What The High Tides May Bring

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It takes the Pax two weeks to sail to the southern tip of Spain.

Annabeth spends her days moving among the crew, learning as much about sailing as possible. Beckendorf walks her through his repairs, explaining why and how the damages happen and the different options he has for repairs. He also shows her some of his projects in progress down in his work area.

Some days she tags along with Will, who explains all the medicines and tools in the infirmary. Annabeth even works as his assistant when a mild sickness takes a brief run through the crew. He also teaches her basic survival first aid, though fortunately they haven't had to practice it on anyone.

Will is easy to talk to, and he tells his story as they reorganize the infirmary. His wealthy parents always made sure he had the best tutors growing up. He went to an established university by the age of sixteen and studied for two years. He was a prodigy and got kicked out because he challenged some of his professors on their medical practices. He jumped around from ship to ship until he ended up here.

"I've only been on this ship for a few months," he admits. "But Percy's the best captain I've ever served under. He trusts me to do my job and doesn't blame me if the results are less than desirable."

Annabeth also spends time in the navigation room with Frank, who teaches her the math behind setting routes and calculating speed, as well as how to use the stars for position.

"Any good captain or first mate worth his salt knows this," he tells her. "I don't really need to do it, though. Percy has perfect bearings."

"Perfect bearings?"

"He knows exactly where we are at any given time. He also knows exactly how fast we're going and how long it will take us to get to our destination."

"Is that a thing?" Annabeth asks. "Like photographic memory? Or a perfect sense of direction?"

Frank shrugs. "I've never heard of anyone else with his abilities."

"How do you know he's not making it up?"

"I do the math myself just in case and it always checks out. He hasn't been wrong yet."

Percy himself is distant the whole two weeks. He stands at the bow of the ship looking over the waves with a troubled expression on his face. Annabeth knows he's a lot more worried about the prophecy than he admitted.

He does occasionally step away from his perch to interact with the crew. One night, Will and a couple other sailors have a music night, and he stands at the edge of the audience, watching fondly as everyone sings raucously. Annabeth picks up on the lyrics quickly, singing things no proper lady should ever sing. The whole crew gets a kick out of it, and she loves being part of it.

Some days Percy and Frank gather at the top deck and have hushed conversations. From time to time, Beckendorf joins them.

Most surprisingly is Percy's new morning routine. He forces Annabeth to train with him for an hour as the sun is rising. He's a good teacher, and she builds her knife skills from the basics Luke had taught her.

They make port once in Lisbon, Portugal, to replenish supplies. Annabeth tags along with Will as they scour the city for some herbs and medicines he's running low on. Since Annabeth doesn't have any proper dresses and she doesn't want to draw too much attention to herself, she pulls her hair up in a bandana and plays as a boy. She and Will have the same tan skin and blonde hair, so they easily pass as cousins.

The morning when Baelo Claudia comes into view, she's reading a book Frank loaned her by a Chinese philosopher. The translation is rough at best, but it's still fascinating.