Percy flipped his green tail as he swam against the current, struggling slightly.

"I don't think we should be doing this, Percy!" his friend Grover said over the sound of the rushing water. Grover looked like Capricorn, with the top half of a satyr and his bottom half a long, blue tail that almost blended in to the water. He was watching Percy carefully, outside of the current with another figure.

"Be careful, Percy. The water is strong." Tyson called. He looked like a normal boy, despite the fact he could breathe completely underwater, until you looked at his face. Tyson was a Cyclops, and only had one eye.

"Don't worry, Tyson, I've done this a hundred times." Percy called back. His friends watched as he carefully made his way up the underwater current until he got to a small outcropping of rock that he pulled himself in to the center of the vortex, and was unaffected by the swirling water. He waved to them casually. Tyson waved back, but Grover nervously chewed his fingernails.

"Your father isn't going to like this!" Grover called.

Percy scoffed. "He doesn't care what I do. Besides, this doesn't mean much to him. It will be a lot of fun."

Percy opened what looked like a latch on the rock, and pulled something out of the opening. It fit perfectly in his hand, and was only about three pounds.

He jumped back into the current. Grover gasped as the strong water rushed Percy faster than before, but Percy managed to calm the flow enough to jump out again next to Grover and Tyson.

"Yay!" Tyson said. "You mad it back!" Percy smiled, and looked at what he held in his hands.

"You sure your Dad won't get angry?" Grover asked.

"Nah." Percy shrugged. "He put that whirlpool around so that rogue sea creatures don't get too curious. All you need is a little current manipulation to get passed it, and presto. He would't guard something important with such little effort, right?"

Grover looked unconvinced, but Tyson said, "Right."

"I wish I could manipulate the water..." Grover mumbled. "All I can do is digest tin cans." He looked depressed, so Percy said, "Don't worry, goat boy. It's pretty cool, but I can only do it because I'm the son of the Sea God. None of the other merpeople can."

This seemed to depress Grover even further.

"Too bad I'm not a merperson either." Percy hadn't realized that he brought up this sore subject. Grover was the only half goat/half merman Percy had met, and he didn't fit in much. He had problems with bullies, but not when Percy was around. True, he wasn't very furry, and only resembled a goat with his horns, but Grover was still discriminated against.

Percy smiled. "Cheer up, man. This ting will lift your mood." he held up the object in his hand, which appeared to be a silver sphere.

"What does that do, anyway?" Grover asked trying to hide his interest.

"I'll show you." Percy said.

He led them to a coral reef, not far away, which was abundant with fish. The three boys hid behind a large outcropping of coral.

"Watch." Percy said. He twisted a knob on the silver orb twice, and rolled it in to the middle of the reef.

Nothing happened.

"What are we looking for?" Tyson asked.

"Wait for it..." Percy said.

Suddenly, a blinding flash struck the reef. The sphere was emitting a multitude of colors from chartreuse to magenta. They never flashed for more than a moment, and were scattered in all different directions. A terrible song from the disco era began playing, and Percy couldn't stop laughing. The fish in the reef were swimming around frantically, trying to make sense of what was going on in the general chaos.

"Gentleman, may I introduce to you the first underwater disco." Percy said proudly.

"Pretty colors!" Tyson cheered.

Grover said, "We are so getting in trouble for this. Percy, sometimes I wonder where you find these things." But he couldn't help smiling as well. The underwater lights were captivating.

Percy grinned, then said, "We better get out of here. Look." He pointed to three of his father's guards entering the scene. One was a swordfish, one was an octopus, and one was an eel. They all wore the trident sash, the symbol of Poseidon. The boys were about to leave, when someone who had been standing behind them blocked their path.

"Not this time." a calm yet strict murmured.

All three boys turned, and locked eyes with Chiron. He was intimidating, for sure, for he stood much taller than the boys. He was a centaur, and could not swim very well so he preferred to walk on the ocean floor. Percy was not sure how he could breathe underwater, perhaps a spell. Chiron was the school master, as well as hired by Poseidon to look after Percy. He was a very good teacher, but Percy felt he followed the rules too strictly.

Percy sighed. "Alright. What is it this time? Detention again?"

Chiron looked disappointed at Percy, and shook his head. "No, Percy. Your father seeks your counsel."

Percy froze. His Dad hardly ever wanted to see him. Maybe Grover had been right, maybe he had gone too far... he had only meant to have some fun with a simple prank.

Chiron said, "Come along, son." and began to walk away. He called back to Tyson and Grover, "I think you boys best be getting home before those guards find you."

Tyson and Grover looked at Percy apologetically. "Don't worry. I'll see you guys later."

"Bye Percy." Tyson said sadly. "Be good."

Percy did not find it difficult to keep up with Chiron, and found their slow pace annoying.

"Has everything been alright lately?" he asked Percy.

Percy frowned, but said, "Everything's peachy keene."

Chiron raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Something you want to talk about?"

Percy hesitated, but said, "My stepmother is becoming increasingly annoying. Sometimes I- I don't know. Forget it."

"What were you going to say?" Chiron inquired. The sincerity in his tone allowed Percy to open up.

"I wish my Mom were here."

The teacher sighed. "Percy, when your mother went missing, the entire kingdom mourned. Myself included. But that was almost 15 years ago. You must try to move on, and deal with the present. Stop acting out, and try to give Gwyneth a chance." Percy scowled. He had a supreme dislike for his new stepmother. Not only did she fill a spot Percy was not ready to relinquish, but she constantly nagged him. Anything was fair game, his poor grades, why he didn't have a girlfriend, and most importantly why her sons should be first in line for the thrown. She brought two of the stupidest, ugliest mermen Percy had ever met in to the palace. They were from a previous relationship, and Percy liked to think their father was a barnacle. Sometimes even barnacles seemed smarter than Mike and Tyler...

There was nothing, however, Percy could do about it. He couldn't bring it up with his father. It was even a stretch to mention it to Chiron.

To get the old Centaur off his back, Percy mumbled, "Fine. I'll try."

Chiron looked at Percy with a concerned stare, but didn't try to initiate conversation the rest of the walk to the palace.

Their path took them through the city, which was filled with merpeople going about their daily business. Most were far above the ocean floor, swimming to and fro to get their work done. Some shopped in the marketplace, while others went to offices and others went to visit friends. Many of the buildings in the city were made of a shiny white rock, something that resembled an abalone shell. Others were covered in sedimentary rock, filled with tiny broken bits of seashells and sea-glass. Percy knew that the Palace City was the largest gathering of merpeople in the Seven Oceans. There were a few rural villages here a there, but Percy had never been far past the outskirts of town. This included many fields of sea-cucumbers and oysters, which Percy found incredibly dull. He longed for adventure.

He followed Chiron along a long, white road of sand that led to the palace gates. The gates appeared to be shaped like giant clams, and they would only close in wartime as a precaution for the palace. Percy and Chiron strolled right through.

They entered a number of rooms, each furnished a bit differently in fisherman's attire, before reaching the throne room. Poseidon sat atop a massive golden throne. His aqua tail swirled out under him, and complimented his turquoise embezzled crown. Percy had always been glad his tail was not the color of his fathers.

The most similar thing about Percy and his Father were their eyes, both shockingly green. Poseidon's hair was black like Percy's as well, but had a tinge of gray. His beard was trimmed closely to his face and gave his leathery face a weathered quality. He held a triton, an enormous three-pronged weapon, in his right hand. To the left of Poseidon, in a much smaller throne, sat Gwyneth.

She was a rather squat looking woman, with a tail the color of sticky bubblegum. Her unnaturally white hair was piled atop her large head, and she wore an ornate pair of seashells on her chest. Her mouth was turned in a permanent scowl when Percy was around, no exception for the moment.

Poseidon was discussing something with a dolphin when Percy entered the room. The God did not recognize that they were there until Chiron coughed.

"Ah! Chiron, you better get something for that dreadful cold. It seems like you have had it forever, old friend." His eyes twinkled the same mischievous way as Percy's.

Chiron bowed, and said, "I have brought your son. I need to be going soon, for I am needed at the school." He turned around to leave, and patted Percy on the shoulder.

"If you want to talk, I'm here." Percy nodded, and watched as the Centaur walked away. Percy didn't plan on talking to anyone about his Mother anytime soon.

"Well, hello son." Poseidon tuned to Percy.

"Hey Dad." Percy never quite knew what to say to his father.

"I've heard you haven't been to school as often as you should." Percy stared at the floor. He had been ditching school, but only because he didn't like feeling stupid while the class was learning about trigonometry. He had spent his days wandering about the outskirts of the city, looking for mysterious shipwrecks of legends.

Poseidon chuckled. "Once or twice isn't a big deal Percy. But don't make it a habit."

"Well if you ask me," Gwyneth began, "A royal prince shouldn't be missing any school. Especially not if he wants to grow up to take over the thrown. My boys never miss a day of school." she had a smug expression on her face.

"Nobody asked you." Percy said. His anger was slowly growing.

"Oh there he goes again, interrupting me! My boys never interrupt anyone."she snipped. Percy knew this to be false, but he didn't say anything to escape the lecture.

Poseidon sighed, used to the bickering, and then said, "Gwyneth, why don't you go check on the gardeners? You were complaining about them earlier." She nodded precociously.

"I'll see you later, Don-don!" she called as she left the throne room. The nickname made Percy want to puke.

He stared at hi s father. "Dad, I'm not stupid. There has to be some other reason you called me here than my grades."

Poseidon nodded. "Indeed there is son. I'm aware it's your seventeenth birthday next month. So it's time I tell you. I have began the process of looking for your bride."

Percy was frozen. He was going to have to get married? He had barely even kissed a girl, and that ended in disaster. He still couldn't go near jellyfish without cringing..

But marriage?

Poseidon seemed elated by the news. "It was Gwyneth's idea. She thinks a woman will help you find, er, some direction in your life." Percy scowled. Now the truth was coming out.

"Don't worry son, you won't get married for a few years. But the arrangements are being set, so that we can find the appropriate match now."

"Ok." Percy muttered, frustrated he had no say in this. Poseidon switched hands that were holding the triton. He clearly didn't know what else to say.

"So... yes. Stay in school, son. I will tell you if I have found a bride." He looked at Percy in a way that stated he had been dismissed. Percy nodded, and left the throne room full of pent up anger.

Percy was headed to his room. It was only seven at night, but he planned on shutting himself away for the rest of the evening. He expected to find his room exactly how it had been left that morning, and was shocked when he opened the door to find it covered in green slime. Now he was really angry. And he had a pretty good feeling where the mess had come from.

He marched to his step brothers' room. They had been offered separate spaces, but always preferred to be together.

Percy opened the door aggressively, and spotted the two idiots sitting on the floor.

"Doofuses. Why is there green slime all over my room?" Percy asked with exasperation behind his voice.

They looked at each other, and burst in to laughter. They were both smiling.

"I don't know, dolphin breath. Ask Mom." Tyler said. He was bigger and duller than his brother, although not by much.

"Yeah, ask Mom!" Mike piped in.

They both laughed like they knew the punchline to the funniest joke in the world, and Percy sighed. This wasn't going anywhere.

Percy turned and left. He heard Tyler yell out, "Sleep well, snail face!"

"Yeah!" Mike added. "You big snail!"

"You're so stupid Mike." Tyler said, followed by what he presumed to be the sound of two fat oafs wrestling each other.

Percy was headed towards the guest rooms on the other side of the castle. He snuck by the kitchen on the way, and snagged two blueberry muffins and a ham sandwich for dinner. At least he wouldn't have to see his family for the rest of the day.

He found his favorite guest room, the one with the fluffy, white sheets and green walls, and settled in. He set the food on the dresser, and locked the door to ensure no one would bother him. After a hot shower, he changed in to a set a PJs and lay down on the bed. He had stored a few pair in this room from previous experience with his step brothers destroying his room.

He thought about life and it's monotony until he fell asleep.

(A/N: Ok, hello anyone who is reading this :) Incase you couldn't tell, everything is under water and bubbly.

HOORAY FOR BUBBLES.

Anywho, thanks for giving this story a try. You won't be disappointed if you like Percabeth (wink wink) and I have a long story planned, so hold on tight! Annabeth will show up soon, in one way or another...

I will update every few days with a minimum of 5 new reviews. So review if you love it, review if you hate it, tell me what to change. I love criticism as much as plot ideas, so please pipe up :)

If you noticed the parallels to The Little mermaid, how did you guess? Pat yourself on the back, you little sleuth. Don't worry though, my story has some twists and turns of it's own.

SO UNTIL NEXT TIME MY LOVELY READERS. BE GOOD, BE STRONG)