1,537Wrestling With the Past
"Come on! I'm not even that late!"
"Nope. You got a free pass earlier because it's your birthday, not to mention a titjob!"
By the time I managed to get Sierra and Juniper back to the warehouse, and sent Mrs. O'Leary off for a much needed lunch, I also wanted to eat a little bit. Having already seen the prep work Katie and Phoebe pulled off, I found myself rather eager for my midday meal… Or late afternoon.
Instead, when I tried to get my serving, Katie cut me off because I was thirty minutes late, and everyone had once again finished their meals.
"It's not like I was screwing around or anything! I was out looking for a spot to have the nymphs settle down if we needed to make an emergency stop."
That set her for a pause. She curled her lip and set down a meal prep container.
"Where's Khione then? There are a lot of others who didn't show up. But she's the one I'm most confused about."
"Um… Probably asleep actually. I laid her down for a nap after she took a dip in a hot tub with Piper and Drew."
She crossed her arms and tapped her foot on the ground while smirking. "So you weren't trying to get a little bit of ice cream for your metaphorical birthday cake this morning?"
I straightened my neck. "Honestly, now that you say it, I'm a little disappointed I didn't think of that. She was pretty cuddly…" I shook my head. "But no. I wasn't even here."
Huffing, she spun around and sealed the top for the last of her containers. "Tell you what then. Several others didn't show up either. So you go deliver their food, then you get yours; and I'll even throw in something extra for your dessert after dinner."
"Is it a little more of what we had in the fridge?"
She at least had the sense to snort. "No, nothing like that. Tempting though. And I know I can taste pretty good."
"Wait, so you—"
"You'll find out what dessert is when the time is right. In the meantime, you have deliveries to make. Capiche?"
"Alright, alright. Who?"
"Like I said, there are several, aside from Khione. Your wife, for one. Then we have Thalia, Reyna, and Silena. Hmm… The nymphs don't really count, since they don't need to eat like us… Unless one of your dryads happens to be a venus flytrap, I suppose."
"Focus please. My stomach depends on it. Was that all?"
"Not quite. Zoë didn't show up either. Same with Kinzie."
"Well… I don't know about Zoë. Or Silena for that matter. Haven't seen them all day. But I'm pretty sure I can guess where the others are, and you wouldn't be able to take them their food even if you knew."
"But you can?"
"Yup."
"Perfect. In that case, you just happen to be the right guy for the job. I'll handle Zoë and Silena. Have fun, delivery boy. Hurry back if you still want your lunch to be warm."
She loaded four containers into my arms and all but waved me off. While I marched off, grumbling almost as much as my stomach, she joined Phoebe washing dishes while Julia cackled off to the side.
At least I can say the trip was uneventful. With the exception of the guards damn near frisking me when they saw the food. As if I'd poison those I love. Especially Annabeth.
For what it's worth, the mood in Hylla's room shifted quite a bit compared to the first time around. Not that she was up and about. Hades, she wasn't even awake. Still tended to by medics, every vital monitored; she rested on her bed while the ventilator kept her lungs full of sweet oxygen.
The source of the shift came in the form of a small study group in a corner of the room. Circled around a small coffee table, the quartet of my harem members buried their heads in scrolls and books alike. Sure, seeing Annabeth like that was almost second nature. But for Thalia of all people to study… Gods, how I wished I had a camera. Talk about blackmail material for months.
"Keeping busy?"
Thalia was the first to look up from her scroll. "Oh, look. We get our own room service. Care to bring up some warm towels?"
"Keep laughing, Pinecone Face. I can walk right back out and take the food with me."
"Don't even joke like that." Kinzie hopped to her feet and snatched a container before I could react. "I'm liable to chase you down and sit on you while eating."
"Not as frightening of a concept as you might think."
"Maybe not," Reyna said, laying down a roll of papyrus. "But we could really use some food. None of us really had much of an appetite after… you know."
"Katie and Phoebe made all of this. So no need to worry." I handed out the remaining containers. "And if someone messed with this, they'll run straight to Tartarus if it means escaping their wrath. No one messes with Katie's cooking."
Annabeth was the only one to not lift her head. Nose buried in a book, she went oblivious to the world until I stepped behind her and slipped my hands over her eyes.
"There are a grand total of two people who can get away with doing that, and one of them was sitting right in front of me." She put down the book, pulled my hands away from her face, then leaned her head back to meet my eyes with her own. "You're lucky you happen to be the other one."
"What can I say? I like being the exception to the rule. Think I can take advantage of another?"
"Such as?"
I leaned down and pecked her lips.
Thalia faked a gag. Granted, she couldn't do much when I made her next on the list. Is it bad that I kind of liked the way the sparks bounced between our lips. Of course, I couldn't leave Reyna out, and she went the extra mile to hug me. Kinzie huffed when I didn't add her to that list, but I decided that would be better reserved for a later time.
"So this is everything Theora could get you?"
"Why? Were you expecting more?"
On the contrary, whatever scouring the nymphs did must have actually left a fraction of a dent in the archives. Stacks of books and manuscripts, several armfuls of scrolls, and even a tablet with who knows how many searches on it.
"At this point, I'm convinced she grabbed anything that happened to say the word 'nymph.'" Thalia sulked. "Honestly, why do I need to know about the life cycle of a dryad?"
"Or the details of the nebulae language." Reyna rolled up her scroll and set it aside before digging into her lunch.
"It beats not having enough information," Annabeth countered. "We'll find something. We have to."
"Damn right we do." Kinzie already finished her food, and returned to going over a book with diagrams.
Even Reyna did a double take. "Since when could you finish your food that fast?"
She glanced up. "Always? We have work to do, so let's do it."
While she returned to her reading, the others turned to me.
"Kinzie… Are you okay?" I kept my voice low, but I'm pretty sure even the guards were trying to listen in.
She turned a page, scanned it over for a couple seconds, then glanced up at me. "No."
Then back to her book. While the others tried as well as they could to enjoy their meals, I walked around the table, pushed the book down, then pulled her away from it.
"You know I could leave you flat on the ground."
"You could," I said. "But you won't."
Hand around her wrist, I led her away from the table. We crossed the room, our gazes flitting over to Hylla, whom the medics monitored like hawks. The guards observed us with little expression, though the one at the door eyed me with a hint of suspicion before flicking her eyes over to Kinzie and letting us pass.
"Where are we going?" Kinzie said once the door closed behind us.
"For a walk."
"I said 'where.'"
"Wherever our feet take us."
"Cryptic. What did you do to Percy Jackson?"
"What did you do to Kinzie?"
That set her at a pause. She frowned at me, wearing an expression of bewilderment.
"It's not enough to say you're upset about me putting you off for as long as I have. Sorry about that by the way. When stuff like this comes up…"
"You don't need to convince me. Granted, it's still messed up that you'll jump between the legs of everyone else, but you won't give me a chance. In case you didn't notice, I've been throwing myself at you since day one. At this point, I might just start humping your leg."
"Careful not to do that around Annabeth. Last thing you want to do is give her more of a reason to keep you on a short leash. Literally in this case."
"Don't tempt me. But that's another point. You jump back to everyone else just for the fun of it, but you know that I need this. So why the cold shoulder?"
We rounded our way out of the winding halls and into the warehouse proper. Only when we paused for a couple passing forklifts did I put together an answer.
"When I got together with the others, it wasn't just my first time with them. It was their first time in general. Not all of them could have the experience they wanted. You saw the worst of it with Sierra. I want to make sure you have that chance. Maybe not something perfect. But with all of the chaos these past few days, I figured it would be a better idea to aim for a slower day."
She mulled over my words while we strolled along.
"So you're under the assumption that I'm a virgin."
"Are you saying you're not?"
"No. In fact, I think I had a pretty enjoyable sex life before I died. It wasn't very frequent, but I had a great partner. Hopefully, you can keep up."
"Oh… Well, in that case… I guess I was worrying over nothing."
"Yeah. If you think I'm going to be some blushing virgin who can't tell what feels good, you have another thing coming."
"I'll keep that in mind. Was he one of the jumpsuit jockeys running around here?"
"Jealous?" She narrowed her eyes at me, but a slight smile cracked her lips. "For the record, no. There are a lot of couples here, but I tend to prefer someone actually capable of standing toe to toe with me. Most guys here would bark if I told them to."
"Sounds depressing honestly."
We strolled along the warehouse, passing by the cafeteria. Tempted as I was to pay Katie a visit, I decided to focus instead on keeping Kinzie talking.
"It's complicated," she said. "Most of the guys are on the more submissive side. More followers than leaders, and most of the women here are happy to take the reins. Sometimes literally. But we've also got some studs around. You probably saw them in the gym. They don't offer much outside of the physical, but most of them have quite a few Amazons eating out of their hands."
"Including you?"
"Pfft! Hahaha!" She doubled over, holding her stomach as she wretched out a desperately needed string of laughs. "As if. Try to pin almost any body builder up against any soldier. See how matched they are. They might be able to scare off most people, but back them into a corner, they'll panic just as easily as most civilians. Though there are a handful of combat instructors that might work."
She pulled herself back up and wiped away a tear. "Thanks for the laugh, but please tell me you have somewhere in mind to go. Just walking around is setting me on edge. It's like I'm running patrols again."
"As a matter of fact, you gave me an idea."
"Oh?"
"Follow me."
She licked her lips. "Yes sir."
We traveled along for a bit longer, though not too much longer. In spite of a couple Amazons stopping us to chat with Kinzie for a few minutes, I couldn't bring myself to complain. Back in her element, she relaxed into the role. If you'd ask anyone else, it'd be hard to imagine she ever died.
In the end though, we finally made it to where we needed to go.
"I should have figured. What's the plan? You want to try hitting the weights now? Getting insecure about the other studs?"
"Nope. Pretty sure your offer to spar yesterday was interrupted. We should make up for that."
Her eyes widened. "Are you serious?"
I marched over to an empty mat, then began removing my shoes.
"Looks like you are." She tried to say it softly, but her excitement was loud enough to hear despite the noise of the training center.
She joined me, slipping off her boots and socks. Decked out in nothing but a form fitting jumpsuit, I couldn't help but acknowledge how good her figure was. Lithe and lean, near identical to Zoë, though with a touch more muscle to her. To think, I'd soon get to see what was under that uniform.
We took our positions on opposite sides of the mat.
"Standard rules?" she said.
"Run them by me."
"Submission, knockout, or leaving the mat. Preferably, don't do any permanent damage. I don't want to ruin that pretty face of yours. At least not before I get to see what it looks like when I'm sitting on it."
"You're one to talk." I matched her grin. "You'll be on your knees with those pretty lips of yours put to better use when this is done."
For once, she blushed.
Not allowing me to get into her head so easily, she surged forward with blinding speed and delivered a solid knee to my gut while I tried to dodge her feinted punch to my jaw. The next blow came down on my lower back, sharp and brutal as she drove her elbow into my kidney.
She forced me down onto my knee, wheezing for a breath.
"Come on! Don't tell me that was all hot air."
While she may have an edge in agility, I managed to use her own disappointment against her. While I continued gasping for breaths, she stepped back to kick my side. Fortunately, she telegraphed it way too much.
I caught her ankle and twisted her strike over me, rolling with the blow and dragging her down to the mat, where I locked her into one of the many submission pins Phoebe had me in only that morning. Kinzie wriggled, but I had both of her arms locked behind her back, firmly under my butt while I pinned the side of her face to the floor with my forearm.
"So, we know what you want me to hear." I reached forward with my spare hand, then squeezed her cheeks while tilting her head up just enough to look at me from the corner of her eyes. "Now how about we get to the truth. What is it that's really eating at you?"
She cocked her head and rolled, but I caught her legs with my own and spread her apart until she resembled a starfish, save for the one arm I had still locked between mine.
"You know that Hylla's pretty much guaranteed to recover. This is basically just a long nap for her at this point. And you haven't put much thought into the nymphs before now, so what's up?"
She growled. "This is not the way to interrogate me."
Another squirm, though this time, she bucked her hip forward, giving her leg just enough room to slide out and wrap her foot behind my ankle. That would have been fine at first, but then she stretched us both, forcing me into a split. Neither my legs nor my groin was ready for that.
Outside of my realm, I pulled my good leg off of her to stop her from ripping me in half, but she used the opening to kick her way out and slide out from under me.
"Impressive," I groaned, straining to not cup myself. "You'll have to try that later."
She shrugged, looking rather pleased with herself. "Maybe if you're a good boy. But you haven't earned it yet."
Once more, she lunged at me, attempting to spear me down with her shoulder. I sidestepped her, but she reached out her arm to pull me down by the knee. The grapple that followed almost resembled Phoebe yet again, only this time, I managed to stop it before she could finish by pressing my elbow into her throat.
"Come on. You know it's only a matter of time until the truth comes out anyway. You want in my pants. I want to know what's in your head. Let me help you."
Gurgling, she cocked her head to the side, then used it to try and shove my elbow away. Granted, it was so off kilter that it almost worked. But the moment my arm fell out from under me, my knee slipped enough to end up in between her legs.
She hitched in her breath. Only a fraction of a second, but those cheeks flashed pink, and I took advantage. My forearm came up, pinning her by her throat, and I twisted my leg under her parted thighs and flipped us. Even though my back was on the mat, I pulled her into a chokehold quicker than she was able to piece together. She thought she had won for only a second, but then realized I beat her.
"I can't do anything for Hylla," she gasped out. "But I can still try and help your nymphs. I'm not standing by. I'm not failing again."
I let go of her when she tapped my wrist.
"Again?"
She rolled off of me, kneeling at my side while I sat up.
"Let's not forget I was dead. I went toe-to-toe with Orion and wound up disemboweled. More people died than I could keep track of. I was in charge of security, yet I failed to spot him before he was literally inside of our compound."
As much as I wanted to stop her and defend her, I didn't know enough to comment. Reyna and Thalia kept whatever went down very close to the chest. So instead, I opted for the path of least resistance.
"You did what you could, and gave your life for it. But you're back now. You're alive. And all the more, you have countless people here who love you. I don't think I've seen anyone around here who wasn't smiling in one way or another whenever you're around. So say what you will, but so far as I can tell, no one considers you a failure."
Grimacing, she looked away, off toward another group of Amazons going through their workouts.
"Let's pretend like what you're saying is true. Your nymphs are suffering. I don't plan on letting that fly without a fight. I don't have to die to keep them safe. All it takes is getting some info."
"Then we're already on the right track. Annabeth alone could probably go through all of that in a day. But I'm glad you're helping her anyway. And even if things don't work out, it's not on you. It's on me. I'm responsible for their well being."
"Trust me, we know. And from the looks of it, you're basically a god to them."
I stood, scratching the back of my head. "Not how I'd like to think of it."
"Think whatever you want. If you told them to get down on their knees, they'd start worshiping you without a second thought."
"Like you're in such a different spot now?" I grinned.
She glanced down, realizing she was in fact on her knees in front of me. "Cheap shot."
"Yup." I held out my hand. "So, best two out of three?"
Returning her gaze to me, she took my hand and pulled herself up. "No point in keeping track unless there's some kind of wager."
"I don't exactly have much to bet at the moment. So unless you want some kind of spa treatment…"
"I'll hold you to that. But I'm thinking of something a little more exciting."
"Oh boy. Let me guess…"
She grinned. "One sec." Without so much as waiting for a reply, she bolted out of the training center. Barefoot and all.
"Um… Okay. That happened."
When she came back, I didn't even get to finish putting my shoes back on. That grin on her face shined brighter than I'd seen all day. Suffice to say, she found her wager. Or rather, what she was hoping I'd agree to.
Dangling from her hand was a length of thin golden chain. Waving back and forth like the pendulum of a clock, bejeweled in adornments with inlaid gold filigree, was the opened clasp of an intricate golden collar.
"Winner takes all," she said. "If I win, you're my boy toy. I get to show you off as my conquest, and everything else that comes with it. You win, I'm your little sex kitten. I'll wear this anytime you want. And you get everything that comes with that."
My shoulders slumped. "Why did I know you were going to pick that?"
"Is that a no?" She narrowed her eyes. "Someone chickening out."
"You're not baiting me. But I did agree to a wager. So I'll agree on one condition. Why are you so obsessed with getting me in a collar?"
She crossed her arms. "Look all around you. It's kind of the thing here. The better caliber your boyfriend, the more favorably everyone looks at you. So call it a force of habit."
"But you said your boyfriend wasn't one of the guys here."
"I never said I had a boyfriend."
"But you said you weren't a… Oh…" I paled. "So you're into the more casual stuff?"
"You're zero for two now." She marched right up to me, slung the chain over her shoulder, then clasped mine in her iron grip. "Think really hard for a second. Why do you think I've been a mess all day?"
"You already told me. You don't want to… Wait…" A shiver trailed down my spine. "You mean you and…"
A sly smirk crawled onto her lips. "Now you're getting it. I may have said I'm not a virgin. But I never said I was sleeping with a guy. Strap-ons aren't exactly hard to get here."
"As long as you don't use it on me."
"Don't worry." Her expression delved into the outright lurid. "I'm happy to be on top or bottom. And I don't think I need any dildos with you around."
"Right. Okay." I took a breath. "Not a fan of the idea of getting paraded around. Sounds like you get what you want whether you win or lose."
"Fair enough. So how about this? Winner tops. We keep the collar in the bedroom."
I let out that breath. "Just so you know, I don't bottom easily."
"We'll see. Either way, this will be fun."
"Right… Well, may the best fighter win."
She clasped my arm, and I did the same. With a nod, we parted and went to our positions on opposite sides of the mat.
"Best two out of three," she reiterated. "Your earlier win still counts."
"On three?"
She nodded.
"One."
"Two."
"Three."
"That's a win for me! Looks like we're tied."
I groaned. My back ached while my head tried to make sense of the doubled lights glaring down at me.
"Did you have to trip me like that? At least give me a mat to fall on."
She snickered and hauled me back to my feet. "Pass out, tap out, or fall out. That's how you lose. Not my fault you stepped too close to the edge."
"I like to live dangerously."
"Pfft. And look where that got you."
Striding over to the edge of the mat, I popped my neck and took a stance. "Saving the world two times over? Seems like a decent track record."
"Trapped in a situation you can't escape from," she corrected. "At least not without hurting the people you love."
I frowned. "Are you talking about Hylla?"
"But if you're so insistent on playing with fire, how about this?" She ignored my comment, grabbed the collar and chain, then twirled it about while bouncing toward the center of the mat. She laid it down in the middle, then skipped over to the opposite side of me. "Simple way to determine the winner. Whoever can get the collar around the other person's neck is in charge tonight."
"Sounds a bit loaded. You're way more nimble than me."
"And you're stronger," she countered. "I guess we'll just have to play to our strengths and see who comes out on top. And for whoever loses… well… I've got a nice little costume picked out for you. Hope you don't mind a little extra… flare." Her eyes narrowed with the coy smile curling on her lips.
"As long as you don't plan on putting me in a chastity belt."
"Already throwing in the towel? Come on. You can do it. And for the record, the last thing I want to do to that beast between your legs is lock it up in a cage. It's no fun if I can't savor every delicious second of having it inside me, one way or another."
"Alright, alright. Now we're just stalling. You good to go?"
"Almost. Just need to take care of something."
She unzipped the front of her jumpsuit, then pulled her arms out from it. Once free, she rolled it down her body. Inch upon inch of her lean figure revealed itself. Strong shoulders, carved abs, and yet still bearing a decent set of hips. Once she got the jumpsuit down past her knees, she dropped it to her feet and stepped out of the pile before kicking the garment off to the side. Clad in nothing more than a hunter green sports bra and a pair of black camouflage biker shorts, she took no shame in baring most of her body to me, glistening with sweat and muscles rippling in a way that only a true warrior could muster.
"That jumpsuit is nice and all. But it doesn't have the same freedom of movement that I'd like." She hopped in place, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "This is much better, don't you think."
For what it's worth, I didn't spend all of my time staring and trying to lock the image to memory. Just a bit of it. What with the likes of Reyna, Thalia or especially Zoë, lean women weren't exactly short on supply for me lately. So I grit my teeth, let out a soft sigh of appreciation, and promised myself I'd have plenty of time to enjoy it later.
"On three then?"
She curled her lip. Narrowing her gaze, she mirrored my sigh with huff of her own. Leaning forward and reaching out her arms, she met me with a predatory glint in her eyes.
"Three."
"Two."
"One."
Flashing forward, she snapped that chain up before I could take two steps. I dipped down to one knee while she twirled the chain over my head like a flail. That put my face at perfect kicking level though, so I wasn't too surprised when her leg came up to do just that. Though in my favor, her running start left her kick off center and awkward.
I grabbed her ankle and twisted down while she tried to spin around and made a desperate attempt to snag the collar on me as she fell. Not the brightest idea.
Once on the floor, we grappled with one another, both pinning, twisting, and slamming one another onto the mat while the chain danced between our fingers. Tumbling and rolling over one another with no sense of direction, it wasn't until my back hit the solid floor outside of the mat that I realized how far we traveled.
""We should– Ngh! Probably get back– Guh! To the mat…" I gasped and wheezed as elbows and knees traded blows both ways.
"Forget the mat. I'm almost…"
In spite of my hand tangled in the chain, the same could be said for my neck. The delicate links all but strangled me, with the collar at the end closing in like the maw of a python.
"Come on, come on, come on…!" Excitement alight in her eyes, she snaked the collar closer to my neck while I was helpless to push it away. Each time I tried, I only managed to tighten the chain around my neck and pull my hands together.
So with my hands at a loss, I turned to my legs. Bracing my knees against her chest, I kicked out and shoved with all of the strength I could muster. After the likes of holding the sky or long jumping over deadly rivers, that strength came in spades.
Kinzie grunted as she flew back, knocking into a wall. I closed in and unwrapped the chain from my neck. She responded in the blink of an eye, meeting my closing in with a kick to the chest. Gasping, I toppled over her, once more tangling the chain between us both. We thrashed and struck one another, rolling and bouncing off any nearby surface.
THUMP! CRASH! GLUG, GLUG, GLUG!
Strength surged through my veins, along with a heightened perception of my surroundings. We knocked a water cooler over and sent the jug spilling all over us both. Kinzie was left wet and confused. But me. I just got my second wind.
My hands thrust forward, pinning her into the wall while she tried to twist my wrist away. That came to a stop when I straddled her chest and pinned her arms down with my knees. She made a valiant attempt to headbutt me in the gut, but found that my abs were a bit less forgiving after our little bath.
Dazed and tired, she squirmed and grunted while I snapped the collar into place. The second it clicked around her neck, she froze. Glancing down, she followed the collar as well as she could with her eyes, not that she could see it, trailing the length of the chain which ended tangled in my grip.
She grinned. "Good match! It's been a long time since anyone got the best of me."
"Wait, that's it?" I leaned back, squatting just above her chest. "No complaining it wasn't fair? No demanding a rematch?"
She shrugged. "We made a deal and you won. Neither of us were planning to take a bath."
"Speaking of which," a voice nearby said, "could you move out of the way so we can get this cleaned up?"
Nearby stood a bulky man in an orange jumpsuit, a mop and rolling bucket at his side. Taking in the fact that we were both dripping wet, I decided to make his job a little bit easier.
"No need. Let me."
I leaned the jug back onto its base, then funneled all of the water off our bodies and the floor back into the container.
"I… wouldn't recommend drinking that."
He went wide-eyed, but said nothing. Instead, he grabbed the jug, set it on the bucket, then wheeled them off.
"Handy," Kinzie said, following him with her eyes, then smirking up at me. "Think you could handle my baths from now on?"
"Tempting, but then everyone else would want the same treatment. I'm not becoming the communal bath boy."
"Aww. Don't pretend like you wouldn't enjoy every second of it. Just like you seem to enjoy staying on top of me." She glanced down to my groin, which just so happened to be less than a foot away from her wandering eyes.
"Point taken." I hauled myself up, taking her hand and doing the same for her. Honestly, she seemed a little disappointed.
"Okay," I sighed. "Back to your room?"
"Actually…" She placed her hand on my chest. "I know you're technically in charge, but I had Hylla set up a room for us yesterday. The dorm is fine for some random time you decide to blow my back out, but I think our first time together should have a little more… flair."
I raised an eyebrow. "Consider me curious. In that case, lead the way."
With a grin bright enough to almost outshine her dark eyes, she held up her chain and set it in my hand. Humming to herself, she strode back to the mat where we put on our remaining clothes, though she struggled a bit getting back into the jumpsuit because of the sweat on her body.
"Hmm… Okay. New plan?"
"I'm all ears."
"How about we both take a quick shower, then meet back here? I promise I'll smell and taste a lot better when I'm clean. Not to mention… I know what to expect in my mouth soon. And I'd rather you not taste like the gym floor."
"Fair point. See you in fifteen?"
"Hmm… Twenty. I want to make sure I get the right smelling soap for my lady bits."
"Like there's anything lady-like about you."
She gasped, feigning an aghast expression. "I am most certainly a lady. Well… more like your personal lady of the night, but details. Still. Twenty?"
"Twenty. See you soon."
She plucked the chain from my hand and sashayed her way back to the female showers. Admittedly, I watched for a moment. For one, a few of the other Amazons shot concerned looks in her direction, also flashing them my way. Secondly, I couldn't help but enjoy the view of watching her walk away.
If you know, you know.
When time caught back up with me, I made a beeline for my own shower. Hopefully, they had some soap on supply.
Technically speaking, I could have showered in about three minutes and taken off without any issue. Perks of the lineage. But after the competition and the undoubtedly intense session I expected to have soon, I decided to just relax and enjoy the heat of the spray on my muscles.
Of course, that doesn't mean I should expect everyone else to let me. Squelching slaps of heavy feet on the wet floor grew loud enough for me to hear even over the sound of the shower. Thankfully, it wasn't accompanied by any squeals or moaning. Not sure how I'd handle some Amazon banging her boytoy in the shower next to me. That said, the reality of the situation wasn't much better.
"So you're the queen's special project."
I turned to find myself eye level with a man's chin. A man who looked like he could have been descended from the minotaur. Beefy in just about every metric, naked as the day he was born. He shaved his head down to a small buzzcut, with some kind of design etched into the side, but it was too high up for me to make out the details. Even looking him in the eyes proved difficult.
Every alarm bell in my head was wailing for me to get out of dodge. Given what Kinzie told me earlier about the studs, I didn't think I'd find myself so overwhelmed. But coming face to chin with one of them…
I balled a fist and began calling on the sea. If it meant flooding another public bathroom, so be it.
"How do you do it?"
Wait, what?
The knot in my gut unfurled, and the water accumulating behind my back splashed down into the drain.
"Do what?"
He scratched his head, then laughed as if trying to muscle his way through a public speech he never prepared for.
"I mean… All of it. I've worked here for the last seven years, and none of the queens ever said a word to me. But here you are. And then your harem. It's just… how? How do you keep up?"
"Wait… How long has Hylla been queen?"
"Woah." He placed his catcher's mitt of a hand over my mouth and glanced over to the nearby shower stalls, where none of the other guys paid us any mind. "You have to use her honorific," he whispered. "You can't seriously just call her by her name."
I grabbed his wrist and pulled it away. "We're on pretty good terms, so I think I can get away with that. How do you even know about anything like that?"
"People talk. You think nobody notices the only guy here not in a jumpsuit? You think nobody asks questions?"
"Fair. Nobody came to me with these questions though."
"You haven't been here very long."
"True…" I stepped back, then tried to look the man in his eyes once again. "Guess that makes you the first. Nice to meet you. I'm Percy."
I held out a hand. He glanced at it warily, but then wrapped it up in his own and shook it. Thankfully without ripping my arm off.
"Thaddeus. It's an honor. It's not every day I meet a guy who saved the world."
"Not alone. So you obviously have questions. Let's try them one at a time?"
He guffawed. "For one, how did you get so close to the queen so fast?"
"She invited us. We're kind of like emissaries from other groups. Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter. She wants to put together an alliance. Something to really bring all descendants of the gods together under a single cause."
Rubbing his chin, he looked off in thought. "Sounds nice, but I'm not sure everyone wants that. Their whole MO was taking over the world and coming out on top. You can't be on top if you're in an alliance with others. It's like stepping on someone's head, then thanking them for staying under you."
"Pretty sure alliances are a little more complicated than that. Not to mention, like you pointed out, we saved the world. If the Titans and giants couldn't beat us, what makes you think the Amazons will?"
"I never said they would. Just that it's always been the plan. They haven't exactly been hiding it. They're already in like the top five most profitable companies in the world. I think their next big goal is to get a leg up on Triumvirate. But that's besides the point. Maybe they just want you on their side so all of the future deals go easier with other people."
I shook my head. "This political stuff has always been above me. Look, all I know is my friends and I need a place to live, and she's all but handing it to us on a silver platter. Sure, she wants some deals from it as well, but that's hardly acting shady."
"Right." He scratched his head. "Yeah, the politics do get weird. I won't act like they don't. Hard to know what they want at the end of the day." He crossed his arms. "Alright, that was that. What about your harem? How do you keep up? That's a lot of open legs. Probably don't get a chance to sleep with all of the sex you get."
"Honestly, it's not as bad as that. It helps a lot of them help each other out. And Hylla…" I paused when he tensed, but after doing a bit of looking around, he nodded for me to continue. "She gave us some stuff to help out with that."
"Huh. Okay. What about besides sex? I've got three girlfriends and two on the side. Can't go a day without some kind of drama."
"Ah. Can't blame them. Before this, I was a one woman kind of guy. Still think I hit the jackpot, even if she drives me insane sometimes."
"No no. It's not like they're jealous. Well… I don't think so anyway. Just the usual stuff. Some drama with the guards, then they unload on me. Someone tried to escape, so they cuff me to them to make sure I don't get smart. Or the occasional 'who's better in bed' argument."
I frowned. "Wait, what? Escape. You sure you aren't just their slave?"
His eyes went wide. "Careful what you say. That's a real hot word around here. And sure, there are some guys like that with the Amazons. Former prisoners going through training and stuff like that. But here at HQ, pretty much everyone chose to be here. They wouldn't risk the queen's safety."
"Not exactly convincing." I shook my head. "Look, however you guys got here is your business. But the way I've seen things, you all still look like prisoners and slaves to me. And I'm not the only one who thinks that. Even a few of my friends made their thoughts very clear."
"Yeah, I know how it looks." He cupped his chin. "Alright, think about it like this. We chose this. Some guys, yeah. They chose it because they didn't have any other options. Some stay even when they don't want to. Choices aren't great these days. And others, they just want some direction in life. Some kind of goal. Something to live for."
"So they choose to stay here and get stepped on?"
"No! Well… Actually, yeah. Come to think of it. But there are also guys like me."
"Their studs?"
"I hate when they call us that. Makes us sound like dogs. It's all complicated, but yeah. Basically. I stick around because the work is simple and there's lots of benefits."
"You mean sex."
"Well… Yeah. And other stuff. Health insurance could be better, but I've had worse."
"Uh huh, sure."
"Look, that's besides the point. I stay because I want to. And my girlfriends stay with me because they want to. It all works out."
I raised an eyebrow. "I'd hope so. I know I'd undo things if I could."
He tilted his head. "Why? Too much to keep up with?"
"Because it isn't right. I might not put them in collars and jumpsuits, but so far as the gods are concerned, they're my slaves. Some of my closest friends. My girlfriend even. Now they're my slaves."
"But… didn't some of them get brought back from the dead? Look at Kinzie. Everyone heard about her dying. Everyone knows about the massacre. I think she'd rather be your slave than dead. Seems like she really likes you."
"Well… Yeah. But a lot of them were in Elysium."
"And now they're alive." He put his hand on my shoulder, which I'm not gonna lie, really weirded me out given our state of undress. "Look, you don't always get to pick your cards in life. But you have to do the best with the hand you're dealt. Looking at you, I think you got a really good hand. You just need to see it."
"Easy to say from the outside." I brushed his hand off my shoulder.
"Maybe. I'm not the smartest guy here. Not even close. But I've seen you all at the cafeteria. For what it's worth, you all looked more like a family than a harem. I know slaves. If they're your slaves, then those are some of the happiest I've ever seen."
He gave me a friendly nod, then strolled down the room to find his own shower stall. I sort of spaced out while taking in everything he said. A lot didn't make sense to me. I didn't even know why he bothered telling me some of the stuff he did. But the last bit… Well… Maybe if I wasn't so caught up in things, I could actually take a real look for myself.
I hurried to finish up my shower. No doubt, I was running behind now. But as I pondered over his words, I just couldn't help but consider. Juniper went on about how happy everyone was, but even I figured she was looking at things through rose tinted glasses. I was more inclined to agree with Hestia, but striving for what Juniper said wasn't a bad idea. I wanted everyone in this little family to be happy. But in order to do that, I needed to get them somewhere to call home.
And before that, I needed to help a certain someone break her curse.
A/N: I did warn you that the this chapter wouldn't be out nearly as soon as the last one. And it looks like life has it out for me again. From getting COVID to my car getting hit twice all in the span of one week, I've certainly been taking so haymakers lately. But all the same , another chapter for your reading pleasure.
So now Kinzie is finally getting her time in the spotlight. She's been a near constant presence in the Amazon arc, and yet never got her chance for alone time with Percy. Well, here we are. She even gets her own means of mirroring Phoebe, who may as well be her polar opposite, barring the red hair at least. Ah, parallels.
I contemplated continuing this chapter to the better parts, but given the fact that I'm not in the mood to put out another fifteen thousand word monster any time soon, I decided this was a sensible breaking point. If it's any consolation, as we all know with new character scenes, new things will be implemented once more. Soon enough, all we'll have left is the hardcore BDSM scene to explore. Whatever shall Percy do then? Guess we'll have to wait and find out.
This has been fun, but I've got to get over to work. The grind never ends. So let me know your thoughts, feel free to join any of the communities if you haven't already, and do something scandalous! Like say, holding someone's hand! This is Ronin signing off.