Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Pirates – Chapter One

Annabeth's Point of View:

It was spring, and the green leaves are starting to sprout from their buds. I was sitting on a bench, staring dully at the plants in my garden; a very large garden, might I add. I was one of those "rich girls." I was always stuck in my stupid mansion because my parents wouldn't let me out to play with the other kids ever since I was little. They only let me out to go to tea parties and that crud. I'm sixteen now, and my life has been extremely…well, dull. I seriously envy those plants. They don't have parents bossing them around. I just wish that once, I could be free.

Pirates. They were always free. They get to do whatever they want, whenever they want. Why can't I do that? I mean, sure, pirates got a huge bounty on their heads, but they've got freedom. And that's what I want. I want to be a pirate too. But unfortunately, there's this pathetic rumor that it's bad luck having a girl on a ship. Plus, my parents would never approve.

This morning, I heard that the ship, Princess Andromeda was docked not so far away from here. Princess Andromeda was a pirate ship. Ship of Captain Luke Castellan. He was one of those infamous pirates, the richest pirate of the seven seas. I even heard that he was recruiting more people for his crew. If somehow I was able to get onto that boat, it would be a dream come true. And, I've also heard that Captain Castellan was pretty handsome.

Another reason why I couldn't go join the Princess Andromeda was because I'm going to be stuck here, having another stupid evening tea party with my stepmom and her friends. Ugh. You have no idea how much had hate wearing those corsets. I mean, who can breathe in those?

But like I said, my life's miserable as long as I remain here.

That's where my plan comes in. In the middle of that...tea party…I will excuse myself from them and head to my room. I'll change into some ratty guy clothes I have ready, braid my hair and put on a feathery hat, and I'll look like a guy. Brilliant. Except that my face would still look pretty feminine…Gah, but they're male pirates. Boys are stupid and oblivious. They wouldn't notice a thing. And then, I'll escape through my window. There's an old mattress at the bottom, and it's not being removed until Monday. After that, I'll run to the bar where the recruiting is taking place (I have my sources). Perfect, am I right? A completely flawless plan. If I don't get caught.

Fiddling with my long blond hair, I stared silently at a beautiful blue flower with my grey eyes. I was waiting for my stepmom to call me. Then I'd have to dress up all fancy. No way am I doing that now. Like I said, corsets are evil.

And then to my horror, my stepmother finally called my name. "Annabeth Chase! Get over here! The guests will be arriving soon!"

Sighing, I got up, taking one last glance at the forget-me-not flower, and dragged myself inside.

I was sitting up straight because I'm not allowed to slouch, and it's pretty hard to with a corset on. I'm sitting at a round table with tea and biscuits, surrounded by a bunch of other women. I was pretending to giggle with everyone else. Ugh, this feels so uncomfortable. Not just the corset and the dress, but acting as if I'm the most prefect the little step-daughter in the entire universe. Vomit.

I looked up at the clock. It was almost seven. I resisted to sigh in relief. "Excuse me," I said politely, doing a short curtsey before walking up the stairs. Once I reached the second floor, I ran to my room with extreme haste. I almost ripped off my current clothes, and changed into the ones prepared on my bed. Quickly, I braided my hair and grabbed a leather hat with a feather on it. Opening the window, I notice the mattress was gone. Crap. They said Monday!

Groaning, I quickly tried to think of a different plan. The only one I could think of was sneaking past those giggling freaks and my stepmother. My dad was away for business and isn't coming back until next month, thank goodness. There were maids, but they were now occupied at the round table, serving desserts. And there are the guards. Oh god, this'll be difficult, but certainly worth the risk. Anything for freedom.

I tilted my hat so that it hid my eyes. I grabbed the sword hung on the wall in the hallway that's supposed to be for décor, but still sharp and useful. I can't say I've ever used a sword before, but it can't be that hard. I tied it against my belt and started tiptoeing down the stairs; I made sure I didn't touch the creaking parts of the steps. Though, it was actually completely useless since a fat plump woman had emerged from the washroom and easily spotted me. She screeched.

"Guards! Guards!" shouted the lady in terror. "There's a thief! A thief!"

Well, at least my disguise worked. But this was no time to flatter myself.

The other women in the dining room heard and began screaming, calling the guards too. Lovely, right? Hah. I dashed out the doors, only to be cornered my several armed men.

They pointed their swords at me. "Who are you?" growled guard number one.

I didn't answer, but I placed my hand on the hilt of my sword that I've stolen. Oh, so I really am a thief… though that's really not the point. Anyways, they couldn't see my face because it was still hidden.

"Speak!" demanded guard number two.

Instead, I unsheathed my sword and put myself into a fighting stance. What have I gotten myself into?

Guard number three tried to fight me, but I blocked his sword with mine in perfect timing. This wasn't so bad. It was like dancing, but with a sword. I silently thanked my father for forcing me to take those boring dance lessons.

You know, being ganged up upon by people who work under you isn't a very nice feeling. I removed my sword from blocking guard number three's sword, and ducked as he swung. I kicked guard number one in the chest so that he fell over, and I elbowed number three in the stomach. This time, I thanked myself for being able to convince my dad to give me self-defense lessons. Hitting guard number two's head with the hilt of my sword, I heard more guards marching down to meet me. Damn it. But at least the doors aren't blocked anymore, so I sprinted out.

I congratulated myself as I reached the pub. I didn't think I'd be able to run that fast, and my first fight was a success. Opening the shabby looking door, I ducked as a glass mug came hurtling towards my face. Whoa. The people in here were throwing things and fist fighting each other, making a complete mess. I dodged a few other items as I made my way towards a man behind a table with a line on the other side. He has raven messy hair and vibrant sea green eyes. He was lean and well built. Surely this must be Luke Castellan everybody talks about. He was...extremely good looking.

I queued myself in the line too and tapped the short, thin man in front of me. He turned around. He had electric blue eyes and tied up spikey black hair under his own feathered hat. "Is this the line for the Princess Andromeda?" I asked in a demanding voice. It made me sound powerful, what men usually sound like.

I probably passed my male voice test because he replied. "Yes," he said in a strange hoarse voice. "Signing up?"

I nodded.

"I'm Tailor Grace," the man continued, voice still pretty hoarse. "You?"

Shit. "Chase Bettington," I made up on the spot. Damn it. Oh wow, I'm so creative. I hope he doesn't notice me as a girl.

I could've went on my knees and thanked god when he just nodded and turned around to take a few steps forward. I followed. Tailor made it to the crew, that lucky –

"Next," called a voice.

I walked up to the green eyed man and tried not to blush under his gaze.

"Name?" he asked me.

"Chase Bettington," I replied.

"Reason why you think you'd be qualified for our crew," he continued.

Reason? I thought for a moment before I lifted my sword to show him. The hilt was pure silver with real, fancy gold patterns on it, and the metal for the blade shone brightly. "I stole this." Well, I wasn't exactly lying, now am I?

The man grinned impressed. "Nice. Where'd you get it?"

"Ironically, the Chase residence," I answered smoothly, a small smile playing on my lips.

"Did you get caught?" he asked me, very interested.

"Escaped though," I said simply.

"Not bad," he said, handing me a clipboard. "Sign your name below and leave for the dock. Find the coolest ship there and wait in front of it. Luke Castellan's there too so you'd be able to recognize it easily."

This man wasn't Castellan? It seemed impossible. He looked pretty hot. Ugh, here I go. I'm pretending to be a guy, so think like a guy! I kept chanting that mantra in my head as I nodded and walked off, forgetting to feel excited that I made it to Andromeda's crew.

Arriving at the dock, I noticed a group of men stood in front of – I must say so myself – a pretty cool ship. The flag was blue with a white picture of a winged shoe. The wooden ship was fairly large, and it didn't look as scary as I've expected. I crossed my fingers, hoping there wouldn't be any spiders on board.

I took a look at my crew members. I noticed Tailor there too. There was another man, African American, huge and bulky. He looked pretty terrifying. There was another guy who looked really sulky. He had dark hair and eyes, staring at the floor emotionlessly. Another man looked as if he was limping with his two wooden legs, had a goatee and brown hair. And then there were twins with curly brown hair poking each other for fun. Another brown haired person was wearing a big hat and staring at one of the twins nervously with his green eyes, chewing on his nails. And there in front of the Princess Andromeda stood a blonde man with blue eyes. He had a scar running down his face, a hook replacing his left hand, grinning upon everyone here. He must've been Luke Castellan, and he was pretty handsome. I guess the rumors were right about that.

Tailor was looked around warily. He spotted me and walked over. "You made it?"

I smirked and nodded, proud of myself.

We stood there silently, waiting. It was getting awkward a bit, two people with feathered hats standing next to each other, eyeing others almost evilly. I couldn't help it! I just felt the need to analyze everything.

Soon enough, the green-eyed man ran up to Luke. He handed him the clipboard. Luke read the names aloud, letting the called person to enter the boat.

"Charles Beckendorf!" Luke shouted, and the huge, bulky man walked forward.

"Just call me Beckendorf, Captain," he says in a deep voice. Luke nodded and let him pass.

"Nico di Angelo!" The sulky boy walked towards the boat.

"Kit Gardner!" The short man with the big hat ran onto the boat.

"Travis Stoll!" One of the twins whooped and dashed in.

"Conner Stoll!" The other twin whooped louder and followed his brother.

"Grover Underwood!" The man with the goatee and wooden legs limped onto the boat.

"Tailor Grace!" The man beside me walked in.

"Chase Bettington!" I frowned following Tailor. "You know I'm the last person here, right?" I told Luke annoyingly before passing him.

As I took my first step inside my boat, I was already being pulled away by someone. It was the man with green eyes. My face began to feel hot again.

He grinned at me. "Chase, my right? I'm Perseus Jackson by the way. But call me Percy, okay?"

"Alright," I tried not to squeak. We were standing pretty close, and I felt my face turn into a darker shade of red. "I – I should head to the forecastle now," I said, tilting my hat lower to hide my face. He seemed to be trying to catch my eye.

Percy blinked in confusion, but he nodded.

I hurried off to claim a bunk, and I found an available one near the door. Tailor snagged the hammock. Nico wanted to sleep on the wooden floor. Beckendorf chose a bed at the way end. The twins took a couple bunks, and Kit took one too. There were four more bunks empty, and a blanket sprawled on the floor as if someone slept there. One of them should be Percy's. Luke's got the captain's quarters. Either it was supposed to be empty, or there were four more people onboard.

Apart of my suspicions were answered when another man walked in. He had an eye patch on, glaring at everyone here with an angry expression on his face.

"That's my spot," he growled at Tailor.

Tailor had a brow raised. "Well then," he snorted. "I'm taking it."

The eye patch man fumed as he cracked his knuckles, sneering at Tailor. "Then you've got to fight me for it, Shorty," he challenged.

"Gladly," Tailor spat, getting up.

The eye patched man was much taller, but the look on Tailor's face was more intimidating. Eye Patch Guy swung his fist at him, but Tailor ducked. He kicked Eye Patch Guy in the stomach way too hard and he doubled over. Tailor punched his face while he was down, unsheathed his sword and pointed it at his throat. It was short and it ended quickly. I was happy I didn't pick a fight with Tailor.

I tilted my hat a bit, bowing my head towards Tailor in respect. Tailor just nodded at me, looking very satisfied.

Percy rushed into the forecastle. "Ethan! Captain's calling you!" he said, ignoring the fact that a small fight was going on here.

Eye Patch Guy, who most likely is Ethan, pushed the thin sword away with his finger and stood up. He growled at Tailor before walking up the creaking stairs again.

Percy turned and grinned at everybody. "Oh, right. My name's Percy Jackson. That over there was Ethan," he frowned a bit. "We need to head back to deck really soon and get the boat moving," he winked and waved, then scrambled back up the stairs.

I almost blushed again at how cute he looked just then. I began muttering the mantra to myself quietly again as Beckendorf returned to his conversation with Kit and Grover, Tailor and Nico went back to snoring, and the twins poking at each other once again.

Footsteps were heard once again a while later and Percy's head popped back in. Everyone stopped chattering, and Tailor and Nico woke up. "Just a warning, you don't want to mess with Clarisse and Ethan. Clarisse loves murdering. There's another guy, Chris. He's okay though. And Pollux drinks a lot, so you might want to stay away from him too. Plus, you need to be up deck right now. Captain's orders." He pointed up at the ceiling before he ran back up the stairs without another word.

"You know, I like this Percy dude," Travis claimed. He was taller than Conner.

"I do too," Conner nodded in agreement. "Wanna put some worms in his bread next morning?"

"Totally," Travis said with a grin.

And with that, we rushed up the staircase and up on deck to get the boat to set sail. Butterflies flew in my stomach wondering what kind of adventures would be out there, and I hoped nobody would find out I was a female. If somebody did, I might be forced to walk the plank. I'm not much of a swimmer. I looked out at the dark blue ocean. still couldn't believe I was finally free.

I caught Luke's eye and he grinned at me. Face starting to heat up, I hoped he didn't notice who I was. I smiled back nervously and went back to work. Today sure was eventful.

Here it is! First chapter! Please review, review, review! I love reviews as much as Percy loves blue!