The Beginning

Chapter 5:

It turned out, when Rhea said, "Mount Ida", she really meant a big cave underneath Mount Ida.

As Rhea explained to him, the cave was protected by strong earth magic and was therefore convenient if one wanted to speak without someone overhearing.

It seemed a bit dodgy, but Percy had agreed that it seemed like their best shot.

The modern saying had confused Rhea (although she tried valiantly to hide it) and amused Percy, and so they had soon lapsed into silence on the journey there, lost in their own thoughts.

As they made their way on foot (because apparently instant teleportation was not a skill Titans had, which probably shouldn't have surprised him but did -he was too used to Gods), Percy thought about everything that had happened.

It was, unsurprisingly, a lot.

Percy had asked Rhea for the name of the island, getting a weird look (hey! It wasn't his fault he was thrown through time and crashed landed here with no helpful signs labelling the area!) and the name Crete as his answer.

Which really, now that he thought about it, made sense.

After all, the Isle of Crete was where Zeus himself had be born. If he remembered correctly, the Isle was home to the nine original nymphs that had looked after a young Zeus while his mother had to attend Kronos.

If he had to guess, it was the reason why the forest had been so silent. Those nine nymphs had started an entire race through their offspring, but it simply hadn't happened yet.

Percy thought about the trees and greenery they had walked past and shuddered. Before he had known about, you know, being a demigod, it had felt weird that every tree had its own spirit.

Now?

The exact opposite was true. If the trees had no nymphs, then how where they growing? Thriving?

The thought unsettled him, and so he pushed it into the back of his brain for now, pausing as he reconsidered something.

The wind had been silent as well, and Percy was willing to bet the reason the Sea had been strange also had something to do with it- the spirits that had tended to natures domains in his time probably hadn't been born yet.

It was a weird thought.

Actually, the entire situation was weird.

After all, it wasn't every day you were thrown into a time before the wind had even been born, and it was a bit uncomfortable, as, for the first time, Percy realised how young everything was, and just how far back in time he was.

And, Percy thought, giving a sideways glance at Rhea's pregnant stomach, that this being the Isle of Crete did give him a hint about where, or rather when exactly he was on the Gods Being Born Timeline™.

Crete was Zeus's birthplace, after all.

They had made fairly good time navigating around Crete (thankfully, the mountain wasn't far) and had reached the mountain before the sun had truly disappeared from the horizon.

Apollo, Percy thought, and then- no wait, Helios. It was just another reminder of the strange differences between times, and Percy felt a headache started to form.

Rhea directed him to a small opening in the rocks, and they both ducked into the cave, the movement looking strange on the Queen's normally graceful body as she was hampered by her pregnancy, making her do a little duck-waddle thing.

Inside, Percy had been prepared for many things- a death pit or even a trap, chief among them, perhaps with Kronos popping in out of nowhere and doing a little dance before saying "Surprise, sucker!" and ending his life horribly.

However, what he was not prepared for was the goat.

In hindsight, he should have probably been prepared for the goat.

It was curled up against one side of the far cave, its shaggy gray fur gleaming in the rays of the small fire cackling merrily away in the cave.

It had curlicue horns like a ram, but the swollen udders of a female goat, which would have been strange, had the goat not been glowing in the dull light of the cave, almost as if wisps of light were clinging to it.

Huh, Percy thought, Radioactive Goat. Nice.

"Her name is Amaltheia." Percy glanced at Rhea, who had apparently followed his gaze to the radioactive goat. "She is a nymph of sorts, given to me by my mother to help with the nursing of my future child."

"Ah," Percy nodded, as if he had any idea either way. He had one vague memory of chatting with Thalia about her shield, Aegis, and the name popping up in the conversation, but other than that, he was flying blind.

He hoped the goat wasn't a murder goat. That would suck.

"And your mother is…?" Percy said, wanting to move the subject along.

Rhea stopped from where she had moved across the cave to poke the fire, giving him a strange look. She did that quite often, and it was getting pretty annoying.

"My mother. The primordial being of the Earth." She stared at him, and Percy very clearly got the uncomfortable feeling that this was one of these things he was just expected to know.

He blinked. "Right, of course. I knew that."

Rhea gave him a doubtful look, and then sighed heavily, hunching over and turning back to the fire and staring into the flames.

It felt like a dismissal, and Percy wondered what, exactly, he had got himself into.

He observed her as plainly as he could, trying to discern what she was thinking- maybe regretting bringing him here? For someone who had seemed so frantic at the river, she didn't seem to be in a hurry to talk.

Tearing his gaze away from the Titan, Percy cautiously made his way into the cave, avoiding Rhea for now as he looked around.

(This time he also ignored the sleeping goat in the corner. He, quite frankly, didn't really have the energy to deal with it, and he was like 60% sure it probably wouldn't kill him from Rhea's comments and the half-remembered conversation with Thalia, which was more than 50% and therefore good enough for him.)

The inside of the cave was nicely furnished in a caveman sort of way, with a thick woollen rug spread out on the floor (though what creature it was from, he had no idea- a bear, perhaps?) and the small fire that Rhea now sat next to illuminating the space.

There were hides covering most of the walls, reflecting and insulating the heat back into the area, and Percy found himself grateful as the sun came down and the chill crept in.

In the small places where the cave wasn't covered with hides, opposite Amaltheia, there seemed to be small gaps carved into the rock, serving as some sort of ancient bookshelf from what Percy could tell, as they housed what looked to be a stack of clay tablets, with scratches and indents that indicated some sort of writing.

And, if Percy squinted, he could make out the very back of the cave, where there was a small (but quite deep) pool of water that he could sense was fresh with his water powers.

The pool had a quiet gurgling waterfall throughout it, bringing the fresh water in, and as Percy stared it, trying to gauge where it came from (perhaps run off from the mountain?) he thought he saw movement in the water out of the corner of his eye.

However, it was gone as soon as it came, and Percy eventually gave up waiting to see if it happened again. This was Rhea's- not home- secret base, maybe? And he doubted that there was anything harmful here.

It may not be harmful to Titans, but what about mortals? his subconscious whispered, and he quickly checked Riptide was in its proper pace.

Percy spared a moment to wonder why Rhea was at river they had met at if her home had already had fresh water, raising a curious eyebrow in the pool's direction.

Actually, she was a Titan, so he wasn't really sure she needed water in the first place, anyway.

However, it wasn't like he had had a chat with Hyperion or Kronos during the time they had tried to kill him about their powers and how they worked, so who knows?

He smiled slightly at the thought of that conversation.

Percy: Hey Hyperion, Can I ask a few questions about your powers?

Hyperion: Sure Percy, go right ahead! I promise I won't bludgeon your brains out!

Percy: Thanks Hyperion. You're a real pal.

Yeah, Percy was sure that would go over really well.

Once he had observed the full contents of the cave-

(feeling increasingly grateful that he didn't have to spend the night outside- he might of done it before, when he had first been injured, but he couldn't really remember anything, and Crete at night, from what little he could see from the opening, looked very cold.)

-Percy drifted over to Rhea, feeling increasingly uncomfortable with just standing there gawking like a 5-year-old in a candy store. She was still hunched over the flames, staring intently (was this normal behaviour for Titans?) and he wasn't sure if he should interrupt.

He took about 5 seconds to think about the merits of interrupting her or not, which was an improvement from his usual manner of what Annabeth called "Making decisions without thinking even the slightest bit, Gods of Olympus Percy, do want me to have a heart attack before I turn 16?" and made up his mind.

Percy took a deep breath, walking over to join her near the fire. "I'm not sure exactly what you want me to do, or even why you think I can help, but I want you to know I'm on your… and your children's side."

The statement was truer than Rhea knew, and Percy hoped it would help her decide what to do, or whether to trust him. Although she had brought him here, so that was a good sign.

He hoped.

Rhea looked over to him in what he thought might be surprise, and nodded once, firmly, before untangling her hands from where she had clasped them together, and he suddenly felt kind of stupid.

She wasn't ignoring him- she was praying, probably to her mother, the primordial of Earth if he had to guess and Rhea was to be believed.

Rhea shook her head, perhaps guessing his thoughts as she said, "Mother is not responding to my prayers at this time. I can only assume that I am on the correct path, and she has decided I do not need guidance in this."

Rhea didn't sound too convinced, and Percy grimaced, knowing the feeling of praying to an absent parent you weren't sure was listening well.

"Tell me about it," he muttered, sighing, "What were you praying about?"

Rhea smiled slightly. "You."

Percy gave her a startled look, and she elaborated, the fire flickering softly over her face. "Did you not think me hasty when asking you to come here?" She gestured around the room. "This is my sanctuary after all."

"From your husband?" Percy asked shrewdly. It may have been rude, but he had had enough of dealing with Kronos for a lifetime, and he was still annoyed at the trip through time.

Percy had a feeling that that feeling wouldn't go away for quite some time. Still, a part of Percy wanted to hope maybe he could get home, one day. It was probably a long shot, but he supposed it was part of being human.

Rhea gave him a look, before nodding. "Yes, from my husband. I will explain why, if I must. It is not common knowledge for a reason."

Percy made a noise of affirmance, before considering the first half of her statement. "Wait, if you thought you were being hasty, why did you ask me to come with you?"

"My mother told me too."

Percy's face must have been a sight to see, because Rhea laughed (for the first time in his presence as well-he hadn't realised how sad her face had been until he saw the opposite) and added, "Well, she told me that I would find a being I could trust near the natural giver of life. From lack of any other options, I figured her meaning to be the running freshwater river that passes through the middle of the island- it helps the trees and plants grow, and waters the animals that live here."

Percy tried to make out the implications of that. A primordial being had seen him coming here and told Rhea that he would help her? It sounded a little farfetched, but ok, Percy could role with that.

A thought came to him. "When were you told to check the river?"

"Perhaps seven of Selene's moon cycles ago? I have made the trek to the river seven times now."

A week ago, he wasn't even in this time. He had been fighting a war for Olympus. So how had the Earth Mother known? It's a troubling thought, as much of this entire experience lately has been.

"Right," Percy took a breath, "And so your mum showed up, told you "Oh yeah, you'll meet a dude near the river, trust him because he's cool" and then you just… did what she said?"

Rhea looked slightly mutinous at this description, although whether it was from his language or what he said was anyone's guess. "I tend to not doubt my mother's wisdom, especially in times like these."

She shook her head, continuing. "You should show more respect to those who deserve it though, especially my mother -she is not one for you to anger lightly- although I am starting to understand it is not in your nature. Many of my kin would strike you down for your tongue before you could even raise your sword."

Percy gave her a sweet grin. "I suppose I am lucky that you found me then, my lady, and not your kin."

The corners of Rhea's mouth twitched upwards, and he took that as a good sign that he wasn't going to be struck down.

"Very well," she said with a theatrical sigh, and Percy found hope in the display of humour as she added, "And I did not just bring you back because my mother willed it, anyway. As I said before, you are an oddity- a being claiming to be human but not under my husband's sway, with a distaste of my husband as well! And of course, there is your aura, reminiscent of my children's."

"You've mentioned your children are the reason you brought me here before. Like I said, I didn't know you and…well, I didn't know you had any children."

A white lie. Santa could put him on the naughty list for all he cared. It was an invitation to explain though, and so Rhea did.

She described how, years ago, she had gotten pregnant with her first child. A girl, she said bitterly, not that they had known it then. The King had been overjoyed at the prospect of an heir and everything had seemed fine. It seemed naïve now, to not have realise that behind his joyous expression, Kronos had been panicking, paranoid about the prophecy.

"The prophecy?" Percy asked to be polite, a bitter edge to his words that he tried to hide but was unsuccessful from the look on Rhea's face.

"Yes. When my husband killed our father at our mothers' orders, the last thing the Sky Lord did was prophesies that Kronos would be killed by his children just as my father had been killed by my brothers."

There was a particular look on Rhea's face, and Percy found himself remembering that for all her seemingly good cheer now, the Titaness had still been there as Uranus was slaughtered.

"Of course," she snorted, "My husband believe it to be a curse, although I suppose it doesn't matter now. What matters is what he did afterwards." The words are hissed in hate, and Percy decides to stay silent because he wasn't touching that with a 10-foot stick.

Rhea shakes her head and narrates how, when it came time to give birth, she had named the child "Hestia" and presented her to Kronos as his first-born daughter. And Kronos, in all his loving kindness (this is said with such sarcasm that even Percy feels impressed) had eaten her.

Rhea looks at him like she is expecting questions from this statement, and Percy determinedly says nothing. He would like this part to be over and done with as quickly as possible, thank you very much.

However, instead of moving on to her next children, Rhea frowns and says, "Hestia's aura was different from any Titan I have ever delivered into the world."

Percy's gaze darted to her, and he leant forwards. "You've mentioned the aura before. What do you mean?"

Rhea sighs. "As the Titan of motherhood, I help with any pregnancies throughout my family, and help deliver the children. But Hestia, and then the others after her, all without fail, seem to be different."

"Different how?"

"If I had to guess? More powerful. Less rough, more divine. They were smaller than most babes of our kind. And I think that, more than anything else, tipped Kronos over the edge."

"He ate them." Percy says flatly, annoyed to have had to have said it, and Rhea nods with a pain that only mothers could have in her eyes.

"He ate all of them. I'm not sure they even survived- they were immortal, yes, but they were so small when it happened…" Rhea's voice trails away, lost in what Percy assumes are memories.

He clears his throat, and she jerks back to the present.

"Which is why this child," Rhea gestures vaguely to her stomach, "Will be different. I will make sure of it."

Percy looks at her.

"I know you will."

The statement is said with a quiet sort of confidence that Percy thinks only one who knows the future could pull off.

He finds himself wishing that it gives her hope, for the years to come.

Notes:

I'm not sure about this chapter, but whatever. Please read and review! Also, how do you think Rhea and Percy's interactions are?