Gah, I'm an hour late updating this story, gods I feel stupid, but I was immersed in my newest obsession, ARTEMIS FOWL, it's surprisingly addictive. So, even though this is late it is meant to be a dedication to Mother's day by mentioning Athena's mother, even though I hadn't realised I set myself up for this, and my guest today is... (Epic drum roll here) ... Persephone.
Persephone: Hi, everyone.
Me: Hello Persephone, welcome to my story.
Persephone: It's a pleasure to be here.
Me: There will be a question for Persephone at the end of the chapter, but for now, on with the story.
Artemis's Point of View:
We don't know how it happened, or how we got here, or even what here was! All I knew was I was stuck in a strange metal building with Apollo, Poseidon and Aphrodite, a terrible combination.
"Where are we?" Apollo's voice echoed off the walls, but they gave us no clue how far away they were in this darkness.
"Is there a light switch or something?" Aphrodite asked, that reminded me.
"Apollo, you're the god of light, give us some light." I exclaimed, Apollo smiled and his form glowed, letting out light that showed us a large square room, it was filled with filing cabinets, all labeled in alphabetical order and with a range of subjects.
"To repeat Apollo's earlier question, where are we?" Poseidon mumbled as he rummaged though a file he grabbed out of one of the cabinets.
"What's that file labeled?" I asked out of curiousity, Poseidon checked it once.
"Forbidden thoughts." He replied, I snatched the file from him then before rifling though it myself, there seemed to be a lot of comments on Poseidon's looks.
"It may seem we're in someone's brain." I noted as I returned the file and started noting down the other subjects.
"Someone who manages to keep their thoughts well organised and efficiant." Apollo added.
"Someone who has a place for everything and everything in it's place." Aphrodite added as she closed one drawer before opening another.
"Someone who just loves thinking up insults." Poseidon quipped as he showed us a file labeled: Insults.
"Athena." We all said at once, who else would be this organised. Immediately Poseidon opened the insult file and started rifling through it.
"Frog cells? Fish face? Water weed?" Poseidon read aloud, making a face at the insults.
"Personally I think they're not to shabby." Aphrodite remarked as Poseidon placed the file back in the cabinet, careful to place it in the right spot, Athena would kill anyone if something of hers was the slightest bit messed up, usually the person getting maimed was Poseidon.
"Oh my..." I looked over to where Aphrodite was kneeling on the cold ground, her normally expressionless face gone in favour of looking sad.
"Something wrong Aphrodite?" I asked politely, Aphrodite showed me this file's label, it was labelled 'Mom', something that made Poseidon freeze.
"Mom?" He repeated, rushing to Aphrodite's side, I followed along with Apollo, curious, of course everyone knew the story of Metis, Zeus's lover who he turned into a fly after an oracle destined a son to be very powerful, then he ate her pregnant fly body, but she flew to his brain and Athena was born there.
"What about Metis?" I asked quietly, Poseidon didn't say anything, he just silently pulled out a picture of an oil painting, the painting was of a beautiful woman with golden blonde hair and cornflower blue eyes, she wore a greek style dress that flowed gracefully to her ankles, while her hands rested on a slight bump on her stomach, the background of the painting was a window and the star filled skies.
"Who's the hottie!" Apollo called, seeming to not notice her small bump.
"Metis, the first goddess of wisdom." Aphrodite recited, both me and Apollo shared stunned looks, this woman was Athena's mother.
"Athena's mother?" Apollo asked, I nodded and moved my finger to shakily point to her stomach, Apollo's eyes bugged out, seeing the bump. "Man, Hera must have hated her for it." Apollo commented, both Aphrodite and Poseidon shook their heads.
"Actually, the myth you both have been told is a lie, Metis was Zeus's first wife, it was of course prophacised that she would bare him a son more powerful than he, after a daughter, of course, after that it's all true, Zeus turned Metis to a fly and swollowed her, and we were without wisdom for quite some time. During that time Zeus took up a new wife, his sister Hera, and within a few years Ares, Hebe and Hephaestus were born." Aphrodite explained to us, all was silent for a while.
"Did Metis really look like that?" Apollo suddenly asked out of the blue, making both Aphrodite and Poseidon look at the picture.
"Yes, I sometimes used to think she was more beautiful than I, I'd get jealous but Metis was a wonderful woman." Aphrodite admitted sadly.
"If only there were a way to dislodge the fly from Zeus's brain, there's the chance she might still be alive." Poseidon said frowning, I took the file from Aphrodite and looked through Athena's mental notes on her mother.
"Who painted the picture then?" Apollo asked.
"Hestia, three nights after the oracle spoke." Poseidon answered.
"Aha!" I gasped when I turned the page to find notes on Metis's research, Athena seemed to further seeing as the writing changed the longer the notes went on, it seems Metis started the research and Athena continued it, it had notes on how we could get out.
"Finally!" Apollo cheered as we read through the notes.
"We should try it." Poseidon agreed, we all stood in a circle each holding hands.
"Free us from this mind, seperate our souls from the embodiment that is not ours, let us out, let us out." We chanted repeatedly in greek, I felt a wind whip through my hair as I closed my eyes, suddenly I felt us move out of Athena's brain, out of her body and our feet hit the floor of the throne room.
"Where have you been!" Father yelled and we opened our eyes and seperated, each of us heading to our thrones.
"No where Zeus." Aphrodite lied as she opened a file.
"What's that file?" I asked, Aphrodite just smiled cryptically and showed me the label, Couples, was written on it. I took it from her with the intent to throw it to Athena when what Aphrodite had been looking at caught my eyes, it was a photograph, after all Athena did have a photographic memory, but this picture stunned me, it was Aphrodite and Hephaestus at a party many years ago, Aphrodite was laughing while holding a grape in her hand, aiming it for Hephaestus's mouth.
"What's that?" Demeter asked, I closed the file with a small smile and handed it back to Aphrodite.
"Nothing auntie Demeter, just a picture of Aphrodite." I said, technically it wasn't lying.
"You kissed Poseidon!" Aphrodite screamed suddenly, I looked over her shoulder desperately.
"It was on the cheek!" Athena cried in return, sure enough there was a note saying Athena kissed his cheek.
"She kissed me!" Poseidon defended himself from both of his brother's taunting.
"What's this?" Demeter asked, apparently the picture I had looked at had fallen from the file and Demeter found it.
"Nothing Demeter." Aphrodite lied as she took it from Demeter. "Just sit in your throne and eat cereal." I felt the charmspeak hitting all of us so I followed the order and sat in my throne and ate the cereal Demeter offered around.
Haha, loved writing this chappie, not sure if Metis really looked like this, but I got my research from Wikipedia, but the honey blonde trait that seems to be in her children had to come from somewhere, and in the Lightning Thief, Zeus's eyes are described as a 'Rainy grey' hence where Athena's eye colour comes from I presume. I really enjoyed writing out about Athena's files and as for the picture in Athena's memories of Aphrodite and Hephaestus, I really wanted to open Aphrodite's eyes. If there is something you want to see, please PM and review me about it and I'll try and write a chapter on it for next week. Oh, and wish me luck, because next MONDAY, I will be travelling to Cardiff city to audition for the X FACTOR, yikes! The song I will be doing is Alexandra Burke's Hallelujah, see you all on SUNDAY. Now for Persephone's question.
Me: Persephone, have you ever felt resentment about Hades kidnapping you?
Persephone: At first I did... I missed my mom, but it got me away from her obsession with cereal and he worked out that I spend spring and summer up top, so it's better. He makes it hard to hate him.
Me: Thank you Persephone, I hope you all send in any prompts you may want and I'll work on them, otherwise next week will have my random personality coming into play. Oh, and anyone who thought how Aphrodite's charmspeak made everyone want cereal, you are not alone in laughing, I did too.