Silence filled the room. Cordelia remained silent in my arms, holding her closely almost like a delicate rose. This seems planned. An old friend returned a year after I supposedly had a car accident with a child. Too planned and coordinated. Even now I feel like I am missing something but the name Athena rings a bell. Remembering correctly Athena is the goddess of wisdom. And if we go by the assumption the gods are real, then the person if front of me is the goddess Athena. For some reason, that was my only solution.
She is one of the maiden goddess, so wouldn't having a child be a breach of her vow. Wait I am looking too much into this. I have concluded one thing, she is not to be trusted. Where would that place Cordelia if she were truly my child?
My mother broke the silence saying, "Well, I have some businesses to attend to at my college, so Percy keep her company. And take her safely home afterwards won't you," Her face strained, anger flickered through her eyes as she faced Athena.
"I will," I said.
She hasten picked up a dark, blue backpack, leaving the apartment. We were alone. "I never expected you to anger my mother… who are you? And what do you want?" I said.
"I see you figured me out…I am not who I say I am, well I did tell you my real name." she said
"Athena… quite an unusual name isn't it, given your name, I might even guess you're the goddess Athena," I said
"Quite intelligent aren't you…but what would you do if I were the goddess Athena," she said,
"What can I do? You are a goddess, who for some reason is in my home with her daughter and angered my mother," I said, "Tell me the truth… all of it. I hate lies," I said.
She glared at me. I knew she wasn't going to tell me everything. I stared back defiantly, my gaze unmoving.
Sighing, she said," I am the goddess Athena… as for the reasons for why I am here? My lips are sealed. All I can say it was due to some unfortunate circumstance that involved you. But what I did not lie about is Cordelia, she is your daughter,"
"Even if she is my daughter, how was she conceived? If I go by our current relations, I guess that we never had any sort of intimate relationship."
"Interesting, how on point you conclusions are. You are right, we never have had any sort of relationship. I am only here because of my daughter, she cannot leave your side, unfortunately. A decree by Zeus himself, the old bastard. So in order to see my daughter I have to be… at your side," she said, "as for the matter of her being conceived, it be best to forget about that fact. And to say up front, I have no feelings of love or even attraction toward you, so don't expect anything and don't even try to court me."
"Alright… I understand," I said, I felt a bit relieved. Even though she lied to me at first, she told me the truth. Though this situation feels a bit familiar. Like a similar thing happened before except it seemed more… dramatic. From what I can extract, it was not a pretty one.
Other than the whole daughter situation, I was not surprised. It all seemed natural, the world of gods and goddess. Athena seemed familiar to me, almost as if we met many times before. My heart sped up, allowing me to hear my own heartbeat. A sharp heated pain crept up my spine, I closed my eyes. The pain slowly increased, eventually I could not bear it. A blurred image of a woman with auburn hair flickered through my mind.
Athena quickly removed Cordelia from my arms. Summoning a cradle in a bright flash of golden light, she gently set her down. So she was a goddess, summoning a cradle… why am I jumping to conclusions? She could be a witch or something similar. I laughed, but it would seem laughter made the pain even worse. I clutched my head. The searing, hot pain only grew in intensity. The same woman kept appearing in my head. Athena kneeled in front of me, letting out foreheads touch. A cool, icy feeling emerged from our connection. Eventually the pain disappeared. Removing herself from me, she stood up, to attend to Cordelia.
"Who is the woman who appears in my mind?" I asked.
"It be best if you forget about her, no benefit will come from it," she said.
"Why?" I said.
"Damn it, why do you place me in these delicate situations?" she said, "She hurt you … That is all I can tell you, I have already told you too much."
Hurt me, what does that mean? Why are you so confusing? The auburn-haired woman, made my blood boil but behind such rage, I felt fear. I did not want to meet her again.
"Hurt me… how? I feel fine… nothing feels wrong, I think. Is that why you are here? To comfort me…"
In a swift movement, she launched a spear, impeding on the wall behinds. My muscles froze, and I understood I was moment away for death. The attack was only a warning.
"Don't get ahead of yourself mortal… I explained that I am only here for my daughter. I don't care at all for you," she said
"I see…Setting that aside, what will happen now?" I said, changing the topic. The fright of the previous incident still lingered in my blood but at the same time I felt disappointed.
"For the first time in my existence, I don't have a clue. I guess we'll have to let fate decide don't we, Perseus,"
"Fate… what a troublesome thing," I said. I shuddered. A heavy, unsettling feeling told me that it was all but over. Something big was going to happen, and I would be in the middle of it.
*Short chapter... And have a nice day. what is with the throwing spears and stuff... i have no idea but i think percy, artemis and sally can take on the gods at this rate... interesting. Till the next chapter...