Previously:
"Oi! Ladrones! Qué están haciendo? Paren! Paren ese instante!"
"… Shit… Annabeth?"
"We've been caught. Don't move…"
We both froze.
A man approached the boat and climbed in. There were 3 others behind him.
Di immortales.
Shit. Oh shit oh shit oh shit. We were caught… What now?
These were citizens. I couldn't draw Riptide on them. Annabeth had frozen behind me, hands clutching my shoulders and peeking over them.
"Percy, don't make any sudden movements. I don't know if they're armed." She whispered.
"Muchacho! Levante las manos! No se mueve, o va a morir."
"A little help, Annabeth?" I muttered.
"They said, 'Guy! Raise your hands! Don't move or you're going to die."
That was reassuring. I did as they said and lifted my hands in the air.
"Look, I don't want any trouble…"
"Silencio!"
I didn't need a translator for that. I shut my mouth.
The main guy lifted a gun and pointed it at me.
"Percy…!"
"It's fine…don't move, Annabeth! Don't show yourself…"
Of course she didn't listen. She pushed in front of me and lifted her hands. When the main guy saw her, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. The men moved backwards, but the gun was still raised. Then Annabeth spoke:
"Mis queridos hombres! Por favor, mi amigo y yo necesitamos un bote! Este es su bote? Ustedes podrían conducirlo y nos llevarían a Ecuador?"*
Gods bless Annabeth and her bilingual abilities.
The man lowered his gun and cocked his head to the side. He scratched his scraggly dark beard. Then he smiled at Annabeth. The other men behind him smiled and nudged each other as well. The main guy turned around, seemingly to consult his men. They seemed in deep conversation. I hoped it was for the better. The main guy kept looking behind him, eyes scanning Annabeth. I wanted to punch him. He better not be coming onto her. Gross. He was like… 40 something.
"Muchacha bonita… claro! Bienvenidos a la Hija Princesa! Que usted y su amigo disfruten bien el viaje!"*
Annabeth turned around and gave me the thumbs up.
Thank the gods. We were good.
"Are they going to bring us to Ecuador?"
"Yeah!"
"Señorita," the man said.
Annabeth turned around.
"Sí, señor?"
"Por favor, disculpe."
"Está bien, Señor. Gracias."
"What did he say?" I asked Annabeth. I really hated being left out of the loop linguistically.
"He apologized, and I accepted."
"Oh, good. I'm glad they don't want to kill us anymore."
"Me too."
"Good work, Wise Girl." I put my arm around her shoulder.
"Como se llaman, Ustedes?" The guy asked, taking our backpacks and putting them in the cabin. His men were preparing the vessel for sea, bringing on food, supplies and other sorts of things. One of the men was lighting oil lanterns. Really old fashioned, but efficient for a light source.
"Soy Annabeth, y él se llama Percy."
I assumed he asked our names and Annabeth answered for us.
"Su español es tan bueno, Annabeth."*
"Gracias…" Annabeth blushed.
"Sin embargo, podemos hablar en inglés si quiere?* I do know English very well, you know."
My mouth dropped open. That little… he knew English the whole time.
"That… that would be lovely, since Percy here doesn't know Spanish." Annabeth smiled.
"Very well, then. Mr. Percy, Miss Annabeth. Welcome aboard La Hija Princesa. This has been my boat for many, many years. Lucky you found us, many others would not have allowed you to ride with them, but we are kind fishermen. So, Ecuador? That will be about a 4 day's trip. But don't worry. We have brought plenty of provisions. But I must ask: why do you need to get to Ecuador? If you have not noticed, the sunlight is gone, the oceans are rough, and no one should be traveling."
Boy, did we ever know.
"Annabeth and I have something very important we need to do in Ecuador. We really appreciate you being so willing to take us."
The man laughed. "Con muchísimo gusto!* It is my pleasure entirely. We wanted to get out of here anyway. We don't know how long we have left, but might as well spend the last few days of our lives doing what we love, eh gentlemen?"
"Si, claro!"
"Obviamente."
"Es obvio."
"What is your name, anyway, Sir? You never introduced yourself."
"My old mind! Sorry! Sometimes my manners slip! I'm Carlos. These hombres over here are Juan, Ramón and Enrique. They are my fishing crew!"
The men nodded at us in turn as they were introduced. I shook Carlos' hand, as did Annabeth.
"Well. That's about everything… muchachos! Estámos listos para irnos?"*
"Sí!"
"Alright then! Ship off!"
The men went about their jobs and the boat slowly but surely made its way out of the boat yard and made its way into the main canal that was the Panama Canal.
"Are there any guards or police we need to worry about?"
"Me dijo un chiste? Are you joking? No one's out right now, and since no one's out, there's no need for watchmen. You see, Percy, Panama and the rest of Latin America are generally religious. They believe the disappearance of the sun is a warning from el Dios. Everyone is inside praying."
"I see. What do you think it is?"
"Mala suerte. Very bad luck."
Annabeth grabbed my hand and lead me over to the railing so we could look over the edge at the water. Carlos made his way into the cabin where the helm was. There were a lot of radars and other sailing devices. Everything in that cabin was programmed in my head. I knew exactly where we were going, how fast… just being the son of the sea god did that for me. I wasn't as shocked about it this time as I was last time this happened in the Bermuda Triangle.
"I feel more at peace for some reason."
"Probably because you're in your element, Seaweed Brain."
"We really lucked out. I mean… they almost killed us, and now they're selflessly bringing us to Ecuador."
"Yeah. And they seem really nice, now that we know they don't want to harm us."
I agreed with a grunt. Annabeth's hands made their way around my waist. My arm snuck across her shoulders and she leaned her head on my shoulder.
"We can do this, Percy."
"I hope so. We've certainly made it a long way. Lucky break that it all clicked for you, too, or we would still be lost as to where we needed to go."
"Muchachos! Tienen hambre? Are you hungry? We have sopa."
"They made soup, Percy!"
"Perfect. I'm so hungry…"
Hours later, Annabeth and I had our hunger pangs satisfied (we hadn't eaten since our food splurge before we left), were very warm, as we were bundled in various blankets and together in a hammock below deck, and feeling very good about everything that had happened so far. We were sailing a couple miles out from the coast of Panama, having left the Canal, and on our way into the Pacific Ocean where we would then sail off the western coast of South America until we reached Ecuador.
Annabeth was lying in between my legs, her back against my chest. My arms were around her waist and her hands were on my hands, and she was asleep. A couple blankets covered us, and it felt like we were snuggled nicely in a net, as the hammock pretty much surrounded us everywhere except the top. The waves were kind of rough, but not spilling over the deck. The boat caused the hammock to rock back and forth, giving a nice, lulling rhythm that was steadily making me fall asleep. One lone lantern shone in the below deck cabin, giving a dim light just enough to see by, but not too much as to disturb sleep.
I don't when I had fallen asleep, but maybe five hours later Carlos came down, waking us up.
"Despiértense! Wake up! I know there is no luz de la mañana*, but that doesn't mean you can sleep all the time! If you are going to be on this boat, you are going to help!"
And that was pretty much how it was for the next few days: sleep, be woken up by Crazy Carlos, eat breakfast, work on the ship, eat lunch, talk with the crew, do whatever, eat dinner, sleep.
The seas were rough, and there was really nothing I could do. This was Dad's realm, and I expected he was pretty concerned with other things right now that didn't include the state of the oceans. Sure, I could prevent some big waves from spilling over the railing, but I did it inconspicuously as to not draw attention.
Carlos and the crew were really cool guys. They had spent their lives fishing and selling their catches in the market near the Panama Canal. Carlos was originally from Honduras, and his crewmates said they were from various places ranging from the Dominican Republic, to Cuba, to Argentina. They all met in Panama and began a fishing market together, both providing the produce and selling it under their names. Annabeth and I were very lucky to have run into them, as nice and hospitable as they were, and doing this for us without charge and so willingly. It was nice to know that there were people like this in the world. I was glad to have known them before the demise of humankind in 10 days.
The next "morning" was when things started to get strange.
First of all, Carlos did not come down to wake us up.
Second of all, the cause of me waking up was a shift in my internal radar: we were no longer heading in the direction that we needed to be going. We had shifted from South to Southwest. I knew from what I knew of the world map that this was definitely not right.
"Annabeth, get up." I nudged her awake.
"…Hmmm? What? What is it?"
"Something's not right."
"…Huh?"
"Just act natural. But something isn't going well."
Annabeth was wide awake now.
"What?"
"Just trust me on this. We've changed directions. Come on, let's go on deck."
Annabeth and I headed up the stairs hand-in-hand.
"Buenos días, muchachos! Or should I say good night? It is always dark outside, I do not know what to say anymore."
Carlos was at the helm. The other men were at their stations.
"Everything alright?" I asked.
"Claro, Percy! Nothing wrong."
"Have we changed directions?"
Carlos' eyes narrowed. But they quickly lightened up again as he grinned.
"Sí, a little. But only because my radar senses a storm. We don't want to get in it. We are trying to bypass it."
This was a lie. There was no storm near us. Absolutely no reason why we shouldn't be heading in the direction we should be.
I squeezed Annabeth's hand and she glanced at me. She knew right away what I was trying to convey.
"Anything we can do to help?" she asked.
"No, chica, just relájense* today… I will have Enrique make gazpacho*."
I pulled Annabeth back down to our cabin and we lay back down in our hammock.
"What do you think is going on?"
"I'm not sure, but he lied. There is no storm. We can't trust them anymore. I don't know what they're up to, but they're not bringing us towards Ecuador anymore."
Annabeth and I stayed silent, thinking about what we were going to do. Should we plan a mutiny? Attack and subdue the crew and then take control of the ship? I could do it. We could just… tie them up or lock them in the other room below deck, then take the boat to Ecuador ourselves.
Annabeth and I plotted together and decided that this was the best course of action. We would do it tonight, after supper.
"Hey! The gazpacho is ready! It is not difficult to make because it does not need to be heated, yes?"
"Here we go." I muttered. Annabeth nodded, pocketing her dagger. I slipped Riptide into my jacket. They couldn't hurt them because they were mortals, but they didn't know that.
We made our way up to the small mess hall. It was just a little side room with a small table in the cabin. Little bowls of soup were waiting for us, the others already eating.
"Dig in! It's Enrique's specialty. His mother's recipe."
"How nice!" Annabeth said. She was really good at acting.
We both sat and ate our soup silently. Meals were usually quiet because everyone was always so hungry, so they didn't suspect anything out of the ordinary.
"Did you want some galletas? They are special Costa Rican cookies…"
I looked up at Carlos. The package of cookies he was offering was starting to go in and out of focus. Suddenly I wasn't feeling so well. Next to me, Annabeth slumped and fell off the bench with a thud. I tried to reach down for her to see if she was okay, but it felt like someone's hands were scrambling my brains. My mind wasn't listening to me, and darkness has started seeping into my eyesight from the corners, making its way to the center.
Then, I was out.
I came to in an unlit, cold and dank room with one porthole. My hands were tied behind my back and I had a gag tied around my head. Instantly I sat up, cursing my dizziness. I still couldn't get to my feet. My legs weren't cooperating. I looked around the room and immediately noticed one important thing: Annabeth was not in the room. I panicked a little.
Where was she? WHERE. WAS. ANNABETH. Di immortales, if they had done anything to her, no matter how miniscule, I would kill them.
Bastards. They must have drugged or poisoned us or something… that soup. That had to be it.
But why?
I brought myself up to my knees, and looked down at the ground in front of me. I could barely see anything in here, the oil lamps from the hallway behind the door were allowing a crack of dim light to reach me.
The light spread as the door opened and in walked Carlos. I lifted my head, my eyes narrowed and my eyebrows furrowed. I tried to shout something (rather obscene and inappropriate, my misbehaving language) but all that came out was "."
"Oh calm yourself, Percy. You can't do anything, even if you tried."
Riptide was still in my pocket. Little did he know what Annabeth and I were and what we were capable of…
"Your friend, Annabeth. She has a celestial bronze dagger. You are demigods."
Ah, shit. Well there went that.
I shook my head, attempting to look confused and trying to deny it.
"DO NOT LIE, BOY. I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE."
I struggled to get the gag out of my mouth. I successfully loosened it and forced it down my chin and around my neck.
"What do you want?"
"What a polite question, Percy. I already have what I want."
"Are you like, demigod hunters or something?"
"No. Do you not know who I am? Let me introduce myself properly. I am King Cepheus, king of Ethiopia, or what would be Ethiopia. You know how that works. Everything moves with Western civilization? Well, turns out, my Greek Ethiopia is now the Galapagos Islands. Technically, I brought you to Ecuador, Percy. You see, the Islands are property of Ecuador. I kept my word."
"You're a lying bastard."
"No, POSEIDON is a bastard. He's sent that monster after my kingdom again. And to what end? The world will most likely end. Why does he care how my kingdom is destroyed?"
"Poseidon? Monster? What monster?" I guess he didn't know who I was, even if he knew what I was.
"Cetus. The sea monster. You see, Poseidon sent it after my kingdom thousands of years ago, because my wife, Cassiopeia, bragged to be more beautiful than the Nereids, pretty much the prostitutes and whores of Poseidon."
I frowned.
"Anyway, Poseidon did not like that, so he sent his pet, Cetus, a monstrous, giant, ugly creature with the head of a… well, it's a mix of whale, and something with paws and who knows what its head is… But that is beyond the point. The point is it is coming after my kingdom once again."
"What do we have to do with it?"
"You have nothing to do with it. Your lady friend on the other hand, does."
"What did you do with Annabeth?" I yelled, the rage filling me.
"Nothing! Yet." He sneered.
"I swear, if you…"
"Now, now. Let me explain myself. The last time Cetus came after my kingdom, I sought the Oracle of Delphi to tell me how to solve the issue. I tried this time too, but alas! The Oracle is nowhere to be found! I decided to do what I was told to back then: sacrifice my daughter. Now, Annabeth is not my daughter, obviously. She is dead, up in the stars as a constellation with her beloved Perseus, along with my wife, cursed to hang upside down. She is nowhere to be found. Clearly I cannot use her again. Not that I wanted to in the past, but I had no choice now, did I?"
"What did you do?"
"Well, the only way, according to the Oracle, to have Cetus leave us alone was if I… chained my daughter, Andromeda, naked to a rock, as a sacrifice to Cetus! What could I do? I chained my Andromeda to a rock on the coast, and my entire kingdom, including my wife and myself and Andromeda's betrothed, Phineus, my brother, was there to witness her death. What could we do, but wait? I panicked! My stupid, vain wife did not care. She was jealous of Andromeda's beauty anyway… but as for me? I loved my daughter! But I am a king, I am required to love my country more.
"I was thrilled when Perseus suddenly came. Out of nowhere, it seemed, but he battled Cetus and saved my daughter. I welcomed him as a son! Of course he could marry Andromeda!
"But he took her away from me after they married. And he turned my brother to stone with this hideous head! I don't know what it was… but he is dead!
"And I never saw Andromeda again. I can only see her when I look to the night sky. A gift from Athena."
I knew this legend. It was all coming back to me now as Carl- Cepheus explained everything.
"And Annabeth?"
"I am sick of that sea monster. I realized the only reason he is coming back is because he did not receive his virginal sacrifice! That is where your dear lady friend comes in."
Annabeth. Gods. She was going to be the sacrifice. She was pure… but he didn't know that, did he?
"Who told you Annabeth's a virgin?" I taunted.
Cepheus' eyes narrowed, and I swear they glowed red. He stormed toward me, dragged me roughly to my feet and slammed me against the wall.
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?"
"She's my girlfriend! How do you know I haven't taken her virginity? Because I have!"
"SHE BETTER BE A VIRGIN, OR I WILL KILL YOU WITH MY BARE HANDS! Tell me, Percy! Have you deflowered your dear Annabeth? Have you two consummated your love?"
We had a glare-off.
Thoughts of Annabeth naked filled my mind and I felt myself blush.
This was all Cepheus needed. He eyed my reddening cheeks triumphantly.
"You liar. You can't even think of it without blushing like a little school girl. She is pure, then. I admire your efforts, though, Percy. As in vain as they were."
He shoved me against the wall again and let me drop to my knees once more. (My legs still didn't work, di immortales.)
He gave me one final sneer and spit in front of me before he turned around and left, slamming the door behind him.
I ducked my head. I was livid with rage, I could feel the fire building in my stomach and threatening to burst out at any second. Tears of helplessness and anger dripped from my eyes.
My Annabeth. He's sacrificing MY ANNABETH. He had no right! She wasn't his daughter! It's not as if…
Exactly, Percy. He doesn't care what happens to the girl this time.
That's why he backed off when Annabeth showed herself on the boat. That's what they were discussing, and that's why they were so willing to bring us to Ecuador. They needed Annabeth. Cepheus planned it out all at the beginning and we fell for it. And what's more, we gave ourselves away because he saw Annabeth's dagger and how it was celestial bronze.
Hades. HELL HELL HELL!
I whipped my head up and glared at the ceiling, gritting my teeth, the tears dripping off my cheeks and dropping to the floor.
I could sense that we were no longer sailing. I was still on the boat, obviously, but the boat was not moving, just anchored and being upset by the waves.
I tried to get to my feet again. This time, my right foot listened to my brain, and then it was followed by my left.
I could walk again thank the gods.
I made my way over to the porthole and looked out.
Spotlights from the coast of the Galapagos Islands, the hidden kingdom of Cepheus (obviously people couldn't see his kingdom) shined out and made their resting place on a large, pointed rock about quarter of a mile out at sea. Thousands of people were standing on the rocky coast, looking out at it. I could see Cepheus standing, in all his kingly attire and glory, on a pedestal above the people gathered. They were waiting.
Waiting for the action.
Waiting for the slaughter.
Waiting for Cetus, and ultimately, final redemption.
I looked back out at the rock. The waves were crashing into it, being thrust upward. My eyes followed the waves until they found what I had been searching for: her blonde curls were damp and stiff, signifying they were iced over, and her body dripping wet, and she was shivering severely.
The bastard had stripped her down of everything except her bra and underwear. She was freezing out there. Her normally tanned skin had turned a bluish tinge and her lips were purple.
That bastard… I would kill him.
A deafening roar shook the boat I was on, and it wasn't the waves. I looked in the direction everyone else was looking and I saw him: Cetus, about half a mile out, meaning a quarter of a mile away from Annabeth.
Cepheus was right. Cetus was the ugliest thing I had ever seen. Its head was bulbous, and it had a hooked, wrinkly nose. Its eyes were like a blue whale's, but its mouth definitely wasn't. Because blue whales definitely do not have 18 inch incisors and a three-pronged snake tongue.
Its scaly neck morphed down into a mammal-like torso: its paws looked like a dog's. A large dorsal fin trailed its way down Cetus' back.
When it dove back into the ocean, I saw its lower body: it ended in a large fin, much like a whale's as well.
I followed its dorsal fin above the water as it neared the rock where Annabeth was chained.
Shit.
Annabeth's head was turned in that direction too, and she started to struggle against her chains.
Tears poured down my face.
I had to do something. Now.
Think, Percy. Think.
How do I get out of here? The door is locked, barred and chained…
I thought back to a show I had watched on MTV this past summer… about various ways of escaping.
I glanced at the porthole. I couldn't break it now… but…
That was it.
I closed my eyes, feeling the familiar tug of power behind my bellybutton. I didn't have to look out the window to know that the waves had gotten significantly higher, darker, and stronger.
I heard the waves crash over the deck, pounding the boat, trying to push it under the water. My eyes remained closed, continuously making the waves rougher and stronger.
Thunderous sounding waves attacked the boat, slowly filling it and sinking it into the water.
The water started to leak under the door of my room.
Good.
More and more water filled the room, and having no place to drain, it started to fill rather quickly. I was up to my waist with water now.
A few more crashes of waves on deck and I felt the boat submerge. I controlled the waves to push the boat down into the water, letting it fill faster.
The water was over my head, but the room was not filled yet.
You see, they tell you if you ever find yourself in your car in the lake, you need to wait until the car is submerged, and until it is completely filled with water before you can open the door or kick the window through. The pressure has to be equal on both sides.
This is what I had been successful in doing.
I sunk the ship.
Now, the room was filled with water. I brought my hands under my legs and to my front. Being a son of Poseidon, I didn't have to worry about drowning. The binds that held my hands together were knotted very haphazardly. I took Riptide from my pocket and uncapped it. Holding the handle between my legs, I began to saw the ropes on the blade. I was free in a matter of seconds. Taking Riptide back into my hand, I swam towards the window, flipped around and kicked it multiple times.
Finally, the glass broke and my foot was through the window. The glass that would have punctured me or scraped along my leg merely glazed off my cursed skin. I swam through the porthole, and to the surface. I wasn't cold in the water, but once my face broke the surface, my face froze even though I wasn't wet (I hadn't willed it, therefore, I wasn't.)
I treaded the water and looked below me. The water was kind of shallow, and I could barely see the white paint of La Hija Princesa… Princess Daughter. Cepheus' boat… he had named it after Andromeda…
I looked back up at the rock Annabeth was chained to. Cetus was taking his dear sweet time, stopping, emerging, then diving back in with his fin sticking above the surface. He had the effect of a swimmer treading water in the middle of the ocean watching a great white shark's fin coming steadily closer. This guy liked to mess with his food.
Annabeth didn't have much time. And I had no way of attacking Cetus.
What had Perseus done? I wracked my brain for the myth I had just heard. Cepheus hadn't gone into the battle much. It wasn't important to him, only the outcome: his daughter safe.
Perseus… had had the element of surprise. He was riding the Pegasus that has emerged from Medusa's slain body… and… he had had Hades' helm of invisibility. I had none of those items or creatures.
What I did have a one up on the first Perseus, though… was…
I was a son of Poseidon.
The water obeyed me.
Who said you need a board to surf?
The idea played itself out in my head and I grinned. I looked at the water surrounding me and it began to foam and bubble. I began to rise into the air. 10 feet. 15 feet. 20.
The bubbling tower continued to rise, and I stood on top of it, sword at the ready. I willed my tower to go forward, and I bent my knees, bracing myself and balancing. My wave brought me towards the rock. I could hear the outburst of the people on the shore, and chanced a look at them. Cepheus was in a rage, arms being thrown above his head. The people were pointing, pushing at each other to see me better.
I was freezing cold. The air was frostbitingly crisp and chilled. It bit at my face and unprotected hands as the air whipped past me. The water below me rolled over itself continuously to keep its path towards the rock.
Cetus surfaced, less than 20 yards from the rock. His gaze met mine, and once it hit him what I was there to do, his eyes began to glow red and he threw his head back and let out the fiercest roar I had ever heard.
He dove into the water, the surf cutting past his fin.
"ANNABETH! I'M COMING! HOLD ON!"
Annabeth's frozen head whipped towards the sound of my voice. Her eyes widened when she saw what was going on. Her smile was blinding.
"PERCY!"
Cetus dove out of the water at me, as great whites, killer whales and dolphins do, except this guy was like 80 tons more massive than all of those creatures combined. I couldn't turn this…whatever it was, fast enough, so I let it drop, and I followed, maneuvering my body during the thirty foot fall into a perfect dive. My body hit the water and I dove down about 20 feet. I looked above me, and saw that Cetus had also come down where I had just been, he had tried to belly flop and crush me to death. I stayed submerged. I had to draw him away from Annabeth. I intended to piss him off more than the girl chained to the rock interested him.
My plan worked. Cetus looked down into the water and made eye contact with where I was. I grinned at him and beckoned him, then began to swim away from the rock. Looking behind me, I saw that Cetus was following me, his tail whipping up and down, propelling him towards me. He was gaining on me. I turned around and raised my sword, preparing to slay him beneath the ocean.
Cetus stopped abruptly, eyes on my sword.
I heard a fishy, ocean-creature voice in my head:
DPM PG YJR RSTYDJSLRT! GPTHOBR MR. PLRSDR FP MPY DLSU MR EOYJ ANAKLUSMOS!
Which, roughly translated into English is: "SON OF THE EARTHSHAKER! FORGIVE ME. PLEASE DO NOT SLAY ME WITH ANAKLUSMOS!"
I stayed where I was, treading the water beneath the surface. I gaped at Cetus, who was now in front of me, panting like a dog and wagging his fin back and forth with a (gruesome) but friendly grin on his face.
I just want to be loved and cared for, O, Bearer of Riptide, Son of the Earthshaker. Heir of Poseidon.
Erm, okay. Did my dad send you?
No. He did not. I am usually located in the Arctic Ocean, but since the disappearance of the sun, there has been strange weather, weather that has caused me to seek calmer seas. So now I am here.
And you refuse to attack me because I am the son of your master?
You are my master as well.
Right, then. Er, well, come here.
Cetus swam toward me slowly. I swam above his head and sat on his neck. I began to scratch behind where his ears would be if he had protruding ears.
Ahhhhhhhh…
So, you won't attack my girlfriend anymore?
THAT WAS THE MASTER'S MATE? APOLOGIES. FORGIVE ME PLEASE. I DID NOT KNOW…
Uh, it's okay. Just… leave everyone alone. If you do, I'll let you be my pet. I will love you.
REALLY! Oh, oh Master. I am honored! I love you, Master.
Um, okay. Now, let's go save my girlfriend and make Cepheus apologize for being a dick.
Yes, Master!
How many giant pets did I have now that could never come home with me? Like, Mrs. O'Leary could live in a kennel and Cetus could be put in a fishbowl. I don't think so.
I held onto Cetus as he rose to the surface and broke through. The crowd screamed. Apparently they did not see me on his back. Cetus went towards the rock.
I heard Cepheus bellow out:
"TAKE HER, EAT HER AND LEAVE US BE YOU MONSTROUS FIEND! NEVER SHOW YOUR UGLY FACE NEAR MY KINGDOM AGAIN! BE SATISFIED WITH THIS SACRIFICE."
"Annabeth!"
She looked like she had begun to cry. Her head was ducked. Her skin was severely blue and she was shivering violently. Her head rose up tentatively.
"Percy? You're alive! Oh, gods… I thought you had…"
I hopped off of Cetus and he waited there while I unchained Annabeth. The poor girl had no clothes… I took off my jacket and placed it on her shoulders, and then took one of my fleeces off and wrapped it around her legs, then lifted her bridal style to warm up against me as best she could.
We climbed back onto Cetus (Annabeth albeit nervously in my arms…) and Cetus started to swim towards the shore.
The people began to scream.
"GO! LEAVE! YOU'VE HAD YOUR MEAL!" Cepheus shouted.
Cetus paid no heed. We had a lesson to teach him.
While we neared the coast, Annabeth's color had improved slightly.
"Seaweed Brain?"
"Yeah, Wise Girl?"
She leaned up and kissed my lips. It was one of the sweetest and most chaste I had every received, even if her lips felt like she had been making out with an ice cube.
"Thanks for saving me, Seaweed Brain."
I chuckled at the reversal of the situation, and mimed her response to me:
"It's my job, Wise Girl." And then I proceeded to warm her lips with mine.
The crowd had begun to disperse wildly. Everyone was running away and backing up, running into each other, pushing and shoving. Cepheus was glowering up at Cetus, who had stopped at the shore and had begun to bend down.
"YOU FILTHY MONSTER! GET OUT OF—"
And then Cepheus saw me sitting on his neck with Annabeth in my arms.
"Percy… it's impossible…"
I jumped off of Cetus and strode up to Cepheus. Annabeth clung around my neck and glared at Cepheus as well.
"You chose the wrong two demigods to mess with, Cepheus."
Cepheus looked completely shell-shocked and fell to his knees, staring absently at us.
"I don't…"
"Let me introduce myself properly," I sneered, mimicking his line to me only hours ago, "I'm Perseus Jackson, Son of Poseidon."
Cepheus' eyes widened.
"And let me introduce you to my girlfriend, the love of my life: Annabeth Chase. Daughter of Athena. A goddess you have now severely insulted and provoked."
Cepheus' eyes widened even further, if possible, and he began to tremble.
"Athena… the Wise… oh gods… what have I done?"
Annabeth spoke up.
"My mother was kind enough to let you see your daughter, Andromeda, in the stars after you were never able to see her again. And this is how you repay her? By sacrificing one of her daughters?"
"Lady Annabeth… forgive me, please… I…"
"Save it, Cepheus. Don't talk to me."
"…Master Perseus… please… have mercy…"
I wrinkled my nose.
"You don't really deserve it. But lucky for you, I'm a decent person. My loving pet Cetus will never bother you again."
"Oh… oh Master Perseus… thank you… how can I repay you?"
"You can start by giving us somewhere warm to stay, provide food and medicine to nurse my love back to health, and stop being a dick."
"Your wish is my command."
"And quit being a brown-noser, too." Annabeth added. I grinned and kissed her nose.
"Yes, Ma'am."
With that, he snapped his fingers, and instantly servants surrounded him that began to tend to our every need. They lead us towards what I assumed was Cepheus' castle and they brought us inside where safety, warmth and luxury awaited us. I glanced back at Cetus and winked. He gave me his gruesome, goofy grin again and dove backwards into the ocean.
When we were all settled, surrounded by luxurious, silken blankets, seated on swan feather duvets and body pillows, given any food we asked for, and were all warmed up (Annabeth looked loads better, her color was normal, her lips were pink (and I kissed them often to keep them warm…)), given warm baths and fresh, warm clothes, Cepheus entered our room.
"Master Perseus, Lady Annabeth, you called?"
"Yeah. Uh, do you have any mode of transportation to get us to Ecuador? I'm still deeming you responsible for getting us there."
Cepheus visibly gulped and fell to his knees, bowing his head.
"Thousands of apologies, but no, you sank my last vessel, Master Perseus… not that I have any hard feelings, I quite deserved it, and…"
Oh gods, just shut up you kiss-ass.
Now what?
"Whatever. Thanks. You can, uh, leave."
"Many thanks and many more apologies!"
And he left.
"What now?" Annabeth asked. "We have nine days until we freeze over."
She scooted towards me and climbed into my lap.
I reached into my pocket to retrieve Riptide to twirl it in pen form: my thinking habit.
Before my fingers reached the familiar cylinder that was my pen-sword, my fingers grazed something else: a cat's eye shell.
My shell phone.
"I've got it, Annabeth."
I revealed my shell.
"Your shell?"
"Remember, it's not just any shell." We both smiled. I brought it to my mouth and whispered:
"Tyson."
AN
Anything that doesn't have an asterisk has an implied translation, either cognate (word look-alike) or it's repeated in English afterwards. Those that have an asterisk are translated below and appear in the order in which they appeared:
* Mis queridos hombres! Por favor, mi amigo y yo necesitamos un bote! Este es su bote? Ustedes podrían conducirlo y nos llevarían a Ecuador? My dear gentlemen! Please, my friend and I need a boat! Is this your boat? Could you conduct it and take us to Ecuador?
*Muchacha bonita… claro! Bienvenidos a la Hija Princesa! Que usted y su amigo disfruten bien el viaje! Pretty lady, of course! Welcome to the Hija Princesa! (I hope) that you and your friend very much enjoy the trip!
*Su español es tan bueno, Annabeth. Your Spanish is so good, Annabeth.
* Sin embargo, podemos hablar en inglés si quiere However, we can speak in English if you want.
* Con muchísimo gustoliterally "With a lot of gust!" Another way of saying "you're welcome," very commonly used in Costa Rica and other southern parts of Central America, i.e. Panama.
* …muchachos! Estámos listos para irnos? Guys! Are we ready to go?
*luz de la mañana morning light
*relájense relax
*gazpacho has no direct translation, it's the name of a cold vegetable soup.
Thanks for reading my Lovies! Review if you wish, let me know how you like the story! Chapter 11 will be posted next weekend!
P.S. I clearly deemed Percy Jackson more important than education. Man, do I have my workload set out for me today…
Love,
Lily SC