Chapter Text
I snapped awake, blinking away tears before they could fall. I was so fucking sick of crying. The rocking of the boat soothed the leftover nerves from the nightmare. Why was it still an issue? Her death was nearly a year ago. I blew out a long breath, running my hand through my hair.
A minuscule sea breeze hit me. The Princess Andromeda blocked out the influence of the gods, allowing us to travel without risk of being smote (smited?) on the spot. There were, however, certain things you could do that allowed… say an overprotective father to check on his son.
Not that I’ve ever done that, that is.
I got up stretching my arms a little before glancing at a mirror. I hadn’t changed much from the kid who tried to block whiskey bottles and punches. I was a little taller, and a little paler, but that was the only difference.
A loud knock came from the door, “Castellan’s expecting you, Jackson.” A gruff voice said.
I sighed, getting dressed and stepping out of the cabin. Annabeth’s necklace safely in it’s spot tucked under my shirt around my neck. I hadn’t told Luke I had it. I was too afraid he’d take it away, something that still caused me to hide it.
“Luke.” I greeted as I walked into the main cabin.
The son of Hermes smiled as he noticed my presence, “Percy, I’ve got a special mission for you.”
“The last ‘special’ mission you sent me on didn’t exactly go well, so I’m holding out on the hope you learned from last time.” I said dryly.
“That wasn’t my fault. Besides, you managed to complete it just fine.” He shrugged
The mission in question was to “convince” Triumvirate Holdings to “give” us the boat. Needless to say I got caught. But I did manage to get the boat using my skills of “persuasion.” Who knew stabbing was an effective diplomatic tactic?
“Trust me, Percy, this mission is nothing like the last one. Camp is sending a quest out to look for the Golden Fleece.”
I blinked, “So you want me to trail them, and steal it?”
Luke smirked, “Exactly. I don’t know who’s leading it, so be careful.”
“I’m the son of the sea god, the fleece is in the Sea of Monsters. I think I’ll be fine.” I deadpanned.
Luke scowled the way he always did when the gods were mentioned, “Just telling you to be cautious, Perce, nothing wrong with that.”
I rolled my eyes, “Sure, when do you want me to leave?”
“Desperate to get out of here?”
“You’re the one sending me.”
The demigod laughed, “Soon as you're ready we’ll drop you in Florida.”
I nodded , leaving the cabin without another word. I didn’t know what Luke expected me to do. Taking a bag with me would look suspicious, and everything I needed was constantly on me. Riptide? Yup. Annabeth’s necklace? Always. Ambrosia for emergencies? Yes, I’d learned my lesson of not having it on me at all times.
I went up to the deck of the yacht, leaning on the railing and enjoying the sea air. Monsters and demigods went about their business.
“Come on, Seaweed Brain, you’ve got a mission to do”
A shaky breath and I left the deck, alerting Luke I was ready.
When Luke dropped me off in Florida I was not expecting to be almost immediately attacked by a fucking hydra. I’d gotten used to the monsters aboard the Princess Andromeda, this was not one of them.
I dodged, barely avoiding one of the hydra’s heads. Without thinking I sliced one of the heads off.
A temporary moment of triumph before, “Shit.”
It’s just my luck I completely forgot every myth about the hydra. Yes that'll work, blame it on my atrocious luck. A loud boom shook the ground. Another and another until the hydra was turned to gilded dust.
I looked to my left cursing when I saw who was aboard it. My least favorite demigod, a daughter of my least favorite god.
“Climb aboard, Kelp Face, something tells me we’ve got a long chat ahead.” Clarisse La Rue called from her boat.
An iron confederacy ship, averaging eight to ten knots in nautical miles. What can I say? I like boats.
When I didn’t budge, the daughter of war snapped her fingers. Two skeletons hopped down, grabbing my arms, and forcing me onto the ship.
“Fucking- what the hell!” I growled, shortly after being dropped onto the deck.
She scowled, “That’s the thanks I get for saving your ass?”
“I was doing just fine on my own.”
Clarisse laughed, “If that’s how you’d like to describe it, Kelp Head.”
“Sure, Seaweed Brain, whatever helps you sleep at night”
“You’re the one leading the quest?” I huffed,
“You don’t have to act so surprised.”
“Where are your quest mates?”
The daughter of Ares looked pained, “They- uh- stayed back, to protect camp.”
I blinked, “They abandoned you?”
She scowled, turning away, clearly done with the conversation. Maybe she thought I was making fun of her, though that was the furthest from my intentions as you could get. I knew what it was like to be an outcast. I am an outcast.
“What are you doing all the way out here, Prissy?”
I glared, “Just passing through.”
“Is that what you call being missing for a year?”
I winced, I’d left camp with Luke the day of Annabeth’s funeral. It was a bitter memory, something I tried to ignore and put in the back of my head. I shrugged.
“It’s not like I was hiding.”
Clarisse gave me a dubious look, “Maybe not, but you did disappear with Luke. The very same person Malcolm told Chiron was trying to convince him to fight against the gods.”
“That’s odd, and who’s to say I left with Luke?”
She snapped her fingers and the two skeletons from before tied by hands behind my back.
“What the hell!” I seethed.
Clarisse studied me, “Let’s drop the charade, Jackson. You’re fighting against the gods. You’re a traitor.”
I rolled my eyes, “Can’t be a traitor to something you never believed in.”
The daughter of war grit her teeth, “Don’t you know how worried Grover was? How worried your mom was?”
Everything froze. An old wound became fresh and stinging.
“She doesn’t get to worry about me.” I spat.
Clarisse stepped back, clearly shocked by the venom in my words. I could see when she pieced it together. Her angry gaze turned to pity… no …sympathy. Something was clearly wrong. Maybe I hit my head too hard. No way was Clarisse La Rue sympathizing with me.
“What are you doing here, Jackson?” She asked again.
I remained silent. Though wordlessly grateful for her drop of the previous topic.
“Fine, but if you’re going to stick around, at least help out.”
“Careful, Clarisse, it’s starting to sound like you want me here.”
She huffed out a small laugh, “Never in a million years. You just have your own uses.”
A small smile tugged at my lips. I looked up at Clarisse with a smirk, “Sure.”
Maybe this wasn’t the tactic Luke would’ve wanted me to use for this mission. I didn’t care. Slowly recruiting another half-blood was better than attacking an innocent one.
“Take him under.” Clarisse ordered,
Once again the skeletons obeyed (I really needed to figure how she did that) and they dragged me below deck. Overall, not the worst place to be dumped. The area was clearly a makeshift holding cell. Possibly made hastily before Clarisse set sail. But it was comfortable in its own sort of way.
A sea breeze wrapped around me and a real smile formed on my face. Poseidon’s breeze was stronger than it had been in a year.
I sat on the floor with my back to the wall, feeling the thrum of the ocean against the side of the boat. I’d make this work.
If I was going to help out on this boat I’d hold to it.
“Make it- make it right”
“Up and at’em, Jackson!” Clarisse yelled, startling me awake.
I groaned, “Fuck you.” I muttered, pushing myself up.
I’d fallen asleep in the upright position (10/10 would not recommend) and my back and neck were killing me for it. Skeletons and ghosts were sweeping and tidying the ship, how Clarisse was controlling them I still didn’t know.
“We’re entering the Sea of Monsters soon, any idea how to get in without dying.” Clarisse asked once I’d gotten up.
I considered it for a moment. Remembering the myths about Scylla and her sister Charybdis.
“I think Scylla is the safer way to go. This ship won’t last long in Charybdis’ storms. And we can keep some of the dead above deck for Scylla to munch on.”
The daughter of war scowled, “I don’t like it, doesn’t Scylla require a sacrifice to make it through alive?”
I chuckled while walking by to go above, “Hence why we keep some of the dead above.”
I heard Clarisse follow me. I walked along the railing, for once able to enjoy it without thousands of monsters watching me.
“What’s the prophecy for all this shit anyway?” I asked eventually.
Clarisse scowled, “You won’t trust me with why you’re out here, and you expect me to tell you that?”
“Yup,” I replied simply, “Having a second set of ears on the prophecy helps.”
“You’re not like them
What
Those men, you’re not like them”
She shook her head, “The damn thing doesn’t make any sense.”
“Have at me.”
She scowled again, “Not until you tell me what you were doing in Florida, Jackson. Then I’ll know you’re not hiding something.”
I rolled my eyes, “Paranoid much?”
Her glare could’ve wilted flowers, “Having enough caution not to trust a traitor, isn’t paranoia.”
“Not a traitor.” I muttered,
This conversation wasn’t going anywhere. Clarisse was tight lipped about her prophecy, only telling me that it made zero sense. I had a feeling that was all the information I’d be getting for a while.
“Fine, what do you need me to do?” I gestured to the ship around us.
“Keep an eye on the water. If anything pops up, alert me.”
“Boring.”
She glared at me again, “I’ll give you a more important job when you prove you can be trusted.”