The Forgotten Children

Just What Happened Thirteen Years Ago?

Fourteen years ago,a prophecy was made. Three children,all girls,would either doom or save the world. A daughter of Athena. A daughter of Poseidon. And a daughter of Apollo. All of them would be set apart in some way. A lot of gods wanted them dead as soon as they were found.

Thirteen years ago,Poseidon came to the underworld,seeking his brother's help. If his other brother,Zeus,found out about the child,he would try to destroy her without a second thought.

With him was a beautiful Asian woman. In her arms was a tiny bundle.

"Brother," Hades acknowledged Poseidon's presence,rising from his throne. "Why have you come?" Although Poseidon and Hades were rivals,Hades didn't really hate his brother. He just preferred the old times when Poseidon hadn't been such an annoying upstart.

The sea god motioned towards the bundle that his companion was carrying,and she shifted it to reveal the face of a sleeping baby.

Hades was curious as to why his brother had brought a child to the underworld. It obviously wasn't for a social visit. But upon closer inspection of the little girl,Hades saw the reason.

Even though the child was obviously Asian,she also had a hint of the sea in her delicate features. She was his brother's child,a child conceived by a breaking of the vow between the three brothers.

The baby's skin was as pale and subtly luminous as the pearls of Poseidon's realm. The little amount of hair she had was soft,and dark black, unlike her mother's rich brown hair. And when she opened her eyes,Hades saw that they were a beautiful, practically glowing sea green. But just a minute later,they shifted into a shade of black that was as dark as her hair,almost purple or blue. "Why-"

"We don't know why that happens," the sea god said grimly.

"What is her name?"

The woman,who had been silent up until that point,spoke at last. "Katrina Seondeok Park . Seondeok to reflect her Korean heritage, and Katrina because that hurricane was another thing her father created." She obviously knew that the child was illegally conceived,and she hated it.

The women left a moment later. It was obvious that she and Poseidon had some previous arrangement. The ruler of the underworld sighed. "You want me to keep her safe here,don't you?"

His brother looked up,startled. "Yes."

"And why should I take in a child that isn't even mine?"

"Well,um,"Poseidon was desperate. "When she is older,she can serve as a consort for one of your children."

And that's all it took for the sea god to give away his daughter. Her protection in a place of death,in exchange for an arranged marriage.
Yeah. You can definitely see where Percy got his seaweed brain from.

Two months later,his niece and nephew, Apollo and Athena,came to him just as Poseidon had. By this time, Persephone had adopted the child,and Hades was actually beginning to become fond of the little girl. Don't tell anybody.

Long story short,Hades ended up adopting two more kids. The daughter of Athena was already three years old,and had unnatural blue-purple streaks in her hair. The strange thing? She was born like that. That's what set her out. The daughter of Apollo seemed pretty normal at first glance since it was dark. But in the light,her hair was dark red,almost purple. Impossible? Yeah, demigods tend to do the impossible.

The three were cared for by Persephone, and Demeter when she visited. But even at such a young age, they were strange. Not only because of their looks,although that was part of it.

No,even their personalities were very distinct. The daughter of Apollo seemed always happy,even though Hades was convinced that she was actually a raging turmoil on the inside. The daughter of Athena was also a very happy baby,though not to the ridiculous extent as the daughter of Apollo. But she also seemed pretty orderly, for an infant at least,and was very curious. And Poseidon's daughter? Well,some days Persephone was convinced that she was one of her husband's children with other women. Maybe even Athena, though how that could have happened, Persephone didn't know. The kid watched everything with unusual, disturbing intelligence. She seemed to be analyzing all the possibilities,and plotting everything in that little head of hers. She also tended to be silent, and didn't smile like the other two, as if she already knew that there were gods that wanted her dead. And remember, this is a kid less than a year old.

In the first few months alone, they succeeded in completely winning Persephone and Demeter over, even though the kids were incredibly destructive for five month olds. How that was possible,no one knew.

Boy,Hades sure had his work cut out for him.