Chapter Text
Patronage for Athens was desired by the Earth-shaker and the Grey-eyed goddess. Thus a contest overseen by King Cecrops was designed; the winner would be the city’s patron. With one swift strike of the earth with his mighty trident, a salt water spring was created; though beautiful, the gift was met with little joy from the people of Athens.
Athena produced the first olive tree; its use for timber or olive oil was met with fine cheers. As Athena was named winner, before gods and men, a young goddess spring fully formed from the salt water spring; her arms outstretched towards Poseidon crying “Father, Father!”
Mortal affairs were dull on a good decade.
Godly affairs were interesting at best and earth shattering at worst.
This contest to be patron of a city between Athena and Poseidon had to be the most boring experience in all of his godly existence; Apollo rolled his eyes and looked to the heavens with bored expression and cursed his father for making him babysit in all but name a challenge as stupid as this.
If his sister and uncle were given weapons and told to fight it out, sure, Apollo would be more invested than he was right now. He might even place some bets with Hermes and Ares on a winner.
Apollo watched on in feigned interest as he watched his Lord Uncle fashion a beautiful fountain of coral found in only the depths of his realm. His uncle looked proud of his creation and it was worth the pride; a grand fountain with sparkling, clear blue water gushing over shimmering and sleek stone.
And was it his imagination or was Athena actually worried?
As soon as he met her eyes, her gaze hardened as she fashioned twigs together and planted a knobby looking tree with a thick base and strange looking fruit no bigger than a pebble. The tree sprouted and produced a long shadow; providing shade from Helios’ chariot.
The king - Apollo didn’t care to remember his name - took a bite out of the fruit.
“It is sweet. What do you call this fruit?” He asked.
“An olive. You can make oil from its fruit and use the timber for lumber.” Athena looked proud of her creation.
“And this spring, it is beautiful, but the water, can we drink?” He asked.
“It is a salt water fountain.” Poseidon answered.
A salt water fountain would be useful for healing and injuries, Apollo mused. Such a gift would be a great boon to a new city.
“If we cannot drink from the fountain, we have no use for it. I declare Lady Athena as the winner and the patron of the city.” The king announced. “Athens would be honored to have you as its patron, oh goddess.”
A mortal could have assumed Poseidon’s calm features for acceptance of his loss; Apollo knew he was raging at the insult. He could sense the impending tidal wave of his uncle’s fury building.
Before anyone could speak further, from the very fountain Poseidon fashioned and brought forth, the most beautiful woman in the world rose from the water; her hair was dark as the night his sister preferred and the wet strands clung to her shoulders; the water droplets shone like pearls upon her seemingly sun kissed skin and if Apollo had the chance, he would lavish her with all the tender kisses just to make that phrase true; her eyes were as green as the sea, as green as Poseidon’s but they were full of melancholy, Apollo wanted to chase away whatever made a newborn goddess have such deep gaze; she was slender and lithe, smaller than nymphs and goddesses but when she grew, oh she would be beautiful.
Apollo had felt love and lust before.
At least, he thought he had.
This emotion that welled up deep in his chest was damn near overwhelming; nearly bringing Phoebus to his knees before such a beauty as this.
Apollo would take her for his immortal wife; he would take no other lover but her. He would shower her with praise and all that was his to give if only to have her keep those beautiful eyes on him and him alone.
Looking upon the nymph, Apollo found he understood Aphrodite and her whims of the heart, deciding that for this stunning creature, Apollo would do anything to have her by his side even if neither could look upon the other for her sheer beauty was blinding. Even if he had to perform impossible tasks to win her hand and pay the exorbitant bride price that would surely be set by a father as protective as Poseidon.
Her eyes left him and Apollo wanted to cup her chin and turn her face back to him but as soon as her eyes landed on Poseidon, oh Styx her voice! He would give anything to hear her sing. He would play any instrument in the world for her if only to hear her voice harmonize with his lyre.
“Patéras?” Her eyes were full of relief upon seeing the sea god-of course, what daughter doesn’t feel comforted in the presence of her father?
Though Apollo would patiently wait until the day that gaze was turned upon him. He was a god, he had all the time in the world.
Poseidon turned to the nymph in the fountain; shock and confusion written on his face as the stunning creature called out to her father.
Before Poseidon could speak to the nymph, the King accused her of defiling the gift.
“If you could call that a gift.” Athena scoffed.
The nymph shrunk under Athena’s harsh words. Her hands fiddling with the wet fabrics of her peplos in embarrassment.
Apollo wanted to talk the nymph’s hands and lavish praises upon her until she radiated brighter than the sun for how dare this mortal and his sister berate her so.
“A surprise to be sure, but a happy one. A daughter is a gift far more precious than fountains or olives Athena. You would be wise to remember that.” Poseidon’s voice was cold.
A crack of lightning and a clash of thunder rolled from the clouds as Zeus himself appeared; while few of the council were here to witness the event, many stayed upon Olympus to view the contest.
The mortals dropped to their knees and bowed in reverence to the king of the gods.
Zeus looked at the nymph in the fountain and nodded appreciatively; Apollo felt fury boil in his blood as the nymph wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to shield her body from his gaze.
Zeus wouldn’t dare try anything to the nymph with her Earth-shaker father so near.
And if Apollo had to grovel, it would be worth it to have his nymph all to himself and untouched by Zeus, his lord father.
“I would have thought that any child born of you and my daughter would be a monstrosity but it would appear I was wrong.” Zeus leered at her.
“Athena is not my mother.” The nymph denied.
“No?” Zeus eyed her up and down. “A contest between gods to determine the city, the city now named after my daughter; who else would be your mother? You do not get your beauty from your father.”
The nymph stood defiant before the King of the gods. “Athena is not my mother.”
Poseidon stepped forward and brandished his trident with a flourish. “I claim this fountain child as mine; she has no mother as she has been brought forth from my fountain’s waters alone.”
The sea god took off his cloak of blue waves and placed it on his daughter’s shoulders and leveled a look with Zeus that threatened war if he came anywhere near the unnamed nymph.
A beautiful woman with no name; Apollo needed to know so he could write songs about her. He needed to know who to call out in his poetry. What would he call her when “beloved” and “dearest” and “mine” were not enough?
Apollo would have to come up with a convincing proposal if he was ever going to get Poseidon to agree to a marriage. Though his uncle Hades had a rather effective proposal to Persephone, Apollo would rather not start his with a kidnapping and an unhappy in-law.
“Very well, brother. What is the name of this new goddess?” Zeus asked.
Oh, of course! Could this beauty be anything but?
It was so painfully obvious.
This was no mere nymph that had rendered him speechless with her beauty, she was a goddess.
“I am no goddess.” The not nymph said, causing the four Olympians to turn to her.
“Impossible.” Athena said.
No, she couldn’t be-
“My child, you are god born, you have no mortal mother. You are a goddess.” Poseidon said.
The nymph then reached up and sliced her hand on the sharp ribs of her father’s trident. Her divine blood sunshine ichor dripped down her father’s weapon and the wound in her open palm.
Poseidon jerked the weapon away from the immortal girl; startled that she would so willingly draw her own blood; appalled that his own daughter would do so with his own weapon.
Apollo was about to rush forward and heal her himself with Poseidon wrapped the waters of the fountain around her palm and healed the cut.
“She’s purely divine.” Athena breathed. “The rejection of the fountain must not have stopped her ascent to godhood. She is strong to have persisted in such rejection. Fascinating. Father, God King, while this was unforeseen, unplanned, and despite the father of this new goddess, I claim the new goddess as my child.”
“No!” Poseidon scooped the fountain containing the goddess up in his arm while holding the trident out as a warning to Zeus; the goddess looked like a doll for a child in the god’s embrace. “I will take my daughter back to my court. She is of the sea and is therefore mine.” He said before leveling a look of pure loathing to Athena. “You took Pallas from us, you will not take my daughter from me too; congratulations Athena. You are now the patroness to a city of fools.”
Poseidon was gone and Apollo realized he hadn’t gotten the fountain girl’s name.
///
Poseidon disappeared with the lingering scent of the sea with the unnamed child in his arms.
His domain reflected his emotions; anger over losing, fear for his daughter’s fate, uncertainty for her future, fierce protectiveness over her and he hadn’t even known her more than a few moments.
And with the spurning of the fountain spring, Athena’s bold claim was nothing more than a noose fashioned by the Athenians to be tightened around her neck.
Poseidon wouldn’t allow it.
Cradling his newest and youngest child in his arms, Poseidon appeared in the king and queen’s private quarters of their palace; he would introduce his queen to their new daughter before they presented her to the court. He would gift this daughter to Amphitrite before anything else.
“It’s going to be alright, my little pearl.” Poseidon didn’t dare speak normally for fear of hurting his daughter with his godly voice. “Your true mother will be here shortly.”
He watched as his daughter, his tragically newborn daughter, took in her surroundings and smiled softly at her wonder.
“My lord husband?” Amphitrite had this power to just make all his worries melt with the sound of her voice. “I just heard you lost the contest for Athens, are you terribly upset?”
“I am, but not for reasons others think.” Poseidon took a deep breath and held his daughter closer.
“My love, what do you-”
Poseidon turned and met Amphitrite’s questioning look before her eyes widened at the young woman in his arms.
“-mean?” Poseidon could see all the scenarios and thoughts going through Amphitrite’s mind before she composed herself and asked, “who is this?”
“My queen, when I created the salt water fountain for the contest, it was all I meant to create. Just when Athena fashioned a tree and presented it to the king, the waters began to form and shift. When Athena was declared the patroness of Athens, the child’s ascent to godhood was thwarted and yet golden ichor flows through my daughter’s veins.” Poseidon said, taking great care not to squeeze his daughter too hard.
Amphitrite pursed her lips and searched his eyes. Finding the truth, her gaze softened and she inspected the daughter in his arms.
“She looks just like you.” She cooed, reaching a hand out to touch the dark hair floating around the girl. “She looks just like Pallas and your Queenly mother. May I hold her?”
Amphitrite held her arms out and Poseidon passed her the fountain child. His heart sank when he saw the uncertainty in his daughter’s eyes but calmed when Amphitrite positioned the girl on her hip and cooed sweet nothings to her.
“What is her name, my darling?” Amphitrite asked.
Poseidon opened his mouth to speak but the child beat him to it.
“Perseleia, your grace.” She said before averting her eyes in shyness.
“Perseleia,” Amphitrite mused before holding up the newborn goddess to look her in the eyes, eyes just like her darling husband. “Poseidon fathers heroes, but you Perseleia, shall be mine.”
Poseidon breathed out in relief.
“Athena will rue the day she won the city, I will see to that.” Amphitrite looked upon her new daughter in adoration. “Oh my sweet Perseleia, my darling youngest daughter, when your siblings come home, I shall introduce you to your brother and sisters with great joy.”
Poseidon didn’t want his wife’s newfound happiness shattered, but he had to warn her about the dangers of the other gods to their Perseleia.
“There is something else, Zeus seemed far too interested in her when she emerged from the fountain.” Poseidon said.
“No.” Amphitrite, brought Perseleia to her chest and wrapped her in her arms. Her tail fluttered in the water betraying her worry. “He cannot have her.”
“Apollo as well.”
“No. Forbid it! They would kill her!” Amphitrite begged. “My lord you cannot allow them near her!”
It was a tragic reality that newborn godesses were snatched into marriage or swore vows of virginity to retain their independence. Rhodes was barely a day old goddess when Helios took her for his queen. Persephone had some years with her mother before she was snatched away to be Queen of the Underworld.
Perseleia wrapped her small arms around her mother’s neck and buried her face in Amphitrite’s hair.
“She is safe so long as she remains here. No god can enter another’s domain without invitation.” Poseidon assured her.
Amphitrite fixed Poseidon with a look. “She is our daughter. She is of the sea. In your realm she is safe but a gilded cage is still a cage. She will be lured to the surface and out of your protection or-”
Poseidon wrapped his arms around his wife and new daughter and kissed her forehead, just below her diadem of crab claws and shells.
“Perseleia may go to the surface, so long as she has Triton or myself with her.” He compromised just this once.
“Marriage would keep her safest,” Amphitrite mused.
It would make it harder for Zeus or Apollo to try anything, but marriage never stopped Zeus from getting what he wanted. At least she would be safe from -
“I don’t want to marry. At least, I would at least like to have the choice.” Perseleia said, her cheeks blushed at her interruption.
Poseidon felt his resolve begin to break under her eyes, so like baby seals and otters.
“Please don’t force me into marriage!” Tears started to well up in her eyes and his resolve crumbled.
“Artemis. You’d be safe with the hunt and immortal for all time until we can learn what domains you have.” Poseidon agreed.
“Her hunters can be killed. I don’t want to risk it.” Amphitrite argued.
“If unmarried is what you want, then unmarried you shall remain.” Poseidon promised his daughter. “I will not force you into a marriage you do not want.”
“Thank you father!” Perseleia shifted from her mother’s arms into his and hugged him fiercely.
For one so small, she was oh so strong.
He couldn’t wait to see what kind of goddess she would become.