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SELENA CLUTCHED ONTO HER BAG AS SHE STARED INTO THE WATER.
There was something swimming underneath the surface. She wanted to say it was dolphins, but... it was different. They were shiny, iridescent.
Three of them stood on the beach as the surf burst apart and the heads of three white stallions reared out of the waves.
"Fish ponies!" A cyclops yelled,
As the creatures pulled themselves onto the sand, Selena saw that they were only horses in the front; their back halves were silvery fish bodies, with glistening scales and rainbow tail fins.
"Hippocampi! They're beautiful." The nearest one whinnied in appreciation and nuzzled the brunette.
"We'll admire them later," the boy said, "Come on!"
Selena climbed onto the hippocampus behind boy, clutching onto his sweatshirt, "And they couldn't send an extra hippocampus."
"Giddyup!" the boy said. Their hippocampus turned and plunged into the waves.
There was wailing behind them, but the hippocampi raced over the water at the speed of Jet Skis. Soon the beach was nothing but a dark smudge.
"What's wrong?" Cato asked, coming up next to her,
"Nothing," She sighed, shaking her head, "I'm just thinking about what's going to happen after this quest."
"What do you mean?"
Selena glanced over at him, "Like, when I get my memories back. What if... what if I had a home before this? Friends? Family? Am I supposed to just go back to Camp Jupiter and act like it never happened?"
"If you had friends, don't you think they'd have come looking for you by now?" Jason stated, crossing his arms as he stared out across the horizon.
"Gee, thanks." Selena huffed.
Selena's hair stood up on the back of her neck. As if something was watching them. Slowly, she turned and leaned her back against the railing, casually glancing around.
On the top deck she spotted a woman dressed in a black dress, wearing dark sunglasses and a straw floppy hat.
And she was staring right at them with a grin.
Selena gulped nervously, reaching for the handle of her dagger.
Who was that woman and why was she staring at them?
She tugged on Cato's arm, "C'mon, let's go get a seat. We still have a while before we arrive."
The three of them sat inside, casually staring out the window. Selena just wished they wouldn't have to deal with anything else until they got to Pompeii.
This quest was becoming a lot to handle.
Once they arrived in Naples, they made their way towards the train stations by following the signs.
They used the rest of their Euros to buy tickets to Pompeii. Selena noticed the woman from the ferry standing behind them. She was tense, her fingers twitching near her dagger.
Selena heard a hiss, almost like a snake. She turned around and the woman smiled down at her. The brunette girl gave her a strange look before turning back around,
"Three tickets too Pompeii." Jason stated as they got to the front of the line,
The ticket vendor looked them up and down, "Where are your parents, kids?"
A hand placed themselves on Cato and Jason's shoulders, "Four ticketssss, pleasssse." The blonde woman smiled,
Selena tensed at the feeling of the woman's breath on the back of her neck. The woman handed the vendor a bill and Jason grabbed the tickets,
"Thanks, lady." Cato grinned up at her as they left the line,
"My pleasssure." The woman took the ticket from Jason's fingers, "You kidsssss here alone?"
Selena stepped forward, "Our parents are already on the mountain. We decided to sleep in late and now we're going to meet them."
"Interesssssting." The woman grinned, "Come. Letsss get to the platform."
Selena tugged on Cato's and Jason's sleeves, "Guys, seriously? We don't know her."
"She just paid for our tickets. She's just trying to be nice." Cato argued,
"He's right. We're random kids alone in Europe." Jason stated,
"We're also on a quest where we've been attacked by monsters." Selena replied,
"She's not a monster. Look at her." Cato motioned to the lady,
The blonde woman paused and turned to look at them, "What? Letssss go."
Cato and Jason began walking towards her by the elevator and Selena groaned before following behind, "This is such a bad idea."
