Forged Destinies

An Unwelcome Old Friend

Ch. 4

It only felt like minutes.

Zoë felt herself being shook and tried not to let out a groan of annoyance. The sleep felt so good and she refused to let go of it willingly. She could have sworn she had just shut her eyes no more than two minutes ago and had no plans to hear otherwise.

Unfortunately for her, the persistent shaking finally shook her from her haze as she opened her eyes. The sight before her gave her the indescribable urge to vomit. It was like she was waking up only to find her worst nightmare had come to life.

Sleep had been so blissful. A temporary escape from the harsh reality she now found herself in. Despite the dimness of the lighting, she found it difficult to keep her eyes open. Something about the light, or maybe the toxicity of the air around them, made it difficult to keep her eyes open for more than a few seconds at a time.

"Hey," a soft voice said, "we should start moving again." Percy whispered. She had yet to raise her head off his chest. She hadn't meant to fall asleep. They were resting after the battle with the Cyclopes and she must have dozed off without meaning to. She couldn't describe the disappointment that they weren't sleeping peacefully in their room on the Argo II.

"Sorry," she said in a raspy voice. She cleared her throat, "How long did I fall asleep?"

"A few hours?" It was more of a question than an answer but her eyes finally fully opened at his words. "It's hard to tell how much time has passed."

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

Percy looked down at her, his patented crooked smile creeping onto his lips.

"I thought I just did."

She picked her head up and glared at him, "Percy, you shouldn't have let me sleep that long!"

He rolled his eyes, "And end the one enjoyable moment I've had since catching up to you on the fall down here?"

Damn him, she thought to herself. Why did he have say the sweetest things without even meaning to?

"But you should've woken me up so you could sleep too," she tried to argue.

He just shrugged, "I wasn't tired. I think I had too much adrenaline pumping from the battle with those Cyclopes."

She knew he was lying. He looked tired. As much as he tried to hide it, she could always find the truth in his eyes and they showed the weariness he refused to let his body show. Before she had a chance to argue more, he picked himself up, offering her a hand and pulling her up as well. She stumbled a little, her legs a little asleep still from her nap and he caught her in his arms. Before she could regain her footing he planted a soft kiss on her lips.

Despite the situation, she felt the all too familiar butterflies flutter in her stomach that popped up every time he kissed her at the exact right moment.

He pulled back, the weariness in his eyes replaced by that sparkle she was more used to seeing in his multicolored eyes.

"Ready to keep moving?"

Zoë just nodded, her voice choosing that exact moment to fail her as she wished she was still in the moment from seconds earlier.

Percy peered out from behind the rock, taking a quick scan of the area ahead of them before stepping out into the open again. She followed his lead as they resumed their trek along the banks of the Phlegethon River. The sleepiness was quick to leave her and she couldn't deny how much better she felt after resting for a few hours.