Chapter 37: Aftershocks

A/N: Here's the new Chapter! Which also means the next four chapters are up on my for early access as well as the chance to vote on the direction of the story!

A look into Hestia's mind in these rather insane times.

-x-X-x-

There’s no going back now. And yet… Hestia can’t really bring herself to regret any of it. She had done everything in her power to keep it from coming to this. But despite Poseidon’s accusations, there wasn’t much she could really do, even as the eldest of Rhea’s children.

The firstborn of the Titans Kronos and Rhea lets out a low breath at that and looks to her brothers, her fellow Gods. She feels obligated to explain herself, even if they cannot force her to do anything as she is now. Calming her voice, reeling back in her power, she quietly shakes her head.

“As I said before… I forced nothing upon anyone. All I did… all I have ever done was reinforce the Unspoken Pact of the Hearth.”

She hadn’t asked for much, back when Zeus had freed them from their father’s stomach. The Titan War had lasted a long eleven years and Hestia had fought right alongside the others, but when all was said and done, all she’d really wanted was peace.

That was why she’d asked Zeus to let her remain unmarried and virginal, placing herself as the Goddess of the Hearth. She had not asked for a throne of her own in the Hall of the Gods, even though she’d been given one, initially. When Dionysus was accepted as one of the Twelve Olympians, Hestia had been happy to give up her throne to him, allowing him to take his place among his peers.

She… all she ever wanted was to tend to the sacred hearth. The massive bonfire in the center of the Throne Room has been burning merrily since the Olympians all first took their seats. Centuries upon centuries has Hestia tended to it, and in all that time… she’s done her very best. Even if it’s not always been good enough.

Looking at her silent brothers, Hestia narrows her eyes at first Poseidon and then Hades.

“You and the others have always known you could come to me with your ills. That you could come sit by my hearth, and rest until you were calmed once more.”

Indeed, this had long been an unspoken rule of these chambers. The Hall of the Gods had seen MANY a feud between the Olympians crop up. Every century, sometimes every decade it felt like some new conflict had the Gods and Goddesses of Mount Olympus at each other’s throats. But not Hestia. Never Hestia. The eldest of Kronos and Rhea’s children had only ever tended to the hearth, and any who grow weary of the fighting could sit down with her and be calmed by her very presence.

“… Did you truly think that extended solely to close proximity to you?”

She can see understanding reach Poseidon and Hades at around the same time. Meanwhile, young Percy looks more than a little lost. But Hestia doesn’t quite have time to explain it all to him. She knows things have moved quite swiftly for him at this point, but they had to for his survival to be ensured. Though his inevitable ascension to godhood sometime in the next few years was not something Hestia had planned for. Alas, there was not much she could do about that at this point. It was going to happen whether they liked it or not.

Hades lets out a rumbling noise from the back of his throat, his gaze sweeping across the rest of the Hall for a moment.

“… There has still been blood shed in this Hall. Even in your presence, Hestia.”

That causes Hestia’s eyes to close for a moment as she nods.

“Yes. And that alone should tell you all you need to know about my supposed influence. I cannot make anyone do anything they don’t want to do. I cannot calm someone who does not want to be calmed, someone who is consumed by wrath and hatred. All I can really do is open eyes to what really matters.”

Opening her own eyes, Hestia looks to Poseidon, knowing that the God of the Seas still blames her at least partially for his recent actions. Poseidon does not shy away, looking right back at her with a considering frown on his face.

“I tried to do so with Zeus, these last several days. I tried my best to soothe him, to show him what really matters. Hearth. Home. Family. He did not wish to hear it, one way or another. He… he was too far gone.”

And didn’t that fill Hestia with grief without measure. Zeus was the one who got them out of Kronos’ belly. He was the one who led them in the war against the Titans. He had been the King of the Olympians for thousands of years. And yet… and yet, Hestia could recall the earliest moments where the cracks began to show. Sure, Zeus had accepted her wishes and granted her request not to have to marry. He’d allowed her to set aside all potential suitors, a magnanimous gesture on his part.

… He’d also eaten his first wife, Metis, the woman who had served as his adviser and mentor for much of his life. He’d heard a prophecy that she would give birth to a daughter and then a son who would one day overthrow him, and in a move that had showed his true nature even back then, Zeus had tricked her into transforming into a fly and promptly swallowed her.

Honestly, it was a little surprising that Metis hadn’t popped out of Zeus just now when they’d killed him. But Hestia had to imagine that part of the woman would always live on in her and Zeus’ daughter, Athena.

After Metis had come Themis. With Themis, Zeus had been so intimidated by their children, specifically by the Fates, that he had ended their marriage. Though in this case at least, Themis had been consulted beforehand, willingly agreeing and peacefully stepping aside. With that at least, Hestia had believed her younger brother to be better then their father after all.

Only, things hadn’t gotten better from there. Oh, for a time they had. When Zeus and Hera finally married they’d been happy for a time, even if it took Zeus tricking Hera to get her to actually agree. Their wedding had been beautiful, truly it has, and Hestia’s heart had soared with the love generated that day. As the Goddess of not just the Hearth, but Family as well, Hestia had been able to tell Zeus truly loved Hera with all his heart too, and that the promise he’d made to her to always be loyal and filial was made in good faith.

Unfortunately, Zeus was their father’s son. For three hundred years, his and Hera’s marriage had remained without issue. They’d given birth to five divine children in that time as well, two of whom, Ares and Hephaestus, came to sit on Thrones of Olympus in their own right.

And then Zeus had become restless, as he’d called it. He’d betrayed his promise to Hera and not just once either. He’d betrayed her again and again, turning the Queen of Mount Olympus into little more than a cuckquean, and showed no signs of ever slowing down, let alone stopping. Zeus’ infidelity had become so common place that in the modern era, it was just understood that Zeus and Hera’s marriage was nothing more than a façade to keep things on Olympus running smoothly.

But had they really been running smoothly in truth, all this time? Or had they simply been running as best they could?

“I have seen much in this Hall and many others while tending to my hearths.”

She can see the impact those words have on Hades and Poseidon. So many important conversations take place in rooms with hearths. Not just here on Mount Olympus, but elsewhere as well. It wasn’t like Hestia went skulking about either. All welcomed her into their domains. None ever truly suspected her of spying. And to be fair, she was no one’s spy. But that didn’t mean she didn’t have more knowledge than the rest of the gods combined. She just had no use for any of it.

“I have seen… enough bloodshed. And so, it would seem, have you two as well.”

Poseidon and Hades stiffen upon their thrones at that. Neither can deny what they’ve just done. Nor can they blame it fully on her. Hestia had already confessed what she’d done to them, after all. And all she’d done was open their eyes to what truly mattered. Not fealty to a King who had no fealty for them in turn. Not loyalty to a throne that had long since been used more for tyranny than good ruling. But rather… love for their children. For their family. For Hearth and Home.

The God of the Seas looks to his bloody trident still held in a firm, one-handed grasp. Then he looks down at his empty hand, closing it into a white-knuckled fist.

“… I could not let him slay my child right in front of me. I could not accept it, even if young Perseus did speak out of turn.”

Poseidon shoots a look at his demigod son at that. Not truly wrathful, but certainly reproachful. Percy stiffens under his father’s gaze, until Hestia places a hand on his shoulder.

“Did Percy truly speak out of turn? Or did he simply speak truth to power? For too long has Mount Olympus doled out punishments to its children for the crimes of their fathers and mothers. For too long have the Gods and Goddesses used their children as proxies for their slights against one another. All Percy did was complete the Quest given to him by the Oracle. All he did was question why Zeus would want to kill him just for daring to exist.”

Hestia slides her gaze to Zeus’ vacant throne.

“And in turn, Zeus tried to kill him with the very weapon that Percy returned to his side. Was there honor in that? Justice?”

“No.”

To their surprise, it’s Hades who answers Hestia’s question. His denial cuts through the Hall like a blade, causing their eyes to go to the God of the Underworld, who smiles grimly.

“And I should know, shouldn’t I? After all… you’ve split his domains between all of us, dear sister.”

Hestia presses her lips together into a thin line, not surprised that Hades, the eldest son of Kronos and Rhea, was the first to truly acclimate to his new power. No one could have missed the beams of light that had reached out to all four of them after she threw Zeus’ head into her Hearth.

Poseidon’s breath hitches as he’s forced to accept what he’d already known. What he and Hades had both already known.

“So it’s true then. Even if he comes back…”

Hestia inclines her head.

“His power will not come back with him, yes. And truthfully, his ability to come back will be very limited. It would not surprise me if he faded completely instead.”

Truthfully? That was the plan. It was a half-baked plan, one that Hestia had honestly come up with on the spot… but the moment she’d given Poseidon the gentle nudge he needed to stop Zeus from killing Percy, the moment that Hades had taken Zeus’ head from his body, Hestia had known that they couldn’t simply allow the King of the Gods to live imprisoned.

Even throwing him into the depths of Tartarus itself wouldn’t be the end of it, not if Kronos’ attempt to return was anything to go off of. So instead… Hestia had used her control over the Hall of the Gods to its fullest extent. She was no Queen here… but even a mere servant needed to be able to do things to keep the place tidy and clean. In order to properly tend to her hearth, she had to have access… access that she had had for as long as the Hall of the Gods existed.

And so melding Zeus’ headless body into his throne was easy. Sacrificing his head and separating his divinity from his immortal existence was a little harder, but not too difficult with how strong her hearth had become. Normally, the fire in a hearth ebbed and flowed. But Hestia had been tending to the bonfire in the center of the Hall of the Gods for thousands of years now. It had never gone out. It had never weakened. Nor had it stayed stagnant.

She can see that Poseidon and Hades are both far more wary of her now, understanding the strength of her bonfire. But they needn’t be that concerned. They could still easily overpower her… and that’s with the domains she’d taken from Zeus.

“… The sky. I have the sky now.”

Poseidon’s wonder and awe bring a small smile to Hestia’s face, even as Hades looks a little irritated. Indeed, when the three Gods had first split the world between them, the sky was considered just as important as the seas and the underworld. However, by itself it was not so impactful. And besides, Hades had honor and justice now. Nothing to scoff at.

Looking from Poseidon to Hestia, Hades narrows his eyes.

“And you have…”

Hestia raises a hand and lets sparks dart between her fingers.

“Thunder and Lightning. What is Lightning, if not a particularly hot expression of Fire and Warmth? What is Thunder, if not a particularly loud expression of the crackle of the Hearth?”

Indeed, while it’s a little bit more complicated than that, Zeus’ former domains of Thunder and Lightning fit Hestia better than she could have imagined. She doesn’t necessarily want it, but she now has the firepower to protect her Hearth, Home, and Family better than ever before.

Even still, after processing Hestia’s words… both Poseidon and Hades turn their eyes towards Percy.

“That would mean…”

“Then my son has…”

They both stop and look to each other. Hestia sighs and speaks up before things can come to blows again, her hand still on Percy’s shoulder.

“It was always the weakest of his domains. He did not have the birthright, after all. He only had the power that we gave him… and we gave him too much of it.”

That, she can tell, causes the two Gods to rethink things a bit more. As they contemplate her words, Hestia gives Percy what she hopes is a reassuring smile.

“Percy might one day become a God of Kings… but that does not mean he will become the King of the Gods. Nor do I imagine he particularly wants the role either.”

Percy jolts, clearly not fully understanding what’s going on here. He looks up at her with wide eyes, already shaking his head.

“I don’t… no, I don’t want that! But also, I don’t understand?”

Hestia hums and speaks before either of her brothers can try to forbid it.

“Kingship, Percy. You have inherited Zeus’ domain of kingship.”

Sky, Thunder and Lightning, Honor and Justice… and Kingship. Those were Zeus’ six domains split between the four of them. As equal as Hestia could manage it, with Percy being the obvious choice for the sixth, weakest domain. Without the rest, without all the power and authority that came with it, Kingship did not entitle Percy to anything but perhaps the worship of the handful of monarchs who still existed in the modern day.

Hestia can see the moment where Hades and Poseidon finally settle, even as Percy looks more confused and unsettled than ever before. She will have to talk to him later, to make sure he knows that none of this is his fault. Zeus had done this to himself, in the end.

“… What do we tell the others?”

Hades speaks up again, and it’s clear from his suspicious voice that he fears they will try to blame it all on him. He is the one most estranged from Olympus at this point after all. But at the same time, it is Zeus and Poseidon who have been threatening war with one another for the past week, and quite loudly at that. Trying to scapegoat Hades will never work.

At the same time, hiding this from the others, even for a little while, would be a monumental effort. But if they want to unite the Olympians against the threat of Kronos in a timely manner, they might just have to.

The problem is, Hestia just doesn’t know how the others will react. Zeus made so many enemies, but he was also troublingly charismatic. And Gods and Goddesses were notoriously fickle creatures, feeling one way about someone one day, and the other way entirely about them the next.

Once upon a time, Hera had convinced Poseidon, Apollo, and Athena to restrain Zeus because of his infidelity, demanding things of him that he had refused to agree to. But that was that and this was this.

So really… what DID they tell the others?

[X] Tell them right away, no more secrets - 91%

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