Bonus Chapter II

=Silena=

I looked out the small window to my cell, wondering why my father had let it get this far. Had he not wanted me anymore? Is that why he made me use my power in front of everyone? He just looked at me as if I were a cursed child when they took me away. Outside I could see the glow from the houses as they were getting ready for bed. The water in the distance was shining with the dim light of the disappearing moon. It was almost a new moon.

I sighed and rested my head against the bricks and clutched the bars trapping me in the cage. I noticed a ship coming into port and frowned. Who would be coming in this late? Certainly not anyone that makes port here. I sighed again and moved away from the window, I might as well get some sleep before they kill me tomorrow. I laid down on the straw they scattered across the floor and closed my eyes.

A cage door slamming shut made me bolt upright, I looked around and saw that the cage next to me had a boy in it. He seemed completely relaxed as the guards called him some extremely rude names.

"I'd mind your mouths gentlemen." He spoke walking over to the cage door and poking an arm through. "You'll regret those words later."
"Yeah?" One asked, then nodded over to me. "You'll be hanging with her tomorrow morning." The men snickered and the boy only chuckled with them. They stopped and glared at him. "What are you chuckling about?"

"Your ignorance." He commented, flicking his finger and the room seemed to freeze. The men stumbled back, slipping on some ice that hadn't been there moments before. I watched them leave, tripping over themselves to get out of the room. "What are you here for?" He spoke, and I stood, trying to see the ice that had been on the ground. Nothing was there. I looked to him. Was he talking to me?

"Are... you talking to me?" I wondered, he leaned against the cage door, looking at me.

"I don't see anyone else in here." He nodded, "at least, anyone awake." I studied him, though it was hard in the dark. He was tall and thin. He has messy black hair, or maybe dark brown, and was wearing a coat, shirt and dark pants.

"Sorcery." I told him. He considered this. "What about you?" He just looked at me, with the faint light I could tell that he was smirking.

"Are they going to kill you?" He wondered. "Would you like an escape?"

"You're as trapped as I am." I commented, he chuckled.

"No, I'm quite free." He told me, he pulled away from the door he had been leaning on and pushed it. I watched as it swung open. "Tell me Miss Witch. What can you do?" He wondered.

"I..." I hesitated. "I can get anyone to do as I wish." I explained.

"Oh, charm speak." He said, walking out of his cage and over to my cell door. He leaned against the metal, "quite a useful skill, and rare, not many daughters of Aphrodite have it."

"Daughter of who?" I questioned. "Charm what...?"

"In fact, I've been looking for someone with your talent." He didn't seem to hear me. "I'll make a deal with you, if I get you out of this cage, or away from the noose, you have to join me, and my crew." He explained. "You see, I'm looking for talented people, like yourself, to help me with something."

"I'm not the only one with these powers?" I questioned.

"No, I have a few members on my ship, actually, I only gather those who are like you. You could consider me a collector." He told me. "I take rare and beautiful things, keep them to myself. You, my dear, will make a excellent addition to my collection." He reached through the bar and cupped my chin. I slapped his hand away and he chuckled. "Well, you have until your dead to make up your mind love." He said. "If you don't want to die, and if you want to be free. Call for me." He pulled away from the door and started towards the exit.

"What's your name?" I demanded of him. He didn't turn.

"I'm the Prince of the Sea." He waved before disappearing.

ΩΔΩ=ΩΔΩ=ΩΔΩ

It was raining as I stood waiting to be killed. My hands were shaking and chained together, and I was being forced forwards. "I don't want to die." I whimpered to myself as the rope was draped around my neck and tightened. All around me there was gasping as the rain stopped. Not in the normal it fading away sense, but it stopped in midair.

"What is this?" Demanded one of the guards, they turned on me only to see me looking about just as confused as they were. "What are you doing Witch?" He demanded of me, after getting no response the one turned towards the priest. "Read her the rights, and let's get this over with." The priest quickly started reading off the paper in his hands.

A moment passed before there was paper ripping, and a sharp gasp of breath. I turned just in time to see the priest falling with three ice sphere's piercing him. Then I froze as my rope fell limp on my shoulder. People were starting to panic. "What is this madness?!" A woman called out.

"You've angered the gods." A male voice responded. I turned and stumbled backwards to see the boy from last night standing behind me. Now I was able to see him clearly, his hair is black and his eyes are sea green, the color seemingly shifting from blue to green like the water itself. "Can't you tell, they don't want this woman to die." Thunder cracked overhead.

"There is only one God!" Someone cried out. A seemingly angry thunder roared across the sky making almost everyone back up in fear. The rain around us started gathering and forming a dome around me and him. Then it started poring. Everyone around us scattered, forgetting about my execution and panicking with the sorcery the boy seemed to be performing.

"You're ride is awaiting you, my lady." The boy bowed slightly to me and held out his hand. I got the feeling that I didn't have much of a choice in taking his offer, he had just saved my life after all. So I took his hand, and he smiled at me. In that one smile I could see a lot about him. He's honest and loyal. And something darker, his secrets and motivation. But as he led me away from my death, and off into a new beginning I didn't care what he was holding. He was giving me a second chance at life and I know I wont waist it.

The ship was grander than I expected. "Surprised?" He asked me as we climbed on deck, I could only nod as I looked at the dark polished wood and the light gray sails. "Thalia!" He called and a girl with short black hair and bright blue eyes dropped down in front of us. "Get us out of this pathetic port." He ordered.

"Yes sir," she saluted him before a gust of wind tugged at my hair and the sails were blown forwards. "So, we stayed an extra day for her?" She asked, sizing me up. "What does she do?"

"Charm speak," he answered lazily, leaning against the railing "I think this stop was successful. Though if I had to spend another day in that miserable port I might have gone off and killed a few more people."

"You killed people?" I asked shocked. The both looked at me, Thalia confused and the boy amused.

"Hun, this is a pirate ship." He noted. "We're pirates, hence my comment on collecting you last night. Everything on this ship is my property, all the food, all the gold, all the people." He smirked. "In order to obtain some of the things I want, sure. I've had to kill some people. Like the guards that insulted me."

"You're a monster." I glared at him.

"Yes," he agreed, straightening up. "Thalia see to it that she gets a meal and a room. One of the private rooms." He looked at the girl. "While you're down there, send Rachel up. I want to have a word with her." He started towards a set of doors.

"Jackson," Thalia called after him. He paused. "That role doesn't suit you." He didn't acknowledge the comment, instead he just continued to the room. Thalia sighed and looked back at me. "He's not normally like that." She told me. "He's actually nice."

"He saves me then acts like an argent prick." She laughed.

"Common, let's get you some food." She wrapped an arm around my shoulders and led me downstairs. The first thing I noticed, was the large absence of people on the ship. I remembered seeing someone at the helm but there's no one else. We entered a dinning area and still, there was no one. "If you're looking for company, you wont find much. There's just five of us."

"Five? Manning a ship this large?" I looked at her wide eyed.

"Three until yesterday." She nodded. "Then Percy found Rachel, and now you."

"But how?" I wondered.

"Haven't you heard rumors, of the Huntress? Or the Prince of the Sea?" She took out some bread and cut me a slice. I shook my head. "Wow, your port must've been out of the loop." She hummed a bit. "Well, I'll explain it after I get Rachel." She told me. "Be back in a bit, unless you want to wonder, then try to stay on this floor or above deck." She said before disappearing out from the way we came. I wondered back onto deck, nibbling at the bread and walking up to the girl on the helm. She glared at me but didn't say anything.

"Is it all girl's on this ship?" I asked her. She had her long brown hair held out of her face with a bandana.

"Aside from Percy, yes." She answered, putting a rope on the wheel and looking at me. "Why, is that bothersome?"

"No, it's just weird." I commented. "Girl's normally aren't taken to sea, it's considered bad luck." She laughed.

"Tell that to our loving captain." She looked ahead into the sea. "I think he considers males bad luck or something. We did have his younger brother traveling with us for a while, just until we hit Port Sleas a few months back. He wanted to join the military so Percy let him." I thought about that for a while, before noticing a bush of red hair being led onto deck, she had a blanket around her and looked frightened. "Poor girl, though, I think anyone would be frightened with her story."

"Her story?"

"Not mine to tell," the girl said. "But I am interested in your. What does the boss want with you?"

"I don't know." I said honestly.

"You have to have a talent." She pushed.

"Charm speak." Thalia was in front of us, making me jump. The girl just looked at her, then at me and seemed to take more interest in me. "Now, is there anything in particular that you want to know about us before I go story telling?" She asked me.

"Why are there so few of us?" I wondered.

"Percy's picky about who he wants boarding with him." Clarisse responded.

"Why all girls? He's not... using us is he?" They laughed.

"Oh please, that queer?" Clarisse asked. "Gods no, no-no-no he's not interested in girls, well, sexually interested in them at least."

"Weather or not he knows it." Thalia agreed. "No, the reason for us being girls is because he chose us to be apart of his crew." She explained. "Well, that and Clarisse, you and Rachel owe him your lives."

"You don't?" I asked. She smiled at me.

"He offered me freedom, I took it." She shrugged. "My younger brother had gone off to join the military and left me to take care of my mother. I just, didn't want to spend my entire life looking after a drunk."

"Oh..." I looked down at the ground.

"I'm glad you asked." Thalia grinned. "Sit down love, this will take a while." Downstairs a door opened and I saw Rachel being led out of the room with Percy, "So it started like this. There's a port, hidden to those who can't see through the Mist. Clarisse, Percy and his younger brother Tyson had been there after a unfortunate trip to the Sea of Monsters. The three of them stayed on the beach for several days." I saw Percy stop and look up at us.

"Three days." Clarisse clarified. "I was mad at the boys but that didn't bother the Prince of the Sea. On the third day he waded out into the ocean with a ton of spectators and for hours we waited. Then just as everyone was getting bored and getting ready to leave a ship bursts out of the water. I think that Percy had found it at the bottom of the ocean, but he say's it's a gift from his dad. The moron was sitting on the mast and just waved to us before a life boat drifted over for me and Tyson." She was watching me for any sort of reaction. "After we were safely on deck, he freaked everyone out by shaping a huge bubble over us and sinking the ship again. A few days later rumors started up about a ghost ship haunting the seas near the hidden port."

"Yes that's the real story, not the rumor." Thalia laughed a bit. Clarisse rolled her eyes.

"Oh, what ever, she's on the ship. Doesn't matter if she knows us or not." She crossed her arms and studied me. "What matters is making sure you don't piss Percy off. That's my job."

"What...?" I questioned.

"It's my job to fight with him, I'm here until I repay my debt, might as well make his life hell." She shrugged.

"Your way of thinking is entertaining." His voice startled me. I turned to see Percy standing a few feet away with the redhead next to him. She wouldn't look at any of us. "I save your life, and you beat me up for it."

"I didn't ask for you to save me." She scowled.

"Would you have rather been eaten by the cyclopes?" He wondered, she didn't answer.

"Cyclopes? Aren't they a myth?" I asked.

"Myth," he repeated. "Are your powers a myth?" He wondered. "Or Thalia's or mine. No, Silena, they're no more myth than the gods. But, it's not just Cyclopes, other monsters and Greek and Roman 'myths' are real and alive. As for other religions, I can't say. It's not my origin." He glanced at me. "Silena, this is Rachel Elizabeth Dare, like you, she's new." He paused. "She's been given the gift of prophecy and is Apollo's Oracle of Delphi. I rescued her yesterday, a few hours before meeting you."

"Why do you save people. You're a pirate." He smiled a bit.

"I wasn't when I met Clarisse," he told me. "She's the one that convinced me to become one." I looked at Clarisse, I could see her doing that. "I save people because it's the right thing to do. I kill because sometimes it's unavoidable. But, as long as your indebted to me, I will keep you around and use you until I find what I'm looking for. You can fight me," he gestured to Clarisse. "A pointless battle but it keeps her fighting skills up. Though, she doesn't fight to escape. She's waiting for an opportunity to repay her debt." He paused. "Or you can just except that you owe me until you save my life or I say that you can leave. That could be a few weeks from now or several years, depends on when I find what I'm searching for." He smirked. "You could try to escape, and you might get away. But not out at sea, not in The Hydra, and I'm sure you don't want to be stranded on an island in the Sea of Monsters." The what?

Rachel looked at him, confused. "We're... going to the sea of monsters?" She asked, knitting her eyebrows in confusion. He nodded.

"Yes, we'll be at the entrance in a few days." He told her. "Don't worry, I can get us in safely."