Ok, I have the permission from Mosgem to do this. I asked, and I got it.
It was a relatively quiet day at Greece.
Everyone was still a bit sad, though, because their rightful heir to the throne, Prince Perseus Jackson, had just escaped to the Argo after his fiancée became the Oracle. My name is Reyna, and I was- no am- one of Percy's (he always asked us to call him that) best friends.
A messenger approaches me, effectively shaking me out of my reverie.
"Miss Reyna, The King would like to see you in his private chambers. It seems important."
Yelling a quick "Thanks!", I ran into his chambers.
I found Hector and Stelios already there, as well as King Pavlos.
"What am I doing here?", I asked, confused.
"I was given a book by the Fates to read. They told you all had to be present. So here you are!"
Blink.
"I'll read first, I guess." I stated.
Diary of Annabeth Chase
"Never heard of her." Stelios said.
We all quickly agreed.
It was a calm day at sea today— gentle swells lapping at the side of the boat, but not much more. The sun was shining brightly on the deck and I could hear the men bustling around upstairs. The crew of the S.S Arthur never slept,
"Never ever?!" Hector said, appalled.
it seemed.
"Oh.", he said, embarrassed.
I was currently standing on the port side of the massive ship, enjoying the sea breeze that made my long golden hair fly in the win. It was common courtesy for a lady to wear her hair up when she was outside, but none of the crewmembers cared if I broke the rules, probably because I was their best navigator.
Lieutenant Annabeth Chase, that is.
"She seems a bit arrogant.", I said disgustedly.
"I say that she is just proud.", King Pavlos said.
I nodded. "Good point."
At age five, I was found on the beach of England, deserted by my parents and left to die.
My heart softened. A similar thing had happened to me.
I would have, had I not been spotted by no other than the legendary Frederick Chase
"They're related?", Stelios asked.
— not of bloodline, incase you were wondering.
Stelios cheeks flamed up, and he said a feeble "Oh."
He spotted me from out at sea and sent men in rowboats to collect me.
"He sounds like a decent enough fellow.", Pavlos said thoughtfully.
From there, I had been sent to Sea School— common for boys my age, but I was the first girl to be admitted. At age twelve, I graduated top of my class
Before I could say anything, the King said "She is just proud."
and was assigned to the ship S.S Arthur,where I was currently working. Our job, as under the command of King Arthur IV, was to act as the law keepers of the sea— we sailed from England to Spain and back again, sometimes hugging the coast, sometimes going as far out as maps allowed. We sank ships, we picked up strays, and we conquered islands.
"And they call us barbarians.", Hector grumbled.
Veni, Vedi, Vici. That was our motto. We came, we saw, we conquered, all under the kings name. Our Captain, Octavian, was a brutal man, but a brilliant one non the less. Any foreign land we came across, we were permitted to engage in warfare and conquer for England.
"Booooooooo!", I exclaimed.
It was around noon when the shout went up, from the lookout point:
"Ship-ho!"
I pulled my telescope from my pocket, flipped it open with a clean snap of my wrist and peered through it. Sure enough, there was another ship— at least twice the size of ours, wide and slow, flying the Spanish flag. It sat in the water, unmoving. It looked like…
"Galleon!" I yelled, closing my telescope and sprinting to the crows' nest. Several people had already made the same assumption as me and were running around excitedly; a Spanish Galleon floating helpless in the waters was not something you saw every day. Already, Octavian was appearing from his cabin, sword clutched in his hand.
"I hear Galleon!" he said excitedly.
"I imagined him saying that so funnily!", Stelios snorted, doubled over with laughter.
He had sharp features and blonde hair, around twenty-five. Usually to young to be commanding a ship of this importance, but with his over-average intelligence and letters of recommendation, there was no way to turn him down.
"Well, there is one way." King Pavlos said.
"What's that, sir?", we wanted to know.
"You could say no."
"Thirteen degrees port, sir!" one of the men yelled. Octavian pulled out his own telescope and opened it, peering out at the ship that was now just a smudge on the horizon.
"Well I'll be damned," he said quietly. "A Spanish Galleon, floating helpless in the waters. What'd you think might happen to it, lads?" he turned towards the crew.
"It might catch fire," One suggested mischievously.
"He sounds like a son of Hermes.", I thought.
"It could easily be mistaken for a pirate ship," another one grinned. I understood where they were going: Galleons were the floating banks of the Spanish Navy, stacked high with gold and precious jewels. No man, honest or not, could turn down an opportunity like this.
"I could." everyone in the room said.
"Aye, I could see that happening," Octavian agreed. He turned his eyes to me. "What say you?"
"Well," I answered, studying it carefully. "It obviously got separated from the fleet that was sailing to France a couple of months ago. I say, under present circumstances and the obvious bad weather, it would be easy to mistake the Galleon as an enemy ship. I think we would sink it, the treasure sadly lost in the depths."
"Aye," Octavian agreed quietly. "I could see that happening." Then he turned to the rest of the men. "Full speed ahead! Raise the sails! Turn towards the Galleon! We'll be feasting like kings tonight, boys!"
We all look to King Pavlos.
Slowly, we made out way across smooth sea, gliding at a speed of twelve knots— the fastest ever achieved by a ship of our size. The Galleon grew larger and larger— small in comparison to some, but no doubt packed with enough gold and gems to keep us all happy for the rest of our lives.
I doubted that.
And yet, something wasn't right.
Stelio's, Hector's, the King's, and my eyebrows furrowed.
The Galleon was sitting far too high in the water. Should it have been packed with treasure, it would have been low in the waves, the weight of all the gold bringing it down. But it sat nearly three-quarters out of the sea.
"Interesting...", I said.
I tried to explain the to Octavian, but he just shrugged it off, his eyes alight with gold fever,
"Is that an actual medical condition?", Hector asked.
Nobody bothered to answer.
and told me to get ready to board. Shrugging off my suspicion, I went to grab a hat and a cloth bag to fill with treasure— my own keep.
"Gooooolllllddd...", Stelios said with a dreamy look on his face.
We were within firing range now, but no move was made for the cannons. We would only sink the ship once we had looted it of everything valuable, from gold and treasures down to candles and coils of rope. We weren't common pirates. We were crusaders of the King, and this was our duty. It was required that two-thirds of out loot immediately be transferred to the royalty of Britain— a calculation that I would no doubt have to make, once we were done. Still, if this Galleon held half as much treasure as normal, none of us would ever have to worry about money again.
"Never ever?!", Hector exclaimed.
We were even closer now— about five hundred meters, no more. Almost all our men were ready to board, armed with grappling hooks and planks of wood.
And that's when things started to go wrong.
The book had captivated us by now.
Suddenly, bubbles began to erupt around the ship, bursting to the surface and popping. Our ship swayed— not an alarming amount, but enough to make the men pause. The 'Galleon' was sinking rapidly, turning as it lowered into the water with calculated precision.
"The Argo!", the King practically whooped.
"Yes! The Argo!"
My mind was whirling with a hundred different possibilities; maybe there was a hull in the ship, or some sort of fail-safe to sink if enemy boats approached? But even I couldn't predict what happened next.
With a whoop, lines shot out from the other ship and latched onto our bow. The pulled taunt in an instant and we lurched dangerously, sending men stumbling. The Spanish flag erupted in flames, burning away in a second, and in it's place another flag now flapped in the wind: black, with a Greek Omega and the symbol on a staff with two snakes wrapped around it.
"Pirates!" I yelled frantically, recognizing the symbol in an instant. The Marauders of the Greek sea, they rarely ventured up into our waters, although when they did they left destruction in their wake.
"Boo-yah!"
"TAKE THAT, BRITISH!"
The King and I rolled our eyes at the boys actions.
"PIRATES!" Octavian bellowed. "MAN THE CANNONS! LOWER THE SAILS!" Men were now scrambling around, all thoughts of riches gone from their mind. Now it was all about survival. I pulled my pistol out, checked it was loaded and prepared for a fight. I may have been a lady, but that didn't mean I couldn't protect myself— least against a good-for-nothing untrained pirate. They were savages, the lot of them.
I scowled.
The air was suddenly filled with soft, almost inaudible twangs. I looked around, bemused, but saw nothing. What was that sound?
Then I saw the arrow hit the deck, and understood in a second. Bows and arrows! Who used those anymore? The least they could do is get some real weapons, besides swords and arrows.
"I'll show you real weapons!", I snarled.
Despite the primitive weapons, their aim was impressive. Men were dropping left and right, impaled through the eyes or the throat. I heard a soft whoosh of air, and before I could react one was sticking out of my arm. The pain was incredible— not unlike a bullet, I would be willing to bet.
I smirked.
And then I saw them— the Greek Pirates, making their way across the ropes, armed with swords and clubs. No match for our guns, surely— but I wasn't so confident. I raised my pistol and fired a shot, watching with satisfaction as one of the men splashed into the water, dead. That would teach them to mess with Annabeth Chase.
"When I get my hands on her...", I managed to get out.
And then they were aboard out ship, swinging their swords and yelling savagely. I saw one— a black haired boy, taller than the others and with a sense of power and authority around him. He was dressed in silver and green armor, with a bronze sword and a shield to match. And he was wreaking utter havoc— spinning across the deck, knocking men overboard and slashing with his sword. Our men fought back, but there were too many Greeks, and we were already weakened from the arrows. I hunkered beneath a crate of food, pistol clutched tightly in one hand. I could have rushed into the fight, but I didn't. I had to wait, see how this would play out, and then strike when they were least expecting it.
"She's smart.", Pavlos noted.
The battle was over in mere minutes— mainly due to the raven haired boy
"Percy has raven colored hair...", King Pavlos muttered in a daze."
and two others— one short with dark hair as well, the other with bright blond hair and blue eyes, much like Octavian.
When the last of our men had either surrendered or were dead, the Captain stepped forwards— about nineteen, with sandy blonde hair, sharp blue eyes and holding a large, thick sword. He smiled as he looked at the swift precision his men had taken down mine.
"Is the ship secure?" he asked. The raven-haired boy stepped forwards. He was unscathed save a cut on his arm, but it didn't seem to be bothering him. The arrow in my arm, on contrast, hurt a great deal.
"It's ours, Luke," he said. "I told you my plan would work."
The Captain—Luke— smiled. "Don't let it get to you, Percy," he said.
The room erupted into chaos.
"Percy!", Hector and Stelios cried.
"This must be in the future", I muttered.
A broad smile crept across the King of Greece's face.
His eyes twinkled with humor, and I had to wonder if he really was a pirate. They were supposed to be a savage lot, but these people seemed almost organized. Humane. Civilized.
"That's because we are.", I said flatly.
Luke strode closer to me, and I saw my chance. I may die, but I would at least kill their captain, and I didn't have much to live for. My friends were dead and my ship was taken over. I might as well go out in a blaze of glory.
Taking a deep breath, I made sure my gun was loaded, before popping up, cocking back the hammer and shooting Luke in between the eyes. He was fast, but not fast enough. My bullet was already in the air when he turned to look at me. The last thing he saw was my defiant face, before he was shoved backwards into the railing of the ship.
"Wow. I didn't expect that.", I said to my companions.
"Luke!" the other blond yelled, streaking forwards towards me with his sword raised. I rolled to the side and leveled my gun, but he kicked it away and swung his sword again with a savage yell.
"Ok, maybe he is a savage."
Just as it was about to reach my neck, ending my life, a sword appeared and blocked the blade, mere inches from my neck. I gasped involuntarily and looked up to see my savior. It was Percy, the raven haired, green-eyed boy who was currently glowering at Luke.
"Percy!", Stelios crowed.
"Stand down, Jason," he ordered, his voice low and dangerous. Jason glared defiantly back at him.
"She killed Luke!" he exclaimed. "You're protecting her?"
"She may be English, but she's still human,"
"Annabeth is human?", I said sarcastically.
Percy reasoned, giving the slightest nudge with his blade, but Jason didn't withdraw, just continued to glare at his opponent.
"You're protecting the English?" he demanded. "They think us to be savages!"
"Then we must give them no greater reason to assume that!" Percy snapped.
"Well said, Percy.", Pavlos said proudly.
In a lightning fast maneuver, he disarmed Jason and sheathed his own sword. "I'm first mate, and Luke is dead. Do you know what that makes me?"
"Captain," Jason muttered bitterly. Percy nodded.
"And by your sworn oath to the gods, you're under my rule," he said. "Now stand down." I had to stifle a laugh. Gods? As in plural? What kind of idiots were they? There was only one god, our divine creator, and anyone who said otherwise deserved to be burned at the stake.
"I'll burn you at a stake!", I said, barely containing my anger.
"Besides," Percy continued quietly. "Look at her eyes, Jason." Jason cast a look at my grey eyes, and his own grew larger with realization. Slowly, reluctantly, he stepped back and nodded.
"What about her eyes?", Hector said curiously.
"Right!" Percy bellowed. "Will, Piper, searched the crows nest for maps. The rest of you, loot the place. Anything of any sort of value I want brought back onto the Argo. Jason go back to the ship and arm the ballista's.
Jason seemed to enjoy this. "Greek or normal fire, sir?" he asked. Percy considered for a moment.
"She's a big ship," he eventually answered. "Greek fire, but make sure to shoot quickly. We wouldn't want to burn down the ship, now would we?"
"No, sir," Jason smiled and headed back on the ropes, leaving me alone with Percy. Resentment and disgust bubbled in my stomach. Alone with a pirate. I would rather die than be held captive by the savages.
"Not. SAVAGES!"
And yet, when I looked into Percy's eyes, my heart leaped, just a little.
"Ooooohh!"
I tried to ignore it, but it was definitely there. He stared at me cautiously, almost like he didn't know what to think of me. At a great length, he said:
"You fight well." He didn't add for a girl, which I wasn't used to. Almost everyone said that, like they thought girls couldn't fight. Percy obviously knew better.
"Hell yeah, he know's better.", I grumbled.
"I've had training," I told him obnoxiously. "Kings Court training, he best training in all of the world."
"Clearly," he smirked, throwing his shield back over his shoulder. It was ingrained with Greek letters, and had a crescent shape cut out from the top of it— probably to fit a spear or sword in place. "That's why my men— Luke's men— were able to sweep yours aside like pile of dry leaves."
"Burn!", Stelios said.
I glowered at the insult. Savages! Had they met us on a fair battleground, without their shield or armor, we would have torn them apart. Percy caught the look in my eye and chuckled.
"No need for that," he said. "Just pointing out the obvious."
I smiled.
And then I had too much. How could this cocky, arrogant sea brat be laughing when he had just killed men? How could he be so happy when he had just seen his captain die?
I drew my dagger— a last resort weapon, as I had never liked it. It was off balance and didn't fit well in my hand, but I had no choice now. I dove at Percy, aimed for his midriff.
He barely had time to deflect the blow off his arm guards, surprised by my attack. I wielded around and slashed again, watching with satisfaction as my blade grazed his cheek and left a cut.
And then is sword was in his hand, and his boot was coming in contact with my chest. I went sailing backwards, almost toppling over the railing but managing to steady myself. My dagger was gone, and now Percy's sword was against my throat.
Pavlos smiled proudly.
"This is Riptide," he growled. "Wielded by Hercules, defeater of Hyperion and blessed by Poseidon himself. It's killed more enemies then I've seen days in my life, and if you so much as point a pencil at any of my men again I will not hesitate to run you through with it and then offer your blood as a blessing to the gods. Do you understand?"
His face was terrifying; his green eyes alight with fire.
"Silly girl, fire and water don't mix.", Hector said in a teacher's voice.
I had no intention of admitting defeat, although I wasn't very much looking forwards to being run through with a sword. And the nonsense he was spouting: wielded by Hercules and blessed by Poseidon? If he really believed in that I had no doubt that he was a fool.
I shook my head.
"Percy!" A girl yelled. "What're you playing at?" A girl appeared, with spiky black hair and electric blue eyes. She had a bow slung over her shoulder and a knife on her belt.
"Nothing, Thalia," Percy said, sheathing his sword. "Just teaching her a lesson."
"Do you even know her name?" Thalia asked, amused. She came to join us and looked me up and down. I glared back at her, and she nodded with approval.
"Aye, that might be a problem," Percy agreed. They all had some sort of foreign accent to them that I couldn't place. It just made them sound dumber and dumber.
I snarled.
"Annabeth," I supplied. "Annabeth Chase."
"Are you related to Frederick Chase?" Thalia asked, slightly interested. I shook my head and explained how I was an orphan. I shouldn't be telling them this, really, but they weren't that bad. Savage, but not all as horrible as they were made out to be.
"Hmm," Thalia said. "I knew Frederick Chase, once."
"You did?" I asked, surprised. Thalia nodded.
"He was a tough man," she smiled. "Took three arrows and a knife to kill him." Percy smiled wistfully, as if remembering that day.
"Get back to the ship," he told Thalia. Then he turned to me, the anger in his eyes gone. "Walk with me."
"Very interesting. I think we should read this in front of the council.", Pavlos said.
So we gathered everybody, explained what had happened so far, and King Pavlos volunteered to read.