AMANTI, nico di angelo

XVII. to the first woman who loved me

0017. | TO THE FIRST
WOMAN WHO LOVED ME

Sitting across the table from his very own mother was quite a surreal experience. It was quite selfish, especially because he was one of many children, but he felt closest to his mother as being completely her. He wasn't like Deimos and Phobos who were part Ares. Or Hermaphroditus who was part Hermes. Or even Eryx, his and Percy's shared brother. He was completely her and that made them bonded in a way his siblings could never be.

          So sitting there didn't feel well deserved like Annabeth's meetings with Athena had. It felt expected because they were equal. Equal in their species, their bodies, their blood - equal in their love for each other.

          "I feel so silly being overdressed like this," she broke their silence, gesturing to her couture outfit that Vela thought was actually very nice but bit his tongue, letting her talk. He didn't want to interrupt and make it weird; he had to savour this time with her. "I just wanted to make a good impression, I suppose." Vela smiled at her. He liked how she was being honest. He also liked how their voices were the same, that crisp English accent that had got him nicknamed Queen Victoria but in her presence it just made him proud.

          "Me too." He admitted. "It'd been so long, I figured you wouldn't want to see me." Her eyes widened in horror.

          "Oh, honey, no!" She gaped as if it were the most awful thing he could've said to her and if it weren't for the fact that they were being honest, he kind of wished he hadn't said anything. "Nothing of the sort! I just..." she was searching for the words. "I was afraid."

           "Afraid?" He queried, seeing his teacup filling with a pink liquid that smelled like tea. She nodded, waving a hand over herself and her dress and shoes shimmered, turning into a loungewear set though her hair and makeup was still impeccable.

           "Yes - afraid." She sipped her tea and he did the same (it tasted amazing). "It was such risky business letting you swap yourself for Miss di Angelo, well, after two thousand years, I was worried you were angry at me."

          "Why would I be angry?" He had an idea why, maybe to do with the fact that she hadn't told him anything about himself, had placed a block in his mind, and refused to tell him he was a god. Yeah, maybe that.

          "You've got to understand, Vela," he liked how she said his name like she was cherishing each syllable. "It's so hard. There's only so much I can tell you..."

          "I can keep a secret." He promised softly and she couldn't help but smile. "Tell me from the beginning."

           "Well after you were born, you were so lonely in the sky. You prayed every night for a body and to be able to touch the ground - it broke my heart to deny you it but Zeus forbade it. He said we needed to wait, now I know why. It's why I've given you that wall in your mind. To sift your memories. You have the recollection of every action and word of the last two thousand years, if I had let you hear it all immediately, it would've torn your mind apart so quickly you wouldn't have been able to take a breath before you died. I couldn't chance that. Not ever.