Who I Truly Am

Ch. 30

Annabeth POV:

Something was going on. I need to talk to the gods to see what they know, what they'll let me know, anyway. I'm not going to take no for an answer, not after all the shit we've been through. If they have plans for us and don't give us anything to work off of, will only make it more complicated for all of us.

I open the doors to the throne room. All the gods are present, in the middle of a meeting. I touch my new knife, a habit I've already developed, to make sure it's still there. The Olympians all sit tall, towering above me. I clear my throat, interrupting whatever argument, sorry, debate, they'd been having. A few gods look relieved, that someone had put a stop to whatever little thing they'd been arguing about.

"Daughter," Athena is the first to speak, looking down at me. I give a short bow to everyone, probably too short for their liking, but they have things to get back to and so do I. "To what do we owe the pleasure."

"Well, we're getting settled in up here as our temporary base. Some of the older campers, including myself, are still processing the loss of Camp Half-Blood," I take a deep breath, not letting their stares or boredom get to me. "We were wondering what steps of action you've made to prepare for the war with, Tartarus, with Nyx as his accomplice."

"Why are you needing to be informed? Our plans are not for your ears."

"If we had an idea of your plans, we could plan accordingly to reinforce Olympus."

"That won't be necessary," Zeus said.

"Why?"

"Because we have a plan that involves you all. You needn't do any planning yourselves."

I take a deep breath, they had plans? Involving us? And no intention of telling them? Mother sent me a cautious look, silently telling me not to inquire what said plans are, so I push back my curiosity and nod respectfully, taking my leave. As much as they want to, telling me that they have it covered doesn't comfort me, it only wants me to go over my plans again, creating more possible situations and outcomes, with and without the gods involved. Three wars in three years, and they still want to keep us in the dark.

I push my frustrations aside as I make my way to Hestia's temple. Everyone has seemed to relax, well, as well as anyone could relax accounting for the last few days, settling in is a better term for that. I find the Athena cabin settled on the second floor of the temple, the part that seemed to be manipulated into having more space than shown from the outside. Although, I did design each temple so they had more room than one would think, so I can't be too sure. My cabin's settled in one of the many rooms on the second floor, the extra space taken up by books and maps that my siblings had managed to save before we got locked inside by the Phlegethon.

Camp Half-Blood was destroyed, but no one was letting the tragedy lose morale, if anything, a lot of campers were more determined than before. The camp meant something to everyone, and destroying it may have hurt us now, but in the long run, it'll hurt them worse. I was already trying to come up with some layouts Camp could have when the war is over, the designs the camp could have. I've tried to push those thoughts away, but it was relaxing to think about, in a way. Having another thing to focus on when the upcoming war becomes too much.

"Annabeth! How'd the meeting go?"

I shrug, "Not as well as I'd hoped, Percy."

Percy's smile turned into a look of concern. "Why? What's wrong?"

"The Olympian's had no interest sharing their plans so we could accommodate our own plans to fit," I take a deep breath, pushing away the burst of anger that comes over me.

"Oh," Percy tilts his head to the side and looks like he's about to say something before shaking his head. "So what's our plan then?"

"I was thinking of using a similar setup to the last time we fought around here, but I've also gathered placements for the best positions around Olympus, there are secret entrances to all the buildings, entrances to the roofs, perfect for archers, and–"

"Hang on, Wise Girl," Percy smiles. "You're talking so fast you're giving me a headache. I actually need to speak to Hestia soon, so you could tell me later if you want. Or, maybe Malcolm, he looked like he wanted to talk to you earlier, probably about the note you gave to me to give him."

"Ok," I sigh, remembering earlier. "About Thalia . . ."

"I- she's fine. Will looked over her."

"Ok, good. Does she . . . will she get her memories back?"

"I think she will, maybe you should go see if she's awake? I set her down near Artemis' temple, figured it help her heal faster."

"Yeah, I'll see how she's doing. Although, leabing her alone probably wasn't the spartest thing to do."

"Yeah, sorry. Anyway, I'm gonna go catch up with Hestia now. She's been meaning to speak to me," Percy points over his shoulder with his thumb before turning around and walking towards the throne room. I take a deep breath, I'd nearly forgotten about earlier. I turn around, setting my path towards Thalia. He really shouldn't have left her alone.

When I reach Artemis' Temple, Thalia is nowhere to be found outside. I hesitate to go inside, would Lady Artemis mind if I walked in?

Order POV

By the time I get to the Hearth, I'd almost forgotten what I wanted to talk to Hestia about. I sit down across from her, staring into the fire until Hestia asked me why I came to visit her.

"I can't remember," I shrug, "I think it was important, but I dont have a clue why I went over here. How are you doing, Lady Hestia?"

Hestia glanced around before answering, "Better than one of the greatest primordials, apparently, Order."

"I . . . it was important," I stare into the fire, trying to think of what I was going to say. Hestia sits there peacefully, poking at the Hearth to keep it lit. It's dimmer than normal. "Is the Hearth ok?"

"It's been weakening, it has been for a while. Our family's cracking, Order, and I'm not sure if we'll be able to fix the cracks."

"You can never really fix cracks can you?" I sigh. "What we can do is fill them and hope the filling doesn't crack it more."

"Wise words, Order," Hesta gives me a smile. "Maybe thats a realization we all need to make."

/\/\/\/\

1127 Words

2 months later and the chapters finally done

I've been busy lol

Thank y'all for reading!!!

Love Ya!!