The Gift of the Lethe

An Oath is Made

Nadia shrieks, spinning around her mother's legs to dart for the door on chubby legs. She stumbles when she reaches it, but strong hands scoop her up. Nadia giggles brightly, running her hands along the stubbly face of the man holding her. Kaia gives her daughter a weary smile and smoothes back her mane of curls before turning her smile to her guest. He is grinning down at their daughter as he sets her on her feet again. Kaia feels her smile start to slip away at the way he hesitates to set the girl down, as if he never wants to let go. It isn't from mere hesitation, it almost has a tinge of desperation to it.

"Po? What's wrong?"

Poseidon sighs and turns sea-green eyes toward her, his smile falling into a frown. "My brothers and I have made an oath, to not have any more demigod children."

Instinctively, Kaia reaches for Nadia and pulls the toddler into the circle of her arms as she crouches to lift the girl up. Nadia burbles against her mother's neck and reaches to touch her cheek. Her green eyes, soft as seafoam, are full of curiosity as she senses her mother's distress. Kaia strokes the girl's midnight hair.

"I'm alright, seadrop." She looks at Poseidon again. "What does this mean for her?"

"Zeus wants her to be taken to Camp Half-Blood to be trained, along with the two children of my brother Hades."

Kaia's eyes widen and she presses Nadia closer against her chest. "She's a toddler! She isn't going anywhere."

"It'll be dangerous, Kaia. If he finds out . . ."

Kaia lifts her chin. "Then so be it. But I am not giving away my two-year-old to be trained to fight."

"Mama angry?"

Kaia tenses for a moment at the sound of the soft voice in her ear. Nadia is staring up at her, her eyes welling with tears that lighten her eyes to the color of a pearl. Kaia winces slightly.

"Seadrop, no. Mama isn't angry at you." She glances at the clock and sags in relief. "It is time for your nap now though."

Nadia bobs her head sagely and Kaia can't help but laugh as she carries her daughter into her bedroom and tucks her into the blankets. Nadia reaches for one of the stuffed animals on the shelf, a navy blue owl. Kaia fetches the owl and hands it to her daughter, watching as Nadia wraps her arms tightly around it and cooes softly.

"Thee, Thee."

Kaia ruffles her daughter's hair. "Can you sleep on your own, or do you want Mama to read to you today?"

Nadia grins. "Own!"

"Okay. I'm going to go talk to Papa, okay?"

Nadia nods. "K."

She squishes herself further into the gray blanket until she looks to be drowning in it and yawns. Kaia smiles and returns to the main room to find Poseidon watching her. She quirks a brow at him.

"What is it, Po?"

"She's strong."

Voice dry, Kaia scoffs. "She shapes stories out of the water in the bathtub. I'm not surprised."

"She does what?"

Kaia sighs and sits on the couch, motioning him to sit beside her instead of standing awkwardly in the little entrance hall like he'd been doing. "Nadia shapes the water into little scenes that tell a story. She loves doing it, but sometimes, there is one story that she can't finish. It's always similar. I don't know how she makes these stories, but she does."

Poseidon frowns. "What story does she not finish?"

Kaia shrugs. "I can never quite see it, but it is always between two people. Battling, perhaps. They move too quickly for me to see what they are doing."

"Why can't she finish it?"

"She always gets scared at the end of it and the water collapses. I can't get her to stop making it, either. It's as if she wants to see it through to the end but can't."

"Have you ever thought about that being something a normal two-year-old wouldn't do? Can't do?"

"The powers, or the intelligence required to create these stories?"

"The second."

Kaia nods, her shoulders slumping. "Of course I have, but what can I do? I'm twenty-four years old, with a daughter who is half god. I can't ask anyone about this kind of thing." There is a thud from elsewhere in the house and Kaia jumps to her feet. "Nadia? Is that you? You should be sleeping." There is no response and Kaia swallows nervously, her heartbeat hammering in her ears. "Is someone there?"

She takes a step just as the sound of pattering feet reaches her ears and Nadia runs into the room carrying a conch shell as big as her head. Kaia groans. That was on a shelf in the bathroom. How did Nadia get to it? She tries to stop her daughter, but Nadia swerves around her to stop in front of Poseidon. She holds the conch shell up to him.

"Papa!"

Poseidon smiles. "I see it, it's a very nice shell."

Nadia says again, "Papa!"

Kaia takes the shell from her daughter's hands and sets it on the coffee table. "Are you not tired, Seadrop?"

Nadia shakes her head. "No sleep."

"Do you want to get Thee and sit out here with us?"

Nadia bobs her head, grinning at her father. She points at the shell again for a heartbeat, and burbles something unidentifiable before spinning off towards the bedroom. Kaia darts after her.

"Nadia, slow down!"

When they return to the living room, Thee clutched to Nadia's chest, Poseidon rises from the couch. "I should go. There is only so long I can stay without attracting my brother's attention."

Kaia sighs. "I understand. Could you tell Amphitrite hello from me?"

Poseidon laughs and nods. "Of course. I don't understand how you two met, or when, but she seems to like you well enough."

Kaia grins. "That's a secret for us to know, and I'm glad she likes me." She glances at Kaia. "Do you want Papa to tell Ampie anything?"

Nadia frowns for a moment before brightening. "Hi Ampie! Tri too."

Poseidon smiles. "I'll tell her. Bye, Nadia."

He gives Nadia a small hug just before he dissolves into nothing, leaving behind a faint mist that smells of the sea. Kaia smiles down at her daughter, hands on her hips.

"You were supposed to be napping, little Seadrop." Nadia pouts at her mother, giving her puppy eyes.  "Don't give me that, it's nap time."

With a huff, Nadia starts to toddle back to the room, leaving her mother to shake her head in fond exasperation before following.

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Welcome to the Gift of the Lethe! I hope you'll enjoy it!

I love baby Nadia. Do you? What do you think of the family interactions? Do you think Nadia was trying to communicate something, or did she just want to give Poseidon the shell? What do you think will happen next? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~ Goddess of Fate, signing out