A/N: Hey guys! I am totally blown away by the response to this story. The numbers of reviews, favorites, and follows has totally got me flabbergasted and overwhelmed with the love and support. You all rock! I love you dearly!
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend!
Also, just a little note to two of my reviewers, aesir21 and hope1998, you should enjoy this chapter! ;)
Disclaimer: It all belongs to Rick Riordan, people. I'm just playing in his sandbox, and lemme tell you, its loads of fun. ^-^
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Chapter Four
Decisions
Amphitrite chewed her lip in worry, glancing at throne room's archway every few seconds. Any moment now, Poseidon would be striding through the open doors in one of two moods. If the Fates were kind, Hades would have granted his request and he would be calmer than he had been. If the Fates were cruel, Hades would have denied it, and Poseidon would likely be declaring war on Olympus come morning.
She sighed and shifted Percy in her arms. The tension had become too much to handle and had resulted in her pacing the length of the throne room while she waited. At the surface the sea continued its uproar as storms raged on the coasts of every country, the shores of New York most of all. Zeus was a fool if he had not yet caught on to his older brother's asperity.
Ordinarily she would not worry this badly, except for the fact that her husband was stubborn as a rock and possessed a temper that rivaled Zeus'. As well as she knew him, she would not be surprised if he managed to insult Hades in some way and in so doing alienate his brother in the space of five seconds.
Percy was chattering away in a language known only to babies, stringing together random sounds. His head turned this way and that as he studied the throne room with wide eyes, trying to take in all the colors and patterns at once.
Outside the throne room, creatures mulled about whispering to each other, watching their queen pace with the baby in her arms. They could sense the sea in him, had seen their king march into the palace holding the baby, and knew that he was the child of their lord.
Ignoring them for the time being, Amphitrite smiled down at Percy. She sighed and decided a change of scene was in order. Without looking at anyone, she moved with a purpose to the gardens. Her subjects parted silently before her, curious eyes fixed on the wide-eyed infant cradled close to her heart.
The gardens were quiet, lit with a greenish tinge from the underwater torches. Kelp swayed gently in the ocean currents, fish darting in and out of the slowly waving stalks. Far above, the sun was just beginning to set, setting the ocean floor in a blue-tinted slightly amber glow. Merpeople moved along in their daily activities around the city while dolphins darted in and out of her field of vision. Off in the distance she could see a blue whale working with mermen to finish buildings Poseidon had ordered at the start of the season.
Percy cooed and wiggled so he was upright in her arms, giggling as he reached out and grasped a piece of kelp in his pudgy little hands.
"No, no, little one," she said softly, gently prying his fingers loose. Percy pouted and leaned back, staring upwards with wide eyes as a great white shark lazily swam by overhead.
Every fish in the vicinity had taken an immediate notice of him and were staying respectfully back, their tiny minds excited by the presence of this new "prince". Amphitrite didn't bother to correct them; as far as the fish of the sea were concerned, any demigod son of Poseidon was a prince.
One particularly bold tuna swam forward to regard the little baby, who stared back with equal curiosity before breaking into a delighted giggle and reaching for the fish. The fish was intelligent enough to evade his grasp, but it did gently bump against his hand in greeting.
"My lady," a voice chirped to her left.
Amphitrite turned to find Delphin at the edge of the garden, his head tilted slightly in curiosity as he regarded the dark-haired baby held securely in her arms.
"Delphin," she greeted him respectfully and with a smile. "How do things fare with your people?"
"Well, my lady," the dolphin informed her cheerfully. "I wished to inform you that King Poseidon is on his way home."
Her shoulders slumped in relief. "Thank you, Delphin," she sighed, closing her eyes briefly and taking a moment to be thankful that the Fates had been kind this day. She knew not what the verdict had been, but it was a good sign that Hades had allowed him to both enter and leave his realm without harm.
"What of the council meeting, milady?" Delphin wondered, swishing his tail in irritation.
"I suppose it shall have to be reconvened," Amphitrite sighed with a sour expression. "You should have heard them going on about such trivial subjects, Delphin." The dolphin looked repulsed by the thought and swished his tail in marked agitation, so much so that it almost made her smile. "Will you send someone to fetch Triton for me? I need someone Poseidon trusts to look after Percy while we finish the meeting."
Delphin nodded and simply said, "Right away, my lady."
/
Triton scowled as he made his way through the palace to his parents' room. He'd been on the training rounds when news of his father's half-blood bastard had reached him. The spawn had the whole of Atlantis in an uproar of excitement and speculation. Frankly, he didn't understand what all the fuss was about. It was just a baby, for the love of Olympus. A hundred years from now, he would be long gone. Most of his kind didn't even survive to twenty.
He didn't care much for the little surface-spawn, regardless of the fact he had never even seen it.
Flexing his hands into fists, he hurried to answer his mother's summons.
When he entered the room he had to resist the urge to growl, settling instead on just rolling his eyes.
His mother had the child. She was holding him securely under the arms and lifting him over her head to blow raspberries on his stomach. Each time she did, he would laugh loudly, and every time she lowered him he would stick his hand in his mouth and stare at her, waiting for her to do it again.
"Rather unintelligent, aren't they?" he growled, moving into the room and ignoring the stab of emotion in his chest. He wondered if she had ever done that with him, and why she seemed so comfortable in the thing's presence.
Amphitrite glanced over at him with a slight frown, settling the baby against her shoulder where he continued to suck on his fingers. "When they are young such as this, they require intellectual stimulation," she said simply, flashing the baby a smile and tickling him under his chin. "You required it as well, long ago, my son."
"You summoned me," he said in a bored tone, swishing his tails with agitation. He would much rather be on the training grounds than here.
"I did," Amphitrite agreed, tickling Percy's stomach to make him giggle. "I have a council to oversee, and you will watch your brother for its duration. His name is Percy."
"Fascinating," he snapped, crossing his arms defensively.
Amphitrite sighed. "Triton, your father loves this baby," she informed him softly, "and in time, I know I will as well. To be truthful, I am already falling for him. His mother was murdered by your Uncle Zeus this morning, and he has no one left in this world but us. Your father has declared he will stay here for the duration of his childhood. I expect you to look after him until your father returns."
"But mother — " Triton tried to protest, looking appalled at the thought of having to watch his father's bastard.
"Triton, I am asking you as your mother." She gave him a level look, utter seriousness in her expression.
Before he could form another argument, she settled the baby gently in his arms, bent to press a kiss to his forehead, and hurried out of the vicinity towards the throne room.
Percy, as the spawn was apparently called, took one look at Triton's face and promptly burst into tears.
Triton sighed heavily. "You annoy me," he growled at the spawn, which wasn't the greatest idea, since the baby just cried harder and leaned as far away from him as physically possible. "Oh, come on, don't turn red," he grumbled, bouncing him experimentally. "Father will be angry if I upset you!"
This meant nothing to the baby, who was screaming at the top of his lungs now.
Frustrated, Triton set the baby in the shell crib. Percy instantly quieted, but leaned away from him warily with a quivering lower lip.
An idea struck him. Percy's favorite person, he assumed, was Poseidon. Maybe it was his skin color and tails that were freaking Percy out, because before coming to Atlantis, he had never seen them before. So he concentrated on the form he adopted for his rare excursions to the surface world. A faint shimmer surrounded him as his form changed from two-tailed to two-legged, from green skinned to tan, his black hair still up in a ponytail. He was dressed in brown Reef sandals, tan bermuda shorts, and a white polo T-shirt, a far cry from the set of armor he had been wearing a moment ago.
"There," he muttered, reaching down to pick Percy up again.
Percy stared at him wide-eyed, his gaze tracing around the room as if he was searching for the person he'd been scared of seconds before. Not finding him, he regarded the human-looking Triton with frank curiosity.
"Well?" Triton grumped, bracing the baby against one shoulder. He was determined not to like the baby, forcing himself not to have a reaction to that infectious smile and the sparkle in those innocent eyes.
"Amomomomom," was Percy's only response as he gnawed on his own fingers.
Triton rolled his eyes. "Surface people," he grumbled.
Percy squealed happily and reached up to grab his chin in a surprisingly strong grip. Triton irritably pushed his pudgy drooled-on fingers away and wiped his chin on his shoulder with a disgusted expression.
Apparently deciding he liked him, Percy clung to his shirt as he left the room and headed down the hallway. Servants bowed as they passed, but not before pausing to give the baby curious looks and gentle smiles. Percy looked perfectly pleased with all this attention, beaming at everyone and bouncing energetically in Triton's arms.
Bored out of his mind — and more than a little annoyed that his parents were forcing this responsibility on him — he headed out of the palace. With a disgusted expression he realized the little spawn was drooling all over himself and on his shirt.
"Gross," he complained, holding the baby away from him for the remainder of the walk. Percy seemed perfectly fine with this new arrangement, as it gave him a better view of the beautiful buildings and gardens they passed.
The longer he walked, the more he was considering pitching the spawn off the edge of a cliff. Perseus Jackson: the symbol of his father's infidelity and the living example of his mother's pain. The child whose mother had drawn his father away from his mother and made him fall in love with her; the very same woman who Poseidon had wanted to bring to the underwater palace he'd ordered built just for her and their halfblood spawn. When he'd heard that Zeus had killed her with his lightning bolt, he'd been glad, because it meant that his father's distraction had finally ended.
Oh, how he had been wrong. For nearly the entire day the seas had raged with his father's emotions. He had a sinking feeling that it was only just beginning, and that his father's anger would be long and deep. This child would be in the center of it all, Poseidon's constant reminder of the pain his brother had caused him and the betrayal Zeus had committed by murdering the Gods accursed woman with his master bolt.
Steeling himself, Triton walked along the ocean floor, ignoring the sea animals that swam over to greet him and the spawn. He didn't stop walking until he reached the edge of the drop-off, staring down at the endless expanse of blue that shaded to black. Somewhere in the depths lingered old enemies, weakened and forgotten for the time being. Perhaps they would take and kill the child so he wouldn't have to.
Triton lowered the baby to the edge and backed away.
Percy's lip quivered as he looked at the dark expanse of nothing before staring up at him, eyes wide with innocence.
"It would be easier if I just left you here to die," Triton told the baby conversationally. "Father would stop being distracted. Mother could go back to her life and forget about you. And father would pay attention to me, and not to you. Eventually, given time, he will probably forget all about you."
Even as the words left his mouth, Triton knew they were a lie. Even centuries later, his father still mourned his lost children. The baby's gaze was like a brand on his skin, innocent and naïve to the ways of the world yet silently judging him, as if he knew the words to be false.
"Stop looking at me like that," he ordered, wincing. "It's the right thing to do!"
Sniffling pitifully, Percy stuck his arms up in the air and stared at him with a quivering lower lip, silently pleading to be picked up.
"Oh, Gods," Triton groaned, sinking to a sitting position in the sand facing his younger half-brother. "Why do you have to be so damn cute, huh?"
Percy leaned forward, put his hands on the ground and crawled a ways before he lost his coordination and face planted on the sea floor, immediately bursting into tears.
Cursing under his breath, Triton reached forward and plucked the baby out of the sand, depositing him in his lap with a weary sigh and brushing the sand from his face. Percy, being a son of Poseidon as he was, sustained a thin layer of air around him so that he was always dry. As such the sand had dried upon coming into contact with his skin and brushed off with little trouble.
Forgetting his tears almost instantly, Percy turned in his lap so that he was snuggled into Triton's abdomen and yawned hugely. He scooted closer and nuzzled into his warmth before his eyes slid closed.
Triton watched, completely stunned, as the baby went entirely limp but for his tiny hands fisted in the fabric of his shirt. "By Olympus," he breathed, reaching up a hand to hesitantly trace his fingers over the crown of the baby's head. His hair was soft and silky like velvet and as dark as his own hair, an identical shade they had both inherited from their father. "Why do you have to be so sweet when all I want to do is to pitch you off a cliff into the depths?"
"Unwise, my prince," a slightly squeaky voice informed him solemnly.
Jumping slightly, Triton craned his neck around to find Delphin.
"Your father is attached to the child," Delphin continued, giving him a stern look. Dolphins couldn't usually be stern, but in Triton's opinion he excelled at it. "I will forget this happened and neglect to mention it to Lord Poseidon if you take the child back safely. Your mother ordered us out to find you when she returned from the council meeting to find you and the little prince gone."
"This isn't a prince," Triton snapped, gesturing at the baby sleeping in his lap.
"His father is a king, therefore he is a prince."
"Father may be king, but its mother was no queen."
"King Poseidon has declared Prince Perseus' mother Sally Jackson to be a queen among women," Delphin said, swishing his tail. "Your brother is here to stay, whether you like it or not, Prince Triton. I would advise you to come to term with this. It is hardly Percy's fault for being born, or for Zeus murdering his mother with a lightning bolt and inflaming your father's wrath. Nor was it his fault your father strayed from your mother, or that your mother got hurt. He is an innocent child caught in the crossfire."
Triton scowled and turned away from the dolphin king, staring into the endless depths. Just because Delphin was right didn't mean he had to like it.
"Best get back now, prince, before your mother gets worried."
Without another word, Triton stood and held the baby in the crook of one arm, heading back to the palace in a bit of a black mood.
Delphin watched him go and chirped to himself, shaking his head and veering off into the depths on yet another mission from his king. All he knew was that the coming years would be fascinating to observe, as the royal family adjusted to its new member and the ramifications of his presence. All he knew was that he would enjoy the show.
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E/N: Soooooo, I wasn't really sure if Delphin can talk-talk, since I don't have my copy of The Last Olympian with me and can't check. I know he's mentioned briefly, but I couldn't remember if he had any speaking lines. I consulted the legends I could find, which claim that Poseidon sent Delphin to woo Amphitrite back to him, and thus I kind of just assumed he could verbally talk while the rest of the dolphins do the whole telepathic thing, maybe?
If I have committed a grievous canon error, please feel free to set me straight. I would appreciate politeness though, and any help fellow lovers of the series can offer!
Hope you guys liked it! xD
NEXT TIME: Poseidon returns to Atlantis and continues to have a temper tantrum; Amphitrite contemplates stabbing him with his own trident. Triton sulks. Percy is adorable.
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