/ thálassa | pjo \

/ chapter fourteen | cannibal sheep make great disguises \

edited. 

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 I had fully expected the island to smell like some of the alleys of New York or maybe like the subway on a really bad day. In other words, I was waiting to have to hold my breath or tear off the hem of my dress to make a face mask. But I was completely wrong.

The island air was quite literally sweet. It was like there was citrus and vanilla in the air. And to make it even more surprising, the island was beautiful. It had looked lush and green from far away–but being on shore made the image even more dazzling and stark.

So, in other words, everything I had pictured the island would be–it was absolutely not.

"The Fleece..." Annabeth's voice drew my attention from the vibrant tropical flowers along the shore.

I could feel the ancient power before I saw it.

The magical item–still too far away to get a completely clear view–was glittering like gold in the sunlight.

As I stared at it, I asked, "This place won't die if we take it away, right? Or do we need to bring it back?"

Annabeth gave me a look that said, Haven't I taught you anything? before she explained, "It'll fade. Go back to what it would be normally, whatever that is."

I looked around again, "Oh, I really hope that doesn't mean dead and desolate. This place is really pretty..." I caught Percy's guilty expression, nudging his shoulder, "I'm sure it wasn't. I mean, it couldn't have if it's this pretty now."

There was some hope that returned to his features.

I prayed I was right, though, because that would really suck if I was wrong. Especially because the Fleece was the only option we had to save Thalia's tree.

I sighed a little before I saw some of the wildlife of the island. Which, in this case, happened to be sheep as big as hippos. They were enormous and adorable. But what was even more cute was the path that led up to the tree that held the Fleece itself–just like they had appeared in my dream.

It was gorgeous and looked like it should have been on a model walking the runway. Maybe Aphrodite would bring the fleece look back. Or maybe not–fashion is weird nowadays.

Wow, I'm getting distracted.

Anyways.

"This is too easy," Percy murmured suddenly–following my line of sight to the tree. He frowned. "We could just hike up there and take it?"

Annabeth narrowed her eyes, "There's supposed to be a guardian. A dragon or..."

"Oh deer," I interrupted her.

Annabeth gave me a weird look–looking absolutely caught off-guard, "What did you call me?"

Realizing what I had said and how it sounded, I laughed–rolling my eyes, "DEER. As in Bambi? Look!" I pointed at the deer that had emerged from the bushes and had entered the meadow.

Just as my brother and best friend turned to look, the sheep bleated once and rushed the animal like a mob on Black Friday. My jaw dropped as after a flurry of fur and grass filled the air–looking like confetti–the sheep moved away, and where the deer had been was just a pile of clean bones.

"Oh, dear," I muttered–my stomach dropping at the sight of the cannibal petting zoo in front of us. Then I realized it was blocking our path and took a step back. "That's unfortunate."