The cracking of knuckles drew Athena's gaze down for a moment, her eyes widening as she saw ruby-like scales forming along Hestia's hands and her nails going a deep red. However, she looked to Hestia's face again as the goddess gave a dismissive snort.
...
"By sheer chance and timing, the council's actions gave him a new focus and something to truly hate. By that point, Chase became nothing more than a resented after-thought. But when he was training with Nyx and discovered what really happened with Chase, one of the cruelest forms of Hope returned to him in two little words," she said, her face cold as she pinned Athena to the spot with her gaze.
"What if? What if Aphrodite had never meddled the way she did? What if he and Chase truly had come together, perhaps not right after the Titan War but in the Giant one or soon after? What if they never did and maybe, Percy found someone else? After all, its not like Percy would have been wanting for offers from demigoddesses and goddesses alike."
The way Hestia gave Athena a pointed look made the goddess squirm nervously, a sense of unease churning in her gut but the primordial didn't let the silence persist for long.
"What if, what if, what if… It didn't matter that he accepted that he would never be with her again and he didn't even want to be. It probably wouldn't have made a difference if the Olympians still made the same choice to betray him either way but, regardless that tiny little doubt stuck with him until Chase finally faded," Hestia concluded as she took another breathe and the scales along her knuckles faded away into her skin. "So, no Athena, Percy didn't hate your daughter. No, the one who hated your daughter was me," the primordial added sharply. "As for the likes of Apollo, Percy couldn't care less and once he does save Cloelia, he'll all but take over and rid her of any connection to Apollo."
Athena's eyes widened as she snapped up into a sitting position, completely ignoring the flares of pain in her back and abdomen as she looked at the primordial.
"H-He's going to save her?" she asked softly with barely concealed surprise, a glimmer of hope building within her chest as she looked at the queen.
"I never said he wasn't, you just assumed as much earlier," Hestia replied as she leaned back in her chair as Athena shot her a glare for a moment. "However, it's also what I need to talk to you about."
"What is it?" she asked quickly, her eyes locked on Hestia.
"First of all, I don't know if you're aware, but Percy can't save Cloelia on his own, not with how things are now," Hestia replied getting a confused looked from the blonde goddess. Hestia sighed again before continuing, "We're at war and as cold as it sounds, he needs to focus on that…"
And from there Hestia quickly explained to her just what conditions were needed to save Cloelia. Not only Percy but one of his wives or someone closely linked to them needed to adopt as well. However, Hestia then paused for a moment as she looked over Athena before continuing.
"Rhea and Andromeda have similar commitments to Percy making them less than ideal while we're at war. Not to mention that neither would even think about leaving their own toddler, adopted or not, alone given Cloelia's condition. There's a reason none of us has had children yet and in Raven's case, she was born as an adult and capable of defending herself," Hestia added.
"But Rhea is just as much a frontline fighter as is Percy and with Pontus and his forces out there, they can't risk dividing themselves physically or having their minds elsewhere. Andromeda is another key fighter but she's also the council's ambassador and networker meaning she just doesn't have the time to look after Cloelia."
"So, if neither Rhea nor Andromeda can do it than that leaves …"
"Me," Hestia said softly. "Or at least, that is the original idea."
Athena gave her a questioning look as Hestia looked at her eyes intently, her next words blindsiding Athena.
"I want you to adopt Cloelia."
Silence reigned for a few moments as the blonde goddess looked at the queen, her surprise palpable as her mouth opened and closed several times until she finally got it to work.
"You what!?" she almost shouted as she looked at the unflinching primordial.
"I want you to adopt Cloelia," Hestia repeated with a near casual tone as Athena took a moment to compose herself.
For a moment she'd wanted to scream 'of course!', knowing that she wanted to and would have already if it had been possible. But that was just it, it wasn't possible with the condition she was in now and she didn't even have some sort of bond to Percy for it. So, taking a deep breath, she then leveled the primordial with an even look before asking, "What's the catch?"
Hestia gave a small sigh before she said, "There is one catch." At Athena's intent look, the primordial continued, "I need you to take a Patron Oath with me."
Again, the goddess was shocked as she looked at the primordial as if she'd grown an extra head, her thoughts derailed as she tried to come up with an answer to that but came up empty. All she could end up asking was, "Why?"
"For one, you are in no condition to use any divine power, let alone perform an adoption," Hestia answered simply before her she leaned forward on her seat. "Secondly, you don't have any bond or link to Percy which would guarantee Essence Rejection in the adoption and kill Cloelia outright."
Athena looked at the primordial as the thought on that. It was true she lacked the strength or the bond to do it but there had to be more. It simply seemed to be convoluted, too dependent on 'if' scenarios and other factors for those to be the only reasons.
"Why not just adopt Cloelia yourself?" Athena asked as she narrowed her gaze on the queen. "Why go through the trouble of getting me to swear myself to you when you could have gone through with the adoption hours ago?"
Hestia met the look, the crimson flames within her eyes simmering as Athena continued.
"Divine Adoption is practically a re-birth whether its for a demigod or a godling and the adopted always take up aspects and appearances of the parents. Even if Cloelia keeps the name Annabeth gave her, that name will probably be the only thing that stays with her once the adoption is complete and she recovers. You said you hated Annabeth, right? Well what better way to spite her memory than taking her only daughter as your own?" Athena said, her voice gaining an edge as she looked at her lap and her fist clenched at the thought.
The adoption might be the only way to save her granddaughter, but it would mean leaving Cloelia without a trace left of Annabeth in her. At least if Percy adopted her alone, thanks to being a goddess Cloelia had chances of retaining features from Annabeth but between two divine beings? Not a chance. It would be as if Annabeth never had a daughter to begin with.
"Why didn't you jump at that chance?" Athena asked as she looked at Hestia.
The primordial stayed quiet for a while as the deities looked at each other before Hestia finally spoke, her tone far softer than before.
"I need time…" At Athena's silence the primordial continued, her earlier mask of aloofness making way for a face of worry and uncertainty.
"I've hated your daughter for a long time Athena, and even if I don't hate Cloelia, that doesn't mean I wanted to be close to her … but I won't have that option if I adopt her, will I?" she asked as Athena remained silent. "Cloelia's already been through enough and the last thing she needs is a mother that can't completely accept her, at least, not yet." Hestia paused for a moment as she took a breath, her hands clasping together on her lap before she looked at Athena.
"That's why I want you to take the Patron Oath with me and even if you don't, I'll still go through with it and adopt her. But if you do swear the oath and adopt her, it means the bond you form with her will extend to me, but you can be the mother she needs."
Athena looked at the goddess, thinking over everything she'd been told and what it would mean for her. In a way she felt a weight leaving her shoulders as she knew now that Cloelia would be saved. And yet, the question of how was now at the front of her mind. Did she stand aside and leave it to Hestia and Percy or swear herself to Hestia and do it herself.
"Is the Patron Oath the same as Medusa swore to Percy?" Athena asked, her usual need to gain knowledge and every angle before deciding anything coming up now that she was calmer.
"No, there are similarities but what Medusa swore is the Oath of Absolute Patronage," Hestia answered after a moment. "Medusa, along with Lamia and Lupa are permanently bonded to Percy of their own free will and choice. Even if someday they are given domains and become full goddesses, they'll still be linked to him. They are his Shadows, the enforcers of his Will and part of him to the point they can't die or fade unless Percy dies first," she explained as Athena's eyes widened, never having thought Medusa's oath carried so much to it.
"The Patron Oath I want from you is what Raven took with her mother. The oath isn't permanent and will bond us while also severing your ties to The West, but it will also let you draw on my power instead. And once this war is done with, you can separate and take up new domains with Phoebe if you want."
...
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