I feel like a couple of you thought that last chapter was the end of the story… which it obviously isn't, as you can see. I mean, it's not like we still have a prophecy to fulfill and all that.
I read a fic that is currently really angsty and kinda painful to read (still good tho), and so I had to come and write this chapter to make myself feel better. So naturally, this is another cheesy, feel good chapter.
Also, just to clarify, Luke, Carolyn, and Erica are all 16, and Alek is 17.
…
Storge ~ a familial love that refers to the natural affection one has for a family member or close relative, such as the love of a parent for their child
….
Two minutes- that's how long it took for my parents to start doing 'parent-ey' things, like embarrassing me.
And it all started when my mother finally noticed my friends standing there awkwardly.
"Um, Luke," She remarked casually, "Would you mind introducing us to your friends here?"
I'm ashamed to say that for a good moment there, I had completely forgotten they even existed, much less that they were standing there watching everything that had just gone down. No doubt they probably felt rather uncomfortable.
Taking a step back, I found myself once again next to Carolyn, who hadn't really budged since I recovered from my collapse. Subconsciously somehow, we naturally gravitated towards each other, and of course, someone took notice.
My dad, unsurprisingly, was as oblivious as anyone could be. He was currently rummaging through one of his pockets, until he finally produced a rather random object. A pen, of all things. Twirling it around with his fingers for a bit, he finally set it down on the table.
My mom, on the other hand, was a different story. I felt her analyzing gaze on me the entire time, and I took notice of the way her eyes moved back and forth between me and… my friend.
Never before had I cared for anyone's approval, nor had that changed really, even with my reuniting with my parents, seeing as how that had only just happened. I would be lying however if I said that I didn't enjoy the feeling of knowing that I had someone who cared about me enough to voice either their approval or disapproval, and that I could potentially learn to care enough for to seek out their approval.
For the moment, I wasn't seeking it. That didn't stop me however, from noticing the smirk my mom shot in my direction.
Then I remembered what I was supposed to be doing just then.
"Right," I said, "Um, mom… dad, these are my friends. That's Alek, and Erica."
The two of them waved nervously. Erica was blushing so much; I wasn't sure you couldn't have boiled water over her face.
"A son of Ares, I'm assuming?" My mother asked towards Alek, "Judging by the way you handle that club of yours."
Most children of Ares, I figured, would have been proud to have been recognized for their fighting abilities. Alek however, seemed more ashamed of the fact, as he hung his head slightly lower, like it was some badge of shame to be a son of the war god.
"And you?" My mom asked Erica, "A daughter of… "
"Hermes," She hastily supplied, to which both of my parents responded with pleased smiles.
"Ah, Hermes," My dad said the name as if it belonged to an old friend of his he had seen in years. He seemed to drift off into a melancholy mood, as he stared aimlessly at the wall, completely lost in his own thoughts.
Erica looked confused, and ventured to ask, "Is he okay?"
My mother chuckled. "Yes. We like Hermes… most of the time."
"Most of the time? Heck, even our own godly parents have never sent us to Paris!"
"Calm down, Percy," She chided her husband, but not without a betraying grin tugging softly on her lips.
Then, with the utmost eagerness, my mom turned to face towards me, or more specifically, towards the girl next to me.
"And what about you?" She asked the brunette girl politely, but inquisitively.
Said girl cleared her throat, and pushed some of her hair nervously back behind her ear. "Um, Carolyn… King. Yeah- Carolyn King."
"And your parent?"
"Not godly, if that's what you're asking," She answered swiftly. "Neither of them."
"A mortal then?" My father raised an eyebrow, as he suddenly became invested in our conversation.
"A clearsighted mortal," I interrupted, on behalf of Carolyn. "With some… unique abilities."
Both of my parents studied Carolyn for a moment, neither of their faces showing any expression or emotion, which made me somewhat worried, and undoubtedly worried Carolyn.
All that changed however, when my dad, of all people, stepped forward and reached out to shake her hand. When Carolyn finally overcame her shock, she returned the gesture, with relieved smile.
What she didn't notice though, was the sideways smug grin my dad shot in my direction, as he said in a half-teasing manner, "It is very nice to meet you, Carolyn."
Okay, so maybe my dad wasn't as oblivious as I originally thought. Upon stepping back, he waggled his eyebrows subtly at my mother, who rolled her eyes, but still had that knowing smirk on her face. Gone was any hope I had that she would scold dad for his antics.
"Well," My mom flipped her blonde curls over one shoulder, and crossed her arms amusedly in front of her, "It seems, Luke, that you definitely are your father's child."
While the rest of us stared in blank confusion, my dad threw up his arms in exasperation. "Gods, Annabeth, that was like twenty years ago! Are you ever going to let that go?"
"Nope," She replied coolly.
Ignoring her tease, the raven-haired man ran one hand through his shirt beard, while simultaneously reaching into his pocket again. My eyes widened when he pulled out the exact same pen as he did earlier. Checking to make sure I wasn't seeing things, and that he didn't have two of the exact same pen sitting around in his pockets, I glanced towards the table. Sure enough, the pen he had placed there earlier was gone.
And I was sure I never saw him pick it up.
"How on earth?" I said startlingly, causing everyone to turn their attentions towards me, including my father.
"What is it?" He asked pointedly.
"I saw you put that on the table… how did it get back in your pocket?"
"Oh," He replied nonchalantly, glancing quickly down at the pen in his hand. He didn't seem surprised much at all by my sudden question. "This is Riptide… it always returns to my pockets after a few minutes. One of its magical properties, ya know."
He spoke of it so casually; I could hardly believe he wasn't joking. Of course, I had no reason to doubt him, especially since I knew how weird things could be in the demigod world.
"But on to more important questions," My dad continued, as he started handing back each of us our weapons, "Like, for starters," He handed me my trident in its condensed form, "How did you guys even find us?"
Silence flooded the room. I felt a cold chill sweep over me, and I knew that my friends faces had gone just as ghostly pale as mine.
"Gods," Erica whispered, "We're such idiots."
"What?" My mom asked.
"How-how could I forget?" I stammered.
"Forget what?" My mother demanded, as she took a step towards me. "Luke, what are you talking about?"
I looked up to face her. Her tall, athletic stature felt like it loomed over me, though I already had an inch or two on her as far as height went.
"There was… there was a prophecy."
Now it was her turn to become pale-faced. "A prophecy? About what, Luke?"
"About- " I started to reply, until I felt a bone-chilling hand grip my forearm, and I turned to see Carolyn stiffen.
"Luke," She whispered, "It's happening."
"What's happening?" I was pretty sure I already knew the answer though.
"What's going on?" I heard my father yell, as the girl next to me became an eerie shell of herself.
Then she started to speak.
"Beware, the golden one approaches."
And then, she collapsed. I caught her as she slumped into me, and set her gently down on the ground. My parents both jumped into action, and while my father helped me get her up slowly, my mom brought over a chair for us to set her in.
"What was that?" My dad asked, as we set her down.
I was about to reply, but then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Erica moving towards one of the windows, and staring out of it intently. I figured she was probably making sure the coast was clear.
"There's something you both should know," I huffed, just as Carolyn began to stir once again, "Especially you, dad." I stood up fully, and turned to face him, as he wrapped a reassuring arm around my mother.
"It has to do with the last line of the prophecy."
I had sort of gotten the feeling that at this point in their lives, almost nothing (except maybe Tartarus itself) could truly scare my parents. Turns out, I was wrong, because in that moment, something in my mother's head clicked, and a look of realization dawned on her.
"The golden one," She whispered, repeating what Carolyn had said. "You don't think it could mean- "
She turned to face my dad, the worry lines becoming more prominent on his face as well. He would never get a chance to respond however, as Erica's voice soon rang out across the room.
"Luke! Watch out!"
And that's when the front door exploded, sending a shockwave through the house, and throwing me up against the wall. I blacked out immediately.
…..
For some reason, this dream felt… different.
For starters, I found myself in a dark room, with the only light coming through the cracks between the closed door and frame. But something about it all felt familiar. What little decorum I could make out in the dark seemed recognizable, and the sheets covering the bed I was laying on felt like old friends, and the soft hum of the ceiling fan as it spun around was a comforting sound.
My bedroom, I thought to myself, my own bedroom.
My own memory.
Without ever intending to, I slipped out of my bed, and started carefully tiptoeing across the room towards the door, taking extra precaution not to make a sound. I wondered why I did this, all the way up until I could hear the voices coming from the other side of the door. Shadows peeked out under the bottom of the door, and I could make out at least three figures.
Having no control over what younger 'me' did, I pressed my ear up against the door, and listened intently to what was being said. My parents talked with another person in serious, hushed voices, such that I could just barely make out their words.
"Are you sure this is the right choice?" The unknown person spoke. While younger 'me' may not have recognized her voice, real-time 'me' did.
"I say this to you as the goddess of wisdom," Athena remarked, "Consider your decision here carefully."
"We have mother," I heard my mom's voice return sharply, "And therefore you of all people should know why we're doing this."
Athena answered defensively. "I'm just making sure you two have considered all your options. This is a drastic step, and it will change the boy's life forever."
"We know," My father replied glumly, "Trust us… we know. But this way, at least he'll get to have a life."
My grandmother was silent for a moment, and when she spoke again, her voice was solemn. "Have the nightmares really gotten that bad?"
"Worse," Her daughter responded, "I can't even begin to describe- "
"Don't," Her husband stopped her, "Don't think about it."
I could tell just from their voices that the two of them were on the brink, on the edge of breaking down. Words couldn't even begin to describe what I imagined they were feeling, the pain of leaving coupled with the recurring nightmares.
"Have you told anyone else?" Athena asked, "Your parents, Percy?"
"Broke the news to them this morning. They took it about as well as you'd expect."
"Did you tell them where you were going?"
My dad didn't respond immediately, but judging by his shadow, I figured he was shaking his head. "No one can know, not even them."
Athena nodded her head, before quietly asking, "And what of Luke? Can he ever know?"
My mother and father were silent for a while, as I watched their shadows flutter underneath the door.
"He'll have to know what he is at some point," My mom said, "But as far as who he is- "
"Keep in mind, Annabeth, my daughter, that there will come a day when he deserves to know."
"I understand, it's just… keep him safe for as long as you can. We know it won't be forever."
A silent agreement passed between the three of them, followed by more drowning silence. It wasn't for another three minutes that I heard one of them speak.
"Annabeth," My dad said in a soft voice, "It's time."
The sound of my mom sniffling could be heard, and she replied, "Right."
Shuffling of feet and approaching footsteps sent younger 'me' scampering back towards my bed like a fleet-footed ninja in pajamas. I got the feeling that I was probably supposed to be long asleep. Was I always this rebellious?
Quickly tucking myself into my bed, and turning back towards the door, I feigned being asleep, right as the door creaked softly open, allowing more light into the room. I closed my eyes, only cracking them ever so slightly to watch the shadows of my parents now being reflected on back wall of my room.
They moved like ghosts floating ambiently across the floor, solemn and anguish being the only things left in their path. They made no sound, no doubt from their years of training, until they came to stand over my bed, while I feigned sleeping.
Through my cracked eyelid, I could make out my mother leaning her head on my father's shoulder, as they beheld their 'sleeping' son.
"Are we doing the right thing, Percy?" She whispered ever so softly to him. "Leaving him on his own like this?"
"He won't actually be on his own. Athena will look after him."
"Yeah, but he won't know that."
My dad was quiet; no answer ever come from him.
"Do you think he'll hate us?"
"I don't know, Annabeth. But that's not what matters right now."
"It's about him- I know, but I just can't stand the thought of him resenting us, even if he doesn't know who we are."
Watching the shadows, I saw my dad turned to kiss my mother on her forehead, before softly replying, "Things will work out in the end, Annabeth. You'll see."
"Yeah, if we don't die at the hands of monsters first."
"Well, we always planned on that happening anyways, so it could be worse."
"Reassuring…" My mom said, and I watched their shadows through my cracked eyelids, as she leaned down to kiss me. I felt her lips on the back of head, and her fingers gently rubbing my soft head of dark hair.
"Goodbye, Luke," She said. I could almost hear the tears in her voice, as she stood back up straight.
My father leaned down and kissed me on the head as well, his fingers lingering a bit longer, as they rested on my shoulder. He rubbed my small shoulder with his thumb, something I had definitely enjoyed as a kid, and had found relaxing.
"You know what my favorite thing about our son is?" My mom asked, as my father stood back up.
"That he doesn't drool when he sleeps?" He replied sarcastically, undoubtedly causing my mom to smile just a bit. No doubt she loved him for that, for being able to make her smile even in the worst of times. I'm pretty sure I loved that about him too, how he was always the one who helped me stop crying.
"I love that he's our son," My mom said, as they slowly walked backwards, their eyes never leaving me, "And no one else's."
The sound of the door opening a bit could be heard, and then, like a vision vanishing into thin air, it closed, and they were gone, seemingly forever.
…
