Part One: Sea

Chapter III

In all of his many years, Poseidon had never felt a sorrow quite as acute as the pain he felt now. This was pain quite unlike other tribulations he had experienced. Those experiences tended to yield pain like a hard blow to the chest, painful, breathtaking, leaving an aching throb for a while until healed. This sorrow was different. This pain was an open sore that could never fully close. The pain was crippling. This pain was all-consuming. This pain was the pain of heartbreak.

The cries of his infant son cut deep into his already aggrieved soul, another tiny blade penetrating the preexisting wound. He cradles Perceus's head in his hand. The small child's entire body could be covered by Poseidon's hands. It had been so long since Poseidon had interacted with a child this small, he knew he would need his wife's help with many things.

In that moment, for the first time since Perceus's birth, Poseidon thinks about Amphitrite. Poseidon hopes with all his being that his wife will accept his new son; the boy would need a mother. And while he could have his choice of any nanny under the sea, someone paid to love Percy would never be the same as a mother providing unconditional love.

By now, Poseidon was completely submerged in the sea, his salty tears mingled with the ocean water. Immediately, Percy's cries stop. He looks around curiously, his enormous green eyes, a mirror image of his fathers', almost bugging out of his head. He waves his small hands, feeling the water between his fingers and toes. Poseidon smiles, beside himself with love for this small being.

He had never been able to be a part of his mortal children's lives and has always regretted not being able to be more involved. Now he finally has the opportunity to, though at a very high cost and the satisfaction is more bitter than sweet. He cannot imagine Sally's grief - Zeus had forced Poseidon to rip everything away from her in one fell swoop. He had even told his brothers that inviting their mortal lovers to live with their children in the realm of the gods would be forbidden, as this would most likely lead to the production of more forbidden children. At least Poseidon had Percy to dampen his grief. Sally had absolutely no one.

Before long, Poseidon reached his palace, sighing in relief. As much as he loved Sally, being on the surface world for long stints of time did not appeal to him. Atlantis was where he belonged. As soon as Poseidon entered the city, he was surrounded by what felt like all of the members of his court. His advisor appeared before him, his servants surrounded him; he felt like he was suffocating. Instinctually, he hid Percy out of sight, tucking him against his chest. Picking up on the commotion, Percy began to stir and Poseidon knew it wouldn't be long before he began to cry. He wasn't too keen on the entire city of Atlantis being privy to his son's presence yet.

"Leave me," Poseidon thundered, and everyone scattered, leaving the path to his palace clear. In under a minute, he arrived at the entrance to his throne room. There he found a congregation surrounding a table made of smoothed sea shells, Amphitrite at the head. Blueprints are strewn out on the table and Poseidon figured that the purpose of this meeting was to plan for the game room he ordered to be constructed.

"Leave us," Poseidon said in a voice demanding obedience but lacking the force he had used before.

Everyone but his wife drifted quickly out of the room. Suddenly the space seemed much larger than it had before when occupied with 20 mer-creatures.

"I have something to tell you," Poseidon said, and his grief flowed openly from his words. Amphitrite heard the pain in his voice and came to him, laying her hand, made heavy with the precious jewels decorating her fingers, on his shoulder. Her eyes invited him to continue. Poseidon tried to continue with words but when they failed to come he simply shifted his hands, revealing the sleeping infant cradled to his chest.

An expression of malice contorted her face. "What have you done?" She hissed, knowing exactly what her husband had done. She began immediately to think what terrible consequences this whelp's arrival may have on her beloved city.

"I have saved my son from certain death." Poseidon responded in a voice so thick with sorrow that Amphitrite's rage faltered momentarily. Her moment of weakness lasted no more than a second and she continued, fuming.

"Your son." Amphitrite repeats, sneering. Not a question. "Your son is currently swimming around Atlantis. That is not your son." While she knew how common it was for the gods of Olympus to... fraternize with mortals, that made this betrayal no less painful. Furthermore, not only did Poseidon betray the trust of his wife but he betrayed the oath sworn on the Styx to not sire any more children with mortal women. The consequences will be severe. Amphitrite vows silently that she will not allow those consequences to fall on anyone but her husband and this squirming, unwanted mortal child.

Poseidon looked lost and despondent, and in no way prepared to deliver any kind of meaningful answer.

"How could you do this?" Amphitrite began again, merciless. Rage prevented her from softening her words despite the pain she saw Poseidon drowning in. "And this betrayal was not just to me! You broke the oath sworn by you and your brothers! Does a vow on the River Styx mean nothing to you? You know there will be foul consequences for this."

At last, Poseidon looked up, taking his eyes finally off the human infant. "This is the consequence. It has been decided that since all of us have sired a child, we will be condemned to raise them ourselves, away from the mortal world." Amphitrite was too stunned to continue talking. How could Poseidon expect her to accept this bastard child into her palace? No doubt she would be expected to raise him and act as his mother. She would not.

"I will not help you in this." She replied coldly, quietly. Her voice was a razor cutting the fragile thread of hope Poseidon had dared grasp at. "This is your punishment to bear and yours alone. Do not expect me to mother him; he will not receive any love from me. Something as wretched as that half breed is not even worthy of living in this palace." And with a twirl of her skirts, Amphitrite disappeared out of the throne room, leaving Poseidon more miserable than he had thought was possible.

/

It took only until sundown for the entire population of Atlantis to hear about the tension between the king and queen of their city. A group of merfolk had been strolling through the palace when Queen Amphitrite erupted from the throne room. If looks could kill, the group would have been annihilated. All of those who had seen their queen storm from the throne room to the residential wing of her palace rushed off immediately to spread the newest piece of court gossip, and before long no one was unaware of the queen's temper.

It took much longer, however, for Atlantis to learn of the reason for its queen's anger. For days, tensions continued to build and it seemed as if the ocean would not be able to contain the strain contained in its depths. The water responded to its master's mood and as such the surface world suffered. Earthquakes frequented New York and the surrounding cities in addition to the dark, rough waves that dominated the beaches. Poseidon did not think of the damage this wreaked on the old beach cottage. As was the way of the cruel Fates, mortals always suffered at hands of the willfully ignorant gods.

Finally, three days after Poseidon's arrival, word got out that the king had enlisted Agape, the wife of a trusted member of Poseidon's council, to be the caregiver for the king's new child. Immediately the rumors of an illegitimate baby - judging by Amphitrite's anger - spread like wildfire throughout Atlantis. Weeks went by and the rumors persisted. They only grew in accuracy as more sightings of Percy occurred. Many people had come to the conclusion that the baby must be forbidden, or else why would Poseidon hide the baby from his beloved citizens?

The silence between Poseidon and Amphitrite persisted, and soon their son, Triton, joined in, apparently siding with his mother and ignoring Poseidon. The only time the family was seen interacting was during royal meetings, and even then the interactions were stiff and uncomfortable. It was even rumored that Amphitrite would not allow Poseidon into their rooms, leaving him to sleep in the nursery.

The residents of Atlantis hoped the horrible tension that dominated the city would reside soon. On the surface world, Sally Jackson found herself wishing the same, as she could no longer safely visit her beloved sea cottage with the raging weather emanating from the sea. One final sorrow piled onto an already unbearably heavy load Sally found herself burdened with.

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