𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Moral choice. Nothing is properly considered either good, or bad, aside from those things that are within our own power to control, and the only thing fully in our power to control is our own volition.
Esmerelda's attempts of...
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▬▬▬ CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR ▬▬▬
ARTEMIS AND DR. CHASE LEFT the kids afterwards. Dr. Chase went back home to give his family the news of Annabeth's survival and Artemis had to head over to Olympus for the Council of the Gods. Esmerelda hadn't realized it until now, but midnight had passed, meaning it was now the winter solstice.
And unfortunately, they had to attend the meeting too.
So now they were riding on a bunch of pegasi that Percy's pegasus, Blackjack, brought over.
"New weapon?" Percy asked, flying beside her.
"Yeah. Kinda stole it off of a dracaena." She replied.
He nodded, his anxious expression growing worse as he scanned her over. "Essie... what happened to you?"
Her lips started to tremble, but this time it wasn't because of the cold. "Ethan promised to take me to my siblings, but... some things got in the way. Atlas forced me to take up the sky, and Ethan helped me escape."
His eyes widened in surprise. "He—he helped you?"
"Couldn't believe it either," she mumbled.
"What about your siblings?"
"Ethan tried to take me to them, but Luke wouldn't allow it. After I held up the sky, I managed to meet Aiden. I tried to make him understand what was going on, but Alabaster knew what I was planning." Her eyes watered. "...I just wanted to see them again... W-wanted to bring them back, but I couldn't..."
His eyes softened. "I'm sorry."
She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. "I know."
"Guys," Thalia interrupted quietly. "We're here now."
Esmerelda gulped as she took in the sight of Olympus. As beautiful as it was under the moonlight, seeing it just gave her terrible memories. The last time she had been here was about two years ago when the gods were voting on whether to execute her or not. Having the king and queen of the gods being two of the three people to vote to kill her was not a very comforting feeling.
The pegasi set them down in the courtyard, right outside of the palace's huge silver gates. Just as the demigods mounted off, the gates opened by themselves.
Someone gulped audibly and the pegasi flew off.
"I think I'm about to throw up," Esmerelda muttered under her breath.
"Don't," Thalia advised.
Annabeth licked her dry lips, her pale face paling even further as she stared out at the palace. "Well," she said shakily. "We should get going."
Nobody said anything, but together the four of them nervously entered the palace and walked into the throne room. Everything was the same from the last time Esmerelda had been here. There were still twelve thrones and the hearth was still burning quietly. The only difference was the constellations glittering at the ceiling. There was a new addition: Zoe.
