Kapitel 122: DA : Chapter 122: Sandy Beach
She moved on, moving further from the city as she approached the limits of Terminus' barrier keeping all gods from flashing in and out of the city.
The moment she was out of the limits she disappeared in a golden flash … only to reappear on a familiar sandy beach.
...
She glanced along the white sands and rolling waves before looking to the small hills just further in and the rather large villa. By her own design of course as a wedding gift for Leo and Calypso, their private island of Ogygia, now under their strict control and only locatable through their permission.
She walked up the sandy trail as the cool breeze swept by, making quick work of getting to the main foyer while also snapping her fingers to erase any traces of ichor or tear stains. The warm torches made for a toasty atmosphere as she glanced inside, spotting a few of the local nymphs and wind spirits cleaning for the evening.
Those that noticed her bowed but she waved it off and moved further towards the hall leading to the guest rooms. As she walked she glanced at some of the paintings or metal sculptures Leo and Calypso used for decorations, snorting at some of the more … odd ones.
Honestly after all this time she wasn't sure how Calypso could deal with Leo and his particular tastes in art. Shaking her head of the amusing thoughts she looked to the guest room given to her and reached for the handle but then heard some steps behind her.
She glanced back to see Calypso dressed in a rather flattering night gown just barely on the side of decent. The nymph turned goddess looked at Annabeth with a faint smile, even though she could see the question in her eyes.
"He's fine," she said, getting a sigh of relief from Calypso. Leo had been too busy with repairs to get an IM to his wife and Annabeth doubted he was really mentioned in Hermes' report to Chiron.
"Is it true about Lady Athena?" she asked, getting a nod from Annabeth.
"Yes and that wasn't the only thing," she replied. Seeing the questioning look she elaborated. "I learned some things … things that could change this very war by the head."
"What?" Calypso asked with clear worry in her eyes.
"I'll explain tomorrow," she replied, feeling too tired emotionally after the confrontation with Aphrodite. "So, did she behave?"
Thankfully Calypso didn't press the issue before she glanced at the door behind Annabeth with a smile. "Like there was any doubt she would," she said, getting an equally warm smile from Annabeth.
However, before they could continue Annabeth heard the door behind her open and turned to see an utterly adorable view. A little girl, no older than four at most and barely tall enough for her head to reach Annabeth's waist. She had warm, golden blonde hair spilling down to her back, blue-grey eyes filled to the brim with curiosity and the slightest hint of mischief. Dressed in light green pajamas with dolphins on it and clutching an owl plushy while sleepily rubbing one of her eyes.
"Mommy?" she asked softly as she looked up at Annabeth.
"Cloelia," Annabeth replied as she quickly scooped up her daughter into her arms and held her. "I thought you were asleep?"
"You were close," she replied as she rested her head against Annabeth's shoulder.
"Doesn't matter, little goddesses should go to sleep on time," Annabeth admonished lightly only for her daughter to pout cutely and snuggle closer in an attempt to weasel out of any scolding, minimal though it may be.
Calypso didn't help matters by giggling to which Annabeth shot her a mock glare before sighing in defeat. If there was one person that could get away with just about anything with Annabeth, it was her daughter.
The little light of her eyes and the only reason she still hasn't demanded a divorce from the sunny bastard. In her arms was the only thing he'd ever given her that truly matters and something she would never regret. Even if her daughter was cursed, or in Annabeth's opinion, blessed.
It wasn't known why but rarely, some gods were born unable to develop as quickly as gods normally due. Most god reached their adulthood in five years after rapidly going from newborns to toddlers in a matter of days, if not already born as adults like some cases. Cloelia was one such rarity, growing at the mortal rate until she hits around her mid-twenties, by which point she would stop aging altogether. It also meant it would be some time before she was old and stable enough to acquire domains of her own which was why her case was seen as cursed by many.
In Annabeth's opinion it gave her the proper chance to really be a mother and actually raise her daughter. It also meant Annabeth could watch any interactions and influence Apollo tried to have with his daughter but between herself, her mother, and her few friends such as Calypso, Cloelia was well taken care of.
"Well then, come on sleepy head, it's time for bed," Annabeth said before giving a quick goodnight to Calypso and stepping into the room.
"Don't want to," Cloelia tried to protest making Annabeth sigh. Her daughter didn't fall far from the tree, in this case, being stubborn.
"How about a quick bedtime story?" Annabeth asked as she snapped her fingers, changing her clothes to mere cotton panties and an oversized shirt while she walked to the bed and started to tuck in with Cloelia in her arms.
"About the Hero of Olympus?" she asked with big eyes as she cuddled her owl plushy.
Annabeth's mind flashed back to the very battle that happened yesterday night. Eyes of black flames and icy pupils looking back at her own, that sword stopping just before it could impale her straight through the heart. 'I wonder … does he know about her?' she wondered, guessing that it might have played into him staying his hand … though that left whether he knew everything concerning her daughter, especially something only Annabeth herself knew.
"Sure," she said after a pause with a giggle, knowing her daughter absolutely loved anything relating to her favorite hero, firmly believing him to be the greatest ever and even once declaring the only way he could be cooler was if he had been a girl and still did everything he did.
Her agreement got a little cheer out of her daughter, looking far more awake than she should be but hopefully she'd be satisfied with a short one. Chaos help her. Her daughter was a good little Percy fangirl, granted he was one of the heroes Annabeth mainly told her stories about along with Thalia, Nico, and the others of the seven.
Annabeth didn't really have a problem with it though considering it bugged Apollo whenever he spent time with her since Cloelia would go one about Percy, Thalia, and other heroes of that generation.
After all, what's wrong with a girl idolizing her godfather?
...
Percy, Same Night
The Primordial God of Darkness and Cold sighed softly as he looked at the silvery orbs floating around him, his gaze drifting from one to the other at random. He was in his office, sitting next to his viewing tree molded after a Weeping Willow. This time around, he changed the view from that of his wolves around the world to displaying dreams, specifically, of the demigods consisting of the attacking forces.
What he saw weighed heavily on him.
The majority of them were nightmares joined with prayers for this to be over. He'd seen himself several times over from their view point. The fear, uncertainty, and near hopelessness that pervaded throughout honestly shook him. To be the source, the reason for these fears felt like hundreds of little needles slowly piercing his flesh and digging their way to his heart.
Now more than ever he saw just how different he had become as time passed. Sure, someone could tell you that they noticed a change, they could comment on how and what it made them feel, but it was all shallow and vague at best.
But to see it through the fears and nightmares of others, especially the few that did know him to some extent, made the comparisons that much more striking. He could only hope that his words got to them and that they understood that he wasn't targeting them.
But would that even help? Would the Olympians let them go if they wished to return home and be at peace? Unlikely. From his own experience and his battles against Luke, he knew all too well how some, if many, gods viewed their children and demigods in general.
Expendable tools at worst, high class show dogs at best. A demigod's life was to live, survive in a world without so much as clue and luck on whether they could be found by a satyr or demigod team, train, battle, and achieve some vague form of glory before meeting their end facing some monster or maybe even another irate god.
A pyrrhic victory at best.
How many demigods died without even being acknowledged by their parent? How many became sacrificial lambs to appease dissent between godly politics? The list went on and on throughout the centuries, creating a mindset and doctrine to limit and control demigods. They couldn't do anything, couldn't break free … until him.
He broke the mold first and openly defied everything about Olympus, fighting for his own not because of glory or the will of the gods, but to protect his own. And he kept doing it until he met Nyx, and she gave him the chance to truly strike out and change when he dealt with Gaea. Now he was the primordial, the being beyond the controls of fate and only answerable to one higher being.
And now he was the god wanting to help those that once stood at his side as comrades, but how could he go about it now? Right now he was the enemy to many, especially children of Ares/Mars, while others were simply too scared of him, seeing him as the greater danger than the ways of the Olympians they've known.
Not to mention the skepticism of those regarding his offer to allow neutrality and to be completely fair, he hadn't shown any reason to believe it other than the fact that he once was a demigod. Yet so were Hermes and Dionysus once upon a time.
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Don't forget to throw some power Stones, to keep the story going.
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