Chapter 71: Hestia Offered

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!

Percy being the bigger man~

-x-X-x-

Man, Zoe must be more desperate for his help than he thought. Now more than ever, Percy wishes he could know what the Oracle told her to put her in a place where she would try to make such a promise. It doesn’t ultimately matter though. Let her keep her secrets, because in the end…

“That’s not necessary.”

Artemis’ Lieutenant blinks at that, staring at him owlishly.

“… What?”

Grinning, Percy shrugs.

“You don’t have to set aside your oath and promise to serve me or anything like that. I’ll come help because in the end… it’s the right thing to do.”

And also because this seems like it’s an obvious ploy by Kronos. Sure, someone might be led to assume that because Clarisse, Annabeth, and Circe had all just got done foiling one of the Crooked One’s plans by taking the Golden Fleece out from under Luke’s nose, that he would have to take a step back and regroup… but that didn’t seem very realistic to Percy.

This wasn’t some fairy tale story where the big bad guy was only ever allowed to have one plan and the heroes were entitled to a year-long break any time they managed to stop him. Kronos had been torn to pieces and imprisoned in Tartarus for eons at this point. He’d had a long, long time to think and a long, long time to start gathering up his pieces and put things into motion.

If the Titan of Time didn’t have multiple schemes going at the same time, then he would be a massive idiot. And seeing as how Artemis had disappeared around the same time the girls had been retrieving the Golden Fleece on top of Kronos reaching out to try to ensnare Percy through his dreams… yeah, it was a safe bet that the Crooked One wasn’t an idiot.

Their enemy had no intention of resting idle, taking his time, or even slowing down. And that meant they too could not afford to rest on their laurels.

Of course, Zoe doesn’t seem to know how to take Percy’s words. She just stares at him for a long moment, her eyes wide and her mouth opening and closing soundlessly. Finally, his amusement bleeding out into bemusement, Percy shakes his head.

“Its late. Why don’t we discuss the details in the morning, okay? You can rest easy though, Zoe. I know things look dire, but we’ll find Artemis and rescue her. We’ll get her back. Alright?”

And then, because she looks like she needs it, Percy reaches out and gives the immortal woman a gentle shoulder pat. From the way she flinches back, you’d think he tried to take her top off of or something. But to be fair, it’s not like Percy fully knows Zoe’s past. He goes to apologize, only before he can do more than open his mouth, the Hunter of Artemis turns and flees, vanishing into the night.

Percy stares after her blankly, more than a little confused. He didn’t get it. He’d literally just told her he would help her free of charge, no strings attached. Why would she react like that?!

With a sigh, he just shakes his head and steps back into the cabin, returning to the bed where four beautiful, naked, sleeping women are all waiting for him. As he slips back onto the bed, he decides to put Zoe’s weird actions out of his mind and try to get some sleep, just like he’d recommended to her.

Tomorrow might be difficult after all. Somehow, he didn’t think everyone currently in bed with him was going to get to go on this quest. But that was Tomorrow Percy’s problem…

-x-X-x-

As it turns out, things are easier to handle than Percy was expecting.

“So it’s settled then. The group for this quest will consist of Zoe and Phoebe from the Hunters of Artemis and Percy, Bianca, and Thalia from Camp Half-blood. Lieutenant Nightshade will be leading the group as the recipient of the quest.”

Everyone Chiron just named is already present and all five of them nod in agreement with the centaur’s words. Thankfully, once Zoe had a night to sleep on it, she had been willing to give out a little more information about the Oracle’s words to her. Or maybe Chiron’s disappointed gaze had simply convinced her to spill some more information.

Namely, she’d told them that the Oracle had said only five would go on the Quest… specifically, ‘Five would go west to the goddess in chains’. Which didn’t bold well for Artemis’ current circumstances, but at least it meant she was still alive. Zoe also confessed that another line from the Oracle made it clear that ‘Only Campers and Hunters combined would prevail’.

Hence the need for Zoe to recruit some Campers to make sure they would actually succeed in saving Artemis. Of course, it still didn’t really explain why she’d been acting the way she had with him the night before. Nor why she was so desperate to have him along on the Quest that she was willing to give up three out of the five slots to demigods and only bring one of her fellow hunters with her.

It was a sharp turn around from the Zoe of just a couple days ago. The one who had looked down upon his lovers for ‘despoiling’ themselves with his cock just days before was now all but begging for their help. Percy really didn’t know what it meant, but he knew one thing for sure… there was more going on then met the eye.

Unfortunately, he only had two extra slots in the group of five and four women who would have all liked to have gone with him. Fortunately, that was the part that had turned out to be easier to handle than he’d expected. Clarisse had ultimately been the first to stand down, explaining that her own successful Quest was more than enough for the time being and she wanted to follow in his footsteps and help defend Camp Half-Blood for a while.

Once she was out of the picture, it came down to who would stay behind between Annabeth, Bianca, and Thalia. Needless to say, none of them were particularly enthused by the prospect… but then Circe had stepped in and taken care of the issue. The Goddess of Magic had pointedly commented that she hadn’t come all the way here from the Old World to train an apprentice only for that apprentice to go gallivanting off on a quest right off the bat.

Annabeth, Daughter of Athena that she was, had been forced to admit that Circe had a point. It wouldn’t be very wise to abandon her magical tutelage literal days into it, after all.

That just left him, Thalia, and Bianca to team up with Zoe and Phoebe. Percy still didn’t fully understand why Zoe was willing to be so outnumbered on what was ostensibly a Hunter Quest to save their Mistress, but he wasn’t complaining. He’d rather have Thalia and Bianca on his side than not, after all.

Clearing her throat, Zoe speaks up.

“Now that we know who’s going, let’s take the next few hours to get our affairs in order and get ready to head out. We’ll leave after lunch.”

That sounded good to Percy and nobody else raises an objection either so in the end it’s all nods before everyone starts to pull away. Or rather, Zoe and Phoebe leave the group huddle behind at least. Before Percy, Thalia, and Bianca can do so, Chiron clears his throat.

“Ahem, Percy… Lady Hestia wished to see you in the Big House once we were done ironing out the details. Please head over there to talk to her as soon as possible. She was adamant that she speak with you before you left on your quest.”

Brow furrowed, Percy nevertheless nods in agreement, saying his goodbyes to Thalia and Bianca and heading over. Honestly, he’s just glad that they have the Golden Fleece now and Hestia isn’t so stretched thin all the time. He’s also glad that she’s not trying to stop him from going on this quest, because while he appreciated that she was worried about him and those after him, Percy had to admit that he was going a little stir crazy being cooped up in Camp all these weeks.

… Unless that was why she wanted to talk to him. But then, she would have spoken to him before they figured out who was going on the quest, not after… right? Suddenly a little more trepidatious, Percy steps into the Big House and looks around carefully.

“Um… Goddess? It’s Percy!”

“Upstairs, Percy!”

Alright then. Taking the stairs two at a time, he’s soon on the top floor of the Big House. Moving towards Hestia’s room feels perfectly natural at this point, but as he pushes the door open, he’s not entirely sure what he’s expecting.

… For some reason, the Goddess of the Hearth standing there clad in nothing but sexy lingerie wasn’t on the list. Percy stares for a moment as Hestia in all of her divine glory stands there blushing and shifting back and forth briefly. Finally, she gestures behind him.

“Close the door Percy, please.”

R-Right. Of course. Percy swallows as he closes the door, his eyes raking up and down Hestia’s body. To be fair, it wasn’t anything he hadn’t seen and touched before. But that didn’t make her any less beautiful. If anything, the lingerie accentuates her gorgeous figure.

“I wish I could keep you from going on this quest, Percy. Unfortunately, I have good reason to believe that you will be necessary before all is said and done… in more ways than one.”

Percy’s eyes narrow at the rhyme, which he’s not sure was intentional or not. He slowly walks forward and Hestia moves to meet him, until his hands are running down her arms and she’s biting her lower lip, touching him on the chest right back. When she goes to remove his shirt, he helps her do so. When she starts fiddling with his belt buckle however, Percy stops her.

“… You know the rest of what the Oracle told Zoe, don’t you?”

Hestia pauses… and then slowly nods.

“I… yes. I know every word said within this building. It’s the heart of my domain after all. It is my hearth.”

Percy hums.

“Then why is Zoe acting so weird? Why is she so intent on having me along on this quest? And why are you so willing to let me go when there’s still the threat of Hera making a move looming over our heads?”

Hestia hesitates… but then relents. Probably at least in part because of lingering guilt over not telling him the Great Prophecy and how it applied to him earlier.

“Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,

The Queen's involvement to avert tragic pain,

The Bane of Olympus reveals the trail,

Only Campers and Hunters combined to prevail,

Swearing service to the one misdeemed,

Shall see the Moon and the Hunt redeemed”

Percy’s breath hitches as he processes the Oracle’s words, now repeated by Hestia’s lips.

“I don’t… I don’t fully understand.”

Hestia just nods.

“The Oracle can be vague at times. I can only tell you what I believe Zoe Nightshade is thinking, as well as my own thoughts. Those last two lines… in Zoe’s eyes, you are the one ‘misdeemed’ or otherwise slandered by her and the Hunters. I believe she fears that given you’ve already ‘bagged’ one Maiden Goddess, you’ll wind up snatching up another by the end of this quest. She hoped to swear service to you in order to avoid her Mistress potentially doing so instead.”

… Oh. That was certainly one way to interpret the Oracle’s words, Percy supposed. He didn’t exactly feel very ‘misdeemed’ if he was being honest, but from Zoe’s point of view, maybe he was the one that made the most sense.

“As well, the mention of a Queen… well, you and I both know who that probably is. That she’s going to eventually make a move is inevitable, but it seems likely that something will happen on this quest that she and she alone can stop. I just worry about what she might demand in payment.”

Hera. Yeah, that part did feel a lot more crystal clear to Percy. The Oracle could have been talking about a different Queen he supposed, but it definitely seemed likely that Hera, dispossessed Queen of the Gods, was going to make her move during the quest. Still, from the sound of things, her ‘move’ might be a good thing for their group.

“Which brings us to me.”

Huh? Percy looks down as Hestia grabs him by the wrists and draws his hands to her lingerie-clad breasts. He instinctively squeezes them, causing the Goddess of the Hearth to moan as he plays with her tits for a moment.

“With you leaving and the Golden Fleece helping to protect the Camp… it is the perfect time for my divinity to be in a state of flux. I will not be able to help you, but I wouldn’t have been much help to you anyways on this quest… my place is here in Camp Half-Blood, watching over the others.”

Panting heavily now, Hestia’s eyes are lidded and glazed over as she looks Percy in the eye.

“That’s why… I would like very much for you to claim my virginity Percy. Right here, right now. Take this Maiden Goddess for your own. Claim my purity and pleasure yourself with my body. Please… make me your woman.”

Well shit. Talk about a send-off. Percy hesitates for a second, internally questioning whether this is a good idea or not… but none of his objections, concerns, or questions make it past his lips. In the end, he knows he’s not going to say no to Hestia. No way, no how.

Really, all that was left to decide… was just how the beautiful Goddess was losing that pesky virginity.

[ ] On her hands and knees, doggystyle - 7%

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