I 024. I
𝑯𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔
❝ princess andromeda ❞
SHE GAVE HIM A DEADPANNED LOOK. "No."
"You don't even know what I was going to say!"
"I know whatever it is, it's a stupid idea."
Percy went to argue but he seemed to find it difficult, "Yeah— okay, it is, but— hear me out!"
"No, I won't," she told him. He faltered at her expression until she threw a bag over her shoulder. "But I knew what you were going to say. And yes. I'm coming."
He gave her a grin.
Ariadne couldn't sleep after her nightmare. She didn't have the courage nor energy to close her eyes and battle with the voices. Call her crazy, but they were there. They chanted over and over but became a slight buzz when she didn't think about them, but that was quiet hard.
She didn't know if it was Kronos's doing or her own, she expected the former. But maybe it was a mix of her own worries as well. The whole saving Thalia, camp and Grover Hong was taking a toll on her. At least with the lightning bolt she knew that she could help. But no, with Tantalus refusing to let her go and giving the quest to Clarisse despite the dreams, it was a no brainer that she was angry.
Luckily, after she had packed her bag and was about to find her two demigod friends, one found her.
"We have five minutes," Percy told her with a glance over his shoulder. "Annabeth and Tyson are waiting by the shore. The Harpies nearly found us, but I wasn't going to leave without you. So come on."
She stopped for a second. "Wait— Tyson is coming with us?"
Percy gave her a frown. "Yes— but we can't argue over this now, Aidan, the Harpies are nearly here and we have to catch Luke's boat."
The brunette nodded slowly, "Okay... but, Perc, why does he need to go?"
"We can't leave him!" He argued while they ran. "Tantalus will punish him for us being gone!"
She shook her head as they hid behind a few cabins and trees, keeping an eye out for the Harpies. "I don't think you get it. Tyson is a Cyclops! We're going to Polyphemus's island! Polyphemus is a S-I-K... a C-Y-K— oh for gods sake! You know what I mean!"
"Tyson can come if he wants to," he told her. "And he wants to."
"I'm not saying he's not nice, he is. But it's not the best idea to bring him." She argued.
By that time they made it to shore. Annabeth and Tyson waiting on the sand. The blonde wasn't happy about bringing the Cyclops along either, but it didn't matter at that moment.
Ariadne sighed, "Fine. But how do you propose we get to Luke's ship, Kelp Head?"
"Hermes said my father would help?"
Her head tilted at the mention of the god, had he talked with the boy?
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Annabeth asked.
Percy gave them a nod before looking at the water, inching a bit closer. He shifted before calling out awkwardly, "Um, Dad? How's it going?"
"Percy!" Annabeth whispered. "We're kinda in a hurry!"
"Right." He shut his eyes tightly before taking a deep breath. Ariadne watched closely while Annabeth kept looking over her shoulder. "We need your help! We need to get to that ship, before we get eaten and stuff, so..."
Luke's yacht sat in the distance. She felt a punch to the gut once she saw it knowing the teenage boy was aboard. He had betrayed them, betrayed her. But she was still not over hope, maybe she could get Kronos out of his head enough to realize what he was doing. Maybe.
Nothing happened at first. The water was clear and calm, that was until three white lines waded along the surface. Waves parted and three white stallions reared once they neared the beach.
Ariadne let out an amazed gasp. "Fish ponies!" Tyson called out.
"Hippocampi!" She corrected, eyes slight with excitement. "They're beautiful."
Silvers scales glistened in the moonlight as they laid in the water. Rainbow tail fins were attached to the back as horse bodies took up the front. As white as freshly-fallen snow. One of them loved her comment and let out a noise of appreciation, letting her run a hand over its head.
Although she hadn't completely gotten over the fear of water and swimming, working with Percy had helped it.
She let out a laugh as a great smile crossed her face, purple eyes scanning the beautiful creatures. Percy noticed and looked towards her with a slight smile. His sea-green eyes were conflicted between emotions, which Annabeth couldn't pick up on. The blonde narrowed her eyes at the two before shaking her head.
Ariadne glanced towards Percy, giving him a confused look when he looked away quickly as a blushed dusted his cheeks.
"We can admire them later!" Percy said. "Come on!"
An irritable screech filled her ears, "There! Bad children out of cabins! Snack time for lucky Harpies!"
Five Harpies fluttered towards them and over the sand dunes. They had plump and ugly bodies with sagging skin, along wings and talons— similar to the Furies but they weren't fast— thank the gods. But at the same time, they were vicious if they caught up to you.
"Aidan," Percy called out, "grab the duffel bags!"
"I already have one—"
"Just grab one!"
She decided not to argue anymore. Her hands lay he do to the last two duffle bags before pushing Tyson onto a hippocampi. His was big enough for a Cyclops to ride, Poseidon must've known. But there wasn't a fourth one.
"Perc," she called out, "there's four of us!"
Percy glanced over his shoulder, "Aidan! It doesn't matter! Get on!"
Ariadne looked over at the Harpies which were growing closer. She smirked, "You want us?" Her hand shot out and vines wrapped around the creature's, pulling them back. She threw her duffle bag which Hermes provided at one of the pinched faced. A grin crossed her face, "Well you can't have us!" She hopped behind Percy.
"Giddy-up!" Percy shouted. The hippocampis plunged into the wave as water soles their faces. Annabeth and Tyson's followed while the Harpies screeched out.
Percy gave her a small smirk. "You threw your bag at the Harpies' faces?"
She pinched his shoulder slightly while her hands rested on them. "Eyes on the horizon, Kelp Head."
Her eyes focused on the letters painted across the side of the boat, contrasting with the white paint. PRINCESS ANDROMEDA. Camp Half-Blood was far in the distance as they gazed up at the gold lettering. It made her angry— at Luke and the stupid name.
Luke's ship was over their heads, their ride into the Sea of Monsters. It was an axe over their necks— it could either be stopped or it would fall.
***
PRINCESS ANDROMEDA WAS A SACRIFICE. She had been chained to a rock by her own parents for a sea monster— yeah, talk about family troubles. Anyways, her hero, Perseus— and no, it wasn't the idiot boy she was best friends with— used the head of Medusa to turn the sea monster to stone. He had been enamored by her beauty and they wed. Perseus had the best luck of the Greek heroes. Most were killed, betrayed or cursed by the gods, he had a happy ending and lived his life.
A three story women in a Greek white chiton was chained to the front of the bow. Her beautiful long black hair was not enough to cover her face of absolute terror. The ship itself was easily ten stories, dozens of decks and balconies which lit up by colorful lights. But it did not hide the fact that maybe the women on the front was terrified of what was present on the ship itself: a traitor and most likely doo end of Kronos's minions.
"How do we get aboard?" Annabeth asked over the noisy waves. The hippocampi pulled over to the starboard, stopping near a service ladder.
"Uh, here?" Ariadne said. The blonde rolled her yes with a 'no shit' look. "You first."
Annabeth took her duffles bag and began the climb up. Once she was a few rings up, Ariadne followed behind with her own backpack. Percy was next and then it was just Tyson in the water.
His hippocampus was showing him tricks which made him laugh, the sound echoing off the side of the ship. "Tyson, shh!" Percy told him. "Come on, big guy!"
"Can't er take Rainbow?" Tyson asked, smile fading.
Percy gave him a look, "Rainbow?" The hippocampus whinnied at the name. "Um, we have to go. Rainbow... well, he can't climb ladders."
Rainbow and Tyson were both upset. The former whining as the alter gave Percy puppy dog eyes. The Cyclops broke and looked to his new friend. "I will miss you, Rainbow!" He buried his face in the creature's mane.
"Percy," Annabeth said, "we need to move."
Ariadne gave the Cyclops a sympathetic look. "Come on, Tyson— maybe we'll see him again sometime."
"Oh, please!" Tyson said with eyes full of happiness. "Tomorrow."
Percy didn't promise him anything but they managed to get him up the ladder as Rainbow dove back into the sea with a sad look.
The ladder led them to a maintenance deck filled with yellow lifeboats. A set of locked double doors was opened by Annabeth with her knife— which was also helped by the string of Ancient a Greek curses which fell from her mouth.
When the doors opened she held her ring in her palm, ready to kill any monsters which attacked. But her mind thought if it had been Luke behind those doors, would she have swung.
Her eyes looked at the ship which seemed to be deserted. No one was up, despite it being the middle of the night, she heard nothing behind cabin doors.
"Is it a ghost ship?" Percy muttered.
"No," Tyson messed with the strap of his duffle bag. "Bad smell."
Annabeth threw him a confused look as she sniffed. "I don't smell anything."
"Cyclops are like Satyrs," Percy told them. "They can smell monsters. Isn't that right, Tyson?"
The tall boy nodded. "Maybe it's the ghosts," Ariadne murmured quietly. Percy sent her a 'you're not helping' look before she sighed.
A pit settled in her stomach before she twisted her ring into Lunacy. The handle shifting her her palm while they wandered the halls.
"Okay," Annabeth spoke. "So what exactly do you smell?"
"Something bad."
Ariadne grit her teeth. "Great. That really clears it up."
By the swimming pool, rows and rows of deck chairs were empt. The bar was closed and a chain curtain covered it. No one in sight.
"We need a hiding place," Percy told them. "Somewhere safe to sleep."
She nodded, hiding the nervousness she felt at the fact they would be sleeping on the same ship that Luke was on.
Her head nodded towards an empty suite on the ninth level. The door was open which she found weird, a basket of chocolate laid on the table and an iced bottle of sparkling cider. A mint rested on the pillow along with a handwritten note: Enjoy your cruise!
Lotus Casino much?
Tyson, Percy and Annabeth opened their packs they received form Hermes. She only had the backpack she had packed form camp because of her stupid decision of throwing the Hermes on at the Harpies.
"Wow," Percy whispered. "Hermes really thought of everything."
Inside was extra clothes, toiletries, camp rations, a bag full of cash, and a pouch of golden drachmas. He even managed to get Annabeth's Yankee's cap and Tyson's oil cloth with tolls and metal bits.
She sighed and looked inside her pack and realized she shouldn't kept the other one. Her packing skills were subpar compared to everyone's packs. Toiletries, some snacks she could sneak and an extra pair of clothes.
Alongside it was the empty gold hoop necklace her father had gifted before last summer's quest. Percy looked towards her and tried looking inside her pack. "What do you have?"
"Um... clothes, toothbrush, fifty bucks and five drachmas. Ooh, some Cheetos too!" She gave them a grin as their mouths dropped pen. Tyson clapped for her as Annabeth gave her a look of disapproval.
Annabeth and Ariadne has separated form Percy and Tyson. The two girls took the master ( Percy originally wanted that room but she tackled him for it ) while the boys got the single bed in the main room.
Her necklace dangled from the chain, letting it fall into her hands as she twisted it around. Anything to keen her mind off the fact Luke was on the ship. She did watch the door every now and then, making sure no one would enter it unexpectedly.
She closed her eyes.
"I can't sleep either."
The girl jumped and let out a yelp, she hoped Percy hadn't heard. "Annie!"
"Sorry," the blonde let her fingers flick on the bedside lamp. "I mean, I get it. With Luke on the ship—"
Her head slumped against the headboard. Ariadne felt her eyes turn to the blonde who hid her emotions well. She forgot that everything she was feeling was going through Annabeth, and even more so since she was on the run with the teenage boy. "I get it. Annie, I'm sorry."
"Why?" She asked sadly.
The girl hesitated, "Because... because you have been affected just as much as me, especially since he..."
Annabeth sighed, "Poisoned Thalia's tree."
"Yeah. And trying to kill Percy..."
"Do you think we can help him?" The question was one she didn't try to think about. If they couldn't help the boy, it would crush her. "What if he's too gone?"
Ariadne placed a hand on her shoulder, "Hey, he isn't yet. I'm not giving up on him. And we can do this, we can save him, I promise."
The blonde nodded. "I promise, Annabeth." But all she did was nod before turning the light out and laying down, closing her eyes without any other words.
Ariadne let her hand clench the gold necklace tightly before biting her lip, letting the blood trickle into her mouth as tears coated her eyes. She placed a hand over her mouth before escaping to the bathroom.
Her fingers tightened around the sink basin while the tears fell down. She couldn't hold them in any longer, no matter how hard she tried. The girl hadn't cried over Luke in over five months, it was due time.
But her sobs weren't muffled. They echoed across the bathroom and through the cracks of the doors as Percy walked forwards, he couldn't sleep that well either.
He stopped once he heard the girl cry harder, breath ragged. Percy felt his heart tug and pull harshly before he placed a hand on the door separating them. But he stopped once he heard her body slide down, trying to stop sobbing.
The boy slid down the other side and he waited until she had stopped, only leaving after a few minutes before she left the room. He didn't sleep well that night, in fear and sadness of the girl he had learned gave him butterflies everything he looked at her.
Ariadne jumped once she heard the overly happy Austrian voice which sounded over the PA system. "Good morning, passengers! We'll be at sea all day today. Excellent weather for the poolside mambo party! Don't forget million-dollar bingo in the Kraken Lounge at one o'clock, and for our special guests, disemboweling practice on the Promenade!"
She thought she had heard bowling but blinked a few times before realizing the man said disemboweling. Her eyes glanced towards Annabeth who held a frown before they both rushed towards the main room where Percy and Tyson were still laying in bed. The girl looked at Percy, "We're not crazy right? You heard disemboweling too?"
They all got dressed and waited as the two girls brushed through their knotted locks. Annabeth was able to get her brush through but Ariadne didn't have that luck. Percy even tried helping but he grew frustrated ( "How much hair do you have?" Cue the angry glare. "It's not like I wanted my brush to get stuck!" ).
Once she got her brush out, she just pulled her hair into a tight ponytail. They passed other passengers which they were surprised to see. A dozen senior citizens on their way to breakfast. A father and his kids heading towards the pool, and crew members in white uniforms topped their hats to passerby's.
Nobody he questioned what they were doing or even who they were.
A dad with his family walked by, "We are on a cruise," he said to his three kids. "We are having fun."
"Yes," they replied in unison, voices flat. "We are having a blast. We will swim in the pool."
Ariadne was lost and looked towards Annabeth and Percy, "I'm sorry, what in the hell?"
"Good morning," a crew member greeted them with glazed eyes. "We are all enjoying ourselves aboard the Princess Andromeda. Have a nice day." He walked on down the hallway.
"Okay, I'm officially weirded out."
"Guys, this is weird," Annabeth whispered quickly. "They're all in some kind of Trance."
They passed the cafeteria and froze once they saw their first monster aboard the ship. It was a young Hellhound which had its giant paws in the buffet counter and its face devouring the scrambled eggs.
Her body stepped closer to Percy in case it tried to attack him, that had happened last year.
A middle-aged couple stood behind it in line as they waited patiently for it to be finished. Odd.
"Not hungry anymore," Tyson said.
A hiss sounded down the hallway, "Ssssix more joined yesssterday."
Annabeth panicked and dragged them into the women's restroom which was the nearest place they could hide. People— or reptiles, for that matter— slithered on by as the carpet along the floor outside seemed to be scratched.
"Yessss," a second reptile-like voice spoke. "He drawssss them. Ssssoon he will be ssstrong."
They entered the cafeteria with a cold cackle before Ariadne turned to Percy. "We have to get out of here."
"You think I want to be in the girls' restroom?"
"I mean the ship, Perc!" she told him. She was ready to slap him silly. "We have to get off the ship."
"Smells bad," Tyson informed them.and dogs eat all the eggs. Aidan is right," she froze when he said that and Percy gave her a glance. He was the only one who used that nickname. "We must leave the restroom and ship."
At least he agreed. But she felt uneasy right after he said her middle name rather than first, it sounded foreign when it came from someone else's lips rather than Percy's.
Annabeth opened her mouth but a familiar voice caused both girls to stop quickly. "—Only a matter of time. Don't push me, Agrius!"
Luke. He was right outside the door. Ariadne took Annabeth's arm while they both stared at the door in fear. If they stepped out they would see him, if they took one step— but they wouldn't. She wouldn't.
"I'm not pushing you!" a gruff voice replied. "I'm just saying, if this gamble doesn't pay off—"
"It'll pay off," Luke snapped. "They'll take the bait. Now, come, we've got to get to the admiralty suite to check on the casket."
Voices died down while they walked away.
Tyson let out a whimper and she was brought back to last summer when they were on the Greyhound and Grover was there. "Leave now?"
Ariadne glanced over at Percy and Annabeth as they made a mutual decision. "We can't," Percy told him.
The brunette nodded, "We have to find out what Luke is up to."
Annabeth gave a confirmed nod. "And if possible, we're going to beat him up, bond him in chains and drag him to Mount Olympus."
The daughter of Dionysus stared at the bathroom door once more, wishing they didn't have to spy on someone she thought was her big brother.