Stormy, stormy night
Regulus sat on his usual chair, staring gloomily ahead at his sister. Her eyes weren't supposed to be so shiny they might as well have been those creepy beads sewed on Nero's head. Of course, Nico loved his little hellhound all the more for it, being a lover of all things slightly creepy and out of the ordinary, but the point still stood. He hadn't thought it possible for eyes to be that shiny.
“I want pappa.” She said wobbly for what had to be the millionth time already. Nico nodded vigorously along, holding Nero so tightly in his tiny hands that his knuckles turned white. His eyes, too, were so shiny they made his heart hurt.
It was as if both of his siblings' eyes had gotten even darker and shinier as a defence mechanism, as there was a fear present in their eyes and in their faces he had never seen before. Regulus wished he could fight the problem until it went away and disappeared forever, but instead of a tangible enemy like a monster or even a human, this enemy was the weather itself. It had been storming for a week straight, both in the sky and on the sea nearby.
He could feel the intense tension in the air. It felt abnormal in a way that no other storm had. In a way no storm should ever feel like; predatory in a way only sentient and intelligent predators on a hunt could. He couldn't help but feel like his siblings and he were the prey. It made his neck hairs sprang up and his body felt like it was full with adrenaline constantly, making him want to fight something with every thunder blow that struck the sky and every time the wind rattled the windows.
This storm contradicted his very nature. The feeling of digging a hole for himself and hiding in it, like a bear going into hibernation to wait out a storm, grew stronger as the days passed. He felt all of that, which meant his siblings could too. If not for their appearances and his own feeling, it would have become evident by the constant coldness and darkness in their normally lit up house. He had had to light the hearth ten times already that day.
They had prayed for their father to come home, which he said he always would when he was able to, but he had not even acknowledged the food offerings they made to him, which was so unlike him as he had boldly declared Maria's cooking skills to be better than even the food of the Gods. Regulus, having tasted ambrosia and nectar before, had to agree. It tasted like his mother's food - and Kreacher's snacks on bittersweet occasions - but it just wasn't the same as the real thing.
When Hades failed to acknowledge them, they started to hopefully pray to Persephone, who also did not respond or even acknowledge them. Nico even offered all the strawberries they could find to her, and when she did not respond to the point the strawberries remained where they were for hours, he ate the strawberry tiramisu their mother made, using those strawberries, with far less fanfare than he normally would have.
Something was wrong.
So wrong that their godly parents ignored them, which they would only do if even something as small, as private as acknowledging their prayers would endanger them.
Maria smiled comfortingly at her. “I know you do, my little flower. I do, too.” She caressed her cheek softly, wiping away a tear - Regulus had not even noticed she was crying - and hummed ‘Ave Maria’ softly, like how she had hummed it like a lullaby to them when they were young.
“We must stay strong, though. Your father and step-mother would never ignore us if they did not have a good reason to do so.”
Giallo lay down by her feet and licked her with all three heads, making Bianca giggling in surprise. Not soon after, her giggles turned into sobs again and she sat down next to the still vastly growing dog, hugging him tightly.
Regulus stood up to put more wood in the hearth and poked it a few times until he was satisfied with the warmth it brought into the living room. He grabbed an enormous blanket Maria had knit two winters ago, and put it over Bianca and Nico, who had sat down next to her and had joined her in petting Giallo.
“Can't we go to pappa?" Nico asked, eyes lighting up brightly. “Then he won't have to go to us!”
Maria chuckled at his ever-present optimism. “Non, my little spirit. Your father must have a good reason to-”
Before she could finish, someone knocked three times politely, yet loudly on the front door. Both Maria and Regulus immediately tensed, having a silent conversation of who would open the door so quickly that Nico and Bianca were entirely oblivious to it.
Regulus raised an eyebrow at his mother as if to say ‘I'm a half God’, at which Maria pursed her lips as if to say ‘If something happens to you because you're careless, I will make you see God’. He took that as a sign of approval and stood up, looked at Giallo, who sat protectively in front of his little siblings and mother, before nodding once at his mother and walking casually to the front door. The normally cold to touch doorknob might as well have been freezing, but it did little to cool down his internal nerves.
Regulus straightened, put on a polite smile and opened the door, only to see a small girl with the greenest eyes and reddest hair he had ever seen smiling innocently back at him. Her features definitely were not mortal as such features could only be of a magical nature. Like everyone with enough Black blood and magic had automatically gray eyes or every Potter with magic had unruly, messy hair. It was how most magical families, including the Black family, always immediately knew if a child was a squib or not, which was also the reason why there had officially never been any squibs born in the House.
“Hello, boy.” A steady voice cut through his thoughts like a hunting knife cut through a forest. The already present scent of trees that had flown all over the place by the howling wind intensified, and the shine of the full moon outside became so bright it hurt to look at. Much like the sun hurts to look at during the day.
Regulus stood up even straighter and bowed his head, for this could only mean one being. “Lady Artemis.” He replied, still bowing respectfully, opening the door further to show the Goddess in front of him that she was a welcome guest. His parents and Persephone had warned him and his siblings many times about the Goddess' severe dislike of boys and he didn't want to risk anything. Especially not with the raging storm outside.
“May you enjoy the hospitality this house brings you, for you are a welcome guest.”, he said with years of experience of being a host to the most pompous, important wizards to exist in Wizarding Britain.
The Goddess disguised as a girl of Bianca's age addressed him with cold curiosity, which was not entirely surprising, as considering she knew where he lived, she must have been aware of his existence and curious enough to seek him out. He hoped she would not find him too lacking and transform him into an animal or something like that. Regulus had never had the desire to become an animagus in his past life and especially not when there were no kind Gods around to turn him back. Not to mention that his family would never let him live it down.
“You seem to have been raised well.” Artemis commented, stepping into the house. Despite having stood in the rain, she was completely dry, which was something he was glad for. Rainwater on a wooden floor was not the best combination and he wasn't in the mood to clean it up.
When they walked into the living room, Artemis's eyes glanced over the room, dismissing Nico without a second glance, before looking curiously at Bianca and eventually lingering on Maria.
“So you are the Mortal my uncle and sister are so enthralled by.” She mused out loud.
Maria stood up and bowed her head slightly to Artemis. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Artemis. Persephone only spoke warm words about you.” She smiled warmly. “Would you like to have something to eat or drink?”
The Goddess shook her head, before sitting down crossed-legged on the armchair Regulus had been sitting on earlier. “No, thank you. Your hospitality is appreciated and noted, however.” She replied calmly. “Persephone is the main reason why I decided to visit you so late in the evening. Although my wise sister severely dislikes it, she brought a new hunter to me.” She looked passively at Regulus and Nico. “I am not too fond of owning boys' favors, you see.”
Maria nodded back just as serenely. “The favor owed is to Persephone, though. Not to my children, their father or me.”
Artemis chuckled. It was not a cold sound, nor as full of warmth as his mothers’ laughter always was but rather somewhere in between. It reminded him of when he met Persephone for the very first time all those years ago.
“How bold of you, Maria! You are right though, and normally it would have been too much of a promise, to keep three big three children alive. They are like daughters to Persephone, though, and children of Hades are extremely rare and mostly always insane, so it's nice to invest in the good ones, isn't it? Having my uncle owe me a favor could also never hurt, I reckon.”
Artemis smiled at Maria. “All due to your good parentage, I am certain. It is a shame you cannot become one of my hunters.”
“It is, but I would not trade my little flowers for anything.” Maria replied.
Artemis nodded. “Of course, that is a statement I can understand. Persephone promised to keep sending maidens to me who have no other place. Girls who would be happy to join the hunt and girls who just need some help, should I vow to do my utter best to keep your children alive.” She spoke delightfully, before sobering up just as quickly and looking at Regulus. “It is a pity that you and your brother were not born as girls. If you take after your mother even a little bit, you would have made such wonderful hunters.” She sounded like she meant it, too.
He was glad for that, though. It might have caused some body dysmorphia, which would have been awful to deal with without magic. Especially in this time in history where people could not even openly be with their loved ones. Even his own mother and sister occasionally got looks for having a bit of a darker skin tone than everyone else around them. It was utterly ridiculous.
If he were a wizard, he could have just changed his appearance with magic and called it a day, meaning that originally having a female body would be no issue at all. Evan did that all the time. Such a thing was probably also possible with godly magic, but messing with the divine didn't sound like a good idea at all.
Regulus nodded again at the Goddess, not entirely knowing what to reply to that or if it would even have been wise to reply. Especially as the silence after her words was too long for him to reply now. That would only have made the situation incredibly awkward. His silence fortunately did not seem to matter in the end, as Artemis appeared to be content just staring at the moon and trees through the window for a while. He could respect that; words were not always needed.
Her eyes flickered back to Bianca. “Before I will elaborate further on my reason for coming to you, know that as long as you are a maiden who forswears romance, you will always have a place with me. Even if you are not a child anymore.”
Bianca nodded politely at the Goddess. “Thank you for the offer, but I would rather stay with my brothers and mother.”
Artemis nodded back just as politely. “Very well. If you ever change your mind, know that my words remain true. You would make a wonderful hunter, from what Violetta has told me and what I have seen so far.” Although her voice was soft, to Regulus she might as well have shouted as loudly as possible, using a charm to enhance her voice capacity.
Bianca had the potential to become a huntress of Artemis and even already had notified them of her interest in becoming one. Of course, their parents had disillusioned her greatly about becoming one already and she declined the offer, but if he knew anything about his little sister, it was that once she had something in mind, more than mere words were needed to completely make her lose interest.
Some part of his worries must have shown on his face or aura, as Artemis sighed softly. “That is not the main reason I am here tonight, hero.” The word ‘hero’ was said with such contempt it sounded venomous. Knowing who he was dealing with, it might as well have been. “I would love to call your sister one of my hunters, and until she is not a maiden anymore, she will always be welcome with me, but I am here for a maiden who already swore her eternal loyalty to me.”
“You are here for Violetta.” Bianca spoke much happier than before.
Artemis smiled softly at her. “Quite so. Your godly mother brought her to me and therefore I owe her a favor.” She sighed, sounding so much older than her appearance of a twelve year old girl. “She asked me to ensure the survival of you and your siblings for as long as you live, and to keep your existence a secret. Although more than a bit inconvenient considering your percentage and the war, I am a Lady of my word and your brothers seem to be decent enough for boys.”
Regulus winced slightly. “Thank you.” Nico and Bianca nodded quickly, before thanking her too.
Artemis merely sighed again, before looking at him again with those cold eyes. “Do not thank me yet, little heroes. The matter is fairly simple: with the way the war is going, not even the threat of your father's eternal wrath could stop his brothers from obliterating your siblings and you in such a painful way even my brother, the God of madness, would not be able to restore your sanity.”
Their faces paled only further. Maria had grabbed a glass of wine for herself and was slowly sipping it. Regulus wished he had one too.
“As I said, my wise sister is not happy with me at the moment. I took in a child of hers that she wanted to kill for directly insulting her. Yet, she knows very well that she has no right over her daughter anymore as Violetta's soul is willingly sworn to me for as long as she is alive. I could not ask for her divine wisdom as I normally might have in such a delicate manner, and even then I could not do so because of her loyalty to our father.”
She closed her eyes for a moment and exhaled slowly, before suddenly morphing into a teenage girl his age. She reminded him a lot of Persephone this way. Her bright red hair somehow became only intenser, resembling a living forest fire and her green eyes resembled the forest itself.
“You might be wondering why it has been storming for seven days straight.” She commented. Without waiting for their acknowledgement, she continued speaking. “Your uncles and father are in a bit of a… let's say… argument. I will not retell it entirely as it is not mine to share and words have power, but a big prophecy has been spoken about a child of the eldest gods turning sixteen and having to make a possible disastrous choice that could be the end of Olympus.”
Regulus paled, looking concerned at his siblings and mother. The dreadful look that was undoubtedly in his eyes, was mirrored in theirs. Maria looked protectively at Nico and Bianca, looking like she would fight even the Fates themselves to protect them. Regulus couldn't agree more with her
Artemis must have not noticed or cared about their dread, as she continued speaking as calmly and seriously as before. “Naturally, that outcome needs to be avoided at all costs. The queen of Olympus suggested, as I quote, to ‘just kill the bastards and be done with the problem’, which resulted in a bit of a fight between her and my father. Eventually, my father made a compromise with the queen of Olympus to only send the male heroes on deadly quests so they could have a chance for Elysium. I accepted his female daughters in my hunt.”
Maria's face paled even more. “They just killed them?” She whispered.
Artemis nodded. “Indeed. The king of Atlantis got quite angry at the suggestion of sending his children off to die. He did not have any living mortal daughters, which only made the matter worse. When he pointedly refused and questioned his ruling as king, my father…” She winced, “stroke them and their mortal parents down with his lightning bolt. To say that the Lord of the seas did not take it well would be an understatement.”
Her eyes flew over Regulus's siblings and him, green eyes looking stormy. “Hades denied having any mortal children under the age of sixteen. As did Pluto.” She waved carelessly at them. “Obviously, that was a lie, which might be for the best too, as Hades clearly loves you and my father likely would have killed you and your children the same way, had he known of your existence.”
Maria hummed. “I can see how that would have ended poorly. Especially with the already raging war.”
Artemis nodded gloomly. “That would have resulted in a disaster perhaps even bigger than the Troyan war was. If they had panicked less, the Olympian council would have made Apollo ask Hades and Pluto if they have any mortal children under the age of sixteen, the living lie detector he is. It could have avoided a disaster. Alas, what happened, happened and I was able to keep my word, which meant I had to find a better solution during this week that my father and uncle have been fighting.”
Maria shook her head. “Even now they do not have any mortal children under the age of sixteen anymore, I know more than enough stories about your father and uncle to envision this outcome.”
Persephone nodded. “Which is why the queen of Olympus made them swear on the river Styx to not have any mortal children anymore.” She sighed, morphing into a tired looking woman in her early twenties. “I know very well that sooner or later they - especially my father - will break this oath, and as my brother's twin sister, I am well aware that no prophecy could ever be avoided and that by trying to do so, it may as well become a self-fulfilling one.”
Maria sighed defeated, breaking her normally perfect posture. “I assume you managed to find a solution? Otherwise you would not have come.”
Artemis sat straighter and turned into an energetically looking twelve year old girl again. It almost gave him whiplash. “Indeed. After intensively researching for solutions, I ended up asking my twin brother for help.” She admitted, scrunching up her nose slightly. “Apollo told me that over the eons, he has lost many lovers to time. At first I thought he was just being his poetic, dramatical self, but then Hermes butted in that Apollo and him once had the same lover who even had twins with them. One was his, the other Apollo's. They loved her and she loved them in a way it did not become messy. All was well until one day she simply disappeared into thin air.”
“She did not die?” Regulus asked, already knowing the answer.
“That's what they thought at first.”, Artemis acknowledged. “They loved her so much they even went to your father and bothered her until he sought her and told them she wasn't in his house. They were devastated and sought the entire earth for many, many mortal years, and only until their sons had long since died and left legacies, did they find her. By then, it was much too late.”
Maria frowned. “Too late, how?”
Her forest green eyes burned with an intensity that made him nervous. “When they found her, her mind had long since been destroyed so thoroughly that she did not even recognize them. Her body was frozen in time, yet her mind had been lost to it. Such are the dangers of falling in love with two Olympians and receiving their love in return. The Morai love a good Greek tragedy.”
A cold shudder rang over his neck to the point even the warm hearth did not manage to warm him up. “Death would have been a kinder fate.” He spoke resolutely. Her fate sounded a little too close to what could have been his fate for his comfort. A body stuck in a place it would never change, never leave on its own and a mind destroyed. Would that have happened to him, had he become an Inferi and had Death not given him this second life?
Artemis's eyes got a sad shine to it. “It would have." She whispered regretfully. “No innocent person deserves to suffer that much. Especially not because of love.”
She looked solemnly at his siblings. “Especially not innocent children, despite their gender. Yet, the Lotus Hotel - the place I mentioned - seems to be the only place I could hide you and your siblings without your uncles or the other Olympians immediately discovering your existence. You could sit this war out, as to speak, and then go outside of the hotel and see your godly parents again when another mortal Godling has fulfilled the prophecy. Even your mortal mother could come with you.”
Artemis gave Regulus a weak smile as his heart lightened considerably. The lingering doubt continued to permeate his mind, but he shoved those thoughts away. The woman Artemis mentioned earlier was all alone and a mortal. He would be with his siblings and mother until the war would be over. Love was one of the most powerful bases of magic. It would protect their minds and souls. Besides, this wouldn't be the first time he'd live in another time period. They would manage just fine.
“At least we would have a chance, right?” He ultimately ended up saying.
Artemis shrugged lightly. “I still think that your brother and you would be better off joining the fate of your uncles’ mortal sons, and Bianca joining my hunt would be the most merciful option, as the Lotus hotel should not be underestimated, but I gave Persephone my word and thus will stand by it.”
Maria's eyes sharpened. “Are there any other side effects of this hotel?”
Artemis nodded. “There are. Once a mortal enters the place, they might never want to leave again, and the longer a mortal is in there, the more they lose themselves. I know of mortals who entered the hotel millenia ago and now cannot even think or speak anymore to the point even their soul had vanished into nothing. As if it had been sucked out slowly until nothing but the empty husk of their body remained. I know of mortals who lost their minds in mere months. To them, death would have been a kinder fate.”
Regulus's eyes grew wide. That sounded an awful amount like the after effects of a Dementor kiss. Except, this was supposed to be a good experience, while the Dementor he had seen during the war made him feel like he was dying. Suddenly, he didn't know if this would be such a good idea after all, but then again, what choice did they really have?
“Time will go on much faster than we will think and we will be together, my little flowers.” Maria smiled comfortingly at them. “The war that is going on in the world right now, led by your disgraceful half-brothers, will be gone when we eventually exit the hotel.” She looked at Regulus, specifically. “You definitely won't be drafted this way in a few years.”
Oh Gods, he had not even thought about being drafted to fight in the war. It seemed as if wherever he went, war was not far behind. He would have hated to die in a war so soon after having done the exact same thing in his previous life. Especially as in both lives, he would not be fighting for the winning side (at least not at first). Fighting a war his absolutely insane and even comically evil half brothers fought in was not his idea of a good time. Not to mention that they did some truly atrocious things. There was a reason that in his past life, even Grindelwald had not gone as far as Hitler.
Maria looked at Artemis. “I know you do this as a favor for Persephone and we accept the offer, but as a mother I must thank you for keeping my children alive and even going so far as to do your best to keep them alive their entire lives when you can. I do not know when, but when I will be able to,” She glanced at Regulus's siblings and him, “when we will be able to, we will thank you properly. You will forever be welcome to our house and family.”
Artemis nodded once, eyes softening, before they all disappeared from the ancestral di Angelo manor and appeared in the lobby of the most fancy hotel he had ever seen. Regulus instinctively straightened, he saw his siblings do the same thing. The lotus flowers that were everywhere only enhanced this incredible luxurious effect. They smelled so good, too. Persephone would have loved them.
A man wearing a black satin tuxedo with a lotus flower sticking out of the pocket on his chest, greeted them in the most stereotypical American accent he had ever heard. “Ah, you must be the Di Angelo's!” He smiled widely, showing off golden teeth, before bowing down to Artemis and holding out his hand.
Artemis raised an eyebrow, but filled his hand with golden drachmas nevertheless, causing the man to smile greedily. “Naturally, this stay will be all off the books.” He tipped his hat to Artemis, who glared at him, making him gulp. “What I meant to say is ‘I promise on the river Styx that this will all be off the books; that no one besides me will know you brought this family here and that I will not share their names.”
Artemis smiled coldly at the deafening lightning strike that was audible outside, before disappearing into thin air. Where she had stood before, was a pile of golden drachmas that was as big as her twelve year old self had been.
Instinctively, he knew it to be the equivalent of twelve million euros. It was ridiculous, but Artemis was a Goddess after all, and she didn't seem like the kind of woman to be a big spender.
Both his siblings looked with wide eyes at the pile of golden drachmas; they must have noticed it too. Luckily, they weren't as foolish as to try to grab one. Giallo looked hungrily at the pile as if it would make a good snack, however. One look from Maria was enough to stop the dog from trying anything.
“Well,” the man said, radiating greediness to the point he could taste it on his tongue. It was bitter, as if coffee had been steeped for too long and became impossible to drink. “best to lead you to your suites myself, isn't it? I don't know your parentage nor will I openly assume things, but it looks like Artemis has herself a little secret. A welcome one, though!”