A fortnight had passed since the arrival of the sea god's illegitimate child and civil tensions had not been so palpable in centuries. Very soon after Percy's arrival, the entirety of the population of Atlantis knew of the illegitimate child, from the dolphins to the merfolk. Following in their king and queen's footsteps as the Atlanteans so often did, divisions formed within the population. The vast majority of merchants and, though they claimed utter neutrality, the royal court, sided with their queen, agreeing that the illegitimate child did not belong within the walls of their sacred city. The rest of the population- the craftsmen, dolphins and other sea creatures- sided with their king, arguing that the child should be protected at all costs seeing as he was innocent and while he was not "pure blooded", Percy's veins held royal blood, making him royalty in their eyes. As a result of these rivalries, the hostilities were escalating. Riots and other protests had been held by both parties. Before any violence had occurred the royal guard made sure the put a stop to the protests but it was only a matter of time before the inevitable occurred and a war broke out.
The only thing holding the city of Atlantis from entering a quasi-civil war was the threat of an outside enemy. In recent years the threat of rebellious cyclops-run forges had been a pressing matter. While most of the underwater forges were run wonderfully with very little issue, as with all things, some of the forges tended to side not with the current lord of the sea but with the previous: Oceanus. For centuries, groups of conservative sea creatures who preferred their old master have stirred up problems ranging from small skirmishes to full-fledged wars. The problem with the rebellious cyclops had not yet become large enough to be called a full fledged war but if something wasn't done soon it very well might become one.
It was this topic that was being discussed that morning in the council room. As per usual since Percy's arrival, Amphitrite was present at Poseidon's right hand yet the two were obviously very uncomfortable. This was apparent from both their tense body language and cool, clipped tones when addressing each other. On Poseidon's left sat his son, Triton. The tensions between father and son were not nearly as high as those between husband and wife yet their relationship was undeniably strained.
The hostile treatment from the people Poseidon usually sought comfort from was putting him on edge. It didn't help that some of the only friendly human contact Poseidon had was with his infant son. While Poseidon was elated to have Percy with him it was not like Percy could engage in much adult conversation or any conversation at all, being that he was only two weeks old. For this reason, Poseidon became hyper alert when in the presence of stimulating adult conversation which allowed him to pick up on the 20-foot whale bone javelin hurtling towards the council room at break neck speeds.
"Everyone, down!" Poseidon boomed with such authority that no one questioned his untimely demand and sought cover beneath the solid rock table in the center of the room. Poseidon sent a powerful current to the javelin head, altering its path by several yards. It landed on the far side of the council room, out of the way of all of the occupants of the meeting who remained hidden beneath the table. The debris of the javelin, however, was not so contained. Stone from the walls was thrown everywhere and while the majority of it landed outside the council room, some debris flew inwards, pummeling the room's occupants.
Poseidon risked looking out of the gaping hole in the wall made by the javelin to assess the situation outside the council room. It appeared the room had been one of many attacks on the city, and one of the only ones whose attack hadn't resulted in fire. All around the city, focused on the inner ring where the royal family and court lived, spears, flaming arrows and bombs of greek fire fell on buildings and monuments. A great abalone statue depicting Poseidon and Amphitrite had been victim of a bomb, leaving statue Poseidon headless. Poseidon didn't take this as a good sign. Gliding above the buildings were cyclopes in carriages pulled by giant shrimp. From the carriages, cyclopes jumped down onto the streets, wreaking havoc on the shops and causing terror with their clubs. Poseidon would have continued observing this ever worsening scene had a flaming arrow not flown towards the hole in the wall he was looking out of, forcing him to dive into the building.
This movement, and the flaming arrow that accompanied it seemed to wake the other occupants in the room from their daze. Atlanteans and mermen and dolphins rose from their hiding places and began running around the wrecked room in terror. Order needed to be restored.
Poseidon scanned the room in search for his son and head general of the Atlantean army, Triton. He found him conversing with General Belarus.
"Men," Poseidon said by way of greeting. "I need you to assemble the troops. We will need a defensive squad and an evacuation squad. The goal needs to be to evacuate the citizens and to push the threat out of the city as soon as possible."
"Yes, sire" the men said before rushing out of the room to assemble the troops, all rivalries forgotten in the midst of a common enemy.
Poseidon ran to Amphitrite expecting to find the cold, guarded expression he had grown used to but in its place finding fear for her city and love for her husband. The tender gaze of his wife gave him the courage to run his hand along her cheek, a movement that reminded him of Sally. He pushed these thoughts out of his mind and focused on the woman in front of him. Despite their fights, the couple had an overwhelming number of years spent together, the majority of which were filled with loving, happy memories. No matter how many mortal women Poseidon had affairs with, Amphitrite would always have a special place in his heart.
"My dear," Poseidon began. "Would you gather a task force to evacuate the palace? Take General Timoleon with you and proceed with the utmost caution. After the palace is evacuated go to the caves just outside the city, I will find you there when the threat is gone."
"It would be my honor, my Lord. I love you." Amphitrite placed a chaste kiss on Poseidon's cheek and was off before Poseidon could respond.
Poseidon leaped into action, blasting a hole larger than the one created by the javelin into the wall and swam into the melee, royal robes transfiguring into armor as he went.
/\\\
Amphitrite, with the general along side her, swam as fast as she could towards the entrance to the palace. 50 feet from the grand entrance General Timoleon grabbed her wrist, pulling her to a stop. Timoleon pointed above their heads. Flying towards the doors of the palace were two large bombs, most likely filled with greek fire.
"Looks like we're gonna need another entrance" Stated Timoleon. In response, Amphitrite broke free and began swimming towards a little-known entrance on the side of the palace.
"My Lady, stay beside me!" Shouted Timoleon as he attempted to catch up to the queen.
"No thank you," She responded under her breath, continuing to swim towards the hidden entrance. Like her husband, Amphitrite had a difficult time following instructions unless she was the one giving them.
"Here!" Amphitrite bellowed, gesturing to the shallow outline of a door, hidden behind a tall patch of coral.
"What is here?" Timoleon demand. "My Lady," He added, glancing nervously at the queen.
"Oh don't bother with such formalities, especially in wartime. There is a secret door here." Amphitrite gestured to the outline. "Help me push" Together the two were able to push in the door revealing a small, musty passageway illuminated by small patches of bioluminescent algae.
"Right through here. This should lead to the sitting room near the kitchen." They swam through the passageway as fast as the small space, tight turns and periodic rumbling from bombs permitted. At the exit, Amphitrite moved the large portrait that covered the passageway several inches to the left, allowing her to see the room beyond the tunnel.
"All clear," She whispered. She moved the portrait just enough to allow the two to exit before sliding it back over the tunnel. "Don't want any cyclops spotting that" She stated briefly before swimming out of the room, poking her head around the door and into the hall to ensure no unwanted visitors lurked there.
"Should we split up?" Amphitrite asked. "We could cover more ground that way."
"No. The king has tasked me with your protection, I am not leaving you."
"Alright then follow me. And keep your eyes and ears open for people who need to be evacuated or intruders."
/\\\
The two scoured the palace, encountering very few people who needed evacuating. When they encountered adults they sent them on their way, telling them to go quietly and quickly to the caves outside the city. When they encountered children they kept them with them until they found an adult and sent them along together. This continued as they made their way through the palace until they encountered the nursery Poseidon's illegitimate offspring had been living in.
Around them, pieces of the ceiling were crumbling off. The sound of bombs going off around the city had become as familiar as a heartbeat.
"Your majesty, we need to leave soon! We must get the child and leave at once!" Timoleon shouted over the sounds of destruction.
Amphitrite was conflicted. This child had caused the worst civil tensions her city had experienced in centuries. His death could resolve this. If he were to die in the chaos of a cyclops invasion there could be no blame put on Amphitrite. He could simply be made a martyr, someone used to fuel the rage towards the rebellious cyclops and other Oceanus supporters. Her life could go back to normal. She would have her family together again. Together and happy.
But Amphitrite could not fool herself. In what world would Poseidon be happy following the death of his newborn son? Percy's death may fix civil rivalries but the rift in Poseidon's heart if his son were to die would most definitely not heal anytime soon. Furthermore, the infant was an innocent in the matter. It wasn't his fault that his birth caused such turmoil.
Amphitrite had made up her mind. With her head held high, knowing that seeing the child would put a face to her husband's betrayal, she walked into Percy's nursery closely followed by Timoleon. As soon as the small child set his eyes on Amphitrite, his crying lessened, perhaps anticipating her bringing him to safety. She approached his crib and reached down to pull the infant into her arms.
Above her, Amphitrite didn't realize the beam holding up the ceiling was cracking. The sound of breaking wood was covered up by the wails of Percy and the blast of bombs and yells of soldiers at war. For this reason, when the beam finally broke, there was nothing the trio could do to prevent the ceiling from falling onto them.