Percy Jackson and The Sands Of Time

| Chapter 16 || Hell Hath No Fury Like a Titan King Slapped Across the Face |

Hello, Readers! This chapter is longer than the last one. We hope you like it.

~CSP2708~

*Dylan_Walts*

| Chapter 16 |

Hell Hath No Fury Like a Titan King Slapped Across the Face

Just when I thought I was done randomly appearing and disappearing, it happened again. I was in a different room, yet again without my body, which I guess I should be used to by now, even though it's still the weirdest thing in the world - like waking up to find that you weren't actually at school with no pants. Though I guess in this case, I was the opposite. (no legs equals no pants)

It didn't really matter that I didn't have a body in this new room, because it was so dark that even if I did, I wouldn't have been able to see it. Compared to the drafty throne room, it was small and cozy, with long, high windows that didn't really do anything, because they were far too narrow to let in light or air. In other words, there was no reason that they should be there, but who was I to judge other people's architectural tastes? I'll leave that to Wise Girl.

Darn. Shouldn't have thought of Annabeth. My heart quivered in my chest as her smile flashed across my mind's eye. Why was I like this? Hurry, find something to distract me...

The walls were made of the same black glass, so I guessed that I was still in the Black Castle - Kronos' castle. It was still as dark and spooky as ever, firstly, because of who it belonged to, but also because the torches that lined the room did nothing in the way of lighting the space. The flames were green - and not a nice green, either; they were the gross blue-green that you'd expect to find on the sandwich that you forgot about in your locker over the winter break.

Whaaaaa!

Despite not having feet, I nearly jumped out of my non-skin. My consciousness ballooned toward the ceiling, then slowly dropped again as I cast my gaze toward the source of the sound. In the gloom, I could see a bed. There was a woman sitting up against the pillows - which were more mountain than pillow, and obviously weren't stuffed with feathers. They were more like piles of rocks with small square sheets tossed over them, but the woman didn't seem to be in any discomfort - beyond the sheen of sweat that glowed across her face.

Her face resembled that of Leto's; it was an expression that I recognized. She'd just given birth. Once again, it seemed that the Fates had smiled down on me because I hadn't had to witness it. I nearly gave a sigh of relief. I was so not ready for that. (I probably won't be until I'm actually old enough to be a father. As of now, I'm not.)

I approached carefully, not sure if she could see me or not. She didn't make any moves, so I safely appeared at her side, looking down at the baby in her arms. No offence to the woman, but the baby - despite being newly born - was much better looking than her. In school, I heard that babies were supposed to be very ugly when they were first born, but I couldn't believe that looking down at this baby. It - I couldn't tell since it was wrapped in a blanket - wasn't at all a wrinkly pink mess like the Health teachers told you.

"So, this is to be the first of the gods."

I jumped again. Maybe I should be more spatially aware. I blame not having a body. I turned to see Kronos emerge from the shadows like some kind of wraith. With his robes and scythe, I could've easily mistaken him for the grim reaper - maybe that was where the myth started. Some old guy probably saw Kronos go out for a walk and was like "Ah! That guy is so scary! He's probably here to kill me!" then everyone started thinking it.

"Yes." Rhea - because obviously she was Rhea, mother of the gods - spoke softly.

Kronos glared down at the child like it carried the plague. That was true, in a way. He took yet another step closer, hovering over us ominously. Hestia was sobbing as his form darkened the room, but then, all of a sudden, she wasn't. Her sobs just...halted.