Chapter 24

Rhea POV

"Mum, I had so much fun. Aunt Persie was great. She can grow flowers and she's the reason why we have springtime. I'm going to visit her next week again, and she's going to show me around the Underworld," I tell her, jumping in my seat at the lunch table.

Persephone's presence makes me giddy. I don't know why, but I like it.

"That's great Rhea!" Sally says unsure, looking at Amphitrite.

"Persephone will look after Rhea as if she were her own. She's a great babysitter too. She looked after Triton every now and then too. It's been a long time since she has had a baby in her home," Amphitrite responds.

I'm not a baby though. Crossing my arms I look at my mom who seems to have calmed down and conversation went on as normal.

The next day I was looking for my dad and one of the mer-guards pointed me in the direction of his office.

"Dad," I call out, knocking on his door nervously.

"Come in," he calls out.

He gestures for me to sit down, still looking at one of the letters on his desk.

"I'll be done in a minute," he says, making notes on something I assume to be his calendar.

"Is something wrong?" he asks, placing down his pen.

"No, I was wondering where you were, and wanted to know if you knew that mum and Amphitrite are going to the mall?" I reply.

"Uh no, I didn't know. You're not going with, are you?" he asks worried that I'll go along with them.

"No, I'm not. Mom didn't say anything about me coming along. Isn't it weird?" I ask, scrunching up my nose.

"What's weird?" he asks. Really dad?! I think.

"My mother being friends with your wife!" my voice rising higher at the end.

"So you noticed it too! I thought they would hate each other, but they surprised me on the first day too. They've been ganging up against me, and I didn't mention anything to them in case I ruined the peace between them." He says, brows creasing in disbelief.

"Mom said they bonded over the fact that you're not into them anymore, also that you and mom are only friends now, which helps a lot with Amphitrite." I reply thinking back on the conversation I had with Sally.

My mom and Amphitrite spoke about this on the first day here when dad took me to the hippocampi. When I asked my mother why she and Amphitrite got along so well she said they were friends now and as long as my mom and dad stays friends, then peace will be kept between the two of them. Plus they've been gossiping like mad over the things my dad did, and I unfortunately heard some of it.

If only I could un-hear the things my dad did with nymphs…

"What?" he asks confused.

"I asked mom and that's what she said. But it's really weird to see them get along when I thought they wouldn't."

"Triton also thinks it's strange. He thought for sure that they wouldn't either. And it seems that since you and your mother arrived, Amphitrite has taken more interest in Triton and the person he has become, she is more invested in him. I think it's because she saw the way Sally is with you," he replied.

"I noticed it too. Triton looks uncomfortable when she does that. She budged in on a conversation between a mermaid and himself and asked what they were talking about. And Triton likes this girl…so it was very funny to watch," I say, chuckling and dad joining in.

"On another note, do you still want to go to the underworld in a few days?"

"I do and I don't. Uncle Hades makes me so nervous. I don't think he likes me."

"Why do you think he doesn't like you?" my father asks.

"I don't know. Because you're my father. Or because he barely spoke to me when we were there," I reply solemnly, wrapping my arms around my torso.

"My dear child, he knew you were nervous and so did Persephone. That's why she took you to see the flowers to calm your nerves and make you more comfortable there. He wanted to see how you reacted to Persephone, give him a chance little one. Hades is actually quite good with children when given the chance. He helped raise me and my siblings. He and I have our differences but in the end we still love each other."

"Oh okay dad, I'll give him a chance, maybe I can make something for him, like cookies, or give him a seashell," I say.

And so it happened that the next time I went to visit him, I gave him some blue cookies (that mum made), and gave Persephone a seashell with her name carved on it (curtesy of Triton). Uncle Hades was bewildered at the colour of the cookies his face said it all.

He looked at my father and asked, "Is it safe to eat?" To which my father laughed and replied with a 'Yes'.

I went off with Aunt Persephone again to her garden and explained why I like blue cookies.

I came to visit them once a week, and Aunt Hestia came to visit too once or twice.

Soon came the time where I had to return to school, and mom had to return to work and to Gabe.

Poseidon's POV

I was sitting on my throne along with Triton when Sally and Amphitrite walked in, talking avidly.

Sally turns to me and says, "Poseidon, her schools starts again in little over a week. It's nearly time for us to leave soon."

I sigh out, rubbing my nose, "I know. It feels like she just got here."

"She'll be starting Grade 10 soon, and I'm afraid that within the year she will finish High school," she tells me.

"How is this possible? I know she is really smart, but she moves through school like a fish moves through water," I say, none of my other children have ever displayed so much intelligence at such a young age.

"I don't get it either. Since she was a baby she's always displayed a certain amount of intellect. School bores her. And despite her current grade, she still struggles with her dyslexia. Just last week I helped her with one of her projects and I had to read to her for over an hour long."

"I remember. I'll give her some of my Greek texts so that she can learn something besides her current school curriculum," I tell her and she gives me a strange look.

"She doesn't really know any Greek," she states.

"Her brain is hardwired to read, write and speak Ancient Greek," I tell her.

Later that afternoon I sat with Rhea and gave her a history lesson, starting with her former brothers, and I'm sad to say that she had a lot of them. I've had more kids than Zeus and that's saying something. Even Hades told me to slow down at one point. I was having tough time and found it easier to immerse myself with the mortals and their dealings.

"Oh my word, dad! That's a lot of info. My brain! My ears!" she groans out in disgust, trying to hide her blush.

"What? I've lived a long life. I'm immortal," I tell her.

"Yes but…never mind, no wonder Amphitrite was known to kill off some of your offspring. You were very busy," she says awkwardly, "It's a wonder that she actually likes me."

"It's good to know your history, especially family history. Some of your siblings are still alive, like Polyphemus for example. Although he turned out to be a little…vicious," I tell her, thinking of my Cyclops son of long ago.

"He likes to eat demi-gods," she states blandly.

"Yes he does, so it's best if you steer clear of him."

I explained the history of camp half-blood and that there's a similar camp here under the sea that Triton went to.

"Why can't I go to this one here then?" she asks.

"Well…um…you see," I say, rubbing the back of my neck, "there was an incident with one of your brothers. He caused an underwater storm, resulting in the destruction of the camp along with a few deaths."

"What happened? Was the camp under attack? Why did he cause the storm?" she asks.

"He had an argument with one of the director dolphins. He disagreed on his chores," I say, feeling slightly embarrassed at one of my own sons' behaviour.

She snorts at the revelation, "You're kidding right?"

"No, unfortunately not. He caused the death the dolphin director and one of the mer-trainers at the time. Since then they refused to have any of my children join the camp again. Triton went there too before the whole incident happened. He is one of their heroes. Every now and then he would go back to the camp to train."

"That sucks ass," she says, and as soon as she realized what she said her eyes went wide.

"Language young lady," I scold her, even though I find it hilarious. I can only imagine what some of my subjects will say if they had heard her swear, let alone her own mother, or Amphitrite.

"Sorry," she mumbles.