Chapter 4

POV: Perseus Heitor Jackson

I woke up feeling no pain, I looked at my left shoulder and found my shirt intact, as if it hadn't been destroyed in that monster's attack, then MY GOD my mother. Is she all right? Alive, or... It's better not to think about it, where is he? Well where am I? I don't know, but the bed is comfortable and the place looks like a mansion, the room was all white with gold details, it was really beautiful a lot of furniture wardrobe with a strange emblem on the door looks like a peacock, that's right that beautiful bird the perfume of that place was delicious but I didn't know what it was.

It was at that moment that I heard the door handle turn, I jumped out of bed and thought about hiding, but no wait, I'm not going to be another coward who left his own mother to die.... NO, SHE'S NOT DEAD, she's just been hurt, she's been hurt instead, enough of being weak, I'm going to face whoever comes into this room. The white wooden door with gold details opens, I stop next to the bed and watch, out of the door comes a tall man of 1.85 and apparently 22 years old, with black, unruly hair just like mine and sea green eyes just like mine, come on, this guy is an older copy of me, but his body is muscular and tanned, he was wearing simple clothes, a black polo shirt and white surfer shorts and black flip-flops, also very simple, surfer or fisherman style. He was familiar, I was sure of that.

He was carrying a gold tray, it must be gold, like everything else, with food, the smell of that food was very good and I'm starving, but it's probably poisoned, I'm a grandson of Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, and I'm also the son of Poseidon, King of the Seas, I'm not going to eat that, that's the good thing about being the grandson of the Goddess of Wisdom, but it has its bad side, because I don't think I have much chance of beating him in a fight. Even so, I'm not weak, I'm going to come out fighting. But his eyes brought security, peace, happiness, pride and compassion. Not violence or hatred, as I expected, but I'm still going to stay alert. He looks at me and shakes his head with a chuckle, annoyed at who he thinks he is. So I ask, trying to keep my voice steady:

"Who are you? And where am I?" He still had a smile on his face, not a sarcastic or diabolical smile, but a smile of pride and happiness, or so it seemed to me. "Answer me, NOW!" I exclaimed, getting angry.

"Calm down little Hero, you're safe and sound." He replies amused, come on. I've become a clown now. "Before that, let's fix your bad speech, shall we?" He said smiling, then he brought his hand towards me, I moved away a little not letting him touch my body, but for a moment I swear I saw a green light flash from his hand to my body.

"What is it? Have I become a clown so you can laugh at me? I'm small, not a clown. And you haven't answered my questions." I exclaimed angrily." Let's answer where I am?" I ask out of patience. He laughs amusedly, which stresses me out even more. He replies:

"You took a lot from your father, but also from your mother, you also seem very intelligent like your grandmother Athena." He laughs. "Well, I'll answer your second question and you'll know the answer to the first." He said, coming closer to me. I didn't back down until he was a few steps away from me. "You're in Olympus, the home of the Gods, but specifically in Hera's palace. You know the Gods, your mother must have told you about them, right?" He asked, looking at me seriously. I nodded and all the pieces fell into place in my head, but one question kept screaming in my mind and I had to ask it.

"Well, I get it, you're probably Poseidon, my father, right?" He smiles broadly in the affirmative, and I continue. "And if I'm here, it means... that my mother..." Poseidon's eyes turn a dark green, and he nods at my question, I can't stand it and I start to cry, no my mother is dead, Poseidon takes me in his arms and squeezes me, that smell of the sea calms me, but I keep crying, being in his arms was welcoming, pleasant, safe, but my mother had died because I was weak and cowardly, EVIL, I spent a few minutes crying in my father's arms. "I AM A COWARD, A WEAKNESS, if I hadn't run. If I'd stayed and fought like a man, she'd still be here, Dad." I'm out of his arms and I don't have the courage to look at him in the eye, there must be shame in having a son as cowardly and weak as me. "No my mother, no, no, I should have died in her place, she sacrificed herself for me." I say crying, but this time I throw myself on the ground, I deserved nothing, nothing but death. Poseidon hugged me, I wanted to get out of his embrace but I didn't have the strength, I didn't deserve it. Seeing his son's state, Poseidon comes close and hugs him again. The King of the Seas lets another tear fall down his face. Sally was special to him too, and seeing his son in that state hurt the God's heart, so he tries to console him.

"No my son, you're not a coward or weak, quite the opposite, you are, you were strong, and you tried to save your mother with your life, I'm sure she's proud of you, and I am too. You are the son of the God of the Seas, you are strong and brave, never doubt that. Do you understand?" Poseidon asked, looking into my eyes. I looked at my father with amazement, how could they be proud of me, a demigod who ran away when he had to defend his family and mother, even though I didn't agree with those compliments, I nodded, but I was still crying, my father kept saying "It's okay, it's okay." He said, hugging me tightly, until I calmed down and stopped crying, which took a while, then I looked at him.

"What about my mother's body, Dad?" I ask sadly.

"It's here in Olimpio, the wake will be at the half-blood camp, did your mother tell you about this place?" Poseidon asked me, with the same emotion in his eyes: pity and compassion.

"Yes, she told me that I would be going there soon, to train and learn how to protect myself. It was the same day she explained to me about you gods." Despite the painful and difficult moment, my damn brain wouldn't stop thinking, so I asked a question. "Is the funeral going to be today? Where am I going to live? In the camp?" I asked Poseidon. He gave me a sad smile, as his eyes still bore pain and pity, and replied:

"Well, the funeral will take place in about two hours, and some of the gods are going to the camp, basically me, Hera, Hestia and your grandmother Athena." He replies thoughtfully. "Well, I wanted to take you to the bottom of the sea and show you our kingdom, but you're staying here at the insistence of some boring goddesses, you'll train and live here in Olympus, but specifically right here in this room. Now eat, you're very weak, you need to eat to regain your strength so we can go." He hands me the tray with large pieces of meat, salad and fried fish, it smelled very good and my stomach was rumbling with hunger. I eat slowly, it was very tasty, my father is watching me with a smile on his face, I'm a little embarrassed, it was the first day I'd really seen him, but I wasn't angry or resentful of him, my mother explained to me that the Gods are busy, and even she saw her mother, the goddess Athena, only a few times, because it was against the rules for the Gods to interact so directly with their children, but I'm glad he's disobeying a rule for me. But I remember something he said and something else my mother said. And I ask:

"And Father... I mean Mr. Poseidon." He looks at me reproachfully, but I continue. "I was just thinking, you told me that this was going to be my new room, didn't you?" he nodded, looking at me seriously. "I see, you also told me that this is Lady Hera's palace, right?" He nodded and gave me a little smile, understanding what I was getting at. "I remember my mother said that Lady Hera doesn't like demigods like us, right?" he nodded again at my question, now almost laughing "So why am I here?" I asked indignantly, if Hera doesn't like my race, she could easily kill me. He was about to answer me when a female voice came through the door.

"Because Lady Hera wanted it this way. She doesn't think your father would be a good influence at your age." A very beautiful woman comes out of the door, one of the most beautiful I've ever seen, around 25 years old with a Queen's posture, with many curves that left her with a perfect body, beautiful face, with powerful and beautiful brown eyes and hair of the same color, 1.70, her white skin highlighted the black dress in the Greek style. I looked at my father, expecting him to strike her down like my mother said the gods did when they were disrespected. But he just looked at her indignantly and kept quiet. Strange, he wasn't angry with that woman, she wasn't just a woman, that was for sure.

POV: Hera

The two of them have been in that room for a while now, so I go to check on them. When I get to the door, I hear a snippet of their conversation.

"..... you told me this was going to be my new room, didn't you?" Perseus asked his father. "I see, you also told me that this is Lady Hera's palace, right?" Good, I see Sally has taught you some manners, it won't be difficult to educate you from what I've seen. "I remember my mother said that Lady Hera doesn't like demigods like us, right?" It seems she also said bad things about me, but he didn't speak with hatred, or fear, his voice seemed to be pouring out compassion? But that's okay, he'll get to know my other side. "So why am I here?" he asked indignantly? Great had an idea to test him.

"Because Lady Hera wanted it that way. She doesn't think your father would be a good influence now, at your age." Answering him, and sending a message to Poseidon's brain. "Get in the game! You understand Poseidon, I'm not Hera, I still want to know what he thinks about me, understand?" He answers me through his mind too.

"Without getting angry and wanting to kill him, regardless of his answers, if he says something you don't like. Done?" Answering again telepathically.

"Done!" And I notice little Percy's indignant look towards his father, I think he thought Poseidon was going to kill me for the affront. I now ask the boy out loud. "Are you afraid of her?" I ask without being able to avoid the sadness in my voice.

"A little, from the stories I've heard about her, she's done bad things to demigods like me." He says thoughtfully, I feel sad that he thinks this of me, that he's afraid of me, but why? This boy has really won me over, and very quickly. But he keeps talking. "But I don't think it's her fault." He says thoughtfully.

"What do you mean, little demigod?" I ask, curious about what he's saying.

"Well, she seems sweet and caring, but she's become bitter, cold and negative, and I also think she didn't want to be like that, but from what my mother told me, all those betrayals Zeus did to her, she loses control, I don't blame her for her actions, even though they were a bit radical, and as my mother said, she takes it out on the wrong people, because if I think about it, if she hated demigods or me that much, I wouldn't be here, in her palace eating this good food, I think I blame Zeus, Hera deserved someone better than him." When he answers that, those sweet words, I have confirmation of something that was in my head, this boy is special, he's got me hooked, I even think I like him? No, I'm Hera. As he spoke, I didn't even notice the tears coming down my cheeks, I lowered my head to hide them, but I felt two little hands on my face, one caressing my cheeks and the other wiping away my tears, he lifted my head to look at those sea green orbs, how beautiful they were, and asked worriedly. "Ma'am? Are you all right? Don't cry, okay." Saying that, he hugs me by the neck, and I bury my head in his neck, crying and laughing at the same time, crying with sadness that he said that, knowing that I don't want to be the monster that everyone thinks I am, and that he knows I'm just an idiot who can't forget that damn traitor Zeus. And laughing because even though this innocent boy, who has just lost his mother, the only person he has ever loved and known, is here being strong and consoling me, even though he doesn't even know why this crazy woman in front of him is crying, and doesn't even know who she is. "My mother taught me that you should never let a woman cry, no matter why or who she is, and if she's crying, help her in any way you can and make her stop crying." He took my face in his little hands and looked into my eyes again, those beautiful sea green eyes, they were so passionate and penetrating. "You must be Lady Hera, right?" He asked without moving away from me, even though he had discovered who I was.

"I am, aren't you afraid of me?" I ask sadly, looking down without being able to face him.

"I was afraid of you, but I also thought everything I said was true, now I'm sure of it." He sees the look of confusion on my face and replies. "I know you won't hurt me, and I know you're sweet, gentle and caring, otherwise my father wouldn't have brought me here to you." he said, stroking my cheek, my God, how can you not fall in love with this boy? He gives me a sad little smile and says. "It would be an honor to stay in your palace, Lady Hera." He bowed briefly.

"The honor will be mine, my little Prince." I replied by bowing too, but I heard him crying softly, what have I done? I haven't done anything. "Why are you crying, Perseus?"

"I'm sorry, it's because my mother called me that, I'm just a piece of shit, useless, worthless, weak, COWARD. I should have died, not her." He says crying loudly, damn it, I've ruined everything again, I only do shit, I hug him very tightly, he cries for a while, Poseidon was standing there looking at the whole scene with an expression of pain, I even saw some tears coming down his face, little Perseus moves away a little and asks looking at the ground. "When is my mother's funeral? I want to see her, please." 

"Her body has already been sent to the camp, she's going to be cremated, I've spoken to Hades, he guaranteed me a place in the Elysian Gardens for her Perseus, my son." Says Poseidon coming close to his son and taking him from my lap, and hugging him tightly. "Stop blaming yourself Perseus, she was trained, one of the best demigods in the world, she knew how to take care of herself. Ready to go? "He nodded, Poseidon looked at me and asked. "Are you going, my sister?" I nodded, he looked at Perseus and said. "Well son, you're going, but you won't be able to say you're my son yet. Is that clear?" Perseus looked at his aggrieved father and jumped off his lap, he had a powerful heart and even more of a genius. "Wait Perseus, I'm not ashamed..."

POV: Perseus Heitor Jackson

"Fine, Poseidon, I'm not your son. Who wants a cowardly son? Right?" I said with anger, hurt and pain. This asshole has never seen me in his life, he's never done anything for me, but even I wouldn't want to have a son like me, weak and useless. "Let's go Poseidon, you can leave, I know you want to go, you're ashamed of having a weak son like that, go, you don't need to accompany your rotten and spoiled offspring to your mother's funeral." I said very angrily and before I got an answer, I ran out the door, I didn't even leave Hera's palace, I bumped into someone, I looked up and it was a girl a little taller than me, apparently 8 years old, very white and with hair literally the color of fire, and eyes that showed hope and power and that a fireplace brings on a cold night, her face was beautiful and angelic. She wore a simple but beautiful red Greek dress, I know who she is, my mother told me about her, that she saw her only once, on her first day at the camp, near the fireplace, she described Hestia to me perfectly as I see her now, it was certainly Hestia goddess of the Fireplace. I sat down and put my head between my knees. Seeing that I was crying, she knelt down beside me and ran her hands through my hair:

"Careful Lady Hestia, you don't want to touch something as rotten as me, something that even your father isn't proud to present as his son. I don't blame you, I don't hate you for it, I just hate myself and blame myself for being a coward, a weakling, a piece of trash." I say without facing her and move away, she stops in front of me, takes my face in both hands and looks me in the eyes, those orbs of intense fire, full of hope, something I no longer had, but those eyes had a blue glow at the bottom of that red immensity, a glow of intense and strange power, I could feel it. She said:

"Stop talking nonsense young Perseus, you're nothing like what you said here and now, you're the exact opposite of all that." She said in a firm, powerful and nervous voice. Was she scolding me? I think so. "And never doubt yourself, understand?" I nodded quickly, even though she was almost the same size as me, she was a goddess, who could easily kill me, no, not cowardice again, enough.

"No, I deserved to die in her place, I deserve death, not anyone's compassion." I said stubbornly to the goddess, who got angry and slapped me upside the head. "Hey..." I exclaimed indignantly.

"Shut up, Perseus Heitor Jackson." She said angrily, and now it got complicated, she said my whole name. "You're a hero and very powerful, now stop feeling sorry for yourself, fight, fight so that no one else gets hurt." She said, it made sense, I couldn't change what had happened, but I was going to do my best not to let it happen again, that's for sure, and I would give Poseidon reason to say that I was his son, Hestia seeing the look of hope and determination in his eyes, she was sure that a great Hero had awakened in that little boy.