Hey, for those who are interested. I have just begun two new stories. Soul Catcher (featuring Dark/Nico) and Rising Action (featuring a crossover of Sherlock and PJO). The last one is actually really good, so give it a chance. : )

Thanks for reading Prince!

Ink...

Chapter Twenty-Five: Something's Wrong

Poseidon pointed at map. "And what would you do with the enemy here?"

I frowned. "It would be easy to bottle neck them in the gully. The only drawback is that the casualties might outweigh the victory."

Triton nodded. "Unless of course you had the Cyclopes create Greek fire catapults."

I stared at him. "That would help. Distance fighting…what would their weapons be? Any monsters immune to fire?"

Poseidon smiled. "Percy, you will do fine as a general." I gave a humorless grin.

"Lots of practice."

Triton's smile wavered a little. I ignored it and turned to Dad. "Do you know how Annabeth's doing?"

Right on cue, the doors opened. Annabeth fled into my arms. "Hide me!"

"Young lady, you do not enter a man's den without knocking first!" Amphitrite swam in petulantly.

I looked at her. "You just did, Mother."

She looked flustered. "The door was already open, and the meeting was already interrupted. Now, Miss Chase, please come with me. You must have a fitting!"

I raised an eyebrow. "A fitting?"

Amphitrite nodded. "Of course. Annabeth let drop the fact that she didn't own many dresses. I am having the tailor come and make some tunics for her. It is the least I can do."

I smiled and whispered into Annabeth's ear. "Mother is only trying to help, Annabeth. She only wants my future bride and fiancé to be well-dressed and well taken care of."

Annabeth sighed. "Everything's a lot simpler above surface. How did you stand it?"

I chuckled. "Well, you are marrying into royalty."

She sighed. "May Percy and I take a walk…er…swim through the palace gardens?"

Amphitrite looked put out but finally nodded. Annabeth pulled me away from everyone and out of the palace completely.

"Can we be overheard here?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Why? What's wrong?"

She sighed. "Why does your dad suddenly want you to be his Prince of the Eastern Seas person? Why now? After all this time?"

I shrugged. "He told me that I was his favorite son. He's got it in his head that I deserve a throne after everything I've done for the gods. He wanted me to be by his side for as long as possible."

Annabeth shook her head. "Something's not right. He's up to something. Nothing diabolical but something that would definitely affect you."

I frowned. "I'll look into it. But for now, let's just enjoy the fact that you're with me." I grinned at her and pulled her to me. "I love you, Wise Girl. You are comboro."

She raised an eyebrow. "You've got to teach me this language." I grinned.

"Comboro is beautiful."

She blushed lightly. "What's the word for handsome?"

I shook my head but answered anyway. "Dalian. To be used in context of complimenting something or someone."

She nodded. "Telian dalian." [You are handsome.]

I smirked. "Someone got their hands are an old language book in the library."

She grinned and kissed me.

I smiled and took her hand. "Come on, let me show you the forges." She flipped her dark grey fins and swam after me. I blinked as I thought of something.

"There is no way that you just figured out how to swim so well."

She blushed. "Ahem…well, I might have started studying how dolphins swim when I found out that you had been turned into a fishboy."

I snickered. She pushed me slightly with her shoulder. "Shut up…"

I smiled and then my smile widened. "Do you have to go back? Can't you spend the night? I have a some rooms filled with air in my suite. You can stay there if you want. I can turn you back into a mermaid in the morning."

She frowned. "Can I stay as a mermaid all through the night?"

I tilted my head to one side and thought about it. We could hear the pounding of the metal in the distance. "I suppose…we'll need to ask Dad."

Annabeth gave me a worried glance. "What did he do earlier that got you a free pass to camp?"

I sighed and told her what happened. She frowned darkly. "He is a god, Percy. He won't think things through like a mortal would. His thought patterns are different. Be careful. He might do something else like this and simply not understand why you would object." She bit her lip in worry.

I nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean." She slipped her arm around mine, and we entered the forges. The Cyclopes bowed to me. I nodded to them. Annabeth looked around in awe.

"This place is huge!" I smiled and signaled the foreman.

"Bring Tyson to me immediately."

"Yes, my prince!" He called another Cyclops. Tyson lumbered over and shrank to hug me and Annabeth.

"Big Brother! Annabeth!"

I smiled and slapped him on the back. "How are you, big guy?"

He nodded. "Very well, but I'm concerned for you. You have bad men after you. Men that need to get hit by a big, big stick!"

Annabeth snickered. "I completely agree with you Tyson."

He smiled. I led them out of the din and into a much quieter place. "Triton tells me that you don't have to work in the forges since you are Father's general. Why do you keep doing it?"

He shrugged. "I like working with metal and fire. In war, I fight with weapons. In peace, I make weapons and other things."

I smiled at him. "I've missed you, Ty. I'm really sorry I haven't visited you as often as I should." I frowned and glanced at my drooping fins. Tyson smiled.

"It's okay, Big Brother. You're busy. I'm busy. We're seeing each other right now." He turned to Annabeth. "How is Ella?"

Annabeth grinned. "Pining for you. She's reciting sad, love poetry all the time."

Tyson blushed and nodded. "I get to go to camp tomorrow. I will see her then." Annabeth, Tyson, and I talked a little bit more until I was called back to the palace by a dolphin.

Annabeth was immediately whisked away by Amphitrite. I turned to my dad. "Yes?"

He gave me a worried smile. "Percy, how would you feel about…an…er…" He shook his head. "Never mind."

He turned away and started to swim away. I sighed. "You should just tell me and let me decide for myself."

Poseidon sighed again and nodded. He looked at me for a moment before blurting out what he had to say in one quick rush. "How would you feel about having a public coronation? Triton had one, and I don't want anyone thinking I favor one son over the other."

I frowned. "The deal was that I wouldn't become Prince of the Eastern Seas until I was on my death bed."

Poseidon waved his hand. "Yes, yes, yes! I'm talking about the crown that you are wearing on your head right now. Triton was given his crown before and then a ceremony with pomp was given afterwards. It's a copy of what happened earlier, except with public viewing. I'm asking if you are okay with that."

I stared at him. "Me? Okay with pomp and ceremony? Me?" I shook my head decisively. "No." I didn't want anyone knowing my titles.

Poseidon gave a sad sigh. I made the mistake of looking back. My father was slumping his shoulders and giving the most heart wrenching version of a dejected god of puppies.

I groaned. "Whyyy?!" I knew I was whining, and I didn't give a damn.

He sighed. "It's tradition."

"It's stupid!"

My father gave me a look that told me to behave. I sighed but nodded. "The public wishes to see my youngest prince crowned."

I growled. "Only if Annabeth is crowned my fiancé." I grinned. If I had to suffer then she would too.

Poseidon beamed at me. There was a glint in his eyes that made me concerned. It looked too clever, too satisfied, altogether too similar to a look Hades would give after he tricked you into selling your soul. "I'll make the arrangements. We can even throw an engagement party for you two!" He swam away to get his wife.

I sighed and shook my head. "That will be three big events in a matter of four months. This is crazy…" I shook my head and swam to my room. Taking out a piece of paper, I tried to find a hint in Kronos' plans.

Annabeth entered my room without knocking. Time at camp had conditioned her. "You, sir, are a traitor."

I smirked. "Just because I want you by my side doesn't mean that I'm a traitor." She huffed and sat next to me.

She looked at herself and then at me. "Um, Percy, I didn't have the guts to ask Amphitrite, but are Mers live young or eggs?"

I stopped writing my battle plans down and turned to stare at her. She blushed. I sighed and set my pen down. "Egg. If you've notice there are two scales on your trunk that move. There located where the back of your knees would be." She slipped her fingers onto the scales and then gave a gasp at the sensation.

I smirked. "The hole that's beneath the scales is very sensitive. Pretty much I move myself to hover over that hole and inject my sperm into you. You only hold on to your now fertilized egg until you find a safe spot for it to nestle. You then eject your egg onto that surface and guard it until the child break through the egg membrane. It's not a hard shell. It's a flexible and highly durable cocoon. Once the child breaks through the membrane, you can treat the baby like any other human baby, breastfeeding and such. Mers give birth to only one child at a time."

Annabeth blinked. "That was an incredibly clinical explanation."

Chuckling, I sidled closer. "Do you want a demonstration?"

Annabeth skittered away from me a little. "No, I'm good. But, how does that bring pleasure to both parties? It's suppose to also be a bit recreational too, right?"

I chuckled. "Giving forth to the next generation isn't viewed as recreational under the surface. We have other things that have to do with pleasurable activities with out mates." My voice dipped lower, and I kissed her. My fingers found a special little spot that I hadn't told her about. Moving the scales up and away, I rubbed the soft flesh beneath it with my finger. It was at the back, just below where her bottom would have been. She arched into me with a gasp. Her pupils dilated; her breathing quickly turned ragged. I knew endorphins and waves of pleasurable feelings were coursing through her body.

"P-percy!" She gave a little moan. I could smell her scent in the water. It drove me insane…almost. I stopped myself from doing anything presumptuous, but just barely. Kissing her gently on her lips, I moved away from her. She whined slightly and tried to pull me back. I fought against the instinct to continue.

"This causes you to bring your eggs into the tube to be fertilized by me." I spoke quietly, hoarsely. Annabeth struggled to bring herself back from the edge.

"That…was…amazing." She looked at me in shock. I sighed.

"Your scent is still around me. I can barely think. Let's swim in some fresher water." She nodded and we swam out of my room.

Our heads instantly cleared. I shook my head. "I had no idea it would be that potent. I've never done it before, just read about it. I'm sorry."

Annabeth sighed and leaned against me. "It's fine. I'm glad we found out so we won't accidently discover it later when we can't fight back." I nodded.

We were sitting in the coral garden staring at the ground. Annabeth looked up to where the surface would be. "I miss the stars already. How in the world did Damasen and Bob survive that?" Her voice was quiet.

I shook my head. "I don't know." Even as I kissed her, I was still thinking about that glint in my father's eyes. Something was wrong.