Work Text:
2018
Athena was holding Sophia. Annabeth had been insistent that she should hold her granddaughter at least once. Athena eventually was convinced to take her when Annabeth mentioned that Poseidon hadn't gotten a chance to hold her yet, something that drew a stern look from the sea god.
Athena didn't like babies.
They were loud, useless, and had none of the life experience that was required for wisdom. They couldn't even carry on a conversation. Worst of all, they were a liability, they made strategy so much more difficult, so much more inefficient .
But as her granddaughter looked up at her, even Athena had to admit she was a little cute.
There was a knock on the door, and Estelle ran into the hospital room. Jenny lifted her up and said, “hey, kiddo. I know you're excited, but remember what we talked about?”
“Be quiet and careful around the baby,” Estelle said, like she'd been told dozens of times already, “but I was being careful! And-”
“No buts,” Sally said as she entered the room after her.
Athena looked up from the child in her arms towards the newcomers and froze.
“Hi, I'm Sally, Jenny's mom. You must be Athena. I'm sorry, I don't think we got a chance to talk at the wedding.”
Athena didn't speak. She stood so unnaturally still she could easily have been mistaken for a statue. Then, suddenly, she foisted Sophia on the nearest person and hastened from the room.
The family turned, shocked, staring at the door Athena had just fled through. After a few moments Poseidon said, “I… don't think I've ever seen her act like that.”
Sally's expression grew concerned, “I hope I didn't offend her in some way.”
Poseidon waved her off, before refocusing on the baby in his arms.
Sally glanced at Annabeth, who was staring at the now empty doorway with a calculating look on her face. Her eyes met Sally's, and saw the determination on her face. Annabeth said, “I think it should be fine if you go after her.”
Sally left a quick peck on Paul's cheek, and left her family to meet their newest member, as she followed after the distraught goddess.
She found Athena sitting in a waiting room, staring out at the New York City skyline through a large window. Sally approached slowly, and sat in the chair next to her.
“Have I done something to offend you?”
At first, Athena didn't seem to hear her. She simply stared blankly, not even drawing breath. Her gray eyes seemed to dull, the owl-like glow all but absent.
Sally had seen Poseidon do this once, when she told him she was pregnant with Jenny, so she knew that Athena had heard her. She made no efforts to hide her concern as she waited for the goddess to respond.
“Do you… know how I was born?”
The question took Sally by surprise. She was growing more concerned and put her hand over Athena's, “is all this bringing up something traumatic? I'm sure everyone would understand if it's too much for you.”
Athena shook her head, the touch seeming to ground her, “it's not that.”
Sally patiently held the goddess's hand until she was ready to continue. Eventually she spoke, “I remember it. Being inside my father. It was… terrible . The only comfort I had was from my mother. I was surrounded by her essence. I think… it protected me.”
Athena pulled her knees up. Sally had never realized a goddess could look so small.
“I didn't know how long I was in there. I know now , but… time has no meaning in a place like that. When I felt my mother's essence start to fade, and I knew I had to escape. So I did whatever I could, and eventually my father's head was split open.”
Athena paused again. Staring out the window. She didn't seem anything like the haughty, distant, detached goddess that Jenny and Annabeth had made her out to be. Sally just saw a scared child. She placed her other hand under Athena's and squeezed.
“I never felt my mother's essence after that. I kept hoping I would see another glimmer of her in Father, but she was truly gone.”
Athena finally turned her head and met Sally's eyes, “until today.”
Sally's eyes widened slightly, but she didn't show any other outward signs that the news shocked her. She just squeezed Athena's hand again and asked, “what does that mean?”
“It means that either the remnants of my mother's essence latched onto a mortal soul, or they managed to coalesce and make one from scratch.”
Sally laughed, “I meant what does that mean for you and I. What do you want it to mean?”
“I… I don't know ,” Athena said, the words seeming foreign in her mouth, “I have-... had accepted that I didn't have a mother for so long that… I don't know what it would mean to have one.”
Sally gave Athena time to continue. She let go of Athena's hand to cup her cheek and wipe a tear from her eye. She said quietly, “you're the only one who can answer that question. You don't need to answer it today. Take some time to think and let me know what you need.”
Athena gave her a small smile, unconsciously leaning into the touch. She whispered, “alright.”
They stayed like that for a few seconds. Eventually Athena said, “you should go back. I didn't intend to take you from our granddaughter.”
“Of course,” Sally said, getting out of her chair. She held out a hand to Athena, “I'm sure it would mean the world to Annabeth to have her mother with her too.”
“Soon,” Athena said, “I need to think.”
“Of course, take all the time you need”
“And Sally,” Athena called as Sally was walking away, “please don't… tell anyone.”
“Not a soul,” Sally said, as she walked away. Leaving Athena to sort out her feelings.
-
2020
“Of course… yes… saturday. Perfect… okay, bye”
Sally hung up the phone with a smile. She had just gotten confirmation that her newest book was going to be featured on a national talk show, and was mentally running through what she needed to do to prepare.
The PA had said they would be sending over interview questions for her to vet. That was her number one priority, but they might not come until the end of the day, plus Sally was too excited to sit in front of a computer. Fine, she could find something else to do.
What was she going to wear ?
Sally had never been on tv before. She'd done signings, but never anything like this. She wasn't even sure she had anything appropriate for something like this.
She tore through her closet to see what exactly she had. She found a couple of decent pieces, but nothing that would constitute a full outfit. She scattered the clothes she found on the bed, trying desperately to find things that matched and looked professional enough.
That was how Paul found her, frantically trying on clothes and swearing under her breath. “Did I forget about date night?”
Sally didn't even bother glancing his way, instead looking at yet another outfit in the mirror that wasn't good enough . “No dear. I'm actually going to be doing a TV interview and I need to find something to wear.
“Oh,” Paul said with audible relief, “Well in that case I'll leave you to it, good luck finding something!”
Sally smiled despite her stress. She kept digging through her closet for another twenty minutes, piling up her rejected clothes on the bed.
She sighed while staring at the pile before coming to a decision. She put her clothes away and walked out into the living room. Paul and Estelle were watching some fantasy movie and loudly complaining about the inaccuracies compared to the book. Sally watched them with a small smile before leaning over the back of the couch and kissing the tops of their heads. “I can't find anything in my closet. I'll be back later!”
As Sally shut the door behind her a thought struck her.
She’d taken Jenny on shopping trips after she’d come out, wanting to make sure she got to have the full mother-daughter bonding experience. She knew it had meant the world to Jenny to get to have that with her. Would Athena want the same? It wasn’t exactly the same, obviously. Athena was a goddess, and it’s not like she had missed out on getting to be a girl.
Or had she? The stories all said she sprang fully grown from her father’s head. Maybe her situation had more in common with Jenny's than it seemed.
“Athena, dear?” Sally prayed, still not quite used to doing so so casually. “I was wondering if you would be interested in spending the day with me.”
There was a flash of light behind her. Sally turned to see Athena standing in the hall, giving her a curious look. “I assume you have something in mind?”
“Yes! Well, sort of. I’m going to be doing an interview for my latest book and I don’t have anything that I'd be comfortable wearing on TV. So I was wondering if you’d like to go clothes shopping with me. We could make a day out of it.”
Athena seemed to be studying her as she processed. “I can simply make clothing for you.”
Sally waved her hand dismissively. “I didn’t ask you to come because of the clothes , I asked because I thought you might like to do some mother-daughter bonding. Jenny really appreciated getting to come clothes shopping after she came out, so I thought you might feel the same”
Athena kept a neutral expression as Sally smiled warmly at her.
“Very well, I… suppose we could spend the day shopping.”
Sally beamed at her and hooked her arm around Athena’s. “Okay, so I was thinking we could start by…”
-
“I don’t know why you asked me to wear this,” Athena called from the dressing room, “weren’t we coming here for your clothing?”
“Oh, come on!” Sally called back at her, chuckling quietly, “That's the fun of it! We get to try on things we wouldn’t normally wear.”
“I suppose ,” Athena said as she opened the door. “I feel like one of Aphrodite’s mannequins.”
Sally’s eyes went wide as she saw her daughter emerge wearing a black dress that hugged the curves of her body. Sheer sleeves with small designs running down them clung to her arms. The dress stopped just above her knees, and had a deep V at the front.
“I know it's not something you care about, but if you ever want to catch a man’s eye, wear that dress.” Sally told her after making Athena turn around.
“I certainly have no desire to do so.” Athena said firmly. She hesitated. “Does it really look that good?”
“Definitely.” Sally handed her another dress, this one much more conservative. “Now, try this one on next! I think it would be a good look if you decide to teach again next semester.”
“Yes, Mom.” Athena rolled her eyes. “But after this we are actually looking for your outfit. I refuse to let you ignore the reason we actually came here.”
“I suppose.” Sally laughed as she shut the door.
-
2024
Athena stood in front of a nondescript apartment door. The only identifying features were the number and a small tag that said ‘Blofis’. She wasn't sure how long she’d stood there before she raised her hand and slowly knocked on the door.
Ordinarily, she would have simply flashed directly into the apartment. She was a goddess, after all, what purpose did she have for such mortal niceties. It was nothing but a waste of time, especially when she knew with absolute certainty that the residents didn't have anything pressing that would justify ignoring her.
And yet it was what her mother preferred, and Athena had never been one for disobeying her parents.
The door opened to reveal her mother’s husband, Paul Blofis. Athena had neve been particularly impressed by the man, but they had pleasant enough conversations about the classes they taught and the books he was reading, so she was willing to be cordial with him as long as he made her mother happy.
“Oh, Athena, we weren’t expecting you.”
“I’m aware,” Athena said. “I simply came to see how Sophia was settling in.”
“Oh, of course. Come on in.” Paul said somberly, “Soph is in Jenny’s old room. Sallys been trying to get her to come out and talk for a while.”
“Could I try speaking to her?”
Paul just gestured towards the room and went to the kitchen. Athena walked into the hall to find Sally standing at the door to Iphigenia's old room, looking anguished. She was focused on Sophia, so Athena simply walked up and put a hand on her shoulder, quietly saying, “it’s alright, Mom. I’ll take it from here. Go rest, you look like you haven't slept in days.”
Sally let out a puff of air. “That would be because I haven't . Thank you Athena, let me know if you want me to tag back in, I'll just be in the living room.”
“Of course,” Athena said softly before knocking on the door.
“Go away!”
“It’s Grandma A. Would it be okay if I came in?”
Again , she was bowing to mortal niceties, this time, though, honoring her daughter’s request. Their relationship had been… strained ever since the Parthenos, and one of Annabeth’s conditions for allowing Athena into her life was to show her and her family courtesy as though she were mortal, as well.
The door opened a crack. She saw one eye that looked so much like her own glaring up at her, still red from crying. “Why are you here? I wanna see Mama.”
“May I come in?” Athena asked again, leaning down to be at the girl's height. “I’d like to talk to you, and that’s difficult through a door.”
“Why isn’t Mama here?” Sophia asked. She was trying to sound defiant, but Athena could tell the little girl was getting tired of fighting.
“Trust me, little one, your mother desperately wishes she could be here.” Athena said sadly. “But she has a very important new job, so she won’t be able to come around as much.”
In truth, Iphienia’s ascension was a catalyst for her not being here beyond simply her duties and the Laws. While it was true that Sophia would have to be raised by her grandparents regardless, right now Iphigenia was also simply unsafe for mortals to be around. Her ascension has been unwanted, and her emotions following her wife’s death only intensified.
Her domains could be incredibly lethal to mortals in any way. Even without her direct involvement or intent, pollution and deaths due to poison ingestion had increased. Until she got her domains under some semblance of control she simply could not be allowed to see her daughter.
Sophia studied her, looking so much like her mother. “Fine.”
The eyes disappeared. Athena stood and pushed the door open. Sophia was already sitting on her bed, clutching a stuffed shark that was nearly half her size.
“I brought you something.” Athena held out a small locket. It was ornately crafted from moonsilver she had offered favors to her sister to acquire, and forged by cyclops under the ocean. Once she had said it was for their granddaughter, Poseidon had been more than willing to allow her to commission his forges. She had just finished weaving enchantments upon it that morning.
“Thank you, Grandma.” Sophia seemed to be going through the motions more than anything. She took the locket, but simply held it, staring blankly at it.
“Open it, dear.” Athena gestured towards the locket.
It had two pictures on the inside. On the left was a picture of Sophia’s parents. They had been at a wedding, Athena wasn’t sure whose, and were dancing. Jenny was red, and Annabeth looked like she was trying to keep herself from laughing. They were both smiling, and even Athena could see how clearly in love they looked.
Sophia was in the picture on the right. It had been taken at her most recent birthday party. Annabeth sat leaning against the arm of the couch, with Jenny in her lap. They both were smiling widely at Sophia, who was sitting in front of the couch unwrapping a present.
Tears sprang to Sophia's eyes as she looked at the photos. “I miss them. I want to see Mama.”
“I know, dear. But do you know why I want you to have this?”
Sophia didn’t move for a moment, long enough for Athena to wonder if she had heard, before shaking her head slightly.
“I wanted you to have this so that you always remember that your Mom and Mama loved each other,” she pointed at the photo on the left, “and they love you ,” she pointed to the one on the right, “more than anything in the world.”
Sophia started crying harder. Athena took the locket and put it around Sophia’s neck. She held it up to her and said, “and even though your Mom is gone, and your Mama is far away, they will never stop loving you.”
Sophia was sobbing now. Athena sat on the bed and pulled her Granddaughter into her arms.
She had never done this before Sophia. Crying children had always struck her as an annoyance. They were to be ignored at best. But here she was, holding her granddaughter, rubbing circles on her back, telling her she would always love her too.
She was almost surprised how truthful it felt.
Eventually the crying stopped, replaced by deep breathing. She heard her mother’s soft voice from the doorway. “Poor thing. I’m glad she’s at least getting some rest though.”
Athena smiled softly as she laid Sophia down and tucked her in. Another thing she would never have seen herself doing a mere decade prior. “I seem to recall telling you to do the same.”
Sally waved her hand dismissively. “I’ll be fine. Come have a glass of wine with me, I haven’t gotten a chance to talk to you since…”
Athena sighed, “I'll be out in just a minute.”
Athena looked at her granddaughter for a long moment. She looked so peaceful, even when it was obvious she had been sobbing moments before. Athena sighed as she left the room and shut the door behind her.
In the living room, Athena saw her mother sitting on the couch with two glasses of red wine. She sat down next to her, taking one of the glasses. “No Paul tonight?”
“I told him we were going to have a girls’ night.” Sally smiled softly. “How are you doing, sweetheart?”
Athena sighed. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that? You’re the one suddenly raising an extra child.”
Sally put her hand on Athena’s. “And you're the one who lost her daughter. Are you okay?”
“She was more your daughter than she ever was mine.” Athena tried to keep the hurt out of her voice as she said it. Judging by the look on her mother’s face, she’d failed.
“Stop it, Athena.” Sally lightly admonished. “We both know how much you loved her.”
Did they? Athena had always viewed her children as assets. They were tools she created to accomplish tasks. She’d had her favorites, of course, but a favorite tool is still a tool. She hadn’t even considered trying to love her children until…
Until Annabeth.
Athena suddenly couldn’t meet Sally’s eyes as she began to process something she had never felt before. She thought she had never felt it before. Had she been-
“-thena.” Athena was jerked out of her spiral by her mother’s voice. This was why she didn’t bother with emotions. They made her irrational .
“Sorry, Mom. I’m fine.” She still couldn’t meet her mother’s eyes. “You know I’m not exactly close with my children.”
Out of the corner of her eye Athena saw Sally take a sip of her wine. She was desperately trying to get some kind of control over her thoughts back. She was lucky only Sally had seen her slip up this time. If it had been anyone else they might begin to doubt her usefulness.
“You’re allowed to not be okay.” Sally said, squeezing Athena’s hand. “I know you feel like you have to put up this wall, but you’re allowed to let it down. At least with me.”
“I can’t.” Athena said, her mouth for once moving faster than her mind. “I’m no use to anyone like this.”
Athena felt herself be pulled into a hug. Despite everything screaming at her not to show weakness, to pull herself together, it felt… good.
“You don't need to be useful to be loved.”
Athena felt herself start to cry. She felt her mother rub circles on her back, heard her humming a tune Athena didn’t recognize. Athena was weak and vulnerable. She couldn’t plan. She couldn’t fight. At this moment, she was utterly useless .
And her mother didn’t care .
She felt herself calm down after a few minutes of being held. Athena slowly pulled back, again not meeting her mother’s eyes. She took a sip of her wine in the hopes that Sally would speak first, but when she looked up Sally seemed to be waiting patiently, unbothered. She just looked at Athena with love.
Was she the first one to truly do so?
“Thank you, Mom.” Athena finally said. “I’ve never had somebody to… take care of me.”
Sally’s face fell. Athena was about to backtrack, but Sally took her hand again and squeezed. “I’m sorry I- She? I. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you needed me.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” Athena whispered. Thinking back to her time inside her father. “You did everything you could.”
“Still, I’m your mother.” Sally squeezed Athena’s hand again. “I’ll always be here for you.”
Athena thought of their granddaughter, asleep in the other room because she had just lost her mother. “Not always.”
“No, I guess not.” Sally smiled. “That’s part of why I've been encouraging you to reach out to your sisters more.” Athena made a face like she was about to object. “I know you don’t like when I call them that. I just. I hope you three girls take care of each other when I’m gone. Especially you and Jenny, you’re going to be together for a very long time.”
“I suppose.” Athena sipped her wine again before chuckling, “though I don’t know how much Iphigenia likes me. Especially after the Mark.”
“You have time.” Sally looked towards the hall. “And I think you really underestimate how much it means to her that you’re as good with Sophia as you are.”
“You’re the first person who’s ever accused me of being ‘good’ with children,” Athena smirked. “But I’ll take it under advisement.”
“That locket you gave her was very sweet.” Sally said with- was that amusement?
“Yes, well.” Athena sputtered. This emotions business was getting on her nerves. “I- she-”
“Relax.” Sally laughed. “It's a good thing.”
“Anyway.” Athena cleared her throat desperate to change the subject. “How has your latest book been coming? Have you had much time to write lately?”
Thankfully Sally allowed her to steer the conversation to more neutral topics. “It's coming along, what point was I at last time we talked?”
-
2041
Sally Jackson was dead.
It was difficult for Athena to comprehend. She had always seemed so divine to her that the fact that something as mortal as a mere heart attack could kill her was… unthinkable.
A mere three decades ago, she had been fine with not having a mother. She rarely even thought about it anymore. Then suddenly she had gotten her back. She had a mother, her mother and had greedily kept it a secret, desperately wanting to have the time alone with her that her sisters had gotten.
But now she was gone.
And Athena didn't know what to do with the hole in her life.
So she swallowed her pride, and went to the one goddess who would understand her loss. The one who would know how singular Sally had been, and what it was like to lose her.
But there was no answer as she knocked on the palace door. ‘Palace’ being a formality. It was a plain house, far smaller than all those that surrounded it. It was much more suited to a mortal family than even a minor goddess.
Somehow that thought made Athena yearn. She was proud, not the type of goddess to be jealous of mortals of all creatures. They existed to serve the gods, after all.
But a mortal family would have meant being with her mother.
She knocked a few more times, eventually struck by what felt at once like a ludicrous idea, but also undeniably the truth. She flashed away, to stand in front of another door.
The door was made of silver, carved with scenes of the Hunt, surrounded by the lunar phases, with the full moon shining at the apex.
Athena knocked on the door.
In a few moments, it opened to show Artemis, wearing jeans and a T-shirt that said, ‘men is too headache’ above a lesbian pride flag.
“Sister? Is something wrong?”
Athena asked in the most neutral tone she could muster, “is Iphigenia here? I need to speak to her.”
A pained look briefly crossed Artemis’ face before she replied, “I don't think that's a good idea. She’s very fragile right now.”
“Please. It's important.”
Artemis studied her. Athena wasn’t sure what the Huntress saw. It must have satisfied her, since after a few moments she said, “I'll check with her. Wait here.” Before shutting the door.
Athena waited. She found herself simply staring at the silver door, lost in thought. She had never felt this level of grief before. She had lost armies, their generals praying for prowess they could never possess. She had lost champions, amusing at times, but inevitably led to more disappointment than triumph.
She had lost children , but she had always detached herself from them. They were useful assets.
She was fond of some of them, sure.
She even loved a handful.
But they were mortals, they were destined to die.
Her mother wasn't.
Of course, she knew academically that Sally had only had a fragment of Metis’s essence. That she was mortal. That, eventually, she had to die.
For the first time in her very long existence, Athena wasn't satisfied with ‘academically’ .
The door opened to reveal a worried Jenny, “What's wrong? Is it Typhon? Grandfather?”
“No,” Athena said simply. She looked down the street and saw a couple nymphs on a midday stroll. She looked back to Jenny and asked, “can we speak privately?”
“Of course”
Jenny led her to a cozy sitting room. Coals smoldered in a small stone fireplace. Trophies from monsters and animals were mounted on the wall. There were two cushioned chairs, facing the fireplace, with a small wooden table between them.
One chair had a fur blanket neatly folded on the back, the other had one hanging off the side, as though it had simply been tossed there. Jenny curled up in the messier chair and proceeded to wrap the blanket around herself so only her head was sticking out.
Jenny gave her a serious look, seeming out of place on top of a blanket burrito. She raised her eyebrows, waiting for Athena to continue.
“I,” Athena looked away, suddenly unsure of herself. She took a breath and asked, “do you know the story of my birth?”
Jenny blinked, “yeah, Uncle had a headache so Hephaestus split his head open and you popped out.”
“Do you know how I got there?”
Jenny's brow furrowed as she thought. She spoke slowly, unsure, “didn't… didn't he like… eat your mom?”
Athena nodded, “not exactly but close enough.”
“And? Did you just come over here to quiz me? You said this was important.”
Athena stared at her hands, fidgeting slightly. Still looking down she said softly, “he didn't get all of her. I found a piece of her essence.”
Jenny lit up. “That's amazing! Where was it? Is it enough that you can speak with her?”
“It was,” Athena looked up, meeting Jenny's eyes. “It had formed a mortal soul. Unfortunately, that means that… she could die.”
“Oh, ‘thena,” Jenny started to unwrap from her blanket.
“It was Sally Jackson.”
Jenny froze. Still halfway through getting the blanket off she was unnaturally still. Not even a facsimile of breath causing her to move. After a few moments she slowly moved back to a seated position.
Jenny looked at Athena critically. In that moment, Athena begrudgingly had to admit she saw the resemblance. It was the same kind of examination she had given people countless times, like they were a puzzle she could solve, with enough time and effort.
“So,” Jenny started, “you're saying we're… sisters?”
“No!” Athena replied automatically. It was all too raw. She had spent all her immortal life wishing for her mother, wanting to be able to have her for herself. She wasn't willing to share her, even in death.
She stared Jenny down. “She is my mother, cousin , but you are not my sister.”
Jenny shocked her by laughing hysterically. Athena sat, uncomfortable, as Jenny processed the information she'd given. Truly, the other gods were always too emotional, prone to outbursts like this. The young ones even moreso.
“Alright,” Jenny said as she wiped a tear from her eye, “I'm barely used to the idea of being my wife's cousin, I'm not sure I could take being my first wife's aunt ”
Athena cracked a small smile despite herself, then turned serious, “I just… wanted you to know.”
“Of course, ‘thena,” Jenny said, snaking one hand out of the blanket to reach out to her. Athena took it as Jenny continued. “Are you coming to the funeral? I've been doing most of the planning, since Estelle has been so busy lately and Paul… anyway, I'd appreciate your help if you wanted.”
“I… would like that.”
-
Sally's funeral was a small affair.
Athena was seated with the family, something Iphigenia had insisted on. She wasn't sure how comfortable she felt being this open about her relationship with her mother, yet. Still, she was uncharacteristically touched by the insistence. It was exceedingly rare for anyone to make an effort to include her in any situations where it wouldn’t grant them some advantage.
And she knew Sally would have wanted to see it.
As soon as they sat down, Jenny’s hand found hers. Athena looked over to see her crying into her wife's shoulder, Artemis’ arm wrapped around her in silent support. Athena surprised herself by feeling happy that they’d found their way back to each other.
Sally’s will had stated that she wanted to be cremated. Once Athena offhandedly remarked that her city was one of the only to do so in ancient times, and Sally seemed to have taken that to heart. Her ashes were placed on a small table.
There was a brief service. People told stories about Sally's life, about how sorely they would miss her. Jenny spoke at length about her resilience, and her compassion. Jenny had tried desperately to get her to say something about their mother, but she couldn’t. It was too raw, the topic too private.
Athena couldn't help but think this was all too little. She knew that Sally would have loved it, that all she would want is for the people she loved to come together to remember her. She was never one to want too much of a fuss made over her, anyway.
And yet she deserved so much more. She was the beloved mother of two goddesses. She deserved a mausoleum that reached for the heavens. Pilgrims should come to worship at her tomb for centuries, like the tomb of Achilles.
She deserved to be here .
Tears sprang to Athena's eyes as they filed out for lunch. She couldn't bring herself to be ashamed of the mortal reaction. Sally had always loved when she was more open about her emotions, she should honor her.
She felt a squeeze on the hand she hadn’t realized Jenny was still holding. She looked over to see tears in her cousin’s eyes as Jenny pulled her into a hug.
“Come on, let's get something to drink.”
-
The three goddesses stood next to a cooler of lemonade, reminiscing.
“And Sally hated me when she first met me!”
“To be fair, Ariste, you did make a joke about being Annabeth's replacement.” Jenny smirked at her wife as she flushed.
Athena laughed. She hadn’t thought she would be able to today, but thankfully her sister’s embarrassment helped her to remember good times with her mother.
A woman around Sally's age approached them. “I saw you sitting next to Paul. Is one of you Jenny?”
Jenny gave a polite smile. “That would be me.”
“Oh aren’t you just gorgeous, your mother always spoke so highly of you, you know.”
Athena felt awkward, but took solace in the face that Jenny seemed to be even more uncomfortable than she was.
“Oh, thank you. I didn’t catch your name.”
“Nadine, darling. Your mother and I were in a poetry writing group together.”
Athena suddenly placed the name. Sally had told her about Nadine on a number of occasions, even shared some of her poems with Athena while warning her not to tell anyone. She decided to jump into the conversation. “She spoke highly of you as well. She often told me about your skill in writing and how she looked up to you as a poet.”
Nadine looked touched. “Oh, I hadn’t realized. And how did you know Sally?”
She was my mother. “I’m Jenny’s former mother-in-law”
“Oh, did she take you in the divorce?” Nadine made an exaggerated swiping motion with her hands as she spoke.
“Actually… I’m a widow.” Jenny said awkwardly, glancing at her wife for support. Artemis squeezed her hand and smiled softly.
“Oh, I'm so sorry dear.”
“It was a long time ago.” Jenny gestured with the hand still holding Artemis’ “I’ve actually remarried since then.”
“Well,” Nadine said, a little too quickly. “That's good to hear, at least.” She turned to Athena. “And you were still close with Sally?”
Athena smiled slightly. “Yes, I suppose you could say we hit it off after our granddaughter was born. We became very close shortly after.”
“Oh, I hadn’t realized Sally had a granddaughter, is she here?”
Athena saw Artemis tense and give a worried look towards Jenny. It reminded her of a prey animal trying to decide whether or not to flee. Emotions crossed Jenny's face too quickly for Athena to register before she simply replied with a cold, “no.”
Nadine looked slightly taken aback and opened her mouth to speak again, but Athena cut her off. “Nadine, would you mind giving me some tips on poetry? As I said, Sally always spoke so highly of you, and I'm interested in writing some as a tribute to her.”
Nadine blinked as Athena grabbed her arm and led her away, already preparing her apology for her part in the incident.
-
2041
Athena sat in her library, surrounded by books on poetry. She hadn’t been lying when she had told Nadine she’d wanted to write something as a tribute to Sally, but the words never seemed quite right to her.
It had become one of their bonding activities, writing poetry together. Sally had never thought herself to be great at it, her talents lying more with prose, but she did it for the love of it. She once told Athena that it helped her to process her emotions.
Athena could use that right now.
It had always been very special to her that poetry was one of the aspects of Sally’s life that she shared with Athena , rather than her other children, though not for lack of trying. Estelle refused to do much writing at all, growing up with an English teacher for a father and a novelist for a mother. Jenny always had a look of mild disgust saying it reminded her too much of Apollo's awful haikus…
Maybe she should try a haiku?
Athena had always loved the rules and structure that some forms of poetry had. It was art that followed a structure, that needed to be planned and built from a blueprint. It was not unlike weaving in that way, where everything had a correct place, it was simply her job to find it.
There was a soft knock on the door.
Athena couldn't figure out whose knock it was. Iphigenia would simply have barged in. Her father would have knocked much more confidently, demanding entry. Everyone else… would have just sent her a letter. Maybe a frantic knock if it had been urgent.
She got up with a sigh and opened the door. Standing behind it was Artemis, looking uncharacteristically anxious. They stared at one another for a moment before Athena asked. “Yes, sister? Is something wrong?”
“I have” Artemis ventured, “an unusual request.”
“Oh,” Athena quirked an eyebrow, “what kind of request would that be? Do I need to apologize for the conversation at the funeral again?”
“No. Jenny seems to be more,"Artemis paused to search for the right word, “ stable , regarding… recent events.”
“That’s good.” some of the tension left Athena’s stance. “Well, what do you need, sister?”
“Jenny’s birthday is coming up, and shortly after that, our anniversary, and” Artemis cringed slightly, “It’s the first where she’s speaking to me since… since Sophia died.”
“I am aware.” Athena said, carefully emotionless, “what does this have to do with your request?”
“I was hoping you could help me think of a birthday gift for her.'' Artemis said. “I want to do something significant, and you're her best friend so-”
“Her best friend?” Athena blinked. “I’m not her best friend. What about Pan’s successor?”
Artemis shook her head “She and Grover haven’t been as close since her ascension. Their empathy link broke and some of Jenny's domains… frighten him..”
“I constantly hear about her antics with our brothers, certainly she is closer to them.”
Artemis laughed. “Yes, but she’s really only close with Dionysus, and even that is mostly down to their shared experiences.”
“What about…” Athena tried to think of who else Jenny was close to, “...you?”
Artemis laughed bitterly. “She finally stopped looking at me with hatred, but it’s… fragile. That’s why I want to make sure to give her a thoughtful gift.”
Best friend?
Athena had never been someone’s best friend before. She had scarcely had friends in general for most of her existence. She had always been focused on her goals, on her tasks. She had never needed friends before.
Friends had always been a concept she scoffed at. What was the point of friends when allies could accomplish the same tasks, and with far less effort. Mutual interest was always safer, and surer. Friends were unpredictable, and maintaining relationships would distract her from her work.
Yet she found herself… enjoying the idea of being someone’s best friend.
Her mother would approve.
“Alright, Sister. Let me get some fresh paper out while you let me know what you’ve thought of thus far.”
2045
Estelle had been enjoying a quiet morning at home. Her husband was on a fishing trip for the weekend, so she had decided to take the morning and relax before getting to all of the housework that had been piling up recently.
She had just gotten dressed when she heard a loud knock on the front door. She eyed it suspiciously before another knock came. Estelle crept towards the door, and looked in the peephole.
On the other side was her sister. She had seen her a couple weeks ago, so she had no idea what had made Jenny need to come over without warning.
Especially being so insistent.
And before 2 in the afternoon.
Knowing Jenny wasn't going to go away unless she heard her out, Estelle opened the door. She crossed her arms and stared at her sister, only raising an eyebrow in greeting.
“Okay so hear me out”
Estelle slowly started to push the door shut with her foot.
Jenny realized her sister wasn't going to respond, and blurted, “Sister Bonding Day! You, me, and ‘thena!”
Estelle blinked, but before she could ask what the fuck Jenny was on, her sister kept talking.
“So I was thinking we could go to the mall, there's lots of bookstores and nerd things for you and miss wise pants.”
Estelle had a realization, “this doesn't have anything to do with the new aquarium that was opening across the street?”
Jenny had the good sense to look a smidge guilty, “it opens today”
“Uh huh.”
“Come on, please !”
Estelle had to remind herself that she was the younger sister. She wondered if it was a side effect of immortality that she acted so immature. Then again, Artemis and Athena seemed plenty mature.
Maybe it was just a Jenny thing.
Jenny decided to step up her game, she gave her patented Baby Seal Eyes and said, “they have an otter exhibit! You can hold hands with the otters!”
Estelle tried to say no. She desperately tried. But against her will she found herself saying, “ fine . But we're spending at least an hour with the otters.”
Jenny beamed at her. “Perfect! Now I just need to convince Athena!”
Estelle groaned. “I should have known you hadn't talked to her yet.”
“It'll be fine! I'll be in the car!”
One car ride filled with painfully old music later, they arrived at the Empire State Building.
Jenny turned to Estelle, “you can wait in the car or the lobby. I'll go get her!”
Then she disappeared.
Estelle sighed and put some good music on, that hadn't been made in the 1900’s .
Jenny appeared in front of Athena's palace and pounded on the door.
An annoyed looking war goddess threw it open and leveled a glare at her. Her voice was flat as she said “what do you want this time, Iphigenia?”
“Sister Bonding Day!”
“I told you not to call me that, cousin ”
“Well then think of it as ‘Sally’s kids getting along like she'd want’”
Athena’s face hardly moved, but Jenny could see she'd scored a point, “plus we're going to a new aquarium with lots of educational materials! And we can stop at a bookstore or whatever nerd thing you wanna do after!”
Athena sighed, “fine. It could be… enjoyable.”
Hours later, the three of them were floating, surrounded by otters. Jenny and Estelle were each holding one’s front paw lightly, while Athena simply relaxed.
Estelle let out a contented sigh. “Alright Jen, you win this one. This was a pretty good idea.”
“See?” Jenny said, insistently, “I do have good ideas.”
Athena smirked. “Oh? Was making us watch you talk to jellyfish for twenty minutes one of your ‘good ideas’?”
Jenny laughed. “You would want to make sure owls were being treated right. You can't be mad at me for spending time with my sacred animals.”
“They don't even have brains, Jenny.” Estelle deadpanned.
“Exactly.” Athena said, without missing a beat, “that's why they're Iphigenia’s sacred animal.”
“Ouch,” Jenny clutched the hand not holding an otter's to her chest. “Can we go back to talking about how great my ideas are? I didn't sign up to get bullied by my sisters today.”
“Jenny.” Estelle blindly grabbed for her, her hand finally settling on Jenny's face, “you took me away from my one weekend alone. You one hundred percent signed up for this.”
Athena laughed again, choosing to let the ‘sister’ comment slide. She found she was actually enjoying getting to be a part of their dynamic. She never had this kind of light teasing and easy banter with her siblings. It was… nice.
-
2124
Jenny groaned as she flopped on the settee in Athena's office.
“Come on, ‘thena.”
Athena glanced up from her papers before returning to the task at hand. Putting the final touches on a proposal for the council to better protect Olympus from attacks like those that had occured in the last century.
“I promised Father I would have this ready today, I intend to finish it before we leave so I can better focus on the exhibit.”
Jenny gave another groan, “I thought you said you had a clear schedule for today.”
“I did, then Father decided to move up discussion on defense.” Athena said patiently, “you may be shocked to learn that it will go faster if you stop pestering me.”
Jenny manifested a baseball and began tossing it in the air to entertain herself, “I just don't want to be late, I know how you lose track of time.”
Athena leveled a glare at the nuisance. “If my punctuality is that much of a worry for you, just ask your wife to accompany you instead. And I swear, if you break another antique in this office you will not be welcome back.”
“I said I was sorry ,” Jenny rolled her eyes as the baseball morphed into a fidget spinner in midair, “and I'm sure the goddess of the Wild would love to go to an architecture exhibit in New York. Besides, that's what sisters are for!”
“Then wait, cousin .”
Ten minutes later Athena sighed and folded up the proposal. She called an owl to her window, before shrinking the proposal down and tying it to the birds leg. “Take this to Father.”
The owl dutifully took off as Jenny jumped up, “finally ready?”
“Yes, Iphigenia,” Athena deadpanned.
They appeared in front of a gorgeous museum. Today was the opening of a new exhibit, dedicated to the construction of the building, and the career of its architect. She had had a whirlwind career, living her dream and quickly establishing herself as one of the most prolific architects of her generation.
Jenny ran her fingers along a marking on one of the columns at the top of the staircase. It was an owl holding a trident, Identical to the one in the tattoo on her left forearm. Annabeth had made a point to put it somewhere on every building she had designed in her mortal career. Athena stood behind her, allowing her a moment to reflect before saying, “She told me once that she could never have achieved what she had without you.”
Jenny snapped out of her reverie. “She would have. She just probably would have eaten fewer lunches.”
Athena smirked. “Don’t sell yourself short. Our aunts would be furious to hear you minimizing domestic labor.”
“I think it’s perfectly fair if I was the housewife in question.”
“Perhaps.” Athena turned towards the door. “We should get to this guided tour you were so excited to see.”
-
"Here we have a photo of Annabeth Jackson with her husband, Perseus."
Athena saw Jenny stiffen out of the corner of her eye.
"As you can see, Perseus suffered from delusions of being a woman for several years prior to Annabeth's death. Contemporary accounts show that she seemed to reinforce these delusions, though we cannot know how much of this was simply a desire to keep her husband happy, rather than truly sharing in his delusion."
Athena remembered this picture. She had taken it, in fact. It had almost been a candid shot, but Annabeth had noticed at the last minute and told Jenny to pose for the camera.
It was Sophia's second birthday. She had just finished opening her gift from Athena, and her parents had been telling Poseidon that she would open his gift next. They had always saved their gifts for last, since Annabeth didn't want any of Sophia’s reactions to other gifts to be overshadowed by her grandparents' competition.
She had no idea how the museum got ahold of it, and she was not pleased with its inclusion.
Athena reached for her cousin’s hand and squeezed. She leaned over and whispered. “We can leave if you want.”
Jenny nodded and disappeared. Athena sent a portion of her consciousness to comfort Jenny if needed. But the majority of her remained here, waiting for the tour to end.
Once it did, she watched the tour guide go to another section of the museum, this one devoted to the wildfires of 2058. She followed him, acting as though she was focusing on the exhibit. When she was unobserved she changed her form, and in an instant was no longer in casual clothing.
She wore the dress she had gotten while out with her mother all those decades ago. Perhaps it wasn’t exactly when Sally had had in mind, but Athena knew that she would approve. Sally had always been as fiercely protective as her children.
She approached the tour guide, trying to look as seductive as she could. She knew academically when men generally wanted to see, but she also knew that once emotions and attraction were involved “academically” tended to go out the window.
“What are you…uhh” the man seemed to lose all semblance of rational thought. I guess Mom was right.
“I was wondering if you could answer some more questions about the tour.” Athena did her best to seem clueless. She wasn’t sure if she was doing well, but it seemed like it wouldn't matter either way. She leaned over a display case the way she’d seen Aphrodite do countless times. “You seem like you know so much about the topic.”
“Yes! Uh, yes.” He was staring directly at her chest. Normally that alone would have warranted punishment, but Athena already had plans. “I did my masters on- uh- the history of architecture, what would you like to know?”
“Maybe we could go somewhere,” Athena batted her eyes, hoping it made her appear seductive rather than simply twitchy, “more private.”
“Huh? Wh- oh. Oh!” the man stammered. “Of course, my office is just down the hall.”
He led her through a door and down a hallway. It seemed to be somewhat more poorly maintained than the rest of the building, but even this area seemed to have been designed with care. Her daughter had truly been an astounding architect. Possibly the best. She wished she had told her that while she was alive.
“Right here!” The man seemed twitchy with anticipation. Athena wondered if it was truly this simple for the other gods to sleep with mortals. For the first time ever she wondered if her family truly did have restraint if they only produced the number of half-bloods they did.
Athena let her facade slip slightly. Cordial, but no longer actively seductive now that she’d gotten him out of public view. It wouldn’t do to cause a scene. A scene might get back to Jenny, and Athena wasn’t looking forward to hearing Jenny obliquely say that everyone deserved protection except herself . “Why did you call Iphigenia Jackson a man?”
He gave her a look of confusion before saying, “oh, you must have only seen contemporary sources. Modern scholarship will always use his proper name. We don’t play into delusions like they did at the beginning of the 21st century.”
“Ahh, I see.” She met his eyes as the last of the facade crumbled. “And did you by any chance realize that she was in the audience today?”
He gave her an odd look, then laughed. “You’re funny. I’m pretty sure I would know if a hundred and thirty year old man was in the audience.”
“And yet it’s true. I agreed to come here with her in part because of how close we are, but also because I wanted to see how my favorite daughter is remembered. Annabeth would be disgusted by how you treat her wife. She was far too loyal for any other reaction.”
“Oh really,” he laughed more, “and who are you then, if you're somehow two hundred years old.”
“Oh, I am far older than that.” She smiled, allowing some of her divinity to leak out. Not enough to kill the man, that would be far too merciful, but enough to intimidate him and get her point across. “I am the goddess Athena, and I do not take slights to either my daughter nor my cousin lightly.”
The man seemed to pale, finally realizing the gravity of his situation. This wasn’t a challenge , but it had been entirely too long since Athena had reminded a mortal of their place. She broke out in a full smile, sickly sweet, a mockery of the front she had put on to get him out of the public eye. “I have just the punishment for you.”
“Oh?” he said, he seemed to be trying to show bravery in the face of a goddess staring him down, letting more and more of her divinity leak out until it hurt him to look upon her. “And what-” his voice cracked “would that be?”
Athena grabbed him by the chin, forcing him to look into her eyes as she cursed him. “May you always see the wisest course of action, then watch yourself take another path. Wisdom will always be with your thoughts and never your actions, and you will constantly be tormented with the crippling knowledge of your own deficiency.”
Athena threw the man to the ground and flashed away.
-
2195
Athena stood in front of a nondescript warehouse door. Since her father gave his ultimatum, she had been searching. She knew that Iphigenia had been spirited away by her allies on the council.
She also knew they would face war.
Nearly certain this was the place she took a deep breath, a habit she'd picked up from Sally and Jenny, and knocked on the door. After a few agonizing seconds she knocked again, yelling, “I know you're all in there! Let me in!”
The door opened slightly and a trident filled the gap. Athena was certain there would be two archers with their bows trained on her behind him.
“What are you doing here?”
Athena took another breath, “I'm here to join you.”
“Why?”
“I beg your pardon?” Athena asked, surprised at the question.
“Why would you join us? You're your father's favorite, and you hate me .” Posidon stated.
“Because Father will not win this war, and I want to be on the winning side.” Athena declared, staring her uncle down.
Poseidon laughed coldly, “you think I would believe that? You're a lot of things Athena, but you're loyal. So give me a real reason if you want to be let in.”
Athena stood there for what felt like an eternity, arguing with herself. Her carelessness was responsible for the coming war in the first place. Had she just kept her mouth shut none of this would be happening.
But she didn't.
And it was.
So she had to do her part to fix it. She wouldn't give up Jenny to her father. She had done many terrible things in her long existence, but she couldn't betray her like that. She had to join them because, “it's what Mom would want.”
Poseidon blinked, and it seemed he was about to slam the door in her face. There was a call from inside the room, “wait!”
The door opened to reveal Jenny, her eyes glistening. “Athena wouldn't lie about this.”
Poseidon scoffed, “Iphigenia, do you know what happened to her mother? She never met her. She would never-”
“Dad,” Jenny cut him off with a glare. She turned back to Athena, and raised her eyebrows questioningly. Athena replied with a nod, “a piece of Metis was reborn as a mortal named Sally Jackson. I believe you met her.”
Poseidon sputtered as Jenny stepped away from the door, “we'd be honored to have you with us, sis”
“Of course, cousin. ”
Athena entered into a simple room. Maps hung on the walls. There were papers strewn about on a large table, she glanced at one of them and saw a list of minor gods with either a J or a Z next to some of them.
She took stock of the others in the room. Poseidon was starting to regain his composure, Jenny was taking a seat in one of several simple chairs around the table. Next to her sat Artemis, who was staring at a map in the center of the table.
Apollo was staring at her with his eyebrows raised, and Athena wondered if she'd finally managed to surprise him.
She looked to the other side of the room to see Hermes and Dionysus. Neither seemed to be paying the situation much attention. The former seemed to be focused elsewhere, probably organizing the war effort as a messenger. The latter simply seemed drunk.
Athena marveled at how many of her siblings had leaped at the opportunity to defend Iphigenia, even if it meant betraying their father and facing his wrath.
She spoke, taking advantage of the eyes already on her, “have we decided our terms yet?”
Artemis looked up from her maps, “the only thing we've decided is that we need a guarantee Jenny will be safe. We don't have a concrete idea of what that would look like, however.”
Athena glanced at the list again, astonished by the number of “J”s that had been written. She grabbed it and held it out, “you're telling me that you got this many minor gods to sign up to face our father exclusively for Jenny's safety ?”
Jenny flushed and looked away, but nodded and quietly said, “yeah, I don't get it either ‘thena”
“That's not what I'm saying,” Athena said, she started waving the paper around, “you have this many minor gods, gods who are fully at Father's mercy, to sign up just to defend you. You could get more to commit if you offer them something… substantial.”
The room was deathly silent. Even Dionysus seemed to be able to read the tension in the air.
Finally Jenny broke the silence, “what are you proposing?”
Athena took a breath, before surprising Jenny by answering with a question, “do you know why Father consumed my mother?”
Jenny thought for a second, “There was a prophecy about him being overthrown, right?”
Athena nodded, “the prophecy stated that my mother would bear thoughtful children. First a daughter, me, then a… son … who would overthrow Father and rule Olympus.”
Jenny laughed. “That does sound like me with the bullshit prophecies pull, but I don't want to be queen of anything. I just want Uncle to leave me alone .”
“Do you honestly think Father would ever allow that?”
“Athena, if this is some way to try to prove your loyalty-” Poseidon started.
“It is not.” Athena said with finality. “Father will never allow Jenny to live in peace now that he-”
Athena fell silent, looking anywhere but Jenny's eyes. Artemis leaned forward, scanning Athena's face. Athena tried desperately to hide her guilt.
“You told him, didn’t you?” Artemis finally asked. It felt less like a question to Athena than a simple statement of fact.
Athena still wouldn’t meet Jenny's eyes. Choosing to ignore the question, she insisted, “the only way to keep you safe is to ensure Father is not able to harm you. He must be ousted from power.”
Poseidon stepped forward in a rage. “You-”
“ Dad! ” Jenny was suddenly in front of Athena. “Obviously she wasn’t trying to hurt me. Be angry at him . He is the one who chose to start this war.”
“I don’t see how you can trust-”
“Because she’s my sister , Dad!” Jenny yelled. “Athena would never try to hurt me.”
“You say this as we face war with my brother!”
“I trust my sister with my life.” Jenny's voice was now cold and venomous. “I intend to fight with her at my side.”
“I don’t understand how you could trust,” Poseidon gestured towards Athena, “my brother’s lapdog!”
“You don’t need to understand it.” Jenny stepped between Poseidon and Athena. “You just need to accept it.”
The room was silent as Jenny stared her father down, silently daring him to keep fighting her. Emotions flickered across Poseidon's face too quickly to register, before settling on a grim acceptance. “Fine. But if she betrays us she will receive no mercy from me.”
“I won’t.” Athena turned to the table. “Now, let me see what you have planned so far. I’m sure at least some of it is workable.”
-
2198
“You wanted to see me, my queen?”
Jenny glared up at her from behind a gorgeous mahogany desk. At least, Athena knew there was a desk underneath the scattered papers and office supplies. How Jenny managed to get anything done with no system whatsoever astonished her.
“Stop it, ‘thena. You know how I feel about that.”
Athena forced herself to keep a straight face. “Of course, my queen.”
Jenny gave a long-suffering sigh. A nyway , I didn't just call you in here to make fun of me.”
Jenny gestured to the chair on the other side of the desk. Athena sat in it, her posture perfect, and folded her hands neatly in her lap. “Of course, what do you need to discuss?”
“It's been… brought to my attention,” Jenny winced slightly, “that I may take on too much responsibility on my own.”
Athena laughed and her posture relaxed slightly, “Artemis finally got you to see reason?”
Jenny shook her head, “no it was actually Hestia. She umm… she asked me to let her adopt me.”
Athena froze. Old jealousy flaring up in her; she spent thousands of years without her mother, and now Jenny not only grew up with her, but found a replacement .
“Athena stop.”
Athena finally moved again, leaning forward, as a look of fury crossed her face. “You have no idea what I'm thinking”
Jenny sighed, “I know exactly what you're thinking, ‘thena. I know you. I'm not replacing her. I'm just… moving on.”
Tears sprung to Athena's eyes, another frustrating habit she'd picked up from Jenny and Sally. “Aren’t you? You found a new mother, didn't you?”
“I found a new wife too, but you don't question if I still love Annabeth.”
That was it though, wasn't it. She couldn't pretend this was loyalty, she knew that Sally would want Jenny to move on. That she would be happy to know that she had somebody else to take care of her.
But Athena didn't have that.
She was back to not having a mother. Now she didn't even have a father , since he had been slain to put Jenny on the throne. She was an orphan.
Jenny is an orphan too
Yet she found a new mother while Athena had no one .
Athena felt arms wrapping around her. She stiffened, but she leaned into the embrace as she began to sob.
Jenny held her. Humming a tune Athena recognized. She had learned it from their mother centuries ago. It was grounding, in a way. It helped her to get through the whirlwind of emotions that she’d endured since the start of this meeting.
Once she was calm Athena stepped back. “What… what did you wish to speak with me regarding?”
Jenny shot her a concerned look, but relented. “Like I said, I try to do too much. Honestly, I have way too much on my plate right now. Between my own domains, trying to manage olympus in the aftermath of the war and get the oceans under control after… Dad.” she took a breath. “I just. I need to focus on something , and I think I owe it to Dad to make it the oceans.”
“Not the throne he died for you to take?”
Jenny flashed a devastated look for just a moment. “No. He… we… The war was never about the throne, not for him.”
Athena nodded, before admitting, “it never was for me, either.”
Jenny gave her a small smile. “I know ‘thena.”
Jenny cleared her throat as she walked behind her desk. “Anyway, I want you to become my second-in-command, my top advisor, my regent, whatever you wanna call it, and to have you handle things on Olympus while I get the oceans stable.”
Athena gaped at her. “Why would you do this so early in your reign? The minor gods will think you’re weak.”
“Maybe, or maybe theyll think i’m more willing to lean on others than Uncle was.'' Jenny flopped into her chair. “Either way, it’s too much. I need to pick something, and that's what I'm going to do. I have a couple other people I can ask but, honestly, you’re the only one I really trust.”
Athena pondered. It would be difficult, and there were so many downsides. The minor gods had just helped overthrow one monarch, would they feel abandoned and rise up against the new one? Would they think Athena had thrown the coup for herself, or that she was now throwing one against Jenny ?
Then, unbidden, she heard her mothers voice in her mind, “I hope you three girls take care of each other when I’m gone. Especially you and Jenny, you’re going to be together for a very long time.”
Athena sighed, “alright, cousin. But you get a decade at most .”
-
2307
“The enemy is approaching from the ground. They're nearly unkillable there as long as the Earth Mother is able to keep in contact with them. The good news is: once they are on Olympus, they're vulnerable.”
Athena was giving a briefing to what remained of Olympus’ defenders. A handful of major gods, a few dozen minor gods and nature spirits, and a trio of half-bloods who had somehow managed to survive until now.
“I won't mince words. We will not survive this. Anybody who wishes to flee and take their chances with the new world they are creating out there… I won't stop you. You've all fought valiantly, and it is not cowardice to refuse certain death.”
Athena paused and looked out over the gathered crowd. Not a single person moved.
She swallowed, and summoned a map of Olympus. She pointed out where all the defenders were to be arrayed. As she finished, the elevator sounded.
She heard Jenny's voice, loud and clear, “today we make our stand! Let them always remember the determination we showed today! For Olympus!”
Jenny turned to Athena, “where do you want me, commander?”
Athena nervously met Artemis' eyes over Jenny's shoulder. She turned back to Jenny, “you're going with Artemis. She'll explain on the way.”
“Okay, but I'm not an archer. Aren't I more valuable on the front lines?”
“You're not fighting in this battle.”
A look of betrayal flashed over Jenny's face, “what do you mean?”
“This battle is a distraction. We're going to hold Olympus as long as we can, the two of you are going to try to fix this.”
The elevator opened and the first wave of invaders spewed forth. The defenders rushed to hold them off.
“What? Why don't you go? You're the goddess of strategy!”
“Because you're better suited to stop this.”
Jenny looked towards the battle again, watching the desperation in the defenders.
“Please, Iphigenia. The entire point of this battle is to buy the two of you time!”
Jenny cringed, “I should be protecting my people.”
Athena smiled grimly, “sometimes the best way to protect somebody isn't the obvious way. If you stay here, we all die. If you leave, we stand a chance.”
Jenny glanced at the battle before looking back to Athena, “and you're sure this will work?”
“No.”
“Then why-”
“Because it's the best chance we have! It's a desperate gamble. Now go!”
“Are you sure-”
The elevator dinged again, two giants somehow exited it like a terrifying clown car. Athena started to rush forward, but stopped short when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned to Jenny, and in an anguished voice she begged.
“ Go, little sister! Please! ”
-
-
-
2007
Her father cared too much for glory.
Not that Athena would ever tell him that. She was wise enough to know when to hold her tongue, after all.
Chasing glory leads to careless mistakes, to throwing away assets for no tangible benefit instead of taking the most direct and efficient path to achieve an objective. Glory makes men desperate to be the one to achieve it, no matter the costs.
Yet when she was ordered to stop Poseidon's spawn from going on the quest to save her sister, she obeyed without question. Albeit without much enthusiasm.
Still, she supposed that anything that harmed her rival could be worthwhile in her eyes.
She appeared behind the girl on the top of the Christler building. She didn't bother to hide her contempt. “Do you really think it wise to tempt the Fates?”
The girl clumsily whipped around, nearly falling off her pegasus. A child of Poseidon who has trouble even staying on a horse, truly we would be better off without this wretched thing.
“ Five shall go west . They’ve only got four in that van.”
So she can count. Why this child thought she was worthy of questioning the gods, Athena couldn't say. She pointed her spear at the half-blood, hoping to drive home her point. “Your impulsivity and lack of wisdom astound me. Though it shouldn’t, considering your parentage.”
The girl seemed… shocked? Betrayed, almost? Interesting. Something may not be as it seems with this child. Then the girl seemed to have an epiphany and shrugged slightly.
She would watch this one closely, indeed.
“Yeah, okay, I've definitely gotten myself into a few messes. Not always for good reasons,” Iphigenia seemed to be lost in her memories, surely she must have hundreds of examples springing to mind. Then she dared to meet Athena's eyes, “But I will never consider anything I do to protect Annabeth to be too costly.”
Rash and impulsive. This wretch has no concept of scale. Athena could not allow herself to act so rashly towards her children. Every asset had value, sure, but the larger picture had to be considered. That was one of the things she despised about the other gods, they would throw away an entire campaign for one of their children.
Her hatred had often been mistaken for jealousy.
“Then you truly are a fool. She is a gifted demigoddess, certainly, but not worth paying any price for.”
No demigod was.
Certainly.
Poseidon’s spawn flew into a rage. “She’s not some asset , ‘thena! Shes your daughter !”
Asset. Certainly an odd choice of words. Not to mention that she seemed to be overly familiar, only a handful of her siblings dared to call her anything other than her full name, or a title. And even then they were sternly reprimanded.
“And what does it matter to you anyway! You clearly want me dead, so what does it matter if I'm tempting the Fates? Just let me go! You literally can't lose. Either you get your favorite asset back, or I die!”
There was that word again. Asset. Once could be a coincidence. Twice was a pattern. Demigods were not aware of her use of that word to describe them, it would be detrimental to their morale, so there was little to no chance she would have heard it from anyone at Camp. Even being as close to her daughter as the sea spawn was.
And why did she sound betrayed?
There was more going on here than what was visible on the surface. She would have to watch this one closely, much as the idea of observing one of Poseidon's bastards disgusted her.
To Athena's great disappointment, the girl did have a point. She was truly in a no-lose situation. Either her rival's child would die on a quest, or she would succeed in recovering one of her more valuable assets. Not to mention sating her curiosity.
“Go then. I care not for Father's glory .” His daughter will be on the quest regardless. “but swear to me that you will come back from this quest with my daughter, or not at all.”
“I swear it.”
“A real oath, girl.”
“I swear it on the Styx.”
Thunder boomed in the distance.
I will discover what you’re hiding sea spawn.