Percy Jackson and The Council's Army

20. The One Where They Decipher The Prophecy

(Recap: I inhaled the poisonous tartarus air and braced myself for what I was about to say.
"Thalia, Reyna, Annabeth. I know I should've told you this a long time ago, but I wasn't ready then, and I'm sorry for that. But now I am."
"What are you talking about?" Annabeth asked confused.
"This." I said and pulled off my mask.)

For once I'd left all of them speechless at the same time.
"Percy." Thalia breathed. They were staring at me with eyes so wide that I was worried the eyes might actually pop out. They were like that for a full 3 to 5 minutes. Skylar poked Reyna in the ribs to get her attention. She looked at her for a second then back at me.
"It's really you. After all these years." Reyna whispered.
"Yes Reyna. It is really me."
She just stared back. I'd braced myself for every possible reaction. Sudden angry outburst, screaming, guilt display, apologies, violent emotional behavior, you name it. But this.... I didn't think I'd have to brace myself for a 'no reaction'.
"Uh guys... You're worrying me now, say something please."
"Percy...I don't understand! How..?" Annabeth tried to imagine what happened.
I inhaled and was about to tell them the whole story, but Skylar interrupted me.
"I'll tell them Percy, you rest. You need it."
I nodded. I did need some rest, I had will power to survive and I knew it, it was just a matter of bearing the pain till it receded. Besides, my life from Skylar's point of view? I had to listen to that. She began
"Dad had an eye on a certain greek hero Perseus Jackson since the time he'd returned the lightning bolt of Zeus upto the time he lead the Greek demigods into war against Kronos. He was impressed by what one demigod had done. By how loyal he was. If there's one thing dad valued more than anything, it was loyalty. So when this hero showed potential, he decided to bring the matter to the attention the Council. When the 2nd Great Prophecy was in play, the whole Council saw what Perseus did, what he was capable of. On his way he'd overpowered countless of enemies, but also his fears. The Council wanted to have him as the Council's Army's leader." Skylar was saying, but I interrupted then
"Wait, you mean the whole Council had known all along what I'd come to be?"
"No they didn't Percy. They can't see the future and you know that. But you were a candidate they were all willing to bet on." She answered me. Then looking at the girls who were silently absorbing the whole story she said
"Continuing to where I left off, there was a very ancient prophecy that described the path that one had to take in order to become the Council's Army's leader. That included a win over the Cyprian Tallert, and for Perseus to be the leader of dad's army. But that's not something you can just do, it needs training and experience. So it was decided that he'd be approached by a member of the Council with an offer to be under his command and train for that spot."
"Wait, so you're saying Percy was approached by some Primordial who wanted him to do a deadly quest with no assurance that he'd live or not, with his life at stake and his past life on earth to forget just to be a Commander of some army?" Thalia asked quizzically.
"It's not just some army Thalia. You see them in action then judge them. Besides, I said this is what was planned, not what was done, thanks to you demigods."
"What do you mean, thanks to us?" Annabeth asked.
"After your war against Gaea, the Council took a vote as to who'd approach Perseus with an offer. At first Lord Aether was to approach him since the Council felt he was most suited for the job of training a young potential demigod. Perseus' loyalty was well known to the Council members, so they knew they had to wait for an opportunity. He'd never leave his girlfriend and his camp mates. But then, something happened at camp, something the Council hadn't expected. A betrayal."
At that Annabeth and Reyna looked down in shame. Thalia didn't need to since she wasn't there when all this happened, but she did anyway.
"I didn't mean for things to turn this way Percy. I know there's nothing I can say that'll make you forgive me, but please consider the circumstances under which I was forced to take that decision." Annabeth said pleadingly looking in my direction, still looking down.
"Annabeth. I've already forgotten about that incident. I understand what forced that decision out of you and Chiron, and I understand that even though it was hard on you, you really didn't have a choice." I said.
"Forgotten, not forgiven." Annabeth noted sadly.
"We can talk about that later Annabeth. I'll explain it to you as soon as we get outta here."
She just nodded.
"What happened after the betrayal?" Reyna asked, urging Skylar to continue my life's story.
"Well, as I was saying, it was a shocker, changing things drastically. The Council knew that Perseus was what he was because he cared about others and did whatever he did not for himself but for the good of others. This betrayal was a bullet to his fatal flaw, and the Council thought they'd lose a great hero forever. But that wasn't to be. Dad convinced the Council that he could train Perseus and make him what he was destined to be. The lieutenant of the Army was soon to retire, and Perseus was eligible for that spot. Dad didn't wanna waste more time after the betrayal as he was afraid Perseus might do something rash and the world would lose him forever. So he approached him with his offer the day he left. And Perseus realized that he had a chance to get away from everything that hurt him while also doing something for others. So he grabbed that opportunity at once. Dad brought him to Celestio where a day later I met him. We became fast friends. Back then I didn't know anything about him. But eventually he opened up to me. And we drew closer to each other. He went on to prove his mettle to the Council and become the Commander of dad's army once he completed the prophecy. Thus the name hellfire."
They were soaking in this information.
"You came a long way, didn't you Percy." Thalia asked with sadness and happiness both mixed in her tone.
"I did thals. But I didn't forget what we had. You're still my best friend and cousin. I know you. You must've beaten yourself every single day thinking it was your fault and you weren't there for me."
"You do know me well." She smiled a bit.
"But it's true. If only I'd been there, things would've been different." She said sadly.
"You can never be sure of that Thals. But what we can be sure of is that now I'm here, you're here and nothing's gonna take that away from us. Rather than live in regret, let's cherish this time together. Let's be cousins and best friends like we used to be."
"You're right. Nothing's gonna take this away from me. Let's enjoy it." She smiled. Then she came to me, carefully raised my head a bit and lightly hugged me, making sure she didn't hurt my wound. I hugged her back. A tear was trickling down both of our cheeks, but we wiped it off each others' faces with a warm smile.
She stood back again, and I looked at Reyna who looked like she wanted to say something.
"I'm sorry too Percy. This is actually my fault. As preator it was my job to convince my own people that you were a hero and that those accusations were lies. And I failed." She too looked sad. For someone who didn't like to show off emotions, this was a brave leap in doing just that.