A Date With The Dead

I blearily woke up to a room I was unfamiliar with.

As my mind cleared up, everything since yesterday came back to my mind.

After a moment, I got out of bed. "Better to be here than with The Pit."

After freshening up, I joined everyone at the dining hall, where Mom had placed a spread of blue pancakes and maple syrup.

"Hey, Percy," Annabeth said, giving me a chaste and slightly awkward hug.

"Morning," I said. "How was everyone's sleep?"

"The beds are honestly amazing," Annabeth said. "Thankfully, Clarisse wasn't a bother."

"You were a bother," Clarisse said back teasingly. "Tossing and turning."

"I'm sorry," Annabeth said, blushing slightly.

Clarisse rolled her eyes. "Its not a big deal whatsoever."

Rachel looked at Mom. "Did you use... Your milk for the pancakes."

Mom nodded shyly. "Is the taste that obvious?"

"No," Rachel said. "I was just thinking about how you'd feed us all the milk, and this just made sense."

Juno looked at her plate in disgust. "I have to eat food made from a mortal's milk?"

"Face the Moirae at your own risk," Amphitrite said, eating her pancakes. "I am not living under any such delusions of grandeur."

Juno glared at Amphitrite and angrily ate her food.

As soon as breakfast was over, Zoë came up to me.

"Perseus, I would request thou to join me in the Date Hall," she said. "We have much to speak of."

I nodded, following her to the weird door. She held the handle with her eyes closed, as if communing with the door, then she opened the door.

Once we went through the door, we found ourselves in a forest, with two bows and quivers on a table next to the entrance.

"I am sure thou art confused," Zoë began as she grabbed her bow and quiver. "Before we commence our discussion, I would request thee to entertain me with a challenge to Hunt a rabbit, that we may cook and eat."

"There's only one rabbit in this whole clearing?" I asked.

"Yes, that is what I requested," Zoë said. "Whoever kills the rabbit chooses how the date progresses!"

Before I could process her challenge, Zoë ducked into the trees and ran away, leaving me to my own devices.

I tried following her, but within a minute, I was no longer able to know which direction she went, so I decided to search for the rabbit instead.

I retraced my footsteps and grabbed my bow and quiver, then I started going through the forest.

An hour later, I heard Zoë's voice from the treetops.

"I have given thee an unfair challenge," Zoë said amusedly. "Thou art making thine steps so loud, the rabbit has constantly evaded thee."

I looked up to see her in the trees, smiling at my bullheadedness.

"Have you been watching me this whole time?" I asked embarrassedly.

"Thou hast been in my sight for all but two minutes," Zoë said with a chuckle as she dropped to the floor. "Dost thou admit defeat?"

"You haven't gotten the rabbit yet, so no," I said with a grin.

"Oh?" Zoë said, then she pointed above me.

I looked up to see the dead rabbit strung up, its head unrecognizable due to the arrow.

"You've won," I said with a defeated grin. "What now?"

"Now, you shall help me cook the rabbit," Zoë said, guiding me.

She took me to a clearing, where there was a fire, and some camping essentials.

As Zoë and I began cooking the rabbit, she began to speak.

"As I am the winner of the wager, the choice is mine," Zoë said. "I would like to start our new... Relationship with the truth. Thou shalt ask me a question, and I shall answer truthfully, then we shall take turns."

"That's fair," I said. "Give me a moment to think what I should ask, please."

"Take thy time," Zoë said.

After a few minutes of us prepping the rabbit, I spoke up.

"Did you forgive me?" I asked.

Zoë looked at me confusedly. "Forgive thee?"

"Nevermind, of course you didn't," I said in understanding. "What's your question?"

"I had another question, but that shall wait," Zoë said. "For what, dost thou seek my forgiveness?"

"For letting you die," I admitted shamefully, looking away.

"Perseus, my **** was no fault of thine," Zoë said, making sure to hold eye contact. "It was Fated. If thou wisheth to find a guilty party, let it be my father, and me."

"You didn't do anything wrong, though," I said.

"And neither did thou," Zoë said. "Too often, the greatest of us forget their limitations. I hold no ill will against thee, even in this prison we find ourselves in."

"About that," I said. "How do you feel about being here?"

"I find myself... Conflicted," Zoë admitted. "On one aspect, the Olympian Council was fragmented, faulty, and detrimental for the future. On the other, what good shall this place do by bringing the people who made those mistakes back? Why has it brought us, when we are liable to make similar mistakes? What's the benefit to this 'game?'" Zoë sighed. "What are thy thoughts?"

"Honestly, mostly the same," I admitted. "But, I am extremely thankful that I'm no longer in the Pit's hands, it just sucks that this is happening. I'm scared, but it'll work out, maybe. This is gonna be weird, but when did your constellation die?"

Zoë laughed. "In the stars, I barely had any conscience, I was merely aware of some of what happened, then my life was just... Snuffed out."

I nodded, then changed the topic. "The food does smell good."

"Thou needn't patronize me and change courses," Zoë said. "I am a strong woman. Now, I must ask, how eager art thou to bed me?"

"Honestly, not a lot," I said. "Like, ok, you're a beautiful woman and all, but you're never someone I thought I'd... bed. I'm not sure if that makes sense. I guess I'll throw a similar question back at you. How do you feel about maybe being **** to have intercourse with me?"

"Should I have intercourse with thou, it shan't be ****," Zoë said teasingly. "Thou misunderstand, I aim not for anything from you, I need not be on the Olympian Council, such lofty aspirations are above me."

"So, what do you want?" I asked.

"Nothing," Zoë said. "I've died already, I have naught to aspire for. I shall only play these games of the Fates during the Game and Challenges. Now, as thou asked me two questions, I have two questions for thee. Firstly, shall your bed be open?"

"At first, I was worried," I admitted. "But now, it seems like the Fates will just keep this show going indefinitely without punishments, so for now I'm not as worried."

"I see," Zoë said. "As I'm sure thou art aware, the Fates will be unhappy if they choice is to avoid playing the game."

"They'll just have to regret choosing me," I said. "It sucks, I guess."

"I agree," Zoë said. "Thou art the one with the power, as they wish to establish you for their benefit. My second question is how shall you ensure that we are better than the previous generation?"

"I started losing sleep on that already," I admitted. "I think the answer is that I need to stop thinking like it's Olympus. Matter of fact, the Titans had Mount Othrys, ours can and will be different. I think we need to stop thinking of Non-Olympians as Minor Goddesses. I don't know what we'll call it instead, but I think that's necessary."

"That step is all I needed to know," Zoë said. "Now, let us eat our food, then I shall educate thee on how to walk in the forest."

"Sounds like a plan," I said with a smile.