[Percy Jackson] φονιάς (Foniás)

Chapter 1| Everything good has a price.

Chapter 1| Everything good has a price.

*Tartarus*

|Percy Jackson|

I tapped my foot impatiently against the white tiles of the palace's throne room, waiting for my comrades to arrive. Beside me, Nyx watched me carefully, as if expecting me to snap, and Erebus looked rather bored, but I knew he was as irritated as I was.

"Son, calm down. They will arrive soon.", the melodic voice of my mother warned me. I looked to my left and there she was, with her signature sympathetic smile. Her brown curly hair rested on her shoulders, and her blue eyes were as sparkling as ever. If there was one thing that I loved about my mother's smile, it would be the way it would lighten up the room and bring comfort into everyone standing in it.

"Listen to mother, Percy. It has only been an hour, they are on their way back", Nyx added. I sighed defeated, collapsing on my throne. To make things worse, my father wasn't here either, so there was no-one here to make fun of. Surely, Erebus had a humorous remark to make every now and then, but even I could tell he was not in the mood.

While my mother and Nyx engaged themselves onto a conversation, I found myself zoning out. We had less than an hour now before we had to go back to that place.

I should start with explanations, I believe.

My name is Perseus Jackson and I used to be a demigod, son of Poseidon. That before I was cast out of my own home, Camp Half-Blood, a specialized camp for demigods like me. They ranged from sons of the Olympian gods to minor gods. Being son of one of the Big Three meant having a great amount of power, but I never liked to brag about it.

A few years ago, right after an important war took place, I was accused of crimes I didn't do. Like setting cabins on fire, destroying the camp's equipment and flooding the territory of dryads, among others. However, the actual criminal was my half brother, Jax, also son of Poseidon, who hated my guts since he arrived to camp. One by one my friends left me, believing the fake rumors that my half brother spread about me.

Eventually, the belief of me working for the enemy rose. In that moment, everyone seemed to have forgotten that my fatal flaw was personal loyalty. I even swore on the river Styx (kind of like a blood oath) that I was innocent of all those crimes, but people still couldn't believe me, saying that I have somehow managed to alterate my words.

Next thing I know, I was teleported to Olympus for trial, to define my destiny and punishments for my crimes. A few days before, when the hunters of Artemis had visited, Thalia was attacked, and word soon spread, all fingers pointing at me.

Did they forget that Thalia was my cousin and that I loved her dearly? Fortunately, she did not die, but was badly injured. She tried to defend me, saying that I wasn't guilty and that the true attacker was Jax, but Riptide was found in the scene, so it was almost impossible for them to believe her.

I remembered all their expressions. They showed disgust, anger, disappointment. Thalia and Nico stood for me, wearing concerned and pitiful faces, while Apollo also tried to defend me. Keyword: tried. Him being the god of truth could tell if I was lying or not, and I certainly wasn't. But Zeus and the rest of the gods were so blinded by rage that they didn't hear a single word he said.

When my punishment was decided, I couldn't help but feel.. numb. I would have preferred death rather than being sentenced to Tartarus for the rest of my pathetic life, but the vote was made. I put on an expressionless mask on my face, showing my indifference to the gods, even though deep inside I knew I was screwed.