Chapter Six: Olympian History
I don't think it really needs telling that we run as fast as our legs will carry us and then try to run still faster.
We had already checked the amphitheatre and the many pavilions in which the nine 'Keepers of Song and Art' sometimes spend their time. We have one last place to check on Olympus before having to look elsewhere. The Temple of Apollo.
We arrive there in no time. It's probably one of the most beautiful yet flashy temples on Olympus, definitely befitting the god for which it was built. Annabeth had indeed done an incredible job rebuilding.
On Olympus, temples are the equivalent of what houses are for us mortals. Whenever they aren't out cursing someone or blessing them or 'visiting' mortals, they will be in their temples on Olympus.
As soon as we get to the steps of the huge building, upset cries and whispers reach my ears. I look to Theia and Travis, making sure that they had heard it also. Judging by the looks on their faces, one could infer that they had.
But the weirdest part is that—as soon as we reach the door—the whispering stops and is replaced by a collective gasp from inside and a muffled, 'she's here!'
Not a second later, the door is thrown open, allowing us a view of nine women. Their eyes observe the three of us quickly but seem to settle on me.
It's odd because… I don't know… It just is. Maybe they know that I'm the leader of the group for this quest, but it seems like… Who knows… Maybe I'm just being paranoid.
"You're all here," one of them says, scrolls in hand.
"Come in," another instructs, her face veiled by… a veil.
They all part like curtains being opened and allow us to walk into Apollo's 'house'. The first things I notice are the disco floor, the walls lined with every CD, 8-track, and record known to man—along with some that aren't—and the various paintings covering everything else.
Personally, I love painting—though I fail epically at it, I find it fun—and I can spot good artists and good artworks when I see them.
This artwork, though… It's better than good. It's flawless. Absolutely flawless. The amazing works in front of me literally send my mind reeling. It takes me a moment, in my addled state, to realize that Apollo himself must have painted them. Sorry Michelangelo, da Vinci, and Van Gogh. You have all been obliterated from my mind because all I can do is stare at the perfection painted right onto the walls.
Sunrises. Sunsets. Scenery. Landscapes. Nature. Animals. People. Places. So many details and colors that my brain is overwhelmed.
"Wow…" I manage to breathe as I realize that the Muses are staring at me expectantly.
Even with my rather idiotic lack of descriptive English, they seem to all smile approvingly as Travis and Theia—mouths agape—nod their agreement.
As I continue to stare at the walls in awe, one particular painting catches my eyes. Without a word, I walk toward it, my eyebrows furrowing. For some inexplicable reason, I feel drawn to it.
It's a painting of a beautiful young woman. Truthfully, 'beautiful' doesn't even begin to describe her but I seem to be unable to come across a better word. Her long blonde hair reaches down to the middle of her back. Tan skin frames beautiful brown eyes and a petite mouth drawn into a bright smile. She wears traditional Greek attire that is a dark green with yellow trimmings on the edges. Behind her is some sort of temple, also in the traditional Greek style.
I find myself taking a step closer. Who is this woman?
Behind me, I hear someone nervously clearing their throat, causing me out of instinct to turn and find the source. Surprisingly, it is one of the Muses, the tiny one with black hair. She seems to look anxiously at the veiled Muse before realizing that I am looking at her. Almost instantaneously, her face goes a bright red and the veiled Muse gives her a warning look.
This exchange puzzles me but I do not have time to think about it because a voice breaks the silence.
"Come. Sit," a red-haired Muse tells us, gesturing to the super-stuffed floor cushions in what appears to be the entertainment room, complete with a sound system that I am sure can blast all the way down to the busy streets of NYC if it is turned up full volume.
"Yes, ma'am," the three of us say in unison.
Once we sit, they do also.
As I look at them, I can't help but marvel at how ridiculously Disney fails at guessing things. The nine women sitting in front of me are nothing like the five Disney Muses.
Because I am a Greek mythology aficionado, it is not difficult to identify each of them by their symbol of power that they hold in their hands.
The woman with beautiful dancing blue eyes and blonde hair is Terpsichore, Muse of Dance. I know this because she holds a lyre. The raven-haired woman holding the scrolls is Clio, Muse of History. Calliope holds a writing tablet, establishing her as the Muse of Epic Poetry. She is tall and skinny with brown hair; while Erato, Muse of Lyric Poetry is much smaller and has skin as pale as porcelain with hair as dark as tar. Her eyes are two blue orbs, so blue that the sky is jealous of them. That would finally explain why so many lyric poets write about blue eyes. She holds what I believe to be a cithara, an ancient Greek instrument similar to a lyre.
Beside Erato is the veiled woman, Polyhymnia, Muse of Choral Poetry. The woman beside her whose face is hidden by the tragedy mask is Melpomene, Muse of Tragedy; while her counterpart, Thalia's namesake, wears the comedy mask. The red-haired woman beside Thalia with a compass in her hand is Urania, Muse of Astronomy. The last woman who is holding an Aulos, another ancient Grecian instrument, is Euterpe, Muse of Music. Her long blonde hair drapes and flows freely over her pale shoulders just as gently as a lilting melody in a summer breeze.
Yes, Disney does indeed fail. The five Disney Muses had been border-line ridiculous looking. True it had been for the purpose of the movie and partly based from the Grecian style of drawing, but… They couldn't have been any further from the truth.
The nine Muses now in front of me are stunningly beautiful women. Just being in the room with them makes me self-consciously aware of all my faults.
My bitten off fingernails that, if they haven't been bitten off, are chipped and broken off from hero training. The random split ends and dead ends in my hair that result from me not getting it cut often enough. My thick unruly blonde bangs that refuse to stay off my face. My rather unusual height. The several ugly scars on my back and legs, all obtained from the second Titan War. The much smaller scar in line with the corner of my nose, just above the right side of my lip.
This sudden awareness of every last one of my flaws quite understandably—in my mind— makes me bummed out.
They're flawless. All nine of them. Just as flawless as Apollo's paintings. I glance at Theia and I know she's thinking along the same lines as I am. No wonder guys always talk about their Muse inspiring them…
Speaking of guys, I turn my gaze to Travis.
He's a child of Hermes. Children of Hermes are known to like staring blankly at beautiful women and quite possibly hitting on them. With these thoughts in mind, I'm almost certain that he'll be staring at them, but instead, I'm surprised to see him looking at me, concern etched on his face.
Wow…. I must really look pathetic right now for him to look at me that way. I try to smile reassuringly, but in all honestly, it probably looks more like a grimace and he sees through it immediately. His eyebrows furrow and it seems as if concern is most pronounced in his brown eyes, but at the same time, I can almost see something else there… But what?
I quickly look away and back to the Muses who are, for some reason, trading knowing looks and… did Erato just giggle?
I force these observations from my mind as I look at them, once more fighting back self-consciousness. I'm not worried about how I look any other time, why now?
But there are more important matters right now. I remind myself. Matters that only they can clear up.
"The Oracle of Delphi prophesied to Chiron and me. Within the Prophecy, there was a line that says, 'The Keepers of Song and Art will know As to why the heroes go.' We came here to Olympus to find the nine of you."
"Well, I know nothing of a prophecy," starts Calliope, "but a great tale, indeed, I can sense unfolding. One that my dear Homer would have been honored to write."
"That's comforting," Travis says sarcastically, Ironically, he had had me explain the Iliad and the Odyssey to him less than a month ago. He had been a little less than impressed upon hearing the trials and tribulations that Odysseus and all the others involved went through.
"What we do know is that something is amiss," Urania replies, a worried look on her face.
"What?" asks Theia.
"Well," Polyhymnia begins, "we haven't seen Lord Apollo since Lord Hermes convinced him to not incinerate that boy who insulted him."
My fist twitches at the mention of Marcus. I suddenly feel like punching him again.
"You sure he's not out 'visiting' someone?" Theia questions slightly bitterly.
She resents—greatly—the gods' constant ramblings, and she certainly notices the fact that her cabin is one of the most full of all.
It's Calliope's turn to talk.
"That's what we thought at first, but… We still hadn't heard from him last night so we went searching for Lord Hermes to see if he knew where Lord Apollo might be, but we couldn't find him either. We asked around and the last person to have seen either of them was Maia, Lord Hermes' mother. Apparently, Lord Apollo and Lord Hermes were planning on going somewhere to hang out and relax after the issue with Lord Hermes' child. The two of them have been good friends for a long, long time and they often hang out when there is nothing more important to do.
"But, after our night long search, just before Eos—the titan goddess of dawn—was leaving to spread the dawn in preparation for Lord Apollo, we saw Hemera, the primeval goddess of daylight and the sun. We hadn't seen her in ages. We approached her and asked why she was here. She told us that she was once again needed to drive the sun chariot.
"We asked her if she knew of where Lord Apollo might be and she said that she didn't know either, but that she had risen from her deep slumber to see that the sun needed to rise."
Now, Clio begins to speak.
"You must know, many of the primeval gods and goddesses went to sleep eons ago when the Titans began their rule, and have remained in their slumber for as long as their jobs were fulfilled. But now, not only has Hemera appeared, but so also has Arke— the goddess who had been the messenger of the Titans. She, the twin sister of Iris, had also been asleep, but has awoken to carry out the tasks and deliveries of Lord Hermes," finishes Clio, having filled us in on Olympian history that we previously had not known.
"So… Wait," I reply as I try to gather my thoughts. "The ancient gods and goddesses from before the Olympians that rule now didn't fade, they… slept?"
"Some of them. Not wanting to be forgotten or to fade, they slept. Hoping to one day be useful again," answers Clio.
"And for two of them to appear…" begins Theia, her eyes widening at what this seems to imply. "That means…"
"Dad…" Travis breathes, practically in shock.
I look to the Muses, my mouth agape, also having a hard time processing all of this information, but not liking any of the conclusions that my mind is coming to. "You mean…"
Melpomene closes her eyes, before nodding slowly, sadly. She then looks me dead in the eyes and says, "We believe something may have happened to Lord Hermes and Lord Apollo."
Shock.
That's all that registers.
Complete and utter shock.
Hermes… and Apollo… Gone?
Travis is the first to be able to speak.
"You mean… My dad is… is…"
"No, no, no!" Erato exclaims quickly, realizing where our thoughts must have concluded. "Don't misunderstand us! This doesn't mean that they're gone!"
At her statement, I release a breath I didn't realize I had been holding and a knot unties in my stomach.
"So what does it mean?" I ask.
"It means that they are currently unable to carry out their duties. They may simply be captured."
" 'Simply'?" Theia practically growls. "Simply? How is that 'simply'? My dad and Travis' dad are missing! There's nothing 'simple' about that!"
"Dad…" Travis repeats in a daze, staring at the floor.
As I look at him, I feel so bad. I'm almost happy that I don't know who my parent is in this moment.
Suddenly I realize something.
Despite how little the gods participate in their children's lives and how much their children pretend not to care about them in return, they really do care. Travis and Theia's reactions are enough to prove this.
Clearly, each of them care a lot about their parents, whether they'll admit it or not. Travis might be a little more willing to admit that information than Theia, but it is perfectly obvious that despite this fact, they both care a lot more than they'd be willing to let on to anyone, including me.
"This is… This is…" Theia fumbles for words that her currently jumbled mind is unable to attain before spinning around on Erato who flinches back, clearly startled and quite possibly a little afraid as well. Apollo and his children are known for having a black temper when provoked after all. "How can you be so… so nonchalant about this?"
"Theia," I say, placing my hand on her shoulder in an effort to calm her.
Almost immediately, a sharp pain flashes up my arm and I pull back to cradle it. For a moment, I can only blink at her in surprise.
She had hit my arm away.
"Don't you dare 'Theia' me! My dad is missing! Even if he doesn't give a dented drachma about me or my siblings he's still my dad! But you and them are acting like it doesn't matter! Well maybe it doesn't matter to you, Ms. Orphan, but it does matter to me!" she yells.
The silence that descends on the room is almost tangible. Travis and the Muses are all staring at her in shock and my own mind is reeling. Ms. Orphan?... She called me… called me…
Even before her eyes widen in shock when she realizes what she has said, I'm taking a step back and I can feel the tears gathering in my eyes.
"Nakita… I—" she breathes as she tries to reach out to me.
I take another step back, moving just out of her reach.
"Yeah. You're right. I am an orphan. And no, I probably can't know what you're feeling. But I do know that yelling at the Muses won't get anything done, and it certainly won't find your dad or Travis' dad," I begin, one stubborn tear falling. "And bringing up obvious and painful truths and throwing them in my face won't help anything either."
Without even realizing it, I am out of Apollo's Temple and running. I don't even care about the minor gods and sprites staring when I speed past them, tears streaming down my face as I continue to cradle my stinging left arm.
Shock. Shock and hurt.
That's all that registers, and before I even think about what I'm doing, I've run into an empty courtyard with a fountain and I'm throwing a coin into the water.
"O goddess, please accept my offering. Chiron. Camp Half-Blood."
The words spill out so quickly, I don't even have time to think about what I plan on telling him. Why am I even calling him? To worry him?
Tears streaming down my face, I watch as the water of the fountain shimmers and Chiron's face appears.
He's sitting behind a desk in his 'wheelchair' right now, and he's looking down at a book reading as he begins to speak.
"Well, hello , m'dear. I didn't expe—" he stops mid-word when he looks up from the book to see my face. Immediately, he slams the book shut and puts it down, an alarmed look on his face. "Nakita, what's wrong?"
I realize what he must be thinking, fearing. I never cry like this. Never. Right now, his mind must be racing through the worst right possible reasons for me to be crying.
"There's… It's not… No one's hurt or anything… I just…"
His face relaxes a little, but he still seems worried.
"Deep breaths, m'dear. Deep breaths. Now, try to tell me what is wrong. I cannot attempt to help unless you do."
I take a few deep breaths and try my hardest to compose myself.
"We… We went to go see the Muses and they told us… Told us that Hermes and Apollo are missing."
"Missing?" he asks, brows furrowing. "How so?"
"As in Hemera is driving the sun chariot, and Arke is delivering mail."
"Oh dear. This certainly is worse than we first suspected. And Travis and Theia were with you when you were told this?"
I nod.
"Yes, sir."
"And how did they react to the news?"
"Well, Travis was dazed or whatever, but Theia…"
I have to stop for a moment as another tear escapes and rolls down my cheek.
"What about Theia?" he prompts gently.
"She… She started yelling at no one… everyone. I don't know… She was yelling at the Muses and I put my hand on her shoulder trying to calm her down. I didn't see how it was fair for them to be yelled at. They didn't do anything."
"What happened after you placed your hand on her shoulder?"
"She hit it away."
"Let me see," he instructs in the same way he used to when I was younger and would fall and skin my knee racing with the other kids.
I glance down at my red and slightly swollen arm. How would he react? Theia wouldn't be in trouble would she?
"Nakita," he says in the voice he'd used back then when I wouldn't show him my knee or other injury like he'd asked me to the first time. The same voice that always made me show him regardless of how insignificant. Clearly, it's just as effective today for I hesitantly raise my arm into view.
I see his eyes widen in surprise and I start talking quickly.
"She didn't mean to! She was just upset and she just… forgot for a minute…" I say, glancing down for a moment before looking back up to see him close his eyes and nod.
He opens his eyes again and asks seriously, "And what happened next?"
"She…" The tears threaten to spill over once more. "She yelled at me. She said that the Muses and I were acting like… like it didn't matter."
"And?"
I bite my lip as more tears try to escape. "She… She said that it probably didn't matter to me and…"
"Yes?"
"She—"
"To continue message, please throw in another coin," says a voice.
I pull another coin from my backpack and toss it in. Having done so, Chiron continues,
" 'She' what?"
"… She called me Ms. Orphan," I answer and then more words come spilling out along with some more tears. "I know that's what a lot of people call me sometimes, and that's practically what Marcus said not even two days ago, but… This is Theia! When she said it... I mean… I know that this is stupid and selfish for me to be here crying when there are two major gods missing—my friends' parents at that— not to mention possibly an impending Apocalypse, but… I just… I just feel like… like…"
I can't finish as more tears begin to stream down my face. What is wrong with me? Why am I crying like this? How many times had I heard 'Ms. Orphan' in conjunction with my name? Now just because Theia says it, I lose it?
Through the curtain of tears, I see Chiron's face soften.
"You feel unwanted," he supplies.
I can only nod as I bow my head.
How can I be so weak as to be sitting here crying? How selfish? Chiron probably thinks I'm some brat now and for some reason that thought stings even more than Theia's words.
"Nakita. It is not 'stupid' or 'selfish'. You have needed to get this out of your system for quite some time. You have always pushed it off and pretended that it doesn't bother you and, for that reason, I have never said anything to you about it … But, now I believe it is time that I did.
"I cannot even begin to attempt understanding how you feel or why you are still unclaimed, but I know for a fact that it could not be because you are unwanted. I cannot think of anyone who would be ashamed to have you as a daughter. No one. There must be a better reason that that. There has to be. I do not know your parents' reason for it, but I am sure it is not because you are unwanted or because they are ashamed of you. Do you hear me?"
Once more I nod, still trying to stop crying.
"You are one of the most creative, intelligent young women that I have ever had the privilege of teaching and watching grow up, not just in age and height, but mentally as well, and I mean that. There is no one who would be ashamed to call you his or her child. Absolutely no one."
"But—"
He cuts me off, "No one."
As I look up at him, I see this expression on his face that makes me want to believe him, but beyond that, I realize…
All my life, I've been upset because I'm an orphan. And ten years of being at camp and not being claimed has only amplified that, but… All this time… I haven't been alone. Whether my real parent claims more or not, for ten years of my life, I've had a father.
The person who had told me stories of heroes when I was younger. The one who had stitched me up after my first attempt at climbing the wall. The one with whom I'd sit and listen to big band records. Who had taught me how to shoot an arrow from a bow that was a little too bulky for my ten-year-old self. Taught me how to bandage people up when they are hurt. The same who had watched in absolute horror as Argus taught me how to drive. The very same who had seen me off at the border of the camp early this morning and told me to return safely.
Why all of this occurs to me now, I don't know, but it's enough for me to dry my eyes and to look up at him.
"Thank you, Chiron," I say, a small smile having found its way onto my face.
He smiles as well, before once more taking on a serious expression.
"This quest that you, Travis, and Theia have embarked upon will no doubt be dangerous. With Hermes and Apollo missing and the Prophecy having said what it did, this is surely going to be more than just a minor incident. I fear that larger gears are turning than was at first thought. You, Travis, and Theia must be careful, and you must be a strong leader for this quest to end well. You must find Lord Apollo and Lord Hermes quickly, or else the situation might be beyond repair."
My mind drifts to what Grover had told us about Pan.
"The gods don't 'die'. They fade into nothingness because they lose their will to live anymore."
I nod, all my tears gone, and a new resolve discovered. I will not allow Travis or Theia to lose their father.
"We'll find them, and we'll save them," I promise.
"I know that you will," he smiles. "Remember what I told you. Return safely. I would hate to have your birthday party without you there."
He is joking, but there is also a seriousness to his voice, a sadness in his eyes. How many birthdays has he celebrated without the person whose birthday it is?
I force a laugh, hoping he does not see that I have caught the undertone of his words, and I nod.
"And I would hate to miss it. We all know what party animals centaurs are." He, too, laughs, perhaps secretly hoping that his cousins hadn't heard about my party.
"Yes, I suppose you are correct."
For a moment, I simply stare into the water because I know what is coming but I do not want to do it. Unfortunately, I know what I must do.
"Well… I need to get back to Travis and Theia now so that we can continue this quest… Goodbye, Chiron…"
He gazes at me with a warm smile on his face.
"Goodbye, my child. I hope to see you again soon."
The water shimmers once more, and I am staring at my own reflection again.
I smile to myself.
"I'll be back soon… dad."
As I sit there staring into the fountain, I can't help but wonder how stupid I am sometimes.
Ten years. Ten years of Chiron probably thinking that I take him for granted. And he'd be right if he had thought that. I'd always thought that I was just another camper to him, but now, I realize he was always just a little more protective of me than anyone else. Always.
If one of the other campers bullied me when I was younger, it was a felony. I remember one of the Apollo boys had to scrub out the guy's bathroom with paintbrush for a month.
Later on in my life, whenever anything attacked the camp during the second Titan War, he would always find me and try to stay with me as much as he possibly could under the circumstances.
All this time… How stupid can one demigod be?
I am not allowed to dwell on these thoughts for long, though, as they are interrupted by noisy footsteps behind me. Even before I turn, I know who it is. His noisy footfalls give him away easily. Sometimes, it's difficult to believe that the god of thieves is his dad…
Then again, the remainder of the time makes it pretty difficult to disbelieve it…
"Hello, Travis," I greet, not turning.
His footsteps falter a second and then continue.
"Hey," he replies softly as he sits down beside me. I turn to look at him finally and I can see that he's worried. "Look… Kita, Theia really didn't mean to say what she did. She's just… worried and upset. That's all. And now she's even more upset not only because she hit you but for what she said. She wanted to come with me to apologize, but…"
"It's okay, Travis. Really. I'm fine now," I smile.
He looks at me quizzically and raises one of his naturally upturned eyebrows.
"You're… fine?"
"At the time, yeah, I was upset, but I know she didn't mean it."
He looks at me as if he's trying to figure out if I'm lying or hiding the truth, but after a moment, he just shakes his head and smirks.
"You have got to be the craziest, most mercurial person in the world."
"Shh! Theia might hear you and realize she's been replaced," I joke.
His smirk broadens, but quickly disappears.
"Kita…" he begins, voice faltering slightly on my name.
"What?" I ask, my own smile gone as soon as I see the expression on his face.
"Do you think that… that my dad is still… You know… Do you think he's okay?"
All I can do is stare at him for a moment.
He has the same look on his face as he did back at camp in the underground room. He must really be worried about his dad. I realize that, for once, I have to play Superman for him.
I stand and smile confidently.
"I'm sure he's fine. And we're going to save him and Apollo. But only if you get up off your lazy butt and help."
He seems to brighten up just a little bit, a ghost of his usual smile appearing. I hold my hand out to him and help him up.
"Thanks, Kita," he says.
I'm not sure whether he means my miniature pep talk or me helping him up but either way, my answer will be the same.
"No problem. Now let's go retrieve Theia and start out on our mission to save Apollo and Hermes," I proclaim holding my fist out.
This time, his grin stretches from ear to ear, a real, genuine smile.
"Right," he replies, bumping my fist.
And this sacred tradition having been done, we begin racing each other back to the Temple of Apollo.
One more chapter to follow of old storyline ... :)
~Kanae~