stollen things || c. stoll

3.10~ This Party Is Godly

Thalia knelt before Artemis and recited an oath. She turned and hugged each of us.

"I'm sorry that I'm such a bitch." I muttered as she hugged me.

"Yeah. You were. But so was I. A real dam bitch." She said with a smile. I couldn't help but laugh. She moved on to hug Percy, and declared that she was never going to turn sixteen, and that the prophecy was Percy's now. He looked ready to be sick.

"Now for the Ophiotaurus." Artemis said.

"Please. Keep the Ophiotaurus safe up here. You said it yourselves, it is a good idea to have him stay here, where you can protect him full time. Have him live in an aquarium," I practically begged them.

Poseidon agreed, and said that he would build an aquarium right in Olympus with Hephaestus. They elected a vote, and all but three hands went up. Dionysus, Athena, and Ares.

"We have a majority," Zeus declared. "And since we will not be destroying these heroes, I say we should honor them. Let the triumph celebration begin!"

•

Now, I'd been to parties. Charles had taken me to plenty towards the beginning of the year. I'd gone to family parties and holiday parties and the like. But high school parties and Christmas parties don't compare to Olympian parties. You know what, let me just explain.

There were refreshment stands all around, covered in mortal snack foods and ambrosia alike. There were golden goblets that filled with any drink you'd like. Don't even get me started on the music. The muses had turned it on, but there was no track. It was whatever you wanted to hear. Top 50, classical, hip-hop, anything.

I spent time with the satyrs I'd befriended and a few wood nymphs. That was my domain. Not the water, not the desert. Anywhere with nature beings. Now, I was no driad, but I did have a few satyrs falling at my feet. It felt good, considering the fact that I wasn't looking my best at the moment.

I flirted back playfully, but I left them to the driads. I didn't want to get in the way of the chase. I talked with some minor gods, danced with one, then was approached by Demeter. The dark-haired goddess did not have much to say, only that she was proud and hoped that I would continue to make her proud in the future and all that godly mom stuff.

I was leaning up against a tree, drinking my Sprite, when another god came up to me. Too many in one day, if you ask me. I was getting sick of bowing. God of Reading Minds, you didn't hear that.

"So," He said, crossing his arms. "You're the Maddy girl."

"I'm the Maddy girl." I replied, not sure if I should smile.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Apollo, but I'm sure you know that. I will give you this short disclaimer only: I am always watching. Be careful around Hermes's sons, the God of Mischief is one you want on your side."

I nodded slowly, confused, and he continued.

"You know, this reminds me of the time Hermes stole my cows. Very precious to me, I still hold that grudge against him," He started to glow a bit, and I averted my eyes to avoid turning to ash. Not on my itinerary.

"Uh, why?"

"Not the experience, but the poems. My son Jack wrote a wonderful one about me... It goes like this." Apollo drew in a deep breath. "God of the golden bow—"

"Aaand, that's enough. Leave her alone, brother." A goddess interrupted, in the form of a young human girl. "I am Artemis. I know we haven't met, but just because you didn't fight the titans, I do not think less of you."

That felt a bit backhanded.

"So, brave maiden, I believe that your journey was just as hard and courageous. You know what I want to ask."

My mind raced. Immortality was certainly a plus. However, outliving my friends and staying a teenager forever as my peers grew past me? Probably not a plus. Then there was Aphrodite. She had told me not to accept. I wanted to make my own decision, but it was tough to just disregard the opinion of a goddess.

"I am sorry, Lady Artemis. I do know what you are asking, and I know that it is not right for me. I hope you will understand."

She reached up and touched my face. "I do, child. I will see you again, and my offer is always open." I bowed my head to her and we parted ways.

•

This particular Olympian party lasted all through the night, and Argus picked us up early in the morning, through a light snowstorm. We went down to the Big House and sat down, Chiron filling us in on everything we'd missed, and filling the others in on everything we had done. We talked about real cheery stuff like Luke invading camp. I looked down the entire time. I had so much going through my mind, about Luke, about the gods, and I had stayed up all night at Olympus. Needless to say, I was exhausted. But I had to be present in this conversation.

Our early breakfast was hot chocolate and cheese sandwiches, but I didn't touch any of the food. Everyone was pretty miserable, picking up on Percy and Annabeth's distress.

Connor, Travis, Silena, Beckendorf, and Clarisse were all joining us at the pool table.

"You have saved Annabeth!" Chiron said, through a fake smile.

Annabeth smiled at Percy, who looked away with a hint of a blush on his face. Ah, now it makes sense. After the awkward silence that followed, it was Percy who spoke up.

"Luke is alive. Annabeth was right."

"How do you know?" Annabeth sat up.

Percy explained a conversation he had had with his father earlier about Luke's cruise ship. I hadn't really put the two together until just then: the cruise Charles had mentioned was the Princess Andromeda, Luke's ship.

"If the final battle does come when Percy is sixteen," Annabeth said. "Then we have two more years to figure something out."

Chiron wasn't smiling anymore. "Two years may seem like a long time, but it is a blink of an immortal eye. I still hope you are not the child of the prophecy, Percy. But if you are, then the second Titan war is almost upon us. Kronos's first strike will be here."

This wasn't the pleasant recap we had been hoping for. Apparently Percy and I were the only two senior counselors that hadn't put this together, because the reaction wasn't as surprised as I'd expected it to be.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Because the gods use heroes as their tools," Chiron said. "Destroy the tools, and the gods are crippled. Luke's forces will come here, and we must be prepared. Clarisse has news that may help us—"

The door was thrown open. "Hey!"

I stood up immediately, my chair skidding across the floor behind me. I rushed over to Nico, dropping to my knees and pulling him into a hug.

"Where's... where's my sister?" He asked. My heart dropped. I had completely forgot about how I was going to tell him. Percy saved the day.

"Hey, Nico. Let's take a walk."

I rushed out after him, but Percy turned his head toward me and shook it ever so slightly, as if to tell me that he had it handled.

Soon enough, it was breakfast. I had had minimal contact with any of my friends as of yet. No Demeter kids, no Nat. Beckendorf was here, but busy with his own siblings. Silena was also around, but busy gazing at Beckendorf. All with no sight of Nico. I was worried about him, who knows how he could've taken the news. Considering the fact that he hasn't showed up, I knew it was bad. I knew he blamed both me and Percy. I would too, in his situation. We both broke our promises.

*

GUYS THIS IS LIKE REALLY BAD LOLZ