On Olympus in the Gardens
Persephone was proud as she watched Aaron sleeping. 'His unbiased heart has already born fruit... and so has his preparation. Without making that spell bag in advance that spell would have never been held. He did so well.' She turned her gaze to her sister Athena, angry and wrathful. "Sister, why are you upset?"
Athena sighed. "He... he swore to undo my magic, MY MAGIC! My curse, and I...I cannot allow that."
"Why? Whatever crime she may have committed, it does not deserve eternal punishment. Posiedon was more in the wrong, and you only punished her because you could not harm him. Let it go, and grow up." She charged her voice with power, a power that even Athena could not match. Persephone was the Child of Two Elder Gods, the Queen of Hades, she was stronger than Athena was Olympian or not.
Athena cringed, and frowned at her." Why do you defend him so fervently, you only just met the boy?"
Persephone sighed. "The boy is a survivor, as am I. He is wise, he is determined and he is humane in a way that no god or demigod is. I have seen the power of humanity in it's entirety with my role as Queen of the Dead, dear sister. Do not underestimate it, it can and has reshaped the world. Most of your knowledge was born of mortals and mortality, your greatest children were born of that essence and so it is that essence that I to seek out..."
Athena sighed and turned away. "He saved my daughter from death, this Aaron of yours, I will forgive him this time... but if it happens again..." The threat was there, waiting like death in the air.
Persephone ignored it, she was not afraid of Athena and never would be. "Now go, dear sister, I have things to attend to in my garden and only so much time to do it." As Athena left, it was the Queen of Hades' turn to sigh. "Aaron you better be worth the struggles that your choices will create for me. I am hedging my bets on you, do not fail me."
:::
"Here are some more supplies, and some food as well as my phone number for you Aaron." Medusa said, handing the boy some things as they walked toward Amtrak from Medusa's van. "Do not rush into trouble and be very safe, please. I am counting on you."
He nodded and hugged her, to her shock, making her gasp. "I will not fail you, Medusa, you really do deserve better..."
"So many under the gods deserve better." She sighed. "Aaron, you need a coven, if you are to help me, or anyone like me, a coven will be a need. One witch could never, unless they too were divine, undo the curse as you seek to unmake. You need allies, friends, and people to share and expand your powers with."
He nodded, drinking in her words. "I will do my best... thank you, for holding faith in me."
"The cost for not helping you is too high... now go and fulfill her quest, dear boy." They hugged once more before hurrying onto the train, off to L.A.
They spent few days on the Amtrak train, heading west through hills, over rivers, past amber waves of grain. They weren't attacked once, oddly enough, but the air of being watched never faded.
They couldn't get berths in the sleeper car, so they dozed in their seats. Grover kept snoring and bleating and waking them up. Once, he shuffled around and his fake foot fell off. They had to stick it back on before any of the other passengers noticed.
"So," Annabeth asked Percy, once they'd gotten Grover's sneaker readjusted. "Who wants your help?"
"What do you mean?"
"When you were asleep just now, you mumbled, 'I won't help you.' Who were you dreaming about?"
Percy told them both about the dream he had, with the thing in the pit, the same voice Aaron hard heard in Percy's dream not a few days past.
Annabeth was quiet for a long time. "That doesn't sound like Hades. He always appears on a black throne, and he never laughs."
"He offered my mother in trade. Who else could do that?"
"I guess ... if he meant, 'Help me rise from the Underworld.' If he wants war with the Olympians. But why ask you to bring him the master bolt if he already has it?"
Aaron sighed. "Annabeth, he doesn't have it, he never took it, he too is missing something, remember?"
She pouted, and nodded. "Percy, you can't barter with Hades. You know that, right? He's deceitful, heartless, and greedy. I don't care if his Kindly Ones weren't aggressive this time—"
"This time?" Percy asked. "You mean you've run into them before?"
Her hand crept up to her necklace. She fingered a glazed white bead painted with the image of a pine tree, one of her clay end-of-summer tokens. "Let's just say I've got no love for the Lord of the Dead. You can't be tempted to make a deal for your mom."
"What would you do if it was your dad?"
"That's easy," she said. "I'd leave him to rot."
"You're not serious?"
Annabeth's gray eyes fixed on Percy. "My dad's resented me since the day I was born, Percy," she said. "He never wanted a baby. When he got me, he asked Athena to take me back and raise me on Olympus because he was too busy with his work. She wasn't happy about that. She told him heroes had to be raised by their mortal parent."
"But how ... I mean, I guess you weren't born in a hospital..."
"I appeared on my father's doorstep, in a golden cradle, carried down from Olympus by Zephyr the West Wind. You'd think my dad would remember that as a miracle, right? Like, maybe he'd take some digital photos or something. But he always talked about my arrival as if it were the most inconvenient thing that had ever happened to him. When I was five he got married and totally forgot about Athena. He got a 'regular' mortal wife, and had two 'regular' mortal kids, and tried to pretend I didn't exist."
"My mom married a really awful guy," Percy told her. "Grover said she did it to protect me, to hide me in the scent of a human family. Maybe that's what your dad was thinking."
"He doesn't care about me," she said. "His wife—my stepmom—treated me like a freak. She wouldn't let me play with her children. My dad went along with her. Whenever something dangerous happened—you know, something with monsters—they would both look at me resentfully, like, 'How dare you put our family at risk.' Finally, I took the hint. I wasn't wanted. I ran away."
"How old were you?"
"Same age as when I started camp. Seven."
"But ... you couldn't have gotten all the way to Half-Blood Hill by yourself."
"Not alone, no. Athena watched over me, guided me toward help. I made a couple of unexpected friends who took care of me, for a short time, anyway."
Aaron on the other hand was annoyed. "Annabeth, did he know that a virgin goddess could even have kids?"
She turned to him. "Well... I guess not."
"Then maybe he never got the chance to adjust, to deal with the violation of having a child made out of his consent. It is kind of like someone poking holes in condoms, really. Not just that, I doubt your mother explained that you would attract monsters. Your aura is strong, really strong, I am not shocked you attracted a lot of monsters. That has to be hard on your dad. I am not saying it was perfect or that he is not at fault, but don't forget that your mother is as much to blame as he is, more so even."
They pulled into the Amtrak station downtown shortly the next day. The intercom told them they'd have a three-hour layover before departing for Denver.
Grover stretched. Before he was even fully awake, he said, "Food."
"Come on, goat boy," Annabeth said. "Sightseeing."
"Sightseeing?"
"The Gateway Arch," she said. "This may be my only chance to ride to the top. Are you coming or not?"
"We aren't going." They all turned to Aaron. "We are not endangering ourselves any more than we have to. No, we are not. Take another chance, Annabeth, this quest is too vital for that. If you try, we are leaving you here."
She turned red but obeyed, huffing and stomping her foot. He didn't care really, the girl had a serious attitude problem and needed to be put in her place every so often, that much was clear.
As they waited, he thought of the coven suggestion Medusa gave him and wondered just who the hell to start with...
Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.
This was a joy to write.
Love, your Ninja Overlord,
Mika.