FLOWER GIRL // Percy Jackson

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"It isn't how it should be! It isn't!" Azaleas blood boiled, she couldn't care less what the other gods thought or that she was a hero, none of that would ever matter to her. "Eat or be eaten. Power and glory and nothing else matters. Ares is that way, Zeus is that way, and dare i say all gods are that way."

She was attempting not to cry in front of Hephaestus but the blonde girl could stop them from coming. "He isn't that way, he's better than that. I even tried to be that way once but I never wanna be that way ever again. I won't be like all of you, I would never let myself be like all of you." More tears fell down her rosy cheeks.

Azalea kneeled back down on the ground staring at the complex machine in front of her. Her head was down while she dried her tears away, the skin around her eyes now raw from how much she had cried in the last few minutes. From above the man watching the saddened girl sniffle to herself, and deciding to blow a harmonious tune on his flute making the machine reverse and the gears begin grinding.

The young girl got up and rushed to the front of the throne watching the gold slowly melt away from his body. When the gold was fully gone Percy looked around spotting an older man at the top of the balcony he quickly got up stumbling to Azalea in front of him. "Everything alright." She whispered to him grabbing on to him gently Azalea scanned his face to make sure he was alright.

"Some of us don't like being that way either" Hephaestus told her. Percy stood slightly ahead of her holding her hand, Azaleas other hand holding on to his arm both of the teenagers breathing heavily from the adrenaline of the situation.

"You're a good kid, Azalea." Hephaestus walked off closing the metal door behind him. Leave the two in silence Azalea turned and gave Percy a bone crushing hug "you have to stop scaring me like that." She breathed into his chest, Percy hummed returning the hug.

—— WALKING INTO THE diner a bell rung above them alerting the room that people were entering. Azalea had Ares shield in her hand while Percy fallowed a few steps behind her. Along the way she had discarded her blue jacket, hating the way the wet material felt against her skin as well as her hair probably being a complete wavy mess from drying up on their walk back to Ares and their friends. 

Spotting them at the same table the short girl walked over and threw the metal shield in front of Ares creating a loud bang sound. A smirk filled Ares face staring down the two kids, Azalea lifted her brows at him as if to say 'try me'. "Where's our ride." Percy questioned.

The god of war nodded his head over to the back door, he grabbed his shield and walked over not saying a word to them. Annabeth, Grover, Percy and Azalea gave each other questioning looks before getting up and following after Ares.

Fallowing behind her friends she saw Ares standing next to a white truck "you're kidding" Percy explained. The god of war shaped his fingers and the doors on the back of the truck opened. Azalea nearly face palmed, she felt mad, all that and now she had to sit in a dirty, smelly truck.

"Get in, don't. I really don't care, but in a few hours this thing is gonna be at the Lotus Casino in Vegas. Hermes hangs out there you play your cards right and his personal driver can get you to L.A. in minutes." Ares through a bag at Percy "here, clothes, cash, Drachmas to summon Hermes. I'd wish you luck but what good would it do you."

"We're not going to fail." Percy challenged.

"Don't worry, your dad had plenty of kids he stopped caring about once he lost interest. You'll have lost of company." Ares taunted.

"We're not gonna fail and I'm getting pretty tired of you saying it." Percy walked closer to the god of war. "You think you know who I am, but you don't. And if you aren't careful." They started each other down "you're gonna find out."

"Percy." Grover walked over and warned him pushing him away from the man. "So thank you for the emotional abuse and the cheeseburger, and the ride. We're gonna take you up on that too."

Ares gave them all one more glance as they climbed into the truck the smell making Azalea cringe. "Hey do you think we could get some paper towels or something, it's not that nice in here." Grover asked Ares who had moved to stand in front of the truck. He snapped his fingers and the doors began to shut but before it fully closed Azalea put her middle finger out "yeah, fuck you too." The door shut in her face completely darkness filling the inside of the truck. 

"Well... this smells." Percy pointed out walking further into the truck.

"If it gets us where we need to go, that's all that matters." Annabeth reasoned. 

"Assuming Ares was telling the truth."

"He wasn't not entirely, at any rate. He was holding something back" Grover budded in. "How do you know?"

"Because I think I got it out of him... I know who stole the master bolt."

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Hi my lovely readers happy valentines to all of you!!!!!

Love Estella