The Gift of the Lethe

Ghosts of the Past

Athena glances toward the doorway Pallas had gone through. She had said she was fine, but she was still trembling when she went to get some water. She can hear the clinking of ceramic in the other room and the sound of water pouring into something, so Pallas is at least doing what she had said she would. But she can't help but be worried.

When they were sparring her eyes had gone wide with horror, but they were also unseeing. She was pulled somewhere else, and Athena has a pretty good idea of where Pallas went. She shoots a glare at the staff she was using and then sighs. It's an inanimate object. It wasn't the staff itself that bothered Pallas, it was her fighting with Athena.

With another grimace, Athena picks the staff up from the floor and swoops down again for the other. Just as she sets them against the wall, the hairs of her arm stick up as static fills the air along with the low rumble of thunder, faint to her ears. She turns around, raising her eyebrow at the sight of her father standing in the middle of the room.

Athena's voice is carefully calm. "Is there something you want, Father?"

"I've been hearing rumors about you, Athena."

"Oh? What about?"

"You've been playing host to a demigod. A demigod, staying on Olympus for an extended period of time. Does that give you any idea?"

Athena moves to take a step backwards at the expression on her father's face. He's angry, and he won't go easy on her just because she's his favorite child. The tension mounts as she says nothing and he waits for her to speak, staring her down. Athena knows he can't do anything unless she confirms his suspicions, nor does she think he would act without an explanation first, which is more than the rest of her family sometimes gets.

So she is content to stand there in silence for as long as it takes for him to back off, but then the crash of ceramic on stone startles her. Athena whirls around to see Pallas standing in the doorway of the room, her face as white as a sheet. Her wide eyes are fixed on Zeus' face, and it doesn't take Athena more than a cursory glance to see that her tremors have come back in full force.

Athena mutters, "Oh Styx" under her breath.

There is a flurry of motion as Athena catches a glimpse of her father raising his hand. She lunges for Pallas, placing herself as a shield before her just as lightning crackles in Zeus's hand, looking like it will leap toward her in a heartbeat. She doesn't move until Zeus lowers his hand slightly, the lightning disappearing, at least for now. When he does she twists to look at Pallas, biting her lip at the way Pallas hasn't moved a muscle. She's still staring at Zeus in horror and Athena can only guess that the memories are fresh in her mind. She grips onto Pallas' shoulders.

"You're not in danger, you're safe. Can you come back? You're worrying me here."

At the last few words, Pallas blinks and the awareness comes back into her eyes. "I'm sorry."

Athena glares at her father out of the corner of her eye for a heartbeat. "You have nothing to be sorry for. It's my fault that the memories returned today, and just bad luck that he came." Pallas shudders at the mention of Zeus and Athena frowns. "Do you need to go back to the other room?"

Pallas shakes her head. "No. I- I should be fine."

"If you need to leave, just go, alright?"

Pallas nods and Athena turns to her father. Zeus stares at the two of them for a long second before he points at Pallas.

"Who's she?"

Pallas' voice is dry and calm, but Athena can still hear the slight shake to it. "I'm Athena's reincarnated lover."

Zeus' hand clenches, and a flicker of light appears for a moment. When he speaks, his voice is crackling with his distrust. "She's a virgin goddess. She can't have a relationship."

Athena glowers at him. "She's Pallas. Are we done now? Because I don't want to have her around you."

Shock fills his expression at Pallas' name, but it is followed by anger. "Don't be insolent, daughter."

Athena snarls at him, the rage she had bottled down exploding out in such a way that even Ares would cower from it. "You don't want to test me right now, Father. King of the gods or not, father of mine or not, you are on shaky ground."

He snarls right back, their power filling the room. "Have I done something, Athena?"

The next words don't come from Athena, though she had felt them welling up. They come from Pallas, the cry full of raw agony. "You killed me!"

The words shake Athena to the core, and she can see her father stumble backwards. When he regains control of himself, he addresses her directly. "Yet you're alive again, it seems, so what does it matter?"

Athena whirls on him, her eyes daggers. "What does it matter? She was never meant to die. Never. The Fates themselves said it. Yet you- you chose to interfere and destroy everything. Just because she's here now doesn't negate what you've done." Her next words are a whisper, ones she's never said aloud until now, but she doesn't doubt that her father can still hear her. "She's back, but she's mortal. How long will I have her for?"

Zeus stares at Athena for a long moment before he sighs. "I can see I've brought more pain that I thought. But she cannot stay on Olympus."

"If she wants to stay, she stays."

"A mortal cannot stay on Olympus, Athena."

Athena glares at him, but she pauses at the touch of a hand on her arm and looks to Pallas. Her eyes are lined with silver tears, but she gives Athena a familiar look of warning. "I can stay with my father. Don't push him, please."

Athena's gaze flickers to her father again and he frowns. "Three days. If she stays after that . . ."

He trails off with that threat and it fills Athena with a combination of horror and disgust. He knows what he did, and yet he's still going to- to even entertain the thought of hurting Pallas? At the look of loathing she gives him, he just disappears.

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Hi! I know this is a tad early, but I'm on a plane that's about to take off, so I'm not going to be able to post at the normal time. So, rather than post the chapter in the afternoon, I'm just doing it now. I hope you enjoyed it. Also, for the foreseeable future chapters will be posted later than they have been recently. Reason: time zones.

Yes, Zeus is a jerk. This will be consistent. What do you think of Pallas' reaction to Zeus? What about how Athena handled the situation? What do you think is going to happen next? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~ Goddess of Fate, signing out