Palace of the Crystal Bridge

 

“How’re the plans?”

 

“Going well, Mother,” Annabeth beamed at the goddess of wisdom.

 

Athena gave her a tight smile.

 

“I believe I have a suggestion. The palace you’re currently constructing with speed is very pleasing, and we’re pleased with the progress as well. And we’re happy that you’re integrating our specifications into your plans as you’re still building…however, I think it should be on a floating island a little ways away from where you have it  planned to be built. As in, separate the area from the mainland. We’ll take care of the floatation. And only one bridge to connect it to the mainland, I think. A crystal bridge.”

 

Annabeth’s eyes lit up at the suggestions, “Of course, Mother. I can’t wait to add those in. I’ll do those soon.”

 

Athena nodded absentmindedly.

 

“If you don’t mind me asking, who is the god I’m designing the palace for? It’s a lot more extravagant than all of the homes here on Olympus.”

 

Athena froze, averting her eyes from her daughter.

 

“He is a new acquisition. He became a god just a few days ago.”

 

The blonde demigod became even more curious. “Oh? Is it someone I know or something?”

 

The goddess swallowed harshly before forcing herself to look at her daughter. This was her child and a close friend of his…and maybe even more than that. Annabeth had the right to know.

 

“Annabeth, we’ve turned Perseus into a god,” she said gently.

 

Her daughter stared at her, eyes wide, but her lips were trembling and confusion and hurt started to appear on her face. Athena uncharacteristically started to blurt everything, sparing no detail, because the truth was that though she refused to admit it to the others, she didn’t feel what they had done was right and she felt guilty and ashamed about their deed. But she was too stubborn to relent to the others and admit the truth, so this was her only chance, with a daughter that was very much involved in this.

 

Annabeth licked her lips in thought, “May I see him?”

 

Athena inwardly flinched. She wanted to grant her daughter at least this, and yet her first reaction had been to yell ‘no’. She’d controlled that impulse before she could act out, but still that the thought of it…

 

“Very well. I’ll make sure he’ll be fine by whenever you’re ready to see him, and see to it that the others don’t protest it.”

 

But Annabeth didn’t see him immediately. In fact, it took her a week before she relented to the part of her that was reluctantly wanting to see him. And also, in that time, she not only finished the palace –his palace –for the most part, but she had also come to a decision.

 

And she was going to stick to that decision.

 

Her steps echoed through the corridor and it seemed to hail her solemn entrance.

 

It was and it wasn’t what Percy wanted to see.

 

Annabeth was there, and that was enough to bring a huge smile on his face. But she wasn’t smiling back and she had too serious a look on her face and too sad eyes that looked at him. It unnerved him and made him unsure about her presence then.

 

“Annabeth! You have no idea how happy I am to see you,” Percy wanted to jump out of that bed and rush to her, throw his arms around her in strong friendship or the something more that they’d both been hinting they’d wanted.

 

But it was Annabeth’s sad smile that stopped him.

 

“Annabeth…?”

 

He could see her struggle visibly with what she was about to say, lips trembling and eyes starting to slightly shine with tears.

 

“Percy, you belong to the gods now. I’m sorry…but I’m not like you. I can’t defy the gods.” And then she turned on her heel and started to run away.

 

“But…but I love you, Annabeth!” he cried out wildly, impulsively throwing himself off the bed to go after her, only to fall uselessly to the ground.

 

She just ignored his words and tried to block him out.

 

Percy couldn’t help the sob that escaped him then. His jaw clenched several times as he closed his eyes in frustration and anger. Determinedly, he pushed himself up and shakily sat up on the floor. He felt…lost.

 

And alone.

 

Anger bubbled up inside of him, almost wrathful and violent. But then a kind of cold apathy entered him and he started to feel numb and empty. He saw a spider crawling near him, scuttling along quickly and without heed.

 

He didn’t know Olympus had spiders.

 

His hand shot out and his palm smack straight on top of the spider, crushing it instantly. He turned his palm over and stared at the gross remains in detachment. Wobbly getting to his feet, he waited a moment to steady himself, staring all the while at his hand. Then he walked to a sink and washed it off, sterilizing his hands almost robotically.

 

Kill the spiders to save the butterflies. He didn’t know where that quote came from, but it resonated in his head strongly.

 

He found his clothes, rumpled but cleaned, folded nearby. He got out of the hospital gown and mechanically dressed himself in his clothes. They looked and smelled clean, but on him they had seemed to be used and ragged.

 

He walked out without a backward glance.

 

It was surprisingly easy to maneuver through the hallways to the outside, even when trying not to be seen. He walked out, into shining sun and smiling minor gods and goddesses, and lively crowds and living things.

 

Percy fought the urge to yell and scream at them all.

 

With a scowl, he trudged through Olympus and found himself at the fields.

 

“Yo, I haven’t seen you around,” a feminine voice greeted raucously.

 

He turned around warily, seeing a woman with flaming red hair and mischievous green eyes that reminded him of Hermes’ only more malicious. Next to her was a dark colored man that was tall and wore a long leather duster and circular sunglasses perched on his nose, and reminded him a lot of the Morpheus from the Matrix. Next to them was a smaller girl holding a small white teddy bear, almost a child if it weren’t for the old look in her dark voids for eyes. Her hair was short, cut to her chin, and as dark as her eyes, but it was her blank face that made him want to shiver. The doll-like child looked harmless, but something told him otherwise.

 

“I’m Eris,” the first woman started, with a vicious grin. “Goddess of Strife, Conflict, and Discord. And Ares’ sister.”

 

If Percy had been in a normal situation and hadn’t had his whole life taken from him, he would have paled and winced. As it was, he merely blinked indifferently.

 

“I wanted to be Goddess of Chaos and all, but I think someone wouldn’t be happy I tried to take their title,” she pouted in disappointment. “Anyways, this dark guy isn’t really dark, but he’s got a thing right now for looking like that guy from the Matrix because they share the same name. Meet Morpheus, God of Dreams.”

 

Morpheus simply held up a hand in greeting.

 

“And this little munchkin right here is Nemesis, Goddess of Righteous Indignation and Retribution. That’s just a nice way of saying she’s the Goddess of Revenge,” Eris shrugged uncaringly.

 

Nemesis didn’t even greet him, still choosing to stare unblinkingly at him from where she was.

 

“So who are you? Wait….Hey! You’re that Perseus kid! Consort of the Gods and all that crap!” she started cackling in her amusement, making him glare at her.

 

“God of Humility too, if you’d please,” Percy gritted out, unhappily adding that, if only to draw attention from his other title.

 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” she waved it off dismissively. “How’s life treatin’ ya?”

 

“Great,” Percy answered sarcastically. “Does everyone know about me?”

 

Eris snickered, her silent companions still not speaking a word or making a sound.

 

“The Olympus gossip network is the best. You’re news all over Olympus and that camp for half-bloods too.”

 

It was then that he really did pale.

 

“Even…even everyone at Camp Half-Blood?” he asked weakly.

 

She nodded several times, not noticing his unhappiness at the news.

 

“Yeah, spread like wild-fire down there. Everyone knows about your godhood.”

 

He felt like he was suffocating. Humiliation taunted him in his mind. He felt icy cold. There was so much going on with him that his knees buckled and he fell to the ground as he struggled to keep control of himself not just physically but mentally. His emotions were too chaotic for him to even attempt to restrain them.

 

“Hey, hey! You alright, kid?” Eris bent down and started to poke at his forehead.

 

He wanted to bat her hand away and just curl into a ball on his side, ignoring everyone and everything. Then, she’d stopped and he became curious enough to look up and wonder why. She was staring at him in contemplation, before she pursed her lips.

 

“We’re the Bad Luck Gang,” Eris announced suddenly. “We’re just made up of misfits and outcasts. I’m not really popular because of the realms I preside over, and neither is Nemesis. We kind of have the bad end of things, concerning our titles and people avoid us for that. Morpheus wasn’t popular because he gave dreams to people, many who hated what they saw of them. Now including the fact that he’d sided with the Titans in the recent war, and he doesn’t got a whole lotta people to hang out with. And the main thing that brings us together? We all don’t care for the Olympians.

 

“Wanna join our group?” and then she held out her hand and Percy was slowly feeling less lost for some reason.

 

He licked his lips and tentatively reached out to take it.

 

He spent awhile with the Bad Luck Gang, silently watching as they all interacted and only joining in when they’d forced him to. He liked the time with them…but he was still miserable and wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and never wake up.

 

“Kid, kid! There’s somethin’ I wanna show ya!” Eris yelled, grabbing his hand and dragging him away.

 

The other two followed silently and he resigned himself to going along with them. But then they reached a huge palace, isolated away from the main part of Olympus, the gigantic fortress of marble and whatever gleaming material used to make it was floating by itself and connected to the main landmass only by a crystal bridge that shined and glinted luminously. Eris led the way across the bridge, their footsteps silent as they crossed and only made it halfway.

 

“So, this is where ya gonna live,” Eris announced, but there was a hint of wickedness in her eyes that Percy missed because he was too busy staring in horror at the palace. “Nice and shiny, eh? Too big for a lone person like you to stay all by yourself.”

 

But her words fell on deaf ears, because as soon as she’d told him this was his new home, her words slowly drifted away and never registered in his mind. That is until her last sentence and he lost his breath on the realization that he was going to be all alone in that place, a silent ghost in a pretty prison with no one else there.

 

He began to choke on his breath at that, falling to his knees once more and not noticing the others silently disappearing. He slowly started to sob, becoming louder the more he stared at what was a monstrosity in his eyes.

 

He screamed and clutched at his hair painfully, closing his eyes from everything, and shaking and rocking uncontrollably.

 

Death

 

The screams…

 

Destruction

 

The pain…

 

Rebirth

 

Bindings…

 

Is this their idea of Eden for him? What he saw as hell inside of heaven?

 

Kill the spiders to save the butterflies…but in the end, doesn’t that make you a spider?

 

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When Hermes found him, Percy was disheveled and out of it, blankly staring in front of him and looking like he hadn’t moved from his spot since he’d gotten there. He was frozen as a statue, eyes glazed and face showing how disturbed and lost he was.

 

“Percy,” the god murmured.

 

That scream had echoed throughout all of Olympus and it wasn’t hard to know who it was. It was only now that someone had gotten the courage and the resolve to find him.

 

“Talk to me, kid,” Hermes hesitantly reached out and brushed his fingers lightly against Percy’s shoulders.

 

Even that earned a flinch.

 

Hermes sighed and ignored the second flinch as he walked closer and sat down next to the seemingly comatose boy. Even as he pulled Percy into an embrace, he could feel him start to violently shake in his hold.

 

“Percy, please. We just wanted to make you happy and give you the best,” but Percy seemed to stop shaking at that, instead scarily tensed and unmoving. “Percy?”

 

The new god struck out suddenly, catching Hermes off guard and making the messenger god fall back onto the crystal bridge on his back. In that moment, Percy straddled his waist and started angrily pounding away at him, although Hermes did nothing to stop him. In fact, he stayed there and took the beating without a word or cry from his lips.

 

This…this is all just a golden prison!

 

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair.

 

A gilded cage for your pet nightingale!

 

A boy locked in a tower…

 

As Hermes watched, in horror he realized there was starting to be a sort of madness to Percy’s eyes. But the humble god struck out one more time, with a force that jerked Hermes’ face to the side. And then Percy stopped and he saw that the boy was just exhaustedly leaning over him.

 

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your golden hair so I may climb up the golden stairway to heaven,” he muttered dully, not seemingly all there.

 

Percy started to get up, staggering almost, before dazedly making his way to his castle. The solemn god was left behind to watch his leave, a growing sense of unease entering him at Percy’s behavior at the end.

 

Afterwards, Hermes tiredly went home. He cleaned up his cuts and ran the soothing cloth over the bruises, but he didn’t let himself heal. And when he went back out, there were noticeable stares and whispers.

 

This was his punishment.

 

He’d betrayed Percy’s trust, even after everything the two of them had been through together and everything they’d lost together…He had misuse his powers in this betrayal, helped in such a wicked plan. He had done such a wrong against someone who was so precious to him, especially after Luke’s death…

 

He deserved that beating and those cuts and bruises, and he didn’t want to heal himself. How could he heal the evidence of Percy’s pain, when he claimed to care for the boy so much and yet participated in this farce of a conspiracy? He couldn’t, because he rightfully earned these injuries and he would let them heal naturally and let everyone see proof of his shame and misdeed. He couldn’t let himself heal himself, not if he was truly sorry and wanted to repent and knew he had done wrong.

 

This was his atonement.

 

‘Or the start of it,’ Hermes thought miserably as he entered the meeting, the others starting to stare at his face as well. He ignored them all and refused to hide or bow his head.

 

Especially not to them.

 

“You looked like you got ran over with a truck,” Ares snickered.

 

“No more than if you’d actually ran over Percy with your motorcycle,” Hermes snapped back scathingly.

 

That shut Ares up and forced the war god to avert his eyes and hunch over oddly in shame. It made everyone else tense and restless.

 

“Percy did it, for your information,” Hermes said shortly, causing the already awkward room to become unnaturally still and edgy.

 

The meeting went off stiltedly, and everyone was glad when they could leave hurriedly and escape the unhappy atmosphere behind. Hermes dragged his feet back to his home, but on the way he was irritated to find Apollo catching up to him.

 

“You look like shit,” the sun god said bluntly.

 

“Thank you,” Hermes sneered.

 

Apollo shrugged and grinned happily, “Seriously, Percy did some real damage. Why aren’t you healing yourself? Don’t ask me for some help though; you’ll have to depend on your regular healing powers to kick in.”

 

Hermes scoffed, “I don’t need or want your help. I’m not healing myself because I deserved it. I deserve this…”

 

The god trailed off and moodily transformed into his jogger’s suit, shoving his hands into his pockets.

 

“Not that I disagree or anything, but you should make sure not to let Percy see you. Even if he is pissed at you, he still has a soft spot for you and he’ll feel guilty about your face,” Apollo ended in a bitter voice.

 

Hermes closed his eyes in pain.

 

“You’re right. Not that I would be worthy of it,” he muttered. “He shouldn’t bother. I’m not worth bothering.”

 

“Now you’re just slipping into self-pity mode and making it about you. Careful about that,” Apollo snarked, grin moving to be slightly vicious.

 

Hermes ignored him, continuing his unhappy walk. Of all the gods, he knew Apollo aimed most of his vitriol at him, that Hermes was especially punished by cruel words and jabs. And he knew why that was too. Because of all the gods, Hermes was supposed to be the closest to Percy. After Poseidon, maybe even then, Hermes was Percy’s favorite and dearest god. And that made his part in all this even more unforgivable than the others.

 

He slammed the door in Apollo’s face, before going to his bed and throwing himself on it, barely refraining from the urge to suffocate himself on his pillow. Instead, he settled for smothering his face for awhile, trying to stop the pounding in his head and the voices he kept hearing accusing him of being a bastard and a scoundrel (voices sounding very much like Apollo and Percy –Apollo’s made him want to find the god and beat him up, but Percy’s made him want to hang himself).

 

He lay on his bed, drifting in and out of consciousness and suffering from thoughts in his head that wouldn’t go away. They’ve plagued him since this whole thing had happened and he knew they wouldn’t leave for a long time.

 

‘Luke’s gone.’

 

‘Percy, please. I’m sorry.’

 

‘Luke’s gone.’

 

‘Percy hates me. He’ll never forgive me.’

 

‘What if I lose Percy like I lost Luke?’

 

‘Percy, I need you. Please don’t hate me.’

 

‘Luke’s gone.’

 

‘I can’t lose you too, Percy…’

 

An hour of restless floundering, and he decided to go find Percy. Percy had left him and he wasn’t sure if that was such a good exit for the new god, with the way he staggered away like that. Hermes had been so busy being shocked and then depressed about the whole thing, that he just thought to leave Percy to cool down and give him some space. But he was still worried, so he forced himself out of his misery, forced himself to get out of that miserable house, and forced himself to trudge over to Percy’s new home.

 

He silently crossed the bridge, looking forlornly up at the new palace ahead. He started humming a tune to take his mind off of the confrontation, ironically realizing which song it was.

 

“Eg veit i himmerik ei borg,
ho skin som soli klåre
der er kje synder eller sorg,
der er kje gråd og tåre.

 

“Eg er ein fattig ferdamann,
må mine vegar fara
herfrå og til mitt fedreland,
Gud, meg på vegen vara!”

 

He snickered to himself, the first time in a long time, before he became solemn once more, the song gravely reminding him about the boy in the palace. Inside was quiet and lonely, his footsteps echoing as he walked the halls and searched out Percy. He closed his eyes, hesitating as he remembered the last time he had used his powers, before going ahead and finding Percy at the tallest tower in the northwest direction. He inwardly sneered at the obvious influence Athena had on the building.

 

He found Percy perched at the windowsill of the smaller window in the tower room, gazing out of the opened window with tired but empty eyes. He paused, unsure, before going to Percy and sitting on the floor at his feet.

 

“I’m surprised you found your room already. How did you know it was in this tower?” Hermes asked, trying to get a footing to their conversation.

 

“Found the tallest tower, easiest to be locked up in. It’s always in the fairytales, you know,” Percy muttered, half out of it.

 

“You know why your room is the tallest tower? And why it’s northwest? You’re here because you’re above all of us, you’re higher than all of us,” Hermes said soothingly, hand brushing carefully at Percy’s hands that were limply lying on the new god’s lap. With no reaction, but glad it wasn’t negative at least, he took them and held them as he leaned against Percy’s legs. “North is always guiding, just like you’re here to guide us. You’re the representation of the west, of our freedom and Western civilization, the very belief and principle that drives us gods and keeps us alive and with purpose.”

 

“Rapunzel, let down your golden hair,” Percy sing-songed, eyes fluttering sleepily as he smiled dazedly.

 

Hermes sighed, squeezing Percy’s hands.

 

“You don’t have long hair for me to climb, so I’ll just have to walk your crystal bridge every day, okay? And I’ll promise to come every day,” Hermes murmured.

 

Percy just hmmed.

 

Hermes smiled sadly and started to sing that song again. “Eg veit i himmerik ei borg…”

 

‘I know of a castle in heaven…’

 

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Hermes did visit every day. And Percy was at his spot every day as well. It looked like he hadn’t even moved from the windowsill seat. Hermes wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case.

 

It didn’t help that that windowsill oversaw the area in which most of them had to come through to go to the area that was still not finished being constructed. Hermes knew for a fact that Percy would have had to see Annabeth going through there every day, as the Daughter of Athena was finishing up overseeing Percy’s palace. He had no words for the girl, and he doubted the others would say differently. They knew what had happened and were displeased and angry about it, especially with how much it had ended up hurting and damaging Percy further. Even Athena was disappointed in her daughter.

 

But Hermes bet it still hurt more for Percy to see her, even with how out of it as he was.

 

“That song…the one you sing to me all the time. What is it?” It was one of Percy’s more lucid moments.

 

Hermes clicked his tongue, “It’s a Norwegian folk song called Eg veit i himmerik ei borg. There’s a lot of translations for that, but I see it as I know of a castle in heaven.”

 

Percy stiffened and he knew the other understood.

 

“What does the song mean in English?” Percy mumbled.

 

“I know of a castle in heaven
shining as bright as the sun;
there are neither sin nor sorrow
and never a tear is shed.

 

“I am a weary traveler;
may my path lead me
from here to the land of my father;
God, protect me on my way,” Hermes translated, singing softly.

 

Percy was quiet, not saying a word. Hermes understood and said nothing as well.

 

“Apollo visits me too. Not as often as you do, but he doesn’t know you visit anyway,” Percy said suddenly, and Hermes waited for more. Percy was actually talking and he wanted him to keep talking. Especially since Percy seemed like he was actually there and not in his own world like usually. “He sings Somewhere Over the Rainbow a lot. My mother used to sing that to me when I was little. I miss my mom,” Percy grew quiet and Hermes winced.

 

“I don’t want hopes and dreams and beginnings. All of you are lying. Things will never be better,” Percy said grimly. Hermes frowned, but Percy continued before he could start to plead their case. “At least your song is more realistic and truthful. It’s much more convincing and believable than rainbows and butterflies…Fitting, actually…” Percy gave a knowing look that was tinged darkly.

 

Hermes tensed.

 

“It’s so right,” Percy murmured. “And I definitely will never shed a tear here…” but already, Percy’s declaration had become false. Tears were pouring down his face in rivulets and Hermes cringed at the sight. “I…I never…will…”

 

Hermes gathered him into his arms, hoping to calm him and give whatever comfort his presence could still offer after everything.

 

“I hate you,” Percy outright sobbed. “Out of all of them, you were supposed to be on my side!”

 

“I know, I know. I’m sorry,” the messenger god kept repeating, closing his eyes in shame.

 

But Percy just kept muttering how much he hated him and Hermes forced himself to stay there and listen to it, even when he just wanted to run away. Soon, Percy quieted with some sniffling every now and then.

 

“Even if I hate you though…I need you,” Percy muttered as he clutched onto the other god’s front. “I hate you, but I don’t want to be alone…it’s so lonely here,” Percy’s sniffles grew louder for a second there and Hermes’ grip tightened. “You’re the only one I’m close to here…please don’t leave me all alone!”

 

Percy’s crying grew anew, but Hermes continued to try to soothe him as much as he could.

 

Poseidon’s realm was in the waters and therefore where the sea god had to stay for most of the time. Percy’s mother and stepfather was far out of reach, as were all of other Percy’s friends, and that’s not even counting how they were hesitant or outright unwilling to stand up to the gods for him, like Annabeth.

 

In a way, Percy was completely right.

 

And Hermes was almost completely grateful for it. Percy would cling, look to, hide behind him because there was no one else there that Percy was close to or really even knew as much as Hermes. But Percy would still hate him, and probably more than all the other gods because Hermes was the god that had mattered the most.

 

‘I’m sorry, but you don’t understand. Luke’s gone and if you’re gone, where am I going? What am I going to do? Please, please, please. The Fates swore it, they swore. Please don’t be angry. Luke’s gone and I need you. Luke’s gone and I don’t know what will happen to me if I lose you too. I wouldn’t be able to take it. Luke’s gone and I’m afraid to lose you too. I swear I’ll never leave you, but promise me you won’t leave me either. You’re all I have left, all I care about. The Fates swore you would eventually be happy, please let that be soon because I can’t take you hating me and being so miserable here and being miserable with me. I can’t let you go, I won’t let you go. Please understand I just want to make you happy, you’re all that matters to me. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please forgive me. I don’t know what to do without you, please stay with me. Let me make you happy. All I wanted was to keep you by my side. I didn’t want to lose you like Luke. Luke’sgoneLuke’sgoneLuke’sgone…’

 

On and on, useless platitudes went. He didn’t even realized that he didn’t just start begging in his mind, but started sobbing them outwards, and soon enough the roles were reversed and he was the one crying and Percy sat stiffly in his arms as the messenger god clutched onto him desperately and spoke words that were only meant to be uttered in his head and not for Percy to listen to.

 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Hermes repeated.

 

‘Luke’s gone, please don’t go too.’