A/N: Sorry this took so long, you guys. College has been madness and we just had a new baby, a little boy named Drew, born into my family - so that was super exciting. Anyway here's the update and I hope you guys like it.

Also, please stop telling me to "make Percy grow up faster". Those of you who have asked know who you are.

Please, just trust me.

I know what I am doing.

I have a plan.

Enjoy. And thank you bunches to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, and followed this story. It would not be possible without your love and support. You guys rock!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

/

Chapter Ten
Rhode: Part I

Once his father and uncle had vanished from the room — Hades to the shadows and his father in a spray of bubbles — Percy sighed and hunched his shoulders, wishing his father did not have to go to Olympus.

Something sparkled out of the corner of his eye, from where Hades had been standing. With a frown, Percy bent and picked it up, to discover it was a pearl that lightly shimmered in the light from the torches. His young nimble fingers rubbed it absently, wondering what it was for. He glanced around to see if anyone had noticed, but the throne room was absent except for him.

With a small smile, Percy slipped the pearl into his pocket and looked up quickly as the throne room doors started to open, revealing Triton armored for sword practice. He jerked his hands out of his pocket and struggled to smooth his expression to blank; he knew Triton would take the pearl away from him, since Hades had dropped it.

Apparently, his innocent expression needed some work because Triton did not look convinced.

"Why do you look guilty?" was the first thing his older brother said, arching one dark eyebrow.

"I do not," Percy countered with a frown, balling up his blanket and tucking it under his arm. "Are you going to sword practice?"

"Of course," Triton responded indignantly. "Are you going to join me, or are you going to laze about the palace all day?"

"I do not laze!" Percy protested hotly, glaring up at his brother.

"Your footwork was dreadful yesterday." Triton danced away from Percy's swipe with a chuckle, grabbing his little brother in a headlock to ruffle his hair roughly. "So, little brother, are you going to practice with me today?"

Smoothing his hair flat, Percy kicked Triton's shin, but he was grinning. He loved training with his brother; he was the only one unafraid of sparking his temper and braving the chaos that tended to follow when he lost control of his powers over the ocean.

"Come on, midget, I cannot wait to kick your butt with the spear," Triton called over his shoulder, striding out of the throne room. He paused when he noticed Percy just standing there with a silly smile on his face. "Well, are you coming, or not?"

Percy shook himself from his thoughts and nodded enthusiastically. He ran back to his room to get dressed for it, tucking the pearl into a pair of his socks in the back of his dresser before grabbing his own specially made wooden practice sword and his staff. He ran from the room on the heels of his big brother and tucked himself under Triton's arm.

Triton smiled down at him and squeezed him into his side for a brief hug before challenging him to a race that sent the two of them charging out of the palace laughing like loons.

/

Percy was nearly seven, now, and growing bigger and stronger every day. It was early in the morning, and as usual the prince was on the training grounds. He had taken such a liking to swordsmanship, or any weapon really, that more often than not he had to be forced off the training fields and to his lessons and meals. This was a particular point of irritation with his tutor, Carthos, as this was one of those mornings. Considering his young scholar was as stubborn as his father was, forcing him to do anything often caused the resigned tutor a massive headache.

This particular morning was Percy's favorite, swords. The weighted wooden blade was in his hands, and with inhuman grace he was spinning and pivoting around the young merchild Bill, who was holding a shield and acting as the boy's sparring partner.

Even as he neared the pair, he could hear the dull thunk each strike was making on the merboy's shield, and was impressed at how skilled the boy was becoming in such a short period of time. If Bill's reactions were anything to go by, Percy could hit hard, even at the age of six.

"Prince Perseus," Carthos said with a hint of irritation in his tone. "Come, it is time for your lessons, sire."

Making a face, Percy sighed and frowned at Bill. "Same time tomorrow?" he suggested hopefully.

Bill flashed a toothy smile and nodded, shaking out the arm that would no doubt bruise. The prince had been abusing his shield for the better part of the morning. "See you then," he promised, drifting off to find a different sparring partner.

"Come, Princeling," the merman insisted, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder to guide him back towards the palace and away from the blunt objects the child had been battering people with all morning.

"What are we learning about today, Carthos?" Percy mumbled sullenly, all but pouting as he trailed after the merman dragging his feet unenthusiastically.

"Courtesy," the merman replied stoically. "Your sister Rhode comes today for a visit with the court. King Poseidon expects you to be on your best and most polite behavior, which means no eating with your hands. The quicker we can get through this lesson, the quicker we can move on to more interesting topics such as the Trojan War."

"War?" Percy repeated, perking up instantly. Ever since he was young, battle had been a thing that fascinated him. He absolutely loved playing the board games with Triton and his father where they moved their forces across the board in a mock of war. According to Triton, their father had never been beaten, but he had nearly beaten Triton once and was determined to do it again.

"Yes, war. Now hurry up, we do not have all day to drag our feet across the ocean floor."

That was enough to get Percy moving a bit quicker towards his lesson room. He settled in obediently and scratched an itchy spot on his arm. He hadn't even bothered to remove his armor. The leather cuirass had been a present from his father for his last birthday, a part of a full set that included spaulders, leather bracers, leather greaves, a helmet, and a shield—a set that he would only be able to wear for a while, but the palace armorers had assured him they could enlarge it until he reached a certain height, and then they would have to re-do the set in bronze. The cuirass was engraved with his father's symbol of the trident, flanked on either side by a dolphin. His bracers held the same symbol, as did his shield. According to his father it was some of the best work ever turned out of the Cyclops forges, and was a set that Percy loved and was proud of.

The Cyclops blacksmiths were a little strange, but he had met a few of them and was not afraid of them. After all, they were his family. Most of them called him "little brother" or "little prince" and were always careful when they handed things to him.

For two hours, Percy practiced his letters in Greek and English, as well as going over and over proper etiquette as a member of the royal household. He swung his sandaled feet absently, his helmet on the ground beside him and shield leaning against his chair, tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth as he tried yet again to trace the English letter of E.

"You did it backwards yet again, young prince," Carthos said gently from where he watched his young scholar.

"I know," Percy grumbled, rubbing the failed letter out of the wax with a frustrated sigh. "How come I cannot get these letters the right way around, Carthos?"

"It will come with practice, youngling. English is something you will always struggle with because your brain is — "

"Hardwired for Ancient Greek, I know," Percy finished for him flatly without even looking up from his tablet, where he had finally succeeded in drawing a lowercase "e" the right way around. "There," he crowed in triumph, looking up at his teacher with a broad grin.

"Well done, prince," Carthos praised him with a small smile. "Now, for our next—" he started to say, before the door to the room opened to reveal Amphitrite, already dressed in her royal finery.

"I am very sorry to interrupt, Carthos, but Percy needs to get ready," said Amphitrite with a warm smile.

"Aww, but mother, we were just about to talk about the Trojan War," Percy whined, jutting his lip out. He hated feasts.

"And the Trojan War will still be in the history books for you to talk about tomorrow," the queen countered with a raised eyebrow and great deal of amusement in her eyes. "Come on now, my little warrior, pick up your shield and helmet."

With a resigned sigh, Percy did as he was told, scooping up is helmet in one hand and grabbing his shield with the other. He respectfully bowed farewell to his trainer and trudged over to where his mother was waiting.

"You know how important these feasts are, son," she rebuffed him, running her hands through his thick black hair as she lead him through the palace back to his rooms. "We must present a united front to our people, so that they trust in our rule."

"I know, mother, I just hate having to sit there for such a long time."

"Well, perhaps you can spend the time getting to know your sister Rhode and some of the Nereids."

Percy rolled his eyes. "Mother, all they talk about is water."

"Well, they are water nymphs," the queen said dryly, tweaking his nose as they halted outside their rooms. "Now hurry along, Triton agreed to help you get ready. And Perseus," she said in a warning tone, catching her son's attention. He hated being called that, and his parents only used it when they were serious or he was in trouble.

"Yes, mama?"

"Do not be late, or your father will be very angry."

He nodded and trudged into his room, where Triton was sitting on the end of his bed. Upon seeing his little brother still decked out in his armor, he grinned and hopped off the bed, shaking his head in amusement. "Percy, you do know you can take your amour off and it will not disappear, right?"

"I know, I just like wearing it," Percy defended himself with a cheeky grin, obediently holding his arms out at shoulder-height so that Triton could start unbuckling everything and helping him out of it.

"We need to hire you a servant," Triton grumbled as he lifted of the spaulders and set them on the table beside Percy's wardrobe.

"What do I need a servant for?"

"Putting all this armor on and taking it off takes a lot of time, time that I do not have to waste," Triton responded as he unbuckled the straps that held his cuirass on and removed it, too, leaving his brother in his blue tunic. From there it was relatively easy to get Percy in his feast finery. They would all prefer to wear jeans and a T-shirt, but were unfortunately required to wear nice tunics and soft cotton breeches tucked into polished boots.

"Can I just wear a T-shirt?" Percy whined, plucking unhappily at the fine fabric of his tunic. It was a deep blue lined in silver and embroidered with tiny tridents. "And why are there tridents all over everything?"

"The trident is father's symbol," Triton explained in the tone of someone who has explained the same thing a million times in vain. He tugged his own tunic over his head as he spoke, his voice slightly muffled as he added, "Trust me, as soon as this blasted banquet is over, I will race you to the T-shirts."

Percy giggled at the mental image and helped Triton tug his tunic straight. "We have to hurry or we will be late," he reminded his brother as they left his room and trotted for the banquet hall, nodding to Naiads and mermen as they passed them in the halls.

"Just smile," Triton reminded his little brother as he settled a hand on his shoulder and steered him into the side room where their parents were waiting. "Always with the dramatic entrances," he added tartly, rolling his eyes at his father.

"They do love fanfare," Poseidon responded, smiling at them both, bending down to kiss Percy on the top of his head. "I am glad you two arrived on time. Ready?"

"Can we not?" Triton protested one last time, even while he took his position beside his father. Percy did the same on the opposite side, standing close enough to Amphitrite to rub her arm.

Amphitrite ran a gentle hand through Percy's hair to soothe him. "Just remember to smile," she whispered as they followed Poseidon down the hall and the Naiads bowed respectfully as their king and his family passed by.

Percy's lips curled upwards obediently, even as he felt uneasy with so many eyes fixed on him all the time. He walked stiffly beside his mother, wanting nothing more than to go back to the training fields. His young mind zoned out through all the stuffy speeches and formal proceedings, until he could sit in his throne beside his mother and mentally go through footwork patterns to keep from going to sleep.

He came back to present time when an excited chatter picked up in the hall, and his eyes focused to see a woman who looked a lot like his mother gliding towards them. She had black hair like him and Triton, but had their mother's eyes.

"Father, Mother, Triton," the lady greeted them in a musical voice, bowing at them each in turn. Her eyes fell on him, and her eyebrows rose. "So, this is the little half-breed brat I have heard so much about?"

"Rhode," Poseidon greeted her tightly as Amphitrite greeted her with a simple, "Daughter."

"His name is Perseus," Triton said from his place beside their father as a hush fell in the hall. Most present were aware of the royal family's sensitivity towards the subject of the Demigod child.

Percy's brows furrowed. What was a "half-breed"?

/

E/N: This will be in three parts, y'all. This is the first part; I just wanted to get it published since you guys were frothing at the mouth for an update, lol.

As always,
Reviews are loved!