Hey, Everyone!

Another day, another chapter...

And for anyone who doesn't know, my Spring Break is this week!

Enjoy!

Chapter 23

Jason

As Jason ran through the foliage he tried to remember the plan.

Stay focused, stay out of the way, and stay alert.

He made sure Piper was okay with this endeavor first, naturally, because he was trying hard to be a good boyfriend as well as a good leader in Percy's absence.

Yes, Jason had finally accepted the fact: he was a stand-in in Percy's leave. An understudy until the lead role is back in business.

When they penetrated the beach, they came upon a busy dirt street. Across the street was a very busy market.

"Let's do this," Piper was suddenly beside him, and she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Hello, ma'am," Jason said. "How can I help you?"

"My brother and I were wondering if you sold any bronze products," Piper said. "We're looking for an engagement present for his fiancé."

"Hello, young ones," Piper said. "How may I help you?"

"I'm looking for a ring for my girlfriend," Jason whispered. "We've been dating for a couple years now…anyway, do you have anything bronze?"

"I'll see what I can find," Piper winked. "We're ready."

"Frank, let's go!" Piper shouted to Frank, and he appeared nearby.

Frank was nervous about talking to people; Jason had no idea why, but he said he was.

Jason ran across the street and walked up to the first stand.

"Hello," an older man smiled at him. "How may I help you?"

"I'm looking for decoration to add to my home," Jason lied. "Do you have any bronze?"

"Yes," he said. "Let me just pull some stuff out of the back." He disappeared behind a curtain behind him.

Jason was a little shocked. He hadn't thought it was going to be that easy on his first try.

He came back out holding an armful of bronze materials.

He spread them out of the flat surface in front of him, and Jason looked at a bronze vase, an intricate piece of bronze that was able to be hung on a wall, a teapot that seemed to be more like brass instead of bronze, and small, decorative bronze bowl that seemed to be a little more powerful than the others.

Jason picked it up. "It's perfect. Piper!" he shouted to Piper, who was walking to another stand.

She turned and ran over to them. "Yeah?"

"Don't you just think this is perfect?" Jason asked, showing her the bowl.

Piper touched it, smiled, and nodded. "Absolutely."

"That will be ten Euros," he said.

"I don't think we need to pay," Piper replied, seemingly uncaring and her voice coated in charmspeak. "It doesn't seem worth it, really. Just a silly old bowl."

The vendor looked like he was about to protest, but then he blinked and said, "I guess…you're right, miss. Have a good day."

They walked away linking arms and smiling, Jason holding the bowl in both hands.

They walked to another stand, where an old woman was standing, polishing a metal box.

Piper stopped and tugged on Jason's arm lovingly, pointing at the stand. "Jason, baby, isn't that box beautiful! Maybe she has others that would go with the mirror in our living room!"

"Alright, fine," Jason pretended to relent. "Let's go see."

Piper gave him a short kiss on the cheek and led him over to the stand.

"Hi," Jason said to the woman. "My girlfriend saw the box in your hand, and we were wondering, it's beautiful, by the way," Jason added and the woman smiled, "well, we were wondering if maybe you had any of those boxes in bronze."

She nodded. She bent down and picked up three bronze boxes. "Which one?"

They were all different sizes, but only the small one, that looked almost like a ring box, was the only that was magic.

Jason didn't know how much help it would be for Leo, but he accepted it anyway. "How much?"

"You keep it," she said. Then, she winked at him. "She's a lucky lady."

Jason smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

He turned around and grabbed Piper's hand.

"You didn't need me," she whispered as they walked away. "How did you get away without paying?"

"It was a gift," Jason replied. "She let me have it."

They almost collided with Frank. He had his arms full of different sorts of bronze products.

"Some of these might not be Celestial," Frank admitted. "I'm bad at judging."

Piper placed the bowl on top of some of Frank's items. "Since we only got so little, would you take what we have back with you, too?"

Frank shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

Jason was about to place the ring box on, when a couple items slipped out of Frank's grasp and fell out of his arms.

Piper reacted instantly and caught them.

"Maybe Piper should go with you," Jason said. "I can be the single guy looking for a gift for his friend's wedding."

"Fine," Piper sighed. "Come on, Frank." She turned to Jason and said, "Don't forget to look for regular metal, too. We still need to fix the engine!"

"Okay," Jason replied, and continued to walk through the market.

He talked to many vendors and came away with a Celestial Bronze teapot and many various pieces of metal objects.

He pulled the ring box out of his pocket and rolled it between his fingers.

There was suddenly something grabbing his hair. It wrenched his head back, and he could hear the soft sound of flapping wings.

A woman's voice hissed in his ear, "We have some unfinished business to attend to."

CLIFFHANGER!

Don't worry, you only have to wait until tomorrow! ;)

And I bet you thought I wasn't going to pull through! XP!

Will they every get the ship fixed? Will they ever get away from all these monsters? And will I EVER get any ideas for Percy and Ananbeth? Tune in tomorrow, and I'll see how many of these questions I can answer for you! ;)

Thanks for reading!