The Gift of the Lethe

Lightning's Daughter

Artemis disappears back into her tent, followed by a few of the hunters. The rest of them disperse, and finding nothing better to do, Pallas wanders off. She soon finds herself at the edge of the trees, her hands buzzing. The hunters were judging her. Reyna and Adonia, at least. Perhaps others. It brings back memories.

When she was training at that camp, after she met Athena. The other girls judged her. For being the daughter of a god, for having a powerful parent but being so weak on her own. She had gifts yes, powers over water. But she was an oceanid. A nymph. She was a nature spirit, not a goddess.

Many of the other girls at that camp were nature spirits too, but none of them had a god for a parent. The one thing she had, the one thing that set her apart, was her skill with a spear. One to rival even that of a goddess of war. She was proud of it, so very proud. But her joy was stolen from her, in that sparring match.

She can never get it back as it was, not when sparring sends her into a panic. She tips her head up to the sky, glaring. Zeus won't be looking down at her, of course. She's sure of that. He doesn't even know where she is. And he won't, unless she gives some sort of indication. There is a voice from behind her, the words guarded.

"Do you have a problem?"

Pallas blinks, turning to look at the speaker. It's the Lieutenant, her blue eyes hard in a way that unnerves Pallas and sends a cold chill down her spine. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Is there a reason you're glaring at the sky?"

Pallas shrugs. "Anger. That's the simplest one. I'm angry at Zeus. I have been, for a long time."

The girl raises an eyebrow. "Did he do something to you to warrant this? Or does this come from his general douchebaggery?"

Pallas snorts. "I think I like you." Her expression sobers though, a moment later. "He killed me."

"Do you mean my father tried to kill you? Or did you end up being turned into something, like I was turned into a tree?"

Pallas opens her mouth to answer the first question, but then the second registers in her brain. She lifts a hand. "I'm sorry, you were turned into a tree? Why?"

"You know the pine tree at Camp Half-Blood? The one on the hill, with the golden fleece. When I first arrived at camp, I was too slow to avoid being killed by monsters. To preserve me, my father turned me into a tree. I was stuck like that until Percy and Annabeth brought back the fleece to save me after my tree was poisoned."

Pallas grimaces. "By the Styx, that must have been rough. Although, I have not actually been to Camp Half-Blood."

"I'll unpack that later. But did you have a similar experience?"

Pallas shakes her head. "Ummm, no. When I say he killed me, I mean it literally. Well, Thene was holding the weapon, but it was through his actions that I was killed."

"Then how-"

"Oh, that's a long, complex story. For now, let's just say I was reborn and retained my memories of my past. Which does make having two godly fathers a bit awkward."

"Who were you?"

Pallas flashes the girl a bright smile. "Didn't you hear my name?"

"Pallas? Wait, you mean you're the Pallas? The one Athena grew up with?" Pallas grins at her and nods. "Well I suppose that is motive enough to hate him. Did you say you were reborn? As whom?"

Pallas tilts her head back, trying to remember her other name. She hasn't really used it since that first week, so she's losing the memory of it. Or . . . she was, until she ate the apple.

"I was reborn as Nadia Pallas Arien, daughter of Poseidon."

"You're Percy's sister?! Why didn't he tell me? And how did my father take the oath being broken by Poseidon for a second time?"

"Well . . . Percy only found out about me recently. And actually, the oath wasn't broken again. I was born just before it was made and put in stasis to protect me. I believe Percy was actually the one to find me again, though I wasn't conscious for that."

"You were in stasis for sixty years?"

"I was, and I lost over a decade of my human life because of it."

Artemis' Lieutenant places a hand over her mouth. "How old were you when you went in?"

"Two, I think."

"I'm sorry."

Pallas furrows her brow. "What for? It's not your fault, and not having memories of this life actually helped me retain my memories of my past."

Pallas fingers her bracelet, her hands buzzing once more. The girl's gaze drops to the bracelet and then back up again. "Do you want to spar?"

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What do you think of this? Did you like the interaction? What will happen next? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~ Goddess of Fate, signing out