Final Disclaimer: I hope you realize by now that Rick Riordan owns all, this is my final disclaimer. So, to be clear, I do not own any of the characters, setting, etc.
Sorry that this chapter is late! This chapter is set a week or so after the last chapter. Think back to the middle of chapter two. Something about a little note is coming back. Enjoy!
I woke up to a dark room and, with only three or four hours of sleep every night, I was use to this by now. I sat up, yawned, and stretched my arms over my head, flexing my fingers.
After making my way across the room in a sleepy hazy, I fumbled around inside my bag for clean clothes. I came across a pair of pants and a shirt, and then stumbled around until I found the washroom door. We didn't need bathrooms now that we were gods, but we still had washrooms. It was a comfort to feel clean, even if we always technically were clean. Anyway, after taking a shower, I washed my face, got dressed, and headed back out into the kitchen. Annabeth was sitting on the couch watching TV; she looked over at me and patted the open cushion next to her, inviting me to sit down. Curious to see what she was watching, I obliged; it turned out to be some kind of mythical animal planet. I shifted my weight, still unable to sit still for too long even after I became a god, and I heard a crinkling sound.
Confused, I reached into my pocket and found an old, wrinkled sheet of paper wadded into a ball.
"What's that?" Annabeth asked in a sleep-hazed voice.
"I really don't know," I said, starting to unfold it. It was a little drawn map with notes all over it. The map looked like it was suppose to portray the cabins of Camp Half-blood. The, the recollection hit me. "It's this idea I had like a week and a half ago. Hmm, I wonder if it is any good."
"Well, let me see it," she reached over and gently took it out of my hands and examined it. "Can you give me an idea of what I am looking at?"
"Well, before we became gods I did a lot of thinking about what I would lose from becoming a god," Annabeth's face fell slightly, "But, then I realized that-that I would... you know… have you. And… well, that balanced it out," she smiled and blushed, "So I was thinking about balance and, naturally, I started thinking about Nemesis. I got this idea to give a shout out the minor gods, as a kind of thank you," I said.
"You want to make the minor gods cabins?"
"Well, yeah. I even thought of a couple we could start with," I pointed to the names I had written on the paper: Morpheus, Iris, Nemesis, Hebe, and Hecate; the names were from the top of my head at the time.
"I actually really like this idea, Percy, but do you really think the Council will go for this? I mean, half of these gods were on the Titans' side."
A proud smile spread across my lips; Annabeth, the genius, liked my idea. It was kind of an ego boost. "Well, have you thought of why they joined the Titans?" I asked and continued, not allowing her time to answer, "They weren't getting proper recognition."
Annabeth thought for a moment, "I see your point and I agree with you, I do. But, I really don't think the Council will even look at it."
I nodded to myself; she was right, they wouldn't do it. We are actually lucky that Zeus didn't punish every god who didn't side with Olympus, and, trust me, there are a lot. "Ethan. Every hero got a gift, a kind of wish. Without him, we wouldn't have won; he could have killed me and he didn't."
"So? What does Ethan have to do with this?" She asked, obviously annoyed at my changing the subject.
"Do you remember what he said? His last words?"
"Yeah… he wanted all the minor gods to have thrones…. Zeus definitely won't let them have thrones."
"True, but why not just take it a step down and give a few of them cabins, then we can work toward making a council of minor gods."
She nodded along, "I like that. Now, one, there are hundreds of minor gods, how can we give them all cabins?"
I deliberated that for a moment then said, "Well, maybe we do the most important ones."
"And how do we differentiate?"
That stumped me for a moment. "Well maybe we can… vote?"
"You mean, like, the minor gods vote for other minor gods? I actually like that…. And it works for both the cabins and the council," she said.
"Who says they have to be different? Maybe the council members could be the ones to have the cabins. Then there are no complaints because they were voted for; it would be fair," I said.
"I like that. That could really work. But, question number two, how do we present this to the Olympian Council?"
"We could get a petition; I'm sure a bunch of gods would sign it. Or, maybe we could talk to Chiron about it?" I offered.
Annabeth shook her head, "It has to be a better reason than that. What have the gods granted gifts for?"
"Usually heroes or like big tasks and favors."
"Exactly! And what 'big favor' are we in the middle of right now?"
"Er… well we just saved Olympus…."
She shook her head, "No we already were awarded for that. Come on, Percy, think!"
"Well, you're rebuilding Olympus," I offered, uncertain.
"Bingo! So, what if I asked for something in return? Something big."
"That's perfect! They'll have to offer you something!"
"Yeah, and if I ask for a council for the minor gods they couldn't refuse!"
"They'd probably make you the head of the council," I mentioned and she smiled widely.
She led me into her office and I leaning in the doorway. She started to pull out a big rolled up blueprint of Olympus, which was expected. What caught me off guard was when she snapped her fingers and the blueprint popped up; miniature buildings and fountains sprang out from the paper. She started to get to work and I dutifully sat quietly, helping here and there with little things like measurements and holding things.
It was already sundown and Annabeth had been working all day on Olympus. I refused to let her have no fun and work all the time, "Annabeth, let's go to the beach."
She looked up from her work reluctantly, "Hmm?" she mumbled in her work-daze.
"Let's get out of Olympus for the night! We don't have to go to the Ocean; we can go anywhere, really. I just want to spend some time with you."
She sighed, "Percy, I'm sorry but I am just too busy!"
"C'mon Wise Girl, you have an eternity to finish Olympus; you can take one night off."
She gazed at me from across her office and sighed once more, "Ok, ok," she smiled, "I'll go to the beach with you."
I don't think I could have smiled wider. I ran over to her, grabbed her hand and thought the magic words that would poof us to the most beautiful beach.
My eyes opened to a secluded and crystal-clear beach; I felt a powerful race of energy as adrenaline spiked my blood… er well, ichor.
"Where are we?" Annabeth asked. Recently, I learned how to teleport both me and someone else without thinking in unison, that made it a lot easier to get places fast.
"We are in southern Fiji; almost completely uninhabited."
She looked around the beach dramatically, taking in every detail. "Wow. It is beautiful!"
"I thought you'd like it. And, we have it all to ourselves!" I was extremely excited that the time zone was different from New York. When it was twelve o'clock at night there, it was only six o'clock at night here! We could actually see the sunset together, it would be perfect.
"I think I am liking this," she said and smiled.
"Race you to the water!" I said, shoving her backwards softly then running toward the sparkling water.
"Uck! Unfair!" she called from behind me, but I was already half-way there. When I was about five feet away, she tackled me from behind. Dang she was fast! We rolled in the sand; which was both fun and extremely messy. Sand went flying and she pinned me down a little too easily. She smirked proudly at me and instead of pushing her off; I put my hands on either side of her face and pulled her toward myself. She was a little shocked but she went for it and smashed her lips into mine.
While kissing her, I realized that she was being the dominant one in the "relationship," if you could even call what we had a relationship. I didn't like that she was controlling the kiss. So I took action, wrapping my hands around her shoulders, softly at first, and then I turned her ever so slightly while pushing off the ground with my knee. Suddenly, I was on top. Her eyes shot open for a moment, but then she sort of melted into the kiss, allowing me to be the dominant figure.
We broke apart, both trying to catch our breath. My heart slowly returned to its natural tempo and I stood to help Annabeth up. As soon as I was on my feet, I felt completely uncomfortable; my entire body was covered in sand. I had sand in my hair, my ears, my shirt, my shorts, my boxers, and I had a thick coat of it everywhere else. I extended my arm to help Annabeth up and she gladly took it. Once she was on her feet I looked her up and down quickly; she was just as sand-coated as I was, maybe even more due to her long, blonde hair.
She laughed, "I think we need to get in the water to wash away this sand."
"Good idea," I agreed. I threw off my shirt and headed toward the water. When she didn't follow, I turned back around; Annabeth was just standing there with a quizzical expression, examining her clothes. "You okay, Wise Girl?"
She nodded and said, "Yeah, I just want to try something." She closed her eyes tight and took a deep breath in. When she exhaled, she began to glow. Instinctively I looked away, but then I realized that it was no longer necessary. When I looked back, she was in a simple black bikini.
I ogled for a moment, and then, realizing that I hadn't said anything for about a minute, gulped hard. She looked down at her swimsuit, making sure she was all covered up. She was fine.
"Where did you learn to do that?" I asked.
"I learned it from my mother. She said that when you are a god, you can will something to be and it will come true," she said simply.
"Seriously, I think we need some kind of class on new gods. I like know nothing about it yet."
"Percy, stop exaggerating. We know lots of things about being a god, or at least the fundamentals," she said.
I shook my head, ignoring my irritation. Annabeth thought for a second and smiled brightly. She suddenly ran past me and jumped right into the ocean.
"Come on, Seaweed Brain! It's a sad day when a daughter of Athena gets in the water before a son of Poseidon," she taunted.
I smiled and plunged into the water after her, diving down deep and feeling the warm water on my skin, admiring its clarity. I made eye contact with her; she winked and raced into deeper water. We swam with small pod of dolphins and then sea turtles.
After about an hour in the water; we got out laid in the sand.
"What are you thinking about?" I asked.
She sighed contently, "The sun on my skin. What about you?"
"I am thinking about how you look like a goddess," I said and she blushed.
"I am a goddess."
"And it shows," I replied. She rolled my eyes, smiling, and I turned toward her, propping myself up on my elbow. "What do you want to do?"
"Do we have to do something? I like sitting in the sun."
I sighed heavily, "Okay then, we will sit."
After about thirty seconds, Annabeth stood and ran for the edge of a large cliff. She looked back and waved me over, "C'mon Seaweed Brain! You're not going to let me beat you into the water again are you?" she shouted.
I gladly took the invitation and ran after her to the cliff. When I was just ten feet away, she jumped. I peered over the edge; Annabeth was just floating in the water with her arms relaxing behind her head. I rolled my eyes and laughed, calling down toward her, "Head starts don't count!" She stuck her tongue out and dove down into the water. After a couple steps back, I took a big leap, tucking my legs into my chest and wrapped my arms around them. When I hit the water a huge wave broke out in all directions. A cannonball just may be my new thing.
Annabeth and I took turns jumping of cliffs, moving to a higher one each time. We laid on the beach once more, marveling at the beautiful twilight. Both of us breathing heavily and closing our eyes after the sun was completely set.
"Percy," Annabeth sighed, "I have to get back to work."
A heavy sigh escaped my lips, my breath coming out in a huff. I knew that she would want to get back to work soon; I was just dreading the moment she brought it up. "Yeah, I know."
She reached over to grab my hand and closed her eyes. I closed mine as well, allowing my mind to go blank. When I opened them, we were back in Olympus; it was dark but you could tell that a feast was about to start. There were minor gods all over, all preparing for this week's feast.
"Hey, Wise Girl, do you want to go to the feast?" I asked. She deliberated and then shook her head.
"Sorry, Percy, I have a lot of work to catch up on." My face fell slightly and she quickly said, "But, I think I can spare a minute to get some ambrosia."
She grabbed my hand and led me to the square.
Please Review! I hope you enjoyed, I am working hard to give longer chapters but I feel like they drag on. Please leave me a comment and tell me what you think!