Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Percy Jackson characters. I do own this plot and all of my OCs but there aren't a lot of them. Characters might be a little OC in personality to fit story.
AN: I hope y'all like this! I have a sort of sequel coming soon, it's the story of Percy and Annabeth that this preludes too. Have fun...
It took a lot to get those two together. It took an idea, a ship, a stowaway, a rebellious romance that never really ended, a kidnapping and a grand battle. But I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I? Like I said, it started with an idea but what really got us there was the stowaway.
Sally Jackson was the most feared pirate on the ocean, she had mates from every area of life and wasn't afraid of a little adventure which was how she got the crew she did. They ravaged kingdoms ships that were well off as to not make their people suffer, explored new lands and burned slaves ships to the ground. She was the best fighter on the seas and there was no one who could best her, no one who had fought her anyway. As proof, the man she was interrogating on the deck. "Who are you, and why are you on my ship?" Her knife was pressed to his throat with narrowed eyes staring into his. "I will not ask again, if you lie I will not hesitate to open your throat to tell the truth for you."
"You aren't the first beautiful girl to threaten my life, you probably won't be the last either. You just have a better weapon than most." The man before her was clearly of good standing, his hair was wild only from the wind and sea but it was well taken care of. His eyes were mischievous and bright, not the hardened ones of someone who'd seen to much. Her breath hitched slightly looking into those eyes, having to bring her own to his crooked smile. "Like what you see?" The smack that rang out crushed his voice as he tried to ease the pain in his jaw. "My name is Poseidon, heir to the throne of Atlanta." When she raised her hand again, he glared into her eyes instead of flinching away like she expected. "I answered both your questions, the last part was an answer. I don't want my throne."
Sally felt anger pull from her gut as she listened to him. Atlanta was once York, a city of free people who governed themselves through representatives elected into the position by the people. Yes, there was fighting and no, they weren't well off but they were happy. She had her parents. When she was sixteen, her parents had gone to war with the kingdom next door and both of them perished, her city turning into someone else's property. She was sent to live with her Uncle who was an angry dying man who tried to sell her for a debt. It was the last straw. Poseidon's brother was the one to take everything from her, he was the one who was going to take over something that used to mean something instead of just being a kingdom for a prince to rule. She was twenty and there was nothing she wanted to do but rip his heart out. "So. Your family takes a city and gives it to you, but being the spoiled child you are, you believe you can stowaway on a ship and leave every responsibility behind." Suddenly those eyes weren't so hard to look away from, her angry drawing back her lips. "Give him a sword."
It wasn't a hard fight, he was trained but that didn't mean anything on her ship. He was trained for show and she was trained to live, there was nothing he could have done differently that would have ended with him beating her. She sent him away to get bandaged up, her fists tightening on the railing as she tried to control her breathing. "You know you could have killed him. We can't hold him for ransom this way, his brother will only want him in public condition." Her first mate started wiping the blood off her shoulder blade, trying to find the cut underneath as Sally gritted her teeth.
"I am well aware I could have killed him but I didn't, I showed restraint just like it would be wise for you to show it when you speak to me." Sally hissed as the needle broke small amounts of skin to pull the wound together, snarling at the white caps as he finally finished. "He stays, I want his brother to be worried before we send anything so he'll be more inclined to actually pay us instead of just sending his navy." She moved so her exposed back was to the water, sighing as she relaxed her muscles by sheer force of will. "I'll be in my cabin."
It took exactly a two weeks for the son of a bitch to be strong enough that they weren't scared he'd die suddenly without attention, so at that he was moved to the hold. Sally wasn't really fond of prisoners so they didn't have cages or perfectly crafted torture chambers. They had cabins that were filled with a bed screwed to the floor, a desk screwed to the wall and floor, as well as a porthole at eye level that showed the top of the water that hadn't broken since it was put in four generations ago. "This is actually what I was expecting your crew to sleep in."
"It is. Except ours lock from the inside and have personal items in it. Like I have pictures, Gabe has poker chips and Captain Sally has her uncle's skull." While Will laughed like he was brilliant, the poor prince appeared to actually be nervous. "Don't worry, we need you alive. But if your brother doesn't want to pay, you can fight the Captain 'till she kills you."
Sally watched his eyebrow twitch like it decided it was smarter to just leave him. "Fight her. I had a fight with her when I first got here, are we having more until I die or my brother pays up?" He was barely starting to smile, dimples appearing where she would need to hit if she wanted to punch his teeth out. And boy did she want to.
"You fight me 'till you win your freedom or your brother decides he needs you back. There ain't no dying on my ship." Sally stepped forward until he was backed flush against the wall, let me tell you that woman is still terrifying on tiptoes. "I ain't ever lost. I hope you heal fast and learn quicker, or this stay's gonna suck for you more than me." She swung her head as harshly as possible when she turned to go, grinning when she heard the satisfying smack of her hair against his cheek.
She almost paused when she heard him speak but continued on, listening inetntly. "You know I never knew a female Captain, I always wondered why. Now I know, my brother would never allow someone's existence if he couldn't control them." Okay, maybe she was starting to like this guy. But only because it would make keeping him hidden for a year more bearable. And yes, that would be how long it would take before King Zeus realized his brother was needed back.
Many fights later...
"Again, get on your feet." Sally swung her sword to keep her wrist stretched as the man before her groaned in pain on the floor, refusing to look at her. "I said get..." She laughed in excitement as she found herself on her back, him pinning her to the ground with a knife to her throat. "Oh, I see you've got a brain up there. How refreshing, I thought it was made of Kelp." The second of hesitation on his side from the surprise of her reaction gave her the perfect opportunity. Her knee jerked up into his thigh and gave her enough room to throw him off, jumping up to face him. "Let's go, Posie."
Poseidon glared at her from the ground, looking around at all the crew who decided to watch. Their numbers had dwindled over time, people getting bored of seeing the prince beaten onto his ass. It had been three months since he'd been discovered on their ship, this was the sixth time they'd fought and the result was always the same. He'd get knocked out, would be in the infirmary till he healed and then would fight again as soon as he had his strength. It was a cycle that the crew quickly got bored of. The few that stayed were Gabe, a terrible man who loved others pain but was controlled enough to only inflict it on certain people, Will who was her first mate and a bright man who never ceased to amaze her with his quick wit and sarcasm, and the only other girl on her crew. She was small in every sense of the word and no one ever questioned why she was there. She was a shadow on their ship. "Bite me, Sally Ally."
Sally growled at the sound of that nickname, he never seemed to hit it on the mark. She'd called him two for his entire stay, Prince of the Sea and Posie, both worked pretty well and it fit him. He had gone through what felt like a hundred and nothing stuck. "Oh, I'd love to...But that's not for prisoners, right Will?"
Poseidon didn't seem happy about that comment, his anger spiking and his sword dropping to the ground as he went for a new tactic and tackled her instead, forcing the sword out of her hand when they hit the deck. "I was always more of a wrestler anyway." He was bigger than her, at least by a head, but he didn't seem to realize how many men had tried to wrestle her into submission. He might have had large muscles but they were for show like everything else about him
Sally didn't try her distraction move again, he would be ready for that one if he had even one brain cell, but he wasn't ready for her to head butt him and use her arms to lift him like you would a child. "Hi babe. You like flying? No? Neither do I." She dropped him next to her, scrambling onto his chest where she sat as her fist flew for his face, some hitting and others getting blocked by his arms. As soon as he stopped defending himself, she paused and climbed off him. "Get him to the infirmary. When he's healed, I want him in my cabin for a chat."
Will found her there later, icing her bruises and sore muscles. "I see he got in some good hits this time. I especially like the one right where he thinks you have a heart." That was the only problem with Will, he was fun to play with and a great asset to the crew but he never really understood her personally. Which was whatever, but Sally wasn't raised for the hard life. She still kind of had that fantasy of being swept off her feet and having a hero save her. Of course now it was her standing with someone by her side to fight for each other no matter what instead of being a damsel in distress, but it was still there. And a little part of her was disappointed that she was never going to get it. "Want me to kiss it better?"
"You're a better fighter than a healer." She rose from her ice bath and stretched her relaxed muscles, rolling her neck. "Get me my towel, would you?" Sometimes the things she stole went into her own personal account, she needed the money to keep up her business. It wasn't always jewels and money, sometimes it was something that caught her eye that she wanted instead of selling it. For instance, the towel. Got it off of Zeus' ship from one of the smallest cabins but it was somehow nicer than the rest. No idea how, but the only thing worth stealing was a towel on the bed. "We need another raid or at least to stop for something, everyone's getting restless. We have enough stored that it could just be in a small village somewhere for supplies that we get overcharged for."
Will rolled his eyes but agreed that a little land would do them some good. He disappeared into the hallway, bringing the scent of someone else out of her room and leaving her to breathe. Those without hearts can't get them broken so why should she care if he likes other girls? He just didn't seem to realize it was him and not her that was lacking.
"Ma'am, I'm sorry but he wasn't actually that hurt and there's no excuse..." Baby walked in with two figures trailing behind her, a bright smile on her face as she lightly jumped onto the bed and balanced on the foot board. The one who spoke was a new member, the medic that they had picked up to take care of the prince with how many times he almost got himself killed. "Posie is here to see you."
"Only Sally calls me that." Poseidon smirked as he walked into the room, shooing the terrified medic out of the room. His eyes turned to Baby, his head tilting as his lips moved like he was talking, for a second. "Comment ce va? Je m'appelle Poséidon. Mon frère est Zeus, as-tu des frères et soeurs?" The language slipping from his tongue sounded far away, but light and smiling.
"Beaucoup, comme vous le savez bien, prince de la mer. Mes frères et sœurs sont cet équipage et ma mère est la femme que vous combattez tous les jours. Ne pense pas que je ne t'attaquerai pas en son nom." Baby's voice sounded different than Sally expected, if she ever really thought about what it would sound like if the girl spoke. It was not the harden voice of a teenager, the light hopefulness of a child or the tired cracking of an adults. It was easy and light like the words she spoke could float but then the ends of her sentences crashed like she wanted them to explode. "Au revoir, and good luck." She was always light on her feet but now she was landing on storm clouds, holding back thunder to shatter the ears and lightning to blind the eyes.
Poseidon just took her place at the foot board, leaning against it with his arms crossed. "So love, what did you want to see me for?" He watched as Sally closed the door and rested her forehead against to to cool the heat in my cheeks. "Sorry, did I fluster you?"
"You always fluster me Posie, you always seem to be able to get under my skin. It's always something. First you somehow get on my ship, don't think I don't know how long you've been here, then you keep fighting even though you end up in the same place and now you know where my crew is from and can somehow get on their nerves." Sally Estelle Jackson was twenty one years old that day. She was the Captain of the Burden, both in reality and in her own head, she had a two hundred and thirty four man crew. She had stolen two kingdoms worth of gold, materials and imports. She had Prince Poseidon standing in front of her and she could kill him if she wanted to, she could sell him or ransom him, or torture him until even the people around her were begging for mercy upon him. But most of that she's not really interested in. "Why did you really come onto my ship?"
Poseidon just watched as she curled up on the bed with her knees to her chest, pressing her back against the headboard. "I would lie again and tell you it was because of my responsibility and I ran away...but then you'd just shot me." His body moved like his tongue; easily, with confidence, and a strange sense of power. "Fine, I'm not fit to be anyone's leader so I decided to find someone who was actually good. Then I found you."
"If you want me to rule York or to teach you how to, you've come to the wrong place. I will never go back there and you can't be taught how to lead. You can learn discipline, politics and tactics. But there is nothing I can give you that will make you a good fit for the people." Sally moved like she was trying to wade through jellyfish, her eyes half shut as she looked at him. He was a good liar, he wasn't telling her everything and yet what slipped past his dark stubble wasn't untrue. The best liars find a way to tell the truth. "If you so much as breathe wrong, I will send you back to Zeus in pieces. Depending on how much I like you at that point, I'll do it when you're dead."
Almost two months later...
Poseidon was not the easiest character to get along with, he was abrasive one minute but had his moments and then quickly came up with something stupid to ruin it. He was a raging storm, a lazy afternoon on the water and had the pull of the tide all at the same time and it made her brain want to explode. Since that day in her cabin, her crew had started taking a liking to him. He made god awful jokes but it left the dining hall bubbling with laughter and her cheeks hurting behind her hair as it shook in front of her. He knew languages long forgotten and unknown, leaving Baby bolting out of her seat when he walked in so they could talk. Native tongues she hadn't heard in years echoed to the hull and back as slowly, like a barnacle you give up on trying to scrape off, he grew on everyone. Except her.
"Come on Posie, you know the drill. You have to stick with me and if I find you stealing, talking or signing to anyone you join the dolphins you love so much." He had a strange obsession with them, it would take ages and four different people threatening his life, then Baby screaming next to him for five minutes to get him away from the railing. Sally was all too tired of it and by now she'd just learned to let him to it. Sometimes she stood next to him and watched too.
Poseidon pouted as he always did when she called him that and the triumphant feeling in her gut whirled to the surface again. It had been seven weeks since the first time he stepped foot in her cabin and each day she made a point to call him that seeing as he couldn't think of anything. "Whatever you say, love." If he noticed her lip suddenly start bleeding from the cracks she'd made, he didn't comment. "Lead the way.
Sally moved easily away from her crew as her toes pushed her forward and the balls of her feet learned to fly, almost dancing as she paused where the wood met the sand in a shy embrace. She grinned as she jumped so that her feet buried in the coarse white powder before her, her boots left on the boat in remembrance of what happened the first time they docked. "You coming, Posie?" She squinted back at the sun as he came sliding down the gangplank and tumbled next to her, laying his elbow on her shoulder. "Nice, I bet that was planned."
"Anything to get your attention, love." He wiggled his eyebrows before his lips clammed up and his arm fell to his side, where she had trusted him to keep a short sword to be for the time being. Sally couldn't have him running off and getting killed because he was a rubbish fighter...without a weapon no less. His quirked expression was simply his way of asking questions without bothering to open his mouth.
In this village, it was customary for women to be chaperoned by a man as she walked around in public. Either a father, brother or a partner, all of which Poseidon was not but had been told to act like one. If they were found to be anything else, it would get them sent back with their tails in their hands instead of where they belong. She took his arm, leading him to the bar where she knew her contact was likely to be drunk and making a fuss. It was the only place besides the homes that wasn't tent like in nature, all of their supplies go into making sturdy homes to protect against the winds that come and the only thing more important that home is the tavern. That and the family that lives in it. "Ulga! Ma bella donna..."
"Ma Sally, you have brought a man. Not one of those scraggly crewman you hang around, is he?" Ulga was like her tavern. Old as time itself, weathered just to add some character and was exactly what you needed. A friend, a home to come back to, a fighter or a spy. Somehow in all the years Sally had known her, she'd been all four. After greeting them, she clasped her hands together and beamed. "I'll get you two a table."
Poseidon had been surprised when she'd dragged him down to receive two kisses on either cheek, but now he was beaming at Sally like he was actually enjoying himself. "I like her, it' nice to know I haven't turned full pirate yet."
"Yet? I'd like to see that ass of yours hanging up in the rigging while you untangle them, you'd throw up at least a dozen times from the shaking and the heights." Sally laughed at the image swimming behind her eyes as she glided over to the open spot Ugla had just cleared by dragging her son and his youngest over to the counter by the ears. His turn to tend to the customers and her turn to serve. She was only thirteen, but Ugla had taught her how to use that knife strapped to her calf. "So Mama Ugla, I'll ask you the same as always. How do I take back York?"
It was almost worth it to see Poseidon's eyes as she spoke, her mouth twitching in suppressed giggles. "You know my price for it girly, you never seem to be able to pay it." Ulga was a stubborn woman and smart too. Unless it was for the services she publicized or she needed it, she never asked for money. Only a good story to make it worth her while. You get one shot for the rest of your life, it's why she never came back with the same man twice.
"And yet I keep asking anyway." Sally thanked Ada with a kiss on her cheek before swinging her cup up to her lips to drown in the alcohol on her tongue. "Have you heard anything about Zeusie and his bitch of a wife?"
"He's getting aggravated, but you know him. He let's things build till claps of thunder ring in the air and we all get swept away in his twisters. I'd give it another few months and he'll be screaming for your head and this boy's butt back under his control." Ulga jabbed a finger at the one with the eyes holding the sea and the mouth the poor prince was scrambling to pick up from the floor. "Now why don't you go try and find me my payment, leave me to chat with this gentleman here."
Sally left as she always did, closing the door to the back of the tavern with a shotgun bang and a sigh that rippled out to the streets. She would have to talk to her contact after they were done, it was something she was used to. She just had to wait while Mama did her thing. One of these days, she was going to hear what the stories were about.
"What did you two talk about in there?" Sally raised her eyebrows as he stumbled out the door, surprised when he just looked up at her with that crooked smile he always wore. Every single time she brought someone to talk to Mama, they would run away. They would disappear from her life because something she said scared them off. At first she was angry at Mama but then she realized any guy that could be scared off by the people she loves wasn't really worth having around. As a crew mate, as a friend, as anything. For some reason, she was happy to let Poseidon keep surprising her.
He walked next to her with easy and light steps, but he wasn't as focused as he usually was. For the most part, he was always watching her and calculating. Observing. Now he was distracted by the town moving around them, the people buying food and . "We talked about York, as you call it. Because I didn't take over, a gang did. None of the people died, thank god, but the soldiers watching the town are all being tended to in the castle infirmary. Which means...a bunch of untrained, uncoordinated doofuses are controlling the town."
"Well then, we'll just have to teach them to be good leaders..." Sally walked ahead of him now, confidence easing over her shoulders and dragging lightly behind her like a cape. She would get her life back, she would get her home back.
Six weeks later...
"Here's the plan. There's sixty seven of them including their leader, six jailers, twenty five 'police' types, ten scouts to patrol the boundary, five executioners/punishers, eleven political figures, six dock workers and three unknowns." Sally felt like some stereotypical butch type captain standing over a map and planning some daring rescue, but then Poseidon was pointing out important spots to hit and her focus was diverted. "Is he here yet?"
"You know I always come when you call babe, even when you got an annoying Prince with you." Hephaestus was a large man that had more beard than face and was half metal, half machine. "Hello Poseidon, you going to play nice today?" Hera was a teenager when she had him, barely fourteen, a scandal. So he was forced to disappear, hating the royal family.
Sally ran over and hugged him tightly, laughing as he lifted her off her feet. "It's good to see you, Hephie. How's your kids doing? I heard Beckendorf had a..." She froze as a head poked out from behind the man before her, a fake eyepatch flipped up around his left eyebrow. "Hi baby."
"Hello Mrs. Sally, my name is Charlie." He was dark as soot with eyes that tore her heart apart as she moved to her knees. He was barely three years old but somehow he looked older with how big he was, how much oil was on his clothes. "Is that the Prince?"
If anything, Sally was expecting Poseidon to at the most wave. She was not expecting him to sit down on the floor, tilting his head. "My names Poseidon but Sally calls me Posie." The boy smothered giggles, making him smile. "I know, it's a funny nickname. You can call me that too if you want to be friends."
Charlie tapped his chin like he was thinking about it before starting to giggle again. "Okay, as long as Dad says it's okay. He doesn't really like your brother." He turned to his father whose eyebrows had disappeared into his curls.
"I know, no one really does. For good reason I'd think, only Hestia seems to get along with him. Or be able to control him..." The last part was whispered but they all laughed, Poseidon's smile infecting them all. "I am not my brother, Hephaestus. If I even had the same smile, Sally would have thrown me overboard wrapped in a meat suit."
"What do you mean smile? He does that?" Sally grinned as everyone laughed again, helping Poseidon off the floor and ignoring the arm he wrapped around her shoulders, including the feeling it left her with. "So, Charlie is going to stay on the ship with the non threatening part of our crew...You good to take care of a kid, Hermes?"
Poseidon was clearly surprised to see his old friend step into the light from his spot on the wall if the tensing of his body was anything to go by, Hermes annoyed with her as much as relieved that he wasn't going to fight. "I can totally be threatening and I'm not part of your crew. I'm just here out of pity and hoping I get a date out of it..." He wiggled his eyebrows and laughed as she made a rude gesture in his direction.
"I don't think May would appreciate me telling her you said that..." Sally smirked as he got flustered and fumbled for something to say back. "Don't worry Hermie, your secrets are safe with me. Until she dumps you, then I tell her." She laughed as he turned bright red and stormed off, most likely to get some food to tear apart to make himself feel better. "Bring Charlie with you!"
One Hour After Docking in the Harbor...
The wait was the worst of it. Ten of my men were arrested, injuring the dock workers, a few of the scouts and some of the police types in the process. It was perfect, not enough to kill or have them replaced, but it would leave weaknesses in the coming fight. Besides, if they didn't fight when being arrested than it would raise suspicion. It was all going perfectly until something hit Sally during the fight.
You see, the middle of a battle is the perfect time for realizations. It's when your back is screaming from being slammed to the ground three times (which seems excessive), when your right arm is begging you to drop the sword and give it a break. It's when your left shoulder was dislocated but you can't fix it now so you just hold up your makeshift shield and hope to god the medic is well enough to fix you after this. It's when you're in so much pain the fighting just blurs together and you find yourself suddenly back to back with a man whose eyes look like a storm as he destroys everyone trying to get around your defenses, screaming for more as he shoves the wounded behind him. It is at this point, when you look into those eyes and realize he's doing this for you, because of you, that you come to find you're head over heels in love with this man The middle of a battle is the perfect time to realize that all you want to do when it's over is pull him to you tight and kiss the living daylights out of him because you know he'll have to go soon.
It is the perfect time for realizations because suddenly your arm is numb with pain, your back shuts up and your shoulder slams into a tree hard enough to correct itself. "Come on! Running scared is a cowards choice, fight me you bastards!" Sally's voice rang throughout York, the people watching her from windows and from alleys.
"You heard the Captain! If you want this city so bad, come and fight for it!" Poseidon was wild in that moment, his arm dripping blood and his body drenched in sweat from the workout. His hair was more of a mess than usual, but now it was pushed back to show his eyes as they raked through the streets trying to find another opponent. The ones before were laid out like pieces of driftwood washed up behind him.
There was screaming as the rest of the standing part of her crew herded the stragglers over to them, mad with blood and adrenaline. "York, we saved! York, we fought for! York we saved, York you were too scared to die for! To my Captain, Captain Sally!" Her men sang drunkenly as they swung their swords in easy strokes. Even Hephie looked relaxed and was joining in.
"Stop." Sally stepped forward as her men worked their way into a sort of circle to prevent escapees, her boots kicking up dust as she stalked forward to meet the last of the gang who held her city. She read their faces, all of them tired but that's where the similarities stopped. Some were obviously slaves forced to fight, some were ready to surrender and some looked like they would kill her if she got to close just for the revenge. It didn't matter that they'd be dead before her last breath. "If you surrender now, I will either return you to where they stole you from or you can join my crew. If you do not, you will be handed over to Prince Poseidon as prisoners and he will do whatever he wishes with you." A barbaric grin overtook her as she noticed them glance at him, worry etching itself onto their features. No one was keen on being a prisoner. "Or I can kill you now."
"You didn't give these options to our brothers, why should we have a chance they do not?" It was one of the youngest who spoke, back straight as a board and eyes matching hers. He was brave, he was loyal. She decided she liked him.
Sally just raised her eyebrows as Poseidon dragged a few of the unconscious members into the middle with them. "We seem to have a misunderstanding. I am giving these options to your brothers, you all are the only ones left conscious and able to stand. When they have healed enough or wake up, I will say exactly as I have said to you. I don't expect..."
"I want to go home..." His eyes were lined with coal, messily and unkept. It was clear he had healing wounds from before the fight, the men liked to "roughhouse" with him. He had the same eyes as some of her crew, she knew where he was from. "I will work on your crew as payment but as soon as you take me there I am gone."
Sally nodded. "That can be arranged. If you try anything though, this offer is gone. But if you are a good worker, the offer of travel or joining will always be open. Hephie, take him to the Medic. And tell Apollo to mind his mouth, I don't want anyone scared off by his charming smile."
It wasn't long before all who wanted to join her crew or catch a ride back somewhere were gone, leaving a few political leaders and the three unknowns who had woken up. The political leaders tried begging for their lives but Poseidon ended up tying them to a horse bar nearby. The three unknowns were clearly enjoying themselves as they grinned at the prince, their shoulders drooping and necks rolling to release what little tension there might have been. Poseidon was the one to walk up to them, that same look in his eyes as he surveyed the damage and faces. "You always were terrible at fooling me, 'Ditie. Go say hi to your man, okay?" He held out a hand which was surprisingly grabbed as one of them stood with the rope used to bind him hanging from his fingertips.
"Come on Poseidon, one of these days I'm going to trick you." When the bandana fell away with nimble fingers, Aphrodite grinned happily at the astonished crew. "Expecting a man? Or maybe not a noble?" Her lip was split and her cheek was badly bruised but somehow she was still beautiful, her smile making everyone dizzy. She danced on her tiptoes through everyone, even shaking herself slightly as Poseidon laughed at her.
"Aphrodite was here as insurance, a spy. She always did like playing dress up." The adopted nobility that married an outcast and spit on the feet of the man she was supposed to be wed to, simply because he wasn't her type. She liked good men, apparently. "And you were supposed to not be on that ship." Hermes laughed as he shook off the hood he had used as a disguise. "Trickery, jack of all trades. Have fun explaining yourself to Sally."
A laugh rang through the air, beautiful in all of its senses. She lifted her head gently and easily, standing with her back turned to Poseidon. "Cut me loose, will yah babe? I mean it's the least you could do after knocking me out."
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Poseidon used a knife to free her, crossing his arms like a disappointed parent. "I thought it was just supposed to be those two, you were supposed to be safe and not in the middle of a fight. Of course I was going to knock you out as soon as I found you! You might be on our side, but you would have fought against us till you were half dead." He pointed the way to the ship with his teeth bared and his eyes angry, the color darkening as she blew him a kiss. "You're worse than 'Dite." He stormed over to Sally, grabbing her hand and dragging her into the nearest bar. "The strongest thing you got."
Sally just sat down on a stool, trying to process what just happened. When she came up with nothing, no reason, no lies he told, she broke. "What just happened?" So he told her, downing every last drop of the bottle as he talked. He told her about his brother and the assassins sent after her, how he's been planning on taking back the city for a year before he met her which is why he knew the last two captives, his best friend was the third. What he was supposed to do and couldn't.
"You, Poseidon, are a complete idiot." Sally laughed as confusion danced in his eyes, taking a shot of courage from the bartender before throwing her arms around his neck and sliding off her stool to fit between his legs. "I have absolutely no idea why I love you." When she kissed him, cheers rang out in the bar and money exchanged hands; but all that really mattered was that he kissed back.
He stayed with her for the summer, joining her as they returned people to their rightful homes or what would be their homes. They went to Egypt and China, Italy and Britain. But when they returned to Greece, there was a royal guard waiting for them. He kissed her goodbye, promising to protect her from his brother because it was all she would let him give her. So he pardoned the crew of The Burden of all crimes and future ones as long as it wasn't murder or treason, with the condition of them remaining on the crew. Sally promised to bring him some prisoners every once in a while to make the people he forced to allow this happy.
He missed the birth of his son by three weeks, she had left his city believing she would have a month to return. But Perseus, like his father, was terrible at following the rules or even listening to her.
AN #2: Thank you RedAce16 for reviewing, I hope this helped with the time line. Also while I was going through to remember the timeline, I fixed a couple of other errors.