The Defeat
As the newly reunited family neared the entrance to the lair of Mr. Pose, an unlikely figure crossed their path.
"Dad?" said Arty.
Sure enough the lover of Athena and father of Polly and Arty approached them. Athena and the children's father exchanged a look as though they were both experiencing quite a mix of emotions.
"I know who you are and I know what you've done," he said.
"Rick, I...." said Athena, but she paused. "How did you find me?"
"I've been looking all over for the kids." He glanced at them with a look that said he was relieved that they were okay but angry that they had been gone for so long. "I saw a large owl flying around and I couldn't quite put my finger on why or how, but I knew there was a connection to you. So I followed it here and found you all."
"Rick..." she said again.
"I thought you were dead, all this time, and now here you are. I just don't understand why," he interrupted.
"It's very complicated," she began. "I am Athena and I am a goddess."
Rick looked very shocked, as he began to connect more and more memories to his past love.
"I will explain more to you later, but we have a very important mission to accomplish, and I can't do it without my children," said Athena.
The lair of Mr. Pose was cave-like. They approached the cave, and then entered into its depths, unsure of what would await them. As it got dark, Rick said, "I can barely even see where we are going." But Athena, Polly, and Arty could see very well, thanks to their connection with the owls, and they knew they had to keep going.
"Take my hand," Athena said and she smiled at him. Although he could not see very well, he could see her smile shining bright through the darkness. He smiled back.
They neared a cliff within the cave. A faint light was coming from below and Rick was now able to see the horse-like creatures. His eyes doubled in size, but he knew he shouldn't speak. It was as if being with Athena again had reopened his eyes, and he could see just as her and the kids was seeing.
Athena was worried that violence would be necessary, but she knew that the only way to defeat Mr. Pose was to encounter him face-to-face.
They backed away from the cliff and found a steep path so that they could make their way down to the ground where the creatures were. They were quiet, but not quiet enough because the horse-like creatures noticed them and turned to face them. Up close, the creatures had dimly gleaming eyes of red. Polly was scared. No one spoke for a while. Polly was thinking. Rick was in shock. Athena was preparing for action.
But almost fearlessly, Arty stepped forward and began to speak to Mr. Pose, "I know you are angry, and I know there are a lot of things you could be planning on doing here, but you have to understand that if you destroy this city, it won't solve any of the problems you face or feelings you feel." Mr. Pose turned to face them.
He looked worn out and older than Athena had remembered, and he realized that this boy was right, but he was not going to give in so easily.
"What do you propose that we do to settle this little situation?" Mr. Pose inquired, looking from Polly to Arty and finally to Athena.
You could see the expression on Athena's face change as she picked up on the tone of his voice as challenging.
But the kids both knew that violence was not the answer. This time Polly stepped forward and said, "What if instead of using your horse creatures to destroy Athens, you offered them as a new species to the people of Athens? They would become the talk of the world, and it would bring many people here, which would be so good for the city."
Mr. Pose thought for a while but he knew this idea was far too good to pass up, and he really didn't want to hurt anyone. He just wanted to find a way to deal with his feelings of hurt and anger, and he wanted to be honored again.
"I think this is a well thought out idea, and I will do as you proposed," he replied finally.
Everyone smiled. This was a good day for both Athena and Poseidon, as they would both be honored now by the people of Athens.
As the found their way out of the cave, the four family members stopped and took a deep breath. "Well, what do we do now?" asked Rick. He was very proud of his children and he realized that they had some of the qualities that he found most attractive in Athena. But Athena knew that they had the one characteristic that she loved the most in Rick, which was their caring hearts.
Image Source: Athena and Poseidon, MAMTC: blogspot
Author's Note: In this part of the story, I really wanted to highlight the fact that Polly and Arty, children of Athena, have many of her qualities such as being able to make intelligent decisions in the face of a crisis, and overall wisdom. Athena is the goddess of wisdom, as stated before in my author's notes. But she also has the association with the owl in Greek mythology, so I wanted to incorporate this into my story as well. The owl association was maybe not so clear before, so I will provide a little more background into that. Owls are a symbol of wisdom because their ability to see in the dark is seen as a wise trait. I decided to incorporate this fact into the defeat of Mr. Pose, which allowed the kids and their mother Athena to be able to see very well in the dimly lit setting. Moreover, the city of Athens has adopted the owl as proof of allegiance to its patron virgin goddess, Athena herself. Since this goes along with my story plot, this is why I chose to connect her with the owl, and have the kids' father, Rick be able to recognize her based on her owl form. I also wanted to get more into the story of how Athena met the kids' father and just how that story ended up playing a role in the defeat of Mr. Pose. I named the kids' father Rick after my own father. Again, in this story, the horse-like creatures are encountered, so I provided a summary of a specific inspirational story for me that explains more of how Poseidon is associated with the horse. Poseidon once turned himself into a horse to chase after the goddess Demeter. As a result, a horse-like child, Areion, was created. While this story was by no means a happy one, I found it interesting that it happened, and I wanted to share it in order to better help the reader understand why I chose to connect Poseidon with horses. Again, I wanted to emphasize that, while Poseidon is often portrayed as a not-so-nice god in Greek mythology, my recreation of his character was meant to be more misunderstood, and I will address more of his character in the conclusion. Additionally, in the conclusion of my storybook, I want the kids to be able to connect with their mother, now that they know about her, and be able to see her as they wish. However, I will leave it a surprise as to whether or not Athena and Rick will remain in contact or if she will once again wipe his memory of her.
Bibliography:
Riordan, Rick. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief.
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.