The Beginning
Chapter 6:
After Rhea told the tale of her children, which Percy thinks might be one of, if not the first times in history that the origin story of the Elder Gods had been told, which was crazy, his stomach decided to quite loudly remind him that he hadn't had anything to eat since, well.
A very long time, at least.
Maybe a bit before the final battle, after Michael? Annabeth had shoved some bread into his hands just before he had crashed to catch his 30 minutes power nap before the big finale.
Rhea raised an eyebrow as the loud noise broke the tension in the room and he blushed scarlet.
"It's been a long day," he said by way of explanation, and she nodded, looking thoughtful, before waving her hand.
In front of him, a wide platter made of clay appeared, beautifully decorated with animals that Percy could only assume were lions and covered with what looked to be a circular sheet of thin bread that had been fried in olive oil. Next to the bread, a pile of slightly wrinkled fruit that Percy actually recognised lay, and he looked at Rhea in question.
"Bread and… dates?"
The Titaness nodded, looking quite satisfied as she snagged a date for herself. "Laganon bread and honeyed dates. A treat if ever I saw one."
Percy raised an eyebrow. "I thought immortals ate Ambrosia and Nectar?"
"We do, but sometimes that gets boring. Nothing like some mortal food to keep your taste buds alive!" Rhea smiled, but it soon faded away as Percy shrugged and tucked in.
He polished off the meal and was considering going over to the freshwater pool at the other end of the cave for a drink when he felt Rhea's eyes on him, considering.
"Yes?"
Rhea shrugged gracefully, managing to make nibbling on a date elegant as she spoke, "It's just that you asked many questions before we ate, but you never asked the most important one. Or, well, the one most pertaining to you, anyway."
Percy blinks, sitting back from the platter and watching as it was blinked away with a flick of Rhea's hand. There is something not quite right in her tone. "And what question would that be?"
Rhea moves closer to him, like a hunter moving in for the kill, and he suddenly feels like little more than prey, lured closer by the promise of food and drink. "Well, Percy, what does any of this- my plight, my children- have to do with you? Why did my mother send me to you, over all others? I have explained my story, but you have not explained yours."
"Ah," Percy says and considers the question carefully in his mind, mindful of Rhea's dark gaze, pinning him to the spot.
From what he remembers, the nymphs had helped Rhea in the myths of old, and the goat still slumbering in the corner of the room pointed to that being the case in this time as well.
However, Percy got the feeling that pointing out would not be looked at kindly, not now.
He briefly thinks about lying to her, and then decides what the hell, because he doesn't even know what lie he could give her that would be believable, and it's the least he can do after she explained her vulnerability to him, so he looks at her and trades one truth for another.
"I'm from the future," he says, and her face is changes so quickly from calculating to baffled that he snorts.
Rhea says blankly, "What?" and Percy smiles slightly, shrugging.
"You wanted to know how I am connected to you and your struggle, so I answered."
"So you said you're from the future? I don't believe you. You are either lying or mad."
"I am neither." Percy says, affronted.
Rhea scowls, looking annoyed, "Then do I not deserve the truth, after all the truth I have told you?" she demands, before her eyes widen.
Percy has just enough time to think, Oh no.
Suddenly there are two lions on either side of him, surrounding him with snarls in their throat and too many teeth to be entirely comfortable. He probably should have seen this coming, to be honest, although a part of him is surprised it took this long.
He is famous for pissing of gods (or anybody with the capacity for snapping him like a twig, really) at camp for a reason.
"If you are telling the truth, about… time travel," and Rhea's lips curl, "then you must be a spy from my husband, after all." She says flatly. "He is the Titan of Time."
Percy rolls his eyes. "Did you not say that your mother sent you to find me? And that you "tended to trust her in" these types of matters? Besides, do you not think that a spy for Kronos would have a more plausible excuse?"
He chooses to not mention that technically, him being here is Kronos's fault. And Chiron had said he'd never learn any tack! Shows what he knows.
Rhea does not seem happy that Percy quoted her own words back at her, but the two lions fall back from where they had been circling him, at least.
He takes it that their dinner (of him) has been put on a temporary hold, and that whether or not they get their tasty Percy-Snack really depends on what he says next.
Rhea gestures for him to explain himself, and so he does.
"You said I felt like your children several times, and you are most definitely correct. I am, technically speaking, your future grandchild."
Rhea frowns. "So, you…" she blinks. "Wait. One of my children is your-?"
"Yep," Percy says, and before she asks, adds "Poseidon."
Rhea stares at him. "Poseidon is currently in his fathers' stomach. Do you truly expect me to believe-?"
Percy elaborates, "I said I was from the future, didn't I?" and Rhea falls silent. He can practically hear the cogs turning in her head.
"Suppose you are not insane-"
"I'm not!"
"Poseidon is free, then?" There is a terrible sort of vulnerability in the question. "From him?"
Percy immediately stops protesting, nodding solemnly at her.
"Not just him, my lady," Percy says, "The others too- all of them. And not only that," he says slowly, savouring the victory even if he was not part of the fight, "They win."
Rhea's eyes hold both the fear that he is lying, and a dangerous fiery hope in them. She needs more convincing, and so Percy finally brings out the big guns, his ace in the hole.
"They don't feel like Titans," he says quietly, "Because they are not. They, for all their faults, are better. They are Gods. I swear to you on the River Styx that I am not lying about this."
There is no thunder booming in the air to signal the oath, but that is ok, because the King of the Gods is with them even now, in Rhea's womb, and the air around them suddenly feels electric.
One glance at Rhea shows that she feels it as well, looking disconcerted as she stares at Percy like he's ripped her entire world from underneath him. The fierce hope in her eyes is back, and she looks at him as if he holds the answers to life itself.
The lions around her lower to the ground and make themselves as small as possible, before being dismissed in a heartbeat.
It is slightly pleasing, knowing that he has caused such a strong response in Rhea, and he smiles at her cheerfully.
"So," he says finally, after she makes no move to say or do anything. "I'm sure you have questions?"
Notes: Read and Review. I had a bunch of notes about what Percy was eating and why it was historically accurate, but my computer broke and I lost all my research. :( I'll try and find it again, but I'm just going to post this now and hope for the best.