felt ashamed and a little dumb that it took me so long to figure it out. "You're...you're Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth."

She nodded. "Indeed."

"I'm sorry," I apologized.

"I already told you I am fine. I am not fading. Whenever you sacrifice a portion of your meal every day, I get a share. I may not be well recognized, but I am not lacking in strength."

"Then why aren't you fighting Typhon with the other Olympians?" I asked.

Hestia stared into the fire. "The son of Hades asked that same question."

"Son of Hades? You mean Nico?"

"Yes. That is who Percy Jackson is with."

"Wait, for real? What...what are they doing?"

"An important task. When the time is right you will know should they succeed."

I was relieved that Percy hadn't gone off on his own, but I wondered where he went off to. What could he and Nico be doing, and why didn't they tell anyone?