Thalia Grace was, even at the tender age of seven, not the kind of girl was exceptionally happy all the time. However, for the past few months, she had been. Her mother had been happy, her father was around, and she had a new brother along the way. Her mother didn't drink that often anymore, and she no longer yelled so much at her. So when her father called to tell her that her mother was having her brother and picked her up to go to the hospital, she was over the moon.
In a fit of excitement, she raced out the car, opening the door before the car had stopped and Zeus had gotten out. "You should wait," her dad scolded, holding her back. Ever since he'd gotten back, he'd been so different then what she'd remembered from the sparse moments with him. He acted too formal, randomly spoke Latin, and he'd even changed his name.
"Name?" the receptionist asked monotonously. "Jupiter," her dad responded, holding tight to her arm, "Yes, like the Roman god," he said tiredly when the woman raised an eyebrow. Thalia was confused enough and annoyed by the name switches- "Dad, you said your name was-" His hand clamped over her mouth before she could continue, unseen by the receptionist due to the large stack of paperwork in front of her. "Thank you," he nodded before firmly guiding her to the room where she would meet her new brother while Thalia idly wondered how anyone could stand to sit down and write for so long.
But not before he dragged her aside to talk. "Listen Thalia- do not use that name around me," he said, "It makes me act...differently, and people will think we're strange. Not many people have my name, you know." It was not a scolding or even a request by her parent- it was an order. She held her tongue against a snappy remark- People already think we're strange, Dad.
After all, her mother was a movie star, a celebrity that was always kept tabs on by the media, and no one ever saw her father. Who was Thalia Grace's dad? It was a huge mystery, an unsolvable one, because her father, Jupiter or Zeus or whatever other names he had, disappeared quite easily. No one was ever able to take a photo or even remember him. It was like he was lost in memory. Even tomorrow, that receptionist wouldn't even recall anything about a man named Jupiter. That slot on the sign-in sheet would be empty and she would think she made some sort of mistake.
But now was the time to meet her new brother, something she'd been waiting for, the tabloids had been waiting for, for five months. She remembered that there had been a media craze over her own birth and her brother would probably draw even more- her mom still kept the cuttings of the tabloids hanging up in her room. In fact, her room was a collage of tabloids filled with pictures of her mother, posted by the actress as she looked for another thing to catch even more attention. A baby would only multiply the picture-seekers. And she supposed that's what her mother wanted- she needed to top each stunt with a new one for attention. Thalia could only hope that her brother wouldn't be nearly as needy for attention- perhaps he would be like her instead.
But meeting him was like a bolt of lightning- and she would know- her dad made it thunder outside often enough for her mom. He had blond hair, and was tiny, and looked so breakable, an innocence she never could have imagined coming from her mother's genes. The only physical feature he had in common with her was their sky-blue eyes, now widened in interest with him and wonder in hers. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to tell that they were siblings.
"What's his name?" she asked, completely in awe of this tiny creature in her mother's arms. "Jason," her mother said, with a dash of annoyance as she said the name. She sent a glare to Jupiter that she thought Thalia couldn't see. But she could. What's wrong with the name Jason? She thought, but was wise enough not to say it aloud. She knew well enough by now not to get into the middle of her parents' fights and petty arguments. Her father squirmed a little under her gaze, not making eye contact, but continued to look down at his son.
"Dormire bene, fili mi*," her father said, patting his son's forehead before turning to leave the room. Thalia fought the urge to roll her eyes. There it was again, the seemingly random Latin phrases that neither she or her mother could understand, but her mother loved to hear. Perhaps she thought it was awfully smart of him, or maybe she just liked the sound of it. But Thalia liked it better when he used to speak Greek, back when she was a baby, before he left for the first time. It sounded friendlier to her ears.
"Hi, Jason," Thalia said as soon as her father left, softly, trying to distract herself from the obvious tension between her parents. "I'm your big sister, Thalia. I'll protect you from the bad guys." Jason smiled, though maybe it was just gas. Who knew with babies, anyway?