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Grease was beautiful, or specifically, its architecture was. Annabeth had only been in ancient Greece for a few days, but that time had supplemented that fact in her mind. Too bad for her, she was a half-blood, and half-bloods didn’t get to do things like admire temples. No! When they got sent back in time, they had to fight monsters and avoid this world’s (because they were definitely in a different world) pantheon. Also, apparently, they got de-aged to seven years old!
Annabeth scoffed as she veered into an alleyway between two houses. She ducked away from prying eyes she adjusted her disguise. She had swapped her modern clothes with something more this century. Something that wouldn’t draw attention to her.
She’d gotten the outfit when she was still traveling with everyone else. Somehow, getting clothes had turned into fighting a monster, and that had turned into running away from said monster. That was when Nico tried to shadow travel with all of them. Anyway, something went wrong, and Annabeth ended up alone in Athens. Definitely not the best place for a young girl to end up by herself.
“Stupid- come on!” Annabeth struggled with her hood. She needed to keep her features covered. Especially her eyes.
She giggled as the hood finally sat where she wanted it. That triumph vanished as a shadow covered her. She wiped around to face a man. He was tall and muscular and very clearly wasted. He swayed from side to side as he towered over her.
“H-hey. What's a pretty thing like you doing out alone?” His voice was questioning, but there was a predatory undertone.
Fear and disguise squeezed Annabeth's heart as warning bells sounded in her brain. “Stay back! I'm warning you!” It was an empty threat. She was weaponless and seven years old. There was no way she could fight off a grown man. Especially when her current body didn’t even know how to fight.
The man did not heed her warnings. He stepped close with a gleam of lust in his eyes.
Annabeth pressed herself against the wall behind her. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and her breathing was picking up speed. In her mind, she frantically pleaded with anyone willing to listen.
“Anyone,” she thought. “Please help me! Please, I don’t want this! Anyone Help me!”
She squeezed her eyes shut as a large hand reached for her.
Artemis was on Olympus. This was rare for her, normally she spent her time with he hunter in the woods, away from men and annoying siblings. However, lately, something had changed. All the gods felt it. One moment, everything was normal; the next, something shifted. Something was there that wasn’t before. Zeus had gone into a protective panic. He ordered that all his kids and grandkids stay on Olympus while the older gods investigated what happened.
Artemis wasn’t pleased. While she didn’t have it as bad as, say, Dionysus or Pan, who, being the youngest two gods, had the most restrictions. She still wasn’t content to just stay in her room. So when a prayer came in, she jumped at the opportunity to leave Olympus.
Normally, while praying, a mortal would say a god's or goddess's name to indicate who they were praying to. If the prayer does’t have a name, it goes to the one who best fits what the mortal is asking for. If they ask for good health, Apollo will receive it. If they want wisdom, then it's Athena who will get it, and if a maiden asks for protection from a man, then that goes to Artemis.
Annabeth trembled as the man reached for her. After everything she’d been through, this was it, this was how she died. Not as a glorious soldier in war, but as a scared little girl in a back alley.
A sound broke through the scared silence. Hoove running on stone from behind her. Annabeth opened her eyes right as a deer leaped off the roof behind her and landed by the mouth of the alley. The man turned with a gasp. His intoxicated state made him clumsy, and he nearly fell as he wiped around. Annabeth stayed flushed against the wall. She stared at the deer in shock.
The deer was a doe. It was far lager that any normal deer would be, and despite not having the human traits needed for a facial expression, it looked angry.
The man’s face paled. “No-”
He was cut off by a snarl that was part feminine and part inhuman. “Yes.”
A mass of grey fur jumped down from the same roof that the deer had. It landed between Annabeth and the man. The man cried out as he fell back. His eyes widened in horror as he looked up at the creature. At first glance, Annabeth mistook it for a wolf. But no, Annabeth realized as it stood up on two feet. That was just a wolf pelt they wore. What she was actually looking at was a woman, no! A goddess. Artemis.
A low growl rose in Artemis as she staked forward. Her voice practically dripped venom when she spoke. “I’ve told you mortals, time and time again. Keep your hands to yourself! You just never listen, do you? And you go after a child no less!”
Arteis looked back at Annabeth when she said the last bit. She froze when they made eye contact. Disbelief and awe seemed to soften her features as she took Annabeth in.
Then the anger came back tenfold. Artemis rounded on the man. She grabbed him by the hair harshly, ignoring his pained cry. She pulled his face up so it was inches away from hers.
“How dare you,” she growled. “Go after one of our own!”
The man looked bewildered. “What?”
Artemis wrenched his head so he was facing Annabeth. “Look at her! Can you not see her lineage?”
The man stared at Annabeth. For the first time, he saw her not as a piece of meat but as a girl, and possibly a goddess. Then he saw her eyes. Somehow, he managed to get even paler. “I didn’t realize! Please, I didn’t know! I’m sorry, I’m so sorr-”
Artemis threw his head down. “Quite!” She barked. “You're not sorry.” She pulled an arrow out of her cloak. “But you will be.”
Annabeth sucked in a sharp breath. While the man and Artemis were distracted, she could sneak away and hopefully not have to face an angry goddess.
A raven chooses that moment to fly right in front of her face.
“What?” Annabeth tried to bat it away, but it would’t leave.
More birds of all kinds joined the raven. They didn’t hurt her, just flew around her head and chirped in her ears. She could’t see anything in front of her, nor could she hear what was happening beyond her wall of birds.
“Wait,” Annabeth muttered as she came to a realization.
Artemis was trying to keep her from having to watch as she killed the man. She was trying to protect Annabeths innocence… Well, it was a littel too late for that. Annabeth had seen her fair share of bloodshed, and she doubted that she’d be bothered by this. Then again, this younger body was painfully emotional.
Something snapped, and the birds dispersed. Revealing Artemis’s face inches away from Annabeths own. Annabeth yelped and flinched backwards.
Artemis’s brow furrowed. “Don’t be afraid, little owl. I won’t hurt you.”
That was honestly hard for Annabeth to believe. There was blood caked on Artemis’s fingers and mouth, as if she had gotten tired of simply stabbing the guy with an arrow and had resorted to tearing him apart with her teeth and nails.
Artemis stood up from where she was crouched down in front of Annabeth. “The insolence of these mortals, why don’t I see how brave they feel when they're overrun by sickness?”
Annabeth’s heart dropped. Sure, that guy had been a disgusting douchebag, but the rest of the people in Athens didn’t deserve to be punished for his actions.
“NO!” Annabeth cried, only realizing how disperful it was after she said it. “I mean, um…” Quick, how do you convince an angry goddess not to kill all of Athens? She could play up the whole child thing and hope Artemis took pity on her. Whelp, that’s the only plan she has at the moment, so she might as well try.
Annabeth focused on making herself seem as childish as possible. “I want my mama.”
The word mama made her cringe internally, but it had the desired effect. Some of the softness Annabeth had seen earlier returned to Artemis. “Of course. I bet she's dying to meet you to. Let go.”
“Wait,” Annabeth asked. “Like right now?”
“There's no better time.” With that, Artemis grabbed her wrist, and they were gone.
Athena sat in her room at her desk and stared at the blank scrolls in front of her with contempt. She should have been filling pages upon pages with all her wonderful ideas, instead apathy locked her joints in place, keeping her from creating. Tomorrow would be the anniversary of Pallas’s death. Triton had offered her a place to stay at his castle so she could mourn with him and the rest of his family, but Athena could’t face them. She could’t face anyone right now. She had locked herself away in her room with a clear warning to her family not to bother her. Her father probably would have ignored her warning by now if he weren’t busy investigating that disturbance.
All this to say, just because Athena was’t surprised by the knock on her door doesn’t mean she was happy to hear it. She had expected Zeus to check on her eventually. Only it was’t Zeus who entered her room.
“Can I talk to you thea?” Artemis asked. She stood in the doorway, not quite in the room and not quite out of it.
A part of Athean wanted to say ‘no, Go way’ but she held back. Of all her siblings, Artemis was the best at respecting boundaries. She’d only disregard Athena's wishes if it was important. “Of course, is something the matter?”
“No,” Artemis said. She sounded nervous, which was unusual for her. “I think it’s a good thing, I just need to know if a mortal has done somthhing to you.”
“Done what to me?”
Artemis was quiet for a second, a thoughtful look on her face. I must preference this by saying that I will be on your side no matter your answer. Are you still a madin?”
Athena exploded. “What!”
“Just answer the question!”
Athena scoffed in disbelief. “Of course I’m still a madin. Where is this coming from?”
Instead of answering, Artemis stepped to the side reaveling a little girl with intelligent gray eyes. Athena almost fainted. She could feel her domain wafting off the girl in waves.
Athena fell to her knees in front of the gir- no. Her daughter. “H-how do you exist?”
Her daughter rubbed her thumb over the back of her other hand. “My father said you created me with your mind, and then gave me to him as a gift.”
Athena could’t fathom how she could forget about making a whole child, but it didn’t matter. “You truly are a miracle. What is your name?”
“Annabeth.” The girl answered.
It was an odd, but lovely name, and it fit her daughter perfectly. “Annabeth, can I hold you?”
Annabeth looked up at her with shock. Her eyes scanned Athena as if she was trying to figure it figur out if this was a test or not. She nodded her head slowly. That was all Athena needed. She scooped her owlet up in her arms and spun around the room.
She slowed to a stop when Artemis raised a hand to get her attention. “Would you like me to give you some space. I can go tell the others the good news.”
Athena looked down at Annabeth. She looked awfully pale. “Not just yet, I like to let Annabeth settle in first. You know how overwhelming our family can be.”
Artemis smiled. “Don’t I know it.” She paused, uncertain for a second. “I can tell Apollo, though, right?”
Athena chuckled; she’d predicted this question. “Yes, of course, but please keep him quiet, you know he can’t lie.”
Apollo chose that moment to burst into the room. “Artemis! You will not believe what I found, Children! And one of them is mine!”
Artemis's eyes went wide. “You found children, too?”
“Yes, and they're so cute I thing there dating, or something.”
Athena would have loved to hear more about the new children, but Annabeth jumped out of her arms and ran out the door, calling out. “Nico, Will!”
Apollo watched as she ran off, then looked to his sisters. “Who was that kid?”