Golden Waves (Solangelo AU)

Chapter 7

Chapter seven is up, and from here on out, this is all newly written (just in case yo were wondering why there might be a change in the writing style). And thank you for reading!

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"Here she is!" Percy said, holding his hands out as he stood on the dock, looking proudly at the boat that floated in the water before them.

It was huge, bigger than any other military naval boat in sight. Nico couldn't help it when his mouth fell agape, though he wasn't the only one. The boat looked brand new, with it's polished deck, clean sail, and freshly painted hull. Even the bronze figure head was cleaned to a shine.

"I call it the Argo II," the short, Latino boy said, climbing onto the deck and patting the railing. "Just wait to see what it can do!"

Everyone else began to climb aboard, Nico the last on. The boy began running around the ship, explaining everything from the canons, to the gears on the sails. Only then did it occur to Nico that he didn't even know everyone's names. Luckily, Hazel must've been thinking the same thing because she spoke up, confusion clear on her face.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but," she started, "What's your name?"

The boy flashed a cocky grin. "I'm Leo McShizzle Valdez!" he said, flexing his scrawny arms. "Only the best blacksmith and engineer to have ever lived!"

Everyone else rolled their eyes at Leo's antics, though they took it as a sign to begin introductions.

"Moving on," the blonde girl said, drawing the attention to her. "I'm Annabeth Chase, the castle's main strategist."

"And I'm Piper McLean," the girl with choppy hair spoke up. "I was one of the maids at Jason's palace."

"Frank, er, Frank Zhang," the tall boy said awkwardly. "I was training to be a guard, but only because of my dad." Nico understood that feeling.

"And I'm Percy Jackson," Percy introduced himself to Hazel. "And that blonde dude over there is Jason."

Hazel nodded, smiling a little brighter. "Cool! It's nice to meet you."

The seven of them began talking and getting to know each other, and Nico couldn't help the envy he felt for the girl. Hazel had only known for five minutes and she was already becoming better friends with them than Nico had ever been. The only person that hadn't left his side yet was Reyna, and even though he wouldn't say it, he truly was grateful.

He sat down on one of the barrels by the railing, Reyna doing the same. "This is so...weird."

"But you're doing really well, Nico," Reyna said. "No one else can tell, but I know you're still angry at him."

Nico clenched his jaw. "It's not just about Bianca. Even before that..."

"It's not a bad thing, my prince," Reyna said, leaning back. "It's okay to feel resentment, just...don't let it get the best of you. Okay?"

Nico nodded, staring off towards the horizon.

"Everyone ready to sail?" Leo called, and Nico looked up to see he was standing at the wheel. Everyone said in their affirmative. "Alright, let's go!"

The sails raised and the boat began to sail off into the water, rocking in the waves. As they sailed away from the kingdom, Nico held onto the little bottle that rested against his chest, looking back at the dock and feeling a wave of nostalgia pass over him. Like something important happened there - not particularly at that dock, but somewhere near the ocean.

They sailed away until the land was nothing but a speck in the distance.

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Nico couldn't sleep that night. He stared up at the ceiling of his cabin, listening to the churning of the boat as it rocked with the waves. As the sun was setting, they'd figured they were far enough away from land to set the anchor and rest. Now they simply floated in place, nothing but the soothing sounds of the ocean to rock the crew to sleep.

The only person who was still awake was Nico, his eyes carrying dark circles under them, yet they still refused to close. Frustrated, he threw his covers aside and sat straight up in his bed. This wasn't the first time he's been unable to sleep, in fact, it's been a while since he's successfully slept through the night. He turned, placing his bare feet on the wood of his cabin and standing up, stumbling a little before regaining his balance. His head ached and his limbs were like dead weights.

He stumbled out of his cabin, and quietly made his way through the corridors, careful not to wake anyone else. He crept up the stairs which would lead to the deck, and stared out into the dark of the night. The stars shone brightly in the navy blue sky, reflecting into the surface of the ocean. Nico leaned against the railing, closing his eyes and breathing in the cool sea air that made the hair on his arms stand up straight. It was refreshing, and for the first time since he got on the boat, all the tension and anxiousness in him left his body.

The bottle dangled out of his shirt, waying with the wind. And just as he was thinking about heading back to his cabin, he heard a splash in the water below him that knocked him out of his trance. At first he thought it was just a dolphin, which would have been reasonable, but when he opened his eyes, just for a second, he saw a shining, golden tail just as it dove back into the water.

It looked bigger than any fish Nico had ever seen, and he thought he recognized it, as it had that same familiarity that the voice in his head gave him. But that was ridiculous, it was just a fish. He rationalized in his mind that from the distance he was at, and how tired he was, he must have just imagined it, or at the very least, saw it as bigger than it actually was. Yes that must have been it.

Rubbing his eyes and feeling a wave of tiredness over take him, he made his way back to his cabin and fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.