*August 26 XXXX*
*Percy's Point of View*
I woke at a sudden jolt of our boat. My eyes snapped open to see Annabeth standing shakily, holding onto a makeshift mast to steady herself. Her eyes were locked on something behind me.
My eyebrows furrowed. What could she possibly be looking at? What could we have hit? How'd she make a mast?
Deciding to at least get the answer to one of my many questions, I turned. My jaw dropped.
We'd washed up on an island. Not one of those abandoned tropical islands you see in the movies. No. Our boat didn't run ashore on sand and we didn't immediately jump out and kiss the dry earth. That didn't happen.
That didn't happen because we didn't wash ashore on an abandoned island. We didn't wash ashore on a sandy beach.
No.
Our boat was brushing up against a dock - wooden, elegant, and obviously freshly cleaned, as it was free of barnacles and algae. Past the dock, there was a resort. There was a sandy beach, and then tall palm trees, but in between the trees, there were glistening white marble buildings. There were white marble fountains, the water spewing up to form animals - horses, fish, birds.
I scrambled to stand, spinning my body around to get a better look at the paradise. It all seemed to sparkle with a special glow, almost as if it was alive with magic.
Were we dead? Was this the legendary Isles of Blest?
I shook my head as if the movement would help me to clear my head. No. Uncle Hades had told me that when mortals die, they'd have to first get a ride from Charon, then they would go through the gates and be judged and placed into the area they deserved.
I knew that to be true. I'd seen it just last year.
Maybe I was hallucinating? But then...how could Annabeth see it, too?
I turned back around to look at her, but she was gone. My heart rate accelerated once more, but then I felt the boat rock slightly and turned to see her in front of me, now, stepping up onto the dock with the help of a girl.
Who was she? The girl seemed to be a little older than Annabeth and me. She was wearing the outfit that I'd stick to a flight attendant, but I wouldn't know since I'd never been on a plane. She was also holding a clipboard, which was tucked under her left arm as she helped Annabeth up onto the dock with her right.
I moved to get off the boat as well, but the girl didn't reach out for me. Instead, Annabeth held out her hand, grasped mine, and pulled me up with surprising strength. That was how I deduced that I'd been asleep for quite awhile because it seemed that Annabeth had had enough time to replenish her strength. And maybe take a body-building class.
As soon as I was steady on my feet, Annabeth marched off to follow the girl. I gave one last look at our boat, seeing a few granola bar wrappers and an empty water pouch. So Annabeth had eaten something.
Mentally checking that off, I left the boat, following Annabeth, who was now next to the girl and at the base of the dock. The two of them were already talking as I arrived, but neither acknowledged my existence as I stepped up.
"-So, have you ever been at the spa before?" the girl was asking.
Annabeth smiled, but she still seemed confused. "Um...spa?" she asked, her eyebrows shooting upwards.
The girl merely smiled, and looked down at her clipboard, writing down. I could hear her muttering under her breath as she wrote the words, "First - time - at - spa."
She then perked up again, giving Annabeth a smile and me a not-so-secret scowl. "Well, then, welcome! You will enjoy your stay here, I assure you!" The girl then turned and walked away as if she expected us to follow her.
We did.
"As you can see, this resort is the perfect place for ladies to relax and enjoy the greater things in life. We have a large staff, all here to make you as comfortable and happy as possible. Whatever you need, just call on one of them and they will help you right away."
We passed another fountain, this one with a horse. As I looked upon the figure, I felt a sting of pain in my chest. Tyson loved horses. It was in his blood, but also in his heart. I really hoed he was okay.
I was jolted out of my inner musings as the girl continued. "Over here are the sunbathing chairs and the pool, then over in that building are the mud baths... This is where we give manicures and pedicures, and that glass building over there is the eatery and bistro..."
She kept talking and pointing, and Annabeth seemed interested, though also skeptical. I, on the other hand, couldn't focus on anything except for the glares all of the other patrons were giving me. As soon as they noticed me, their eyes narrowed and the wrinkles that they'd spent so much time on removing, returned. To add to the glares, I noticed that there were no other guys around. Maybe they stayed in a different area, or maybe there weren't any checked into the spa right now, or maybe even they had a special on today for all of the female guests. I didn't know what the reason, but I couldn't shake the concern that was growing in my gut.
Finally, as we reached what seemed to be the main building, I voiced my concerns. "Excuse me," I began, trying to be as polite as possible, "Where are all of the other male guests?"
The girl, who Annabeth had told me was named Hylla, looked at me with a tight-lipped smile and cold eyes. "They're around here somewhere," she answered cryptically. She then turned away and continued walking.
Annabeth and I shared a look. By her expression, I could tell that she wasn't quite sure about this place. Good. She picked up on that as well. It was reassuring to know that I wasn't going crazy. Or, at least, I wasn't the only one going crazy.
We followed Hylla up the stairs.
The room we entered was magnificent, like a mix between an expensive hotel lobby and a medieval castle. The floor was made of smooth black granite, shining with specks of shiny silver, giving it a nebula effect. The walls had tall, thin windows, with deep purple curtains and flowing tapestries. There was a front desk at the far end of the room, with a girl sitting there, but what really caught my attention was the other woman in the room.
She wore a draping robe made of silk and her dark hair pooled around her shoulders. Her back was turned us, so I couldn't see her face, but I saw her hands working at a loom in front of her.
We approached slowly, and Hylla stopped us about ten feet away from the lady, giving me a glare as her arm shot out in front of me. She sent us a look that was obviously telling us to stay put as she proceeded to walk towards the woman.
They whispered a bit before the woman stopped working and turned to look at us. She gave a smile, causing her face to light up from her dark red lips to her glistening green eyes.
She stood.
"Welcome!" she said, spreading her arms. "My name is C. C."
We introduced ourselves. C. C. looked at me with a twinge of disapproval in her eyes. Her lips curled slightly and immediately, I felt bad. I'd never felt self-conscious before, but in front of this lady, I felt the need to cover up because, for some reason, I really wanted to please her.
"It seems like you two are lost, but no worries. We specialize in lost folks around here. Normally, we'd give you the tour right away, but it's getting late, so why don't you spend the night and we'll begin tomorrow." By her tone, it appeared that the decision was final, but I was still confused.
"Um... begin?"
"Begin the makeover, silly. You two definitely need my help. The clothes will have to change for sure, and the hair... well, we'll worry about that tomorrow. For now, Hylla-" C. C. turned to Hylla, "-take them to their rooms. Then bring them back here at eight o'clock sharp tomorrow morning."
Hylla nodded.
"Come along, you two," she said, "Let's get you settled." She then proceeded to walk passed us, back to the front door.
I wanted to protest that we couldn't stay long, and it was nowhere near night, but as we turned, I was surprised to see that in the short amount of time that we'd been talking to C. C., it had become full night outside. The sky was black as pitch and billions of stars shone overhead. How was that possible? I was sure that it had been barely noon when I woke up.
I turned to Annabeth just as she turned to me. She'd noticed it, too. A lot of strange things were happening on this island, but I guess it's just what comes with being in the Sea of Monsters. Besides, stranger things had happened.
We were only outside for a minute because it seemed that Hylla was taking us to a different hotel, which was right next door. She checked us in at the front desk and led us up to our room, which was a two-bedroom suite with a separate bathroom and living room.
"If you want a wake-up call, it will be at 6:30. Breakfast is at 7:00 and I'll be waiting for you in the lobby at 7:45. Is everything clear?" Hylla asked with a smile on her face.
Annabeth nodded.
"Good. Then have a pleasant sleep."
Once Hylla was gone, I collapsed on the bed closest to the door. A groan escaped my mouth but was muffled by the thick down comforter.
"What's wrong?" Annabeth asked.
"Nothing," I said, rolling over.
Annabeth gave me a look of skepticism.
"Fine. It's just... Artemis and Tyson may not have survived, and even if they did, they could be afloat in the middle of that ocean for all we know and here we are, spending the night at a spa for free! At least...they didn't ask for money so I think it's free."
I rolled back over. A few seconds later, I felt the bed dip and knew that Annabeth had sat down next to me. "I know it's hard, Percy, but all we can do now is hope that they're okay and continue on our quest to find the fleece. I'm sure that Artemis survived, and she wouldn't let anything happen to Tyson."
"If you're sure," I replied.
"I'm sure."
Her tone was so certain that I almost believed that everything would be fine, but then I remembered that we were demigods. Nothing was ever fine.
"Let's just go to sleep and see where this goes," I suggested. Mainly because I was tired, but also because I didn't want to go a sleepless night if anything bad happened tomorrow.
"Okay. I'll just wash up. I've been really wanting a shower."
"I'll take one in the morning. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Percy."
Those two words were the last ones I heard, because as soon as I shifted to the top of the bed, I was out like a light.
***
Published: Saturday, May 20, 2017
~CSP2708~