"you could be the king, but watch the queen conquer"
-
Rosalyn Carter is the daughter of Aphrodite and the last thing Percy expected to find at Camp Half-Blood.
But he wouldn't want to fight deadly battles with anyone else.
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Percy parted ways with Annabeth and Grover when they reached New York. He sent them to give Chiron the news, and he took a taxi for Manhattan. For the Empire State Building.
He entered and walked right up the guard at the front desk, "Six hundredth floor."
The guard didn't so much as glance up from the book he was reading as he said, "No such floor, kiddo."
"I need an audience with Zeus."
"Sorry?" He said, wearing a vacant smile.
"You heard me," Percy insisted.
"No appointment, no audience, kiddo. Lord Zeus doesn't see anyone unannounced."
Percy slipped off the backpack and yanked the zipper open. The metal cylinder nestled inside glinted in the lights of the lobby.
"Oh, I think he'll make an exception."
The guard's face went deathly pale, and he whispered, "That isn't..."
The serious look on Percy's face and his rough appearance kept the guard from finishing his sentence. He thrust a key card at Percy from a drawer in the desk.
"Insert this in the security slot. Make sure nobody else is in the elevator with you."
Percy rushed for the elevator and did as he was told. It went up and up and up, before finally opening.
A narrow walkway over Manhattan stood in front of him. He blinked hard at the sight of the large mountain, littered with mansions and terraces. It was a shiny Ancient Greek city, or at least what one might have looked like hundreds of years ago.
He climbed the main road toward the bug palace at its peak. Steps led to a central courtyard, and there was a throne room beyond that.
Twelve thrones were arranged in a pattern that looked exactly like the cabins at Camp Half-Blood. They all sat empty except for two.
On trembling legs, Percy approached. He knelt at the fisherman-style throne and bowed his head.
"Father."
To his left, Zeus spoke, "Should you not address the master of this house first, boy?"
"Peace, brother," Poseidon dismissed. "The boy defers to his father. This is only right."
The two gods bickered while Percy's blood pumped in his ears. He felt like he couldn't breathe.
"Perseus," Poseidon finally said. "Look at me."
Percy met eyes with his father and found nothing there. It seemed he wasn't sure what to think of him.
"Address Lord Zeus, boy. Tell him your story."
So Percy told him everything. He told him every detail of their quest as it had happened, before taking out the metal cylinder and placing it at Zeus's feet.
