𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐍𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐞 || PJO Fanfic

THIRTEEN

"Me and Athena could never get along. Not then, not now. After a prophecy was issued, the Big Three were banned from having children anymore. However..."

"I fell in love with your mother. She was beautiful, sweet... I loved her so, so much, and we gave birth to you. Athena found out about our affair, and that your mother was pregnant. We had a huge fight, and Athena demanded my child. I gave you to her for a... sort of 'peace offering'. At that time you were a newborn. We agreed not to fight."

"Afterwards... I am your father, Atalanta. Not Neptune, it was never Neptune. You're a Greek demigod, not a Roman demigod. That's why you couldn't fit in in the Twelve Legion, why you liked that way the Greeks fought more. Athena often shifted between her two forms: Greek and Roman, Athena and Minerva. She agreed, upon my request, to send you to Camp Half-Blood when you were old enough. Sure she did, well, she kind of did that. Except she was in her Roman form, Minerva, at that time, and she accidentally sent you to Camp Jupiter."

Poseidon heaved a sigh. I stood there, dumbstruck, as he continued.

"I've been watching you ever since you were small, but I couldn't talk to you, or see you in person. It was part of the deal with Athena that I couldn't talk, speak, or meet you in person. Obviously, I have broken the deal by seeing and talking to you now."

"And... who's my mother? Can I see her?" I asked.

"Ahhh, that's the thing, Atalanta, my daughter." Poseidon said. He gave me a small smile. I felt like the world was spinning, "is... is my mother... is she dead?"

I mean, I've never known her, met her, and she probably agreed to the "peace offering exchange" thing with Athena, too. However, it was kind of hard to imagine my mom to be dead. I felt a huge surge of hollowness inside me. Poseidon looked at me, surprised. "No, no. Your mother sin't dead. Her name... is Sally Jackson."

I stared back at him. Sally? Sally Jackson?! As in the same as Percy Jackson?!

"Your full name... Atalanta... is Atalanta Jackson. Percy Jackson is your twin brother."

WHAT?!! At that moment, my mind exploded. "WHAT?!!" I yelled. Adeline, who I realized was still beside me, put a pale hand on my arm, "milady, calm down--"

"NO! I JUST FOUND OUT PERCY JACKSON IS MY BROTHER! GODDAM IT! ITS PERCY JACKSON!"

Poseidon had this amused face, and I ran towards him. It was hard in the water "GODDAM IT DAD!"

There was a flash, and I ran straight through him. I fell to the floor and found myself on the street. I got up and looked around, bewildered. "What the--" Right at that moment, Poseidon appeared right beside me, smoothing his shirt and flicking off flecks of invisible dust. "Upper East side, Manhattan. You're near the Queensboro Bridge." He waved a hand at a house at the end of the street. "Your mother, Sally Jackson, want to meet her?"

I nodded, "yes."

Poseidon frowned at me when he got to the door. He waved a hand again, and the air filled with the faint smell of sea water. My hair grew back and into its original colour. I assumed my eyes did as well. Poseidon smiled, "much better." then he knocked once, and pushed open the door.

A lady was standing at the door. She had curly,brown, middle-length hair and blue eyes. Looking at her gave me a motherly feel. She smiled at Poseidon, "honey!" I stood behind him like the shy girl I was.

"Atalanta, this is Sally Jackson." Poseidon pulled me in front of him. "Sally, this is... Atalanta Jackson... your daughter."

Sally froze, and slowly turned to me. "What--" I opted for a smile, "um, hi."

I didn't expect what happened next, because right then Sally, my mother, hugged me. Now that I thought about it, I'd never been hugged before, Athena just wasn't the hugging type, and I never had any friends, much less for "them" to hug me.

I felt happy, loved in my mother's arms. Sally backed away and took a good look at me, "Atalanta, I-I'm sorry, I--" I shushed her, "um, it's fine." I totally did not like that a person I just met was apologizing to me. Besides, it was fine. I didn't want to keep thinking about past events. It was in the past, and I wanted to leave it in the past.

I realized that Poseidon had felled silent and I turned around to face him. He had a small frown on his face, and a finger pressed to his ear like he was listening to something. Me and Sally watched him in silence. Suddenly Poseidon's back stiffened.

He turned to me,"Atalanta, I'm afraid you need to go to Camp Half-Blood. Right now."