When Day 4 rolled around, Percy was out in the woods before sunbreak.
Silent as the morning stream, he picked his way through the underbrush of the wild forest until he found what he was looking for - a cimmerian temple marked with the amber symbol of two twin torches crossed like swords in battle.
He took a deep breath, his foot hitting the smoother stone steps of the honourable temple.
In the next 10 strides, he entered the temple and knelt at the alter.
"My Lady, I must apologise for my absence." Percy started, bowing his head down. "My father has asked me to observe the annual gladiator tournament, and... I have come across a predicament."
He didn't get a verbal response, but he took the sudden appearance of a serpent in the corner of the room as a sign.
"I seem to have an... attraction to a certain man within this tournament, his name is Jason Graces. A gladiator from up north, Britannia, and... quite frankly, I am not sure as to why. I was hoping that, maybe, you could assist in this issue, being one of your favoured mortals."
The serpent slide over, her purple eyes watching Percy. Instead of attacking, as most mortals would expect of a snake, the sleek black scaled creature regarded Percy calmly and then turned around and moved for the back of the temple.
Percy stood, his obsidian cloaks ruffling from his movement, and he followed the creature deep into the undergrounds of the temple.
With nothing to guide him but the subtle hissing noises, Percy let his fingers brush against the scabrous limestone walls, until they surfaced at a circle with four stone hedges.
Percy knew this place, he'd been here several times before - 3 years old being the first. This was the crossroads, the sacred place of Hekate, where one will go to see the path to the future. Most preferred Janus, he was straight forward, black and white. But Hekate was neither black nor white - she was perse, she was xanthous, she was bittersweet and anything but bland.
Percy faced North, watching as the mask gave way to a vision - A king of sorts, an army shuffling north as green eyes glared angrily south.
He turned, facing East quickly. Black night filled his sight, the soft purple glow of a lamp shining through a pitcher of wine. There were coins on a table, and the look of a man with blonde hair sorrowfully watching the wine like it held painful memories.
Percy then turned to face West. For a moment, nothing happened, then the shimmering light of a blue sea took life around him, the wind blowing the fabric of an all too familiar cloak.
A man stood opposing to her, his face hidden.
"I'll do it." Was the only words he heard. Hekate turned to Percy, raising an eyebrow as if to say 'I gave you your paths, which shall you choose?'
He staggered back, confused. He's never been torn about his paths - that was what Hekate liked about him. Level headed, he knew what he wanted even with the Mist clouding his judgement.
Doubtfully, he slowly turned South. The empty stonehedge meekly showed him as King, sitting at the top of a balcony, inattentive and alone.
He stood there, watching his own aged face yawn and tap his fingers on the stone.
"I..." Percy stood taller. "I think it is time that maybe... Maybe I learn how to listen to my sister. I am sorry, My Lady, but your paths only showed heartbreak and loneliness, and one thing you have shown me is that I must fight for a path. I shall make my own."
The light of the moon flickered softly at this, as if shocked, but other than that Percy got no other response. So he picked the space between the South hedge and the East hedge, picking through the wild plants and off towards the palace.
Little to his knowledge, a goddess watched him from where he once stood, a smile on her face and a roseate tint to her dress.
YOU ARE READING
Cobblestone Swords
Romance[ jercy ] - English! ❛ Percy's never cared for the annual tournament his father holds every year, but a certain blond haired gladiator makes him think twice about his feelings. Of course, this leads to a series of events that could, or could not, en...
