Chapter 17: Keeping a Secret

Finally! Here you go with the No Choice chapter. I know it's been two months. It's been one since I updated but that was ANs and the reading chapter doesn't really count. So here you go, the chapter set on the day immediately following Aphrodite and Artemis getting it on. Also Artemis is technically still a virgin since her hymen is intact. Aph and Arty just kissed and licked I guess.

Chapter 17: Keeping A Secret

Finally, the first day of the Magna Convivium dawned. Phoebus' light was the catalyst to Diana's awakening, and the pregnant goddess made a small noise as she stretched.

She smiled as she realized she, Perses and their new daughter Lunara would have an entire week to explore the real world together, and Lunara would get to see her first Magna Convivium.

She rolled over and instinctively pulled her fiance closer, wrapping one arm behind his head and pulling in for a kiss. She heard a feminine moan and Perses kissed back, but as they continued to make out Diana noticed something odd. Perses' hair felt different, like it had been drowned in conditioner. She opened her eyes and was met with a head of blonde. Perses was most definitely not blonde.

Venus' beautiful eyes opened too, expecting to see just another one of her lovers laying next to her. What she didn't expect to see, however, was one of the few goddesses who specifically would never be her lover. Why, who was she laying next to, you may ask? The answer you're looking for is Diana, the Roman goddess of the Hunt, Moon and Virginity.

As the realisation of what had happened dawned on both of them, Venus gasped while Diana squealed. It was an unholy squeal, one she didn't know her lungs were capable of producing. Much like Artemis had done when she'd woken next to Percy naked, Diana pulled the covers close to her naked form and fell backwards off the bed, still screaming.

She stood up, grabbing anything within arms reach and pegging it at the love goddess. "WHAT. ARE. YOU. DOING?!" She cried, nailing Venus with all types of different items. A pen, a book, a lamp, a towel.

Venus tried desperately to deflect the projectiles, startled by the screaming and the situation. "I DON'T KNOW! I DON'T KNOW! I DON'T KNOW! I DON'T KNOW!" She yelled, her voice breaking at the end thanks to Diana's hounding.

Diana soon ran out of ammunition and backed up against the wall. "Why am I in your bed and not Perses'? Why are we naked?" She asked, and Venus could only shake her head in response thanks to the shock, which Diana took to mean I don't know.

Diana clutched the covers tight to her chest and slid down the wall. "No... she wouldn't. Would she?" Diana was freaking out, wondering what Aphrodite and Artemis had to have done for Venus and Diana to be in this situation.

Was this some sort of joke? Their way of getting back at their roman forms for waking up naked together? She knew Artemis wasn't happy about Percy having seen her naked so soon but this was just in bad taste. She was pregnant and engaged. At least Artemis actually woke up with her fiance, Diana's just woke up with her fiance's friend.

"Oh gods." She muttered, putting her face in her hands. "Oh gods. What if they..." She couldn't finish the sentence, her breath shaky. Venus looked at the goddess with pity, and bit her lip in contemplation. She had no idea what to do, or more fittingly she had no idea what was appropriate to do. They were still butt naked after all.

The goddess decided to throw the social barriers away for the moment. This was her friend's fiance, who looked on the verge of crying. She had to do something.

The Roman goddess of love stepped forward and, mustering all the compassion she had in the moment, knelt down and wrapped her arms around the former maiden goddess. Diana's breath hitched when she felt Venus' embrace, and when she felt the comfort of her fellow Olympian all her walls collapsed.

Diana broke down in her arms, pulling her knees close to her and holding the blanket up. She was so scared and confused. "Oh my gods, he's going to leave me! He'll think I cheated on him and he'll leave. He... he'd be right to d-do so." She sobbed, and Venus frowned as she rubbed her back.

"No! No, no, no, no, no, Diana. He's not gonna leave you, I promise. He- I- He'll understand, we'll make him understand it wasn't our fault. You're pregnant with his child!" She assured, but it didn't do much for the steadfast goddess.

Despite her usually headstrong nature, Diana was very new to the whole romance thing, and thus very insecure. "But... but... why would he stay? He could easily find a new wife, he'd have no reason to stay with me." She cried.

Venus pouted and grabbed the goddess' face. "Hey, Di." She said snappily, bringing her fellow goddess' attention to her. She stared her dead in the eye. "He's not gonna leave you, you know why? Because he loves you. He loves you and the baby in your stomach. Remember that. We can assure him it wasn't our fault, and in the end, love will always prevail." She whispered.

Diana wiped the tears away. "You- you really think so?" She asked. As cliche as it was, Venus couldn't help but smile and say "I know so."

"Mama? Mommy?" A small noise came from the doorway. Their heads snapped in that direction and they gaped as they saw a small black-haired girl standing there looking at them. "Lunara!" Diana cried in relief.

The daughter of Perses and Venus looked at the two of them confusedly "Why you naked?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. Diana and Venus suddenly became aware of how they looked and the two sputtered. "I- uh... mommy and I were just..." She trailed off, trying to think up a PG response.

Suddenly Diana's eyes widened, and she launched herself at Lunara, desperately trying to run at her while simultaneously holding the blanket up to cover herself. "Luna! Honey! Please." She begged, making Lunara's eyes widen.

Venus quickly flashed her clothing on and joined Diana. The girl's eyes were wide as her mother frantically shook her. "Lunara, you cannot tell your father about this. Okay? Okay!?" Diana told her.

Eyes still wide, Lunara nodded frantically, just wanting to be let go already. Venus came over and placed a hand on Diana's shoulder. "Di, let her go. You're scaring the poor girl." She said.

Diana sighed but complied and released the girl. "Yeah, I'm sorry Lunara, but please, please don't tell your father." She begged. Lunara swallowed and nodded. "Okay, but... why are you naked?" She asked, and Diana and Venus looked at each other.

"We were playing, sweetie." Venus assured, and Lunara nodded. "Okay."

Wanting to be quick so Perses didn't get suspicious as to why he didn't wake up with his fiance, Diana dressed herself and grabbed Lunara's hand, dragging her out of the room gently. She flashed the two of them to Lunara's room in their palace, and Diana looked back at her. "Remember:" She said, proceeding to hold her finger to her lips in a shushing motion.

Lunara nodded and Diana opened the door, turning only to be met by Perses. Surprising all three of them, Diana yelped and fell back. "There you are! You got up early?" Perses said, looking at the panting Diana.

Diana nodded and got back up. "Yeah, sorry. I just went for a morning jog." She said, backed up by her slightly sweaty forehead. Perses raised an eyebrow. "You're pregnant." He reminded her, making the goddess freeze for a moment.

Thankfully she managed to play it off. "Yeah I know but I just wanted to get my monthly dose of Aether, y'know. Besides, I'm only, what, one month pregnant? I wanna get in some physical activity before I'm too fat to do anything." She told him.

Perses stared at her in confusion at her erratic behavior for a bit, making the moment tense and awkward as Diana nervously bit her lip. Thankfully Lunara managed to rescue Diana by tugging on Perses' shirt. "Hi daddy."

Perses mood suddenly changed back to happiness as he looked down at his little girl. "Hey, sweetpea." He said, crouching down and picking her up. The god nuzzled his daughter's neck as she sat on his hip, making her giggle. Diana sighed in relief as Perses seemed to forget what they were talking about, following the father and daughter down the hallway and stairs towards the kitchen, where Perses had no doubt already made or was about to make breakfast.

Sure enough, pancake mixture was sizzling on the frying pan when she walked in, and Diana smiled at the smell. "You're lucky I was kind enough to put some on for you, I thought you were at your palace or something." He told her, and Diana thanked him.

Diana sat at the table with her adopted daughter and watched tv with her, braiding the little girl's hair as they waited for their food. Perses happily cooked their breakfast, making sure to add the main ingredient. "You want yours silver, Di?" He asked, and his soon-to-be wife smiled. "You know it."

Perses served their breakfast at the bench, and Diana helped cut Lunara's up into bite-sized pieces before digging into her own. Perses grabbed his plate and ate his across from them. "So, you guys excited for the Magna Convivium?" He asked, mainly to Lunara. She had retained Selena's previous memories, so this was really her fourth Magna Convivium, but since she was technically a new person then this was technically her first.

"Are there gonna be galdaytors?" She asked, making Diana laugh. "I'm sure there will be, sweetie." She assured her, and Lunara's eyes widened in excitement, her toothless grin prevalent among the syrup-stained lips. "Coooool."

Once they were all done Perses threw their plates in the sink and went to get some clothes on. Diana took Lunara to do the same, as well as clean her face up in the bathroom. It was kinda redundant for them to even dress up for the occasion, as they would all flash into chitons and more greek-style outfits at the ceremony. So, Diana dressed the two of them more for the intermissions, putting on jeans and her sliver hoodie herself and dressing lunara in a silver t-shirt and some shorts.

They met Perses back in the main foyer where Lunara immediately walked over to climb up on his shoulders. He laughed as the girl stepped all over his back to get up, proceeding to grab her legs so she didn't fall off. "You good?" He asked Diana, and when she nodded they all flashed out to New Rome.

As usual for the Magna Convivium, the gods all flashed into their respective temples on the hill, where their supporters and children waited for them. Diana was relieved to find her hunters and a few young Roman maidens waiting patiently, while Perses was flooded by his Roman priests and legacy fanboys and girls.

He tried his best to not fall over among the crowd, growing just a bit to seven foot so he could see over the heads. As the other gods started appearing, they all got in formation. The gods' followers and children back up and moved off to the sides, allowing for an open area in front of the temples.

Lunara watched in awe as everyone waited in silence, before she saw something in the distance. There was a light in the early morning sky, and it kept growing bigger. It grew bigger and bigger until she could discern it as a torchlight, and a man was carrying it as he ran to the temple hill.

The crowd watched as he ran up onto the main courtyard of the hill, coming to a halt at the large brazier in the center. The son of Victoria turned to the gods and bowed. "Sit primo ludos in annua favorem deorum, laudare inmortalium ficta sunt!" He cried, before lighting the brazier.

The citizens of New Rome cheered as the gods began to walk, marching from the hill all the way down to the Circus Maximus, where the first day of events would be held. The chariot events.

After chatting with Thalia and her hunters for the first half of the trek, Diana jogged up to join her fiance and adopted daughter for the rest of it. Lunara smiled at her mama when she saw her and waved, making Diana laugh and wave back.

The crowds poured into the racecourse, eager to witness another week of grand festivities and exciting games. The gods parted to two separate, where a table was set up at each end. They did this based on... well, bets. The gods placed bets on who would win the team events, and would sit on that team's side. Diana usually always defaulted red, regardless of who was playing, but Perses had convinced her to vote blue this year, mainly so she could sit with them.

On the blue side was Neptune, Perses, Diana, Vesta and Vulcan, who were in the minority. Diana's hunters had all dressed with red decor to their outfits, but after seeing their lady walking the wrong way they quickly got some blue ribbons, face paint and bandanas from some vendors.

On the red side was Jupiter, Juno, Mars, Minerva, Pluto, Ceres, Phoebus, Mercury, Bacchus and Venus. Phoebus in particular was disheartened when he saw his twin sister switch sides, as he usually sat next to her. He looked conflicted between Mercury and Diana for a moment before relenting and running down to the blue side.

He made it before the bet cups even reached the blue side and plopped himself down on the seat next to his twin, shocking the Pluto out of her. Lunara saw her uncle and grinned, jumping out of Percy's grasp to go sit in his lap. Phoebus jumped back in shock at the sudden assault, before grinning just as widely and hugging her tight. "Hey, little perse!" He said, tickling the small girl.

The cup came around and the gods all fished their sacks of denarii out of their pocket dimensions, placing their bets in the cup. The same was done for the red side and the cup was placed in the center of the Circus, where a long row of towers stood. It was placed on the centermost one, high as the gods and gold as Phoebus' chariot.

As was her duty, Reyna stepped out onto the balcony overlooking the circus. It was on the side of the arena, in between the red and blue teams. As the crowds cheered, she raised her hand to silence them. Out of respect for their glorious and virtuous leader, the crowd hushed. Perses raised an eyebrow at this respect, respect which hadn't been seen in Rome since the days of Marcus Aurelius in the late second century AD. She's doing well for herself. He said, staring at his good friend.

Reyna looked towards each side. "Great gods! It is my pleasure, Rome's pleasure, to welcome you all back to our great city, and to the annual Roman Games!" This was met by cheers from the crowd, and once again Reyna had to quieten them.

"Now, you know how this all works. First we will have the races, where Rome and Camp Half Blood's greatest charioteers will race to decide who among them is the ultimate champion with the reigns! Betting for that is not monitored by us so do with that as you will. Later we will have the main event: The Magna Patera!"

As the crowds once again cheered, but when their empress clapped thrice, they hushed. She pointed to the gates underneath both team tables, which opened dramatically, pouring out maybe ten riders each. Their chariots were all immaculate, clearly designed for speed. Demigods of various heritage rode atop them, waving around the flags of their cabins or parents, and in the Romans' case they had their cohort number painted on the backs of their chestplates.

Lunara's eyes widened as she watched the pretty gold and silver people ride around in the big circle. "Coool." She whispered in awe, making her uncle Phoebus chuckle.

The riders go into position, lining up at the starting line in front of Reyna. She looked to the two tables, where the gods waited eagerly for some good ol' fashioned races. Being cooped up in your mind for 29 days was really boring, but thankfully they had the whole week to stretch their legs.

Cupbearers came around and filled the gods' goblets with whatever drink they wanted, and Perses made sure Lunara received a coke and not a Jack Daniel's. Lunara sipped on her straw, nearly pissing herself due to the anticipation. She hardly remembered her last Roman Games, and she did not want to miss the first event.

Reyna raised her hand up, and everyone looked on eagerly. The riders patiently awaited the command, and finally Reyna struck her hand down, telling them to go.

It was very, very fast. They weren't kidding when they said that these were the best. These kids were doing drifts and shit in chariots. As the bright lights of their LEDs and the spotlights flew around and round in circles, Lunara felt like she was gonna have a seizure, but thankfully she settled for the easier option.

During the seventh lap, she leaned over and puked all over the steps on the other side of Phoebus from Diana.

During the final lap, everybody was on the edge of their seats, as it was clearly a contest between a Roman son of Mercury and a Greek son of Ares. The Ares kid was clearly better suited for the Magna Patera as he looked like he wanted to run this skinny kid into the wall, but unfortunately he wasn't allowed to do that, so he had to rely on speed.

With the amount of whipping reigns that went on in that last ten seconds, it's a wonder the officials didn't disqualify for animal abuse. Alas, as the racing line neared closer they were neck and neck until the Mercury kid gave it one last push and tore across the strip.

The entire arena could not be stopped from their cheering and applauding as the kid was declared winner. After a minute of riding around the circus and bathing in confetti, much to the chagrin of the salty Ares kid, some daughters of Venus and Aphrodite came out and bestowed upon him a golden wreath. Not as cool as Jupiter's, so the head god was assured. His one was much more shiny and cool and everyone liked his better.

Phoebus cursed as he realised he just lost a bet. He forgot that you weren't to harm each other in the races. He was so sure that Ares kid would run them all down.

They cleared the circus and Reyna stood once more, announcing the beginning of the Magna Patera. Before they came out though, Perses had an announcement to make. Reyna saw her old friend stand and gave him the attention of the crowd. "Heroes! Our god wishes to speak! Lend him your ears!"

The entire stadium went silent as Perses cleared his throat. "Well, as many of you may know, Diana and I have been put in an awkward arrangement." He began, inciting a couple laughs, mainly from the other gods.

He looked down at his fiance. "However, I... I think I made a mistake in calling it awkward at first. Even though it was definitely opposed, you'll be happy to know that it's beginning to work out." The god grinned as he reached down and pulled Diana to her feet.

"I'm happy to announce that Diana and I are expecting our first child together!" Immediately the arena burst into cheers and applause, loud enough that Lupa's cubs jolted awake at the sound, despite the door to their cave being shut. A few closer to the table looked worried at the fact that Diana had lost her virginity, so she decided to clear that up. "Do not worry, I have transferred my domain of virginity over to Vesta, and she will become the patron of maidens, but I will continue to do my best to support all the maidens of the world and protect them. I promise you." She said, earning another round of cheers. Diana and Perses then sat down and waited for the event, and Lunara crawled over to sit on her dad's lap. He cringed at the smell of her vomit-breath.

Like the races, the gates underneath the stands opened up and out poured two dozen chariots. The only thing about these ones were that they were colored either red or blue and they were fucking decked out in lethal technology. Spikes, rams, cannons, metal plates for protection, you name it. These things were war machines.

The horn was sounded and the chariots went to work. They charged each other down, their riders wielding blunt weapons like dull blades and clubs. Lunara was in awe as they collided, with the spray of blood and metal and sparks everywhere. It was a four year old's wet dream.

When the first person was thrown off their chariot, there was a loud crunch as their back broke, making the whole arena drop in a chorus of 'oooo's. Perses' eyes were wide and he looked down at Lunara. "Wanna go see if they have ice cream?" He asked.

Despite the absolute chaos, the thought of sugar overcame the child and she looked up at him with sparkling eyes. "I C E C R E A M ?" She clarified, and he nodded.

Within a second the little girl was up and running for the top of the stadiums, where the food cart sat behind a wall stocked with delicious treats. Perses cursed and ran up after her, hoping she didn't go berserk and steal something or torch the cart because they didn't give her a free sample.

In the end, peace was made with the food vendor, and Perses and Lunara sat on some bins licking ice cream while they took a break from the carnage. Suddenly Lunara got a question in her head, and she bit her lip as she wondered whether she should ask. Perses caught this look and turned to her. "What is it, monkey?" He asked.

Lunara looked up at him with curious eyes. "Why was mommy and mama playing without they clothes on? Can I play?" She asked as Perses' eyes widened exponentially.

Blue team won the Magna Patera.

YES! I MANAGED TO UPDATE NO CHOICE IN SEPTEMBER. I wouldve felt like such a failure if I didn't manage to update this story at least once this month. Well, I started two more stories, and thankfully one of ems short. I reckon I'll put my focus on either Dark Lord or Blue Sky Country next, you decide. Knowing the stats though, I better start working on the DL chap cause I have a feeling thatll win. Buuuuuut I mean I'm also replaying GTA V, grinding siege and marathoning the Call of Duty campaigns so update schedules may be dodgy. Not that I really have an update schedule anyway lmao. Time to go write some Halloveeen shite!

Also be grateful that this story is 2000 words longer than it was originally gonna be cause I couldn't figure out what to write after 2000 words so I wrote the entire Roman Games segment. Don't worry though, along with Perses and Diana's very complicated relationship goals, next chapter will also feature the gladiator events!

Word Count: 4010