End of the Line

#37 - "Frank's Proposal Speech"

Chapter 37 - "Frank's Proposal Speech"
published: Wednesday, 9 October 2019

"No, cereal is the obvious choice for breakfast, why are you..."

Annabeth groaned internally as she slumped further into the couch. Hazel, who was sitting next to her, snickered under her breath.

Piper was getting lectured by Demeter about what she should be feeding Jasper. The goddess seemed to insist that cereal was the best form of nutrition for newborn babies, while Piper tried to explain that Jasper didn't age like immortal babies, and couldn't eat solids yet.

Annabeth was still getting her head around the fact that Piper and Jason had a baby. She hadn't even known her friend was pregnant when she'd left for Tartarus, so coming back to see her in labour was quite the shock.

Hades entered the conversation with Demeter, giving Piper a chance to slip away and sit down on Annabeth's other side.

Annabeth eyed the two gods warily. Even though they'd been stuck together for five years, they still argued a whole lot. She was a little worried that, with four gods on the ship, small disagreements over breakfast or colours might result in all of them going up in flaming supernovas.

Annabeth heard someone calling her name, and she looked up to see her mother standing by the steps and beckoning for her. Confused, Annabeth approached her mother.

"You need to talk to me?" she voiced questioningly.

Athena was wearing a pair of Annabeth's jeans and a t-shirt. With her hair in a ponytail, Annabeth couldn't believe how normal she looked.

She cut right to the chase. "Perseus informed me of your newfound...powers."

Annabeth swallowed down a sour taste. Of course, he did. She recalled the boy in her dream who'd died as a result of his powers.

"They're dangerous," her mother warned. "They are rare amongst my demigod children, but they kill those whose physical brains are not strong enough to hold their minds."

"Well, they haven't killed me," Annabeth reminded. "And the exhaustion I used to get is wearing off."

"They haven't killed you yet," Athena corrected. "It starts off well, but then it deteriorates. I can't—" The goddess hesitated. "I can't watch you die. You are the one child whom I have been able to warn. Please, take heed of the others' deaths."

"I could be the first one, mother," Annabeth insisted. "No one thought I would be able to  recover your statue, but I did." She raised her eyebrows and gave her mother a pointed look.

Athena pursed her lips. "I regret that you have inherited my stubbornness too," she sighed. "If I can't dissuade you from using them, perhaps I can teach you how to..." she hesitated. "Control them."

Annabeth felt her eyes widen instantaneously. Her mind whirled with the possibilities. It was an added advantage to the demigods; small, but at least it was something. If she could scale up her powers — maybe with some invention — Hephaestus and Leo could help her with it —

"Don't get too ahead of yourself," Athena interrupted knowingly. Annabeth blushed lightly. "My main concern at the moment is keeping you alive. You can't save the world if you're dead, Annabeth."

She scanned the deck, eyeing the rest of the demigods warily. "Is there anywhere on the ship where your friends wouldn't be put in imminent danger?"

Annabeth swallowed back her disbelief. Powers, a new teacher, what was happening?

"Uh, yeah," she managed to stammer out. "The stables, I guess? No one goes down there." Discreetly, Annabeth clenched and unclenched her hands repeatedly. She could feel the urge to use her powers already.