Look, I'm not normally one to complain about milling in paradise or walking through Heaven. However, after all of my time strolling through its picture perfect streets, you'd think I'd be the one to die for once. Here I stood, on Olympus once more, weary and tired from another war.
After Leo went and kamikazed into Gaea, we at Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter held a funeral service for him and the other demigods who lost their lives in the battle. Even the gods came to pay their respects to the fulfiller of the prophecy of seven. Indeed, the world did fall to fire, just not in the sense that everyone feared. This was much worse.
The seven was a family unit. Leo was, without a doubt, the annoying uncle that you tried to stay away from, but always remained the life of the party. Much like his former half-brother, Charles Beckendorf, he was an anchor for all of us. But back to the point.
Following the service, the gods decreed that the time once again came to divide the spoils and reward the demigods; in particular, those of us who had a direct impact on the prophecy. So once again, for the first time in months, I stood in the marble hewn streets of Olympus.
Quite honestly, the new designs (courtesy of Annabeth) dwarfed the quality of the previous architecture. Sure, Olympus looked perfect beforehand, but somehow, her touches raised the perfection to unparalleled peaks. Speaking of whom, she strode along side me, hand in hand, looking rather pleased with herself as the other demigods gawked at her work.
Oh, how I missed that look. I couldn't resist the urge to kiss her cheek as we made our way up to the palace. Her cheeks flushed scarlet and she turned to me with a quizzical gaze.
"What was that for?"
"Call it a reward; for both improving Olympus and for being my girlfriend," I replied. "Also, I missed that beautiful look of pride on your face."
The blush returned to her cheeks as she squeezed my hand. Of course in that perfect moment, someone had to break the peace. Someone behind us cleared their throat and we both turned to see Athena.
"True as your words may be, do try and keep your company in mind, young man."
Her chastising did little to faze me. I offered her nothing but a crooked grin before wrapping my arm around Annabeth and continuing our little parade up to the throne room.
A backward glance revealed the mass of demigods and gods strolling up to the palace. Most looked grim and exhausted, not that I blamed them. The other members of the seven looked like they hadn't slept in days; which was true to some degree.
Frank and Hazel both looked down stricken. No doubt the memory of Leo and Sammy plagued them. Be it from their history or rivalries, Leo left his mark on both.
Reyna stood nearby, looking almost no different than normal, minus the dark circles under her eyes and the slumped shoulders. Despite being in the Greek Olympus, she took no real notice; as if she were too exhausted to care.
Piper strode next to her, an aimless gaze shone as her kaleidoscope eyes searched to and fro for something unseen. I realized with a start that Jason was nowhere in sight. Of course, the herd of demigods following us didn't make things easy.
Before I could raise any questions about it, we found ourselves before the oversized double doors of the throne room. Even I found myself taken aback by the craftsmanship and design. Annabeth was a master of her work.
The doors opened before us and the gods took their leave of our group and asserted themselves onto their thrones. Hades once again sat in his little guest chair and Hestia remained by the hearth in the middle of the room. The mass of demigods shuffled in, but even with over three hundred of us, the vast space dwarfed our little army to nothing more than a small task force.
Zeus took his opportunity to rant off how well the demigods had done and blah blah blah. I won't lie, I lost interest after maybe five minutes. Did he plan this speech ahead of time?
Only when his speech came to a close did I pay attention.
"Now, this marks the second time these demigods have aided us in our time of need in two years. Let us all hope that we no longer have to fear the rise of any other powers who seek to topple us so that we may enjoy this peace. And for the moment we have been waiting for and dreading all at once, it is time to reward our heroes before us."
Four hours later… Call me crazy, but I expected only a select few demigods to be rewarded. This time around, it looked like everyone received their share of the spoils, no matter how small. So many names and faces went by, it was like taking a panoramic photo while rolling down a hill; just an endless swirl.
The only thing that ever stood out were the few demigods not present. I couldn't bring myself to blame them. After such a grueling war, I could think of plenty of things I'd rather do. Sleep, for example.
However, the time came for the most influential demigods to receive our rewards.
Reyna was the first to go. The gods offered her the unification of the Amazons with the demigods. She stood, stunned by the offer. After a few seconds, she recollected herself.
"It would be wrong of me to force her hand in anything involving herself or the Amazons that follow her. As such, I respectfully decline. Rather, I would wish to step down as praetor of New Rome and offer my position to Dakota, should he accept it."