The Sun and Sky (Volume 2)

Charlotte | Sleepy Zhang

Liam was right: the ladder led straight into the praetors' office.

The room was beautiful, with marble walls, a tiled floor covered in carpet, and a large table with a chair behind it.

They must have their own personal offices, Charlotte realized.

The mission would have been a piece of cake, if it weren't for Frank Zhang asleep in his chair, face first into the table full of papers, loosely holding a fountain pen.

Charlotte cursed under her breath. How could they possibly get the document that they needed?

Liam hoisted himself out of the sewer. He sighed in relief. "THANK THE-"

Charlotte quickly covered his mouth and pointed to a sleepy Frank.

The son of Mars snorted, still asleep.

Liam's eyes grew wide.

'What now?' she mouthed to him.

Liam looked around as if he was surveying the room. He looked at her and pointed up.

Charlotte nodded and quietly harnessed the wind, lifting herself off the floor. She slowly flew across the table, studying the documents that lay in front of Frank. Her shoes still dripped with smelly sewer water, but it was the least of their worries.

Quite frankly, (no pun intended) Charlotte was surprised that the stench didn't wake up Sleepy Zhang.

Frank looked like a sacked out panda bear when he slept. His face was scrunched up and he let out a series of soft snores in a consistent rhythm.

Charlotte could have sworn it was the song 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody' by Whitney Houston, but maybe it was just her imagination.

Liam carefully crept along, eventually standing right behind the son of Ares.

'Do you see the doc?' Liam mouthed to her, but all she responded with was a head shake.

There were papers on stable upgrades, Camp Half Blood, the War Games schedule, even some New Rome college applications, but she couldn't see any quest documents, and after a moment, Charlotte knew why.

Right under Frank's head was a paper that read: Quest Document.

She pointed to the paper, still floating above the table.

Liam's jaw dropped and he hung his head back that could have implied the words: 'C'mon dude!'

The son of Mercury took a breath and stepped into the 'danger zone'.

He slowly removed the silver fountain pen from Frank's grip and put it between his teeth in order to use his hands.

Liam then tried for the document.

Charlotte's neck grew hot, inching in to help.

She quietly grabbed a spare paper and lightly brushed Frank's chin, praying to the gods that he would move his head without waking up.

Frank groaned.

Liam stepped back.

Charlotte faltered in the air.

She suddenly exhaled in relief: he was still asleep.

A drop of sweat fell from Liam's neck. He took the pen out of his mouth and slowly pressed it under Frank Zhang's chin.

The son of Ares snorted and his head rolled to the side.

Charlotte quickly grabbed the document and the two of them bolted for the secret exit.

* * *

"By the gods!" Liam exclaimed, as they waded through the smelly sewer, trying to get back to Char and Mason. "That was by far the hardest thing I have ever tried to steal!"

Charlotte smiled, waving the paper above her head. "Success!"
Liam wiped the remainder of the sweat off his face with his sleeve. "That was awesome," he breathed.

The daughter of Jupiter laughed. "I'm surprised that you didn't take that pen with you!"

Liam grinned and held out his hand with a silver tool in it. "Oh, I did."

Charlotte palmed her face.

"Hey, don't worry!" he protested. "I'll return it when we get back!"

It was true, Charlotte was extremely impressed with Liam. She never thought they would have been able to retrieve the document.

The daughter of Jupiter scanned the document in her hand. It did not look like much, but it was necessary.

"I wonder what Char and Mason are doing," Liam snickered.

Charlotte paused and realized what he did. "You set them up didn't you?"

He grinned. "Maaaaybe."

She rolled her eyes, a smile growing. Charlotte never thought of Char and Mason as a couple, but the more she pictured it, the more it did not sound too abnormal.

"And for another reason," she heard Liam mutter.

Charlotte's stomach jumped. Did he purposely partner her up with him?

"There's the ladder," Liam said, pointing to their original entrance before she could ask.

Charlotte saw a stream of moonlight shine from the surface.

The two of them quickened their pace and eventually reached the ladder.

They scrambled up thankful to be out of the muck, only to be greeted with Char and Mason extremely close to each other.

The two of them tore apart and blushed.

Charlotte glanced at Liam who grew a large grin.

"So did you get it?" Char quickly asked, avoiding eye contact.

Mason walked over to the luggage to escape Liam's gaze.

Charlotte held back a grin herself and revealed the paper. "We've got to hurry though. We don't have much time."