STRENGTH
━━ act two, chapter eight.
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷
"WELCOME!" A LADY WITH A CLIPBOARD GREETED THEM, as they got off the rowboat.
She looked like a flight attendant — blue business suit, perfect makeup, hair pulled back in a ponytail. The woman even shook Percy, Annabeth and Nabi's hands as they stepped onto the dock. Nabi thought that her cheeks must've been sore from how wide and dazzling her smile was.
"You'd think we were riding Luke's fancy cruise instead of that rowboat, with the way she's looking at us." Percy muttered.
In fairness to the rowboat, it wasn't the weirdest ship in port. Along with a bunch of pleasure yachts, there was a U.S. Navy submarine, several dugout canoes, and an old-fashioned sailing ship. There were multiple different ships, from different eras throughout the years, that Nabi couldn't tell you the names of.
Maybe they were replicas for tourists to look at or something...?
"Is this your first time with us?" The clipboard lady inquired.
The three demigods exchanged looks. Annabeth awkwardly went, "Umm..."
"First—time—at—spa," The lady murmured, pausing her words as she wrote each of them down, "Let's see..."
She looked them up and down. Nabi felt a little awkward as she scrutinised them. Then the woman muttered, "Mmm... a herbal wrap to start for the young ladies, and of course, a complete makeover for the young gentleman."
"A what?" Percy asked.
The lady was too busy jotting down notes to answer. She simply gave them a breezy smile and exclaimed, "Right! Well, I'm sure C.C. will want to speak with you personally before the luau, young man. Come, please."
Really, they should've been more wary — demigods could never afford to let their guard down. But all three of them were starving, and had been dying from the horrible heat for most of the day. A luau didn't seem half bad.
As if on cue, Nabi's stomach rumbled loudly. She mumbled, blushing, "I guess I am a little hungry..."
"Yeah," Annabeth decided, "I guess it couldn't hurt..."
Of course it could, but they followed the lady anyway. Nabi fiddled with her bracelet, twisting it nervously as the lady guided them to what seemed like a utopia.
There was white marble and stunning water; terraces climbing up the side of the mountain, with swimming pools on every level; connected by waterslides and waterfalls and underwater tubes you could swim through. Fountains sprayed water into the air, forming impossible shapes, like flying eagles and galloping horses.
"Woah..." Nabi gaped in awe. She turned to nudge Percy on the shoulder excitedly, but he seemed to feel sick.
"You okay?" Annabeth asked him, noticing, "You look pale."
Percy murmured, "I'm okay. Just... let's keep walking."
They continued to pass a bunch of different things, like a variety of animals. A sea turtle napped in a stack of beach towels; a leopard stretched out asleep on the diving board. The resort guests, only a bunch of young women, lounged in deck chairs whilst they drank fruit smoothies (Nabi felt like a fruit smoothie... she was a little flustered, in all honesty) or read magazines. They even had herbal face masks drying on their faces as they got their manicures from workers in white uniforms.
As they headed up a staircase toward what looked like the main building, there was the sound of a woman's alluring voice. She was singing softly in an old language, Ancient Greek, humming of moonlight in the olive groves; the colors of sunrise; the scent of lavender and jasmine on the wind... and magic.
Something about magic.
They came into a big room where the whole front wall was windows. The back wall was covered in mirrors, so the room seemed to go on forever. There was also a bunch of white furniture that looked super expensive, and in one corner of the room sat a large wire pet cage on a table.
The lady who'd been singing was at a loom the size of a big screen TV, her hands weaving colored thread back and forth with nimble, skilled fingers. The tapestry shimmered like it was three-dimensional, and Nabi couldn't help admiring it. The waterfall scene was so real that she could see the water moving and clouds drifting across the fabric sky.
Annabeth caught her breath too. "It's beautiful."
The woman turned. She was pretty, her features seemed almost too perfect for a regular mortal. Her long dark hair was braided with threads of gold. She had piercing green eyes and she wore a silky black dress with shapes that seemed to move in the fabric: animal shadows, black upon black, like deer running through a forest at night.
"You appreciate weaving, my dear?" The woman asked.
"Oh yes, ma'am!" Annabeth nodded enthusiastically, "My mother is—"
She stopped herself.
You couldn't just go around announcing that your mom was Athena, the goddess who invented the loom. But the hostess just smiled and said, "You have good taste, my dear. I'm so glad you've come. My name is—"
The animals in the corner cage started squealing. Nabi thought they must've been guinea pigs from the sound of it. They introduced themselves to C.C. — she gave Nabi and Annabeth kind greetings, but when her eyes landed on Percy, she had a twinge of disapproval on her face.
"Oh, dear," C.C sighed, "you do need my help."
Well, that was a little rude.
"Ma'am?" Percy blinked.
C.C. called to the lady in the business suit and said, "Hylla, take Annabeth and Nabi on a tour, will you? Show them what we have available. The clothing will need to change... and the hair, my goodness. We will do a full image consultation after I've spoken with this young gentleman."
"But..." Annabeth's voice sounded hurt. "What's wrong with my hair?"
Nabi shared the same sentiment. Sure, their clothes were a little dirty from the whole journey, and the saltwater made their hair feel kinda ew, but...
"Is it really that bad?" Nabi muttered, twirling a strand of her own hair self-consciously.
C.C. smiled benevolently. "My dears, you are lovely. Really! But you're not showing off yourself or your talents at all. So much wasted potential!"
"Wasted?" Nabi frowned.
"Well, surely you're not happy the way you are! My goodness, there's not a single person who is," The hostess snorted, "but don't worry. We can improve anyone here at the spa... Hylla will show you what I mean. You, my dears, need to unlock your true selves!"
That sounded pretty nice. Nabi turned to Annabeth, and she appeared to be thinking the same thing — her eyes glowed with longing. Nabi asked, "What about Percy?"
"Oh, definitely," C.C. said, giving the boy a sad look, "Percy requires my personal attention. He needs much more work than you."
Something about her voice swayed Nabi and kept her mouth shut. Everything that came out of C.C.'s mouth felt like a lullaby that pulled you in.
It had such a weird effect...
The guinea pigs squealed like they were hungry. Annabeth murmured, eyes glazed over slightly just like Nabi and Percy's, "Well, I suppose..."
"Right this way, dears." Hylla said.
Without a single protest, Nabi and Annabeth were whisked away to the waterfall-laced gardens of the spa. Nabi was a little sick of gardens and fountains and all that, but the beauty of C.C.'s entire resort made it hard to really care.
The entire place was bursting with various vibrant colours of different flowers, as well as the waterfalls were a stunning sight to behold. Nabi had to restrain herself from stopping to smell all the tropical flowers like the hibiscuses and orchids — Hylla was a fast walker.
"I'll give you a proper tour, later. We have much to offer," Hylla said, "the gardens, as you see here... fun activities such as a one-hundred level mini golf—"
"Mini golf?" Nabi said.
"—resourceful areas, such as our beautiful, grand library—"
"Library?" Annabeth murmured.
This place just kept getting better and better. Nabi remembered, "Ohh... Annabeth, I still haven't finished that book you gave me."
"Circe?" Annabeth hummed. "You should. It's a really good book."
Hylla gave them a weird glance.
"Ahem," Hylla cleared her throat, "perhaps we should begin with your makeovers."
Hylla led them into a large hair salon, with other young women getting their hair trimmed or styled by attendants. She waved over two unoccupied girls in white uniforms.
"These are new arrivals to the resort, Nabi and Annabeth." Hylla told the attendants, "They'll need a full treatment."
She turned back to Nabi and Annabeth, offering a gentle smile, "I'll go find you two some fresh clothes. You're in good hands with our employees."
Hylla turned on her heel and left. Nabi was guided to one of the salon chairs by an attendant, with Annabeth being taken to another.
"Is this your first time at a spa?" The attendant asked, noticing how awkward Nabi was.
The girl had dark brown hair and brown eyes, around the same height and age as her. Nabi nervously replied, "Erm, yeah."
"Just relax, you'll be fine." The girl smiled, as she began to comb through Nabi's hair. "I'm Reyna."
"Nice to meet you, Reyna." Nabi murmured. "It's a pretty name."
Reyna mumbled a thank you, and Nabi could've sworn her cheeks were dusted pink. "I... uh, how long were you at sea for?"
"Probably for the entire day."
"Ah," Reyna hummed, "well, I'll get to it, okay?"
Soon, Reyna got to work with getting Nabi's hair all done as they settled into easy conversation. She was a surprisingly chill person to talk to — not that she seemed boring, or anything, Nabi was just afraid she'd be the stiff, quiet type. Silena had complained about a few awkward moments with a hairdresser she used to go to.
Speaking of, it reminded her of lazy afternoons and fun sleepovers where Silena, or maybe even sometimes Drew or Lacy, would do Nabi's hair as they talked about anything and everything at camp.
Really, it was the first time Nabi had relaxed in what seemed like ages.
【 🦋 】
AFTER THEIR MAKEOVERS, THEY WERE SHOWN EVERYTHING THE ISLAND HAD TO OFFER, courtesy of Hylla — Reyna had actually told Nabi they were sisters, and now that she mentioned it, she could totally see the family resemblance. In all honesty, Nabi thought most of the people on the island were super inviting and nice.
Hylla had shown them the mini golf, library, and other things like a really nice cafe — Nabi was a total mini golf prodigy, by the way — then told them they could have some free time to themselves before the luau. They decided to go find Percy.
Nabi secretly wanted to show off her newfound pro mini golf skills...
"The dresses they gave us are so cute!" Nabi exclaimed, a bounce in her step as they walked.
"I don't know," Annabeth shrugged. "I just don't think it's... me."
They were both wearing fancy, sleeveless white dresses and had makeup on. Nabi thought that the white ribbon bow in her hair was really lovely, and they'd even touched up her curtain bangs. Plus, her hair had never been this smooth and silky.
"Well," Nabi said, "either way, you look really nice in the new golden braids."
"Thanks." Annabeth smiled. "Your hair's super cute too. That attendant you had definitely thought so."
"What?" Nabi blinked. "You mean Reyna?"
"Oh look, we're here." Annabeth said, opening the door as she called out, "...Miss C.C.?"
When they walked into the room, C.C. had an innocent smile on her face. Nabi asked, "Where's Percy?"
"He's having one of our treatments, my dear." C.C. said, "Not to worry, you both look wonderful! What did you think of the tour?"
"It was awesome!" Nabi nodded, gratefully. "The spa treatments were super nice too."
Annabeth's eyes brightened. "Mhm, and your library is amazing!"
C.C. said, "Yes, indeed. The best knowledge of the past three millenia — anything you want to study, anything you want to be, my dears."
"An architect?" Annabeth said.
"Pah!" C.C. scoffed, like it was a childish thought to have, "You, my dear, have the makings of a sorceress... like me! Both of you do."
Annabeth took a step back, tugging Nabi backwards with her. "A sorceress?"
"Yes, my dear." C.C. held up her hand. A flame appeared in her palm and danced across her fingertips. "My mother is Hecate, the goddess of magic. I know half-bloods when I see one — you, Annabeth, a daughter of Athena. Though you, Nabi? I can't quite pinpoint... but your power..."
Nabi stayed silent, shifting uncomfortably. It wasn't really the best thing to go around telling creepy women, 'Hey, I'm Thanatos' daughter!'
"It does not matter." C.C. said, "We are not so different. We all seek knowledge. We all admire greatness. Neither of us three need to stand in the shadows of men."
"I— I don't understand." Annabeth muttered.
"Stay with me, study with me." C.C. coerced, "You can join our staff, become a sorceress, learn to bend others to your will. You will become immortal!"
"Why are you offering this to us?" Nabi asked, her brow furrowed.
"You are too intelligent, my dears." C.C. said, "You know better than to trust that silly camp for heroes. How many great female half-blood heroes can you name?"
"Um, Atalanta, Amelia Earhart..." Annabeth listed.
Nabi nodded to the Athena girl. "And technically, you and Clarisse are—"
"Bah! Men get all the glory." C.C. closed her fist and extinguished the magic flame. "The only way to power for women is sorcery. Medea, Calypso, now there were powerful women! And me, of course. The greatest of all."
Nabi said, "Didn't Medea and Calypso get unhappy endings, though?"
C.C.'s eyes flickered with a magical purple flame, and something wicked passed through them. "Yet, who was to blame for that? Once again, the men!"
"You... C.C.—" Annabeth's eyes widened. "Circe!"
"Yes, my dear."
Nabi couldn't believe she hadn't realised it sooner. They backed up, but Circe simply laughed. "You need not worry. I mean you no harm."
"What have you done to Percy?" Annabeth's brow furrowed, and her expression grew dark.
Circe smirked. "I only helped him realize his true form."
Nabi scanned the room. Her eyes landed on a wire pet cage filled with guinea pigs — all of the little animals were gnawing and scratching at the bars furiously. They were desperate as they squealed and squeaked and nibbled on the wire.
Nabi paused. Her eyes went wide.
"Is that...?" She mumbled, "Oh gods..."
Annabeth gave Nabi a look that confirmed her suspicions: Percy was a freaking guinea pig.
"Forget him." Circe said, "Join me and learn the ways of sorcery!"
"But—" Annabeth muttered.
Circe waved a hand dismissively, a magic flame trailing her movements for a brief second. "Your friend will be well cared for. He'll be shipped to a wonderful new home on the mainland. The kindergartners will adore him. Meanwhile, the two of you will be wise and powerful. You will have all you ever wanted."
All you ever wanted...?
Nabi found herself being pulled in — Circe's words were so... convincing. What else could she want, anyway? The resort had everything they could ever need, and she could teach them everything they didn't already know.
"It sounds great..." Nabi said, "Annabeth?"
Annabeth nodded, and murmured, "Let us think about it. Just... give us a minute alone to say goodbye."
"Of course, my dears," Circe cooed, "One minute. Oh... and so you have absolute privacy..."
She waved her hand and iron bars slammed down over the windows. Then, Circe swept out of the room, locking the door with a click.
Maybe it was because Circe was gone, but Nabi's feelings of wistfulness melted away. It seemed the same for Annabeth. They rushed over to the cage.
"Percy," Nabi squinted, trying to differentiate him from the rest, "do a dance in the cage if it's you!"
A bunch of guinea pigs started dancing.
"Okay, well that didn't help." Nabi muttered.
They stopped dancing, replaced again by all of their incessant squeals and tiny hands scratching at the bars. Nabi looked around urgently for something to help them.
It was Annabeth who spotted the cuff of Percy's jeans sticking out from under the loom. She rushed over and rummaged through the pockets until she found Hermes' bottle of multivitamins.
"What's that meant to do?" Nabi asked.
"Just trust me."
Annabeth struggled to open the cap, before popping it open — she gave one to Nabi and had one for herself, right as the door flew open. Nabi swallowed the cherry-flavoured vitamin hurriedly.
Nabi's heart jumped when Circe came back in, flanked by two of her fancy, business-suited attendants. "Well, how fast a minute passes. What is your answer, my dears?"
"This." Annabeth said.
Nabi took that as her signal to draw her sword, as Annabeth unsheathed her celestial bronze dagger.
The sorceress stepped back, but her surprise quickly passed. She scoffed, "Really, little girls, a couple of silly blades against my magic? Is that wise?"
Circe looked back at her attendants, who smiled. They raised their hands, preparing to cast a spell. The guinea pigs squealed in terror and scuttled around the cage.
"What will your new makeovers be?" Circe mused, "Something small and ill-tempered. I know... a pair of little shrews!"
Blue fire coiled from her fingers curling like serpents around Annabeth. Nabi watched, horrified... but nothing happened. Annabeth was still Annabeth — only way more angry. It must've been the multivitamins.
Annabeth snarled as she leaped forward and stuck the point of her knife against Circe's neck. "How about turning me into a panther instead? One that has her claws at your throat!"
"How?!" Circe yelped.
Annabeth held up my bottle of vitamins for the sorceress to see. Circe howled in frustration, "Curse Hermes and his multivitamins! Those are such a fad! They do nothing for you."
"You better turn Percy back into a human or else!" Annabeth scowled.
"I can't!"
Nabi mumbled, "You must not be a pretty good sorceress then, huh?"
The sorceress merely curled her lip, even more infuriated after Nabi had let the comment slip. Circe's attendants stepped forward, but their mistress sneered, "Get back! They're immune to magic until those cursed vitamins wears off."
Nabi raised her blade toward the sorceress' lackeys to make sure they didn't try anything as Annabeth dragged Circe over to the guinea pig cage, knocked the top off, and poured the rest of the vitamins inside.
"No!" Circe screamed.
All the guinea pigs scuttled out and began to nibble on their new food, until suddenly, there was a loud bang! The cage exploded, and in replacement of it were a bunch of disoriented guys that were shaking wood shavings out of their hair. Percy was one of them — blinking in surprise, back in his regular clothes and his regular human form.
"No!" Circe screamed. "You don't understand! Those are the worst!"
One of the men stood up, a huge guy with a long, tangled, pitch-black beard, and teeth of the same color. He wore mismatched clothes of wool and leather, knee-length boots, and a floppy felt hat. The other men were dressed in more simple attire — wearing breeches and stained white shirts. All of them were barefoot.
"Argggh!" The big man bellowed, "What's the witch done t'me?!"
"No!" Circe wailed, again.
Nabi didn't know who the man was, but Annabeth said, "I recognize you! Edward Teach, son of Ares?"
"Aye, lass," The big man growled, "though, most call me Blackbeard! And there's the sorceress that captured us, lads. Run 'er through, and then I mean to find me a big bowl of celery! Arggggh!"
Circe screamed. She and her attendants ran from the room, chased by the pirates.
Nabi said, "I can't believe Clarisse is related to him..."
"I can." Percy snorted.
Okay yeah, maybe Nabi could agree a little.
Annabeth sheathed her knife and turned to him with a deadly glare. Percy faltered, and weakly said, "Thanks, guys... I'm really sorry—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Annabeth tackled Percy into a hug, then pulled away just as quickly — Nabi didn't comment on his bright red face. Annabeth said, "I'm glad you're not a guinea pig."
"Yup." Nabi smiled, and gave him a swift hug of her own. "I think I like you better when you're not squealing."
"Me too." Percy said. He smiled, then paused. "Hold on, how'd you not know which one was me? I was obviously the one doing the floss!"
Nabi stuck her tongue out. "Even as a guinea pig, your dance skills suck."
"Like yours are any better." He huffed, jokingly.
"Come on," Annabeth said, "we have to get away while Circe's distracted."
They ran down the hillside through the terraces, past screaming spa workers and pirates ransacking the resort. Blackbeard's men broke the tiki torches for the luau, threw herbal wraps into the swimming pool, and kicked over tables of sauna towels. Residents at the spa were all screaming and trying their best to run away.
"Wait," Nabi cried, slowing down, "what about the others? Shouldn't we help? It was only Circe who..."
"We don't have time!" Annabeth said as she tugged her along, the three of them reaching the docks, "Which ship?"
"But..."
They couldn't just leave them there, right? Yet, Nabi knew she was wasting precious time in escaping. Annabeth turned to her. "Listen, we can't—"
"There." Percy said.
Nabi followed his gaze, and blinked. "Really?"
"I can make it work." He assured them.
It was an old sailing vessel — a three-mast ship with the name 'Queen Anne's Revenge' painted on the prow of it. Compared to many of the other ships on the dock, it wasn't as flashy or new.
"Argggh!" Blackbeard yelled from behind them. "Those scallywags are a-boardin' me vessel! Get 'em, lads!"
"We'll never get going in time!" Annabeth yelled, pushing Nabi to climb up first. She did so, and they all scrambled aboard in haste.
Nabi wasn't exactly an expert on ships and whatnot, but she was pretty sure it would take several hours to get the Queen Anne's Revenge to start speeding away — they didn't have a crew to get the ship ready.
Suddenly, Percy yelled, "Mizzenmast!"
Nabi looked at him like he was nuts, but in the next second, the air was filled with whistling sounds of ropes being snapped taut, canvases unfurling, and wooden pulleys creaking. Annabeth ducked as a cable flew over her head and wrapped itself around the bowsprit, just as baffled as Nabi. She murmured, "Percy, how...?"
He didn't really have an answer.
But the Queen Anne's Revenge lurched away from the dock, and by the time the pirates arrived at the water's edge, THEY WERE ALREADY UNDERWAY, SAILING INTO THE SEA OF MONSTERS.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
𝗥𝗜𝗞𝗔'𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗦!
જ⁀➴ yippee !! c.c.'s is one of my fav chapters in sea of monsters so i was actually really excited to write this one ,, lmao nabi in her gracie abrams era w/ the bows and cutesy outfit love it !! next chapter tho, omg u guys are so gonna FREAKK lmao i'm already giggling js thinking abt it ... one hint: what did silena say again ?? someone play margaret by lana del rey .
i got soo sick over the week and i literally couldn't even look at my phone without the world spinning .. i litch hadn't gotten that sick in sooo long 😪 oops also final exams r coming up soon so i'll be prioritising that guys, soz if i slow down again on updates !! anyways see u in the next chapter, thanks for reading and commenting and all the love in general guys <33