Dancing with Death

Into the Mediterranean Sea

"There it is!" Jason stood at the prow of the ship, watching the Mediterranean Sea creep into view along the horizon.

"About time." Eliza leaned on the railing beside him, her hair still wavy from the French braids. "Why do we always have to run things done to the wire on these quests?"

"It's not always our choice." Jason reminded her.

She rolled her eyes. "Fair enough, but still... it's a little stressful."

"I'll second that." Leo shouted from the helm.

Eliza rolled her eyes again. Leo had the whole ship wired except the cabins. He could hear almost everything that was going on throughout the ship. It was really annoying sometimes.

The Argo II crept slowly through the straight towards the Mediterranean Sea beyond. Two stone pillars resting on islands created a gateway into the sea.

"Hercules' pillars." Annabeth stared in awe at the gargantuan stone formations.

A robed man stood on one of the islands, watching the boat as Leo slowed to a halt.

Jason and Piper flew to the island to speak with the man, who, according to Annabeth, was Hercules.

It wasn't long before something went wrong. Hercules was angry and Piper was desperately trying to negotiate using her charmspeak. After a heated conversation, Piper and Jason disappeared farther onto the island.
* * *
"They've been gone too long." Eliza stared at the island expectantly.

"They'll be fine." Annabeth assured. "You Trust Jason, right?"

"Of course." Eliza turned to face Annabeth. "I'm still worried."

"Why?" Annabeth asked. "If you trust him, you know he'll come back."

Eliza sighed. "I said I trust him with my life, not his own."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow.

Eliza returned her gaze to the island. "I've gone on every quest, every mission with him. It's hard to sit on the sidelines."

Annabeth leaned on the railing. "Now that I understand."
* * *
Eliza lay on her bunk, unable to get comfortable. Jason had sidelined her... again. While he was topside protecting the Argo II, she was confined to her cabin. He'd told her to get some rest, but how was she supposed to sleep when he was risking his life. They used to do everything together, but, ever since he'd gotten his memories back, he'd been different, being overly protective, constantly asking if she was okay, sidelining her all the time. It was almost like he didn't want her help.

No. She told herself. He was just worried about her. He wasn't like that. He wasn't like the other Romans. But a small part of her still doubted. What if, after everything that had happened, he was afraid of her? What if she lost him? She'd be truly alone. She couldn't be alone again. She'd do something stupid, like hurt someone... or herself.

The ship rocked, interrupting her thoughts. They were back in the water.

She heaved a long breath. She had to talk to Jason. She'd always gone to him with her problems before. He was her confidant. He knew everything about her. She was surprised she hadn't scared him off earlier.
* * *
Before she reached Jason's cabin, the ship rocked again, but they weren't taking off. Something was onboard.

Eliza turned to race for the upper deck, but was cut off by a group of dolphin-human hybrids. She froze. This had to be one of the weirdest things she'd ever seen and that was saying a lot.

The dolphin-men closed in, blocking off any escape. They all held swords, pointed towards their prey.

Eliza took a step back, surveying the crowd of hybrid pirates. "You don't want to do this." She held up her hands calmly in front of her.

They moved forward.

"You're funeral." She thrust her hands forward, twisting her wrists and curling her fingers. Vines sprouted from the walls, tangling around the freakish men. The web of vegetation shifted and tightened to hold the Pirates fast.

"That should hold you." Eliza smirked and turned, dashing down the hall to warn the others of the attackers.
* * *
Eliza crouched on one of the rafters in the open ceiling of the engine as a pair of dolphin-pirates searched the room.

Dropping from the ceiling, she thrust out her hands, pinning them to the wall. She turned and darted down the hall.

As she rounded another corner, she skidded to a stop. A group of dolphin-men were leading the others towards the upper deck. Two of them dragged an unconscious Jason between them.

A spark of rage flashed through Eliza's chest. She clenched her fists and she felt thorns sprout from the vines she's used to entrap the other pirates.

Chattery screams echoed through the corridors. As quickly as they had started, many of the screams stopped.

That's when Eliza snapped out of it. What had she just done? How many had she just killed? She dropped to her knees, feeling the vines she'd sprouted crumble into dust. She stared at the floor. She was a monster.

Someone clubbed her over the head and everything went black.
* * *
Eliza curled into a tighter ball. Vines webbed her walls, encasing her cabin in vegetation. Plants spread across the floor, covering her bed and everything else touching the floorboards.

A sob slipped from her lips, shaking her body. She pressed her forehead against her knees and let the tears flow. She'd brutally murdered over a dozen men, because she couldn't control her emotions.

Sorrow and pain swirled in her chest with anger and frustration, mixing with her disgust and her fear to make a storm of feelings that quickly surged out of control. Finally, she let it all out in one scream.

The plants in the room withered and died, wilting and darkening, turning the room into a scene from a nightmare.

Eliza sobbed uncontrollably. The vines and grass crunched beneath her weight as her breathing quickened. She didn't fight it. She wanted to suffer, she deserved it.

Tears continued to flow as she hyperventilated, her whole body shaking as she descended into a panic attack.

A/N
Hello again!
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know I kind of glossed over some stuff, but I want to keep the story moving.
So... Eliza suffers from Panic Attacks. Does that make sense, or do I need to explain that?
Anyway, thanks for the support. Until next time.
-Cheshire