AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey, y'all! How's everyone doing? Hope y'all are coping with the quarantine. I know I haven't uploaded in a hot minute, BUT since I've had a buttload of time on my hands, I've started writing again. AND I HAVE A BRAND NEW STORY TO GET Y'ALL THROUGH THIS!

First though, some rules. This story does not require to have read the Percy Jackson series (though I highly recommend you do because it's phenomenal), so feel free to suggest this fic to friends who haven't. BUT if you wish to read Percy Jackson with fresh eyes, DON'T READ THIS! THERE ARE MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST BOOK IN HERE! However, if you have no care in the world for spoilers, go right ahead.

This story is ALL CANON. It's literally the entire first book. From a different character's perspective. So, there will be a hella amount of scenes from the book. Now, I didn't want it to get boring for those of you who have read the series, so there will be a lot more commentary from ~our main character~ in between dialogue.

Also, TRIGGER WARNING: this story will delve more into the emotional trauma that ~our main character~ definitely suffers from. It's not explicitly said or talked about, but it's prominent, especially in the later chapters.

DISCLAIMER: I am not Rick Riordan. I am just usinf his work for ~creativity~.

WITHOUT FURTHER ADO:

THE LIGHTENING THIEF: THROUGH THE EYES OF ANNABETH CHASE

•••

Chapter 1

TWELVE SUPERIOR BEINGS USE AN ELEVATOR

I can categorically separate my life using one strategy. The before and the after.

For example, there is the before I knew about my mom (I don't really remember that time of my life, but there are still fragments here and there) and the after I knew about my mom. There is the before I ran away from home and the after I ran away from home. There is the before Thalia got turned into a tree and the after Thalia got turned into a tree. There is the before I read a prophecy about the possible end of the world and the after I read a prophecy about the possible end of the world.

You get the gist.

Similarly but not quite identical, there's the before Percy Jackson and the after Percy Jackson.

For those of you wondering who Percy Jackson is, he is not a simple person. Rather, he is an event. An event that devastated my life. Not in a bad way. No. But not in a good way either. The most important thing to know about Percy Jackson right now is that he changed my life. For better or for worse, that's what we'll find out.

But, it really all started the day after the winter solstice.

Now, the day before the winter solstice, nothing happened. Well, all the demigods that were left at camp packed up and loaded into one van. But, other than that, it was just a long train ride from one island to another. My time was spent watching the trees whizz by and reading an interesting architecture book on Ancient Greek housing and infrastructure.

The last field trip I'd gone on was two years before. It had been because Chiron had let me read the Great Prophecy. And I couldn't sleep for two weeks. So, he issued a small trip to the Statue of Liberty. He thought it would make me feel better. It didn't. I still had nightmares about it.

When we stopped at Penn Station, I finally got excited. It was designed by the architects McKim, Mead, and White. The building structure was inspired by the Baths of Caracalla in Rome. It also had a Parisian hint because of the Beaux-Arts style of architecture. It was opened to the public in 1910 but razed in 1963 to make Madison Square Garden. Penn Station was now completely underground. But still, in its time, it was pretty cool.

I told this all to Luke as we piled out of the train. He laughed whole heartedly and I smiled happily. I hadn't heard him laugh like that for a while. It was nice to know I'd made it happen.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself," he noted, ruffling my hair. I scowled a little at the sisterly gesture.

After a short walk in New York City, we arrived at our intended destination. The Empire State Building. Seriously, my inner geek was freaking.

The Empire State Building was completed in 1931. It was the tallest building in the world from then to 1970. It was then surpassed by the World Trade Center. The architects who designed it, Shreve, Lamb, and Harmon, chose an Art Deco style. Its roof height was 250 feet and it was a 102-story skyscraper.

Man, I loved Manhattan.

"Alright," Luke steered us into the lobby. "Let's get going, guys." Mr D appeared next to the group, frowning.

"You brats never can get enough, can you?" He sighed. I rolled my eyes at him. But we all followed him past the security guard, who glanced at Mr D and looked back at whatever he was reading. Mr D led us to the elevators, not bothering with the metal detectors. He inserted the key card into the slot and we began our assent to Mount Olympus.

It was awkward. With the jazzy music playing and Mr D crammed into the elevator with us. But we managed to make it up. With a cheerful ding, the doors opened.

And I almost died.

So far, I had been pretty amazed by the architecture of several of the world's landmarks. This, though, this was just unreal.

Grecian style buildings zigzagged over the mountain peak. Roads wizzed between them. White clouds surrounded the city, the gold rooftops shining against them. Step stones made of marble rested on the pillows of white cotton, leading up to the city. When we reached the gleaming gates of the city, I could see the intricate details of life within it. Minor gods chatted with each other on porches, ignoring the group of awestruck children gaping at them. Satyrs happily trotted around, cheering greetings joyfully at us as they sped after each other. Dryads and naiads stared intently at us. One naiad, a girl my age with waist length, brown green hair and a grey tint to her skin, waved and winked at me. She turned back to her friends and giggled with them.

I blushed deeply and looked down. It wasn't unusual for naiads or dryads to flirt with their own gender. It happened all the time at camp. Nobody minded it. Some campers even encouraged it and flirted back. I'd seen Silena Beauregard giggling with a few dryads over the summer. But, I'd never gotten any attention like that before. From boys or girls. I was younger than most of the campers and preferred books anyway. So, having a naiad find me interesting was kind of a difficult thing to process.

"Smile and wave back."

My head whipped up and I found myself next to Silena. She was smiling encouragingly at me. I bit my lip and turned back to where the naiads were sitting. Tentatively, I raised a hand and waved.

Silena laughed harmoniously. "Loosen up, Annabeth. You've got an overload of confidence. I've seen you yell at counselors in college after they cost you that capture-the-flag game."

"Yeah," I glanced away, "but that's different."

She smiled kindly down at me. "Yeah, I guess it is."

"Anyway," I continued, "I'm never going need the skill of flirting. What I would I even use it for?"

"Oh, so much!" Silena exclaimed, shrugging her shoulder. "Flirting is actually very strategic. You gotta know what body language to use, what words to say, what facial expressions to pull at the right time."

"But," I sighed, "it's not gonna help me defeat a monster or something."

Aphrodite's kids never made sense to me. Most of them liked to accessorize, fix their make up, wear fashionable clothes, and pair campers up with each other. There was nothing inherently wrong with that, it just wasn't my style. Sure, dressing up and stuff like that was fun sometimes, but I couldn't do it all the time. It would just get too boring for me. Like with anything I did, it had to be in moderation or I'd end up hating it.

But Aphrodite kids were always entertained with that stuff. And a lot of them were really mean as well. Some of them, like Silena, had a more friendly vibe. But all of them were convinced that love was the answer to everything when all I wanted to do was climb the lava wall and read my architecture books. Maybe lead a quest. How was love an answer to that?

Regardless, Silena had always been nice to me. She'd come to camp two years ago and taken one look at my unruly, terribly handled curls and decided she would take me under her wing. She made sure I knew how to wash it properly and showed me how to braid it so that it wouldn't get in my face when I sparred. She was the one who pierced my ears and painted my nails. She sat me down to explain what a period was and why it wasn't so scary. She was the one I went to when I wanted a hug or something motherly.

"Well, not all monsters wear the same skin," she broke in between my thoughts. "But, you're still young. You've got time."

"I don't think I was made for romance," I breathed, my thoughts drifting to Luke. "Whatever age."

"It's perfectly fine if you don't feel anything romantic towards anyone," Silena smiled, as if she knew that wasn't true. "But, it's also perfectly fine if you do."

"What do I do with those feelings though? They just feel like a distraction," I remembered all the times I'd lost to Luke because of the butterflies fluttering around in my stomach.

"You don't have to do anything with them," she answered patiently. "If you're not ready for a relationship."

"Whoa," I reeled back. "Who said anything about a relationship?"

"Annabeth," Silena stopped and turned to fully look at me, "don't worry about it. You're twelve. It's normal to have questions about your feelings. And some kids are ready for relationships at your age, maybe not mature ones, but still relationships. Some are not. It's okay. Just, never try to bottle away any feeling. Feel everything. Okay?" She didn't say it philosophically or with any intended deep message. She said it casually, with a shrug and pat on my back. She said it so nonchalantly that I just had to heed her advice.

I nodded numbly and she smiled radiantly at me before treading ahead, catching up with Luke. I stood still for a second, thinking, before surveying the dipping sun behind me and breaking into a sprint after my friends.

• • •

It was dusk by the time we made it to the house we'd be staying in. The structure was Hellenic, almost like a smaller scale Supreme Court.

Luke stepped up to the front door, which was painted red, and pushed it open. He gestured for us to follow and the rest of us rushed inside with excitement. Luke was hastily yelling instructions to us as we ran around the house, looking for a good room to put our stuff in. I knew there was probably enough room for twice as many people, but still. How many times was I going to explore a house on Mount Olympus?

"Just be careful!" was Luke's final statement before he was cut off by Travis and Connor Stoll plowing over him.

I laughed.

After making a round around the house and scouting out a nice bedroom, I settled onto the balcony of my room. It was small, only big enough for one, but it did the job.

I leaned heavily against the iron railing and let my gaze wander to the sky.

It was much clearer up here. The air was fresher. It felt more real. From the ground, I wouldn't have been able to see even one star. Up on Olympus, the dark purple night glittered with millions of them. I could make out constellations that hadn't been spotted for a millennia. The leg of the Milky Way ripped across the sky. It was all so beautiful that I almost forgot to breathe.

I looked down again and saw that Olympus had lit up. The buildings glowed with golden light and street lamps were flickering magically, illuminating everything for the night life. On one road, I spotted a dryad and a satyr taking a moonlit stroll, holding hands and occasionally stopping to twirl each other around. On another, I saw a group of teenagers, minor gods, tossing around a ball. It surprised me because it seemed like such a human thing to do.

I enjoyed the cool breeze against my face, enamored by how it wasn't chilling and biting like any other winter night, but still refreshing and serene. Breathing in, I closed my eyes and smiled. This was Olympus. I was on Mount Olympus.

Then, I remembered that in a few hours, the winter solstice would begin.

That's when the Olympians started to trickle in.

Mr D was already in the throne room since he had come with us.

Artemis came first, gleaming silver in the moonlight. Every road she took to the throne room lit up like a 3-D GPS. Then Demeter walked barefoot through town, sprouting bright flowers despite the season. Hermes showed up, talking on his phone rapidly. Hephaestus came next; I could hear him grumbling and cursing throughout his whole trip to the throne room. Ares and Aphrodite walked in together, that kind of made me gag. Then Apollo sauntered through, bobbing his head to the music he was listening to and singing along as well. Elvis Presley's Jailhouse Rock was the song. I could hear his clear voice ripple in the night air.

There was an interlude for about half an hour. By this time, many of the inhabitants of Olympus had shacked up in their homes. Nobody wanted to risk disturbing the Olympians. They were known for their short tempers and impatience. I wouldn't put it past them to smite the minor gods that they made immortal.

When I looked down again, my heart flopped.

It was my mom.

Athena. I knew because she had the same blonde hair my siblings and I had. From where I was standing, I could see her billowing white dress. She looked like a princess. Except she didn't smile like most. Her lips were set in a hard line, like this was the last place she wanted to be. It was the expression I used when I wanted to let a monster know that it was their last chance to scram before I opened a can of damnation on them. It was my battle face. Also, seemingly, hers. I smiled a little at that.

Athena marched confidently through the streets.

She didn't flatter until she reached our house.

My heart rate picked up as she turned to look up.

Her gray eyes met mine.

I gripped the railing tighter, waiting for a reaction. Her face was stoic, unaffected by emotion. My gaze held hers, undeterred by the compelling impulse to drop it to the floor.

It felt like an eternity before her lips grew into a smirk. It wasn't malicious. More proud. As if I'd just passed a test. A very important test. You know, that if-you-failed-the-world-would-explode test.

It unnerved me.

Before I had time to react, she had already continued her walk to the throne room.

I breathed out.

After that, Hera swept through. She had an aura that a rich lady in 1912 would have. She kinda looked the part as well.

Then Poseidon, who winked at me as he passed, smiling like a goof. Like he knew something I didn't. I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes.

Next was Hades; my stomach recoiled when he came to an abrupt stop in front of our house, sniffed haughtily, shot a glare at it and then was off on his way.

And Zeus came last. He waltzed in, oozing with self-importance and arrogance.

I waited until he had walked into the throne room before I took one last look at the marvelous sky above and headed in.

Luke would be calling us soon. We'd all head to the throne room.

And I'd get to meet my mom.

NOTES: Okay, chapter 1, complete! I'm gonna be uploading every Friday (hopefully for the sntire course of this story but definitely for the next ten weeks because that's how many chapters I have written). Leave a comment (be nice! I have feelings ... don't stomp on them!) and stay safe y'all!

See you next Friday! :)