AN: I took a different spin on this, because I don't believe that Circe would receive Thalia like she did Annabeth. Some of this may not hold very much mythological accuracy, but it's mythology. Please try and keep an open mind. My representation of Circe is based off of the few myths about her, so I apologize ahead of time if that is an issue. Didn't have a chance to check for grammatical/spelling errors, so feel free to point any out so I can revise them as soon as possible. Thank you all.
Disclaimer: Do not own.
Queen Blackbeard's Revenge
As soon as they docked, they were greeted by a pretty lady holding a clipboard.
She reminded Thalia of a flight attendant, with the trademark blue business suit, high ponytail, and flawless makeup. Despite her beauty, there was something strangely threatening about her appearance—a tough glint in her brown eyes. She was fairly tall, about the same height as Thalia. That was a surprise, as the daughter of Zeus wasn't use to meeting females that were the same size as her. The attendant looked remarkably young, and yet her dark eyes appeared as if they withheld valuable secrets.
"Welcome to the island of Aeaea!" she said cheerily. "Home of C.C's Spa and Resort."
The lady outstretched her hand, and Thalia accepted the shake generously. The smile she sent the both of them was purely dazzling. In other words, it was a smile that they shouldn't have received from her. They were both walking around with torn, dirty, soaked clothing, and they had just climbed out of an old rowboat. The demigods looked more like vagrants than guests.
"Is this your first time with us?" the attendant questioned, preparing herself to write on her clipboard.
Before either of them could answer, Thalia's stomach growled. Gods, she was starving. She opened the repaired knapsack on Percy's back and noted that the vitamins Eros had given them had survived Scylla's teeth. It wasn't food and it wouldn't fill her up at all, but at least it was something. She screwed open the top, popping a few of them into her mouth. The ones she bit into—vitamins in the shape of the Furies—were tangy against her tongue and her eye twitched from the taste. Thalia hurriedly shoved the bottle into their poorly held-together knapsack, her expression one of disgust.
The lady prevented herself from laughing and began to write. "First—time—at—spa. Let's see." She observed the two of them, biting down on her lower lip in contemplation. Her eyes settled on Thalia. "Hmm. Your skin…it's nearly flawless. Nearly. For the young lady, we'll start with a mud wrap to help hydrate and firm your skin. And, of course, a full makeover for the young gentleman."
Thalia didn't know whether or not to take the lady's comments as insults or compliments.
"A makeover?" Percy asked.
His question went unanswered as the attendant continued to fill out the paper in front of her. Eventually, she looked up with another breezy smile. "Right then. I'm sure C.C. will want to speak with you before the luau. Come, please."
There was something off about the place, but the lady seemed fairly genuine. It was probably just Thalia's demigod instincts going haywire. Then again, she and Percy were pretty much used to paradises becoming hellmouths. When they had walked into Crusty's waterbed store the year before, they had never expected that the place would be run by a demented monster. She shrugged. Her stomach was rumbling like crazy, and staying there couldn't hurt.
Naturally, Percy and Thalia followed the attendant.
The daughter of Zeus wasn't a fan of resorts, but she had to admit that the place was stunning. The many fountains, baths, and hot tubs were filled with sparkling blue water, and the entire place was crafted of beautiful white marble. There were terraces climbing up the side of the mountain, with pools on every level, connected by waterfalls and waterslides.
Percy looked upset about something, but Thalia knew better than to ask him what was bothering him.
Tamed animals of all kinds littered the island. A leopard was lounging on a diving board, and Thalia couldn't help but pet him as she walked by. On the poolside, a fox was sleeping on a stack of towels. Women were the only guests present, relaxing in their beach chairs as manicurists in white uniforms painted their nails. Herbal gunk covered their faces, and the demigoddess wrinkled her nose. She wasn't going to let them do that to her.
The attendant led them up stairs that went into the main building, and the sound of a woman's singing rang through the air. Thalia instantly stopped walking, peering up at their destination. Although the language wasn't exactly Ancient Greek, she could understand nearly every word. Her beautiful voice sung of moonlight in the olive groves, the sun rising above almond trees, and magic. Her song was enticing, to say the least. Thalia felt herself drawn to it, and she quickly caught up with Percy and the attendant.
They soon walked into a large room. One of its walls consisted completely of windows, and the opposite wall held an array of mirrors. All of the furniture in the room was purely white and unstained, appearing as if no one had ever used them. On a table, there was a sizable wire animal cage.
"Oh my," a beautiful voice called, and the demigods turned to face the owner.
She was weaving at a large loom, her fingers rapidly moving back and forth with the colorful thread. Thalia didn't pay any attention to the tapestry. How could she? There was something irresistible about the woman. Even though her looks were truly magnificent, the demigoddess had a feeling that her appearance wasn't the only mystical thing about her. If she had to guess, Thalia would say that it was the woman's voice—soft, enticing, and magical, even when she was merely speaking.
Her long black hair, just a shade lighter than Thalia's, was braided with threads of gold, and her silk black dress was crafted of shadowed images that seemed to move across the fabric. The daughter of Zeus wondered how she managed to find shoes to match something like that. Then she noticed that the woman was barefooted.
"You," she spoke again, her eyes immediately locking onto Thalia's. "You remind me of someone." Her tone was difficult to decipher. Eventually, though, she smiled, easing the demigoddess' worries. "I'm glad you have come. My name is C.C."
The creatures in the cage—Thalia guessed they were guinea pigs or something—started squealing.
"I'm Percy," the son of Poseidon introduced himself, smiling. The smile quickly faded whenever C.C eyed him in disapproval.
"Oh, dear. You do need my help."
Brushing off the woman's strange reaction, the demigoddess crossed her arms over her chest. "Thalia," she introduced. "So, C.C. Is that short for something?"
C.C smiled coyly, before turning to her assistant. "Hylla, take Thalia on the tour, will you? Show her what we have available. I would suggest styling her hair, and try to find her new clothing. Give her any basic treatments, and no more than that. We will do a full image consultation after I've spoken with this young gentleman."
Thalia shrugged carelessly. She was filthy from recent events. She wouldn't protest a hot bath and new clothes. As long as they didn't put her in any makeup, she was fine. "What about Percy?" she brought herself to ask. "What do you plan to do with him?"
C.C. flashed the boy a sympathetic look. "Percy requires my personal attention. He needs much more improvement than you do."
"Right this way, sweetheart," Hylla said, gesturing for Thalia to step in front of her.
When she did, C.C grabbed her assistant by the arm. The woman attempted to whisper, but her voice wasn't nearly as quiet as she thought it was. "Do not let her out of your sight."
Thalia stayed silent, pretending as if she hadn't heard anything. On the inside, she was incredibly suspicious. What could that have meant? Why did C.C view her as some kind of threat?
The daughter of Zeus resisted the urge to look back at Percy as she was led into the gardens of the spa. The garden was full of tons of flowers she had never seen before. Hylla instructed her to sit down on a chair, and she did so reluctantly.
"Hylla?"
"Yes?" the girl responded kindly, circling the seated demigoddess and taking notes on her clipboard.
"You aren't planning to use any makeup…are you?"
Appearing amused, Hylla shook her head. "You don't need it."
"Pardon?"
"You don't need it," Hylla repeated, and Thalia didn't bother to comment afterwards. "Your eyebrows are in need of waxing and then we are going to attempt to do something with your hair. First, of course, you'll have a bath."
After the attendant led her to the bathhouse, Thalia felt something nagging at her. She wasn't sure what it was, but suddenly nothing felt right. Brushing of the feeling, she eyed the body of water in front of her.
"Hot spring," Hylla provided with a smile. "Go on. It's incredibly soothing."
Thalia tossed off her tank top, exhaling in relief as the other girl turned away. When she had completely disrobed, she sank into the water. She couldn't help the soft sigh that spilled from her mouth. Hylla certainly had not been joking. It had to be one of the greatest things ever.
The attendant pointed to the numerous bottles of shampoo, conditioner, soap, and skin moisturizers. "Use whatever you care to. We like to leave the actual washing to our guests."
Thalia nodded, reaching for a random bottle of shampoo. When she didn't hear the other girl leave, she glanced up curiously. But, then she remembered Circe's words. Do not let her out of your sight.
Dwelling on her suspicion, the demigoddess quickly finished her bath. Hylla kindly provided her with a towel. Thalia made sure the attendant turned around before she closed her eyes. Concentrating on the air, like she had practiced doing while living with her aunt, she willed the winds to dry her—for the most part. She didn't want Hylla to get too suspicious, after all. Thalia made sure to leave her hair slightly damp. The daughter of Zeus wrapped the towel around her body, letting the lady know that she was finished.
"Come on," Hylla said with a smile, outstretching a hand for the younger girl to take. "I'm taking you to my sister and some other attendants."
Before she knew what was going on, she found herself in yet another room surrounded in mirrors. Three ladies, one that resembled Hylla slightly—obviously, the sister that she had mentioned—sat her down in a chair. The attendants were everywhere at once, applying wax to her eyebrows, and rubbing some moisturizing cream all over her face.
Hylla stood back and watched as one of the attendants—her sister—placed strips along the warm wax. Thalia didn't even flinch whenever the strips were yanked off of her brows, causing more than one of the attendants to raise their brows.
"Used to getting this done?" Hylla asked curiously, scribbling something on her clipboard.
The demigoddess shrugged. "Been through worse."
It took quicker than she had expected. The three ladies went to work with her hair, styling it several different ways before getting it to do what they wanted. Thalia felt awkward in the chair, sitting in nothing but a towel as they tugged and did odd things with her hair. Eventually, it came to an end, and Hylla was shoving a handful of clothes into her arms.
Thalia frowned at the toga in her hands. She looked up at Hylla, hope filling her expression. "Don't you have anything easier to fight and travel in? I don't know—maybe jeans and a shirt or something?"
"Fight?" the attendant repeated, immediately on edge. "Why would you need to fight?"
The daughter of Zeus paled a little, finally realizing her mistake. These people weren't supposed to know she was a demigoddess. What could she say now to possibly clear things up? C.C. was already wary about her presence, and said that Thalia reminded her of someone.
"I like to be ready for anything. As nice as you guys are, there will always be danger somewhere."
Hylla nodded slowly, and it was quite obvious that she didn't trust in Thalia's reasoning. Even though she clearly did not want to, the attendant relented. "Very well," she said, before whispering quietly to a fellow attendant. "Reyna will fetch you a woman's tunic, and some light armor. I'm sure we have some lying around here."
Wait…why would they have armor? Why in Hades would they have togas and tunics?
She voiced her questions, and got strange looks in response to them.
Hylla answered them anyway. "Plenty of sea farers find their way onto this island, wearing all sorts of things. Don't worry, though, these clothes come from C.C. herself. "
"Only the best for our guests!" a blonde attendant chirped, apparently reciting some kind of slogan for the spa.
"Right," Thalia said, unconvinced, but trying to shake off her suspicions. "Hold up. What did you say this island was called again?"
"Aeaea," one of the other attendants replied happily, still glancing at the demigoddess' hair.
Thalia wanted to swat her insistent hands away and tell her to play with her own hair, but she successfully kept herself from making a scene. Instead, her mind was focused on one thing: Aeaea. She had heard it somewhere before, that much she was sure of. She didn't know why it hadn't clicked in her mind before, but she knew that it had something to do with mythology. Thalia vaguely recalled it from her studies—the very little studying that she did—but she did not remember the actual myth she had learned it from.
Reyna hurried back into the room, carrying the new clothing. She quickly surrendered it to Hylla, who then held them up for Thalia's inspection. With a careless expression on her face, the daughter of Zeus shrugged.
"We'll give you some privacy to dress," the blonde attendant, Iole (according to her nametag), left the room with Reyna and the third attendant.
As expected, Hylla stayed in the room with her, but turned to provide her with a small amount of privacy.
Feeling slightly frustrated by the fact that no one seemed to trust her at all on the island, Thalia began to dress, pulling on her undergarments before slipping into the tunic. It was a snowy white and barely outlined in the color gold. It went roughly to her knees, and felt a little itchy. Resisting the urge to scratch, Thalia slipped on the ankle-high gladiator sandals she had been given, realizing that they seemed to be exact replica of those from ancient times. Then again, everything about the wardrobe was pretty archaic.
With practiced hands, she continued clothing herself. The armor was old, even though Hylla had promised that it was new. Of course, it did look as if it had been repaired at least. Suddenly, Thalia felt awkward surrounded by beautiful women while she was dressed like the traditional demigod. She just didn't like makeup on her face, and she couldn't fight in a freaking dress.
Hylla looked over her thoughtfully, before setting with a smile. "You look…good in the armor. That's certainly a first. All of the other guests here couldn't wear it. It…suits you, and well at that." Unable to hide her blush, Thalia simply nodded to acknowledge the compliment. Hylla grabbed onto her hand, excitedly saying, "Now, on to the tour!"
Thalia was taken to the library, the entertainment room, the ball room (which was filled with chicks, by the way), the arcade, the yoga center, and her all-time favorite was the museum. Hylla had laughed at her whenever she said that it was "full of cool shit".
Eventually, though, the daughter of Zeus grew a little worried. She hadn't seen Percy in a while. She wanted to check up on him and see if he was stuffed in a dress or something. There was definitely something that Thalia didn't trust about C.C., and she wouldn't be surprised if the woman tried to dress the son of Poseidon up like some kind of Barbie doll.
As Thalia entered the very first room again, she called out, "C.C?"
She heard the woman cursing under her breath, and a bunch of things moving around before the demigoddess could clearly see the resort owner. As soon as C.C. saw her, her eyes widened at the sight of her outfit. Unsettled by the woman's reaction to her, Thalia glanced around the room warily.
"Where did Percy go?"
After she finished asking her question, the damn rodents started squealing in their cage.
The look of shock in C.C's eyes vanished, and she gave an easy smile. "He is receiving one of our special treatments, dear."
"He doesn't need to get any kind of makeover," the demigoddess stated bluntly, arching her eyebrow high.
C.C sighed, trying to mask her irritation with another smile. Thalia saw right through her. The daughter of Zeus made a habit of irritating people, and she could always recognize whenever she succeeded. "Well," she said, her voice slightly tense, "we give all men full makeovers. It's how I run things. Now…how did you like your tour?"
Thalia shrugged, still narrowing her eyes at the woman. "It was cool," she replied easily. "Heard you get all kinds of visitors. That true?"
C.C stood unaffected. "Naturally. This is an island, dear."
"An island, with a bunch of underage female assistants in suits, and plenty of young bikini-wearing girls..."
"Where are you going with this?"
Thalia smirked. "This doesn't happen to be Lesbos, does it?"
C.C either didn't get her jibe, or she was too busy plotting to notice. The woman circled her, eyeing her up and down, critiquing every part of her. "Believe it or not, we're not too different, you and me."
"How do you figure that?" Thalia asked, getting slightly defensive. She didn't like when people analyzed her like that, as if she were some kind of fucking lab rat.
"We are both independent, and we both admire greatness. We see the ugly in people, the cruel, and the nasty. Neither of us deserves to be overshadowed by men, and yet we are."
The demigoddess scoffed. "Speak for yourself, lady."
C.C ignored her, creeping up behind her and softly tucking a strand of Thalia's hair behind her ear. What was she, some sort of pedophile? Thalia wasn't even sixteen yet. "I could give you power, even more than you've ever dreamt of. You'll be immortal."
The daughter of Zeus fidgeted, not at all liking what the woman was doing. Her words began to sink in her brain, making her greatest flaw come out to play. It was as if she was twelve years old again, meeting Zoë Nightshade. The only difference was that the lieutenant hadn't been as…persuasive. Could she really turn down immortality once more? The idea was certainly tempting her, as it always had. It was nearly every demigod's dream to become eternal.
C.C. continued to prattle on, and Thalia couldn't help but hear every word she uttered. "You could stay here with me. Train with me, protect me, serve me…like your brother failed to do."
"My brother?"
C.C. chuckled, placing a hand on Thalia's armor-clad shoulder. "Whose clothes did you think you were wearing?"
Thalia swallowed thickly. Well, that certainly explained why C.C had been giving her such strange looks, and why she had instructed Hylla to keep a very close eye on her. Few people in the Greek world were on good terms with her brother Heracles, and this wasn't the first time that Thalia had run into someone that hated him. She was sure that it wouldn't be her last.
She had to keep herself relatively calm, because, gods, she was wearing Heracles' armor, and C.C was being such an obsessive creep.
"You've met Heracles?" she brought herself to ask, trying to figure out just who this woman was.
"Met him?" C.C. asked, scoffing. "The bastard tricked me, just as Odysseus had. Do not fret, dear. I do not hold many grudges against you. You may be the only person to ever succeed in putting on his armor, but I am sure that you are nothing like him. Now, about my offer—"
"You're right," Thalia cut her off, determination stringing her lips tighter. "I'm not like him, so I'm going to turn down your offer."
C.C. looked surprised. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me," the demigoddess spat. "I don't need anything from you. I'm not about to have something handed to me by some—"
"Sorceress?" C.C. finished, sneering. "You do not quite realize what power you are tampering with, Daughter of Zeus. I can do numerous things, and I can bend anyone to my will."
"And yet you couldn't make Heracles and Odysseus stay?" Thalia challenged, smirking as the woman clenched her fists tightly. Gods, she loved to make others livid. She crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. "We both know that you can't force me to stay, either."
"Sorcery is the only true power for women," C.C argued. "If you do not join with me, you shall never know true power."
"I don't know," Thalia stated with mock uncertainty. "Last time I checked, I did have some power."
"I am a great sorceress, Daughter of Hecate, and transformer—"
"Transformer?" Thalia asked in disbelief. "Oh, come on. No fucking way. I'm calling bullshit. You don't even look like a robot." Before C.C. could snap at her, the demigoddess gasped. "Wait…you're a sorceress, you live on an island, you have been left by men, and you want to keep me trapped here with you. You are Calypso, aren't you?"
C.C. glowered. "No!" she yelled. "Well, of course, it is an honor to be mistaken as her, really, but no! I take my previous comment back. I am beginning to see a bit of your brother's traits in you."
Thalia scratched the back of her neck. "Sorry," she apologized, not meaning it at all.
"I am Circe, mistress of—"
Without warning, Thalia summoned lightning from the skies and collected it in her palm, sending Circe a careless glare. "Listen, I'm going to be honest with you. I don't think that I've ever heard of you. Let's cut the introductions a bit short, shall we?"
The demigoddess cried out, manipulating the lightning to sail at the sorceress. It would have hit the woman if Circe hadn't created a magical barrier just in time.
"Attacking me would not be a wise idea, Thalia," Circe warned. "I am seconds away from turning you into a bloody newt!"
The daughter of Zeus was about to insult her back, but then she actually listened to what she was saying. "You'll turn me into an animal?" The threat had jogged her memory of a story that she had long forgotten. It all came to her at once, and she quickly glanced to the cage. "You turned him into a guinea pig."
"Smart girl," Circe mocked, clapping slowly. "I was starting to think that you would never catch on. You know, it is a true shame that you could not take after your brother Perseus. Now, that was a man that actually had some common sense."
"Turn him back."
"I am afraid that is not an option."
"And that wasn't a fucking question!" Thalia shouted, her eyes narrowing as she observed each and every creature in the cage. She was desperately trying to find some feature that reminded her of Percy, but they all looked the same. Well, one appeared less mean that the others.
"That is it, Daughter of Zeus! I cannot stand this disrespect any longer!" the sorceress screamed, breaking her own force field and holding her hands out in front of her. "Do not say that I did not give you a chance."
Blue fire shot from her fingertips, winding like serpents around Thalia's form. The guinea pigs were now screaming like crazy, some even throwing themselves against the sides of their cage. The daughter of Zeus waited for something to happen to her, for her to be changed…but it never happened.
She opened her eyes, ignoring Circe's snort of disbelief, and peered down at herself. Nothing seemed out of the order at all. That was strange. Why hadn't the magic affected her? She knew that Odysseus had been immune to it because he had eaten something Hermes had given him, but she didn't recall eating anything—
Thalia paused, feeling like slapping herself in the forehead. She quickly snatched the chewable vitamins from the repaired bag on her back, unscrewing the top.
Circe growled, cursing in Ancient Greek. "Damn Hermes and his little tricks."
Not thinking of any potential consequences, the daughter of Zeus rushed over to the cage and opened the top of it. Circe and her attendants rushed forward, as if to prevent her from going through with it, but the demigoddess had already poured all of the vitamins inside.
Within moments, the entire cage was torn apart as the guinea pigs turned back into seven males, Percy being one of them. Thalia laughed, reaching down to help him to his feet, adding in a few fake squeals for her own amusement.
"No!" Circe wailed. "You do not know the price of what you have done. Those men are the worst!"
The largest man stood, his ratty hair and dark twisted beard matching his rotting teeth, gritted his teeth in anger. He was dressed like the stereotypical pirate, with a sword, pistol and all. The rest of the men seemed to be his followers—his crew.
"Arghhh!" the huge man shouted, drawing his sword and waving it in the air.
Thalia, out of annoyance, grabbed a nearby old-fashioned candleholder and knocked him over the head with it. Already disoriented and confused, he passed out on the ground. His men yelled protests, making their way towards her. Unable to help herself, and ignoring any argument from Percy, Thalia kicked one in the groin and punched another across the face. Eventually, they got the hint and backed further away from her.
The daughter of Zeus glanced to Circe snidely. "They aren't so bad."
Before the sorceress or her attendants could stop them, the demigods ran for the door. Thankfully, it wasn't locked, and they didn't stop running until they reached the dock.
"Thalia?" Percy asked nervously as they hurriedly searched for their rowboat. She hummed in response, provoking him to continue. "I'm pretty sure you just beat Blackbeard over the head with a candleholder."
"Blackbeard?" she repeated. "That was him? I mean, obviously, I know that he had a black beard, but so does my dad and he isn't a pirate—"
"Never mind that!" the son of Poseidon urged, glancing behind him and realizing that Blackbeard was now fully conscious and ruining Circe's beloved spa. "We have to get out of here, and fast." His eyes searched the different ships and planes, before they settled on one. He pointed to a huge pirate ship. "That one."
When she began to protest, he tossed her over his shoulder and ran towards the three-mast ship, hearing Blackbeard and his men begin to yell at them. He shouted strange pirate terms at them as they boarded his vessel.
Thalia irritably kneed Percy in the stomach and climbed off of his shoulder, making sure to slug him. Again focusing on the matter at hand, she asked, "Will it take very long to get it going? I can try and fend off the pirates, but they have guns."
Percy closed his eyes, and she began to think that he was absolutely out of his mind. Eventually, after long moments of silence, he called out, "Mizzenmast!"
Thalia started to laugh, but it was abruptly cut off whenever she was forced to hit the floor. Several cables slashed around above them, wrapping around specific poles. She didn't know how her friend was doing it, but she was completely sure that he was pulling it off. It was only seconds before the Queen Anne's Revenge was pulling away from the dock, and sailing off into the Sea of Monsters.
Thalia stood up again, but had to duck once more when an object went flying for her face. After it managed to bounce off of her head, she picked it up. It was the same candleholder from earlier. Boy, Blackbeard knew how to get his payback, didn't he?