A Thousand and One Nights (a Percy Jackson AU)

The Spell of Her Stories

Percy couldn't explain why it happened. All he knew was that he had to know how the story ended. Annabeth had chosen his favorite genre of tales and the fact that she threw in unfamiliar names made the stories more enticing.

As he drew his ox-hide blanket over him, he listened to Annabeth finish her tale. "Ophion and Eurynome were the king and queen of the Titans," she said. "Kronos was enraged that he — the one who had done the dreaded deed of slaying Ouranus — had been unrewarded. He and his wife Rhea went to the palace and challenged the king and queen of the Heavens to a wrestling match."

"A wrestling match?" Percy echoed, thinking of how his tutors had trained him for the Olympic Games.

"Yes," Annabeth said with a faint smile, "a wrestling match. Kronos was matched with Ophion while Rhea wrestled Eurynome. Kronos and Rhea both won their respective matches. Ophion fled their palace, hoping to avoid the same fate as Ouranus, but Rhea had cast Eurynome into Tartarus."

"Did he avoid that fate?" Percy asked.

"Yes, but Kronos's children were not afforded the same luck," Annabeth said.

"He ate all of them except Zeus," Percy recalled.

"Yes, but in some versions Poseidon escaped being cannibalized too," Annabeth said.

"Poseidon is my favorite god," Percy said. "How did he avoid being eaten?"

Annabeth smiled and began her new story. "Kronos was glad to be the king of the Heavens," she said. "Only one thing bothered him. His father, Ouranus, had predicted that any child he bore would overthrow him. When Rhea told Kronos she was pregnant, he panicked. When he was presented with his firstborn, the goddess Hestia, he swallowed her whole. He did the same to his next three children: Demeter, Hera, and Hades."

     "When Rhea was heavily pregnant with Poseidon, she decided to go on a stroll," Annabeth continued. "She was sick of Kronos and she suspected that he rather enjoyed eating her children, which made her furious with him. While she was walking in a meadow, her contractions began. Rhea was gripped with pain, but she dove among a flock of sheep to hide herself from Kronos. She delivered her baby, Poseidon, there and charged a nurse named Arne to watch him."

Percy listened in rapt wonder. This tale troubled him above all others and not just because Kronos had treated his children like sheep. He always wondered why Rhea had not tried to save Hera, Demeter, or Hades. Why had she not simply told Kronos that she had a miscarriage or a false pregnancy? If she was so good at wrestling, then why had she not wrestled with Kronos?

     "Rhea grabbed a horse and presented it to her husband as her fifth child," Annabeth continued. "The horse was eaten. Still, he was suspicious and searched the earth. When he came upon Arne, she refused to tell him of his son's whereabouts. He learned that Rhea was pregnant again and the thoughts of his second son were soon replaced with fears of his coming child."

"Rhea gave birth to Zeus in a cave," Annabeth said. "Gaia assisted her daughter by bringing her bodyguards for the child, as well as a nurse. Finally, she gave Rhea a large stone. Rhea kissed Zeus goodbye on his forehead and took the swaddled stone to Kronos. He swallowed it so quickly that he did not realize what it was."

The sun's light has dimmed now and the blush of sunset was replaced by the inky black sky. The only light now was the pinpricks of light from the stars. Percy realized with surprise that he was tired. He told Annabeth that she must stay a third night before falling asleep, his dreams blissfully forgettable for once.