Fall From Glory || A Percy Jackson story

Prologue: Impossible Wishes

My life was a living hell. I'm not complaining, but I'm not going to sugarcoat it. The only reason I survived was my fatal flaw: loyalty. Everything I did, every prophecy that focussed on me, every trial I faced, was one trial or prophecy that no one else suffered from. I had the weight of the world placed on to my shoulders at the age of twelve. I hated it, but you know what? I would have hated it so much more if that weight was placed on Annabeth. 

Then, after we won, the Giant War started. I wasn't alone that time, which was a blessing and a curse. I had some awful experiences while I was traveling, a lot of near-death experiences, but none of that compared to the prophecy of the Mark of Athena. The hardest thing I have ever done, including holding the sky and going through Tartarus, was letting Annabeth go on that quest on her own. 

I've never been a bitter person, but my treck through Tartarus to the Doors of Death started giving me thoughts I'd never had before. Everything I did in there... all of it could happen to someone else. That thought killed me inside. Two great prophecies, two wars that would never happen again. No one else would have to make a single choice that either preserved or destroyed the world, at least not for a couple of centuries. But the monsters, titans, and even primordials that I battled in Tartarus are all still there. They're still waiting in their disgusting little hell-hole for a chance to break free and kill more innocent children. Children that would never come back, while the monsters would, again and again, forever. 

Was there a way to stop that? I didn't know, but it's not like I could dedicate my life to solving the problem. My life was already dedicated whole-heartedly to Annabeth, and I wouldn't change that for anything. If permanently killing every monster and ending the suffering for every demigod in the future meant I had to break her heart, I wouldn't do it. Ever.

But we made it out.

We survived, and I couldn't dwell on what if's if I wanted to make Annabeth happy. She deserved it, more than anyone. Certainly more than me, even with my supposed accomplishments. We'd had one month of peace so far, which was a really weird feeling for me, and I wanted to earn Athena's respect and approval. That would be difficult in any situation, and it was made more so with my being a son of Poseidon who wanted to marry her favorite daughter. I had no doubt that she would ask something completely outrageous as my task, but it would be possible. 

I don't want to brag, but if she gave an impossible or suicidal task to the "savior" of Olympus, she would face enormous consequences. Her rivalry with my father -- who's totally the most powerful god on Olympus, fight me on this -- would escalate, maybe even to war. My dad is awesome and protective of me like that. 

That's not even considering Aphrodite's rage if Athena's task ended my relationship with Annabeth. I'm not even going to go there. Aphrodite can be more creative, sadistic, and terrifying than anyone gives her credit for. She rarely puts it to use, but her cunning can rival even Athena herself.

Whatever she asked, though, whether it be impossible, suicidal, or anything else, I would do it without hesitation. There is nothing I wouldn't do for my Wise Girl. 

I was teaching a sword-fighting class to the senior campers while Annabeth was continuing construction on every palace that the Olympians owned. Amphitrite, Poseidon's wife, visited Olympus right after the Giant War and saw the reconstruction from the Titan War, led by Annabeth, and she immediately started demanding that their own palace be redesigned by her as well. The under-water palace had been completely destroyed with Poseidon's sacrifice to leave it behind and destroy Typhon -- almost single-handedly, because he's the most powerful god in existence, again, you can fight me on this -- and Amphitrite wouldn't accept anyone else.

She even went directly to Annabeth and gave her Poseidon's blessing, along with her own. Amphitrite didn't particularly like me, and rightly so, because I came from an affair between her husband and a mortal. Now, though, after everything I'd done and after she found out that Annabeth and I were dating, I was fully accepted by the family. I'd even made peace with Triton, who finally accepted that I wasn't trying to replace him.