The Fate of Olympus | Reynabeth [✓]

8. ⚔ Reyna, Part I

Author's Note: This Reyna chapter was also too long, so I split it into two parts.
Thank you for reading!

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Although she was pretending to sleep, Reyna watched the other passengers and airline staff carefully to make sure that none of them were monsters in disguise. No one stood out to her, but that didn't mean they were safe.

Reyna didn't relax until they reached their cruising altitude at 30,000 feet. She looked around at the other passengers. None of them were paying attention. The woman next to Reyna, in the aisle seat, was asleep.

"Reyna," Annabeth said. "I'm ready to talk about the quest."

"Okay," said Reyna. "Right here? On an airplane surrounded by people?"

"I know how to manipulate the Mist," said Annabeth.

"Right, of course you do. You're perfect."

"The Fates are cruel," Annabeth put in. "Everyone knows that."

"Lots of people think that. It's an opinion, not a fact."

"Well, okay. Lots of people think the Fates are cruel."

Reyna frowned. "The Fates are harsh, but they're fair."

"I agree that they're harsh," said Annabeth. "They're definitely not fair. Is it fair that children have to die because three thousand year old disagreements haven't been resolved yet?"

"What's your quest about, Annabeth?"

"I want you to accept the premise that the Fates are cruel first."

"Are we talking about the Fates or the gods?" asked Reyna, the annoyance growing in her voice. She looked around at the other passengers to make sure they weren't listening. "You started talking about the Fates and now we're talking about Olympians sending their kids on quests."

"They work together."

"Well, I think that the gods are powerful because the Fates have deemed them worthy. The gods are fair rulers."

"Reyna, are you saying that because you're afraid of the gods or is it what you really believe?"

Gods, Annabeth was annoying. Not in a genuinely annoying way, though, it was kind of endearing. Kind of. "I honestly believe this. I've met my fair share of gods, Annabeth. You know? They're good."

"We think that the gods are powerful because they wield powers of nature over us that can kill us. Their powers are derived as a result of their birth. They got their powers simply by being born. They didn't have to earn them through merit."

It took some time for Reyna to translate Annabeth's argument into English: the gods are powerful because of their superhuman powers; that's not fair. She countered, "The Fates are the ones who gave them their powers. So the Fates have deemed them worthy of power."

"If that's the case, maybe the Fates are not good judges of character. Many gods are evil. For example, Zeus committed, um...violent...crimes...against women repeatedly. He's never lost a wink of sleep over those crimes. He's still in charge of Mount Olympus. Tell me, Reyna, is that fair?"

"He did those things thousands of years ago, Annabeth. He's changed since then. We shouldn't punish people for crimes that they committed a long time ago."

"Okay, but we've empowered a violent criminal and put him in charge of Mount Olympus. Is that really what you want?"

"He's not a violent criminal anymore."