My sword in hand, I can barely see Leo through the trees, they're so far ahead of me and the trees are so thick. I creep silently through the underbrush until I reach a clearing, sunlight filtering through, illuminating my friends standing in a circle. They glance at me, then back at the trees. Nothing moves for a second, then Jason lunges to the side as an arrow buries itself where he was standing.
And then all hell breaks lose.
People come flying through the treeline, maybe 20, shrieking and waving spears or bows and arrows. They strike at us, again and again, relentless. But still, they're no match for us, even though we aren't using our powers. One man lunges at me—I sidestep, slash a woman aiming for Piper, stab the first man, and use my momentum to stab another man.
It's over in minutes. They're strewn out around us, bloodied and hurt. Most still breathing, but some motionless. We're panting, but unscathed. A man who has a wound on his arm but is otherwise fine is shaking on the ground, and I prod him with my sword.
"You. Up."
He stands up, fear in his eyes.
"Who are you?"
"Pooti."
"Pooti? Well, why did you attack us?"
"We…you are trespassers."
"Yeah, well, we were in a prison and we broke out of it. This was the closest land, so we came here. We've been on the beach since yesterday, and you never attacked us then."
"The beach is not our territory. The jungle is. We protect it."
"Uh-huh. So you'll leave us alone if we go back to the beach?"
"We…" He licks his lip nervously.
"Let me rephrase that." I stick my sword under his throat. "If we go back to the beach, we'll leave you alone. Good?"
He nods.
"Do you have to ask anyone, Pooti?"
"My leader."
"Go. We'll be on the beach."
He runs off, and I jerk my head toward the beach, beckoning the others. They follow me, and Percy's standing in the surf, looking at his shirt in dismay.
"This was my favorite shirt," He says, crestfallen.
"You'll be fine," I tell him.
"What happened?"
"We destroyed them. I mean, we beat their butts," Leo says, proud. "Annabeth was all like, slash, stab, kill! You, dude, you back to your leader and tell them that we are the bestest ever and will kill you all if you come at us again!"
Percy nods. "I can believe it."
Suddenly, there is commotion on the beach. Pooti runs toward us, and in the treeline, thousands of people gather.
"Leader says you kill too many. Leader says he doesn't let you go."
"Where is he?"
Pooti shakes his head. "Leader stay back."
I grab him by the shirt, angry, and shove my face up to his. "Where is he?" I snarl. I hear a cough behind me, like someone was laughing and had to disguise it. Probably Percy.
Pooti shakes with terror. "He—he—"
"I am here," a voice says. I look up, dropping Pooti, who falls to the ground, shaking.
The man advancing toward me is dressed in scraps of fabric, but more so than the other people, and has several markings on his chest.
"You don't like our terms?" I ask, voices sharp and cutting.
"No. You do not come to my island and kill five of my villagers and expect to walk."
"They shot my friend first," I say.
"Which friend?" He asks, smirking. Percy steps forward, the hole and blood on his shirt evident.
The leader swallows. "You are walking. You not shot."
Percy leans into his face. "I'm special," He whispers. "I have special powers. I can heal. I can control the water. My friends also have powers, and you'll let us go, or we'll unleash them on you."
The leader doesn't back up. "Show me."
Percy stands back, in the very center of our group, directly in front of me, and raises his arms. The water comes swirling forward, and engulfs us. I'm only underwater for a second, then a bubble forms. Percy's next to me.
"He wouldn't have let us go without a fight," He explains. "I didn't think it was alright to kill anymore."
I agree, and we all get swept back into the ocean and the current swiftly takes us away from the natives.
We're on the beach, far from where we started, when I see a speck in the distance.
"There!" I shout, pointing. They all look to where I'm pointing.
"Let's go," Percy says, wading forward until he's submerged, all the way over his head. I take on last look back, hearing the natives yelling but not seeing them, then follow Percy.
Jason and Frank are flying—Jason with Piper, and Frank with Hazel, and Leo. Percy, Malcom, Reyna, and I walk under the water, in Percy's bubble.
After a while of walking, and walking, we start to see the harbor in the distance.
"Percy, send me ahead," I tell him.
"You'll have to hold your breath," He says. I nod, taking a breath, and suddenly I'm shooting forward, through the water, and then I'm shooting up, onto the dock, and standing amid people going about their daily business. Not right now, though. Right now, they're staring at me—having just shot out of the water, clothes dirty, and making a puddle on the ground.
"Hey!" A guard shoulders through the crowd. "What are you—"
I draw myself up, straight and tall, and fix him with a steely glare.
He stops short, recognizing me.
"Pri-princess?" He asks. I raise an eyebrow.
"My friends and I have just been kidnapped, attacked, and almost starved. I would like transportation through to the castle."
"Your friends?"
I turn towards the water.
"My friends," I say, just as Jason and Piper land on the dock. The crowd gasps in shock, but Jason and Piper stand ramrod straight, exuding royal authority. The people standing around take a few steps back, some bowing. Then a dragon lands on the deck and transforms into Frank, Leo and Hazel standing behind him. They, too, are acting like they are above the people here, and I silently thank king-and-queen lessons.
Then a shout, a pointed finger at the edge of the water. Something black is floating, coming closer—or it's coming up from the water.
Percy walks out of the water, Reyna and Malcom behind him. Water streams off of them, pooling at their feet.
"My friends," I repeat.
"How—how—" The guard can't form words.
"Transportation," I press. He nods, then turns around and whistles. Horses come cantering through, and all stop before us. They seem to be looking at Percy.
"Your, Your Majesties—we could get a carriage for you—"
"This will do." I brush past him and climb onto the nearest horse, a white with a black mane.
"You may all resume your daily lives," I tell the people gathered.
They all pretend to be busy, looking at something or other, but watching us out of the corner of their eyes as the rest of my friends hop onto horses, following me to the palace.
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