{Percy Jackson Fanfic} Water Lily and the Ocean's Blessing

Prologue

The wind bats along the seashore. It's a fairly normal day for England. The beach is littered with people doing their daily summer activities, bathing, tanning in the sun or snoring away.

'Seen her?' comes a voice. Percy turns and sees Annabeth and Grover. He shakes his head.

Annabeth sighs. They'd been looking for weeks now, but no such luck. Percy was beginning to think that maybe they would never find her. Even though Percy had never actually met the girl, he felt as if she would be special. Percy shrugs the feeling away. If he had learned anything over the past few years, it would be to never get your hopes up. Who knew, maybe she was a really awful person! He'd had his fair share of those.

'Any signs of, well, anything?' Percy suggests. But he already knows the answer.

Grover shakes his head.

'Well, this search isn't getting better,' says Percy, sitting on the rocks. Annabeth sits next to him, staring at the ocean.

'If we don't find her soon, we'll just go back,' says Annabeth. 'It's just one kid anyway.'

'Yeah, but one kid can make a difference!' Grover counters. 'Percy was "one kid" too!'

Annabeth sighs, smiling faintly. 'You're right. We can't give up; we've come so far.'

Percy stands. 'I'm gonna take a swim.'

The sea is, well, a sea. It's blue, has a garden of seaweed, and a rocky bottom. He sighs, going deeper and deeper into the dark abyss. Letting go of his concentration, he closes his eyes, still drifting in the water. He's practically about to fall asleep when something gets tangled on his hand. He opens his eyes.

'What in Zeus's name-' he studies the object curiously. It's a small necklace, with a shiny blue gem hanging from its string. Wood covers the back of the jewel, and creates a swirling pattern on the front, almost as if the wood was trying to strangle the pendant. As he holds it in his palm, the gem shimmers like stars.

'Somehow, I think I'm going to need this,' he mutters, stuffing it in his pocket.

A fish swims by. 'You'll totally need that, mate. It's that girl's necklace. The one whose name's Lily Rachel Mabiasan, or wha'ever. She dropped it once, on a fair windy day.'

Percy nods. 'Thanks, dude. But, do you know where she is?'

The cod shrugs. (Wait, can cod shrug?) 'Nah, sorry mate. But the necklace probably knows. Maybe, I dunno. Anyways, I'm gonna head off to a birthday party now. See ya' around, Jackson.'

The fish swims away, singing a song about a duck and a lemonade stand, leaving Percy alone.

'Right,' he grips the necklace. 'I'm gonna take this back to the others.'

And he swims away.