This was supposed to be a parody, then it turned out serious. I've just always felt like Greek mythology had a lot of BS to be caleld out for, and although RR has done a pretty good job at pointing it out too... well, wait and see.
Anyways, here's your story!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Percy Jackson series.
The Association of Wronged Women of Greco-Roman Mythology
You must wonder why I have summoned you here today, the humming voice said.
"Finally you tell us," Medea said clucking her tongue. "I was enjoying my second life, thank you very much." Most sorceresses were beautiful. Medea, however, laid on too much magic and looked sickly and fake and frightening. Not that it influenced her abilities to charm: Gaia just thought that it was tasteless and unnatural.
"Sit down Medea; you were slain by that daughter of Aphrodite. You're still in the afterlife." Circe called out from her seat in Gaia's underground chambers. The sorceress' black robes spread out around her like multiple shadows to her slim figure.
"Ah- but am I in the fields of punishment still?" Circe's eyes flared in offense, but Medea simply smiled a sticky-sweet smile. "I thought so."
"Ladies, we are not here to fight." Megara said. She was a beautiful girl with a face so perfect that it looked sculpted, and dark skin as if she spent her days in the sun. The only mark on her was angry and red, shaped like two hands, and circling her throat. Her hair was brown and pulled up high on her head but still falling to her waist. She wore traditional Greek gowns, white as snow.
Indeed. Thank you, my dear. The focus shifted to Gaia. The six pairs of eyes in the room turned towards her.
As I was saying, Gaia began. I have gathered you here today for a rather peculiar… how shall I say it?
"Task?" Circe tried.
No, Gaia said. An offer. I am making you an offer.
They all froze, interested, and Gaia rose to her feet.
She walked towards Megara, and put her fingers on the young woman's soft chin.
So young, Gaia said. So young and so, so pretty. Tell me, how old were you when you died?
Megara's eyes flashed.
"Twenty two."
I was right, Gaia smiled. And your children? How old were they?
Megara's lips tightened. The lines of her mouth were set as deep as her skin could go. She answered bitterly, with the kind of anger that Gaia had been counting on.
"Four, two and seven months." She said.
They too were young. It's a shame that you've all died this way. Are their marks the same as yours?
Megara's fingers touched the hand marks on her throat.
No, Hercules didn't strangle them did he? Gaia asked, feiging innocence.
"And arrow," she said softly. "And arrow each. Through… through the chest. Except the youngest. He didn't waste an arrow on the youngest. Her skull..."
Her eyes were fixated on a spot on the floor, still as if Medusa had met them earlier.
Ah, now I remember. And tell me, Megara, this son of Zeus killed you on his will?
In regular times, Megara would undoubtedly have snapped and told Gaia to leave her alone and that she shouldn't dare to speak those words. But she was in shock now, it looked like a kind of trance. Bringing people's children into debates had that effect.
"Hera… She triggered insanity in him. At any given time it could… it did…" Megara shook her head. She wouldn't talk further. She was at the mercy of her memories, and hence of Gaia.
She made the man kill you. Or did he kill the children first?
"The children first," Megara whispered.
Naturally, Hera would find a way to hurt you more. By making you watch. Gaia said nodding. I know that I would hate it if…
"She understands, make your point." Ariadne pressed. She was the only guest not to have said a word since arriving, and by far the less showy one. Though she was gifted with the golden aura of the inhabitants of Olympus, Ariadne could easily blend into any crowd. Why, if her brown hair fell a certain way and hid her face there wouldn't be anything spectacular about her. She was by far the most discreet beauty in the room.
Gaia nodded in her direction, acknowledging her request. The key to this meeting was to keep all of them happy and to give her guests what they wanted. After being denied everything -from gods, to children to respect- from the gods for so long, it would make Gaia look like a heart on two legs.
My point is that you were wronged, yes?
Megara nodded slowly, shivering and holding her elbows. Gaia must have plunged her back into a world of nightmares. She must have had learned to live with the memories in Elysium, but not to have learned to cope once they resurfaced…
Gaia turned to another woman.
And you Medea, she said.
The woman raised her head. Her chin was stiffened, as if she expected a fight.
You had to hide who you were and what you could do as a youngling, Gaia said. From a father and brothers and even your own people! Peasants lower than you were, yes?
"I think that that's a stupid question to ask in a roomful of women who know their world history." Medea said dryly.
But it's true, Gaia said. I just wanted to know how you felt about it. How do you feel about living in a civilization whose goddesses don't even raise a finger to help the women? Whose gods don't help humanity understand and absorb others? Tell me, where did you keep your magic supplies? When a spell backfired, did you bandage your burns yourself? When you succeeded at a difficult feat of magic, did you ever celebrate out loud?
"As I recall it there was a trap door underneath a chest in my chambers that was convenient for storage," Medea said. "And I did, as a matter of fact."
Hmm. And you were how old when you finally broke free of the chains? Still a young woman, weren't you? Coincidentally that was the same year that you rebelled against your family and became a wanted criminal for a hero who… well, like you said, we all know our history.
Medea's teeth were clamped shut so tightly, Gaia estimated that she was very close to biting a tooth off.
Although that wasn't your age the year that you were betrayed so horribly, tactlessly, grossly that one can say you went off the deep end.
The tooth was nearly bitten off... She'd let that anger simmer and she turned around.
And you, you're the person who taught Medea magic, were you not? Gaia asked turning towards Circe. Charmspeak at the very least. Did you get any further with it than she did? Such a rare, difficult, enchanting and wonderful talent… no sorry, I should call it an art. And where did it get you? To the status of villain and vixen, isolated on an island hassled by heroes continuously. That same island which was destroyed by the magic of a god unleashed on you by two demigods. Tell me Circe, does your new home feel anything like-
"Don't you dare speak the Island's name," Circe hissed between clenched teeth.
Of course, if that is your wish. Most of your nymphs and workers died, didn't they? Word on the street is that those who did survive are not piteous leaders of other societies. One is praetor of Rome, working right alongside a male by the looks of things. This Golden Age of antagonizing and mistrust and stereotypes still hasn't given you any acknowledgement, my dear.
Gaia liked Medea and Circe- they were so angry all the time, so bitter and full of grudges… It didn't take a thing to break them down.
Next up was one of two Titannesses in the room.
And you, wasn't your life ruined by the birth of two children whose adulterous father's wife did the trick? Conveniently, that was Hera which I think that most of us have had experience with, all negative. And how are your children now?
"I don't see how you can't know," Leto said softly. She was the Titanness of modesty, though her face was beautiful and could lead you astray. She was wrapped in scarves and veils to make her point.
Yes, that's true. They are Olympians now like their father, the twins Artemis and Apollo. Very nice and posh places in the world to be at, which makes your own status... well, one may think that you could do better.
Leto shook her head. "I don't want a status."
But surely some respect wouldn't do you any harm, retribution even less, Gaia said.
Leto didn't say a word. Part of her seemed to be actually considering this. Gaia hadn't been counting on breaking her, though. To work into someone's mind they had to matter to themselves, and Leto did not.
The second Titanness was up.
You are my daughter, Rhea. It's pained me to see you suffer. You had to lie to your husband to keep your children safe –the height of cruelty, is it not? I have felt that pain Rhea my dear and I sympathise with you more than you ever know… But as if it can't be enough, your own children rebelled against your kind?
Rhea's fingers curled against the arm of her chair. She looked a bit like each one of her daughters. Demeter's eyes, Hestia's face, Hera's hair and stature...
Against the roots you had given them?
Rhea's fingers dug into the fabric covering the arm.
Were you remembered in the history books, Rhea?
Rhea's fingers dug into her thighs now, as if she wanted to feel them through the fabric of her golden-brushed chiton to keep her mind focused and centered.
You lived without the children you'd carried and brought to life for so long- and when that potential was there did the Olympians even speak to you? You screamed for their safety as a mother, and was there even a whisper of thank you from your children? Not even from Zeus, who you put your life against his safety for? No? Don't feel bad, Rhea. The Olympians are merciless and vain- they don't see the contributions made to them, they see the finished product that they spat out.
She turned towards the last woman in the room, a hard-headed mortal made immortal.
And finally you, my dear Ariadne, I haven't forgotten about you. Unlike Theseus.
Ariadne didn't flinch. Megara clucked her tongue as if to say 'rude'. Okay, maybe Gaia was hitting under the belt. But only because she wanted Ariadne, this little mortal princess with no powers and no great deeds to her name, to be the closing act. The grand finale. The final straw until they were all convinced and bitter and angry.
Did he forget you? Or did he abandon you? Some myths try to be kinder and insist on the former, to be as apologetic as possible to the hero who slayed the beast, despite the wrongs committed to the brains of the operation. But we both know from the lines on your face that that's not true. He was heartless and careless with your heart. He left you to die alone, he left you to starve and be eaten by the birds once the hunger killed you- more than your heart my dear, your very life! After what? After promising you a long, happy life full of love and fidelity and joy. After you showed him the key to his success and were disowned and disgraced from a family no crueler than he was.
"Yes, that is my history with Theseus." Ariadne said coldly.
Gaia turned towards the others, taking the chill in her voice as her cue that she'd stirred up some inner trouble.
Sons of Zeus or Poseidon, Olympians of all types, the men these so called all-mighty gods govern so poorly… They are monsters. No- monsters do not play with their food before eating it and they are much less cruel. You die all at once with them, but with these gods the good in society dies a bit more every day.
The women shifted.
You are all prime examples of how early those changes happened. Proof of how rotten Western Civilization was to begin with.
"Cut to the chase," Megara snarled.
I have summoned you all here to my chambers underground to make you an offer. Help me bring down this society of gods that slowly kills the world! You are all exceptional women who each have something –wit, magic, sight, experience, knowledge- to bring to an army such as mine; an army who strives to right the wrongs. The gods have created their own enemies after all!
"You'll overthrow the world and then keep us?" Medea said. "That seems unlikely. We all know that you are no tender, loving Mother Earth, and we've all already been cheated. Give us some kind of assurance, we won't fall for the same trick twice."
The deepest promises in this world are sworn on the earth as opposed to the Styx, Gaia said. I keep my promises, and I am ready to make one to you. Join me, provide me with your skills, assist me- and you shall be safe, sound and living the life that you always dreamed you would. I promise it.
"Some of us are demigods ourselves," Circe said.
Which is why I still have hopes in the species, Gaia said.
Circe ignored her. "I am not proud to admit it, but some of us depend on certain gods for certain things. Hades for instance, being a prime example and Hecate, being an even better one."
Depend on I, Gaia said. For I can fill the shoes of any immortal and shall do it even better. Depend on Rhea and Leto, who are older and more ancient than the gods anyways.
"Power corrupts," Megara said. "I am not apologetic of the gods, but any power corrupts anyone. That's what happened with…" She cleared her throat.
Anything corrupts, dear. But mixing ichor and power was a catastrophic combination from the start. The Olympians were never made for power. They were never made for anything on this earth! You are all perfect examples of...
"You are wrong," Ariadne said getting up.
People turned to face her. She had been distinctly quiet, but she spat out what she had to say with an unwavering certainty.
"I was wronged by a half-blood, true. But I was saved by a god- one brutalised as a mortal in fact. He took care of me, watched over me, consoled me, and married me when my heart was whole- never before, just then. He was kind and loving and particularly chivalrous for the time. And Dionysus is not the only good soul on Olympus. For those who remember Zoë Nightshade, was she not saved by a goddess? Has Athena not protected a dozen maidens from certain death if they showed her respect, will to live, and reason? Did Demeter not show the compassion pouring out of her heart when she looked for Persephone endlessly, starving and driving herself nearly half mad for the time it took? Gods are not all the same, and things done in the name of Olympus have not necessarily been vetoed by its inhabitants. The gods do not make their own enemies: they create potentials. What happens next is our choice, and I choose no."
Gaia turned to her. Her emotions raged. No. She had the others, the two sorceresses, the mortal Megara, and the Titannesses, in her back pocket. She was not going to lose it now.
You refuse to believe in evil?
"I choose to believe in good," Ariadne said.
Gaia thrust out a hand. The ground under Ariadne collapsed and the girl tripped. She fell against the ground and tendrils wrapped around her.
You are brainwashed my dear, Gaia said. Blinded by the environment you've lived in. Tell me, has your darling little husband been true and virtuous all these years? Does he not have a cabin at Camp Half-Blood? Yes, I thought so.
"I never said that the gods were perfect, I just said that they were not completely flawed. As for Cabin 12, I have accepted the fact that although a part of him is always with me, a part of him is always elsewhere." Ariadne choked out. "People are complicated. Learn it."
Gaia thrust out her hand again, heart pounding.
"Stop it," Megara said. "Let go of-"
Megara my dear, if I let go she will tattle on our plan right to the council.
"How do you know it is our plan?" Medea asked, crossing her arms.
Because it is right! Gaia felt like screaming. This nosy little mortal… Gaia had invited her for her sight and the espionage possibilities that came with her. It had clearly been a mistake. There were so many other options! Selene, Danaë, Deianira, Alcmene, Arke, Zoë, Callisto, Calypso, Philyra...
"Maybe, but let go of her." Rhea said. The golden glow surrounding Ariadne was slowly draining. She had one of those very simple immortalities- one that protected against time and disease, but not from falling in battle. Against the earth itself? Oh, Ariadne was very much attainable.
Gaia squeezed the tendrils closer to accelerate the drain.
She was pale, shivering and mortal when Gaia finally let go of her.
"I know how lucky I am to have had that kind of saviour, but I think I have finally figured out why the fates helped me and not so many others," Ariadne panted. "So I could stand up in this room and call you out on this load of bull you're trying to feed some very hurt people."
Gaia didn't even have to move for the tendrils to give their final squeeze.
Ariadne dropped.
The other women were looking at her.
Leto approached the body.
Don't, Gaia ordered.
Leto disobeyed and put her hands on Ariadne's forehead. With the powers of her son slightly streaming through her veins and Ariadne's head cradled in her lap, she tried to heal the girl, but her efforts were fruitless. All were silent.
I made her end quick, Gaia said. A god wouldn't have done that, don't you all agree? Who here died slowly?
Megara looked at her feet. Medea held Gaia's glare menacingly and Circe clucked her tongue. There were too many soft spots to poke. Too many strings to pull, too many sensitive nerves to press. It was easy to find someone who hated the gods, and easy to give them reason enough to turn.
And when it came to women... well, it was nearly raining targets.
Very well. And now, sisters, we shall rise quickly.