I woke up to the sun in my eyes and a dull throb in my head. I didn't know where I was, or what had happened to me, but then I looked over to see someone sitting next to me. I vaguely remembered him, until the contents of the night before returned to my mind. I remembered running from the Minotaur, landing in the tree, seeing the dragon, meeting people (though their names still escaped me), Nico – who was now sitting beside me for whatever reason – the vision (this stirred my headache), and then Percy.

The headache came back full force, like angry Germans in World War II. I screamed in fright, the visions coming in too sharply, each with another jab of pain in my head. Nico woke up.

"What's wrong?!" he cried, but I couldn't answer him. It was all too much for me to handle. The only thing I could do was scream.

"Woah! Ummm… okay! It's gonna be alright! We'll find him! We'll find your brother! Please, just stop screaming." He started to shake my shoulders, and I clamped my mouth shut in an effort to be quiet. It seemed that the pain in my head still had reinforcements streaming in to fight, banging on my brain with hammers, so I clutched my hair, my face twisted in agony.

"What's happening? Does your head hurt?" I used all the strength in my body to keep my mouth shut, and managed to nod my head slowly.

"Here, take this. It'll help." I peeled my eyes open to see that he had some sort of drink in his hands. It smelled like strawberries and lily flowers. Nico motioned for me to open my mouth, and I shook my head furiously.

"You have to open your mouth if you want to make it go away. Please?" He pleaded, and it looked like he was trying not to cry. I was already crying; tears were streaming down my face, thoroughly soaking my pillow. I shook my head again.

His eyes trailed down, and then flashed up again abruptly. Looking at me warily, he apologized to me, for what, I had no idea. I was even more confused when he took the drink himself, and lowered his head toward me. My eyes widened when I felt his lips touch mine, but I didn't move.

His tongue touched my lower lip, and I opened my mouth instinctively. The sweet drink poured into my mouth, and I swallowed on reflex. It tasted like eggnog, and cinnamon; not at all what it smelled like.

I felt Nico begin to move away, and I grasped his head, holding him there. He didn't seem to mind, and we continued for what seemed like forever, which it could have been, for all I knew.

But as the drink started to take over, my headache went away, and I felt my eyelids drooping. I tried to fight of the sleepiness, but I knew the effort was in vain. The last thing I heard before the night took over was waves lapping against the shore.

I woke up to a deafening lack of noise. There were the abstracted waves I heard the night before, the subtle chirping of crickets, and I swore I heard something growl in the distance, but I disregarded that sound. I suddenly realized that there was a considerable amount of warmth on my right hand, and I shifted my head slightly to get a better look. I stifled a gasp.

Nico was asleep, his hands on mine, and his head on the side of the mattress. His hair shone in the moonlight, and I realized that when he was asleep, he looked content; there wasn't a trace of that sadness I had seen the day before. I smiled; glad that he could have a few hours of peace. I may not know what demons haunted him, but I did, however, know the feeling of being helpless in your desolation.

I closed my eyes once more, enjoying the sensation of his hand on mine, listening to the sweet melodies of the natural world. I suddenly felt an extreme longing to be closer to the voices of the water. A strong jerk in the pit of my stomach urged me to go toward these whispers, which now actually sounded like voices, tugging me to them. I gently rested Nico's hand onto the mattress, and, pulling back my covers, realized that I was no longer wearing my clothes that I had arrived to camp in. Instead of my usual t-shirt, blue jeans, and a black pull-over hoodie, I was wearing a white gown, like the ones that are found at a hospital. I felt truly strange, but that was quickly shoved aside when the voices overpowered my feeling of uncomfortableness.

I quickly left the small cabin-like room filled with other beds, most occupied by sleeping campers, and headed toward the sound. My bare feet felt warm against the cool of the sand, and I reveled in the sensation of it squishing between my toes.

Suddenly, I felt a harsh tug in my gut, so strong it almost felt painful. I looked out to the ocean, and noticed my feet moving by themselves, though I didn't protest. My eyes sight began to tunnel at the edges, and as soon as my feet touched the water's edge, my mind went blank. All I remembered was the warm light of the moon on my face, and the cool glassy touch of the ocean against my feet.

My mind returned to normal when I spotted Nico staring at me on the beach about fifty yards away from me. His mouth was wide open, and his eyes were huge. I didn't realize why until I noticed a strange feeling on the soles of my feet. I was standing on something solid, but I couldn't feel it. I looked down to see that I was standing on the water. Literally standing on the surface of the ocean. As soon as I realized this, the feeling under my feet left, and I found myself falling under the surface.

The next thing I knew, I was being dragged through the water by someone. I shrieked in surprise, forgetting that I couldn't breathe, until I noticed that I could actually breathe. I took a deep breath, and smiled at the smell of sea salt. However, the tugging continued, in a kind of desperate intensity. My head broke the surface of the water, and I took a deep breath.

"Are you okay?" I heard from behind me. Turning my head, I saw the dark hair of Nico Di Angelo. His arms were around my midsection, and he was swimming toward the shore, pulling me with his front to my back.

"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine. What happened?" I asked, spinning around in his arms to face him. He looked shocked at the close proximity my face was to his.

"You're asking me what happened? I should be asking you that."

"What do you mean?"

"You were dancing on the surface of the lake." He replied, looking at me incredulously.

"Wait, what? On the surface of the lake?"

"Yeah, and your dress changed too." He added.

I looked down at my gown, and immediately saw that he was right. It wasn't a hospital gown anymore. It had somehow morphed into a blue, fluid, calf length, tight-at-the-bodice evening dress.

"What is going on?" I asked, although I wasn't looking for an answer.

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Hello. It always seems that I forget to add notes to the beginnings and endings of my chapters, though I'm not sure if everyone likes to read them or not. I know I usually skip over them. Anyway, if you are reading this, I thank you, but I need to ask one favour (- I'm Canadian, eh?). It would be very nice of you if you could review this chapter, or the first one, or both, as well as those to come. I don't care if it's long or short, and I won't even mind if you put only a smiley face in it. Or even an angry face. Just any feedback you can give me would make my life. So I implore you to help me make this story better than it ever could be without you.

Thank you for taking the time to read the small novel above ^.

Kiri