Safe Port

iii

    It was dusk when I finally opened my eyes, having passed out earlier at some point, my head still pounding. I was reclining on a hospital bed when I heard a conch horn blow. 
    I blink a few times, disoriented then sit up and try to look around. "You're awake." I look to my side and come eye to eye with the grey-eyed blonde girl I had seen beside Percy earlier.
    She no longer wore that terrifying stoney expression and instead, smiled kindly and handed me a small vile filled by a silver liquid that swirled and bubbled almost mystically. "I'm Annabeth Chase, Daughter of Athena."
     "Ana Dakkar.. Captain of the Nautilus.. but uh.. guessing you already knew that." I respond, gingerly taking the vial and scanning the liquid curiously.
"It's a potion, it'll keep the headaches at bay." Annabeth explains. I scan it once more, then quickly down it, noticing the effects immediately. My vision clears, my headache turns from a pounding migraine to a dull ache that I could barely notice.
I look around, and freeze, noticing my crew was no longer in the infirmary. "Relax, most of them woke up about 20 minutes ago.. a few just left. They've gone to the dining pavilion. I can take you there now if you want."
"Please." Was all I could muster, Annabeth holds her hand out to me with a reassuring smile, I take it, and marvel quietly at how tough and calloused her palm felt. They were the hands of a solider, a warrior and I couldn't help but feel some awe.
"Athena.. that's the wise goddess..?"
Annabeth looks up to the sky somewhat bored as thunder rumbles again. "She's the goddess of Wisdom and War Strategy. I'd recommend not using their names.. the olympians aren't too fond of it.."
She leads me out of the blue house and down the path, and I freeze, rooting myself to the spot as I look down in the valley.
There were rolling strawberry fields to one side, a farm path leading up to a large pine tree with something gold and glittering on one of the boughs, there was a large rock wall in the near distance, and I counted at least twenty low house-shaped buildings sprawled and dotted through trees and fields, there was a volleyball pit, an archery field, an open air amphitheatre, an arena and a few buildings that I didn't quite know what purpose they served. The entire camp was surrounded by acres of woods and in the distance I could see the Nautilus listlessly bobbing up and down in the sound.
"Whoa.." was all I could say. Annabeth turns to me, smirking.
"Yeah.. I never tire of the view."
"How long have you been here..?"
"Since I was seven.. but my fiancée, Percy, you met him earlier. We live full time in New Rome.. it's similar to here.. a Camp hidden away from the world- That's Camp Jupiter- protects the city." She explains, "we're going to college there. We come back here for the weekends and holidays."
She leads me down a winding path to one of the buildings, an open air dining pavilion, I relax, catching sight of my crew sitting around one of the tables. "That's Cabin 11. Their father is the patron of travellers. So your crew can bunk with them.. or you could go back to the Nautilus if you prefer."
"Thank you.."
"Percy and I are at the head table with Chiron and Mr. D if you need us." With that she walks away and joins her fiancée at the head table beside the same greasy, bad tempered man- god from earlier and another older, kind-eyed gentleman.
"Babe over here!" Nelinha calls I look over to her. "Saved you a spot!" She was sitting with her back half turned to me but had twisted to watch me. Beside her, Ester sat, Top between her calves, looking up with silent begging eyes as if to say; I am very cute and very hungry, you know you want to give me food.
   Gem sat across from us as I slipped into the seat beside Nelinha. Ester sat the other side of her. She had abandoned her food, and was scribbling on more index cards, I wonder just how many she would end up having by the end of the night.
    I look around, there were about 20 tables, lined up and somewhat crowded but the amount of people didn't seem to add up to the amount of tables. Their seemed too little people.
    I cast my eyes past the dining pavilion, out to the broader surroundings, there was a huge bonfire where a few kids were scraping food scraps into the flames, in the distance I could see one of the buildings which wafted with a feint smell manure and livestock and assume that it must be a stable.
Gem looked around too then leant as far over the table as he could, "I don't like it. They're being too nice." He whispered in hushed tones just as a plate of food seemed to whisk in front of me from the breeze, I look down, seeing it filled with ripe, juicy fruits and a large helping of Jupiter's Macro-algae Lasagne, I guess he had managed to find his way to the kitchen.. where ever it was.
Truth be told, I didn't like it either. But I had asked the Nautilus to take us somewhere safe, and this is where she had brought us. I look around again, my eyes lingering on every table.
"I know Gem, but the Nautilus is damaged. We have to fix her before we can get out of here, she wouldn't have brought us here if she didn't at least at one point trust the area.." I look down both sides of the table, at one end there was a group of kids and teens with mischievous expressions and devious smiles, at the other sat my crew.
"Nelinha, Gem, discreetly alert the rest of the crew. After we eat we head back to The Nautilus until we can determine if this is a safe port."