Annabeth's pov
Annabeth really did not want to go to the Counsellor's meeting but she can't just ignore the meeting called by Chiron, now could she. She swore to the gods that she would ruin every gods' statues if this was about another war, especially since... since he was banished.
Annabeth knew that it irrational and illogical that she couldn't bear to say or even think his name anymore but whenever she thought of him, her thoughts were all over the place. On one hand, she knew his fall flaw was loyalty which is quite opposite of betrayal but then she was the one to find the plans of betrayal in the Poseidon cabin. The only reason she was there was to apologize for her cold behaviour because despite the nagging voice telling her that he did not love her and never had. When she got to the cabin, he wasn't there but the scrolls of paper under the bed caught her eye.
From that day on, she trusted the voice. It was right. She took the scrolls to the Olympian Council as evidence that he was a traitor. Her heart told her she was making a mistake but it made so much sense and had so much logic to it. She did not trust her heart anymore at all. She requested them to not tell him that she was the one who brought it. she didn't know why she asked that but it felt right. Guilt started to creep up nut she forced it down. She had done nothing wrong. It's all his fault. He was too wrapped up in his power and planned to betray them. Tartarus had changed him for the worse. She killed him the moment he turned Akhlys' poison against her.
"-nabeth, Annabeth," Malcolm snapped his fingers and Annabeth shook out of her thoughts. "I called your name five times. You should really get going. The meeting may have already started."
Annabeth nodded and sprinted off towards the Big House. She was the last one to arrive. The Stolls were goofing off while Katie Gardner was scolding them lightly. Clarisse was munching something, occasionally flicking it on someone. Clovis was snoring on Jason's shoulder while he was talking to Piper. Will was fretting over Nico who was looking torn between bored, amused, and irritated. In the corner, the newcomer, Ari Chanda was fidgeting with her bracelet. She was the daughter of Poseidon and cabin leader since he was the only other son of Poseidon. Her claiming was quite a shock to all of the camp. She was claimed right alongside the other kid who came with her. He is the son of Demeter.
Both of them and Diana, the daughter of Hecate made quite the unexpected trio. If they meet them separately, some may think their personalities will clash. Annabeth was eager to get this out of the way so she made a bee-line for Chiron and stopped in front of him. "What is this about Chiron?" she said loud enough that they had the attention of everybody in the room.
Chiron trotted over to the table and cleared his throat. "I know that we have only just come out of the war but I am afraid that there has been another prophecy issued," he admitted.
Screams of outrage and groans echoed around the room. Annabeth too felt dread curling in her gut. She hoped it wasn't another great prophecy and was about someone other than her friends. She knew it was selfish but haven't they been through enough? The fates can't be as cruel as to weave another prophecy about any of them.
As soon as the room calmed down a bit, Chiron gestured towards Ari and she came forward nervously biting her lips. "I believe it'd be better if we heard it from someone who was there when the prophecy was issued," he told them and encouraged her to speak.
She hesitantly nodded and said in a confident tone, "The prophecy went like this-
Three Half-Bloods shall undertake a final quest,
To seek the mirror of temptation,
From the hands of the goddess of trickery,
The sea's daughter shall make a choice,
The one in the right would clear the name of the once betrayed,
And free the minds of the voice,
But neither shall keep what matters most in the end."
Annabeth's mind was racing with endless possibilities. Silence ensued in the room for five more minutes until Clarisse pointed out, "It doesn't rhyme like every other prophecy. What it does do like the others is confuse us even more."
Personally, Annabeth didn't really think it mattered. But it was enough to break the awkward silence. "Why don't we ask the gods?" she suggested. Nods of agreement went around and soon they formed a rainbow and tossed in a drachma where it disappeared. "O' Iris goddess of the rainbow, show us the Olympian Council."
Soon enough the mist cleared and they could see the gods looking disgruntled and arguing over something. As soon as they noticed the demigods looking at them, the talking stopped at once. Zeus cleared his throat and tried to look as intimidating as possible. "Demigods, you have interrupted a very important meeting. I hope you have a very good reason."
Annabeth spoke in a clear voice," We apologize for interrupting but this is important." many of the gods had turned to give her their full attention. Some gods like Poseidon, Hades, Hermes, and Aphrodite were glaring at her. "We have received another prophecy."
"IMPOSSIBLE!" Zeus burst out. "You lie daughter of Athena; Apollo has been cast out of Olympus and cannot pass on any prophecies to your oracle."
[A/N: The trials of Apollo will happen in this story. Except Percy won't be in it at all and Ari, Diana will have some roles in it. I will not give out too many spoilers. I haven't read the whole series so I might or might not just explain it in passing.]
"That is true but Lord Apollo did not give me this prophecy," a voice from the back of the room said. The crowd of demigods parted to show a grim Rachel Dare who had entered without most of them realizing. She walked forward in front of the shocked immortals.
"This prophecy was given to me from the fates themselves. It is of utmost importance that this prophecy is completed."
Zeus looked like he wanted to smite her for speaking this but reigned it in. It would not be wise for him to kill the fates' chosen. "Very well, let's hear it then."
Ari hesitantly stepped forward with an encouraging nod from Rachel. Zeus' face was hilarious. It looked like smoke might steam from his ears at any moment. "Brother, you are not killing my daughter. Let her speak," Poseidon asserted as Zeus' hand reached his bolt. When Zeus relaxed and dropped his master bolt, Poseidon nodded softly to his daughter to speak.
As she recited the prophecy perfectly, each word hung in the air as if warning them to pay heed. The first one to speak after it was finished was surprisingly Lady Aphrodite. "This only proves that what I told you is true and we acted wrongly."
Although reluctantly, Athena also supported her," I am afraid that what Aphrodite speaks of and what the prophecy stated aligns perfectly and would make much sense."
Many faces turned remorseful at this but Zeus was thundering with outrage. "I refuse to believe that some puny deity controlled my mind. I am the king of the gods!"
For once Hestia looked furious and rage took over her as her aura spiked and she turned to Zeus. "Little Brother for once in your life, accept that even the king can be mistaken. Do not let your greed and pride come in the way of doing what is best for everyone. I will not sit back this time as you make another grievous mistake. It was bad enough that you were going to banish the greatest hero to Tartarus before he ran away but now that it can be proven that he is innocent, you are not willing to listen." She finished her rant and looked straight in Zeus' eyes. He gulped nervously and turned his attention to the demigods who looked terrified and confused.
Annabeth was part of both, she was terrified that Hestia was so mad since she normally wasn't a violent goddess at all. She was confused though since it seemed that the gods knew something she didn't and she didn't like that. "Pardon me, but what the hell are you all talking about?"
They looked at her like she was an idiot, until Aphrodite said, "Oh, aren't you supposed to be smart. Surely you can connect the dots and not be so blinded."
At Annabeth's look of confusion, she continued," We were talking about how there is a major possibility of Percy being falsely accused." The campers all looked at her in disbelief but there was one that had hope shining in her eyes as Aphrodite continued," Let me enlighten you on how. My son had a mirror, a godly mirror that could sway the thoughts and emotions of people as he wished. Of course, he only used it to put couples on the right path but recently he lost that mirror. Now, if a powerful deity were to find it then they might be able to say the thoughts and emotions of a whole camp of people against a single person that they might have needed and was important as a whole. The mirror only worked on those that doubted him and had negative emotions towards him that the deity only increased. The only ones that believed him were the ones who fully trusted him. With all the hate and distrust towards him, you only needed a push like a framed betrayal from him to cast him out completely. Now, he would never come back and Olympus has lost one of its strongest warriors. Keep in mind that these emotions were already in you, the mirror did not create them or make you act on them. You are all also to blame."
Annabeth did not want to believe anything that she said. she did not want to think that she betrayed him while he had done nothing wrong.She did not want to believe that she wrong to not listen to Piper's warning. clearly, Piper had felt something wrong, and yet she had not trusted her friend as she trusted the voice that was using her to bring Olympus down on its knees.
She's lying. You are smarter than that. You would've found out. I am your voice, not something else.
There it was again, its voice whispering to her. In the past, she believed it and went with it only to find that it was manipulating her. No, she would not listen to it anymore.
You must listen. They use you unlike me. I have only driven you to see the truth. The others are fools. The boy only pushed you down, pushed you into the shadows.
That is true, he was powerful. Everyone looked up to him, sometimes forgetting he had help when he saved the world. He never would've succeeded without her. Now that he's gone, people have started looking up to her again. Sure, she would feel guilty that he was sent away when he was innocent but she never wanted to live in his shadows again. She also did not need the voice, manipulating her emotions to his needs. She would banish it from her mind if it was the last thing she ever did.
No...
She was brought out of her mind by Zeus proclaiming," There will be a quest to complete the prophecy. The daughter of Poseidon shall lead it as the prophecy mentions her specifically. She may choose two others to go with her." He cut through the connection leaving the demigods alone.
"We have to figure out who this goddess of trickery is. Right now, we cannot think clearly about Percy. Nobody can trust the images about him in our minds. Ari and two others will have to retrieve the mirror my mother spoke about," Piper exclaimed with a determined expression.
"Why can't you just charm speak it away as you did with the eidolons?" Someone in the back asked.
Piper shook her head sadly," This influence is of an object, to has no emotions of its own. Even if I could, it would not last for long."
"The most likely is the ancient Greek goddess of trickery and deceit, Apate. She is the only one fitting the description. The only problem is that she was said to have faded long ago," Annabeth informed.
"Could-could Gaia have brought her back in case she was defeated?" Ari questioned. "From what the other campers told me, she brought back many from the dead. What if Apate was like a Plan B of sorts?" Ari thought out loud. At this point, she was making a lot of sense. Annabeth definitely saw the logic in her reasoning.
Many of the counsellors were staring at Ari like she was a puzzle. Annabeth was reminded a lot of Ari's brother. Though he was a seaweed brain, he could still surprise them with brilliant thinking. "But how and why Percy?" Jason asked looking intrigued and remorseful at the same time.
"Some of the younger campers told me of my brother's quests. He was a key part of both wars in order for you to win. His fatal-flaw was loyalty. He couldn't betray you but if you betray him, he would never willingly help you again. And you were all given immortality, if Gaia rose again, she probably wanted to make sure that we did not have one of the best heroes on our side," Ari answered.
That brought another sense of dread in them. A sense of inevitable downfall and hopelessness. They quickly turned the discussion and decided that Ari would lead the quest with Taz and Diana to retrieve the mirror of Peirasmos from Apate. They will depart on their quest in two days.
With that, they dispersed from the meeting room and Annabeth headed towards her cabin and sunk into her bed. Thoughts and emotions all over the place, she fell into a dreamless sleep.
