Part of him roils at everything he was just told. Like the start of a hurricane, Percy feels like he has to… has to do SOMETHING. Confront Hestia, maybe? It's just… why wouldn't she tell him? Why would the Goddess of the Hearth keep something this important from him?
It didn't make sense and Percy would be lying if he said he wasn't at least a little hurt by what felt like a monumental betrayal. And yet… and yet…
Circe.
If the information had come from another source… Annabeth maybe, Percy might have reacted more strongly and gone straight to Hestia to blow up at her for keeping such a huge secret from him. In that regard, Circe had fucked up. Even though Percy believed every word out of Circe's mouth… he was smart enough to realize the trap inherent in her reveal.
Sure, she'd told him the truth. But the truth could be worse than any lie if it was delivered at the right time. Percy couldn't let himself forget that in spite of Circe's 'kind' words and claim that they were on the same side… she still likely hated his guts. Hell, she'd had him off center from the very start. The conversation had begun with him on the defense and he'd never quite taken initiative, had he?
Percy's hands clench into fists at his sides… but after a moment, he lets out an explosive breath and moves forward, joining Thalia and Annabeth in the dining pavilion. Thankfully, Thalia's very existence is way too big for anyone to pay attention to anything else. The moment eyes that recognize her catch sight of the Daughter of Zeus' presence, word of just who she is travels through the space like wildfire… or maybe like a lightning bolt, heh.
From there, Thalia gets so much attention that the raven-haired demigoddess clearly doesn't know what to do with it. Normally, Percy would step in and say something, help to keep her from being overwhelmed… but selfishly enough, he kind of needs this right now. Not only does he need everyone to be focused on Thalia instead of him for once, but he also needs Thalia to be distracted.
He needs everyone to be distracted so he can actually stop and think about what Circe just told him. Ultimately… he doesn't want to go into things half-cocked. He definitely doesn't want to act too rashly. That would almost certainly be playing into Circe's hands, wouldn't it? But… he needs time to digest everything.
"Percy?"
Except… he probably should have known there would be one person who would realize something was wrong. Even as Thalia is being swarmed by curious demigods, Annabeth Chase had noticed his quiet discontent and sidled up alongside him. Stiffening at her questioning gaze, Percy purses his lips for a moment before shaking his head.
"Not here. Let's eat first."
He really is hungry. Not only had he just got done with a shift at Thalia's bedside, but then there'd been what happened between him and Thalia after she woke up. And then, of course, what had happened between him, Thalia, and Annabeth after she'd shown up. So yeah, Percy needed to refuel.
Annabeth, thankfully, is understanding as she gives him a hesitant nod. They get some food and chow down while Thalia slowly finds her footing and begins holding court, so to speak. It helps that most of the demigods are sort of in awe of her. Her story is pretty legendary, after all.
Not only was she Zeus' brat, but she was also the demigoddess who gave her life holding back a hundred hellhounds so that Annabeth, Luke, and Grover could survive and make it safely to Camp. Even Luke's eventual betrayal couldn't diminish Thalia's glory in the eyes of the other Campers, it seemed.
While Thalia does start out overwhelmed, she slowly but surely gets a handle on things and effectively takes control of the situation. It's not long before she's basically ruling over the rest of them with a casual ease that almost brings a smile to Percy's face. Almost, because he otherwise has way too much shit on his mind.
Finally though, he finishes his dinner and along with Annabeth, he slips out of the dining pavilion to find somewhere a bit more private for a talk. When they're finally alone, Percy doesn't bother with mincing words.
"… What do you know about the Great Prophecy, Annabeth?"
The Daughter of Athena blinks before furrowing her brow.
"Ah… not much, truth be told. It's forbidden for a demigod to seek out information about the Great Prophecy, Percy."
Forbidden… but then why hadn't Hestia stopped Circe? No… Percy thinks he gets it. It might be forbidden for a demigod to seek it out, but maybe that was the loophole. Maybe it wasn't forbidden for a god or goddess like Circe to spill the beans. Except, as far as loopholes went… that was a massive glaring one at the end of the day. Only, Percy knew just how fallible and imperfect the gods were, so he couldn't really put such a mistake past them now could he?
Letting out a shuddering breath, Percy squeezes his eyes shut and groans.
"Circe told me the first two lines."
Annabeth makes a noise of surprise in the back of her throat.
"W-What?! When?!"
Waving his hand through the air, Percy sighs.
"She did something while we were walking to the pavilion. Pulled me aside for a chat and then put me right back in place like it had never happened."
"… I guess someone of her sorcerous talents WOULD be capable of something like that, yes. Even still… she told you the Great Prophecy?"
Percy shakes his head.
"Like I said, she told me the first two lines of the Great Prophecy. She also told me that she liked me better than most men and wasn't going to try to get between us or anything like that. She even tried to tell me that we're on the same side and she doesn't want… Him coming back anymore than we do. I'm sure she was embellishing some things, telling the truth on others, and fibbing on still more. But as far as the Great Prophecy was concerned… I could tell she was telling the truth."
"What-!"
Annabeth cuts herself off and Percy looks over to see her looking rather stricken. That's right. Can't seek out the information, it's against the will of the gods. He can tell that that's killing Annabeth. Respecting the edicts of the gods but wanting nothing more than to satisfy her ever-inquisitive mind. In the end… Percy isn't going to torture her.
"A half-blood of the eldest gods… shall reach godhood against all odds. Those are the first two lines of the prophecy."
For a long moment, Annabeth is silent. Her eyes are wide as she stares at Percy in horror. Smart as she is, Annabeth of all people gets it almost immediately.
"Percy… oh no."
Offering her a crooked smile, Percy tilts his head to the side.
"… Yeah. It stands to reason that I fit those first two lines to a tee, don't I? But it can't exactly be a good thing if the rest of the Great Prophecy was so bad the Big Three swore an oath to father no more children and held to that oath for more than half a century. Whatever the rest of the prophecy says… I can't imagine those at the top are thrilled about the prospect of me becoming a god."
Annabeth's eyes drop to her lap and dart back and forth. Her thoughts are clearly going a mile a minute as she tries to figure out a solution. Finally, her head snaps up.
"Lady Hestia-!"
Only for her to cut herself off again, her face growing even more stricken than before. Smiling wanly, Percy nods.
"… Yeah. Hestia has to know. She has to have always known, really. And yet… she's kept me in the dark all this time. It must be really bad. I wonder if she's been playing with the idea of killing me or not."
Eyes widening, Annabeth grabs Percy.
"Percy, no! The Goddess would never do something like that!"
For a long moment, Percy wants to refute her. Wants to say Hestia might. But… even he knows deep down inside that his words are coming from a place of pain, of hurt, of betrayal. Annabeth is right. But that doesn't make it better.
"Lady Hestia… she has always wanted what's best for us. For all of us. And you told me yourself… when the chips were down and the situation most dire, she chose to save you. Even knowing the potential cost. As far as all of them were concerned at that point, you were the only demigod of the Big Three left alive. But rather than let Zeus kill you, she risked everything to protect you."
… That was true. Hell, it put Zeus' actions into a slightly different light as well, didn't it? No wonder he'd been so intent on killing Percy then and there. Maybe if Percy groveled, Zeus would have let him live… but then again, maybe not. If any demigod of the Big Three ascending to godhood could potentially trigger the prophecy, Percy could see Zeus making sure he suffered an 'accident' sooner or later if nothing else.
Damn it all. Percy didn't want to be angry at Hestia. But he didn't know how else to feel either. She'd kept him in the dark, but Annabeth was correct that she'd also saved his life. And even after Percy had effectively become a potential subject for the Great Prophecy, Hestia had kept him under her protection and kept the other gods and goddesses off of his back… mostly.
In hindsight, Hestia had done a lot for him. Percy couldn't deny that. She deserved the benefit of the doubt at a bare minimum…
"We should go talk to Hestia. Right now."
Percy blinks at that, a little surprised that Annabeth would suggest something so… confrontational. He won't deny part of him fears what that conversation would wind up looking like.
"I'm not sure that's the best idea in this moment, Annabeth. She has to have known that Circe and I talked already. Hell, she has to know that you and I are talking right now too. If she wanted us to go talk to her, she'd give us some sort of sign letting us know it, wouldn't she?"
There's a pause as both of them glance up, half-expecting that to be the moment where they receive summons up to the Big House from the Goddess of the Hearth. However, as the seconds drag by and that doesn't happen, they both relax. But Annabeth isn't willing to drop it. Shaking her head, she reaches out and grabs Percy by the hand, giving it a solid squeeze.
"With all due respect to the goddess… it doesn't matter what she wants at this point Percy. It matters what you want. Do you want answers? Do you want to know more about what's happening to you and how that relates to the Great Prophecy?"
Percy hesitates briefly, but in the end he can't exactly say 'no' without being a liar. Bowing his head, he lets out an explosive sigh and nods.
"… Yes. I want to know. Not just want… I need to know."
Because what if Circe was right? What if he was better off delaying his ascension to godhood for as long as possible? It wasn't like Percy wanted to find a way to foist the Great Prophecy off on Thalia, Bianca, or Nico to be fair. Especially not if the Great Prophecy involved the possibility of death for the demigod in question.
But at the same time, Circe had made a disturbing amount of sense when she'd said they would be better off dealing with Kronos before Percy ascended to godhood if possible. Way better off…
"Then let's go. If she turns us away, then she turns us away. But at least we can say we tried, right?"
"… Right."
Annabeth gives him a smile and squeezes the hand she's holding with her own. Then, still hand in hand, the two of them make their way up to the Big House… where a single solitary light is on in one of the upstairs bedrooms. Sharing a meaningful look with one another, the two demigods make their way up the stairs and to that room in particular. Where… they're both surprised to find Hestia with tear tracks on her face.
In the end, he supposed he really shouldn't have been all that surprised. And yet he's caught off guard all the same by the sheer shame in Hestia's watery eyes. It doesn't look like the Goddess of the Hearth was all that happy keeping this from him all this time. Nor was she expecting him to forgive her for betraying him in this manner either.
Percy… his first instinct is to go to her, hold her, and comfort her. But he bites back on that impulse. Instead, he doesn't bother mincing words.
"Goddess. I need to know what the rest of the Great Prophecy says."
At his side, Annabeth stiffens up.
"Percy-!"
But he just squeezes her hand in response, silencing her. Hestia bites her lower lip, wringing her hands in her lap for a moment.
"… It's forbidden for demigods to ask about the Great Prophecy, Percy…"
Yeah, he knew that already. Smiling wryly, Percy just tilts his head to the side.
"I'm pretty sure it was forbidden for demigods to badmouth and disrespect the King of the Gods to his face too, Hestia. And yet… here we are."
Here they were. Hestia flinches but in the end, can't help the slightly helpless laugh that leaves her lips at his words. After a long moment, she lets out a shuddering breath.
"I suppose… I suppose you barely count as a demigod these days, Percy. And if nothing else… you deserve to know, don't you?"
He did, or so he felt. And even if he didn't deserve to know, he needed to know, plain and simple. But Percy doesn't say that. He doesn't say anything… just stays right where he is and stares the Goddess down while waiting for her to speak.
(Author Cambrian. Find him on Scribblehub!)