Annabeth

Most people would say that you haven't known the meaning of fear until you meet an angry Athena.

I say that that is mostly true, but not so much for her children. She gets mad at them a lot, and I think that is why it's not so bad for me and my half-siblings. Cause we are used to it. But it still is not something on my everyday to-do list.

Athena had shrunk down to human size by now, but the lessened height definitely did not lessen the mood.

"You've demolished the bridge! Do you have any idea how architectural that was? Or expensive? Or how much time that took for that one demigod to do? Do-"

Athena was cut off when another god appeared. I immediately recognized the tall, tan, and lean man. Ear length jet-black hair had their own way of living on his head, much like Percy's. Green eyes stood out, sparkling in the faint light that was still present. A trident was casually laying in the palm of the man's hand.

Poseidon was laughing jovially, "Percy, my boy! Long time no see!"

I was surprised when Percy cracked a smile and went up to hug his dad, who returned the embrace. I almost never hugged my mother, and she only hugged me when she was super appreciated with me, or hanging out with or focusing on me. So that was basically never.

Athena, however, did not get any less mad, she just fumed even more, "Poseidon! You interrupted me, you fool. My daughter needs to learn a lesson."

Poseidon shook his head and tusked in disapproval, "Oh cheer up, you old grump. Give your daughter a break. She just got back from a long journey, and you greet her by grounding her?"

Athena was speechless, then she spluttered, "I am not an old grump! And I didn't ground her!"

Poseidon smirked, a smile that was almost identical to Percy's, "You were going to, Ms. Architect."

Athena glared at him and "humphed," muttering something about how annoying the sea glob and his spawn was. I was dumbstruck at the sight of someone smart talking my mother off. I almost laughed and high-fived Poseidon, but I figured my mother would not think highly of that.

So instead, I just flashed a small and grateful grin in Poseidon's direction.

He winked back at me, then turned to the rest of the group, "Come on, let's go inside Mt. Olympus! Food and beds are waiting." I think everyone groaned wistfully at the thought of fresh baked food and a nice comfy bed to sleep in tonight. Poseidon led the way up the pathway towards the home of the gods.

I was walking beside Athena, both of us not talking, and watching Percy and Poseidon carry on a conversation ahead of us. Every once in a while, one of them would burst out laughing at something the other had said.

I was instantly jealous of Percy's relationship with his godly parent. I wished I could have the same with my mother, but unfortunately, no child of Athena really had a good relationship with their mother. She was all about formality, and sternness. We thought more of her as a strict teacher. And my father was off limits to have a relationship with, cause he was, well... dead. To be blunt.

I was torn out of my thoughts when I heard Percy call my name, "Annabeth, come here."

Jogging to catch up, I came alongside Percy.

Percy started to speak, "Dad, this is Annabeth, one of the friends I've made on this journey. Annabeth, this is Poseidon, as you probably already know, but I just thought I should make introductions, since I'm assuming you've never met before."

Poseidon laughed that deep laugh again, "Well, you've assumed wrong then, Percy. I've met Ms. Chase before."

Percy blinked, looking surprised. "You have?"

I answered his question, "Yeah. A long time ago, my mother took me to one of the solstice meetings. I met him there. Then he gave me a gift, and almost made me get caught by my mother, which would've been bad. He also kinda showed me this corridor, and I found my knife there. And he's kinda been talking in my head every once in a while."

Percy stared at me, then at Poseidon, then back at me, those piercing green eyes holding my steady gray ones. "Well, then I guess we don't need introductions."

Poseidon shook his head, "No. I got to know a little bit about Annabeth during our little mind conversations."

I was instantly curious, and suspicious, "Like what?"

"Well, she's definitely a daughter of Athena," Poseidon smirked. "She's stubborn, annoying at times, a smart-aleck, and sarcastic."

"That is so accurate, dad!" Percy said over his loud guffawing.

I rolled my eyes. "You two are so annoying."

Poseidon held up his hand, like he forgot something, "Oh wait! She also loves to glare and roll her eyes too."

"I know right," Percy snorted. "Annabeth, what is so interesting in the sky that you want to look up there all the time?"

I glared at him, then punched his shoulder, shaking my head. Still, Percy wouldn't stop laughing.

"Oh, shut up, Seaweed Brain," I muttered.

Poseidon chuckled, "I'd say that is a perfect nickname for my son. Did he make you one, too?"

I nodded, and was about to tell Poseidon when cut me off.

"Don't tell me! I want to guess. Well, my son isn't that good at mocking nicknames, unless they are directed towards a monster. So I'm guessing this nickname isn't that bad. And it probably has something to do with being smart. So, my guess is 'Smart Girl.'"

I grinned, "Close. It's 'Wise Girl.'"

"Perce, you really gotta get better on your name calling," Poseidon said, shaking his head.

Percy rolled his eyes, "Who cares."

The god of the seas was about to answer when I heard Athena behind me say in a short voice. "Annabeth. Come here now."

I groaned softly, so only Poseidon and Percy could hear me. They each smirked in my direction. I glowered at them as I slowed down, waiting for Athena to catch up to me.

When she did, I asked, "What do you need, mom?"

Athena narrowed her eyes at me, "Why are you conversing with Poseidon and his spawn?" she said Poseidon like she was talking about a week old plate of food that was tossed in the garbage and brought back out again the next year.

I resisted the urge to let my eyes go to the sky. "Percy's his son, mom. Not a spawn. And Percy was introducing me to his dad, that's all."

"Looks like you had a bit more to say than introductions. And why do you even talk to this 'Percy'?"

"He's my friend, mother," I gritted my teeth.

"Well, I disapprove," she said, her voice implying that the matter was done, and Percy wasn't my friend anymore.

I shook my head, "Well, okay then. But he's still my friend."

"I said 'I disapprove'," Athena said with a glare at me. "He's a son of my enemy, and you make friends with him, and that is not acceptable."

"Does it matter that he's a son of Poseidon? I don't care, he's been a good friend, and I don't see any reason why you should be able to say who's my friend or not, Athena."

My mother raised her eyebrows. I only called her Athena when I was really mad at her, and that doesn't happen very often. And when I do get really mad at her, I usually just back down from the argument. But I was done with this. She could just pick who I befriended and who I didn't. I should be able to pick my own friends.

Athena was about to say something, no doubt to ground me for a year and lock me up in my room, when Darryn came up and interrupted.

"Mother, Percy has proven to be a really good friend over this journey." He explained.

Athena let out an exasperated sigh, "Not you too!"

Malcolm had come up, and he talked this time, "I know, at first we weren't at all pleased. But over the time of this journey, he's saved Annabeth from many things that would've taken her life. I really think you should be thanking him. Without Percy, I'm sorry to say that Annabeth would've been gone."

As much as Athena pretended she didn't care, she really did love her children, and the thought of losing one definitely wasn't appealing to her. She started to calm down, but she still didn't look pleased.

"Well, I'll thank him later. But I still one hundred percent disapprove of this relationship."

I glared daggers at her, then shook my head and abruptly turned away. I walked over to trudge by Piper, Hazel, Thalia, and Lacy.

They all stopped talking when I came over, but soon Thalia said, "Anything wrong, Annabeth?"

I realized I had been glowering at the ground with my arms crossed, I snapped at her, "No."

Thalia narrowed her eyes, "Spill, Annie."

"It's just Athena," I sighed. "She's really mad at me, and me at her, too."

Piper frowned, "Why?"

"Because I was talking with Poseidon and Percy, and then she called me back and asked why I was conversing with Poseidon and 'his spawn'. And I said because he was my friend, so she basically said that she didn't approve, so that meant I couldn't be friends with Percy anymore. So I objected, and Darryn and Malcolm stepped in and said a few words, but she still disapproves."

Thalia has always been like an older sister towards me. Teasing, and sometimes getting mad, but overall, she's protective, caring, and really helpful. Anything that gets me mad or irritated instantly does the same to her.

"What?!" The hunter spluttered. "That's bunch of pegasus crap! She can't pick your friends for you! I'm gonna go take that goddess' flabbermouth and shove it up her-"

Piper hurriedly put her hand over the cursing hunter's mouth, "Thalia, stop. We know you are mad, so you don't need to express it to the god and goddess present."

Thalia glared at Piper. "The goddess that is present is the reason why I'm mad."

"Calm down, Thalia," Hazel soothed. "We'll work it out."

Thalia subsided, but she was still muttering angrily underneath her breath. The hunter lieutenant soon stopped though, when she saw Piper glancing back at Jason, who was constantly staring at her.

Thalia smirked. "Ooh! I don't think Annabeth is the only infatuated girl in this group, Piper!"

I pivoted, eyebrow raised and hand spread out, "What? What are you talking about, Thalia?"

Thalia suppressed her smile, "Oh please. The first time you saw that son of Poseidon you were all like 'Oh he's annoying, sarcastic, cute, hot, sweet, adorable, handsome-"

"Shut up, Thalia. And no, I wasn't." I said.

Thalia stopped, but I know she didn't buy it, "Whatever. But Piper, since when did you start liking boys?"

Piper rolled her eyes, "I don't like boys."

Thalia smiled, "Ok, let me rephrase. Since when did you start liking a boy?" She fake coughed, morphing the sounds into something that sounded like the name "Jason."

Piper looked at Thalia, "Really, Thals?"

"Answer the question, Garbage Queen!" Thalia said, using the nickname that one of Piper's sister had named Piper. The sister wasn't at all on good terms with Piper, so naturally, we hated her. But we still liked to tease Piper by using the nickname that Piper's nasty stepsister had given her.

Piper rolled her eyes, "Ok, maybe Jason is nice, and caring. And attractive. And strong. And- wait, why am I telling you this?"

I looked the other way so Piper wouldn't see my barely suppressed laughter. But Thalia just belted out her chortling.

"Dang, girl!" Thalia said.

Lacy was biting her lip in the attempt to not giggle at Piper's outburst of Jason, "Piper, I've never seen you like this."

Piper just scowled at us all and walked a little faster to be ahead of us. Hazel, Piper, Lacy, and I just stayed back and snickered together until we reached Mount Olympus.

We were walking up the marble steps to the entrance, and as I was clunking up the stairs, I noticed that there were twelve statues on each side of the temple of the gods. Each statue was an illustration of each of the Twelve Olympians. I spotted Athena's in the line. They captured her pretty well, whoever did it.

She was standing, sword in hand, with a stern look upon her face. She wasn't smiling, but Athena doesn't smile very often. Her armor was red, and the helmet that she had on had a red plume on it as well. An owl sat upon her shoulder, serenely looking out to the sky.

"Here we are! The gods just ate, so you will eat by yourselves. Athena and I have to get back to the gods, for we are having a quick meeting before the council, but we will bring you to the dining center. After you eat, some Nymphs will be waiting to show you to your rooms." Poseidon explained, leading the way down the large entry hallway.

The columns on the side were large, and placed about ten feet apart, so you could easily see the sky outside. It kinda looked like the entry hall at Athena's temple, but it was more grand. Athena was more about simplicity.

Poseidon led us down, then when we reached the colossal double doors, they opened, seemingly by themselves. He led us into yet another hallway, but this was smaller, and the walls were solid. A couple windows were placed randomly around, but that was pretty much it.

We kept on walking through several halls and countless doorways.

Finally, we stepped into a room, and I almost fainted. The smell of delicious food wafted through the air, filling my nostrils with the scent. I hadn't eaten almost all day, and neither had any of my fellow demigods, so we were all extremely hungry.

"Oh gods. My stomach sounds like Hades' bellowing when he has to sit in sunshine for the whole day!" Leo exclaimed.

Poseidon chuckled, "I don't think anything can get quite that loud. Well, there are tables over there, and plates set out, so just speak what you want, and you will be served! Now if you will excuse us, we must be going. Good night, everybody!"

We all said good night back to the god and goddess, then Poseidon and Athena departed, leaving only us. I examined our surroundings. We were in an enormous room, and it looked too big to be just for dining, but then I remembered that this is the gods dining room. We were eating in the god's dining room. Wow, I didn't think we would be eating here. I thought we would be eating somewhere small, but I guess not.

There was only one table set up, a long rectangular slab of marble. I'm guessing more could appear magically, but this table was enough to fit us all, so I assumed that there was only one present for now.

As Poseidon had said, plates were set out among each spot, empty and waiting to be filled with food. Glass goblets stood about as well, empty. The room was lit with an intricate chandelier hanging down from the high ceiling. Torches were also set upon the walls. Portraits were at the back of the room, showing views of random landscapes, but they kept changing sights.

"Well, what are we waiting for! Lets eat, people!" Leo shouted excitedly, rushing over to grab a chair. The girls and I all took a seat in a line farther down. Across from us sat Percy, Jason, Nico, Leo, and Frank. Next to them were my three brothers and the rest of my guards.

"So we just speak and we get what we want? Awesome! I gotta figure out how this works, man. I should install this in my shirt, so I can always eat," Leo said.

Hazel made a disgusted face. "That's gross Leo."

Leo grinned maniacally, "It may be gross, but it's food! Think about it. Endless burritos. Mmhm."

I rolled my eyes. Grabbing my goblet, I whispered milk, and the creamy white liquid appeared in the glass. I glanced over at Percy's and saw that his was full to the brim with something blue.

"What is that?" I asked.

Percy glanced down, then slowly looked back up at me with a duh face. "Um, it's my drink."

Sighing, I said, "I know that, Seaweed Brain. But what kind of drink is it? Or do you not know?"

"Oh! It's blue honey mead. It doesn't have a different flavor, but I love the color blue, so I just make it blue. It reminds me of my mom, because it all started with her."

I shrugged, then turned back to my plate, loading it up with mouthwatering foods.

We didn't talk much, because everyone was mostly hungry. I was full after about one and a half plates, so I stopped and just sipped my drink. Percy, Jason, and Nico all had fifths. Then the last two stopped, but Percy kept on going. I shook my head in amazement.

"You are crazy," I told him.

Percy looked up at me and grinned, showing me his meat filled teeth.

I grimaced. "Eww! That's horrible. Clean your teeth, Percy!" He just closed his lips, so he was smiling without his teeth.

Soon everybody was done, so we decided to find our rooms.

"Wait! I haven't had dessert yet!" Percy said, trying to shove the rest of his food into his mouth so he could have his dessert.

"Are you not full?" Piper asked incredibly.

I turned to her, "He's never full, and eats like a bear."

Piper just rolled her eyes as Leo spoke to Percy, "Dude, just put some in your pockets, I have a few cake pieces in mine. I won't go hungry tonight!" All the girls groaned, shaking their heads.

Percy smiled, "I don't think so, I think I'll just carry some cookies."

We walked out the door, and sure enough, three nymphs were standing there, two guys and one lady.

The lady stepped forward, speaking, "Hello! My name is Mellie. I hope you enjoyed your dinner. The ladies of the group will be following me, and the boys will split into two groups and each one will follow either Kasos or Peritas here. I- Wait." Mellie paused, and narrowed her eyes at the group of boys.

She floated up to halt in front of Leo, "You are not allowed to take those. Please give it to me." She held out her hand. I looked on, confused at what she wanted. Then Leo sighed, reached inside his bag, and took out on of the plates from the dining room.

"Come on. I just wanted to study it, maybe take some blueprints. Jeez people," he muttered.

Mellie took it, and slipped it inside a slit in the wall. I didn't know where the crack led too, but I didn't hear any thud on the other side. So either someone had taken it, or it was still falling.

Mellie then gestured for the girls to come to her.

While the boys were deciding who would go with who, the rest of the girls said goodnight to the boys, then started to follow Mellie. She was pretty, in a nymph sort of way. Her petite form was shadowed in the back with dark, long, slowly flowing hair. Warm and friendly eyes squinted as she smiled.

We followed her as she led us into a dark gray room with three metal bunk beds that had pillows and blankets set out on them.

"Here you are! The beds are for you to decide where you will want to sleep. The dressers over there are each labeled with your names, and are full of clothes your size. There are also three bathrooms over to our left. In the morning, the council will be held at noon. When would you like me to pick you up?" Mellie asked us.

I looked at the other girls, then answered for us. "Probably around eleven. And thank you, Mellie!"

She smiled kindly, "My pleasure, girls. If you need anything, my room is directly down the hall. Just come knock. I'm so excited to get to know you all!"

I smiled at her enthusiasm and friendliness, "And we are too, Mellie. Thanks again!"

With one last smile, she stepped out the door, closing it softly behind her.

Thalia grinned, "I call the top of the one closest to the food cabinet!"