𝕚𝕧𝕪; annabeth chase

vii.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

the first thing that maddie sees is the tide.

it washes up gently onto the sand, brushing its foamy edges like paintbrush striking its first brushes on a canvas. it is peaceful on the beach, the sun peaking out from the horizon.

"it will not work," a voice behind her speaks, and maddie turns. standing there, robe fluttering in the breeze, is ariadne. maddie feels warm at the sight of her again, having missed her godly friend.

maddie opens her mouth to speak, but before she can, a deep voice erupts from the sea.

"when have the fates even been mistaken?" maddie turns again, this time met with the sight of her father, standing at waist-height in the water. his trident sits in his hand, and he looks ready for battle.

ariadne frowns. "there has to be some other way. you're sure there is only one child of hades and zeus?"

poseidon shakes his head. "it's . . . complicated. but in the end, there only one child of each alive. there is no way out of this, no matter how much i want there to be."

"maddie will never tell percy, i hope you realize that," ariadne says, and maddie is surprised at the level of pain in her voice. "she'll take her own life before she even lets him consider taking his."

the god of the seas looks down, watching the waves for a moment. his expression is hard to read. finally, he takes a long breath and looks up at ariadne again. "i have watched my children step in front of the line of fire time and time again, just so the other is safe. i do not think this time will be any different, however—"

his voice breaks, and he stops for a moment. "however fatal it shall be."

ariadne swallows. "have you known their whole lives? that they were being raised as pigs for slaughter?"

"no, of course not," poseidon says. "apollo only told me last summer. apparently the prophecy had been lost, for eons. of course there was always that other prophecy, the one i feared may be referencing maddie . . . but i am no longer concerned by that."

he glances back, at the rippling waters. "i cannot stay for long. my palace is under attack, and amphitrite cannot hold it forever."

ariadne frowns. "i don't get how you're so calm about this! don't you understand that the weight of olympus hangs on your daughters shoulders, and the only way to save it is by sacrificing herself? i know all about the difficulty of father-daughter relationships, trust me, but . . . gods, this is maddie we're talking about."

there is silence between the two gods for a moment, the only sound being the rustle of the warm breeze and the rippling waves on the shore. maddie eyes her father carefully. she sees his glistening skin, the sun hitting it at an angle that illuminates his godly features, his faint smile lines, his eyes matching percy's perfectly. that was one thing that had always irked maddie. how come she hadn't inherited either of her parent's eye colors? 

poseidon looks up, and maddie is startled to realize that his eyes are glistening. 

"of course i care, ariadne," he says. "i despise myself for getting so close to my children, for caring for them so much . . . it kills me to know that one of them cannot exist. i know i would very well let olympus crumble in on itself if that meant i could save them both, but . . . you know how my brother is. but the fact that my daughter is willing to give herself up . . . it's the mark of a true hero, and i couldn't be prouder."

maddie inhales sharply at her father's praise. 

ariadne sighs, her dark hair floating up off her shoulders slightly. her eyes scan the horizon, as if searching for answers. "i've helped her as best as i can."