If Only They Had Looked

Prologue

She was bound with celestial bronze chains.

Tears were pricking her eyes but she made no noise.

She was glaring at the golden ground that was the olympian throne room, a million thoughts going through her mind.

"Perseus Jackson, you have been found guilty of attempted murder on 2 accounts and treason to Olympus. How do you plead?" Zeus demanded. She looked up and glared at him.

"I didn't do anythi-" she started.

"How do you plead?" He demanded again. Perseus let out a sigh. As she looked around the room, she saw that everyone's face was blank. But she could see the confusion and hurt in their eyes. And it was directed towards her. Hestia refused to look at her, choosing to stare at her orange flames.

"Might as well. Guilty," she said adamantly, her attitude drastically shifted in the span of a second. Zeus looked at her in disgust.

"As I was saying, your sentence; Tartarus. For eternity. What do you say to this?" The gods immediately began whispering among themselves, a few even protesting.

"Father, are you positive this is the right decision to be made?" Artemis questioned. She was ignored by the king.

"As I was saying, might as well. I accept my punishment." She shifted and put her weight on her right foot, the chains clinking together.

"I accept the punishment for the attempted murder of Queen Hera and Hebe goddess of youth. I accept the punishment for treason against Olympus by my crimes," she looked proud. "And I don't regret it," she whispered smiling.

The gods were bewildered in her change of heart. Athena was apalled and in disbelief and expressed her concerns.

"Why the change in belief? What has happened to make you so?"

"What? Angry?" She tilted her head. "No one has ever cared about me enough to give me a second glance."

"What about Annabeth?" Apollo asked tentatively.

Perseus' face flickered for a second with fear before returning to its scowl. "What about her?" The gods were all taken aback. Their relationship was the strongest they'd seen in this generation.

"Enough!" Zeus said to her, directing it towards everyone. "Hades open the damned thing."

"Zeus, this is unreasona-" Hades tried.

"Hades!" Zeus bellowed.

"Of course." Hades responded with clenched teeth. Poseidon looked pained but said nothing, upon threats from Zeus and Hestia herself, for no apparent reason.

Hades put his hands in front of him and a black beam shot from it. A hole appeared in the middle of the throne room and Perseus didn't even have to look to know that it was a pit straight down to Tartarus.

"Any last words?" Poseidon said quietly.

The girl thought for a minute.

She knew exactly what she was going to say.

"Yeah, actually." She paused for a few seconds.

The gods stared.

Paisley straightened and tilted her head to the side still staring at Zeus.

"The next time that you need me," her tone began normal.

Her tone was rising steadily with each sentence.

"The next time that there is a prophecy." 

Terrifyingly steadily.

"The next time that you need me to save your PRECIOUS Mount Olympus," she smiled.

"I will not be there." Her face went slack.

A sudden look of realization appeared. She wanted to yell out her newfound discovery but for some reason could not. Her voice was stuck and she could not articulate-

Hestia let a tear fall down her cheek.

"Well then, goodbye, Perseus Jackson." Zeus said.

"One last thing." She said.

Zeus eyebrows shot up. Athena watched as her eyes shifted.

She looked directly into Hera's eyes, but was talking to all of the olympians.

"Remember this moment." Perseus grinned and tilted her head up. "You should have looked."

Perseus directed it towards a single being; they knew who they were.

She ran towards the hole and jumped in feet first still grinning. Her obsidian black hair undoing itself from the loose fishtail braid.

Riptide disappearing from her jeans pocket, and returning to the pocket of a sorrowfull centaur, unbeknownst to him.

The gods looked at each other, and one by one, they flashed away, still hearing the laughing of the damned demigod as she fell.

And fell.

And fell.

Hestia said a quick prayer to the heavens and stars beyond Zeus, and hoped to the souls of Elysium, that she had done the right thing.

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edited 10/10/23