Blessings from Khaos

|I'm Not Even a Whisper in Your Thoughts but You're Screaming in Mine|

"What," Hermes snarled, his eyes flashed and suddenly, the place that was so cool it made you drool was a lot less cool.

Lea heard that name before.

"Poly-who?"

"He's one of your brothers," Hermes sneered. "Far less respectable than those like Tyson and the ones that work alongside Hêphaistos and in service of Father. Polyphêmos is a gigantic, insolent, and lawless shepherd! He devoured mortals though he preferred the meat of humans. Neglectful towards the agriculture and the fruits of the field were reaped by him and his old clan without labour. They had no structure. No laws. Horrible beasts and he was the greatest and worst of them all. When Odysseús blinded him so long ago, your Father had been so infuriated that it added more years to the hero's journey home especially after Polyphêmos had done all he could to avoid that exact fate."

"Didn't he eat all of his friends," Lea asked, not minding the confused looks Grover and Percy gave her.

"Your Father was always the most protective of his children, even the less respectable ones."

"The Cyclops!" Grover said, exasperated. "I almost got away. I made it all the way to St. Augustine."

"But he followed you," Percy said. "And trapped you in a bridal boutique."

"That's right," Grover said. "My first empathy link must've worked then. Look, this bridal dress is the only thing keeping me alive. He thinks I smell good, but I told him it was just goat-scented perfume. Thank goodness he can't see very well. His eye is still half blind from the last time somebody poked it out. But soon he'll realize what I am. He's only giving me two weeks to finish the bridal train, and he's getting impatient!"

"Wait a minute. This Cyclops thinks you're-"

"Yes!" Grover wailed. "He thinks I'm a lady Cyclops and he wants to marry me!"

Lea could see Percy biting his lip to stop from laughing at his friend, but he was not Lea's friend and she had no reservations about laughing at him. Lea cackled echoed by Hermes as she struggled to stand upright. "Oh, why didn't you tell us that you were genderfluid or trans? I am so sorry if I ever used the wrong pronouns. Or are you still cis and just wanted to wear a dress? Come on, Underwood, help me out here."

"This isn't funny," the satyr said, deadly serious and shaking with fear.

"Of course it is," Lea laughed, waving away his words. "I always thought that my wedding would be the first one Percy was a part of, if not his own. Oh my gosh, are you going to be the next Bridezilla or Goatzilla?"

"I'll come rescue you," Percy promised, shoving her a bit. "Where are you?"

"The Sea of Monsters, of course!"

"The sea of what?"

"I told you! I don't know exactly where! And look, Percy and Leaneira ... urn, I'm really sorry about this, but this empathy link ... well, I had no choice. Our emotions are connected now. If I die ..."

"Don't tell me, I'll die too."

That knocked the smile off Lea's face while Hermes bristled beside her. I'll have Dionysos remove that as soon as possible. Honestly, what was he thinking making that link? Twins are an intricate part of our pantheon with fates that are so combined that the ends of your threads can't be differed from the beginnings. Twins are the same and the opposite and everything that is in between. They are the beginning and the end. Apollôn and Artemis are the sun and moon light. Hêlios and Selênê are the suns and moons."