Introducing Circe!
Replies:
Zephy0f8: Heh, yes I did. And now you have to wait even longer for them to get their heads out of their asses.
Undeath9087: There's always a lil bit of pain, it makes the happy stuff sweeter. And yes it was Beryl Grace. And she'd probably be older than him but I don't think it would be that much older- she was a young star when she had Thalia I imagine, and young enough that she also had Jason a few years later, and he's the same age as Piper, so yeah, probably only a few years older than Tristan. And screw Carter, Sadie would be sat there laughing her ass off given how Percy was over Sadie's love life.
Guest: Did I just interrupt a confession? Yes, yes I did. So close and yet so so far. And of course Piper's the one to figure it out first.
PJ Fan 285: I mean, they may mention I weird girl with white hair with powers but will he automatically realise who she is? And honestly I just pick what I think works best with each of them.
Cyn: Thank you so much! That really does mean the world to me.

Percy headed up onto the deck whilst Piper rushed to wake Annabeth up- and she headed straight to the prow of the ship, staring towards the island- it was just a line of blue and brown in the distance at first- but with the speed they were going that quickly changed- after a few seconds and with a little bit of squinting Percy could make out an island with a small mountain in the center- a dazzling white collection of buildings, a beach dotted with palm trees, and a harbor filled with a strange assortment of boats, it seemed the fish had been right about that.

And it had taken less time to reach than Percy had expected- but then again she could feel the current beneath them, pulling them along too. The island looked almost like a tropical paradise.

Percy turned her head, her gaze focusing on Piper and Annabeth as they emerged from below deck, "Piper said there's land." Annabeth's voice was almost eager as she rushed towards Percy, Piper barely a step behind her. "Any idea what's on it?" she peered ahead, "Buildings?"

"I'd guess it's Circe." Percy declared. "Polyphemus- I don't think he'd go in for all that."

"Oh thank the gods." Annabeth looked very relieved. "Here to hoping this is our first and only stop."

"Circe's still dangerous even if she's not as intimidating as a giant Cyclops." Piper's eyes were narrowed, "We should be fairly safe though, right? Her big thing was hating men."

"That's true." Percy couldn't help but smile, "She was a sorceress." she felt her fingers twitching, "A goddess of magic- though not as powerful as Hecate-"

"You're wondering how her magic will compare to yours." Piper's voice was knowing.

"It's going to be interesting." Percy admitted. "And- It could be fun. I'm fairly sure Greek Magic will be different from Egyptian Magic. My guess is that Egyptian Magic is gonna be stronger than the average Greek magic because- well, we specialise in it. But she is a goddess so that makes it a bit more... interesting."

"Oh I think this is going to be very entertaining." Annabeth laughed.

And Percy shoved her hands into her shorts pockets as they pulled into the dock, the engine stopping automatically, responding to Percy's will.

"We should still be on our guard." Percy declared firmly, stepping onto the dock and turning around, grabbing Annabeth and Piper's hands and helping them step over onto the steady wood.

"Welcome!" the voice came from behind them and Percy turned to face the source of the voice.

It was a girl, probably around the same age as Carter if Percy was any judge.

She was pretty, in a flight attendant sort of way, clad in a blue business suit, with perfect make up, her glossy black hair pulled back in a ponytail.

She held out her hand, and Percy eyed it wearily for just a second before she reached out and shook the offered hand. The smile she was giving them was dazzling- and as the girl moved on to shake Piper and Annabeth's hands Percy's gaze shifted and she scanned the rest of the dock.

The collection of ships was a rather motley one, to say the least. Along with a bunch of pleasure yachts, there was a U.S. Navy submarine, several dugout canoes, and an old-fashioned three-masted sailing ship. There was a helipad with a "Channel Five Fort Lauderdale" helicopter on it, and a short runway with a Learjet and a propeller plane that looked like a World War II fighter.

Just the sight of them made Percy feel uncomfortable. Because she highly doubted that all of those boats had demigods on them. Most of them were probably the ships of poor mortals who'd stumbled into the Sea of Monsters somehow and become victims of Circe. That did not sit right with Percy. Magic shouldn't be used to hurt innocent people. Bad guys sure, but not innocent people.

"Is this your first time with us?" Clipboard lady's voice drew Percy's attention again and she shook her head, rocking back on her heels slightly.

"That would be a big yes." Percy answered after Annabeth and Piper glanced at her.

"First-time-at-spa." the lady spike slowly as she wrote on her clipboard before she looked up again, "Let's see..." her eyes scanned them up and down critically. "Mmmm." Herbal wraps to start for the young lady-"

"Oh gods." Piper let out a loud groan, "No, no come on-" and Percy giggled at that.

"Awe, come on Pipes." her voice was teasing, "It's not that bad."

"Honestly it actually sounds kind of relaxing." Annabeth admitted with a sheepish smile at the look that crossed Piper's face.

"How about you two get the pampering and I just hang out off to the sidelines-"

"Uh-" the clipboard lady glanced between them, a slightly confused look on her face. "Well before we do anything, I'm sure C.C. Will want to speak with you girls personally before the luau. Come with me please."

"With pleasure." Percy shot a glance at Piper- who did not look happy. She could handle spa's, usually anyway, and only if it was a trip with Percy, but she was not a big fan of them. Too many of Tristan's flings had tried to push spa trips to try and win Piper over, and even Percy, who actually enjoyed going to spa's, did not enjoy those trips- she usually tried to act as a buffer but still, Piper had developed a dislike of them- even if Piper herself knew it was irrational feelings like that weren't easy to just push away.

"Let's get this over with." Piper muttered the words.

"It is our best chance." Annabeth nodded, "If anyone will know if it's here it'd be 'C.C.'" she rolled her eyes, making little quote marks with her fingers as they followed clipboard lady.

And Percy had to admit- the place was kind of amazing, with white marble and blue water everywhere they looked.

Terraces climbed up the side of the mountain, with swimming pools on every level, connected by watersides and waterfalls and underwater tubes you could swim through. Fountains sprayed water into the air, forming impossible shapes, like flying eagles and galloping horses.

Even Piper relaxed slightly as she looked around with wide eyes, and Annabeth was muttering under her breath about the marble and the terraces- Percy never understood half of what Percy said when she was rambling about Architecture.

Percy couldn't help the way her lips twitched up into a fond smile as Annabeth spoke- the other girl always looked so excited when she got in the zone, so bright and animated. And Percy noticed Piper's gaze shifting to Annabeth too. Clearly Piper liked seeing Annabeth so happy just as much as Percy did.

Of course they weren't able to dwell on that for long. They had to keep moving, passing all kinds of tame animals, which would probably be weird to anyone else, but for Percy the sight of a sea turtle napping on a stack of beach towels and a leopard stretched out asleep on the diving board was nothing too weird- she lived in a house with a Griffin on the roof, a baboon who only ate things ending in O, and an albino crocodile that lived in their pool.

Honestly, the more interesting thing was the fact that wasn't a single man in sight. Which tracked, but still, it just made Percy uneasy- and very glad that Carter hadn't insisted that he and Sadie come along.

But there were lots of women. Lounging in deck chairs, drinking fruit smoothies or reading magazines while herbal masks dried on their faces and manicurists in white uniforms did their nails.

They followed clipboard lady up a staircase toward what had to be the main building, and Percy heard a womans singing filling the air.

The voice drifted through the air like a lullaby. Her words were in a different language- Percy couldn't place it, but she could still understand it. She sang about moonlight in the olive groves, the colors of the sunrise. And of magic. And Percy quickly realised that she wasn't just singing of magic, but that her song itself was imbued with magic, it was pulling at her, it wanted her to come, was trying to draw her in.

Percy steeled herself against it, fingers curling into fists, nails digging into the palms of her hands.

She turned her head to look towards Piper and Annabeth.

Piper's brows were furrowed and she was shaking herself, and Percy realised that the magic was similar to her charmspeak. Which meant that Piper probably had a higher resistance to it than most. Which left Annabeth- she'd done some training with Piper, so she had some experience, but nothing on the level of the other two girls. Her eyes were starting to glaze over- and Percy reached out, pinching the skin of Annabeth's forearm- which made her jerk slightly, her eyes clearly as she blinked rapidly, turning her head to look at Percy.

"What-"

"Focus." Percy hissed the words, "Block it out."

"Focus on us." Piper gripped Annabeth's right hand gently, squeezing gently- Annabeth had slipped her bracelet and rings on as soon as she'd woken up, and Percy saw Annabeth squeezing back- saw Annabeth giving Piper a tiny little grateful smile.

She had to look away at that, trying to ignore the tightness in her chest as they came to a big room, where the whole front wall was windows. The back wall was covered in mirrors, so the room seemed to go on forever. There was a bunch of expensive-looking white furniture, and on a table in one corner was a large wire pet cage which somehow felt out of place.

But her gaze very very quickly moved from that to the source of the beautiful singing.

The woman was sat at a loom the size of a big screen TV. Her hands were weaving colored thread back and forth with impressive skill. The tapestry shimmered like it was three dimensional- a waterfall scene so real that Percy could see the water moving and the clouds drifting across a fabric sky. Percy wondered if the silk she was using was enchanted or if it was the loom that set the magic into the tapestry.

She could hear Annabeth catching her breath. "It's beautiful." and that made sense- Athena was the goddess of weaving after all.

And at the sound of Annabeth's voice the woman turned. She was even more beautiful than her fabric. Her long dark hair was braided with threads of gold and she had piercing green eyes. She wore a silky black dress with shapes that seemed to move in the fabric; animal shadows, black upon black, like deer running through a forest at night.

"You appreciate weaving, my dear?" the woman asked.

"Oh, yes, ma'am!" Annabeth started to speak, "My mo-" but Percy cut over her before she could continue- they didn't want to give Circe too much information yet.

"Lady Circe yes?" she asked quickly, tilting her head, and that made Circe smile widely.

"It seems that you've heard of me." her eyes flicked over the three of them, "If you like you can call me C.C."

"It's nice to meet you C.C. My name is Percy, and these are my friends, Annabeth and Piper."

And Circe's gaze focused on Percy then, flicking up and down, taking in everything. "Well aren't you an interesting one." a smile spread across her lips, "And to think I thought your kind were long gone." her eyes lingered on the amulets hanging around Percy's neck. "I think you and I could have a wonderful talk. How about those two friends of yours go with Hylla on a nice tour, while you and I compare notes."

"Lady Circe-" Clipboard Lady- who had to be Hylla, sounded confused, "I don't understand-"

"Hylla, my dear. This young lady is an Egyptian Magician. Those necklaces? They're quite powerful protective amulets. Which is very interesting since we all believed that the House of Life and her gods faded many many years ago."

"You've been misinformed." Percy tucked her hair behind her ear, her mind racing. "I will admit I am curious about your magic. But I'm not sure I trust you."

"And we don't want a tour." Piper snapped the words, "I don't want to leave Percy."

"Neither do I." Annabeth agreed. "The only way we're leaving her side is if she says she wants us to."