Chapter 12 (Annabeth) The Spa

I followed the clipboard girl into the room. She took me and Percy to meet this C.C. women. The windows were literally the whole wall. I exclaimed out loud and a women I hadn't seen when I entered the room smiled and walked up to us.

"Welcome. I am C.C." She smiled at me. Then she looked at Percy.

She frowned. "Dear me! You need a proper change."

She turned to the clipboard girl. "Hylla, take Annabeth for a beauty treatment. I'll consult our young man here."

The clipboard girl, Hylla, bowed. "Yes Ma'am."

I looked at Percy. I didn't want to get separated after what happened on the ship.

"I'll be fine." He told me. I nodded and allowed Hylla to steer me into a room full of clothes. She closed the door behind us. A younger girl that looked like Hylla walked up to us. Hylla introduced us.

"Annabeth, Reyna. Reyna, Annabeth. We'll help you pick out the clothes that you want and also give you some makeup." Hylla smiled.

I looked around in awe. So many of my favourite kind of clothes, all in one place. I was about the grab one when Reyna stopped me.

"You'll need to wash your hair first." She told me. "Follow me." She took me to a bathroom and I washed my hair. After I finished up, I went back outside and found that Reyna and Hylla had chosen out some clothes for me already. Hylla walked behind me and braided my hair. I stared down at the different dresses. I decided to settle with the white silk dress. Reyna smiled at me. "Good choice, Annabeth. Now all you need is some makeup. She hurried off to another smaller room. Hylla and I talked for a while. When Reyna came back, I sat down on a high chair and the girls went to work. After a few minutes, they told I was done and Hylla gave me a mirror for me to look at. I gasped at the result. I was beautiful. Exactly how I wanted myself to look like. The girls giggled and smiled and offered to show me the remaining rooms. I complied.

After they finished showing me the tour, they told me to go back to C.C. and Percy. I walked out of the room.

"Miss C.C.?" I called. I walked into the room. Percy wasn't there. "Where's Percy?"

C.C. smiled. "Oh, he's doing one of the premium beauty treatments. There's nothing to worry about. It'll take a while. Now, tell me what you think of this place."

My eyes brightened. "I love this place! Oh, the books in your library. There's a whole shelf on architecture!"

C.C. grimaced. "Architecture? You have the makings of a sorceress, just like me!"

I stepped back. "Sorceress? Then, you're…" I gasped. "You're Circe!"

"Yes, my dear." She laughed. "Leave your friend behind and join me."

I decided to play on along. "Yes… Leave Percy… Give me a minute alone… Leave him… Sorceress…" I smiled dreamily, hoping it would suffice. C.C. fell for it. She smiled and left the room. The moment the door clicked I ran straight for the cage full of guinea pigs that I noticed earlier.

"Where are you Percy?" I asked, desperately. They all squealed and scratched at the bars. Suddenly, the door burst open. C.C. was back.

"So… What do you say Annabeth? Will you join me?"

I spat at her. "In your dreams." I put an orange vitamin in my mouth and chewed.

She stared at me. "What was that?" She sounded scared. I held up the box. She screamed and ran from the room. I turned around to see Percy had changed back into a human. I ran towards him and hugged him. When I hugged him, I accidently dropped the Vitamins. They fell onto the ground near the guinea pigs. They nibbled on the vitamins. Suddenly, they changed into humans as well. Pirates. Percy grabbed me and ran but the pirates didn't follow us. They ran after Circe and her attendants. I felt sorry for Hylla and Reyna but we had to escape. Percy ran to the docks and found a massive pirate ship. He jumped aboard and pulled me up. He raised his hand and yelled, "Mizzenmast!" The ship responded to him and started to sail out to sea. Into the Sea of Monsters.