RA DEFTLY EVADED ANUBIS' ATTACK, and with a swift turn, kicked him in the back and sent him crashing through the wall. There was a dark blur as his grandson lunged back at him, swiping through the air as Ra dodged every strike with ease.

Suddenly, Ra's aura began to permeate in the air, the temperature rising to hellish levels. Anubis collapsed to his knees, feeling dry and overheated at the same time.

"Urgh!" He cried out when the bottom of Ra's sandals met with the top of his head. Ra stared at him in disgust, forcing his foot down until his head slammed against the pristine floors of Anubis' palace, cracks appearing underneath his head.

"Daddy!" Kebechet cried out in fear.

Ra directed his glare at her and barked, "Kebechet, go to your room, NOW!"

"Don't yell at my daughter!" Anubis growled.

"Oh?" Ra scoffed, adding more pressure against his head. "You want to make her watch as I put her own father down instead?"

Anubis gritted his teeth, trying in vain to pick up his head to no avail. Defeated, he ordered Kebechet, "Go...!"

Kebechet gulped warily before turning around and fleeing to her bedroom.

"How many times are we going to go through with this?" Ra seethed. "I have zero tolerance for your behavior, Anubis. You're lucky I haven't killed you right on the spot, though every day the idea gets more tempting."

"Get off!" He bit out. "Get—off!"

Ra scoffed, but removed his foot. Anubis rose unsteadily, panting from the unbearable heat radiating off of the elder god.

"I want you to leave," Anubis said, his voice trembling with unmasked rage. "Leave me and my family alone!"

"I'm trying to help you, fool!" Ra barked.

He scoffed in disbelief. "Why now? You never cared before."

"I had a change of heart." Ra replied stiffly, and Anubis could tell there was more to the story, but right now, he didn't care.

"We don't have hearts," he mumbled under his breath.

"It was a gods damn metaphor, you moron!" Ra snapped.

"If you want to help then give me back my wife!" He demanded, snarling. "You're the reason she's gone! You made her trick me and helped her leave!"

Ra rolled his eyes, "Oh, use your head, you idiot! She left because you were trapping her! Of course she would leave!"

"SHE WAS ALREADY MINE!" Anubis grabbed him by the shoulders, claws digging deep into his skin and drawing ichor. Ra remained unfazed. "She picked me! She said she loves me! And I was going to be better for her, I was!"

At that, Ra let out a cold, humorless laugh. "You think you're actually good enough for that girl?" He sneered. "You got lucky snatching her as a wife, but you by no means deserve her. You never will."

Ra pushed him back, his pointer finger jabbing into the younger god's chest, scorching the divine skin. "I acknowledge my faults in your upbringing. Osiris and Isis failed to keep you in line. I should've stepped in when I noticed what was happening, how worse you were becoming. But I didn't, and now you're nothing but a pathetic, sniveling, poor excuse of a god—a stain to my Pantheon, to this family. So now I'm going to try and help you—as pitifully hopeless as you are—but let me make this clear: you are by no means good enough for that girl and you never will be, so stay. Away."

"No."

"No?" Ra's eyes widened in anger.

"You don't get to interfere in my life now," Anubis said venomously. "I don't want your help. You took my wife from me, my mate—"

"—She's not your fucking mate—"

"—She was going to be!" Anubis snarled. "I was going to mark her, make her mine, but you got in the way!"

"And it's a good thing I did," Ra snapped. "Do you ever think of the consequences of your actions, Anubis? You wedded a taken girl! A child from another Pantheon, and the Queen of this entire realm! A mating mark is permanent, you would've forced that girl under two bonds that she never wanted in the first place! She would only grow to resent you, do you think you could handle that? When you could hardly handle a rejection from the previous girls you took? You would've killed her, just like all the others."

"NO!" He denied vehemently, eyes wide with deranged horror. "Stop saying that! I would never! I—"

Both gods stiffened at once, sensing the presence of three gods right outside of the palace.

Hades, Poseidon, and a foreign god whose aura they couldn't identify. Ra immediately quelled his own aura, inwardly cursing their bad luck. Hades and Poseidon were the last two gods he wanted to deal with right now, especially since Anubis was still in such an inconsolable state.

He grabbed Anubis' shoulder, squeezing it painfully tight. "Do not say anything," he said in a warning tone, keeping his voice low.

The two of them teleported to the foyer of the palace where the three gods stood, waiting. Poseidon and Hades were as regal as ever, but both gods could immediately sense the tense atmosphere in the air between them, courtesy of the union Hades had forced Poseidon's daughter to. They stood on opposing sides, their divine weapons out as if they were waiting for the other to say the wrong thing and begin attacking.

Standing in-between them, almost like a physical barrier, was an unknown god wearing an almost cyborg-like suit and a helmet resembling a fly's head to cover his face.

"Lord Ra," Hades greeted him with a stiff smile. "I wasn't expecting to see you down here in Helheim."

"Hades, Poseidon," Ra acknowledged them both with a cold look. His eyes darted to the mystery god, but he didn't introduce himself. He doubted he ever would, so he went on, "What brings you both to my great great grandson's palace?"

"My daughter's missing," Poseidon went straight to the point.

"I heard," Ra replied gruffly. "She's not here."

Hades stepped forward, looking desperate as he regarded them imploringly. "Perhaps you've seen something, or maybe heard of something, anything that could help us find my wife."

"Your wife?" Anubis scoffed, his voice a low growl.

Ra tensed up and tried to discreetly send him a glare.

Hades frowned, not used to Anubis' sudden aggression towards him. Meanwhile, Poseidon was already staring at him with narrowed eyes, his suspicions clearly on high alert while the unknown third god stared at him silently.

"Yes, my wife..." Hades answered warily. "I know we ran into each other earlier, but have you by any chance heard of anything new that could pertain to Percy's whereabouts? Please... it's been more than two months now, and Helheim is too dangerous for her to traverse alone."

Anubis let out a nasty laugh. "You guys are about two weeks too late. I already freed her from your curse."

Hades froze. "What?"

Ra grabbed Anubis by the shoulder and pulled him away. "Get out of here." He hissed.

"Are you saying she was here?" Poseidon demanded. "And you didn't think to inform me?! How long have you had her, you filthy mongrel?!"

Anubis wrenched his shoulder free and sauntered forward, grinning widely like a predator approaching unsuspecting prey—sharp teeth barred and all. "I had her for two months!" He exclaimed, eyes wide and feral. "Two fucking months! And I made her all mine!"

"Anubis!" Ra said sharply, trying to pull him back. "Leave—now!"

Hades and Poseidon were now flaring with a murderous aura, their grips on their divine weapons tightening.

"Yours?" Hades echoed, his expression dark.

"What do you mean yours?!" Poseidon spat.

"Hades, Poseidon, don't," the third god tried to warn. He was trying to hold them both back.

Anubis grinned wildly, like a feral animal released from its leash. "She's my wife too," he said, and all hell broke loose.

Water erupted into the room while a black miasma burst everywhere. Anubis laughed and welcomed the chaos as the fight began.

‧₊˚✩彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧₊˚✩彡๋ ࣭ ⭑ ࣭ ⭑

SVARGA
SHIVA'S PALACE

"Oh fuck," Shiva cursed as he stared down at the notification in his phone. "Fuck, fuck, fuck. Percy got married again."

"Huh?" All three of his wives said in unison before immediately crowding around him.

"Zeus was in a hurry to get to Helheim with Rhea right behind him. Helheim's in code red right now."

Parvati cocked her head back and gave him a lost look. "What does that mean?"

"It means shit's going down in Helheim," Durga supplied, crossing her arms.

"What exactly happened?" Kali asked.

"You'll never believe this, but... Percy's married to Anubis." Shiva told them.

"Anubis?!"

"I know, right?!" He said, wide-eyed in disbelief. "Poseidon, Hades, and Anubis are all in Helheim right now trying to kill each other. Ra's trying to stop them, and there's another dude too. That's why Zeus and Rhea came down there, and I think Isis and Osiris already left a few minutes ago."

"How did that even happen?" Durga sputtered in disbelief.

"Apparently, she's been holing up with him during the first two months she was gone, but Anubis tricked her into marrying him without her knowing. Somehow she managed to escape and now there's rumors she might even be up here in Valhalla." Shiva said, frantically scrolling through the string of news alerts he had been getting.

"So now she's stuck with two husbands," Kali muttered. "Good gods."

"Two husbands," Parvati marveled. "That doesn't happen very often, does it?"

Shiva made a face. "I mean, there's Rambha with her two husbands, Tumburu and Nalakuvara*, Jatila's married to the seven Saptarishis**, and—"

"—Among different Pantheons, I mean," Parvati clarified with a sigh, cutting him off.

"Oh yeah, that's true," Shiva blinked. "But man, poor Percy. Two husbands already and she's only one year old!"

"I mean, it could be worse," Durga shrugged. "It could be Loki."

They all collectively shuddered.

"Good point," Kali shivered. "At least Hades is a good uncle to her and Anubis is fun to be around."

"I was hoping it would be Beelzebub...!" Parvati moped. "They're kinda cute together..."

"Hey, he could still be the third husband," Durga snorted.

"No way," Shiva chuckled, shaking his head. "Poseidon lost his shit when he found out about Hades, and now he's flooding Helheim again after finding out about Anubis. Helheim's gonna become a permanent underwater realm if Beelzebub tries anything."

"How's Hera handling the news?" Kali wondered aloud.

"Pissed," Shiva said, scrolling past the tenth Gossipmonger post to showcase Hera's rage at missing out on arranging another wedding. Apparently she didn't seem to mind the whole 'cross-Pantheon union' and was more focused on the wedding plans she could've helped with. "Take a look at this."

He played one of the videos and the four of them recoiled back at Hera's screeching volume:

"—You Egyptians just don't understand the JOY of holding a grand ceremony!" Hera was shrieking to the high heavens while Hestia struggled to hold her back from clawing Isis' eyes out. "Marriage is a grand occasion that should be celebrated, not made official through something as boring as cohabitation! My niece's first wedding was already shortened due to circumstances, how dare you take away her chances of having a momentous event! I demand you let me plan their vow renewal as compensation!"

"Oh Greeks," Kali sighed softly. "It's a miracle Percy turned out so normal."

ASGARD
ODIN'S PALACE

Odin was massaging his temples. It had been bad news after bad news for him lately. First Mimir was murdered and the murderer had yet to be found, and now he was finding out that the one girl who was the perfect match for his wildcard of a nephew was now married to two different gods.

Frigg stared at him like he had grown a new head. "...Your plan was to arrange a marriage between Poseidon's daughter and Loki? Loki. The same Loki who drove sweet Sigyn up the wall and divorced him? You wish to put another innocent girl through that?"

"You've never seen them together, but they are compatible," he explained. "She can actually handle him, and Loki is clearly fond of the girl."

The Queen of Asgard crossed her arms and raised a brow. "Since when were you a matchmaker?"

Odin looked away stubbornly.

Huginn squawked helpfully, "My Lady, Aphrodite and Hera gave him these ideas during Percilla's debutante ball!"

Odin flicked him off his shoulder for that, but Huginn merely perched himself on Frigg's shoulder instead.

"Please do not tell me you've been participating in their mindless gossip." Frigg said flatly.

"I have not," he refuted. "They've given me sound advice. Percilla keeps Loki distracted. He is more focused on trying to woo her than trying to meddle with the other Pantheons—aside from his kidnapping attempts—and more importantly, causing less trouble for us. Think, Frigg: when was the last time we've had to spend several decades stuck doing peace talks?"

She remained silent for a while, mulling it over. "What are they like when they're together?"

"They argue sometimes, but it's playful banter at best," he said truthfully.

"And when they are not bantering?"

"They look happy," he said. He then reached out to touch her hand, sending a vision into her mind.

Frigg saw it, Loki and Percy dancing together during the latter's debutante ball. Loki was twirling her around, laughing and acting like a complete jester—not at all showing proper behavior like she would've preferred, but what caught her attention the most was Percy's grin as she was spun around, thrown up in the air, and dipped. There was no malice or sadistic glee in Loki's eyes as they danced, it just looked like two people having fun and enjoying one another's presence.

"...They do look rather good together," she relented. "You said he's been trying to woo her? How has that been going?"

"...Rather poorly." He said.

She suppressed a snort. "Why does that not surprise me? He's never been good at handling genuine emotions. Where is he now?"

"In Helheim, visiting Hel apparently." Odin replied. "Though I find it suspicious that he went there the same day Percilla went missing after her wedding..."

"..."

"...There have also been rumors that he may have kidnapped her. Again." He admitted.

Now it was Frigg's turn to massage her temples.

HELHEIM

Beelzebub angrily crushed his phone at the news alert he received.

Percy was married again. His beloved had been tricked, once more, into another marriage to a god that was unworthy of her love.

Anubis, he thought, his mind buzzing into a rage. How did that even happen? How did they meet?

His thoughts were racing with worry. If there was one thing he knew about Anubis—it was that he liked to abduct women and girls regardless of species.

He would occasionally stumble upon such scenarios whenever he was out trying to gather specimens for his experiments and research. The Egyptian god—radiating with desperation and insanity—would grab the first girl he could find and drag back to his palace at the Duat kicking and screaming. He never knew what befell those girls and never cared to ask, but now he was certain that Percy was one of his latest victims.

And now she was married to him.

With an angry snarl, he took to the air, heading for the one god he wanted to kill the most. He found him several miles away, scouring the skies and peering down in his desperate search for Percy.

"YOU!" Beelzebub roared, tackling him midair and crashing through an entire mountain range.

"Oh, I do NOT need this right now!" Loki screamed angrily, blasting him away with magic. "What the fuck are you mad at me for this time?!"

"You lost her and now she's married again!"

His eyes nearly popped out. "She's WHAT?!"

"Have you not checked the news?!"

"Of course not, I've been too busy LOOKING FOR HER!" He shrieked back madly. He yanked at the ends of his hair, looking like he was going to go insane if he hadn't already. "Who the fuck is she married to?!"

"Anubis." Beelzebub seethed.

The green haired god froze. "Anu...?"

Anubis started throwing Percy up in the air and catching her. "Aww, but you're so tiny and easy to throw around! This is fun!"

"Careful, Nubby, she's mortal. Easily breakable." Loki drawled, though there was a stern look in his eyes as he watched her be thrown up and down.

Still holding onto her, Anubis looked curiously at him. "Is she your toy, Loki? Can't I play with her too? I promise not to break her!"

His eye twitched erratically as he nearly ripped off his hair. "That filthy fucking dog...!" He spat. He just couldn't keep his paws off of what didn't belong to him!

Before he could start picturing ways to torture that mongrel, Beelzebub slammed into him once more, trying to rip his face off with his elongated claws.

"This is all your fucking fault!" He growled. "You're the fool who teleported her away without thinking! You stupidly led her straight to him, and now she's missing again!"

"I would've sent her to a safer location if you had done your fucking job and distracted Hades properly!" Loki shrieked back as they tumbled around the air, crashing through mountains, hillsides, and buildings.

"YOU HAD ONE JOB!" Beelzebub punched a hole through his stomach.

"SO DID YOU!" Loki screeched as he literally ripped one of Beelzebub's arms off of him.

MOUNT OLYMPUS
LETO'S PALACE

"Mother, please, I understand your concerns, but I really must return to Delos," Apollo said for the nth time as he tried to maneuver around his dear mother.

"Hold on a moment!" Leto said, grabbing her son's arm and whirling him around until he was facing her again. She narrowed her eyes, hands placed on her hips. "You're acting suspicious."

"Am I?" He said, looking rather nervous now.

"Yes, you are," she replied firmly. "I just told you that the love of your life is now married to a second god, and you don't even offer much of a reaction? Have you fallen out of love with her that quickly?"

"No, of course not!" He scoffed, finding the idea ridiculous.

"Then what's going on?"

The word 'nothing' was on the tip of his tongue, but it was stuck in his throat—as were any lies he would attempt to say.

Leto was even more suspicious now. "Alright, I know you're hiding something. Tell me what it is."

He gulped and looked away, his golden eyes darting every which way—totally not suspicious behavior. Leto was practically squinting now as she leaned in to stare him down.

"Apollo," she said.

"Okay, okay," he finally burst out, unable to really hide anything from his own mother. "First, you cannot tell anyone of what I'm about to tell you, mother."

"I will not," she vowed.

He sighed. "...Percy... has been staying with me for several weeks now."

She gasped. "So it's true then? The curse is broken?"

He nodded. "She managed to trick Lord Anubis into freeing her soul from Hades' curse, and she fled up here to Valhalla. She stayed with Artemis for a week before being transferred under my care. Mother, she... she is unwell."

"She's fallen ill?" Leto asked in concern. "Could it be something she contracted in Helheim?"

"I do not know. I've been trying to learn what ails her, but it's a puzzling and troubling case. Right now, Percy needs a lot of rest and care, so you mustn't tell anyone of her whereabouts. Her marriage to Hades and Anubis would only stress her out further. I cannot risk her being harmed."

"I understand," she nodded, face serious. But then, "Are you planning to take advantage of this?"

"What do you mean?" He blinked.

"She's there, alone, with you in your palace," she pointed out.

"Well, technically we're not really alone, my servants are also there—"

"—Have you tried to woo her into marrying you?" She asked him abruptly.

"H-huh?"

"You love her, do you not? You can become her third husband," she said.

He frowned, "Poseidon would never allow me. I, apparently, am not his favorite nephew..."

She shook her head, smiling reassuringly. "My darling boy, you don't need her father's approval. Don't you remember what Hades did? He got the help of a different Pantheon to bind them together eternally, and you can do that as well."

His eyes gleamed at the genius idea his mother proposed to him... but then he thought of Percy, weakened, with grey tinted skin, bedridden at times and unconscious at worse. At the state she was in now, she needed help, not a third husband to add to her worries.

"...Perhaps another day," he said sadly. "I must perform my duties first, mother. Percy has fallen mysteriously ill, and I must find a cure to save her. Then I will wed her."

"Oh, my sweet boy," Leto almost cried. "You're so selfless."

His cheeks turned gold. "Awww, mother, don't embarrass me...!"

"Come here," she cooed, reaching out to pinch his cheeks.

"Mother...!" He whined, but the barely suppressed grin was obvious on his face.

He spent the next few seconds getting his face stretched out by his overly doting mother.

"Alright, alright!" He laughed, pulling his face away. "I really must go now, mother. Percy might need some healing, and I still have to inform her of the... er, recent events..." He winced. He doubted Percy would be happy to hear that everyone now knew of her second marriage to Anubis.

He stepped out of the palace and bid his mother goodbye, but just as he was about to teleport himself back to Delos, he froze when he saw what was happening outside.

Angels. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of them have taken to the skies, scouring around as if they were looking for something.

He paled, realization dawning on him.

They were looking for Percy.

‧₊˚✩彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧₊˚✩彡๋ ࣭ ⭑ ࣭ ⭑

While the gods turned Helheim into a battleground, Midgard was experiencing Poseidon's wrath, and residents of Valhalla were frantically searching around, Percy was oblivious to it all as she resumed gardening.

She knew she wasn't supposed to be doing this though. Apollo had lectured her time and time again to not do anything strenuous whenever he wasn't around to heal her, but to be fair, he had a very extreme definition of 'strenuous' (he pretty much wanted her resting in bed every time he had to leave).

She could almost hear his voice in her head: "You're free to do whatever you want when I'm home, but when I'm not, you must stay in bed! It's for your own good! Goodbye now, my beloved! Will you kiss me before I leave?"

Gardening, despite how easy of a task it was, would be considered 'strenuous' to him and she knew he wouldn't approve of what she was doing, but she was bored and it was a nice day out! Of course she wouldn't want to be cooped up in bed!

As she used her powers to sprinkle water over a patch of vivid red cardinal flowers, she couldn't help but glance down at her dress. The thing she loved the most about Apollo's dresses was that they were especially beautiful under sunlight. They seemed to radiate light as well, but not in a way that was irritating to the eyes. Right now, she wore a colorful dress decorated with tiny little gems and flowers, slitted on the side to reveal her thigh. It seemed to glow under the gentle light of the sun, making her feel like she was some sort of ethereal being. 

"So you're really not our lord's lover?" A nymph, Cyanea, asked as Percy moved on to water the next plants.

She snorted. "No way. Definitely not."

"But Lord Apollo seems so enamored with you though," another nymph, who Percy remembered being called Eleni, pointed out.

She shrugged. "Guess that's his problem then."

(She didn't know he was about to make it her problem too.)

The nymphs working with her in the garden exchanged shocked looks before immediately crowding around her like they were a group of high school girls about to share their deepest darkest secrets.

"You... you really don't return Lord Apollo's feelings?" Ianthina, who was a flower nymph, gasped.

She sighed. "Look, don't get me wrong, I think Apollo's great. He's a cool cousin. But I don't like him that way."

"But why not?" Khryseis asked, wide-eyed. "He's so handsome!"

"And smart!" One gushed.

"And talented!" Another chimed in.

"And big!" They all burst into giggles.

Her face turned red as she cringed away. "Grooooss! I didn't need to know that..."

They all laughed boisterously, this time, at her evident embarrassment.

Flustered at their teasing, Percy hastily sped-walked over to the next set of plants to water, wanting to get that nasty thought out of her head. As she brought her hand up to use her powers again, she sucked in a breath, a familiar weariness seeping into her bones.

She dropped her hand, feeling as if it weighed a ton. Her whole body felt bogged down, like there was an anchor tied to each of her limbs and trying to weigh her down.

One of the nymphs stopped laughing and approached her in concern. "My lady?" She asked, gingerly touching her shoulder.

Percy let out a hiss of pain, feeling as if that simple touch was like a punch to the shoulder. She stepped away, letting the hand fall.

"Sorry," she said between heavy breaths. "Not feeling very good right now."

The other nymphs finally stopped laughing, their faces falling when they realized what was happening.

"Oh no," one muttered. "Quick, my lady, we must take you back to bed."

Hands tried to gently grasp her, guiding her back to the palace, but each touch felt like needles pricking her skin. She wanted to get away from them, but she knew they were only trying to help her walk.

Suddenly, the giant fountain at the center of the island caught her attention. Water. She always healed better under the water...

"My lady!" One of the nymphs exclaimed in alarm when she suddenly broke free and practically threw herself into the fountain.

Percy laid down at the bottom of the fountain, slowly feeling the bone-deep ache seep away from her body as the cool water washed over her. It was almost as good as Apollo's healing; not as fast, but good enough.

Up above the surface, she could see the many muddled faces of the nymphs staring down at her in bewilderment. Knowing that she owed them an explanation, she braced herself and sat up. The second her head poked out of the water, she could feel it start to pound.

"Sorry," she apologized. "Water just... helps me feel better."

"I... see?" One of them replied, incredulous. "Well, we're going to call Lord Apollo."

"Oh no," she winced. "You don't need to do that, he's probably busy."

"Forgive us, my lady, but he strictly told us to call him if anything were to happen to you," she said regretfully.

She sighed in defeat. "Okay..."

The nymphs left her alone and she sank back into the water, feeling her body start to heal itself again. She decided to just stay here until Apollo arrived, but to her dismay, he came back way too soon.

The second she saw a familiar pink and gold blog standing over her, she was just about to sit up again only for him to pluck her out of the water.

"Hey—"

"—Not now!" He hissed impatiently, which was rather unlike him. She grimaced. Oh yeah, he was definitely mad at her.

He quickly teleported themselves back to the bedroom, laying her dried body on the bed.

"Wait," she spoke up. "Look, I know you're mad but can you maybe yell at me when I'm in the fountain? I heal better when I'm under the water, so..."

He stared at her, gaping. "Why didn't you tell me this before?!"

"I kinda forgot," she said sheepishly.

"Percy!"

"Hey, in my defense, I'm not used to actually getting hurt!" She brought her hands up. It was true; after more than a year of bearing the Curse of Achilles, she pretty much forgot about all the ways she could heal her body since she never had to worry about it anymore.

"And my nymphs informed me that you were working too," he glowered at her, hands on his hips, looking very much like a disgruntled mother catching their child misbehaving.

She shrank a little. "Er, well... I just wanted to help out in the garden..."

He dipped his head back and groaned. "Has anyone ever told you that you're a nightmare of a patient?"

Your son has, actually, she mentally thought of Will Solace who constantly chided her for never taking her injuries seriously. He used to tell me that almost every day, she added fondly.

Heaving a sigh, he picked her up again and carried her over to the unnecessarily huge bathroom he had given her. Just like with every god, their bathtub was more like a huge indoor pool. He quickly placed her in, and she sighed in relief when the cool water hit her.

"You should've been resting like I told you to," he frowned. "You can't go around exerting yourself like this when I'm not around, Percy. These episodes happen sporadically, but they're especially frequent when you're doing anything remotely physically taxing!"

She shrank again, feeling genuinely bad. This was the first Apollo had ever been upset with her. "I'm sorry..."

"I know," he sighed, sensing the truth to her words. "You were very lucky I was already on my way back when one of my nymphs called me. I must go speak to them now. In the meanwhile, please stay here until you're certain that you're fully healed. If you're still not feeling well, stay here and I'll have a nymph bring over lunch for you."

He teleported away before she could even nod.

She sank into the water. Damn. He was really mad at her.

She decided to do as he told her once and rest in the bathroom.

Hours had passed, and even though she knew she was good to go, she still felt too ashamed to step out. She felt bad for worrying Apollo to the point that he was upset with her—he was always so cheerful and patient when it came to her, but it seemed like taking care of her was starting to stress him out. She wondered if he was thinking of dumping her back into Artemis' care again, and she wouldn't blame him.

When lunchtime came, a nymph arrived to deliver her food. She thanked her quietly, taking the plate and bringing it down in the water for her to eat in her lonesome.

I gotta make it up to him, she thought, but how? What could she, a mere mortal, give to a god who could conjure up whatever he pleased with a wave of his hand?

‧₊˚✩彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧₊˚✩彡๋ ࣭ ⭑ ࣭ ⭑

After being told that Apollo was in his library by one of the nymphs, she walked straight there, holding a golden platter in her hands. She knocked on the door.

"Come in," came his melodious voice.

She pushed the door open with her shoulder and awkwardly stepped in. It took a while for her to find him, but he was somewhere at the back, scanning the bookshelves. Behind him was a table practically covered with opened books that he had abandoned. She glanced over at it, but the words were swimming in her vision. She was pretty sure those were all written in a bunch of ancient languages.

Apollo suddenly turned to her, blinking in surprise at what she held in her hands. "Is that—?"

"I, uh, made you cookies..." She said, holding the platter out.

He blinked once, then twice, then a third time. His eyes never left the platter full of cookies. There were eight total, all blue with white frosting over them. There were letters written in black icing over each one and together they spelled out "I'M SRORY :(".

His golden lips twitched upwards in poorly hidden amusement. "You spelled 'sorry' wrong."

Her eyes widened. "Oh shit, seriously? Dammit, I knew I should've asked the nymphs to spellcheck me..." She muttered under her breath.

"Pft... pfft... BWAHAHAHAHA!" He burst out laughing, stumbling back into the bookshelf as he bent over, clutching his stomach.

Her face burned red with humiliation. "Hey, don't laugh! It's not that funny!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he struggled to breathe in-between wheezes. "Forgive me. I just—I was not expecting you to be such a bad speller." She was the daughter of the Poseidon, so he naturally assumed that she was perfect in everything. But this... was a surprise, and not a bad one if he had to be honest. He couldn't help but find this rather endearing.

But not as endearing as he found her attempt at an apology. Now that was even better.

He gently took the platter from her, grinning brightly at her flustered face. "I didn't mean to laugh."

"Yes you did," she grumbled petulantly.

"I apologize. I was just in shock," he chuckled, staring back down at the cookies. They were not perfect, but they were from her and that was all that mattered to him. "Thank you, Percy."

She looked away, shy all of a sudden. "It was nothing. I just... felt bad for troubling you all the time. I'm sorry for not listening."

"I forgive you. I'm sorry for calling you a nightmare of a patient," he replied earnestly.

"You're not exactly wrong," she chuckled sheepishly.

He smiled wider as he reached out to take a cookie. He took a good bite, savoring the taste of her hard work.

He let out a moan of appreciation. "This is amazing! You ought to bake for me more often!"

He held one out. "Here, we can share."

They devoured those cookies in under ten minutes. Their lower faces and fingers were coated with chocolate and frosting but with a wave of his hand, they were all cleaned again.

"I probably should've made some for the nymphs," she commented aloud, making a mental note to do that next time.

Apollo lit up, remembering something. "Ah, speaking of them, I must inform them to never let you step out of the palace..." He muttered under his breath.

"Huh? Why?" She asked. "Is this because I was gardening when I wasn't supposed to?" Come on, man, I just baked you cookies!

He shook his head. "No. But my father just sent angels out to go look for you around Valhalla. Had I not arrived here on time, they would've reached the island and spotted you."

She blanched. "You know... maybe I should just go back..." She was causing so much trouble already, and she felt awful for it.

"No," he said immediately. "No you cannot. It's not... safe for you yet. Your condition is still precarious."

"I... okay," she sighed. Deep down, she was glad he was telling her to stay. She wasn't ready to face everyone yet.

"And also," He continued on. "Your marriage to Lord Anubis is on the news now..."

"What?!" She squeaked, feeling faint.

He nodded in confirmation, giving her a sympathetic look. "Yes. Everyone knows now. If it makes you feel better, a majority of the gods are quite entertained by this!"

"How is that supposed to make me feel better?"

He faltered. "Good point."

His hand reached out for the plate to hand her another cookie, but then he remembered that they had eaten it all and blanched. But then he snapped his fingers. "I got just the thing to help make you feel better! Come, follow me!"

He ushered her out of the library.

She had no idea where he was leading her, all she knew was that they were climbing a lot of stairs so it was probably something he wanted to show her on the top floor.

They stopped outside a pair of gilded double doors.

"I did a little renovation," he bragged, opening the doors and leading her inside. "Tadah!"

It was an indoor pool at the top floor, but as he led her closer to it, she realized what it actually was. Her eyes nearly popped out in shock.

"Holy—is that—? Is that a giant tank?!"

"Yes!" He said grandly. "A giant tank that reaches the length of all twelve floors of my palace!"

She peered down closer, squinting. "And is that my bedroom at the bottom?"

"A replica of your bedroom," he corrected. "When I found out that being in the water heals you, I had this made for you to use whenever I'm gone. That way, you won't have to risk being spotted outside in the fountain or be stuck inside a cramped bathing pool while waiting for me!"

That bathing pool was nowhere near cramped, but she was too awed to say anything.

"Thank you," she said. "This is so cool. How'd you get this installed so quickly?"

He gave her a funny look. "I'm a god."

"Oh, right."

At Apollo's insistence, she jumped into the water, feeling comfortable enough to shift into her mermaid form. Up above, he relished the sight of her beautiful tail, the iridescent scales of gold, green, and blue shining brightly under the water.

She swam around happily, feeling like she was home again. 

— author's note —

* In Hindu mythology, Rambha is an Apsara (kinda like the Greek equivalent to nymphs) and a companion of Indra. For her married life, she's noted to have a husband, Nalakuvara, but in other versions, it's believed that she also has a second husband, Tumburu. I'm obviously going with the latter version for my fic hehe

** Jatila is described in the Puranas (can't remember which one, I'm sorry) to be the wife of the Saptarishis, the seven sages.

Percy in Dress to Impress by maryshellyswife: