CHAPTER SEVEN: I Insult My Tour Guide

PERCY

Percy lay in bed that night, tossing and turning. He couldn't get the thoughts of tomorrow's journey out of his head. What would the Gods do if they knew how they were tricking them? Would their "tour guide" even let them take extra time at the Retirement Home? Did the Olympians know about Percy and Annabeth's prophecy?

And, say they did trick their guide, escape the Olympians' watch and find Eirene. Then what would they do? Try to talk to the "wild" goddess? Strip her powers even though they didn't have the slightest clue how to? Percy couldn't shake the feeling that their trip was going to be a complete failure.

One more thought lurked in the back of his mind as he tried to get to sleep. He knew the Olympians were "watching them" but just how closely? He was sure that they knew of Annabeth's pregnancy, but not sure how they would react to it. Really, it was only Poseidon and Athena they had to worry about, and even then, it was mostly Athena. But she was a pretty big threat. She wasn't exactly best friends with Percy even before he got her daughter pregnant.

Granted, they were adults now. It's not like they were sixteen. So really, Athena should have no reason to get mad, right? Percy couldn't convince himself that was true.

That thought lead him to another, about his own mom. They'd have to tell her and Paul eventually. He wasn't really worried about his mom's reactions, but at the same time, it made him nervous. Although he was fairly sure she wouldn't be mad or anything, he honestly didn't have a clue of how she would react. There were Annabeth's parents to tell, too.

All of these thoughts, concerns and worries swirled around in his head like a tornado (made of water). Add to that the fact that before or during quests he usually had prophetical dreams that were rarely good, and you had a full blown hurricane.

Next to him, Annabeth was sound asleep. He looked at her face, so peaceful, calm and relaxed. She hadn't looked like that in her waking hours ever since she learned of her pregnancy and the prophecy. Percy wished he could do something to relieve some of her stress, but she was the one carrying the baby, and along with that the burden. Sure, Percy had a lot to do with things like research and, well, a break in to Olympus, but he could escape it and take a break if he needed to. Until she gave birth, Annabeth would always have that weight in her stomach. And then, when she had the baby, she would be a full time mother until it grew up.

Finally, after another hour or so of laying bed, Percy fell into a dreamless sleep.

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Annabeth woke him up the next morning at 6:30. He stretched and rubbed his eyes, stiffening as he remembered the day's agenda. Hopefully he would have enough sleep to make it through their little trip.

After Annabeth checked her e-mail and reported to Percy that Athena wanted them there at 8:30, they got breakfast and explained what was happening to the rest of group. They told them how they figured they had to find Eirene, strip her powers, and give them to their baby; how they were visiting Olympus under the pretense of Annabeth's work while they were actually planning to investigate Eirene.

"Let me get this straight," Leo said after their long explanation, "You are lying to the Olympians so you can visit a Retirement Home and talk to an insane goddess? And you set it all up by email with a Greek Goddess?"

"Something like that," Percy nodded and smirked.

"So when are you guys leaving?" Piper piped up (no pun intended).

"8:30," Annabeth replied.

"You sure you don't want any of us to come along?" Jason offered seriously.

"Yeah, then all three of us can be blasted to bits when Athena finds out we tricked her." Percy said.

"Oh shut up, Seaweed Brain. My mom's not going to blast us to bits."

"I'm joking!" Percy replied.

"So, about my help?" Jason persisted.

"It would be great, except we'd have to ask my mom, and at that point she might start getting a little suspicious as to why I need two guys to help me look at the architecture of a Retirement Home and Magic Pizza," Annabeth responded.

"Magic Pizza?" Leo wondered.

"Don't ask," Annabeth said quickly.

"Anyways," Percy said loudly.

"Yeah," Annabeth continued. "We'll leave at eight so we're sure to get there on time. If we're not back by eight tonight... well, maybe you can email Athena."

Everyone nodded seriously, as if they didn't realize that Annabeth was being partly sarcastic. Percy, though, knew her well enough to detect her humor, and he snorted. Jason gave him a strange look, but Percy decided to let it go.

∞∞∞∞∞

By 8:05, Percy and Annabeth were on a bus heading to the Empire State Building. When they arrived, they waited a little ways behind the receptionist's desk, as she was talking to two mortals in business suits. They couldn't over hear Percy and Annabeth requesting to go to to the 600th floor. That would create more than a few questions.

"Can we please have access to the 600th floor?" Annabeth asked politely, stepping up to the desk as soon as the door of the mortal elevator closed behind the two businessmen.

Without even looking up, the secretary said, "Name?" as if it were a normal occurrence for a young couple to ask to go to the 600th floor of a 102-story building.

"Percy and Annabeth Jackson," Percy replied. Despite the fact that they had been married for a few years, percy still loved saying Annabeth Jackson.

The receptionist looked up and smiled at them, then nodded at the security guard who was standing in front of a door that Percy recognized as the elevator to Olympus.

"Have fun," she said with a wink. As they boarded the elevator and soared through up the levels and into the air, Percy couldn't help but wonder how they always manged to get a mortal secretary who was in-the-know. He supposed they just told them the secret, but that must be a lot to take in for an ordinary mortal receptionist.

He tapped his foot nervously against the elevator floor. It wasn't just that he was worried about the events to come. Since he was ADHD, and the son of the sea god, being trapped in a small object in the air with no way to move around was rather uncomfortable.

Finally the elevator stopped and they stepped out onto a narrow stone pathway floating in the air. Percy looked up at the mountain, covered with Ancient Greek-style palaces redesigned by Annabeth. He hadn't seen it with the new renovations before.

Percy almost fell off the walkway when he realized there was a teenage girl standing in front of him, and she wasn't Annabeth. She had wispy brown hair that flowed smoothly over her shoulders and a leafy green, shimmering t-shirt that showed off her petite figure. Her slightly pointed face was very pretty. On her head was a blue baseball cap with the words "Mount Olympus is the place to be" written on it in Ancient greek.

"Hi!" She smiled sweetly. "I'm Denalia. I'm a nymph, and I'll be your tour guide today. Come on!" She motioned for Percy and Annabeth to follow as she skipped up the spiral of white marble steps in front of them.

Once they were on solid ground, (a random road on the mountain) Denalia turned toward them and asked, "So, where would you like to go first?"

"Umm, how about the Magic Pizza," Annabeth suggested.

"Sounds like a lovely idea! Did you bring any drachmas? They have the best pepperoni!"

Percy looked sideways at Annabeth. Weren't they supposed to be going to the Retirement Home? Wasn't that the whole point of their excursion? He nudged her and began quietly, "I thought-" but Annabeth cut him off with a glare like, Not now, Percy!

He hadn't been quiet enough, though. The nymph looked back at him suspiciously, her childish demeanor gone. Her eyes darted between him and Annabeth.

Yup, Percy thought, Athena is definitely keeping an eye on me.

"I just..." Percy started. "I just thought that gods could only eat ambrosia." Percy let out a breath when Annabeth offered a smile of approval to his excuse.

Denalia's gaze became less suspicious, but her eyes hardened.

"Do I look like a god?" she demanded. "Whenever anyone thinks of Olympus, they think of the gods. The major gods, I might add. They don't give a second thought to the fact that their might be minor gods and goddesses, creatures, and, hmmm..."She put her finger to her chin in mock thought. "Oh, I don't know, maybe, nymphs?! Nobody ever remembers us! And I'm standing right in front of you!"

Annabeth held up her hands. "We're sorry, Denalia, it's okay. Even if mortals and demigods mostly think of the Olympians when they come here, Athena wouldn't have trusted you to watching over us if she didn't think you were important. Now, shall we visit the Magic Pizza?"

Denalia sighed but seemed to accept Annabeth's apology. Percy was still amazed by Annabeth's wisdom. She seemed to be able to come up with a plan for every sticky situation they got themselves into. "Follow me," Denalia said, no longer skipping as she lead them around the base of the mountain.

**So, about the age: I'm 13 (I'll be 14 in December). A few of you got it right. :) I hope you guys don't think I'm, like, too young to be writing about this or something....

I've decided that I'm a daughter of Athena. While she's probably not the coolest God or Goddess on Olympus, it definitely fits my personality best. Poseidon would also be cool, though. Who would you want your parent to be?**