Mariana

Chapter 8

Challenges are present anywhere you go, face it with confidence.

VIII - Atlas

~~~

In just a blink, a day passed by. It's now the day when Mariana, together with her brothers will meet the other children of Poseidon - their half-siblings.

"Are you sure it's a good move to meet them? We might go to war with these siblings of ours," Chrysaor remarked not because of fear - well, he may be fearing something, and that is if they'll create chaos, Ares will find out that he is doing a bad thing.

Mariana chuckled. After that peaceful night she had, she's been in a good mood. "We don't have a choice, do we? It's better to know who our enemies are rather than fighting without knowing a single foe."

"Mariana's right, Chrysaor. Let us ready ourselves as we will be heading to the main dining hall per the head maid's instructions." Pegasus said while fixing his own clothes.

The brothers are wearing their prince-y outfit outlined with gold - real gold. They both look majestic. Pegasus in his deep blue and Chrysaor in his cyan one. Mariana, on the other hand, is wearing a simple Greek-styled blue dress which has different colored pearls on it's hem. The dress is flowy and Mariana is feeling comfortable wearing it.

After fixing their selves, a maid knocked. "Your highnesses, it's time for you to go to the dining room. They're all waiting for you." The maid outside said.

The three of them looked at each other and nodded. It's time for them to stand proud as their mother's offspring.

They went out the room and followed the maid to the dining room. Not long after, they arrived there. Mariana's face turned sour as she seen Poseidon sitting on the main chair of the dining. On his right side is Amphitrite and on the right side is his eldest son, Atlas. Only Atlas was there as he is the representative of his siblings.

"You're all here, come and seat." Poseidon commanded. They sat down as per his command. But before sitting down, Mariana threw a deadly glare to her father and Atlas saw it.

"What the hell you're doing? Glaring at father like that is a great sin punishable by death!" Atlas exclaimed.

Mariana just rolled her eyes. It irritates her that Atlas is such a follower.

"I don't really care about that father of yours," she answered flatly. The rage within Atlas is starting to boil up. One wrong move and he will explode.

Upon watching this situation, Amphitrite heaved a sigh. She doesn't want any chaos in the dining room.

"Stop," she commanded. "Atlas, control your emotions."

"But mother--"

"No buts. You are in front of your father. Don't act like a kid," Amphitrite nagged. 

Atlas got silent. He can't fight his own mother. He glared at the three. Gritting his teeth in annoyance and anger.

Mariana just stared at him. She's having a great time annoying Atlas, the eldest of her oh-so-called siblings.

Atlas is not in his usual self. Atlas is strong, both his physique and conviction. He is close to Amphitrite whom he respects in high regard although she's not his real mother. His mother is a mortal woman named Cleito. Because of Poseidon's rule that no mortal mother of his sons shall enter Atlantis or even set foot to the castle, Atlas and his other brothers that were born by a mortal entered Atlantis by themselves without a mother. Yet, Amphitrite became a mother of them all even though they're born out of wedlock.

Atlas is serious and he somehow loves his family. He is a great leader to his brothers. He is the first in line to be the successor of the throne since he's the oldest, if Mariana's out of the frame.

"Bring in the food," Amphitrite ordered the maids that's on standby in the dining room.

The maids make haste as they go outside the room and fetch the foods. They then serve it to the long table. It was a feast! Mariana can't help but widen her eyes. There's just five of them sitting around the table but the food is enough for a whole city to eat. There's meat, seafoods, and mortal foods in front of them.

After all the foods are served, the table is packed. 

"Let's eat," Poseidon said in a straight tone. 

As Poseidon, Amphitrite, and Atlas began to get food for them to eat, Mariana and her brothers also do so. As much as they hate the idea of them being there, eating with the person they hate the most, they have no choice because they don't want to die in hunger. Also, it's free food!

Silence engulfed them as they eat. Even the cutleries created no sound. No one talked not until Poseidon broke the silence.

"Atlas, where are your brothers now?" He asked as he wipe his mouth with the napkin.

Atlas swallowed a mouthful of food before talking. "They're out for their usual training. They are hunting sea monsters - well, except for Rhanz, he's in his own training room doing his usual morning training."

"What specific sea monster is it that they're hunting?" Chrysaor asked. He can't keep his silence. He's curious as ever. 

Mariana looked at Chrysaor with a 'why-did-you-ask' look. Even Pegasus is cursing Chrysaor. They really don't want to get connected to the family's affairs and now, they're somehow building it.

Atlas looked at Chrysaor as well. With his serious face he asked, "Why ask? Do you hunt?"

"They will be," Poseidon answered. "They're an addition to the pack Atlas. The three of them are born from the same mother."

Atlas looked at them with a bit of remorse. He doesn't like the idea of new people - no, demigods into the family. For him, they will cause chaos in the brethren just like Rhanz, the little boy who can foresee the future. It's just half a year since he lived in the kingdom and throughout the year, he caused quite a chaos because of his ability. Atlas had a hard time helping Rhanz - the youngest of them all in controlling his ability. 

"What's their deal, father?" Atlas asked, still staring at the three.

"They will undergo a test, the usual test you and your brothers do to test your strengths. After this meal and when your brothers come home from their hunt, we will go to the training field." Amphitrite said after she took a sip of wine from her glass.

Mariana, on the other hand, creased her forehead. She knew that they will be undergoing some kind of challenges but she didn't expect it to happen so soon. Well, early or not, it don't matter to her. As long as the time of their stay will be faster, that's the most important thing to her. 

Mariana continued eating still thinking of her mother. 

'Mother, please wait for a little bit.' she said silently.

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Atlas - In Greek mythology, Atlas  is the son of the sea god Poseidon, and he would become the first king of Atlantis. His mother is a mortal named Cleito.

Cleito - She is the mortal mother of Atlas. She actually lived at the island of Atlantis before it submerged.

Rhanz - He's a character that's not based in mythology. The author added one more child of Poseidon (hahaha).

Source

https://archive-of-the-celestial-han-empire.fandom.com/wiki/Atlas,_son_of_Poseidon

https://www.hellenicaworld.com/Greece/Mythology/en/CleitoDaughterOfEuenor

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hi everyone, I'm really sorry for being a late uploader of updates. I'm quite busy these days. I was really surprised that Mariana have hit 1k+ of reads. I'm overwhelmed and happy. Thank you so much for reading this story. I'll make sure to make this story a masterpiece for all of you. Also, please pardon the grammatical errors and typographical errors that you've read and will read. This story is not built for perfection. 

Please continue supporting and reading this story. Thank you everyone and God bless you always. Have a great time! Lovelots everyone!