"Perseus Jackson!"
The son of the sea looked up from his conversation he was having with Katie about the plants he had gifted her after his fourth quest.
"What can I do for you Mylady?" Percy asked Athena.
His face betrayed no emotion as he eyed the goddess that interrupted his conversation.
"Please follow me Perseus."
Her lips were tightly sealed and the grey eyes that reminded him so much of Annabeth's bored into his.
Without another word she turned around and strutted in direction of her cabin.
Percy sighed and gave Katie an apologetic look before he stood up to follow Athena.
He was truly not happy that the gods still behaved so ignorantly and it unnerved the Hero of Olympus that after everything their children did, they still wouldn't change.
As he followed the goddess Percy pondered why she was so desperate to speak with him.
Could she know?
He wasn't really sure, but if she did he really was going to be in dangerous territory.
Perseus opened the door to the Athena cabin as quietly as he could, and the first thing he noted as he took his first steps in was the distinct smell of books. noticed?
He didn't know it was possible to smell them, but it was like an old library when you're the first one to come there after years.
It would be somewhat dusty and disintegrated because nobody cared about the stored knowledge, but it still carried that affect of mystery and amazement with each of the books.
As he looked around, Percy discovered the goddess.
She sat on a chair in the middle of the room.
To her right there was a stack of papers and books and there was a chessboard in the middle of the table.
But the figures weren't normal.
Instead of the ordinary black and white they were all a bluish grey so you couldn't really decide which of them were from which side.
"Take a seat Hero of Olympus."
Her voice simply sounded interested, and her head was slightly tilted to the side as if she was simply curious at the puzzle before her eyes.
It amazed Percy that her derogatory tone, that she usually used was completely gone.
When Percy faced Athena the goddess simply wiped all the figures from the game board.
But instead of falling to the ground, they materialized again in the standard position opposite each other.
She gave the chess pieces a quick glance before she told the son of her arch enemy to make the first move.
Percy's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"I wouldn't be a match for you Mylady, so-"
The goddess of wisdom ignored his comment.
"You might seem like nothing out of the ordinary to others. Your mind was never something that people showed interest about. I have to admit, even I thought that the mask you showed since your second quest was real."
She moved the first pawn before continuing speaking.
"You are not what you show. Do you know why all chess pieces are grey?"
Perseus shook his head.
Now it was Athena's turn to raise an eyebrow.
This time it was more mock hurt than surprise though.
"I know your secret Perseus Jackson. So come, play with me."
Percy looked down at the chessboard again before moving his gaze to meet hers.
"It's quite simple actually, you can't always build on what you see. You have to be careful which characters are opponents.
You'll need a sharp mind to play a game like this."
A smile now graced his lips.
"Then let us play."
Piece after piece was removed of the board as the Hero of Olympus and the Olympian goddess of wisdom and battle strategy fought a battle of minds.
As Pallas found out the secret that Perseus fought so long to hide she hadn't expected it.
It was interesting that most of his improvised fights and provocations were all planned and executed in great detail.
She would have never expected this from a mortal.
"But if your mind is so great, why did you still engaged Atlas in battle?"
There were still a lot of questions to be answered and her opponent had each of them.
"I knew in my most important battles my sword would refuse to serve me.
I must confess that the fight with Ares was stupid but necessary."
He moved his tower three spaces forward.
"But I only started to learn of the myths and how to act like I didn't care after my second big quest. I knew that Zoë was destined to die but I grew attached to her.
She was a great warrior and friend in the end."
His eyes seemed more dull like a rainy day as he spoke of the death of one of his fellow campaigners.
"After that, you know how it turned out. I was sure Artemis had a better chance at winning against the Titan of endurance. Now that I look at it it would've been a better decision to let Annabeth hold the sky again.
She already did it and Luke wouldn't dare wound her. Maybe then I could have prevented the death of at least one huntress."
Athena hummed in agreement.
"Indeed if you think about it, nothing is what it seems like first."
Percy kicked another pawn of the board with his queen.
Then he stood up.
"I wish you farewell Athena, and I hope you'll keep my secret."
With those words he turned around and trudged outside.
Athena looked down at the chessboard again, before cursing herself.
He tricked her.
Again.
"You're a good asset to have Perseus Jackson, maybe I misjudged you." She mumbled to herself.
As she took a look at the board again she wiped the remaining pieces of the table.
She was a goddess after all.
They wouldn't admit defeat.
Nothing was ever how it seemed on the surface.
"May we see each other again."
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V PLEASE READ V
This one shot is not mine. This belongs to the very talented writer Yesse2362 who has had difficulties posting so it's here instead. Hope you enjoyed it. :)