I walked down a short path until I connected with the main road that led to the palace. Although Percy feigned tiredness after what we did, I knew he would probably be up soon. And he would also be bored out of his mind. Hopefully he would realize that he needed to greet the gods or else he would be in some serious trouble.
Which was why I was headed to the palace; to greet the gods. They don't really appreciate it when people show up on Olympus and don't visit them. That's how people get smited. And if Zeus didn't do it, I was sure my mother would, considering her disapproval of my relationship with Percy.
The effects of walking through the new Olympus had somewhat abated after first seeing it. Over time I knew that I would not be so awestruck, but to be sixteen and have the gods of Olympus ask you to redesign their home was kind of a big deal. Though hubris is my "fatal flaw," I was seriously impressed with everything that I had accomplished. So I took my time walking to the palace, and I hoped that it would be okay with the gods. Somehow it seemed worth it if I was smited in such a beautiful place.
Looking around at everything that had been completed, I realized that there was much less to do than I thought, and that was saying something. As I continued my trek, I wondered why the gods had asked me to stay for a week when I wasn't really needed. Would they want me to design something else? Was I being punished for not doing a good enough job? Questions ran through my mind as I walked the final steps up to the palace.
I had never been formally invited to Olympus before. The only times I had been here were when Percy, Grover and I brought back Zeus's master bolt, after the Titan War, and the occasional trip to check on construction. And since the palace had not been too greatly damaged during the Titan War, I didn't do much to change it in my plans for the new Olympus. The exterior was different, but inside it was pretty much the same.
Just ahead I could see the chairs of the twelve Olympians, and I was about to continue until I heard someone clear their throat to my left. I looked over to see Hermes, messenger of the gods, and apparently today the guy who keeps demigods from the throne room. He was wearing a very cutting dark blue suit with his phone/caduceus seemingly out of sight.
"Miss Chase," he said rather formally, nodding his head once in my direction before returning to his original position.
"Lord Hermes," I responded, turning towards him and mimicking his head nod. It was unusual for him to be standing outside of the throne room like this and I was curious why he was. After a moment, he broke the silence.
"As I am sure you are wondering, I did get your attention for a reason. I wish to warn you. The gods are not happy, Zeus specifically. It would be best not to offend them."
Before I could respond, he walked into the throne room. Any retort as to my conduct in front of the gods remained unspoken, but I took Hermes leaving as a sign to follow him. He walked into the throne room, and I could see many of the Olympians were there. Suddenly I became very nervous as Hermes' warning rang in my ears. Maybe I was in trouble.
They watched me come in and as I saw they were all looking at me, my nervousness multiplied about ten times. I tried not to look at any of them directly, but when I did I couldn't glean any hints in their faces about what was to come, which only served to make me more nervous. My mother offered no help and it was then that I resigned myself to whatever terrible thing they were about to do. Maybe Zeus was going to smite me.
I stood in the center of room with my back straight, though my eyes were burning holes in the column behind Zeus' throne. A few moments passed and no one said anything. What if they were waiting for me to bow or something? It was probably too late for me to do it now, I should've done it when I first saw them. Now they really are going to smite me.
Finally, my mother spoke. "Annabeth," she said in an effort to get my attention. I turned to look at her without hesitation and it was then that I went down to kneel. Hopefully that would help make up for the fact that I hadn't bowed or something when I walked in. Gods help me.
Then something weird happened. Athena laughed. Not that she lost all composure and had a fit, but she laughed for a few moments. I looked up startled and saw smiles on the faces of many of the other gods. Some, like Hephaestus and Ares, did not change expression, but many did. Why are they all looking at me like that?
"Rise, my daughter," Athena said, her laughter having ended. I did what she asked and tried to hide my confusion. At least for the time being there wasn't going to be any smiting. Hopefully.
"Annabeth Chase." My name echoed around the room and I knew I was being addressed by Zeus himself. I turned to look at him and saw an uncharacteristic smile on his face. Internally I felt my nervousness dissipate, but it was only to be replaced by anxiousness.
"As part of keeping our promise to Percy Jackson, we have decided to personally thank you for your efforts in redesigning our home," he said. At that I went slack-jawed in surprise. Never had I heard of Zeus being so nice to anyone, and considering his dislike for Percy, I never expected him to be kind to me. But the gods had never promised to thank people for doing things for them. And it seemed that he wasn't finished.
"While it is not in our nature to thank our children for their deeds, we do find it necessary to do so in this instance." At that it seemed like his part in this was done. He inclined his head towards where my mother was, and I looked at her throne. But she wasn't there.
Instead, she was striding towards me with another smile on her face. And then she did something that has never happened before, nor did I ever expect it to happen. She hugged me. I was entirely positive that this would never happen again, so I tried to think of this as just my mom giving me a hug for doing something well. But this was Athena and I couldn't get past that fact.
She held me for a brief moment before pulling away. Her eyes were sparkling with the same grey that I had. I knew that later on I would wish this moment had lasted longer, but it is hard to react when your mother, known for being emotionless, shows more warmth towards you than you are taught to expect.
"You, my daughter, have done a wonderful job in creating a new Olympus. I could not be more proud." She smiled again, and looking around I could see many other Olympians nodding their consent. This was even better than when we defeated Kronos. I thought that was the height of affection to be given by my mother.
"I don't know what to say." And in truth I didn't. How is someone expected to react when the gods of Olympus have honored them so? Probably with a well-crafted statement of thanks, especially if you are a daughter of Athena. Then I realized that that's exactly what they were waiting for from me. "Other than thank you of course. I never expected to be called to Olympus to be thanked."
"That seems to be a common theme amongst demigods," Poseidon muttered loud enough for everyone to hear, and he looked pointedly at Zeus when he said it. That did not go unnoticed and I made a note to remember the dissent present in his tone. While before, Hermes' warning did not make sense, I was starting to see what he meant.
Zeus did not take heed of what Poseidon said, but his face did become taciturn as he looked at something behind me. Many of the other Olympians looked in his direction, and Hera, who had been particularly quiet and uninterested with what was going on, sat a little higher in her throne. I turned to see Percy bowing to the gods in turn and greeting each one of them assembled.
"My Lord Zeus," he said, bowing deepest to him amongst the Olympians. But then I heard booming footsteps rush past me and as Percy stood up, he was almost pushed down onto the floor by a hand on his back. Poseidon had come off his throne to greet his son. He had a jovial expression on his face, which was no surprise; he was always happy to see Percy.
It seemed Percy had planned well; he came when the gods were in a better mood than they usually are, which meant Zeus would not want to kill him as much, and hopefully my mother felt the same. While Percy talked quietly with his father, I turned my attention back to the King of Olympus. They still hadn't told me why we were going to be here for a week.
"Lord Zeus," I began, trying to be as respectful as possible. "I am curious as to why we were invited here. The construction should be finished within a few days and while I appreciate the invitation, I don't understand why I was asked here for so long."
He still had the sour look on his face from when Percy walked in, but after a moment it began to melt away into the neutral face that Zeus wore best. "Miss Chase," he started as formally as I had addressed him. "There will, of course, be festivities for the completion of the reconstruction! In three days-time, our city will be restored and it is only fitting that we have the celebration we should have had several months ago!" Though he was still somewhat taciturn at first, Zeus became as jovial as he probably gets by the end of his explanation.
Of course they would celebrate. This was good news. Sort of. Whereas I was sure that only something bad would come from an audience with the Olympians, I knew something bad was going to happen when a party was mentioned. Good things never happen when the Olympians partied. At that it seemed like I was to be dismissed.
My mother had returned to her throne, as had Poseidon. I thanked the gods and made my way to Percy, and together we walked out of the throne room and back towards the village.