Heath Taylor's Story

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andromeda bolton
hecatex|xoutfitx|x#990856

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sloane astor
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wesley preston
aphroditex|xoutfitx|x#667C0C

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sylas astor
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xEthan Knox ~ Hestia ~ #8B4513 ~ x

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xHeath Taylor ~ Athena ~ #808000 ~ x

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xxIliana Remington-Taylor ~ Demeter
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Everything went downhill pretty quickly. When Wesley appeared, it was obvious he was not happy nor interested in their company. He allowed the new girl in, told them he was fine, and simply closed the door sharply in their faces. Heath knew Wes lied about being fine, but that didn't upset him in the lease. He tended to be terse and rude when he was in a bad mood. Granted that rarely happened, but it did at times. Ethan was no lie detector like Heath, but even he figured Wesley didn't mean to be cross.

It was a different thing for Iliana though. She rarely was the subject to negative emotions directly, but when it did, it always shocked her. Did she do something wrong? She knew Wesley was originally upset about something else, but did her appearance only angered him more? The idea that she might have hurt him did not sit well with her. She always did her best to stay on people's good sides. His angry emotions made her depressed and very dejected. She should probably not interact with him again. She also felt like crying again.

Ethan could feel Iliana's chaotic emotions and instantly placed an arm around her shoulders, all the while trying to calm her down with his serenity inducement.


"Hey hun, it's okay, Wesley wasn't angry at you, he was just in a bad mood. I am sure he didn't mean to react that way."

"Ethan is right Lia, why not we return to the beach now okay?" Heath suggested.

Iliana looked at the two and nodded. She had calmed down a bit, but her thoughts were still on Wesley. They eventually led to her thinking about the trial itself. Was she really capable of being unbiased during it? She depended on both Ethan and Heath to keep her emotions intact, and even then it didn't work half of the time and already she had a meltdown. If things got emotionally charged during this trial, she didn't trust herself to keep control of her powers.

When they made it back to the beach, the noticed the horses, along with Ares wrestling with someone who was blonde. They boys decided to ignore that. They saw more people showed up. Heath found himself looking at the group with the short hair blonde girl. He didn't like her behavior earlier, so he decided to keep an extra eye on her. He looked away and paid attention to his mother. Iliana directly approached Athena and wrote something in her notepad before showing it to her. Athena herself had been watching Hades's son and Hecate's daughter and was eying the blonde girl between them. Nothing good could come from that. Her attention centered on Iliana when the young demigod showed her what she wrote.

"Where is Zeus? I need to ask him something."

Athena smiled and replied, "He's still near the main hall dear, but should be here soon."

Iliana nodded and through her notepad, told Ethan and Heath, told them she'd be right back. Heath was surprised Iliana wanted to go off on her own.

"The trial will be happening soon sis. Do you want me to come with you?"

It was obvious he didn't like Iliana going off on her own. Athena intervened quickly.

"Don't worry about her Heath. Zeus knows Iliana. You go on and go Iliana, you still have time."

Iliana nodded and walked off. It didn't take her long to reach the main hall and indeed, she saw Zeus heading from it. She also saw Alex and Duke nearby along with Ajax and a redhead. She wanted to see how Zeus's children were, but decided to 'talk' with Zeus first. The god did know what happened to Iliana. After all, Demeter got his permission to allow Iliana to stay in Olympus the 2 times she did briefly stayed there. He also helped Demeter keep her sanity when Iliana was missing. When Iliana reached the ruler of the gods, she started writing in her notepad. She bowed to Zeus before showing him what she wrote.

"Lord Zeus, I am sorry, but I don't if it's a good idea for me to attend the trial. My emotions have been all over the place and if things get intense during the trial, I don't think I'll be able to control my powers. It was me that caused the intense rain not too long ago and I am scared I'll cause a tempest to appear. Does momma have to attend the trial? I was wondering if it was okay to stay in her area and just wait for the trial to end. I am sorry for my cowardly behavior, I just couldn't stand it if I hurt anyone because of my weaknesses."

She really was terrified of that.

"I know, and I'm sorry. You're right. I'll go and get it now and give it to him. After everything he's been through, he deserves something good to come out of all this mess that I've caused." Duke smiled warmly. No doubt it would benefit Wesley but it would benefit her conscience too.

"That's if I even make it out of there," she said in regards to her being the life of the party again. Duke felt for Alex but he didn't care for that sort of mentality especially when she was already rolling over and showing her belly opposed to trying. She'd let everyone else fight for her cause but not herself and it wasn't fair.

"Alex," he said before she exited the hall. "Try." Otherwise she wasn't worth fighting for.

Duke headed out to the beach giving Zeus and Iliana a nod in acknowledgement as he passed. Arriving at the beach, a problem became evident. There were more demigods than horses available. Did that mean some were going via a portal? Hopefully. "So I can't help but notice there's around 20 demigods going and 12 horses." He didn't want to make it sound like an issue in case there was a quick solution like having some demigods travelling with the gods, or more horses arriving but he did state it aloud for the Gods present to address.

No new horses flew in which meant most of them were stuck finding a pair. Duke headed straight to a horse and mounted it. He didn't know if Alex would want to ride with him or Ajax or take Pegasus instead. He didn't see himself refusing any company, as long as they were light otherwise they might have crushed the majestic creature. Duke couldn't say he was a frequent rider or flyer but he was a mighty fast learner so either way he was quite secure.

Once they were all settled in, the herd took off and accelerated into the sky. At least the creatures knew where to go automatically so it saved Duke from having to steer or struggle for control. Still, he did have some control issues; it was like being on a rollercoaster, the speed, the direction, it was out of control and it was hard for him to surrender it, even to such Godly creatures.

The structure of Olympus killed the wind as the herd lowered onto the grounds of Olympus with a chorus of clapping hooves. When stationary, Duke jumped off and checked everyone had made it in one piece. Actually he had a rather bizarre sensation, from being airborne and travelling faster than he probably even knew to having his feet on the ground again. It made him a bit lightheaded.

---

Keith put in some earphones to avoid being confronted. He walked back and forth with his head down which always risked a safety hazard but he didn't have the energy or mood to lock eyes with anyone. He kicked some sand up and continued his mindless dawdling. He did a half-hearted cha-cha step to the music then resumed his casual walk up and down. In doing that, he bumped into a girl - nothing hard or disastrous but he had walked into her who was likely minding her own innocent business. Immediately, he plucked out his earphones and reached out to the brunette's arm apologetically, while his other arm automatically protected his stomach. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. It's like I can't even see in these things sometimes." He pulled his glasses off and gave them a quick wipe with his sleeve before replacing them on the bridge of his nose.

He expected to look at her and identify her as someone malicious or nice from last year but there was no bell. Maybe she was another new demigod that fitted in better than he could in his years of attending camp. "Are you going to the trial too?" Keith mentally facepalmed. Why else be on the beach with a pack of demigods gathering to go to Olympus? If he could ask a stupider question, that'd be impressive.

"Umm...coffee?" He conjured one without thinking too hard and offered it to the girl. He frowned at the hot content in the plastic cup that began to heat his hand. "It probably would have been smarter if I got the jacket with it," he confessed in a whisper. "And your order first." He hissed as the burning sensation finally won and he dropped the cup, shaking out his hand. "I've never been much of a barista, there's got to be like 1000 different forms and flavor of coffee."

The more he opened his mouth to this girl, the more foolish he felt so he looked for another subject change. Maybe he should introduce her to others to take some social pressure off him. He spotted the red hair and slim figure of no one other than "Evelyn," he mumbled. "Evelyn!" he said her name twice, one as an idea, one officially calling her. As he approached, he saw her figure was not a joke in that outfit and he let his eyes stray head to toe. She was like one of those Robert Palmer girls in his music clips. Keith snapped out of it and smiled. "Evelyn, this is..." somebody's who's name he didn't catch or bother to ask for. Keith looked at the brunette guiltily. "Somebody I have the urge to call Summer so I'm glad I didn't." Keith wasn't the kind to make names for people as he found it was kind of rude but she did radiate brightness and just look at how she dressed. Very Summer-y. Keith meant it with absolutely no disrespect besides it was a pretty name. He smiled at her.

"I'm Keith." He grinned. Can a meteor come now?

Rather than the meteor, there was the shameless admittance that there weren’t enough horses for them all to ride separately. Well that was awkward but strangely comforting as he didn't trust himself to stay balanced on a horse that shot into the sky.

He had asked too much of Evelyn already and he didn't want to become reliant on her so nervously he turned to the other girl. "Do you mind if we...?" he threw a finger back and forth between them. "We can yell our favorite hot beverages to each other." Given the transport method it was the only acceptable time to yell...it was going to be a windy and insane ride. But rejection was something he was as equally willing to accept, actually he was expecting it.

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Mason smiled seeing Andy in a cute little dress. "Well it is official, Mr. Hughson. You clean up far better than myself." Apparently Andy had similar thoughts to him, then helped adjust his tie making him smirk.

"Thank you," was all he replied with a smile.

"Oh, by the way," Andy moved beside him and showed the contents in her little bag. "Just in case."

Mason's eyes widened. "What the hell, And- " before he could finish, Evangeline had wormed her way between them.

Mason rolled his eyes and stepped away so as not to be against Evangeline. He was a man that liked his space even if it was a pretty blonde brushing up against him. A pretty blonde that could make people think, say and do crazy shit. “Wow, you really are a girl of many talents.” Mason reached for Andy's waist to pull her to him, but Evangeline had got her arm around Andy's first. Crap. “And you’re just as beautiful as I thought you’d be!”

"We're talking here," Mason told Evangeline. But of course she knew that and it didn't deter her, meanwhile Andy would probably think he was being his anti-social rude self. Especially to someone who just wanted to be friendly and conveyed such bubbly energetic vibes.

“Sorry, sorry. I'm Evangeline. Mason has just told me soooo much about you, that I feel like we’re already friends,” she carried on without missing a beat and Mason showed his displeasure. For a girl, that was a dick move. It was all coming back to bite him sooner than he expected and it showed in her smile. “Right babe?” Evangeline winked and placed a hand on his chest. Babe? And why did he get an urge to throw her a wink back.

Mason shifted out of reach slightly and crossed his arms over his chest, looking off. "Sure, princess." It was true he had spoken about Andy and her relationship, so he felt no need to deny that. And even if Evangeline wanted to let a few of his quotes slip, Andy knew how Mason felt about her and Ajax so it wasn't like it was new information, just unpleasant. But he definitely didn't want Andy to get the impression he had overshared about her.

He kept shifting his weight from foot to foot until he let his gaze get lost in the blue sea. Mason wanted to escape the situation, it was making him uncomfortable but he couldn't leave Andy with her. “And doesn’t he just look hot in the suit? You agree don’t you? Say it.” Mason whipped his head back to Evangeline and Andy. A slither of him wanted to know if Andy would actually say it, the other, protect her from those ugly situations.

Quickly pulling himself together, Mason shook his head. "Andy, you don't have to," he said softly. More suggesting her not to, particularly if it was the false influence of the daughter of Hera. He turned his blue eyes onto the blonde next. "I appreciate you thinking I'm hot but you don't have to get all the girls to confess it," he tried to downplay the situation. "Don't want you getting too jealous now." Since they were a couple or something of the sort.

Mason tried to smirk and pry the girls apart carefully. Better him than have Evangeline hang off Andy any longer. Somebody mentioned a new problem and that was the shortage of horses. Mason counted a few short himself. "So do you mind if I hitch a ride with Andy or would you rather go with me?" He glanced to the daughter of Hecate. "If that's alright with you?" Maybe she didn't even want to go with him and would rather go with Ajax or alone. One thing he couldn't do was let the girls ride together though.

Everything about the situation made him uncomfortable. He would rather jump on a horse alone, but it was the lesser evil to have one of the girls with him.

“I understand your love and loyalty for your sister, but how does she know it was cursed and the source? The beauty of curses is that the object is personified to punish and torment, and the origin, a ghost. If you want my help, I need the truth. Is there a chance, a minute chance, that Alex would do any of it of her own accord?”

She sounded like she was placing the blame on Alex, and accusing him of being a liar. He didn't look at all impressed. Though to be fair, Evelyn didn't know them well enough. Still, it was wrong to think that what Alex did, was how she was naturally. "No. I know her, and this isn't like her at all. She was kind, playful, caring. She said she suffered memory loss and everything that happened that night with our mother, and with Jennova, came back in small fragments of flashbacks."

"If you're so sure this is cursed by who you say, use it as evidence."

"I intend to." He took the item back and stuffed it into his pocket.

“The Gods should be able to identify one of their own, I can only confirm it is cursed.”

"And is it cursed?" he wanted to ask, but she had nodded and left the hall. He could have gone after her, but that would just be wasting time. She was right, though, the Gods would be his better option with this.

At least he had something... that was better than nothing.

Ajax left the hall, ignoring his father with Iliana as he headed back to his cabin to get ready. It didn't take him long to pick out an outfit that he deemed worthy for the day. Casual, but smart still. Without wasting any more time, he made sure he got the so-called cursed item from his other jacket pocket and placed it into the one he now had on, and quickly made his way down to the beach. There were so many there already, and by the looks of things, they were going to be making their way by horse.

Seeing as there weren't that many for all the campers, Ajax chose to fly beside them with Ares and Athena until they reached the great kingdom in the sky. It was much bigger than he had imagined.

Perfectly sculptured statues representing each God lined up alongside each other as they headed down the golden path between them. Their eyes seemed to follow the Son of Zeus, making them seem much more life-like. Of course, it was just trickery of the mind.


The path leads them to the large acropolis hall with the arena beneath their feet.

At the front of the hall were empty seats where the gods would normally sit, and a golden throne reserved for his father only. Magic oozed from it in the form of small golden specks that floated slowly away from the throne, before vanishing like a fires ember.


They were to wait until the gods could join them, to give them directions to where they were needed.

As the others stood in that very hall, Ajax wandered over to the balcony that over-looked the arena beneath them. Placing his hands down on the stone wall before him, he looked down. There was a strange pool of water in the center of that room, which glowed an ominous cyan color. If he wasn't mistaken, he could have sworn that whispers were coming from inside of that thing.

He frowned as he stared at it for a few seconds, then turned his attention to the large wall fountain that gathered into a large marble shaped bowl. Imagine this in marble

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E V ExxxxD R A K O S
Hera || #511872

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"Andy, you don't have to," Mason said and Eve’s eyes danced from his soft ones to Andy’s brown. Eve swallowed down a sigh, here she was trying to do him a favour, and he refuses her gift. Not that he could protect Andy from the magic already working its way through her veins. He looked back at her, "I appreciate you thinking I'm hot but you don't have to get all the girls to confess it. Don't want you getting too jealous now." His tone was casual, and she liked how he was willing to play along. Well, not so willing, but he had kissed her first.

"I don't like the word 'hot'. Only vain or shallow people use that to describe someone.” Andy skirted around the question, but Eve’s magic wouldn’t be satisfied with just that. "Yes. I've always found him very attractive." Eve chose to latch onto the word very.

She looked over her shoulder at Mason with a raised eyebrow and a hint of a smirk. She hoped he liked his gift. “See told you, you were very attractive.”

She let Mason pull her apart from Andy. Eve wasn’t dumb she could sense Andy’s hostility and dropped her arm, leaning towards Mason and resting a hand on his arm. "So do you mind if I hitch a ride with Andy or would you rather go with me?" He looked over at Andy. "If that's alright with you?"

Before Eve could respond with anything coy or fake, Andy blurted out her words first. "Who the hell are you asking?" She put a smile over the outburst, but she clearly needed some acting lessons, and Eve would be happy to give them to her. Anything for a friend of Mason's.

Ignoring Andy’s words, she turned to Mason with a gentle smile, but a sly undertone hidden beneath her words just for him. “Of course, I’d never presume to tell you what to do.” She then rose up on her tip toes pressing a quick peck to his lips, fast enough that she was done before he even had the chance to react. Shoving her away being the most likely reaction to come to his mind.

Then Andy grabbed Mason’s arm backing away, “I'm sure Princess here is fine with sharing. Obviously, she's above being jealous if she wants every girl to admit how hot you are."

Eve laughed like she and Andy were friends making a joke, keeping up her bubbly and friendly façade. She even called out to them, “Have fun you two.” Eve knew jealousy when she saw it, and it seemed as though Andy was more green-eyed monster than girl. The answer of how Andy felt about Mason seemed pretty clear where Eve was standing, and as she watched the two of make their way over to the line of horses, she felt compelled to act altruistically.

With a bit of work, a few influencing thoughts and some machinations, she was sure she could land Mason the girl. Treating people like toys in a dollhouse was kind of her specialty. And of everyone she’d met so far, she supposed she liked him the best, and she’d get to enjoy breaking up the King and Queen of camp.

Trampling down on feelings of a selfless nature. She scouted the beach for her pony riding buddy. She spotted Trinity and her loyal dog standing not too far off, and briefly considered hitching a ride with the blonde, but with him next to Trinity she decided against it. Best to no directly approach a demigod of war when they were ready to tear your head off. Wes was another option, but for some reason her magic didn’t take on him and she didn’t want to risk another encounter until she knew the rules of the game.

Instead she laid her eyes on the duo that had interrupted her kiss with Mason earlier, the blonde and redhead huddled together. She strode straight up the blonde grabbing his bicep, “You’re riding with me,” She funnelled her magic into her words and with her physical touch, she wasn’t leaving him much of a choice, dragging him along if her magic didn’t do the trick.

Arriving at a horse she realised it was a lot bigger than she’d anticipated. And well, she was an inner city kid, the closest she’d ever been to a horse was the one time he and Pete rode on a carousel. Though those horses did have wings. She wasn’t going to look the fool though, she turned to the blonde she’d dragged along, her hand going from grabbing his bicep to resting on it. “Help me up?” She asked, again using her magic to influence his actions into helping her.

Turning back to the horse, she made her way onto its back, doing her upmost to look as comfortable as possible. Finally she turned back to her unwilling horse mate. “You are getting up here aren’t you?” This time she didn’t use her magic on him, only a metre of so of the ground she already felt a tinge of fear breaking in, not that she’d ever admit that to anyone. Luckily only he was close enough to hear the hint of nerves in her voice or see how tightly she gripped the reins.

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P E T ExxxxD R A K O S
Hera || #1e1e1e

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Pete stood on the grass watching Sloane ascend her steps before turning to look down at him. “Please can get better results than demands or magic.” Even for an unaffected guy like Pete that comment stung deep below his vacant exterior it painted him with the same brush as his sister. Looking down at him without a hint of an emotional appeal, which never got you far with Pete, he felt thoroughly judged.

So he stayed where she had left him, perching on her bottom step looking out at the sky, clear and blue again. It felt like Pete had only the chance to blink twice before she was tapping her way down the stair again, seemingly without acknowledging him stuck where she’d left him. He rose to his feet and followed her a step behind. “I am sorry. I-“ He had that whole time on her step think about what he wanted to say but he still wasn’t sure. He wasn’t going to lie or hide behind some fake platitude, Pete’s motto was only the truth. She he tried it. “I’m trying to be better.”

"Sylas? He's my brother. And his... deal? I don't know what you mean." Brother, he eyed Sloane as she glided always a step ahead of him. He hadn’t expected that.

But instead of worrying about her relationship with this Sylas, he felt a scowl pull his features down. “You do know.” He said, his voice growing dark, he wasn’t going to sit here and play games with her. If she were his brother, than she knew exactly what Pete was asking.

She didn’t respond for a long time, and Pete was about to stop in his tracks. He was basically stalking her for an answer here, and he wasn’t going to bother with someone who didn’t shoot straight. "Our mother is Eris... If that is sufficient enough of an answer." He supposed it would have to be as she appeared to shut the door on that conversation as they exited the tree line and were deposited onto the beach. And as they watched a series of winged horses take flight, Pete was for more concerned with their method of travel, than he was with sharing it.

His boots kicked up sand as he followed Sloane across the beach, a dumb look on his face. He was born in the inner streets of London, he’d just assumed they’d have some portal, or magic flying train. Horses weren’t something he had any experience with. And as he watched Sloane slip up the large beast, in a skirt no less, he realised it was just him feeling wary. She held out a hand to him, "Front or back?"

He raised his eyebrows at her outstretched hand and looked up at her through his hair. “I’m not sure I know what that means.” His commitment to honesty outweighing any possible embarrassment he felt at being helpless in front of a cute girl. He shook his head with a grimace. “I’m a city kid, we don’t do horses.” He said the word horses like something dark and ugly.

Still he grabbed her hand and with her help, clambered up on the great beast, with absolutely no grace. “My life’s in your hands horse girl.” He muttered darkly as they took to the skies, he didn’t like this mode of transport one bit. What was wrong with the tube? It wasn’t until they were a great way into their flight that he responded to her answer. “As a son of Hera, equating one’s deal to their parentage isn’t really sufficient in my book.” He didn’t pry her to say anything more about Sylas since it was clear she wasn’t going to.

Arriving in Olympus was a god send as the horses hooves found solid ground and Pete felt able to unclench all his muscles. Though he was quickly confronted with another issue, he was even less confident in getting off this beast without breaking something.

xxIliana Remington-Taylor ~ Demeter
xxxxxxxxxx#4A766E ~ x
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Iliana listened carefully as Zeus replied to her request.

"There is no chance of your powers getting out of control since there are Gods who can influence your moods to keep you calm, and happy. But, if it is your absolute wish to remain here? then I will not stop you. I will also grant full access to spending time with your mother. Remember, though... Gods cannot remain in the mundane world for too long, so after today, she will need to return back to Mount Olympus. Do you understand?"

Iliana sighed in relief and nodded. In truth she would rather go to Olympus because she was more comfortable there. She honestly wasn't expecting to stay here by herself with her mother though. She knew her mother couldn't be on earth for long periods of time also. She recalled once when she cried when her mother had to go back to Olympus when she was 7 or 8 and her mother told her why. It was hard to hear, but even as a young child she understood her mother had duties.

Iliana quickly wrote down her response.

"I don't want to be left behind and since I trust that you and the other Gods will help keep my powers in check, I'll go. I am tired of being scared though. Thank you Lord Zeus."

After he read it, she bowed before turning back to head for the beach again.

---

xEthan Knox ~ Hestia ~ #8B4513 ~ x

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xHeath Taylor ~ Athena ~ #808000 ~ x

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The guys watched as people started pairing up to ride the winged horses.

"You know it be a site if we paired up huh?"

This caught Heath off guard and he actually chuckled.

"Yes it would and it is not happening. I am just waiting for Iliana's return. You're going to have to ride with someone else, Ethan."

Ethan figured as much. Question was who did he ride with? Whoever it was, it was bound to be awkward. However, this didn't end up being a situation at all for the petite blonde girl that was causing issues, appeared suddenly and grabbed Heath. Heath was so surprised that he didn't even hear her order to right with her. Ethan was just as surprised as he watch the girl drag him away. It was at this time that Iliana returned and saw what was happening. Seeing a shocked Ethan, she poked him on the shoulder. He shook himself and saw her.

"Oh there you are. Glad you made it back in time, we're starting to get out of here."

Iliana listened but was looking at her adopted brother being led away by a blonde. Quickly writing in her notepad, she asked Ethan what just happened. Ethan hesitated trying to recall was exactly just happened and then remembered.

"I think that girl just ordered Heath to ride with her. He looked so surprised by her act, I think he got influenced by her."

This caused Iliana to frown and she instantly followed. Ethan sighed and was right behind her. They both caught up when the blonde asked if Heath was going to get on. Heath himself had already snacked out of his stupor. He didn't like how this girl basically ordered him what to do, but he did catch the fear in her voice with that last question. Looks like the girl had never been on a real horse. He was about to answer when he saw Iliana and Ethan. Iliana instantly wrote in her note book and showed it to Heath, asking if he was okay. Heath smiled and nodded.

"I am fine Iliana. Ethan, will you ride with Iliana and make sure she's okay."

Both Iliana and Ethan looked a bit surprised by his request. Heath took, Iliana's notebook and actually wrote something on it.

"This one is suspicious so I want to keep an eye on her. I'll be careful."

Both Iliana and Ethan nodded. Iliana looked back at the blonde girl and glared at her before taking two fingers and made a hand gesture by pointing at her eyes before turning her hand to point two fingers at her, indicating she would be watching her, and she meant it.

After Ethan and Iliana got on a winged horse, Heath finally mounted behind the blonde.

"I have knowledge of horse riding, so just hang on and clamp your legs to the sides of the horse. That's what you mostly use to hang onto it. And try not to do anything."

It was pretty obvious the horse knew the way so Heath allowed them to lead. Soon they arrived at Olympus themselves and Heath wasted no time in dismounting before helping the blonde dismount.

Soon Athena came towards them.

"As a reminder to you kids, there will be no use of your powers during Alexandria's trial. Do I make myself clear?" she asked, eying the blonde girl especially.

Oh, she saw what the blonde did to her son and while she knew it was part of her nature to be that way, she would not tolerate any mischief during this trial. It was going to be hard enough to make sure Hades didn't try anything.

"Yes mother." Heath replied.

---

Once Ethan and Iliana dismounted, both saw Hades confronting Alex. The god was downright scary, so much so, that Iliana hid behind Ethan. Iliana watched Alex and felt so bad for her. She also watched her approaching Wesley. Turning she also saw others dismount. Soon though, she heard her name. Turning, she saw her mother approaching. Happy to see her, the young lady ran and hugged her tightly.

"There's my little dove. I am happy to see you made it here safely. How are you sweetie?" Demeter asked before releasing her.

Iliana quickly wrote down everything that had happened so far. She never hid anything from her mother. Demeter nodded and read it all.

"I am sure Wesley didn't mean to get upset with your Lia. I know, why don't you make him one of your flower wreaths to help cheer him up? Just wait for him to calm down before giving it to him."

That was actually a good idea and then another thought occurred to Iliana. Maybe she could make wreaths for others too. There were others who just seemed to be down and she hated seeing others suffer.

Looking back at her mother, she quickly wrote, "Momma, I have another idea. Can we go to your flower house?"

"Sure dear, but we can't be there too long. Alexandria's trial will start soon."

With that, the two quickly left for Demeter's area of Olympus, via air drafts created by Demeter. Time was of the essence after all.

---

Ethan watched as Demeter and Iliana left. He soon saw Zeus's son was alone and decided to join him.

"Hi, do you mind if I join you? You're Lord Zeus's son right? My name is Ethan Knox and I am Hestia's son. I am sorry we're meeting under these circumstances." Ethan replied sincerely.

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Hera || #511872

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Eve actually snorted as the skittish blonde thing pointed to her eyes then up at Eve. As if she were in some bad 80’s movie. Admittedly, the little girl probably wasn’t any more petite than Eve was, but it felt like she was smaller with her meek nature. And the way she scrawled in that childish notebook. It was pathetic to think she could do anything to Eve.

Luckily, the gorgeous blonde waved his two ever present companions off, watching them take flight before turning his attention back to her. He slid up behind her with far too much ease, as if he actually trusted this giant beast.

"I have knowledge of horse riding, so just hang on and clamp your legs to the sides of the horse. That's what you mostly use to hang onto it. And try not to do anything.” Now Eve, if she were standing on solid ground, would have made crude innuendo about clamping something with her legs, but all lewd jokes were stripped from her mind at the large horse’s feet pranced off the ground. And she was left to grab onto anything she could, not even her ego could stop her clutching horrified to the animal.

It took them hours and hours to get to Olympus, or at least it seemed that long in her petrified brain. She was glad when they touched down and the blonde behind her helped her down. The moment her toes touched the ground she smirked, letting her ego and composure snap back in place. Happy to pretend that moment of weakness never happened. “Let’s do that again. But the next time without the horse.” She smirked up at him.

"As a reminder to you kids, there will be no use of your powers during Alexandria's trial. Do I make myself clear?" Eve spun around at the voice, she was no stranger to the stink eye Athena was giving her. She thought over the rule, truly she hadn’t considered using her powers to influence the trial, she didn’t really care enough about the fate of Alexandria. Not that a rule would stop her.

"Yes mother." Her flight companion answered, all polite and obedient. God, he was gorgeous, guys with long blonde hair were totally her type, Pete said it was because they reminded her of herself and she couldn’t argue with that logic. But did he have to be so dull. Not that he’d be the first hot but dull guy she ever slept with.

She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow and whispered quiet enough that Athena wouldn’t hear. “Mother? Don’t tell me you’re a mummy’s boy?” Now that was an unattractive trait.

She flicked her gaze back to the waiting Athena with a playful smile. Eve raised her left hand as if she were completing a pledge. “I swear to be on my best behaviour.” Her lofty tone was hardly compelling, but she hadn’t done anything wrong. Yet. So she gave the Goddess an obviously fake smile until she left the two of them alone again. Turning back to Athena’s son she grinned and motioned to where his mother had disappeared, “She sure seems like the warm cuddly type.” Not that Hera had been a hands-on bundle of warmth throughout her childhood.

Eve watched the different pairings arrive by way of horseback, she expected meek girl to come running back to his side, but instead she met with an older woman before disappearing in some strange flying thing. Eve’s eyes tracked the movement. “Looks like she’s abandoned you in my care. Guess she must trust me.” She looked up at him with a wicked smile, curiosity about their relationship working its way into her mind. “Are she and you a thing? In the biblical sense I mean.” She didn’t bother putting on an act or using her magic on him, he seemed a little too boring to be worth the effort. She wasn't getting secret keeper vibes.

xHeath Taylor ~ Athena ~ #808000 ~ x

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Even though Athena couldn't hear what the young demigoddess was whispering, she could still see her. Soon the young girl gave her own 'promise' not cause trouble. Both mother and son could tell she wasn't going to cause any issues yet. The girl might as well had said it. Athena would have said something else, but soon her attention was diverted by a fight between Ares's daughter and a brunette.

"Excuse me." she replied before rushing forward and ordered several men to separate the two.

"That is quite enough! I don't know how this fight started, but I won't tolerate here regardless.

"I'm fine," Trinity growled.

"I am glad to know that Trinity. I think for now you could use a few minutes to calm down. Take her some place safe."

That last one was for the one men holding Trinity. They nodded and took her way. Athena then went to find Ares. It didn't take her long.


"You might want to have a word with your daughter. She just got into a fight and it might be best if she had someone to vent to so she can be as clear-headed as possible for the trial." Athena told him before going off to make sure the preparations for the trial were ready.

Heath saw the whole thing and took a deep breath before focusing back on the blonde who was with him. He purposely ignore the innuendoes she gave him and just focused on a few things.

"Iliana is my adopted sister. We are close, but not in the way you're implying. And I merely respect my mother's orders. Do you follow your parent's orders?" Heath deliberately asked her a yes or no question just to see if she would lie or not.

---

xEthan Knox ~ Hestia ~ #8B4513 ~ x

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"Just call him Zeus. No need for formalities."

Ethan chuckled at that.

"I'll try, but it may be awhile. I was raised in Southern USA and manners and formalities were drilled into me since Day 1."

Plus, addressing the Ruler of Olympus as anything else was easier said then done. He doubt he'd ever get comfortable enough around the god to drop the "Lord" part. Well time would tell. The demigod next to him soon asked what he thought of camp so far.

"Hmm, good question. My companions and I only arrived a short while ago, but plenty has happened so far. As far as what I've seen and who I've met, it has been intense, but I can't give you my verdict yet on that since I still don't know everyone. As far as the camp itself, I am very impressed with how big it is and I am loving the architecture! I'll admit though, this place is just amazing! Looking at all the buildings here is giving me so many ideas for future projects! I am going to college for my architect degree. At the moment I am taking a break though to come here and help my friend, Heath, with his adopted sister. Heath was the one who addressed you and your sister back at camp. We did find his adopted sister. She's currently with her mother, Demeter."

Ethan stopped talking when the demigod's attention became diverted by something else. Turning he saw what he was looking at and remembered seeing the duo before, only the blonde was missing. He didn't hear the words, but he caught on they were arguing about something. This made Ethan recall the fight between Wesley and that other blonde. The one petite blonde had been around them too and she had been the same one to snag Heath too. Was she influencing these people somehow? That pair hadn't been arguing before she arrived. When Zeus's son returned, he was obviously angry and his next words didn't surprise Ethan in the slightest.

"I can tell you what I think of Camp so far... it's full of liars."

"Well that's a darn shame. I won't ask what happened since it's none of my business, but I do want to make you aware of someone. I saw that pair right before we left for Olympus and they weren't arguing. There was this petite short hair blonde hair girl with them. She recently influenced my friend Heath somehow to go with her, I think to ride with her. I could be wrong here, but it wouldn't surprise me if she had the ability to influence people around her. I just don't trust her. Unfortunately I don't know her name. Heath's actually keeping an eye on her now. I just thought I'd should warn you though. Oh by the way, I don't think I ever got your name."

Suddenly someone else came up on Ethan's other side.

"Well there you are. Just can't stop talking can you my boy?" Hestia said, looking at her son with a humorous glint in her eyes.

"Oh, hi mom! What are you doing here?"

"I just came by to see you, Ethan before heading to the trial. It'll me my job to help keep everyone 'cool, calm, and collected'. Of course that might be easier said then done given the situation. Well then, I'll let you two continue your chat. We can talk after the trial, Ethan."

Soon the goddess left them.

---

xxIliana Remington-Taylor ~ Demeter
xxxxxxxxxx#4A766E ~ x
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Iliana had created several wreaths made of orange gladiolus flowers in no time flat and with her mother returned back to the others. First two people Iliana saw was Zeus's son and Ethan. She approached them quickly and could feel anger coming from the dark hair man. She actually hesitated coming forward at first. Demeter, who was also carrying her daughter's notepad, placed a hand on Iliana's shoulder.

"It's okay sweetie.

Ethan turned to see the mother and daughter duo.

"Hello ladies. Iliana, did you make those wreaths?

Iliana nodded before hiding behind Demeter. Her mother smiled and turned to Zeus's son.

"My daughter is very shy Ajax. She knows you've been having a rough time lately and wanted to give you a gladiolus wreath to help cheer you up. She picked that flower because it means strength and she hopes you'll have the strength to get through these trying times. Go on and give one to him Iliana."

Iliana, trembling at this point, manage to come forward, give a wreath to Ajax, and suddenly rushed off, wanting to get away from his anger. Demeter wasn't far behind her.

Ethan sighed and turned back to a Ajax.

"Don't mind Iliana. She's been through a lot herself recently and is very wary of people she doesn't know. It's actually why she doesn't talk at the moment. So if you see her writing in a notebook, it's basically how she 'talks' now. Heath and I are hoping this camp will help her find her voice again and the 'old' Iliana can return. But hey at least now I know your name. Ajax right?"

It didn't take long for Demeter to catch up with Iliana.

"That was rude of you to leave like that Lia. I want you to apologize to him later okay?" Demeter gently scolded her.

Iliana nodded and the continued walking before coming upon someone else who was near a cliff near some flowers. Her emotions were just radiating off of her and Iliana could tell they were a complete mess. She was also trying hard not to sob and it was starting to affect Iliana. Turning to her mother, she gave her the wreathes she was holding before taking her notebook and pen from her mother and wrote something.

"Who is that mother? She looks like she could use a wreath."

Demeter smiled and gestured her to follow her. When they got closer, Demeter greeted her.

"Hello, you're Hecate's daughter, Andromeda correct? I am Demeter and this is my daughter, Iliana. Are you going to be okay sweetie? I know you've had a tough time last year and Iliana made some wreaths because she wanted to cheer people up. She was hoping she could give one to you since it looks like you needed some comfort. Is that alright with you. Iliana can't speak at the moment, so she tries to find other ways to communicate."

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Hera || #511872

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Eve watched the cat fight go down out of the corner of her eye, no surprise at Trinity taking the starring role. What an attention hog. The truly shocking part was that Eve had been pleasantly minding her own business when it all went down, turns out they didn’t even need her to turn on each other like savages. Though she wondered what all the fuss was about.

She was wondering how to find out, when the tall, blonde and handsome beside her spoke, capturing her attention. "Iliana is my adopted sister. We are close, but not in the way you're implying.” Of course, like the bore he was, he ignored all her innuendos and cut straight to the point.

She rolled her eyes, and fought a grimace. Honestly, she would have left him the moment their monstrous mount touched down if he wasn’t so good looking. Playing with him was no fun. “And I suppose you’re too boring to dapple in a spot of adoptive-incest?”

Again he ignored her more outrageous comment, and she felt like stripping naked just to get a reaction out of the guy. Instead though he continued on, answering her earlier comment. “And I merely respect my mother's orders. Do you follow your parent's orders?"

Eve barely took in his words as her eyes tracked movement to off to her left, Mason and Andy looking very disgruntled disappeared around the a corner. Now that was a conversation she’d eat her left foot to overhear. “Wouldn’t know, don’t got any.” She answered airily, a truthful answer though, she didn’t consider that pathetic family who housed her and her bother as parents, nor did she follow their orders. Hera was a mother of sorts, but she’d never bothered with Eve enough to give any commands. “That's why I had more fun than you did growing up.” And there was the lie. A large chunk of Eve's childhood consisted of fending for herself and Pete, receiving a cold shoulder from both her father and step mother.

Eyes on the resulting chaos of the fight Eve decided her next course of action and she looked back at the blonde with a flirty grin. She grabbed his hand, rubbing the palm on his hand with her thumb, making sure she had physical contact before using her magic. “Be a doll, go over there,” She nodded towards where the fight had taken place, “and find out what happened for me.”

What that command, she dropped his hand and skulked over to where Andy and Mason had disappeared. Hiding around the corner, manipulating the shadows to help hide her presence, she got there just in time to hear the tail end of their conversation. And she wasn’t the only one either as Ajax stormed past her all furious and thundery. "Maybe it would be easier if you were both honest for once." Eve stepped further into the shadows, as he stormed back out the way he came, not noticing her.

The moment Andy’s footsteps faded from hearing, Eve popped out from around the corner, walking towards Mason’s back. “Yikes, looks like that didn’t go too well,” She said to him as she slinked up behind him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Trapping him before he could go after Andy. “Don’t worry, I’d be happy to fix it for you,” She whispered into his ear and with a laugh she released him, but not before planting a kiss on the side of his neck.

She danced away from him, in the direction that Andy had taken. She wore an amused smirk as her eyes wandered further down the path. “Did your poor precious heart skip a bit when she said the J word?” She held a mocking hand over her own heart as she stepped back towards Mason, her other hand reaching to his to make physical contact. Then she used her words to influence his, “Be honest.”

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Hera || #1e1e1e

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“Hold on,” Sloane told him, and that was when Pete realised he still hand an arm clamped tightly around her midsection even though they were now firmly on the ground. He let her go and she slid from the horse, all grace and composure. He wondered where she did grow up if not the city, was she a country kid surrounded by lands and horses?

He listened to all her instructions with a grim nod. "Now just slip off like a slide." He looked down at her for a moment before deciding he had to get down one way or another, and doing it in the hold of a pretty girl wasn’t the worst way.

So he grabbed her outstretched hands and slipped of the great big beast. "I swear I'm good at plenty of other things," He muttered as he moved. He landed on two feet which was good, but he was also a little too close to Sloane for comfort, however she didn’t move away, and he didn’t drop her hands.

"He's dangerous... You should stay away from him." Her voice barely seemed audible, but Pete heard the words and understood their meaning. Their moment of shared secrets was broken as she backed away from him, and he dropped her hands. His eyes, without his permission, flicked over to where her brother helped a red-headed girl from an identical horse. Dangerous. He didn’t doubt her words, he could feel the fear and conviction in her voice.

Before he could respond though she was out of his presence, leaving behind simply, "And if you were smart, you'd stay away from me too."

He watched her go as she fell in line with the other campers, already sure he’d approach her again sometimes soon, just to prove that you couldn’t tell him what to do. Pete chewed over this new piece of information about Sylas, he already knew he was bad news but to hear it confirmed in such sinister tones. Eris was the goddess of discord, if Pete recalled correctly. His sister would love that.

Finally moving along, Pete wandered past Alex’s classically handsome bodyguard from the main hall. With a smirk he wandered up to the bigger man, deliberately cutting in next to him, to bump shoulders with him. “Hey, it’s you!” Pete said with a faked smile, as if he’d run into an old high school friend at the supermarket.

“Aren’t you supposed to be off shagging a certain something?” He gave him a wide grin as if the two of them were sharing an inside joke. It wasn’t until that moment that he realised, Sloane fearing her own brother's danger really pissed him off. And he was happy to pass it on, after all old habits are hard to break. "Didn't I give you an order soldier boy?"

xEthan Knox ~ Hestia ~ #8B4513 ~ x

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xHeath Taylor ~ Athena ~ #808000 ~ x

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xxIliana Remington-Taylor ~ Demeter
xxxxxxxxxx#4A766E ~ x
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Heath was very annoyed with the blonde's choice of words regarding his relationship with Iliana. One thing did stick out with him. She found him boring huh? It didn't surprise him since she probably thrived on causing things to happen and he knew he was as straight-laced as they come. When she commented on not having any parents though and was actually truthful about it, his only reaction was a raise of the eyebrows. He already narrowed down that this girl was either a child of Eris or Hera due to them being able to influence people in a negative light. His gut told him Hera. He knew a bit about Hera through his mother and how the two tolerated each other at best and at times had a bit of a rivalry. The idea though that someone like Hera would neglect to watch over her own children didn't sit well with him. Heck even his mother, who was almost always busy, tried seeing him several times a year at least. This would explain why the blonde had no reservations in doing what she wanted though. She had no boundaries set to begin with. This still didn't excuse her behavior. Her lie about 'having more fun' was even more telling. Having no parent to watch over her, she obviously had to fend for herself too.

Heath didn't have much time to think though when the blonde touched him and gave him an order to find out about something. Heath was glad he wasn't paying attention to what she was referring too. So the order itself didn't have much of an effect on him. He now knew how she was able to have an effect on him so quickly, she touched others. He would be wary of that. Seeing that the minx was gone, he looked around and saw Ethan talking with Zeus's son. He wouldn't worry about him. Looking around he saw Iliana and her mother handing out Wreathes. Seeing he wasn't needed, he decided to head for the trial and to 'find out what would happen' there. That blonde minx might be more clever then him, but he was much smarter than she thought. Besides, he had that famous Scottish Stubborn streak.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Ajax mentioned how the blonde could be Hera's daughter, Ethan had to agree with him. It made sense, considering what he knew about Hera. His mother mentioned how the two goddesses use to be close, but things changed when Zeus picked a mortal woman over her and she got super jealous. She never went into details, but it was obvious the whole ordeal hurt his mother.

And he nodded in understanding when Ajax told him he wasn't going to talk about recent events. Heck Ethan was holding back things about himself and his friends because he didn't know the demigod that well. The demigod made Ethan laugh though when he asked if his mother was single.

"Sorry man, my mom still loves my dad."

What he didn't add though was even though his father still loved Hestia, he was starting to feel unworthy of Hestia because while she still looked the same since the day they met, he was starting to get older, being in his late 40s. Ethan did wonder if it was possible for a mortal to be turned immortal. Oh he knew about Greek myth stories about ambrosia being the thing mortals ate, but he didn't know if that was an actual fact and was too nervous to ask Hestia about it.

After Iliana and her mother left, Ajax did confirm his name and started talking about his sister a bit before asking a favor of him to find Hecate. He then remembered why they were in Olympus. Alex's trial. And it seemed she had killed someone. Was it this Jennova that Ajax mentioned. And Ajax thought the reason Alex killed her was because of this bracelet? Deciding not to think about it since he wanted to not anything influence his thinking, he decided to try and help Ajax find Hecate.

"Okay I'll try to help, but um, I don't know what she looks like nor where she is actually. This is my first time to Olympus. Maybe she's already at the area where the trial will be. I know my mom and Athena are probably there now. Maybe we can ask one of them or any of the other gods?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Iliana was relieved when Andy accepted her wreath. Even though she didn't grin, her eyes lit up a bit at least. Demeter sighed. She would give anything to see her daughter smile again. Soon the brunette left them, wanting to check on her friend.

"Do you want to find Alex or Wes now Lia?" Demeter asked her daughter.

Iliana nodded and the two walk off. Lucky for them they found both Wes and Alex. This was right after Alex helped Wes put on his new arm and both caught Alex telling Wes to go hug someone. Demeter came forward first with Iliana hiding behind her mother again. She was still worried that Wes was mad at her.

"Well that arm fits you perfectly Wesley. Hephaestus's son created that right? Oh pardon the intrusion, but my name is Demeter and my daughter Iliana here wanted to give you two something since both of you have had a rough go recently. And Wesley, Iliana wanted to apologize if she upset you earlier too. Go on dearie."

Taking a deep breath, Iliana came out from behind her mother and handed out the two flower wreaths to Alex and Wes. After that exchange was done, she returned to her mother.

"There, that wasn't so bad. We'll leave you two alone now okay?"

And with that mother and daughter left, although Iliana looked back at Alex and Wes one more time. The two started heading for the trial's location themselves.

Once back at Mount Olympus, he gently took a hold of his daughter's arm, causing her to flinch before she realised who had taken hold of her. "Forgive me, Wesley. I need to talk with my daughter before the trial. Ares... Athena..." he didn't need to say anything else to them, for they knew what they needed to do. They lead the other Campers to be seated around the upper level of the arena where the view of the entire trial would be seen clearly from there.

As Zeus and Alex headed to the lower section of the Acropolis to the ground level of the arena, the braziers flickered to life. It was a dark corridor with no windows, wide enough for a carriage with its dark stone walls. "I visited your mother's resting place today," he told her. "Such a beautiful and peaceful place."

"Yeah... it's always been her favorite. Father... I... do you still love Mom?"

"I do." he smiled. "I always have, and I always will. You remind me of her every day. I shall never forget the first day we met... or the day that you and Ajax were born. It was the happiest moments of my life. I was lucky to have such a woman fall in love with me. Even though she was only mortal, she was a Goddess to me. A beautiful, kind, strong-willed, and courageous woman, who stole my heart the second she smiled. Your mother was too good for this Earth. She'll be proud of you, Alex. I know this because I am too."

She lowered her head and walked right into her father's torso, her face hidden there as she allowed the tears to fall. His arm and hand cradled her head as he placed a kiss on the top of it. It wasn't just her father's words that had set her off or the trial... it was everything from last year.


"Now," he pulled her back gently, his hands resting over both of her shoulders before he cupped her face. "Prepare yourself. You can do this." he placed one kiss to her forehead before he headed out of the large doors to the arena.

She smiled a little, but it faded when she caught sight of Hades in the crowd before the doors shut behind her father. He had been looking straight at her with nothing but a cold stare. He was determined to see her downfall, and then, her brother's and father's.

---

---

Her jaw clenched and twisted at the very thought of Hades doing his best to steer the trial in his favor. Others would watch and listen, blinded by his poisonous lies as he swayed the crowd to take his side with flowery words of reason, and Mason would turn on the charm alongside his father, changing the minds of those who once stood loyal to the children of Zeus.

She clenched her teeth behind her screwed up lips. It took everything inside of her to not allow her head to run from her with nothing but negative thoughts, but she couldn't stop it. She cried out as she violently threw her right fist forward into the closest wall, Knuckles crashing into the hard layer of marble. A loud crack, which echoed down the corridor, raced up the wall as she paused to look down at her knuckles covered in blood. Her nostrils flared with a heavy breath. It felt good. The adrenalin that rushed through her entire body, the urge to pummel a God into next week felt good. She pictured Hades trapped beneath her, while over, and over the power behind each punch dug a deeper hole into the wall with blood that dripped onto the floor.

It was not long before Hurried footsteps headed in her direction from behind her, followed by two hands that seized her. They pulled her back with almost no effort at all. "Stop!" Ajax yelled as she became restrained to his strength. He was stronger due to being older, and more advanced in his training. "Deep breaths." he told her, yet again. Her brother had stopped her so many times from going too far, and once he thought she had calmed down, he let her go and watched as she turned to face him. "You done?" she nodded in reply. "Good." he tossed the bracelet to her, which she took hold of once it hit her chest. We found Hecate, but it's not good news... the bracelet was cursed, but it isn't anymore."

Alex threw the damn thing to the ground. "How am I supposed to convince everyone now?"

Ajax sighed. "I don't know. You'll still have people on your side, Al."

"Lucky me." she sighed this time and headed over to the arena doors, bracing her hands against it. Zeus had finished with setting up the trial no doubt since he was calling for her to join them. With her hands still braced against the door, she lovered her head and closed her eyes.

"You'll be okay." If only people could stop telling her that. It already wasn't okay. She should have never stepped in this place, to begin with. How was anyone ever going to forgive her after this? Ajax will always be known as the murderer's big brother.

she took a deep breath and pushed open the doors.

All eyes were on her as she made her way to the center of the arena.

She looked up into the crowd, taking in the faces that she wouldn't likely see again, and the faces she was happy to never see again. She found herself glaring in Mason's direction as Hades sat comfortably beside him. "Alexandria Valis. Daughter of Zeus." Ares's voice spoke, causing Alex to now look at him. "You stand trial for the murder of Jennova Ambers. Daughter of Hades, and sister to Mason. How do you plead?" At first, it seemed like a mortal courtroom with Areas as one of the judges lawyers.

Part of her wanted to just plead guilty, to give Mason and his father the benefit of her death. She, however, would happily be on her way to see her mother again... if the afterlife even existed. Her father never could speak of it, for it was against the rules no doubt.

If the fates had decided that today was her day... then so be it, but she wasn't going to go down without a good fight. She hadn't forgotten what Duke had told her, and that was the reason for her answer. "Not guilty." she replied with no hesitation as her father overwatched the entire thing from his throne. He clenched his fists in excitement, almost jumping up from where he sat. His little girl wasn't giving up.

"With the Gods and their children present... we all bare witness to her plead. Now..." he addressed the crowd once more. "Speak on behalf of yourself, or another... for, or against miss Valis."

---

---

xxxxxxx T R I N I T Y xx W A L L A C E

xxxx Daughter of Ares | Outfit | #461f4b

“Oh, I think she was lookin’ for someone else and I scared the lass away.” Made sense. Liam wasn't the most approachable guy.

“Well, you are a little intimidating. Just a bit,” Andy said, speaking her mind. Trinity smiled and drew her own gap using her arms.

“Let's get our asses to the Trial, aye?”

Yeah, it wasn't actually much of a choice now was it, she wanted to grumble but refrained.

“What was her name, by the way?”

Even if Liam hadn't stopped, his inquiry brought Trinity to a halt in itself. Then she met Andy's look and it seemed they were on level with each other again. “Sloane... I honestly don't know her lastname... Or her parentage. I've been... preoccupied.”

She mentally self-fived for getting a reserved demigod's name right. She kinda lived in her violent bubble but she picked up on names pretty quickly, particularly when it came to teams and Trinity wanted to anticipate who was friend and foe in a game like capture the flag. Still, she knew jack all about Sloane beyond her first name. Another factor Andy and Trinity had in common was going through their own rough patches: being preoccupied as Andy put it, and Andy's was hella lot busier than her.

Trinity followed blindly and let herself be led by an anxious Andy, feeling her grip tighten now and then on her arm that already had claw marks and bruises. Trinty put her free hand over Andy's and would have given her strength if it was the kind she needed. “If your father smites me for accidentally laughing in his face, you'd mourn me... right?”

“So badly. Especially when there are so many others to smite first.” It wasn't nice or joking enough to lighten the atmosphere. “Like...bad drivers,” she added. Man, did they piss the world off. Probably just as well Trinity didn't have the power of the Gods.

They drew closer and closer and Andy's grip tightened more on her arm. It didn't hurt, but it still drew a frown in confusion from Trinity. She wasn't a mind reader to know why Andy was so worked up about it. “Andy, you're not the one on trial, you know that right?”

Then finally before they entered the arena, she snapped out of her little anxious spell. “Sorry... If you don't want to stay, I won't stop you. You could slip out without anyone noticing... I have to stay. I don't know if I would forgive myself if I didn't speak... the truth.”

Trinity nodded and smiled at her friend. Andy slipped forward while Trinity hung back, mulling it over in her mind. She glanced to Liam. Would the same apply to him? Would he let her head back? It wasn't a life or death choice but Trinity acted as though it was, really weighing the pros and cons. At the current time, she was living a pretty good philosophy, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything. She wasn't sure that would hold in the trial though.

“Err, I have to watch.” She knew if she didn't, she'd feel guilty later on for not supporting her friend. Or even regret witnessing the grim outcome of the trial. As much as she craved her space, this was more important. “Maybe you should sit next to me so I can look like an angel and folks can remember what a real threat looks like,” she said. Plus, he was the perfect 'don't come near me' barrier. She started to walk again even if it was reluctant.

“Of course,” she spun on her heels to face her brother, “you don't have to.” He probably knew that but in case there was any obligation cause family loyalty and all that fun stuff. “If you'd rather sit with a certain brunette that's like, this high and this shape,” Trinity drew some rough measurements with her arms and chuckled, “I won't blame you.” Though Sloane appeared quiet to Trinity, she was probably better in the terms of company.

The time for jokes had quickly disappeared as the trial had begun and Trinity fell into a seat near Andy. She didn't quite reach beside her friend, but she was around, a couple of rows back. Then the test began for Trinity to keep her mouth closed, or at least until she could figure out how to say what she wanted. Wes spoke up. Quick to kiss Alex's a- his arm! Trinity almost smiled for him. He wasn't disadvantaged anymore. Daily chores would be easier and it looked wicked. Then she remembered they were hardly on speaking terms and he scored himself a date with another blonde.

Trinity gave it a little more of a brew for a couple seconds then spoke, “Look,” Trinity rose then rolled her eyes getting the formalities out of the way, “- Trinity Wallace, Daughter of Ares. I don't know much about the actual events except word of mouth. Mason, Theo and myself were absent on a mission. I know Alex killed Jennova, but that doesn't make her a murderer. She doesn't have murderous tendencies, trust me I know. If anything, after she killed Jennova, was when she became a little unhinged. But I'm a strong believer of an eye for an eye, and I'm not sure who started it. So either payback is due and she should face some form of punishment in the eyes of the Gods, or Alex ended the cycle with Jennova.” That was more inserting her two cents in the suggestion box than speaking for or against Alex. Personally, given how it all happened, she thought Alex should have faced some punishment regardless.

Not long after Trinity had sat, Andy spoke. solidifying Alex in the wrong. “That's rough, killing someone unarmed with their sibling out of town,” she mumbled. Even Liam and Trinity gave the opponent a chance. Then again, part of Alex's unhingement was her rambling on about getting proof and finding herself so maybe there wasn't fair play all around. And maybe Trinity was just in the mood for others to have pain inflicted upon them.

"I'm Wesley Preston... Not that that matters," Alex never liked him doing that to himself, talking like he didn't matter. He did matter, and he was just as important to the Camp as anyone else. "Alex is my best friend. She is a good and kind person, who would sooner fall on her blade for someone else rather than be the one to take a life. There is no way that she did this without being under the influence of someone else. I would stake my life on her innocence." He looked towards her, giving her a slight smile which she returned. "She's not a murderer." Alex looked to the Gods that stood in the room. She tried to see if she could make out their reactions to Wes's words, but none of them even flickered any clue of emotion. Still, Wes had done his best to voice his thoughts about her, to try and show the rest of the room that she really wasn't a monster.

Duke came second. "I'm Duke Loycen, son of Hephaestus. I've known Alex for a couple of years, enough to say I know her well. Commonly, there's signs of a killer being born or a sociopath and she displayed and even now displays none of that. She's not a murderer or a monster. I know that hurting Jennova weighs on her conscience, so I don't think it was deliberate and I don't think it was premeditated. Killing isn't in her or her instinct. Something must have pushed her, whether circumstances or a person." He sat back down, and with his eyes on her, Alex smiled. She felt proud of both, him, and Wes. Both of them had stood up before everyone and not cared about what others might think of them for taking a 'murderers' side.

It was a good start, but Andy soon leveled everything with her speech. Of course, she would take Mason's side, but had they forgotten that Hades also tried to kill Ajax before Andy placed herself in harms way instead? It should have been Hades standing trial. Not Alex, who took in a deep breath to ready herself to hear what Andy now had to say. "I was the first person at the scene... I thought it might be beneficial to recount what I witnessed. I remember it started to rain... blood. There was no visibility, like walking through a blizzard. I somehow wondered my way to Jennova's cabin where I found her... them. Alex stood on the porch to Jennova's cabin. And Jennova... She was on the ground, decapitated. I then went and got Ajax. When I returned... I buried her. Jennova was unarmed. It looked like a murder... in cold blood." Alex remembered it now her memories were back in full swing, which is the reason why she lost most of her sanity. All of the memories hitting her like a sledgehammer to the gut with no intervals to catch her breath. Still, even if the memories had formed slowly over time, it still wouldn't have made a difference. She still felt guilt and disgust for taking another's life.

She could still picture the way it happened, blood, Jennova's blood, dripping from the blade of her sword. If she was murderous, then she would have killed Andy for bearing witness to a murder that Alex did not commit alone. "Trust you to take lover-boy's side." Ajax said, glaring at Andy without turning his head completely.

"Son.. be silent." Zeus warned, which caused Ajax to clench his jaw as he now kept silent and waited for an opportunity to make his own speech.

“Look- Trinity Wallace, Daughter of Ares. I don't know much about the actual events except word of mouth. Mason, Theo and myself were absent on a mission. I know Alex killed Jennova, but that doesn't make her a murderer. She doesn't have murderous tendencies, trust me I know. If anything, after she killed Jennova, was when she became a little unhinged. But I'm a strong believer of an eye for an eye, and I'm not sure who started it. So either payback is due and she should face some form of punishment in the eyes of the Gods, or Alex ended the cycle with Jennova.”

Alex wouldn't blame her if she decided to take Mason's side, or anyone for standing up for those they cared for since those who cared about Alex were only doing the same. However, Trinity's words had actually surprised her. She was smart to not go by hear-say. Trinity had placed herself in the neutral zone, so to speak. She hadn't been there, so to blame Alex outright without bearing witness, would have been crazy.

The newest campers seemed to be talking quietly among themselves, probably to try and guess if Alex was actually guilty of the crimes she had been committed with.

Many years ago, there was one God which had gone against the laws of their cosmos. He had slaughtered so many mortals, all because they chose to no longer worship him. This angered Zeus. This particular God was not placed on trial, for his actions were evidence that he had done it deliberately, and showed no remorse for his actions. Zeus destroyed him where he stood, and he was never mentioned in Mount Olympus again. Though he swore, that if anyone broke the laws again... he'd make them stand trial. That murderous god, the rotten apple of their roots had once been Zeus's friend. He couldn't allow that fate for his child, especially when part of her still remained.


The trial didn't seem too bad, but as soon as Hades stood to speak, Alex imagined she could feel the earth beneath her beginning to slowly open up to swallow her. Her soul would be damned to the firery depths of Tartarus, where Hades would never allow her to see the light again, or her mother who was hopefully at peace in the fields of Elysium, which is Persephone's domain - gifted my Hades himself. The snake opened his mouth and began to poison the ears of those who chose to listen. "I will remind those present that this trial isn't about intentions and an individual's belief, but the actions of the Daughter of Zeus. We all know what that was, and as a result, I have no daughter anymore. And he, without a sister. In robbing this one life, you have robbed others and you have forbidden growth. Jennova was a girl. Around the same age as the children present, no more powerful, no wiser. She attended this Camp because she wanted to better herself, like many demigods. Even I thought it would be a sanctuary, but it appears it is where the vile are permitted to roam." Alex remained silent, tears falling down her cheeks as Hades's words cut into the most. She thought that was the end until Mason added his own words. All of it made her feel even worse.

She could no longer look at anyone. Her gaze remained focused on the sand floor of the arena, wishing it would really open up and swallow her this time. Her heart felt like it was crushing along with her lungs. She held her hand over her chest, steadying her racing heart, and struggled breath.

Her brother was the last to stand. "Ajax Valis. Son of Zeus." he still didn't like saying that, still held a grudge against his father like an immature child, but this time... he finally decided to let it go. "You all forget, that it was Alex who did her best to keep everyone safe last year. She held the biggest threat back with me and our father, placing her own life at risk for everyone else to stand a chance. She held them back so the others could take out the lesser threats. Alex has been nothing but kind, and for a sudden change of personality, surely people should know that isn't right. No one can suddenly change overnight, especially when she's been such a lovely person her entire life. She was a rebel during her teen years before attending Camp Athens, but that doesn't mean she is a murderer. We all have a past.. every single one of us. Does that determine who we are, and who we choose to be now?" he sat down, fists clenched. He didn't want to take it any further, scared that he might say something he'd later regret. Her brother's words were honest, but it didn't seem to be enough. Even with Duke and Wes on her side, it just didn't seem to do her justice.


This was it. As Ares stepped down from the podium, Alex squeezed her eyes shut tightly, begging beneath her breath, sobbing as she readied herself for the fateful blow... but it didn't come.

She opened her eyes and looked up. Ares had taken hold of her arm instead, and lead her over to the luminescent liquid that filled the large basin. Were they going to drown her in that thing? without a word, he let her go and held out his hand, signaling for her to step into it. So she did.



She stood there, looking down into the basin as silence fell on the room. All eyes remained on her, and it wasn't long before the room also grew dark with only the Pensieve's light to be seen.

Memories began to form. They spiraled up before her which gave the others the insight of what exactly Alex was seeing. It formed clear images of the past, followed by whispers until they turned into voices, voices that echoed clearly around the room. Zeus swallowed as he recalled Susanna's voice.

"Alex!" she rushed over, both of her arms held open wide to embrace her child. With her cheek pressed against her mother's shoulder, Alex closed her eyes as her own arms wrapped around her mother's slender frame. Already, she hated this. The warmth of her mother's love was never forgotten. Not even the scent of her perfume that had been embedded in her skin and clothes. It had been a Greek flower - An Iris - one of her father's chosen favorites from Aphrodite's garden. "I take it the camp allowed you to finish and come home for the holidays?"

"Yes."

Susanna frowned. "What's wrong? are you not excited to be home? you and your brother get to spend time with me until you have to go back. We can plan something together. What do you think? Alex?"

She felt her hand squeeze around the handle of the blade she had suddenly picked up, and before her mother could even get the chance to leave, Alex began to plunge the knife repeatedly into her mother's stomach as she remained emotionless, even while her mother screamed in pain.

Susanna fell to the floor, bleeding to death as she begged for help, but Alex just stood there. She watched as her mother reached out toward her, her bloody fingers gripping at the bottom of her trousers. "Please..." she begged again, right before Alex finished it and exited the kitchen, leaving her mother's lifeless body in a pool of blood.

Part of her that remained in the present, stepped back and screamed out. She couldn't believe she was seeing her mother dead like that for the first time. That memory had kept itself from her... until now. "No!!" she wailed. Athena quickly moved to her side to support her.

"It's okay.. keep going." she whispered into her ear. "Dig a little deeper." but Alex didn't want to.

"No, stop! please... let me take a break. Please." she begged. Athena looked up at Zeus. He nodded once to give her the all-clear, so Athena gently leads Alex out of the memories.

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sloane astor
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wesley preston
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sylas astor
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andromeda bolton
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xEthan Knox ~ Hestia ~ #8B4513 ~ x

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xHeath Taylor ~ Athena ~ #808000 ~ x

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xxIliana Remington-Taylor ~ Demeter
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Demeter and Iliana sat together just before the trial started. Ethan and Heath sat near them too. Just before the trial started though, someone suddenly appeared and bumped right into Demeter.

“Oh, shoot - I am sorry! Today is just not my day. Well - I don’t know, I guess it’s all from a point of view. In some ways my inattentiveness was a gift.”

"It's no problem dearie. It could have happened to anyone. Is there something I can help you with?" Demeter asked.

Instead of answering her, the dark haired young woman turned to Iliana.

“Hi! You look like Iliana. I’m Apollo’s daughter, and my father wanted me to sit with you during the Trial. I actually meant to catch you before we got to Olympus, but a really cute boy sidetracked me. Has that ever happened to you?”

The girl's enthusiasm really caught Iliana. She never met anyone with overactive energy too. She did know Apollo. He'd been her primary caretaker when she had been taken care of at Olympus after her ordeal. Those memories were foggy though since she had been fighting for her own life. Her kidnapping had been horrendous and during her healing in Olympus, she had been kept under. Even Hypnos got involved when constant nightmares caused her to thrash about in her sleep, delaying the healing process. Not wanting to remember that time though, Iliana continued to listen to Apollo's daughter.

“My name’s Cherise, and I’ve got a spot saved for us. At least, I think I do,”

She saw the girl turn towards a guy with glasses. She honestly didn't know what to do either. She looked at her mother first.

Demeter smiled and replied, "Go on ahead Iliana. I am not leaving.

Iliana turned to Ethan and Heath next and they smiled back too. Cherise seemed like a nice enough person and if Demeter was fine with it, they would be also. Iliana turned back to Cherise and nodded before standing up. Before the two could leave though, Demeter said something.

"Oh Cherise, I don't know how much your father told you about Iliana, but we are trying to keep what happened to her a bit private since it's up to Iliana if she wants to talk about it. Only gods who know about Iliana are Zeus, Athena, your father, Hypnos, Hermes, Hestia, and myself. Also my daughter cannot speak at the moment so she communicates through her notebook. Have fun you two."

Iliana nodded and went ahead and sat with Cherise and the other guy with glasses.

As the trial started and people started speaking up, both Ethan and Heath played close attention. Ethan was reading the emotions behind the words while Heath was looking for possible lies. So far he couldn't detect none. One thing was obvious though, they really weren't making a lot of headway. It was almost like a "He said, she said" situation. Finally a daughter of Poseidon spoke up, basically asking for physical proof. Both Ethan and Heath agreed with her. These words though seemed to set Hecate's daughter off. It was pretty obvious too that she had been through a lot, especially when it was mentioned she lost her own brother. When Andy left, it was Ethan who stood up next since he recalled something Ajax said to him.

"Hi, I am Ethan, Hestia's son. I have a question for Ajax. Didn't you mention something about a bracelet that belonged to Alex and you believed it to be curse and the cause of her actions toward Jennova. Do you still have it? If this bracelet is cursed it could provide some answers and physical proof."

After that he sat back down and then Alex was brought to a pensive. The images scene caused her to fall apart again and this had a major effect on Iliana for her pain was overwhelming. Seeing her daughter in distress, Demeter rushed over to her and wrapped her in her arms, with Ethan not far behind. He started using his serenity inducement on her while Demeter cooed to her softly. In the meantime, Hestia rushed forward to Alex and had Athena give the girl to her.

"Come back to us Alexandria. Remember the good times with your loved ones. Breath, don't let your emotions take you." she told her, using her own Serenity inducement.

Being a goddess, her Serenity Inducement would not only affect Alex, but anyone else in distress, which included Iliana. Soon the blond calmed down. Seeing her daughter was alright, Demeter let her go while Ethan returned to his seat.

Heath was relieved to see his sister okay, but seeing Alex break down reminded him of that time when she almost unleashed her powers. He knew she had been provoked then and was a loose cannon. If she had indeed been mentally unstable when she killed Jennova, it would definitely helped her case. Wanting to find out more about the day of Jennova's murder, Heath stood up.

"My name is Heath and I am Athena's son. I have several questions regarding the day of Jennova's death and well as the actions of both the victim and defendant. Who was the last last one to see Jennova alive? Did she and Alex ever have any prior conflicts? Also, who was the last person to see Alex before the incident? How were both girls acting that day before the incident?" he asked.

Iliana listened to her brother ask questions, but her eyes stayed glue on Alex, feeling so bad for her because she could relate to her pain. Iliana herself was still in a fragile state of mind. If it wasn't for her mother, Ethan, and Heath, she could have easily turned out like Alex.

"You all forget, that it was Alex who did her best to keep everyone safe last year. She held the biggest threat back with me and our father, placing her own life at risk for everyone else to stand a chance. She held them back so the others could take out the lesser threats. Alex has been nothing but kind, and for a sudden change of personality, surely people should know that isn't right. No one can suddenly change overnight, especially when she's been such a lovely person her entire life. She was a rebel during her teen years before attending Camp Athens, but that doesn't mean she is a murderer. We all have a past.. every single one of us. Does that determine who we are, and who we choose to be now?" Ajax said, obviously looking to appeal to everyone else except himself, and the warrior princess if she remembered anything they spoke about. Pointedly, he sought her out and smirked. Ajax was a joke to Mason at this stage.

The Gods continued leading Alex to the pensieve. There it showed her killing her own mother or something alike to the maternal figure. Alex stabbed her a few times. So she had murdered her own blood while she was in the mood. "No, stop! please... let me take a break. Please." She was drawn away from the pensieve and Mason took a break himself, sighing out and resting back.

Out of nowhere another girl rose. ”I am Liv Pfeiffer, Poseidon’s Daughter - and while I might be new, and perhaps even my interjection unwanted by the vast majority here, I wanted to offer up my own personal opinions on the matter. Though, you may call it a desire to hear facts not emotional ramblings. I don’t know if trials on Olympus operate the same way as it does on the earthly realm, but since we are half-human, maybe we deserve the same courtesies afforded to us in our own courts. It’s only fair, is it not?”

He just wanted a damn recess. Mason rubbed his head as if the girl had conjured him a headache suddenly. ”I understand that you are deeply wounded emotionally from the loss of your daughter, however, what evidence do you have that the daughter of Zeus was - beyond the shadow of a doubt - the only one complicit in her murder? How do you know that the accused ... was in her correct state of mind given all that we know about the manipulations of her peers?” Her eyes pointed to Eve. This girl was just colder and colder from the right trail, Eve was nowhere near Athens last year. Nor were any spawns of Hera or Eris. Just a daughter of Zeus that couldn't be held accountable for her own actions. "Furthermore, Hades, the son of Hades, and to all others that might be against the accused - what evidence do you have that the daughter of Hades did not instigate a fight that ended in her unfortunate passing? How do you know that Andy saw what she saw because she did say that there was limited visibility. One can't be convicted guilt of hearsay."


Now she was questioning Andy's recall? She said she had limited visibility not hallucinogens. "It's so weird, it's like she's speaking to us but I can't make sense of it," he told Hades, who hushed his son calmly.

”All of the testimony thus far has been circumstantial - it’s all hearsay. While we are glad to hear that many are friends to Alex, I am wondering if there is physical evidence for or against the accused. If there is, one should offer it up immediately. The memories of the death of her mother is relevant information, but it is still not evidence that she committed the murder in question recently. It’s just an attempt to sway her peers against her and cause Alex to place blame on herself based on past actions, and it further adds to the confusion that I am sure many of the campers feel. Offer evidence for or against her, or drop the Trial until you can find it. That’s all I wanted to say as an unbiased party that is neither for or against Alex.”

Mason opened his mouth to speak but someone else beat him to it with a scoff. "Sorry, we forgot to bring Jenn's head to appease you." Mason looked to the source doubtfully. A faint smile appeared. The comment wasn't as loud as an announcement, just a casual voice but Mason heard it and he liked it. Maybe there was a bit of Daniel in there after all. Instinctively he moved his eyes to Andy hoping she had heard the first good thing in a while. But she might have been too far off like Liv was.

"I would not have stood up and given a testimony that was going to make half of the people here hate me if it was just hearsay... Or if I wasn't certain of what I witnessed. If the Gods wish to see for themselves, I will gladly walk down to that pool and show you all." Mason swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. But if Alex could see her stab her own mother, Mason could see his sister beheaded...he hoped. "As for evidence, what do you want? Her corpse? I buried her out of respect for the dead and her loved ones. And I won't exhume her body for spectacle."

Mason glanced to Hades. He better not have touched Jennova's body or soul all for the sake of a point. "I am done being a pawn for the two of you to use against one another," he heard.

Andy left and there was some other movement going on to control emotions so he took the chance to exit the Acropolis himself before death gripped his arm. "Do not disappoint me," Hades said and let him go.

Mason exited and approached Andy, though didn't come too close to the girl. Especially with new knowledge of how much a slap from her could sting. "Hey," Mason rose his hands, "I come in peace. I just wanted to check you were okay." Mason looked her over and noticed her wreath. A few demigods had wreaths and it turned into another divide for Mason. Ajax and Alex's closest clan members were gifted with them. He shook it off and carried on with what he wanted to say. "I also wanted to say I am grateful for your testimony and offering to have your memories looked into. I know it's not over yet but I wanted to say thanks, it means a lot. I'm scared shitless to see what you saw," he admitted and laughed once. "But if it's evidence..." He'd have to bear it.

Sensing he was an unwelcomed presence, he nodded to her and turned on his heel and crept back into the Acropolis to finish the trial. He wasn't trying to magically erase how he spoke to her earlier, but he wanted her to know even when he was angry with her, and her at him, he appreciated what she did.

He returned to his seat to finish the trial. "My name is Heath and I am Athena's son. I have several questions regarding the day of Jennova's death and well as the actions of both the victim and defendant. Who was the last one to see Jennova alive? Did she and Alex ever have any prior conflicts? Also, who was the last person to see Alex before the incident? How were both girls acting that day before the incident?"

Mason frowned. He was gone all day so he didn't know who saw Jenn in the last 24 hours, except for Alex. But maybe the hair model had a point. But it was all getting very tiresome, the demand for evidence, the want to know the actions of the days prior to the death. "To my knowledge there was no prior confrontation and Jennova was fine. Stop searching for exit points and a plea of insanity from her. Sometimes people are just monsters." When Mason collected a soul for Hades, he didn't play the blame game, he owned his actions.

"This isn’t a debate of whether she did it or not. We all know she did. People just want to know why so why don’t you speak up and tell everyone already so we can move this thing along," he said to Alex. He didn’t even care if they decided not to smite her at this point because he would hunt her no matter what. Even in the Underworld.

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"Hi, I am Ethan, Hestia's son. I have a question for Ajax." Ajax turns his head to look at him. "Didn't you mention something about a bracelet that belonged to Alex and you believed it to be cursed and the cause of her actions toward Jennova. Do you still have it? If this bracelet is cursed it could provide some answers and physical proof." Ajax turns his head again, this time in his father's direction who was looking straight at him, waiting for his son to answer the question.

Ajax nods. "I had Hecate look at it before the trial began. It was cursed, but it's not cursed anymore. We left it too late to find out who left the mark." he said. His eyes land on Hades. He had a feeling in the pit of his stomach that it was him, since part from his son, Hades was the one who had a deep dislike towards his father. At least, they were the only two he knew about without any doubts lingering in the back of his head. He could bet his life on it.

Liv gave a long speech, and even though she did have a point, it was clear that no one was patient enough to find out what would come next. His sister had just managed to grab herself a break, and already everyone grew restless. He didn't blame them, but a trial wasn't supposed to be fun. Ajax's gaze moves to his hands as he clasps them together, rubbing at the skin on the back of his hand as he stares at his feet with his mind absent as he waits for his sister to continue with the memories that Ajax didn't like seeing, but if it's all that can prove Alex's innocence... then so be it.

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"I had Hecate look at it before the trial began. It was cursed, but it's not cursed anymore. We left it too late to find out who left the mark." If only that cursed object had still been intact. The trial would have ended so much sooner. "No matter. Everything will be brought to light soon enough."

As his son's eyes travel to where Hades and Mason sat, Zeus also looked in their direction. It was easy to point the finger without hard evidence, which is why Zeus did not act. So many enemies lurked the very corners of Tartarus, their souls forever wailing in the depths of despair, unable to escape their torment for the gates to the underworld remained guarded by Hade's loyal beast. Cerberus. Though it was not Hades who had placed them there, not all of them at least.

So many of them still want their revenge on the King of Mount Olympus, and so many still prefer Hades as the king instead.

Hades no doubt had plans conjuring inside of that head of his, but Zeus's only concerns, for now, were on his daughter.

With his weight baring down into his hands on the arms of the throne, he straightens himself up to stand. A couple of the Demigods had left already, and he wasn't about to stop the others if they no longer wished to sit during a drawn-out trial. But every second counted for Alex. "Thank you, Miss Pfeiffer, but we are aware of what needs to be done. We will not allow my daughter's trial to be decided on emotions alone, hence why the method I am using is in progress."

He knew that she meant well, so he hoped that he wasn't too harsh. Gods didn't have much to them when it came to emotions, they lacked in areas which human's did not. But this didn't mean they felt nothing... their emotions just weren't as intense, which is why it was so easy for Zeus to leave Susanna after choosing to return to his realm. Still, he knew what love was and how much he did love her. Still loves her.

he looks down at his daughter and the goddess who is stood next to her. "Are you ready to continue?"

---

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Alex sat on the sidelines, gathering the strength she'd need for round two of reliving the memories she wanted to remain forgotten. "Are you ready to continue?" her father asks.

Alex looks down for a second before looking back up and giving him the answer they all wanted. "Yes." as the Goddess who had stepped forward to help moves her back to the pensieve, Alex was regretting every second of ever coming in the first place. But it needed to be done to clear her name once and for all. "I am so tired, and I just... I want it to be done with. I'm ready." she stepped back into the cool liquid and closed her eyes.

The Pensieve lunged into action once more, throwing Alex into a much deeper memory this time. The night of Jennova's death.

Alex remembered it well now. Jenn's face was stoic and emotionless while she took a drink of her water before leaning her right shoulder against the door frame. "What do you want?" she said, right before Alex unsheathed the sword that was attached to her back. "What the hell do you think you're doing with that?" Jennova took a step back. "Ah... well, if you think you can scare me then you're wro--" THUMP, a severed head hit the ground. She hadn't given Jennova a chance to finish.

It was Andy and Wes who had found her, and Even back then, with what was right there before them... Wes still never judged Alex. He gave her a chance to explain. "We should get you to--" Wes cut off. He hadn't noticed that Andy had run off to get Alex's brother, but there Ajax was. He had arrived and was yelling so loud that the entire camp could have heard him.

"What have you done! what the hell were you thinking?" He looked at the headless body.

"He's going to kill me... Mason's going to kill me."

"I won't let anyone kill you" Wes promised.

The memories went on a little further until there was indeed evidence of the bracelet getting to Alex by Jennova's hand. All to please her father.

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Ares let out a frustrated sigh as he watched the memories unfold. They were only going to point towards the God they had always suspected from the very beginning. As much as Hera still disliked Zeus, she had too much to lose and had been promised her Queen status on condition of keeping her claws out of the children. So it couldn't have been her.

"We have all witnessed that Hades manipulated his daughter to carry out his work against Miss Valis, so, with permission from Zeus himself, the Gods of mount Olympus hereby sentence Hades, ruler of the underworld... banished. To Tartarus." of course he wasn't going to stay there forever, no doubt he'd find his way out one way or another. The Olympian guards took hold of Hades, and escorted him out of the Acropolis. Thank god the trial was over. Ares still believed that it was pointless for everyone to have come. They could have easily found everything out without them having to see the young girls memories, but maybe it's because Zeus wanted them to know and see for themselves that his daughter wasn't the monster that many so believed. There was no bringing back Jennova, but at least all of them could move on in time, knowing that it was all done by the hands of Hades. again.

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xEthan Knox ~ Hestia ~ #8B4513 ~ x

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xHeath Taylor ~ Athena ~ #808000 ~ x

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xxIliana Remington-Taylor ~ Demeter
xxxxxxxxxx#4A766E ~ x
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"To my knowledge there was no prior confrontation and Jennova was fine. Stop searching for exit points and a plea of insanity from her. Sometimes people are just monsters."

Heath arched an eyebrow at the last thing Mason said. It was pretty obvious that Mason hated Zeus's children, just by his mannerisms. One didn't have to be an empath to figure that out. Heath wondered if Mason would target Alex if she was to be found innocent. Deciding to see if that were to be the case, he spoke directly to the son of Hades. Before he did though, he pull out his cell phone and looked up the official Webster's definition of monster online.

"Mason, that's your name correct? You call Alexandria a monster. Do you even know what the word means? I am looking at the definition of it and it has several meanings. One is an animal or plant of abnormal form or structure. Obviously that doesn't fit Alex because she looks like a regular human being. Another meaning is one who deviates from normal or acceptable behavior or character. If Alex did kill Jennova intentionally then I can see that being the case, but I would argue that all of us are capable of doing non-normal things. Monster could also mean a person of unnatural or extreme ugliness, deformity, wickedness, or cruelty. There are other definitions but they have nothing to do with Alex whatsoever. So here's my question to you Mason, do you claim Alex as a monster as a fact, or is it an opinion? Because if you're trying to say Alex is a monster as fact, then you don't have a lot of good reasons for that."

With that, Heath stopped talking as the trial went on. Athena didn't show it, for she tended to be stoic as a rule, but she was proud of her son just now for keeping a clear head. She knew Mason wanted a guilty verdict because he wanted Alex to pay for killing his sister, but the situation wasn't as clean and dry as he thought. Her gaze traveled to Hades. The god to her knowledge had been a terrible parent and she wanted to see if her insights were correct about him being responsible for his daughter's death.

Ethan wanted to laugh at what Heath said. In his opinion, he thought Heath was using logic to basically put Mason in his place. The man was emotionally charged and needed to be aware of his actions more. But then again, Ethan had never lost anyone close before, even though he almost lost his own father. That had been terrifying.

Soon Ajax answered his question about the bracelet. Well that just stunk! However Zeus was the next to speak and the trial continued with Alex returning to the pensive and the truth was finally revealed. Ethan was disgusted by Hades's actions. He wonder though if the god knew that his actions would lead to the death of one of his children. He just hoped Jennova found peace. Heath was just satisfied they got to the truth of the matter.

Throughout the rest of the trial, Iliana remained observant and admired Alex for going through with the trial. There was another who she felt bad for though; Mason. He lost a sister and his father was the reason for it. She knew what it was like to lose someone close. She could feel his anger, even though she didn't know where it was directed act. But underneath, she could also feel his grief. He did truly care for his sister. When the trial was over, she quickly headed towards Ethan and Heath. She wrote something quickly.

~I am going to talk to Mason really quick. Don't worry, mother will be with me. Can you two check on Andromida and let her know what happened?~

"Heath, can you do that? I was going to spend some time with my mother really quick since I haven't had much time yet."

"Sure thing. Be careful Lia." Heath said before the two guys left.

With that, Iliana and Demeter approach Mason. Iliana wrote down something down before waiting to get Mason's attention and showed him what she wrote on her notepad.

~Um, hello, my name is Iliana and I am Demeter's daughter. I can't speak at the moment so this is how I communicate with people. Anyway, I just wanted to say I am sorry for your loss. I saw my . . own father get killed by a human . . when I was 5 and I still have nightmares. Momma told me to remember the good times though and that has helped. So maybe you can try to remember the good times. So I guess what I am trying to say is I know how feels to loss someone dear. I remember being very angry for a long time too and I withdrew from the world. I hope you have someone to lean on. That's really what I wanted to say.~

Demeter watch the two. She remembered the day Iliana's father was killed and it was one of the worst days in her existence. She did love Iliana's father and had Apollo create a marble bust of him that was still in her private chambers to this day.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Heath went outside and soon found Andromida. He carefully approached her, making sure he came into her field of vision before addressing her.

"Good day, my name is Heath and I am Athena's son. I am also Iliana's adoptive brother. She wanted me to let you know that the trial is over. It turns out that Hades was the cause of Alex's actions for he cursed a bracelet of hers that caused her to become unhinged. I guess Jennova was a friend of yours and I am sorry for your loss. Hades has been banished to the underworld. Anyway, Iliana ultimately wanted to make sure you were going to be okay too. Would you like to be alone for now?