The Hearth's Champion

Chapter 3

     It's been six months since that day. Percy was on better terms with Hera. A slow budding friendship. Percy and Artemis had a tiny friendship going as well. She had to keep it down low, of course. She couldn't have anyone knowing she was eating close to a male, regardless of who it was. Percy and Hestia were close. Hestia was like a second mother to Percy and Hestia saw Percy as the son she never had. She had come close a couple of times of asking Percy if she could adopt him as her own. She had doubts that he'd think of her differently. Unknown to her, Percy was secretly hoping she adopted him. He could risk the safety of his mother Sally. Hestia filled the void in his life. He needed a mother more than ever. He was planning on asking Lady Athena for Annabeths hand in marriage. Percy found himself walking towards the center of the throne room. There sat his favorite eight year old goddess. He sat next to her, watching as she attended her hearth. She didn't seem to have noticed him. He cleared his throat, earning a questioning look from Hestia. "Uhm, milady, I was wondering if I could ask you something.." He looked nervous. She raised an eyebrow at him. He continued, "Well, Annabeth and I have gotten closer over the time and well, I was planning on asking her to marry me but you know how Lady Athena is. She will decline my request instantly so I was hoping you'd have a way for me to convince her. I need advice and I see you as a motherly figure. I can't see my mother. It'll risk her life with me just being in her presence.." He trailed off, looking sadly into the flame. Hestia noticed this but her heart jumped at the thought of him viewing her as a mother. 'Should she ask him now?' She told herself later. He's got plenty on his mind right now. She nudged his shoulder with hers. "Well, why not ask her if you could prove your worth? Maybe she'd like you to do a task. The labors of Hercules perhaps? I'm sure she'd let you train for them. Or maybe not..." Hestia trailed off. She couldn't stand the thought of Percy failing and perhaps.. Her heart dropped at the thought of him dying. Sure he was immortal, but only partially. He jumped at the thought of proposing to Annabeth. He would definitely take Hestia's advice. He quickly jumped up and wrapped Hestia in a tight hug, earning himself a squeal from said goddess. He set her down with big smiles on both of their faces. "Thanks, Hestia. You have no idea how much you've helped." He was excited. Him and Annabeth getting married, having kids, growing old, not literary seeing how as they were immortal but you get the point. He'd be with her forever. Hestia was smiling brightly right now. Seeing him excited made her proud. 'I did this.' That thought rain through her head, making her smile even more. She loved having this kind of impact on his life. She was interrupted by him when he hugged her tightly one more time and kissed her cheek. He sprinted off but no before he yelled a "Thank you!" over his shoulder. She was content. She went back to tending to her hearth with a joyful smile on her face. Percy was sprinting like a mad man. He ran past all the palaces until he found himself in front of a grey, modern looking palace. He walked up the steps. He took a deep, nervous breath before knocking three times. He waited a few seconds before the goddess he wanted to see came into view. Said goddess scowled as she saw this sea scum in front of her. "What do you want?" She growled. He shuddered but straightened. "Well, milady, I have come to ask something that is of great importance." He stood tall, his 6'2 height dwarfing her 5'8. Though she could change her height but that's besides the point. She didn't care what he wanted. He had interrupted her during her reading of a book. "No." She growled out. "But, with all due respect, you can't just say no when you have no idea what I'm asking. Just please, let me explain." He pleaded, clapping his hands together in a begging gesture. He gave his best puppy dog eyes. She sighed. He was very persistent, she'll give him that. Also annoying. Very annoying. "Very well. What do you want, sea spawn?" She was not pleased. Percy gathered his wits. "Well, I've come to ask for Annabeths hand in marriage." Lady Athena looked deep in thought. 'What. The. Hades? Did he really thing is let him marry my daughter? He's lucky I'm even letting him do that. Absolutely not. No way. Nein. Niet.' She went on in her head saying 'No' in different languages until then, a thought came into her head. 'He's partially immortal so if I send him on a quest, a dangerous quest, he could possibly die. And then my daughter could find someone better. But what? He'd conquer the 12 labors easily. Even if it hurts, he IS the greatest demigod of the age. Maybe she'd send him to the underworld, or to Tartarus. Hmm.. Wait.. Golden Apples. She hasn't had on yet and she's been craving one. PERFECT!' She inwardly squealed. She'd send him to fight Ladon. This useless sea spawn would die trying. She nodded her head before responding. "Very well. But, I have something for you to do before I let you be with my daughter, understood?" She said with suck finality that there was no way he could argue. He just nodded. "I'll give you six months to train as hard as you can, but in six months time, you will come to me. I will debrief you on your quest. Got it?" He was excited. He would finally be marrying his Wise Girl. He rapidly nodded. She shooed him off. He ran off her porch, whooping and yelling. He was ecstatic. He found himself back in the throne room. Hestia still tending to the hearth. He came up behind her and poked her back. She spun around quickly and once she saw him, she smiled. "What happened? Did she say yes?" When he didn't respond, her motherly instincts set it. She instantly became protective, ready for him to burst out crying. She changed into her 30 year old form. But once Percy started nodding quickly she sighed with relief. She then smacked him upside his head. He cried out and then glared at her. "What the heck?!" He shouted. Hestia just laughed but then turned serious. "You had me worried. I thought you were upset. So, she said yes?" She was excited for him. He once again nodded. "I have six months to train. She didn't tell me the quest but I'm going to assume it's hard, seeing how it's Lady Athena we are talking about here. I should go. I gotta train. Bye, Mo-- Hestia!" He stopped himself. He almost said mom. He waved before he took off. Hestia was sad. He almost called her mom. So close. But she shouldn't be sad. It was his choice. She'd be happy either way. As long as he was part of her life, and she in his. With that thought, she went back to her hearth.

~x~

It's been six months. Six months of hell. I had trained myself to the breaking point every time. Sometimes, I nearly killed myself. But I couldn't stop. It was for Annabeth. For me. For us. I had spent 3 months on physical strength and speed. My build was now packed with a good amount of muscle. For strength, I had started benching 165 pounds but eventually made it to my max of 305 pounds. I did squats with 115 pounds but then made it to 270 pounds. My deadlift started at 115 pounds but now it's 285 pounds. And finally, shoulder presses. Started at 65 pounds then to 145 pounds. My chest and arms looked amazing if I say so myself. For my abdominal, I started off with 1 minute planks. I added 15 seconds each week. So, approximately, now I can do planks for about 6 minutes. It hurts like a mother fucker. The same for side planks. 6 minutes. But not overly so, like Hercules. I had kept my lean build. I had trained with every weapon you could think of. If my skills with a sword was questioned before, now I'm really good. But there will always be somebody better. I'm still gods awful with spears and daggers. I'll stick to a sword, thanks. My archery was great. Archery always fascinated me but I was terrible at it. My speed had increased tremendously. My endurance had improved greatly, sure I was fast, but now, I'm even faster and I can sprint longer. I started off with a four minute jog, one minute of sprinting. Rinse and repeat 10-12x. Sometimes, I did it more without realizing. If I didn't look like I was made of marble before, I definitely do now. I had an eight pack, which I was extremely proud of, and a v-line. I was hot. Oh gods, I'm becoming like Zeus. Forgive me. I had spent another two months on mastering my powers. Apparently, when you master your demigod powers, your eyes change. Or at least mine did. They went from a beautiful sea green, to icy blue. Quite a change, but I prefer my sea green eyes. Thankfully, I had the ability to change the color willingly. So, I kept them sea green. I had now full control over hydro telekinesis. All water bent to my will. I was able to summon massive earth quakes. It was like I was Gaia. The earth bent to my will as well. I could now Vapor travel which was very useful. Still wish I could shadow travel though. On the final month, I trained mentally. Training my mind. My brain, despite my lack of intelligence, was my strongest muscle. I found a way to heighten my pain tolerance. Throughout my training, I didn't feel pain until I allowed myself to feel pain. I trained myself to never have flashbacks of my time in Tartarus. Very useful but also very tough. My strategy a for battle could possibly rival Lady Athena. Everywhere I went, I always found a way out. I was always alert. Anyway, I had come to the Empire State Building to tell Lady Athena I was ready. I walked to the man at the desk and as politely as I could ask, hiding the excitement, asked for the key to the 600th floor. And you know what the mother fucker did? The usual. "Go away, kid. There's now 600th floor. Get lost." I nearly lost my cool. I slammed my hand on the desk, cracking it. My voice came out harsh and cold. "Give me the dam key or you'll be wishing for death when I'm done with you." He shivered and handed me the key. I grinned. "Thank you. I'll get you a raise." I waved over my shoulder before putting the key in the elevator. I crossed my arms and my ADHD kicked in. I started tapping my foot on the ground. The elevator music was gods awful. I need to speak to Apollo about that.  When the elevator dinged, I walked towards the throne room. As I reached the throne room, I was nervous. I took a deep breath before I walked through. Sure enough, I came face to face with the goddess I wanted to see. Lady Athena, stood there waiting for me, tapping her foot impatiently, her arms crossed and a angry expression on her face. Her grey eyes bore into mine when she saw me. They were analyzing me. Her blond hair was in a neat pony tail. Some of her curls descended down the sides of her face. A white dress draped over her body. When I came to view, she grinned then scowled. I walked up to her and kneeled. I waited. She took a breath before lifting me up from my kneeling position. Her grey eyes stared into my sea green eyes. She smirked a bit. Deep down, I was frightened. This was my girlfriends mother. She hated me so whatever task I had was obviously not going to be good. "Are you ready, Perseus? I will not mistake you as a coward if you back out. Or maybe I will. Who knows?" She finished with a sly grin. I grinned right back, stumping her. I brought my hands together and cracked my knuckles. I was so ready for this. "Let's do this."