Athena the Proud Read online

  “Well, thanks,” Athena said kindly, hoping to lessen her embarrassment.

  Ariadne flashed a quick smile. “Just a minute.” She flipped her wavy, black hair back over one shoulder as she bent down and pulled something from the sparkly pink bag she was holding. “Ta-da!” she said as she held up a long, pink scarf. It was still attached to knitting needles and a ball of pink yarn, so it obviously wasn’t finished yet. She beamed at Athena. “It’s my very first knitting project!”

  Athena could see at a glance that the girl’s stitches were terribly uneven. In places they were way too tight. In others they were too loose. And there were lots of holes in the scarf from dropped stitches.

  “Nice pattern,” Athena said, studying it. After all, Ariadne was clearly excited about her project, and Athena didn’t want to hurt her feelings. Then, giving Ariadne a thumbs-up, she added, “Good job!”

  “Thanks,” said Ariadne. “That means a lot, coming from you.”

  “Follow me to the palace!” King Minos called out. “Dooms . . . I mean rooms are ready for all of you in the east wing!”

  Athena wondered if he always had trouble mixing up his words like that. Students hoisted their bags and began to follow the king and Professor Ladon toward the huge two-story, multi-winged stone palace.

  Ariadne handed her knitting bag to a servant and then fell into step beside Athena just as Aphrodite came up on Athena’s other side. “Heracles and Theseus sure are as thick as thieves. And look at that silly Ares,” Aphrodite remarked to Athena while glancing over her shoulder.

  Athena looked back too. As usual, all the guys were deep in conversation. Ares, who was the godboy of war, was pretending to thrust an invisible sword into an invisible opponent. And from the motions the rest of them were making as they talked—slicing their hands across their throats and punching the air with their fists—she guessed it was more talk about fighting and heroism. Godsamighty! Didn’t they have anything better to discuss?

  “I’d hoped to spend some time with Heracles on this trip,” Athena confessed to Aphrodite wistfully. “But with Theseus here—”

  “Which one is he?” interrupted Ariadne, also glancing back.

  After flashing Athena a crafty smile, Aphrodite looked over at Ariadne. “He’s Heracles’ cousin. The cute guy with the dreadlocks,” she replied.

  “Ooh. He really is cute,” Ariadne agreed.

  Not as cute as Heracles, thought Athena. But she didn’t say so, of course.

  Aphrodite leaned forward a little as the three girls continued to walk, so she could speak to Ariadne more easily. “Know something?” Aphrodite told her. “I just realized that you and Theseus have a lot in common. I mean, your fathers are both kings. Your mothers are queens. You’re a princess. He’s a prince. And, well, I could go on and on about all the other things you have in common, but why don’t I just introduce him to you? Then you can find out for yourself.”

  “Oh. My. Godz. Could you?” Ariadne practically squealed in delight, clapping her hands. “That would be, like, sooo awesome!”

  Athena hid a smile behind one hand. As the goddessgirl of love, Aphrodite was mega-good at matchmaking.

  By now they’d almost reached the palace doors. They slowed a little, and Aphrodite looked over her shoulder, crooking a finger at Theseus behind them. “Could you come here a minute?” she called out to him.

  Since few boys ever refused Aphrodite anything—they were that mesmerized by her great beauty—Theseus trotted over obediently to see what she wanted.

  Aphrodite nudged Ariadne to Theseus’s side, and at the same time she gave Athena a little shove in Heracles’ direction. “Now’s your chance,” she whispered to Athena.

  Not only was she trying to help the princess, but she had obviously realized Athena was missing Heracles and was trying to help her, too. As the goddess of love, she really was good at sniffing out relationships that had potential—as well as troubled ones!

  However, before Athena could reach Heracles’ side, a teenage boy with short, dark hair and ears that stuck out from his head burst through the palace doors and came toward her. It was the inventor/architect Daedalus. She recognized him from a drawing she’d seen in the Greekly Weekly News. He must have recognized her, too, because a big smile spread over his face. He strode right up to her.

  Athena was just about to introduce herself and tell him how excited she was to meet him, when he spoke to her first. “Athena!” he gushed. “I’ve been dying to meet you!”

  Huh? He had?

  “To tell you I think your inventions are brilliant! Perfection, in fact,” he continued enthusiastically.

  “Well, thanks,” she replied, feeling flattered. Ever since she’d found out she was an immortal that day when Zeus had first invited her to attend MOA, she’d become used to mortals being in awe of her. Still, she wasn’t perfect. But with Heracles ignoring her lately, Daedalus’s obvious admiration puffed up her wounded pride. It was nice to have another inventor think so highly of her work.

  “Of course, the very best of my inventions pale by comparison to the very least of yours,” Daedalus continued. “But, well, I was wondering if you maybe, might possibly, perhaps be willing to come take a look at the labyrinth I built anyway?”

  “You mean now?” Athena asked. She darted a glance at Heracles, who was busy straightening his lion cape. She’d so wanted to hang out with him, and this was her first chance to do so without Theseus around. But she’d also wanted to talk to Daedalus, inventor to inventor. What if another opportunity for that didn’t come along on this trip?

  “Yes, I’d really like your opinion on it before it publicly opens tomorrow.” Daedalus followed her gaze to Heracles, and his eyes widened a little nervously. The sight of the lion cape sometimes had that effect on mortals. “Um, if that’s okay,” he added.

  “Wow! Thanks for the offer,” Athena hedged, stalling for time. The labyrinth was the star attraction of the funpark. It was why King Minos had named it Minos’s aMAZEment Park. So naturally Athena wanted a preview! She glanced back at Heracles again, feeling torn. Catching her eye, he smiled and headed her way.

  “Could Heracles come too?” Athena asked Daedalus quickly.

  “Come where?” asked Heracles as he joined them. Seeming a little distracted, he glanced toward Theseus while awaiting a reply, as if to make sure his cousin was okay. Theseus was chatting enthusiastically with Ariadne as Aphrodite looked on approvingly, but he darted Heracles a look too, and waved.

  “To see the labyrinth,” Athena told Heracles. She moved her head into his line of vision to get his attention. “Daedalus offered me a sneak peek before it opens tomorrow.”

  “Cool. You should go, then,” Heracles told her. “I’ll keep an eye on . . . I mean, wait up for Theseus.”

  “Oh. Are you sure?” Athena asked, feeling disappointed. She looked at Daedalus. “You’re okay with Heracles coming too, right?” she added, hoping Heracles might change his mind.

  “Sure,” said Daedalus.

  Heracles shook his head, causing the gaping lion hood of his cape to bob a little. Daedalus gave the lion head a nervous look and took a step backward. “That’s okay,” Heracles replied. “You’ll probably have a bunch of invention stuff to talk about, and I’d only be in the way. Catch you later?”

  Athena nodded, though she really felt a little troubled by his response. Well, she guessed she knew where she rated in her crush’s affections. Right behind his cousin!

  “This way,” Daedalus said. His big ears wiggled with excitement as he pointed toward the side of the palace where Athena had earlier glimpsed the golden bull horns at the labyrinth’s entrance.

  Disappointed that Heracles had chosen not to come with them, but still anxious to see the labyrinth, Athena picked up her overnight bag and started to follow the inventor.

  “Athena, wait!” Heracles called to her after she’d only gone a few steps.

  Her heart lifted. Had he changed his mind and decided to come after al
l?

  No such luck. Instead all he said was, “While you go to the maze I’ll take your bag for you and make sure it gets put in whatever room you’ll be staying in.”

  “Okay, thanks,” she said as he hurried over to take her overnight bag. It was really heavy, especially since she didn’t travel anywhere without packing several scroll-books. You never knew when you might get free time, so she thought it wise to keep something to read handy.

  Heracles lifted her bag as easily as if it weighed less than a quill pen. He was so incredibly strong! It was nice of him to take her bag, just as it was nice of him to shepherd Theseus around. She sighed, suddenly realizing she hadn’t been being fair to him. Of course he’d want to hang out with Theseus. He didn’t often get the chance. From now on she’d try to be more considerate, just as he was being right now, she promised herself.

  As Heracles turned and walked away with her bag hefted over one shoulder, Athena ran to catch up with Daedalus. Her decision made, new excitement filled her. How special that she would be first to get a peek at this labyrinth!

  5

  The Labyrinth

  ATHENA ROUNDED THE SIDE OF the palace. Up ahead she could see the columned walkway, which she judged to be about thirty feet long. On the far right end of it was the golden archway entrance to the aMAZEment Park with all the red and blue flags. At the far left end of the walkway was the palace wall with a red door and the golden horns.

  Even from a distance she could see that the funpark archway entrance was carved and brightly painted with the name of the park and fanciful depictions of various monsters, creatures, heroes, and gods featured in the rides and games. She’d read in the Greekly Weekly News that several of the rides and games in the park were modeled on events that had taken place during Odysseus’s journey home to Ithaca. It thrilled her that the hero she had mentored had inspired parts of Daedalus’s a-maze-ing creation.

  She finally caught up with the teenage inventor before the bright red door. It was huge, with golden hinges set in the wall. Directly above it loomed the golden lintel top, carved in the shape of a bull’s bigger-than-life horns.

  “Wow, fancy,” Athena remarked with a grin.

  “It’s part of the park theme,” said Daedalus, nodding. “Horns. You know, like the Minotaur’s.”

  Athena nodded. After passing through the bright red door, they went down a long flight of stone stairs. The stairs ended in a round room with light brown walls and a cement floor with a patterned dark brown decorative border running around it. “So the maze is down here?” she asked, looking around.

  “We’re under the palace now,” replied Daedalus. He pointed ahead to three arched openings in the room’s circular wall. “Those are three possible entrances to the labyrinth. Each will lead visitors along a different path in the maze.”

  “Their goal? To reach the middle of the maze, where the dreaded Minotaur awaits,” Athena supplied in a dramatic voice that made him laugh.

  “Exactly! Of course the paths connect and separate throughout the labyrinth, so visitors can meet up or go different directions now and then. Depending on which way they think will get them there fastest,” Daedalus explained. Then he gestured toward the three entrances. “Your pick.”

  Athena grinned and headed for the center entrance. “This one,” she said, and he followed her in.

  Beyond the arched opening, they entered a tunnel—the start of the labyrinth. She was bouncing with excitement to test her skill at puzzle-solving. Would she be able to find her way to the center on her own? She studied their surroundings carefully to avoid getting lost on the way in and so she’d be able to find her way out later. She didn’t want to have to ask for help with directions unless it was absolutely necessary.

  “I thought it would be dark inside this labyrinth, since it’s so cavelike and since it’s under the palace,” Athena commented. “Those were a good idea,” she added, gesturing at the torches that jutted out from the tunnel’s walls every ten feet or so. By the golden light they gave off, she could see that many of the walls had been artfully decorated with frescoes—murals showing scenes of bull-leaping contests, and people dancing and feasting. “Beautiful,” she murmured, running her hand along the fresco to her left. “I’ve never seen such deep, rich reds and blues.”

  Daedalus preened, obviously pleased by her praise. “I hired the finest artists and builders in Crete. The frescoes will give visitors something to look at while they’re trying to find their way to the center of the maze and then back out again.”

  “Are they location clues, too?” she guessed. He nodded, his eyes sparkling.

  The passage they followed twisted and turned, and its floor was studded with fake stalagmites that you had to be careful not to stumble over. However, to her disappointment, it wasn’t really all that hard to navigate, she soon began to realize. And there were only a few, short dead ends angling off the main path to add interest and to make you backtrack. Hmm.

  “Are any of the three main paths more challenging than the others?” she asked him hopefully.

  He nodded, and relief filled her. But it quickly fled when he added, “This one is the hardest.”

  Huh? That was bad news, she thought. She crossed her fingers that the maze would get harder later on. Surely it would. Daedalus knew what he was doing. Right?

  “The number and variety of your inventions is astounding,” Daedalus remarked enthusiastically, picking up their earlier conversation as they rounded a corner along the path. “From musical instruments to math, the olive, the sewing arts, ships, and chariots. I mean, the list goes on and on.”

  “Well, there are just so many things that interest me,” Athena said modestly as she stepped over a stalagmite that had been painted with red and blue polka dots. “I bet you’re the same way.” She welcomed the chance to chat, since the maze unfortunately wasn’t really keeping her brain occupied.

  Daedalus shook his head. “Not really. My inventions are mostly limited to architectural and mechanical things. I don’t know how you do it. I wish I possessed one tenth of your creative ability!”

  Though Athena felt a bit embarrassed by his over-the-top flattery, it also made her feel pretty good. She was a goddess, after all. Being worshipped by mortals was part of the package! Daedalus’s praise boosted her feelings of pride in her inventions. And her confidence, too. Did Heracles feel a similar boost in his pride and confidence when Theseus praised his heroics? she wondered. Probably so. Realizing this made her feel more understanding of how he’d been acting since Theseus had arrived.

  As they approached the center of the labyrinth, the twists and turns came faster, but there were fewer trick dead ends to trip her up. Along the way Athena couldn’t help imagining ways the labyrinth’s design could be improved to make it more complex. Right now it was really so simple that anyone could easily find their way out of it just by keeping one hand on a wall and following it to the center and then back out again. So, although it was beautiful, it wasn’t exactly . . . fun.

  Eventually they came to a six-sided room painted blood-red that was about twice the size of the dorm room she shared with Pandora back at the Academy. Athena stopped cold and gasped at the sight that met them.

  “Behold the vicious Minotaur!” Daedalus crowed, gesturing toward it with the sweep of his arm.

  The mechanical monster he’d created stood at the center of the hexagonal room and was fantastic! It had the body of a man and the head and tail of a bull. The gold ring through its nose gleamed in the light of the torches lining the room. Its eyes seemed to stare at her fiercely. She took a step back, her own gray-blue eyes going wide. Then she paused.

  “Why isn’t it moving?” she whispered.

  “Don’t worry. It’s not turned on right now,” he said, which instantly relaxed her.

  “Sorry,” she said sheepishly. “But that thing scared me for a second. It’s almost an exact replica of the Minotaurs in the Forest of the Beasts! Same humongous size. Bull horns, two clawe
d hands, two hooved feet. Same menacing look in its red eyes.” She shivered.

  “Does that mean you like it?” he teased. “Here, come look closer.” He drew her to the center of the room toward the Minotaur. Still, she held back a little and didn’t venture too near it.

  As she studied the mechanical beast, Daedalus watched eagerly. “So you’ve been through my maze. Give me your honest opinion. I’m dying to know what you think.”

  “Well, I think this Minotaur is super-scary. That is to say, a-maze-ing!” she said after a moment, which made him smile. “So lifelike.” She purposely avoided sharing her misgivings about the labyrinth itself. She didn’t want to dim his enthusiasm for the field of invention or hurt his feelings. Yet she didn’t want to lie, either. So she didn’t point out what she saw as the labyrinth’s biggest flaw—that it was way too easy!

  Luckily, Daedalus didn’t seem to notice her lack of enthusiasm. “I’m so glad you like it,” he said, sounding pleased. “The Minotaur looks even scarier when it’s turned on. But don’t worry. I made it so it can’t move more than a few steps in any direction.”

  “Can I see? I mean, could you turn it on for a few seconds, maybe?” Athena asked, thinking there must be an on-off switch on the monster somewhere.

  Daedalus shook his head. “Sorry. I would if I could. But the controls that operate it are in my workshop upstairs.” He pointed up, and she glanced in that direction to see that the ceiling overhead was made of thick, opaque glass. “It’s one-way glass. Visitors down here can’t see me in the control room, but from up there I can look down and see them. That way I can keep tabs on what’s going on. So if anyone gets scared or the Minotaur malfunctions, I can use the speaker system to calm everyone, and use the controls to turn this monster off. I wish I could see the whole maze though. I hope no one gets too terribly lost, because I won’t be able to guide them out.”