Athena's Humiliation or How Annabeth Got Her Baseball Cap
The goddess Athena was walking down Delancy Street. Disguised as a typical New Yorker, and hearing far-off wind chimes mixed in with the normal onslaught of traffic, she almost felt as if she knew how to be mortal. She strolled down the sidewalk nonchalantly, taking in the sights. All was well, until she saw a small boy crying. Later, she cursed herself for not noticing the slight golden glow that marked him, or the bright green eyes. But that would not happen for a while. She approached the mortal child slowly.
"What's wrong, boy?" she asked.
The boy looked up at her, tears in his eyes. She was struck by how young the child was, only about seven, yet out by himself on the streets of New York.
"My hat," the boy said dejectedly. "I lost my lucky hat. Have you seen it? It's a blue baseball cap."
She remembered an errant baseball cap that blew across her path not two minutes before.
"Yes, I might have. Around the corner."
The boy's face lit up. "That's it! Would you help me find it?"
"Very well," she said, and took the boy's hand. How could she not have recognized the warm flash from his hand, the touch of a half-blood? She didn't know. It was the first problem that stumped her for the last thousand years. She led the boy across the street, but not before checking for monsters. As an immortal, all-powerful goddess, she had nothing to fear, but when mortals associated with gods, messiness tended to ensue. And she liked the small boy with his innocent smile. Later she would regret that.
The boy spotted his cap, and with a glad cry, rushed to it. Athena smiled, pleased at his reaction. But the boy did not return her smile. His eyes grew wide, and he shouted, "Look!" while pointing behind her. In the small park near by, there was a horse. This was not entirely out of the ordinary, but the horse was bucking around strangely, as if trying to fly. No...it was laughing. A growing suspicion started to sneak up on her. She took another, closer look at the boy. Those eyes...a glowing sea green. Black, messy hair. The terrible truth dawned on her.
"Boy," she called out sharply "who is your father?"
He looked at her uncertainly. "I don't have a dad," he said slowly, sadly. She sensed he was telling the truth, or what he knew to be the truth. So the boy didn't know. But she did. The awful humiliation nearly smothered her. She had been severely mocked. Trembling with fury, she raced around the block to a small, deserted corner, barely keeping her disguise. Finally losing the battle, she unleashed her immortal form, and screamed in fury,
"POSEIDON!"
A water pipe to her right exploded, and the water smacked her in the face. It was no mistake, the final insult. Growling to herself, she swore her revenge, and burst into a shower of light, transporting herself home.
A week of seclusion later, she hit upon the perfect idea. She was ready to avenge herself. The baseball cap was her inspiration. She had a small daughter, seven years old now (about the same as the kelp-progeny, she thought bitterly). To Athena, she had the makings of a wondrous architect. In time, she would make her mother very proud. Athena was fond of the girl. She would be nearing Camp Half-Blood in about a week, and Athena decided to give her a homecoming gift. The child need not know it now, but Athena would use this gift (and its owner) to wreak her revenge. She conjured up a simple Yankees baseball cap. Perfect. Muttering the charm, she put a hand on the cap. It started to glow as the volume of her spell increased. There was a flash of light, then silence. Athena looked over the cap, satisfied. It would now turn the wearer invisible. Her daughter would be delighted with it, of course. What child does not like a magical gift? But through her daughter, and the cap, she would make the son of Poseidon miserable.
And so the years went by. Athena never told the Olympian council that her uncle had broken his oath. How could she? It would be admitting that the great sea slug had actually outsmarted her. Unthinkable. She knew the truth would surface in a few years anyway, and to the Olympians those were but the blink of an eye.
But now, here she sits, scowling in rage. Her daughter—the one who had the cap, her favorite, her mother's pride—had gone astray. And she didn't even know it. The girl was in love with the spawn of the sea. With Poseidon's son! Inconceivable! The girl was supposed to be her long-awaited revenge, not further humiliation. But, Athena had to admit, the girl was happy. Happier than ever before. And that made Athena a bit happy too. So she wouldn't punish her daughter. At least, not too harshly. But the boy...that was a different matter altogether. And so the goddess of Wisdom swore revenge on the sea-spawn: the only one (if unwittingly) who had ever foiled her plans.
A/N (cc19): So, this is an English assignment turned one-shot. I've been getting all these great reviews for my other story, The Last Olympian, and I wanted to say thanks besides some lame little PMs. So thanks everybody. Enjoy.
Hobey-ho,
cc19