The Trouble That Came with the Tide
Perseus POV
With a tug and pulse of golden light I disappeared from Camp Halfblood and returned to Olympus. Standing before me was Zeus and Poseidon.
"Um hi." Was my intelligent response. Zeus rolled his eyes.
"Perseus," he bellowed. I'm pretty sure his voice is constantly bellowing. Always at the highest intensity. Maybe it comes with being a King or maybe he likes the sound of his own voice echoing. "You've been recalled to Olympus to discuss the nuances of your roll."
"My son. You are the hero of Olympus. The child of the prophecy. The newest immortal in centuries. But there is more to a God than just their domain," Poseidon told him.
"Okay, so what do I need to do?"
"You have your official title, but you'll need your symbol of power and your palace," Zeus explained.
"I get a palace?"
"Something small, of course, but yes," Poseidon interjected. I nodded. A palace. Cool.
"So could I bring anyone there. Mortal or immortal?" I asked, thinking quite obviously of Annabeth.
"Yes, but the palace will be built on your own time. Now for your symbol of power," Zeus said, gesturing at Poseidon.
"You seem to have quite an affiliation for that pegasus, yes?" my father asked. I nodded.
"Blackjack."
"That's the one. Pegasi shall be your symbol as well as your sword," Poseidon affirmed.
"Okay? Is that all you needed? Couldn't this have been done before?"
"Quiet! Don't let immortality get to your head, boy!"
"Sorry."
"Now for the rest," Zeus said with a glare, "Hera will assist you." My eyes widened.
"She is?"
"She is. Now out of my sight!" Zeus demanded with a roar in his temper. He didn't scare me the way he used to. The power he used to hold over my head was no longer so dangerous. I was stronger now. He made me stronger. Immortal even. I walked out of the throne room, leaving Zeus as he had asked. I didn't know where Hera was, but I was sure she would find me.
"Perseus," a voice called out for me.
"Apollo. Thanks for helping Rachel. I didn't get to say it before."
"It was her destiny. A destiny the Fates had already woven. You and I, perhaps we are the immortals here, but we were merely stepping stones for her path," Apollo told me with a wink. I cringed at 'stepping stone', but he wasn't wrong.
"And the curse is broken?"
"Like a record," The Sun God said.
"And she is safe. For sure?" I asked. I had to know. I had to know for sure, because earlier nobody was answering any of my questions. And that will always scared me.
"Well... no one save the Fates can be sure. But I have plans for her cave in the hills which will be decked out with security, don't you worry." Apollo promised.
"As reassuring as that is, what about when she is out in the mortal world?"
"She's my priestess. I'll be watching over her. You can watch over her too. Even have your friend plant a satyr to watch her. She'll be safe," Apollo went on.
"Alright." Apollo didn't seem to be the best person to trust for that sort of thing, but I had other things to take care of. "So where can I find Hera? Zeus demanded me out of the throne room."
"Hera... she'll find you. Don't mistake Zeus' words for a bad thing. He is harmless." Thunder boomed over head, but Apollo looked undeterred. "Step mother will fill you in on the rest. But promise me you'll be careful."
"Around Hera?" I asked. Despite her horrible treatment of Annabeth and Thalia, I would still be careful. Now more than ever if I was going to be stuck with her for the rest of time.
"No. Wisdom's daughter," Apollo said. I had never seen him so serious. He looked more like Luke then. The careful deliberation. The determined stare. I preferred Apollo with his sunny grin to this unfamiliar coldness. "She must walk alone."
"Annabeth?" I said. Who else would it be? But I didn't like the sound of her walking alone. Did that mean I couldn't be her friend anymore. That the things I had promised I couldn't hold true? Before I could ask, Apollo flashed away. And the home of the gods never felt so lonely.
"Perseus," Hera called to me. I spun around to see where she was, but I was still alone. The Mighty Olympus still lain in shambles. Golden dust of monsters and the spilled blood of demigods stained the ground. Temples were crumbled and trees uprooted. Annabeth would fix it. She would.
"Hera?" I was still looking for Hera. Her voice was easy to recognize, but I felt like I was going insane. Perhaps it was all part of becoming a God. Insanity.
"Stop," she said. And I listened. I was still mad at her, yes, but her voice held so much reverence.
"Where are you? Are you in my head?" I asked. I heard her laugh. "Are you invisible?"
"Come to my chambers," Hera said with mirth. A trail of golden light appeared in midair. I stepped closer to it and put my hand through it. It shimmered but didn't falter.
"Closer, hero, come to me." I was on high alert. This was Hera. And her words made me think I was walking into a trap. But things were different now. I was stronger now. Immensely so. And Hera was my Queen now. I followed the trail, but my hand fingered Riptide. I was ready.
I walked the path. The winding trail led me through rubble and was reminiscent of broken beauty. My heart ached at the destruction. Had I failed this whole place, and all of civilization it controlled would be gone. Razed. But I wasn't the hero and it was broken not gone. Westernization went on and I was a God. Yet Luke was dead. Beckondorf was dead. Ethan was dead. Silena was dead. Castor was dead. Michael was dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. I couldn't help them. I was no savior.
"Halt, Perseus, and enter." Her voice interrupts my thoughts. Tears threatening to spill. But I didn't let them. I couldn't cry now. I was stopped before a large building. A glorious white mansion with large windows and light everywhere. It was beautiful and pure and symbolic. Hera and Zeus' home together, I was sure of it. The golden trail had ended so I entered the house. It felt cold and lonely and abandoned. Unsurprisingly, it was untouched by the war. The white everything still glimmering. I felt sick.
"Heir of the Seas is quite the title," Hera said. Her voice was no longer in my head. She stood in a flowing white gown, her crown of leaves on her head, leaning in the doorway. "It used to belong to your half-brother. Triton."
"Did it?"
"I don't usually delve into Poseidon's family issues, but this one involves you. Be wary around Triton," Hera said. She was smiling at me now. She had an unnerving smile. It made me want to run far and fast away.
"What makes me so special?"
"You don't need me to answer that for you, Perseus. Your father was not lying when he said you've overcome all other heros," Hera said. Thundered rumbled. "There are very few times the Fates have ever been proven wrong. Today was one of them. By accepting immortality, the Fates had to abandon your weaving. And I, well I had to restructure my own plans."
"I wasn't supposed to become a God?"
"No, but perhaps it'll make things easier."
"Make what easier?" I asked.
"My plans, but that's our little secret. Right?" Hera said. I felt like I was choking on the lemon scented air. Her gaze tore through me. One eyebrow raised.
"Right," I choked out.
"Good, Perseus. I knew you'd come around. Now for why you've been called here. You must abide by the Ancient Laws," Hera said.
"Oh."
"Yes Perseus. You are but a minor God, but your interference with your mortal children will be next to none. And should you marry an immortal, than you will not sire any illegitimate children," Hera said sternly.
"Children! I'm only fifteen!" I protested.
"Sixteen as of this morning, but the point is moot. You are immortal now. For us... time is irrelevant." I was stunned. It hadn't even occurred to me, but she was right. I had turned sixteen this morning. The same morning I'd made the choice to give Luke the knife. The prophecy had come true right on schedule, and I hadn't even thought about the fact that it was my birthday.
"Tell that to Kronos," I muttered. "I'm still not going out and having children!" My insistence was useless as she just brushed me off. She pulled me into her sitting room and sat across from me. For hours she sat there, telling me about every rule and tradition. Every detail and responsibility that comes with being a God. I listened and fidgeted and squirmed under her lifeless gaze. Apparently immortality hadn't cured my ADHD, only my acne. Figures.
"So about before," I said. "You were saying something about adjusting your plans for me?"
"I was."
"And what does that mean exactly? I'm a God now," I told her.
"You are," she began. She pursed her lips. "Perseus, you are the most intriguing thing to happen in centuries. I don't need to recount your heroism for you, but your achievements are remarkable. In your hands was the ability to tear down all of Olympus, but you chose not to. Your fatal flaw is excessive loyalty and that could've brought the world down with you. Yet here we are. You're choice to become a God, that is the choice that may save or destroy the world."
"What? Why? The prophecy is over."
"The Oracle of Delphi issued a new one. And I believe you heard it no less."
"The Great Prophecy. Hold on." I stood up, pacing. "The prophecy called for six halfbloods. I'm not a halfblood anymore. I cannot be in another prophecy! I won't!"
"No. No you aren't." After she said those words, I thought I had won. I thought I was free of this prophecy business. All this talk of fate and the destruction of the world made me dizzy. "That is why the Fates had to alter the future after you became a God. Whether the future now holds destruction or not is entirely dependent on the Six."
"So... so you're saying I would've been in the Prophecy if I wasn't a God and that the quest may fail because I am a God?"
"If that is your interpretation of it. I am simply stating the fact of the matter. That is why I'll need you to swear on the River Styx that you wont breathe a word of this to anyone. I'll be requiring your assistance," Hera said.
"I swear on the River Styx to keep your secret," I promised. I hated doing it, but I couldn't say no to her now. I needed to do this to protect my family. My friends. That's why I became a God in the first place. To save them from the pain of seeing my demise. Over the years I felt horrible guilt for being the reason people got hurt. For people having to protect me. Sacrifice things for me. Worry about me. Immortality meant that that all was over. It would hurt me like hell, but I'd spare them some pain. And maybe even be able to protect them more.
"Good. Until next time, Perseus," Hera said. I bid goodbye and flashed back to camp.
I stood on the porch steps of the Big House. It was the same as always, physically at least. The same floating scent of strawberries. The same lake. The same forests. The same cabins in the shape a U. The same clear skies overhead. The same crashing waves along the shore. But the people... the people had changed. It started with Beckendorf, I thought. He had been the anchor of the camp. The first casualty of the war. I had seen death before. Too much. Bianca, Zoe, Lee, Castor, and more. But when Beckendorf died it all became so much more real. But then today so many more died and the camp felt empty.
The dead were given proper funerals. I watched from the porch steps as the shrouds were lit. I no longer felt like I belonged with them. I had led them and they died. I failed them when I was supposed to be protecting them. I had everything going for me. Son of the Big Three. Child of the Prophecy. I was invincible yet they died. And here I am, immortal. Being hailed a hero. So I watched from afar. I watched as 16 campers were being prayed for. Their souls already in the Underworld. Elysium. I was sure of it.
I watched as everyone trickled away. Grover and Juniper went down to the beach. Annabeth disappeared with Tyson. The Hunters were off in Cabin 8. Everyone was trying to settle back into their lives. I simply sat down at Poseidon's table in the pavilion. I used to hate the loneliness that the table brought, but now I was grateful for it. Basking in the moonlight, I cried. I cried for all 16 campers who died today and the ones who died before. For the brainwashed demigods on the other side. I cried for Annabeth. And Thalia. And Grover. And all of my friends who lived too. Then I cried for myself. It was stupid, I know. But I mourned the life I could've lived. Earlier the Fates showed me what my life should've held. I would've lived a long life and died when I was old and frail, but I chose immortality. And now that simple choice could take down the whole world? Why did it even surprise me? The fate of the world always liked resting on my shoulders. I had held the weight of the sky, but that wasn't nearly as heavy as guilt. I had wanted to spare the people who loved me from watching me suffer and I had wanted to protect them. Yet it seems I chose wrong.
AN: Hey there. I'm not sure how long this will be, but I want it to go through the war and all. We'll see. Reviews are always appreciated.