Fighting Fate

C H A P T E R 1 - Athena.

A chorus of shocked gasps filled the air, and truthfully speaking, I didn’t know why they were all so shocked. Poseidon was a grown man, and he was fully capable of having a child. I didn’t disagree that it was rather scandalous that he was the man who I believed to be Dilara’s father, but he had gotten himself into that position.

“Are you certain of this fact?”

Zeus was questioning me in a manner that suggested that he didn’t quite believe what I was saying—and that bothered me. It bothered me quite a lot, because I was standing here, in front of all of them, and he was questioning my integrity. Where did he think that that was going to get us?

My eyes fell on Poseidon, and I was not at all surprised to find that he was looking at me in a rather exasperated manner. But he looked away as soon as I looked at him, his eyes shifting to the place where Dilara was sitting. I couldn’t deny the fact that I was incredibly happy with the fact that she was sitting beside Hades.

I knew that Zeus was the person who was actually responsible for that, and I was thankful that he was handling the situation as he was. He might have been treating me horribly, but that was not the way that he was treating Dilara. It was all that mattered to me.

“I am certain. I saw it with my own eyes, and I’m sure that Poseidon will be more than willing to admit to the truth.”

“Very well then.”

And just like that, I found myself seated on the chair that Poseidon had been occupying, and I was now staring at him, for he was standing on the centre podium—and he had all of our attention. Everyone was waiting for him to say something, to tell us what was going on, and it didn’t look like he had any intention of indulging us. He had his hands shoved into his pockets, and the entirety of his aura was giving me the impression that he was trying to disrespect Zeus. Why would he do that to his friend…?

“Poseidon, is there anything that you would like to say on this matter?”

As always, Zeus was the person asking the questions, but I did not feel like that was a fitting approach in this situation. I wanted to be the person to ask all of the questions, because I was the one who had been there, who had seen everything that had been happening. And even though it was something that was actually private to Poseidon, if Dilara was his daughter, he needed to step up and take accountability for it.

“I do not feel the need to defend myself.”

“Is that so? I am not accusing you of anything. I am asking you for an explanation. Is what Athena is accusing you of true? And if so, what is the reasoning behind it? Is she that child, Poseidon? That is what I want to know.”

I could tell by the shift in Zeus’ voice that he was irritated with the answer that his friend had given him. After all, he was the kind of person who ordinarily managed to keep his temper in check, but he was not often defied like he was being now—and by someone he trusted as much as he trusted Poseidon. But perhaps that was why this was happening. There was too much familiarity between the two of them and Poseidon wasn’t taking him seriously.

“What Athena is saying is true. I did abandon a child that was of my descent, and I have my reasons for doing so. I do not wish to share them—“

“I am not giving you a choice!”

Zeus raised his voice, and for a moment, I could do no more than turn to look at him. His trident was charged with electricity, and it looked like he was too. He was ready to fight, and suddenly, there was a part of me that wished that I hadn’t allowed for this to happen. At the rate that things were going, it seemed like these two were going to end up in a disagreement of their own. And that wasn’t going to get us anywhere.

I knew that I was going to have to face the consequences for doing what I was about to do, but I knew that someone had to do it—and if I was going to be the one to make that sacrifice, then so be it. There was nothing that I could change about it, and even if I tried to, I was certain of the fact that the end result would remain the same.

“Poseidon, in case it hasn’t dawned on you yet, this is a serious matter. If she is your child, her life is now at risk, because her heritage is being questioned. If you found yourself in her shoes, would you not wish to know who your father was? Would you not wish for him to face the consequences of his actions? Or would you wish for him to be a coward?”

I stood up when I spoke, doing my very best to keep my shoulders squared. I knew that if I showed one ounce of weakness, they would pounce on me, and all of this would have been for nothing. Just as everyone had been looking at Zeus before, they were now looking at me, although they had a lot more judgement in their eyes than before. They were waiting for Zeus to put me in my place—and so was I. Except it wasn’t happening…

“I am no coward.”

“You’re acting like one.”

Poseidon clenched his jaw and turned away from me and I didn’t miss the way that his hands had balled into fists. I knew everything that he needed to tell them. I had spent decades trying to figure it all out, but hearing him confirm all of my suspicions, was what I needed to happen. Everything would be sorted out then, and we would be able to take things from there. But if I just started throwing out my own accusations, that was all that they would be—accusations.

“I have no way of knowing that she is indeed the child that I abandoned that evening—“

“I believe that there is a way for you to know. Some kind of gut feeling… Or perhaps the way that she looks.”

I was standing my ground. I wanted him to admit it. I wanted him to say what he needed to say. I looked down at the place where Persephone was sitting, and she looked like she had seen a ghost—and the lovely Demeter was sitting just as silently as her daughter was, and that right there, was as much of a confirmation as I needed.

I had known, since the very beginning. But something that bothered me, was the fact that this entire thing had been of such little significance to them, that they had completely overlooked it. They had overlooked the possibility of Dilara being Persephone’s daughter, just because it was something that had happened millennia ago… They might have forgotten, but I hadn’t…

“What are you trying to imply?”

“I’m not trying to imply anything. I have my suspicions, and I believe that you’re the person to confirm them. After all, someone who was a half-blood wouldn’t have reincarnated so many times throughout the millennia… So, she has to be an actual goddess—or am I wrong?”

Poseidon looked like he was ready to kill me, like he was going to give me the time of my life when we stepped out of here. I had no doubt in my mind that I would be receiving a visit from him once I left here, but that was alright. I would make sure that I was with Hades—having some extra support was never a bad thing.

“It seems to me that you have had too much time to think about matters that do not concern you—“

“Poseidon. I would suggest that you stop trying to buy time, because I can promise you now that none of us will dismiss until you have given me the name of the child’s mother. You have already admitted to that she is yours—you might not have said it, but the way that you keep trying to look at her tells me everything.”

I had to admit that I was surprised to find Zeus jumping to my defence, or perhaps he had just had enough time to calm down, and therefore, he had decided that he was fit enough to take matters into his own hands again. Considering the fact that he hadn’t addressed me for getting involved, I hoped that perhaps I had might get away with all of this like it is nothing.

I sat down again, deciding that I had done enough for now. There was no point in pushing things further. I had already planted the seed of doubt in the minds of those around us, and that was all that mattered. I dared to look down at Persephone, and I found that she was looking at Dilara—but this time, she was looking at her in a very different way than she had been before.

The answer was right there in front of us.

If anyone just dared to think slightly deeper into the matter, they would realise that Dilara is Persephone’s replica, because that is exactly what she is. She is her daughter, and Persephone had come to terms with the fact that she was getting rid of her child like it was nothing. She hadn’t faced any guilt at all.

Despite the fact that Zeus had just addressed him, Poseidon said nothing, and it was in that moment that it dawned on me that Poseidon’s loyalty to Persephone was much greater than his loyalty to Zeus—and that was a problem. I knew that I had no business doing this, again, but I shifted to the podium, effectively causing Poseidon to land back in his own chair.

“Athena. You seem to have forgotten yourself.”

I was not at all surprised to find that Zeus was addressing me for this, but he didn’t even sound nearly as upset as he had sounded when he had been speaking to Poseidon. I hoped that it was because he had realised that I was going to use this opportunity to speak out on what my suspicions were—and after that, it would all be in his hands.

“As I’m sure you are well aware of, I have been trying to figure out who the goddess is who birthed Dilara since the moment that I saw Poseidon getting rid of her. I wanted to know who could do something like that, when they had no reason to—but then I found out that the mother of the child, was a married woman. And suddenly, there was a lot of reason.”

A small chorus of whispers went through the air—partners talking to one another and aggressively trying to figure out whether or not their wives had been loyal. And as I spared a glance at Hades, I found him looking down at Persephone. And in the next moment, he looked at me, and from the look in his eyes, I was able to make one conclusion—he knew.

He knew what I was trying to tell all of these people. He knew that the woman who he had fallen in love with, was the product of his own wife’s infidelity. I could only imagine what a slap in the face it was, only imagine what was going through his mind…

But now that he knew, now that the cat was out of the bag, there was no reason for me to keep waiting for everyone to figure it out on their own. I was going to say it. And whatever happened after that, was going to be out of my hands.

“Dilara’s mother—the woman with whom Poseidon had an affair—is no one other than our beloved Persephone.”