Chapter Text
In retrospect, skipping the concert to hunt for a shipwreck teetering on the edge of a supposedly bottomless trench, surrounded by ominous rock shelves and a graveyard of debris, was not one of Percy’s best ideas.
Grover voices this opinion as they swim down past the kingdom’s boundaries, the water turning colder as they descend.
“Percy, this place is creepy. Can we go home? If we head back now, we’ll only be a little late to the -”
“Come on G-man, don’t get cold fins now! We’re almost there!” Percy interrupts, looking over his shoulder to shoot Grover a winning smile. His best friend remains unconvinced, casting nervous glances behind them as his seahorse tail curls up with anxiety.
“How do you even know that? Did Tyson really give you step-by-step directions on how to find this thing?” Grover asks between chattering teeth as a freezing current rushes by.
“Well, not exactly...he told me that Rainbow had seen it right around the trench, so I figured - ”
“Rainbow? You mean we swam all the way out chasing a rumor from a hippocampus?” Grover’s voice reaches a new octave between the combination of disbelief and fear.
Percy rolls his eyes, blue fin swishing out behind him. “Give me a bit more credit than that, it wasn’t just Rainbow. The dolphin patrols reported a wreck around here too, there’s definitely something!”
Grover mutters something unflattering about marine mammals under his breath but follows Percy’s lead. The sunlight filtering down from far above grows weaker and weaker as they approach the trench’s edge, casting an eerie green glow to the rocks and sand.
Out of the gloom, the shipwreck appears: it’s cracked in two, the helm speared on a large rock formation and the stern dangling precipitously over the edge of the trench. Only a few planks of splintered wood hold the two halves together. The shredded remains of a sail, still barely attached to the mast, flutter in the current. Percy’s pulse quickens in anticipation. This was it! Nothing could beat the thrill from discovering something new, something from the world above.
“It really is here.” Grover whispers, voice hushed in awe.
“Guess Rainbow isn’t a dumb as you thought.” Percy says with a pointed glance. Grover elbows him in response.
“You first, Your Highness.”
Percy grins, eagerly swimming forward towards the top of the mast before spiraling down around it.
“Aren’t you supposed to be protecting me ?” Percy calls out as Grover hovers above him.
“Yeah, I’m protecting your tail! Hurry up and do your scavenging so we can get out of here.”
Percy didn’t need to be told twice. He swims down to the main deck at the point where the ship is torn in half, poking his head over the edge to peer below deck. The base of the rock spire takes up most of the empty space, but Percy could still make out a few things worth investigating: a large chest, a few open sacks, and a wooden vanity with a cracked mirror.
Percy swims down and heaves the chest open, only to find a disappointing pile of gold coins- he already has several in his collection, but he scoops up the least mossy ones anyways, admiring the feel of the imprinted shapes under his thumb.
The cloth sacks are empty, likely having lost their cargo on their way down, but the vanity is still standing. Percy wishes he could take the whole contraption back to the palace, but even if he could convince Grover to help him, it’s far too heavy to swim with. He notices a small golden knob attached to a drawer and pulls at it experimentally.
To Percy’s delight, there’s something inside: a blue knick-knack with thick bristles as soft as seaweed attached to a round top, and a handle carved to look like a venus comb. After turning it over in his hands, Percy delicately packs it away with the coins in his knapsack.
Percy, are you done down there yet? You know I hate swimming this deep, Grover’s voice sounds in his mind, a familiar panic bleeding through their empathy link.
Percy’s stomach clenches in sympathy. Just a bit longer! I wanna check out the other half of the ship - it’ll take ten more minutes tops , Percy projects reassuringly.
You mean the part that’s in the trench?! Percy, no! That’s way too dangerous!
You say that every time , Percy points out, already swimming towards the stern, And we’re always fine.
Define ‘always fine’ , comes Grover’s worried response, As I recall, we’re usually about to die. Like that time with the sharks?
I had it under control , Percy replies. The stern side of the ship, despite dangling into the maw of the trench, is much more intact- Percy can see the remnants of wooden steps, which he’s seen humans use to walk up and down levels of their boats. He glides over to the stairs and he can’t help imagining - what would it be like to use them?
They were going to eat us both before Reyna stepped in! Grover’s voice interrupts him. Despite the concern in his friend’s thoughts, Percy can feel the laughter behind the memory and cracks a smile.
Please, I talked our way out of it before she even showed up. Son of the Sea King, remember?
Something catches Percy’s eye as he runs his hands over the stair railing- a small bracelet made of black pearls. A tiny charm hangs off of it but Percy can’t quite tell what it is. He grabs it and holds it up to get a closer look: it looks almost like a spear, but the blade at the top is curved in a crescent-shape, almost like a scythe…
BOOM.
A deep rumbling sound, followed immediately by a sharp warning cry from Grover, grabs Percy’s attention. Suddenly, the stern is moving downwards: the planks of wood holding it together splinter loudly as if something is pulling the ship into the gorge below.
With a sharp CRACK! the wood snaps and the stern starts sinking rapidly - Percy tries to swim up with all his might, but it’s like trying to escape a whirlpool. The darkness below seems almost alive, reaching up with invisible arms to sucking the ship and Percy into the trench.
Adrenaline kicks Percy’s mind into overdrive. He focuses his powers, bending the water around him to launch him out of the trench. He feels a sharp tug in his gut as the currents obey, propelling him up and up - he can see Grover a few feet above him at the lip of the trench, reaching his hand out desperately.
With a shout, he kicks up and grabs Grover’s outstretched hand. The two friends tumble back onto the ledge as the ship disappears behind them.
Percy can swear he hears a dark laugh emanating from the depths of the trench. Grover and Percy lay stunned in the sand, silent except for their heavy breathing.
“What was that?” Percy asks after a few minutes, his pulse finally returning to normal. Grover turns to him, lips still white and eyes wide with terror. I don’t know, and I don’t want to find out. Can we please leave now? he begs in Percy’s mind, too shaken to reply aloud.
Percy takes a deep breath and nods in agreement. Thanks for the save, G-man, he projects sincerely, as the two swim away from the trench without looking back.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“So what is it?”
Percy has his chin propped up in both hands, elbows resting on a shelf of rock jutting up just above the surface. This far away from shore, he’s not concerned about any human eyes - which is why it’s the perfect place to meet with Blackjack after a scavenging trip. The black seagull is perched on Percy’s head, quizzically eyeing the item laid out before him.
Well, boss, to be honest, I’m not totally sure...but if I hadta guess, you’re lookin’ at a dinglehopper.
Percy blinks as Blackjack hops onto the rock to prod the blue handle with a webbed foot.
“A dinglehopper? What does it do?”
“It’s getting us in trouble, that’s what,” Grover grumbles from the other side of the rock. His color has finally returned after their close-call in the shipwreck, but he’s clearly anxious about being above the surface of the water.
“We already missed the concert, how much more trouble could we possibly be in?” Percy points out. “Just relax, we’ve only been up here a minute, my dad’ll never find out.”
“It might not be a big deal for you to break the law, but I’d like to keep my tail attached, thank you very much.” Grover shoots back at him before sinking below the water with a small splash.
Blackjack tilts his head in response. What’s the deal with your friend, boss? Too much kelp for breakfast?
Percy huffs out a laugh. “Don’t worry about it, he just forgets he’s not a guppy sometimes. Tell me about the dinglehopper!”
Blackjack picks up the handle of Percy’s latest memento in his beak and swishes his head back and forth experimentally.
OK, here’s the deal boss. The dinglehopper here is a deadly weapon- humans use it when they’ve really gotta get someone good. You aim it straight at the eye and BAM! Knocks ‘em right out.
Percy’s face lights up with excitement as he reaches his palm out for Blackjack to drop the bauble into. “Wow, a weapon? I never would have guessed, it doesn’t look dangerous at all.” Percy runs his hand around the smooth handle with renewed respect, careful to avoid the bristles.
Percy, it’s almost sunset! Can we please head back? Someone in the court is definitely going to notice we’re gone if they haven’t already! Grover’s voice chimes in Percy’s head from below the waves. With a wistful sigh, Percy puts the dinglehopper back in his pouch, relishing the last few moments of the breeze ruffling his hair. “Thanks again, Blackjack!” he says with a salute.
Blackjack flaps his wings in response, preparing to sail off. A few stray feathers shake loose and Percy picks one up, twirling it between his thumb and forefinger. “You mind if I grab one of these for my baby brother?” Percy asks.
Anything for you, boss! Blackjack caws out happily as he flies into the sky, soaring over the waves. With one last longing look at the horizon, Percy dives below the waves to join his friend.
“Remind me again why that bird likes you so much?” Grover asks as they swim back towards the palace. The setting sun bathes the shallow water in an orange glow and Percy basks in the rays. Grover’s shoulders finally relax as they get further away from the surface, no longer blatantly disobeying royal orders.
“Honestly, it wasn’t a big deal - I saved him from a giant trevally once when he was flying too low and almost got snatched up for a snack,” Percy says with a shrug, “Ever since, he says he owes me his life and won’t stop calling me ‘boss’.”
Grover laughs at the disbelief in Percy’s voice. “You know, you are technically a prince. It’s probably about time you get over people calling you by a title.”
Percy’s nose wrinkles with distaste. Although he’d always known he was the son of a king, the concept of royalty had been abstract until a few years ago. His mother had insisted on raising him outside of the palace, away from the negative influences of court life until he was old enough to handle them. No one had called him “Prince Perseus” until he was 12, and he’d spent every year since trying to shrug off the label - with limited success.
“You say that now, but who knows. Maybe dad’ll actually disinherit me this time.” Percy says, plastering on a sarcastic smile.
Grover rolls his eyes at that. “Sure, Percy. Hey, I’ll race you to the reef - if we get a move on, I might have time to see Juniper before I have to make my report to the council!” Grover says happily, his tone already dreamy from the thought of seeing his girlfriend, the coral nymph.
Percy’s lips twitch up into a smirk. “You’re on, G-man. Last one there’s in charge of cleaning the stables tonight!” He puts on a burst of speed, calling on the currents to carry him forward.
“Percy! Come on, no cheating!” Grover calls out, but Percy’s already gotten his head start - the satyr’s complaints are drowned out by Percy’s laughter and the rush of bubbles.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No matter how many times Percy sees Atlantica from the outside, he’s still blown away by the grandeur of it all. Its gleaming gold towers and pearl gates stand majestically against the backdrop of the dark water, fluorescent blooms illuminating every metallic surface. The whole city seems to glow in the fading yellow light, glittering like the crown jewel of the kingdom that it is.
Percy and Grover make their way through the city as quickly as possible, sticking close to the sandy floor to avoid detection. The paved pathway of the courtyard leading up to the Great Hall is lined with royal guards, all in formal armor for the ongoing concert - Percy lets out an involuntary shudder remembering how many times he’s polished their bronze shields as a punishment.
He and Grover duck around to the left side of the castle gates and shimmy under a small hole between one of the fence posts and the sea floor, one of Percy’s many secret routes in and out of the castle. Above them, the gleaming golden doors to the concert hall open as a large crowd of chattering merfolk spill out into the courtyard.
Percy shoots Grover a shit-eating grin. See, perfect timing. When will you learn to trust me?
Grover doesn’t deign to respond to that. Instead, he points to the crowd. Look, it’s Tyson and Frank- should we join them?
Percy nods and the two of them swim up to join their friends, inserting themselves seamlessly in the large crowd. Frank is currently in the form of a manta ray, only distinguishable from a real creature by the golden symbol of two crossed spears decorating his dorsum. Percy tugs on his tail as they come up from behind with a loud “BOO!”.
Frank yelps and turns into a hermit crab in surprise; as he sinks towards the ground, he peeks his head out of his shell and breathes a sigh of relief when he sees Percy’s face. “Percy! Grover! Where were you guys?” Frank asks as he shifts into a merman, the golden tattoo reappearing on his forearm. Tyson turns and gleefully shouts, “Brother!” before crushing Percy in a hug.
“Oh you know, exploring new places, hunting for treasure,” Percy wheezes out from over Tyson’s shoulder.
“Nearly dying,” Grover adds.
“Same old, same old.” Percy finishes as Tyson releases him. “How was the concert?” Tyson’s outburst has started drawing looks from the crowd, so Percy shepherds them back towards the east tower entrance. With any luck, they can escape back to the barracks without anyone being the wiser.
Tyson frowns. “Mr. Dionysus is very mad. He called for you to come to the stage and you were not there.”
Percy smacks a hand to his forehead. “He called me up? I specifically told him I wasn’t going to come on stage!” he groans.
“That’s probably why he did it.” says Grover sagely.
“He’s on the warpath,” Frank intones, “Says you ruined the whole finale. You may want to avoid him for a while if you don’t want to be turned into a dolphin.”
Percy shrugs. “So Mr. D is pissed, what else is new. I’ve been dodging the dolphin threat for years. More importantly, I have a surprise for you, Tyson!” Percy produces the black feather from his pouch with a flourish and hands it to Tyson.
“Birdie!” Tyson exclaims joyfully as he takes the feather with reverent hands. His big brown eye shines with wonder and Percy beams in response. Their little group has almost made it to the spiral shell ramp leading down to their quarters when a booming voice echoes through the palace, shaking the biofluorescent chandeliers.
“PERSEUS! REPORT TO THE THRONE ROOM THIS INSTANT.”
The group stops in their tracks and Percy winces as he recognizes the angry voice of his father. “We were this close,” he moans, head drooping down to bump against the alabaster walls. “Do you think he sounds ‘scrub all the palace tiles’ pissed, or ‘house arrest for a month’ pissed?”
“Only one way to find out,” says Grover mournfully.
Frank claps a hand on both of their shoulders. “Want some moral support?”
Percy smiles up at his friend gratefully. “Let’s get this over with,” he sighs, and the group makes their way down the hall to the throne room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“...and it comes down to disrespect, sire. This so-called ‘prince’ has absolutely no consideration for any of his royal responsibilities, and to be frank, it reflects poorly on the entire court.” Dionysus sniffs contemptuously, his whiny voice bouncing off the pillars of the circular throne room.
Percy knows from experience that they’ve reached the point in the lecture where Mr. D is almost done ranting himself out - next, his father will sigh, let Percy make his case, and then dole out the final punishment. Poseidon’s face is unreadable from atop his golden throne, one hand on his trident while the other hand rests on his temple. He looks like he wants to massage away a headache. Percy feels a small pang of guilt.
“Father, I didn’t know I was supposed to make an appearance. It was a simple mistake. I didn’t mean to make anyone look bad - I mean, Mr. D can usually manage that without my help.”
He can hear Grover groan from the entrance hall behind him. Dionysus’s nostrils flare in anger and he opens his mouth to deliver a scathing response, but is interrupted by Poseidon’s calm voice.
“Percy.”
Percy’s gaze snaps up to meet his father’s eyes in shock. Poseidon rarely uses his preferred nickname, especially not in court.
“I know you have felt a deep sadness since Sally’s passing. I know this is the reason you avoid music as well. But you are nearly 18 now, and as my son, you have a duty to master your powers and present yourself in court regardless of your personal feelings.”
Percy feels the old hurt rise in his chest at the mention of his mother, which he quickly tamps down. He refuses to let himself tear up while Dionysus has that stupid smirk on his face.
“I can no longer turn a blind eye to your lack of participation,” Poseidon continues, “Starting tomorrow, you will complete dawn to sunset training with the praetors’ special infantry unit and join me for war council at midday.”
Percy’s face lights up in surprised excitement. Sitting in on military meetings with his father? Weapons training with Frank and Reyna, two of his closest friends? These are the parts of being a prince he’s actually been eager to take part in since he first moved to the palace.
Nice! Frank projects to him with the mental image of a fist bump. Dionysus glowers, his pudgy purple fin swishing in anger.
“In addition, you will spend the evenings in the medical bay for vocal training under Dionysus’s supervision until he is satisfied with your healing capabilities.” Poseidon finishes calmly.
Percy immediately deflates. Quality time with Dionysus for the foreseeable future was about as bad as it could get for a punishment, but he knows better than to argue with his dad. Dionysus’s mouth contorts like he’s been forced to swallow a worm. “But sire,” he starts, “My time in the evening will be extremely limited in preparation for-”
“No excuses!” Poseidon’s voice rings out with authority. “I don’t want to hear another word on this until Perseus is fully prepared for his coming-of-age ceremony.” He rises from the throne with an air of finality. “Tyson, accompany me to the forges. The rest of you are dismissed.”
“Yes, daddy!” Tyson bounds up to the center of the throne room as Percy breathes a sigh of relief. All things considered, he’d gotten a pretty good deal. He’s about to rejoin Grover and Frank at the entrance when he hears behind him, “Daddy, look what Percy got me!”
Percy’s head whips around in time to see Tyson holding up the black feather. As if in slow motion, he sees his father’s brows draw together and tighten his grip on the trident as he realizes what the offending item is and where it must have come from.
The room goes deathly quiet. Percy can feel the hairs on his arms rise as the water crackles with tension, heaviness gathering the way it does when his father is about to summon a typhoon.
“You went up to the surface again?”
Poseidon’s voice simmers with anger. He radiates fury as he turns his dark gaze on Percy. Tyson shrinks away, eye welling up with tears as he realizes his mistake.
“Nothing happened!” Percy replies quickly, but it does nothing to ameliorate his father’s temper.
“How many times must we go through this, Perseus?! You could have been spotted by one of those- those barbarians! You put the entire kingdom at risk, not to mention gambling your own life!” Poseidon’s voice is thunderous. The golden pillars seem to shake with the vibrations, and Percy fears for a moment that his father will bring the room down by accident- Dionysus clearly has the same idea as he high-tails it out to the main hall.
“As long as you live under my ocean, you’ll obey my laws. And I am never, ever to hear of you going to the surface again- is that clear?” Poseidon bellows, the end of his trident starting to glow with power.
Percy stares back mutinously. His initial fear has morphed into righteous indignation at his father’s accusations. It’s not like Percy wasn’t careful! And it’s not like every single human is evil, either. He wants to talk back, but upon seeing the dangerous set to his father’s jaw, he swallows his irritation and gives a stiff nod.
With that, Poseidon heaves a sigh. His posture relaxes as he lowers his trident, anger giving way to exhaustion. “Go.” Poseidon says with a tired wave of his hand as he turns away from his son.
Percy spins around sharply and rushes out, pain and anger still bubbling behind his clenched teeth. Grover and Frank are staring at him slack-jawed, but he brushes past them as fast as he can and doesn’t stop swimming until he’s far beyond the castle walls.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rachel finds him a few hours later, curled up in bed and staring at the wall. The small grotto he and his mother once called home is now his refuge at times like this - hardly anyone in the palace even knows about the small, secluded coves along the Montauk reef. Surrounded by the various human oddities he and Sally had collected throughout his childhood, every surface decorated with bright blue shells, he feels her presence like a phantom limb. He can almost pretend she’s going to come through the entryway, tray of kelp cookies in hand, and gently ask him -
“OK, what did you fuck up this time?”
Percy groans and pulls the sponge pillow over his head at the sound of Rachel’s voice. “Go away, Rachel,” his words come out muffled, “I want to be alone.”
“Not a chance, grumpy gills,” comes her annoyingly cheerful response. “I heard you got royally chewed out again?”
“How do you even know that already?”
“The Oracle works in mysterious ways, young sea urchin,” she says sagely.
Percy narrows his eyes. “Grover told you, didn’t he.”
She smiles. “Actually, he didn’t need to this time. The whole ocean could probably hear His Majesty yelling.”
“So what, you’re here to rub it in?”
“Actually, I have some incredibly valuable information I thought would cheer you up. But given how crabby you’re being, I’m rethinking my generous offer to share it with you.” She replies primly. Percy rolls over to keep his back turned to her, pulling the pillow tighter over his ears to block her out.
I’m sorry for teasing. For real - are you OK? Her voice in his mind soft with genuine concern. Percy sighs.
“He just...doesn’t get it. I don’t know if it’s because he doesn’t understand or he doesn’t want to understand, but ever since she died,” Percy’s throat starts to close up as the memories behind her unspoken name fill up the space between them. “I feel like I don’t even belong here. I’ll never be good enough for him anyways. I feel more alive when I’m up there- like at least I’m closer to her.” The words spill out with a few hot tears that Percy can’t stop from escaping.
Rachel sighs softly and floats over to him, golden tentacles billowing out around her. She arranges herself at the foot of the bed and strokes Percy’s tail fin gently. “You know he’s just worried about your safety. More and more merfolk living near the surface have been injured by human ships lately - he doesn’t want that to happen to you.”
Her voice is a soothing balm to the stinging hurt of his father’s dismissal - he takes a deep breath and lets himself be comforted by her words despite not truly believing them. If his father was truly concerned about his well-being, he would understand how much of Percy’s happiness was intricately wrapped up in the surface world, in the human stories his mom had recounted for him from her own adventures. To deny that would be like cutting Sally out of his heart, and that is one thing Percy will absolutely never do. With one last sigh, Percy pushes himself out of bed and turns to face Rachel with a small smile. He’s never been able to hold on to a bad mood for long.
“So what’s this ‘incredibly valuable information’ you’ve got?”
Rachel’s smile turns sly, her green eyes sparkling with mischief. “How do you feel about crashing a birthday party tonight?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Annabeth stands on the shore, enjoying the sea breeze rustling her hair and the taste of salt on her lips as she surveys the ocean. The marble walls of the castle glow in the setting sun behind her, the proud seat of power for the peninsula kingdom of Parthenos.
The waves are calm today but the water seems more mysterious as the daylight dims, as if concealing an entire world beneath its murky surface.
“Looks like a perfect evening for sailing!” she calls out to her friends. But the small group on the dock doesn’t respond, too busy arguing with each other to pay her mind. Annabeth rolls her eyes as she makes her way over to break up the fight.
“Leo, for the last time, this is going to be a royal celebration . We’re not taking one of your gods-forsaken experiments out on open water for Annabeth’s birthday!” Piper’s eyes flash with irritation as Leo puts down the gangplank to a medium-sized trireme.
“It’s not an experiment,“ comes Leo’s highly affronted voice, “it’s a masterpiece! Getting to take the Argo II out for her maiden voyage is an honor that Annabeth should be thanking me for - ”
“A ‘masterpiece’? Seriously? Remind me, what happened to the Argo I? Because as I recall, it somehow managed to light itself on fire - ”
“That was NOT my fault - ”
“We almost drowned, Leo! The queen was furious - ”
“ - and you’re just mad because your prince over there found out you couldn’t swim!”
“Please leave me out of this,” Jason groans from the sidelines. Silena giggles in amusement and Charles shakes his head. The rest of the royal navy carries on around them, preparing for departure while steadfastly ignoring the shouting match.
There was nothing new about Lady Piper, the most tempestuous member of Annabeth’s retinue, trying to win an argument; unfortunately, Leo knew her too well to fall victim to her usual powers of persuasion.
“No, it was because I was the one who had to explain to Her Majesty why her daughter’s eyebrows were singed off - ”
“Give me a break Beauty Queen, the worst thing that happened was you getting seaweed in your hair.”
“Leo! Piper! Cut it out!” Annabeth’s authoritative tone rings out across the dock, effectively shutting up the bickering pair. Jason, Silena, and Charles breathe a sigh of relief at her intervention.
“Piper, I appreciate you looking out for our safety. But I actually helped Leo with the designs for the Argo II,” Annabeth says with a wry smile, “so I promise it’s seaworthy.” Leo initially looks insulted at her words, but after a pointed look from Beckendorf, he just shrugs. “She did completely rework the rudder,” Leo acquiesces.
“She also streamlined the rigging and reinforced the hatches, which is more than I can say for the rest of your team.” Charles adds. Annabeth looks pleased at the compliment from the captain of the royal engineers corps. Leo just huffs in annoyance
“Fine, whatever , it’s all thanks to Her Royal Highness’s assistance - ” Piper starts to make a retort at Leo’s sarcastic tone, but he plows on, “ - so can we just go now? I want to ship out before low tide!”
Annabeth laughs and nods her assent. Leo gives a mock salute before dashing up to the deck to fiddle with the anchor before anyone can even blink. Charles follows him with a sigh, issuing out orders to the rest of the crew. Annabeth turns to Piper and Silena.
“If either of you are worried, please don’t force yourselves to accompany me. I can survive one night without my ladies-in-waiting.”
Piper rolls her eyes fondly at Annabeth’s diplomatic tone. “Don’t insult us. You know we wouldn’t miss your 18th birthday for the world.”
“And Piper wouldn’t want to miss a single hour away from Prince Jason.” Silena chimes in as the three of them ascend the gangplank. Piper blushes furiously and stammers out words of protest.
She had a point - the end of Jason’s term staying in the court of Parthenos was drawing to a close, just as Annabeth’s brother Malcolm would soon be returning from Olympia. Queen Athena and her cortege had left just yesterday to collect him. It was a tradition for the royal families that had preserved peace between Parthenos and Olympia for centuries, and given the tumultuous events of the year so far (ships disappearing at sea, patrols at the borders vanishing, whispered reports of monsters appearing from the shadows), that truce could not be more important.
Annabeth puts these heavy thoughts behind her as the Argo II moves out of the harbor. She feels like she’s flying when the sails unfurl - the responsibilities of the kingdom roll off her shoulders as wind picks up. The churning sea resonates in her bones and she closes her eyes to savor the feeling. It’s almost like something in the watery expanse is calling to her the further they get from shore, drawing her in like it always does. Tonight, Annabeth swears, she’ll find out what.
If only she knew what she was looking for.