HAHA NO SPOILERS FOR YOU THIS TIME!

:D Oh, how evil I am.

Sigh, Percy's not mine.


Chapter 12: In which I bow down to a wanna-be princess.

Beijing was so hot I could feel my skin slipping off. The air was warm, and the sun beat down so harshly that I seriously craved my Auntie's air-conditioned house.

"It's so hot," groaned Nico as we walked with a crowd of people down an unknown street. "Is there seriously no AC here? Can I buy a popsicle? Why is everyone here Asian?"

"The more you talk, the more saliva you use and the thirstier you get. So…be quiet."

He refused to listen to my advice, and continued complaining. "Why did I wear black? Why didn't you tell me not to wear black?"

"You only have black in your wardrobe, smart one. Not like you had a choice. But seriously, you've got to keep quiet. People will mug you if they find out you're from America." Miraculously, Nico clamped his mouth shut. Mugging was obviously a fear.

I looked around, hoping to find a familiar landmark that I could use to get nearer to my Auntie. Beijing was huge, full of an intricate weaving of streets and buildings. I prayed that George had at least settled us somewhere near to our destination.

"Hey," said Nico, managing to display a serious lack of self control when it came to talking, "Can we just take a little break? We've been wandering around for an hour already. Not to mention we were chased by a black hole, and I'm really tired."

I looked at him, and his eyes suddenly got wider and almost a bit teary. He jutted out his bottom lip, and made the most adorable pouty face I had ever seen. My resolve started to crumble very quickly. "Please?"

I sighed. "If we must…"

We walked maybe another few minutes or so till I found a place that didn't look too shady. It was relatively high-class hotel. I pushed open the doors, and was met with the most welcome gust of cool, breathable air.

"Salvation," Nico said happily, lounging on a nearby chair. I frowned. "We're only stopping for a short time, then we have to get a move on. I've got to get to Auntie's place."

"You don't even know where we are," he grumbled.

I stayed silent. It was true…and I had no way to exchange the dollars in my potato sack for some Chinese currency either. All in all, we were in a pretty bad situation. I looked at the disk in my pocket that Lars had given me. I could use it now if I wanted to, but it wasn't really an extreme emergency. I was pretty sure Lars had meant a sure life-or-death moment, and we weren't in any real danger at the time, which was a relief.

It seemed like the only way to get out of this was to ask for some directions, but if I did that it was like admitting that I didn't know the city like the back of my hand.

I swallowed my pride and walked over to the lady at the counter. "Stay here," I told Nico. He shrugged. "Whatevs. Take your time."

I rolled my eyes, then put on a smiling face for the young woman at the reception desk. "Hello. Would you please tell me about how far we are from the Bird's Nest?" I asked in Chinese.

"Not too far," she answered, seeming to think for a second. "I would say around two or three hours drive? Are you part of a tour group?"

"Oh, um, no. But we would like to visit the monument," I said, lying through my teeth. Auntie lived extremely close to the Olympic Stadium in Beijing, the so-called "Bird's Nest" for its unique shape. I was sure if we got to the landmark we could catch a taxi and get to her house in no time. But we were two hours away right now, and there was no way any cab driver would be willing to take us.

"You children look very young to be traveling by yourselves."

"No, no," I laughed. "Not really."

We're just demigods with supernatural powers trying to save the world from destruction. No biggie.

"Well, if you would like, we're offering a tour of Beijing right now. One of the places the group will be visiting is the Bird's Nest, it's the third stop. Along the way, we offer you food and lodging during the travel time. It's free—"

My ears perked up.

"If you pay for a week's stay at our hotel."

Actually, that didn't sound too bad. I didn't mind spending a week or so here. It could get Nico used to the culture, and it had awesome AC. The rooms and atmosphere looked nice too—it would be a comfortable break from all the running around we were doing. "One moment, I've got to ask my comrade what he thinks."

"Alright," she said sweetly, bowing halfway.

I was determined to convince Nico.

It turned out I didn't need to do much convincing. He was overjoyed. "You serious? Cool!"

"It's kind of expensive though, so we have to pool our money together."

"As if. Watch this." Nico went up the desk and smiled at the woman. "Hi," he said in English, then snapped once in front of her face. A ripple seemed to emanate from his fingers, pulsing through the air with the sense of something magical. The lady blinked a few times. She looked really confused.

"We're Nico and May. We don't have to pay, right? Because your boss said that you must respect the customers that are actually Prince and Princess of the Netherlands. We will raise your hotel's business, remember?"

I spluttered. "What are you doing! She can't understand you! And the Prince and Princess of the Netherlands? Are you crazy?"

"I'm just manipulating the Mist and hoping it works."

The lady smiled slowly, a dreamy look coming over her eyes. "Why yes," she said in Mandarin. "Of course. Sorry I forgot. Please enjoy your stay, the tour will begin a week from now. Here are your room keys." She took two cards from a nearby shelf and handed them to Nico. "Thank you for your business."

I was in shock. How did he do that? And how did the lady even understand what he was saying?

"What did you do?" I hissed as we climbed up the stairs to our room.

Nico shrugged, flashing the room keys in front of my face. "Well…nothing much."

I stopped on the staircase and glowered at him. "I'm not moving until you tell me."

He shrugged again. "Okay." And proceeded to leave me on the stairs.

Wow. Jerk.

Realizing I had lost, I sighed and followed him. "Could you please tell me?"

Nico smirked, like he had been waiting for me to ask him nicely. "I just changed the Mist in front of her eyes for, eh, about a week or so. I've gotten pretty good at it, you know? The Mist allows us to change people's perceptions on things, and pretty much blend in like no other. I didn't really know if she would be able to understand me, but it worked out well."

"Can I do it too?"

"Sure, with practice. But I'm the master of this shindig, so don't go thinking you can pull the wool over my eyes with anything."

"That wasn't the intention."

"Wang, you can't fool me. I'm the boss."

I laughed. "Okay, okay. You're the boss."

We arrived at the room, which had large oak doors and a simple slot for the card keys. Nico inserted one and pushed the entrance open.

I was met with some pretty sweet surroundings. You know, giant bathroom, two huge queen beds, a nice TV, and a mini-fridge that reminded me of Auntie Phan. The walls were painted a nice cream color, and we had a pretty good view of the city. What I was not expecting was a clearly-not-Asian girl peeking her head out from a corner, watching us with disdainful eyes.

"Well," she snorted in a British accent. "What are you commoners doing here? I won't sign any autographs for you. Leave quickly, and I won't have to call my guards."

The girl looked about our age. She was tall, with long, straight platinum blonde hair. Her eyes glinted steely gray, and her arms were crossed over her chest in a posture of extreme arrogance. I decided I didn't like her.

"We no speaka Engrish," said Nico. I punched him.

"He's lying. Hi, I'm May, and he's Nico. Sorry, but I think this is our room."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Hmph. Judging by your accent, you must be American. But what ever could make you think that this place is your room? This is Suite 201. This is reserved for only people of true royal blood, like me, who are here to relax from the worries of royalty. So leave you little penny-pinchers, I cannot bear the thought of looking at you."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

Nico walked over and snapped his fingers in front of her. I felt the Mist shifting and warping, changing us to what he wanted us to be. "Listen up, Miss Pampered Princess. I'm Nico, Prince of the Netherlands. I triumph over any puny country that you might be from, for my words are the extreme power of the universe. So you better pack your bags and move to the room down the hallway or something, because there is no way we are giving this place up."

I expected her to drool at his feet and leave, singing our praises for a week. But instead, she stubbornly stood her ground and lifted her head up. "Pardon. What did you say? Prince of the Netherlands? Balderdash. I know the Prince, and he is definitely not some dark grunge boy. Scurry off, you imposter, before I really call my guards."

Nico ground his teeth and clenched his fists. I was half hoping that he would knock her out. "Dark grunge boy?"

Injury from insults could come later. There was a bigger issue at hand. "Your Mist thing didn't work," I said. Great. We were stuck with some high-end princess who was in our room, and would not leave because Nico's trick-you powers had totally backfired.

"I don't know why! It's supposed to work on mortals," he whispered back.

The girl tapped her foot impatiently. "Well? Are you going to go, or will I have to force you to?"

"I really don't like this girl. Whatevs, let's just get a better room. If she doesn't want to believe that we're royalty, then fine…she's just going to lose a lot of diplomatic recognition," said Nico, turning on his heel after sending her a glare.

"But you aren't royalty, you little commoners!" the girl hissed, stomping a heeled foot on the ground.

"And you are? I haven't met a Princess as bratty as you."

"I'm not a Princess." Her eyes turned malicious. "I'm the biggest pop star to ever come to England, and just happen to have royal blood. My name is Wisteria Woods."

I looked at Nico. "Nope. Never even heard of you," we said simultaneously.

That was the last straw for her, and she began ordering her guards to pummel us into squashes.

"I hate your songs!" I yelled as I slammed the door behind me. I hadn't even listened to any of them, but it seemed like a pretty good insult. I heard her outraged scream echo through the room—"Penny Pinchers!"

I did not expect her to fling the door open and follow us out into the hallway.

"We should probably make a run for it," Nico suggested. "She's looking pretty monsterish by the minute."

"I will ruin you," Wisteria snarled. "You guys are so dead meat! As soon as I get off the tour and back in England, I will take the personal liberty of turning you peasants into unfortunate mugwumps!"

Something did not sit right with that sentence. Ah, that was it. "You're going on the tour?"

Her eyes narrowed, flashing like thunderstorms in the sky. "And what is it to you?"

"Nothing. We just hate the look of your face. Wondering if we should, you know, bring mirrored sunglasses so we can reflect your Medusa looks," said Nico casually. The girl looked stunned. "Medusa?"

That look on her face was not a good sign.

"Great," I said. "Now she's on to us. You're a genius, you know that?"

"She doesn't know! Just a mention of a Greek monster won't kill me."

Wisteria glanced at the floor, like she was thinking really hard. I supposed it must have hurt her head, since her eyebrows were scrunched together so tightly she could probably hold a burrito in between them. "Medusa. She's a Greek monster, head full of snakes, created by Athena for revenge against Poseidon. Her very look can turn people to stone…"

That was impressive knowledge for a spoiled pop star.

"I told you! You're going to blow our cover!" I whispered, indiscreetly jabbing Nico in the arm with my elbow.

"You're too bony," he muttered, rubbing the spot. "Besides, she's normal. And doesn't seem too smart. Whatever, let's just get our room, okay?"

Wisteria seemed to ignore us, instead closing the door to Suite 201 quietly behind her. "Why would you mention Medusa at a time like this?" she wondered out loud. I looked at Nico.

Totally BUSTED.

"It's way too much of a coincidence," she muttered, playing with a silver ring on her finger. "They come, and then you come with some knowledge, things are happening, not normal…If they're going after me, and you suddenly find me…"

She stood stock still, gray eyes pondering what seemed to be her next move.

"Let's leave, May," said Nico quietly. "We royal people need to get our rooms." I knew what he was really trying to say though. This girl is trouble. Let's get away before we get involved.

"Wait. You peasants aren't going anywhere until I get the answers I want."

"Oho. Bossing us around now, are you? Well, we have no obligations, and no legal ties to your country, so boo on you. Come on, May, let's move it."

Wisteria took a breath and spoke. "Tell me why weird things are following me and trying to end my life. Tell me why they all seem to be Greek monsters. And tell me why you guys claim to be royalty of the Netherlands, when you clearly know it's not true, and you expected me to believe it. That story is so far-fetched, only an idiot would believe it. Not to mention, you say a Greek monster's name during all this," she waved her hands for emphasis, "Stuff. The probability margins are too slim. There is a link between all these events, and I have a sneaking suspicion that you know what it is. So open up your mouths and talk, fools, before I get my guards to help you."

She was way smarter than I gave her credit for. Nico seemed to realize something dreadful, because his face instantly turned the color of baby milk formula. Wisteria stood there impatiently, waiting for an answer.

Slowly, Nico reached into his pocket and drew out a pocket computer, typing things in rapidly. I leaned over and saw him look up the location of Beijing, then the location of our hotel, and then more specifically, the hallway we were standing in. Three dots represented our locations.

All of them were red.

"She's a demigod," breathed Nico. "Things are going to go downhill."


Just letting you know ahead of time...I don't really know if the Netherlands have royalty or not. So...don't be upset if the facts aren't accurate.

Love Wisteria, hate Wisteria...opinions? LOL I love her, she's a total RIOT. :D

R&R :)