𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑛𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑒¹

𝐺𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑁𝑜 𝐿𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑎 𝐵𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑒

‧̍̊˙· 𓆝.° ｡˚𓆛˚｡ °.𓆞 ·˙‧̍̊

POLYPHEMUS HONESTLY HAD THE best island to live in. There was fresh air, beautiful scenery, and no one to bother them. Well, if you exclude the people who vied for the Golden Fleece like Astoria, Percy, and Annabeth did.

Annabeth took a deep breath as the wind brushed her hair gently. "The Fleece," she said.

Percy nodded.

Astoria assumed that some demigod part of them could recognize the Fleece's power, because she could not feel a single thing.

"If we take it away, will the island die?" Percy asked.

Annabeth shook her head. "It'll fade. Go back to what it would be normally, whatever that is."

"Maybe it's for the best," Astoria wondered. "Too much power leads to unbalance. Although, it would be a shame to see this all disappear."

They watched livestock graze in the lush meadows. They looked peaceful, and their sheer size was proof of it. They were the size of hippos, each step warranting a mini earthquake. They walked to the top of a hill where a large tree rested. On one of its branches was the Fleece.

"This is too easy," Percy said. "We could just hike up there and take it?"

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

"Vicious sheep piranhas," Astoria finished. She pointed at a deer that walked cluelessly in the meadow with the sheep. The poor animal was surrounded by a sea of white wool, and when the crowd dispersed, all that was left was a pile of clean bones.

"I can never look at sheep the same way again," Percy stared in horror.

"Guys!" Annabeth gasped, she tapped their shoulders. "Look."

She pointed down the beach, just below the sheep meadow, where the other lifeboat from the CSS Birmingham had been beached.

They moored the Queen Anne's Revenge to the back of the island to hide the ship and rowed a lifeboat to the edge of the rocky cliffs. Annabeth then took the initiative to climb up, since she was the better climber. Astoria was stuck in the middle, because she wasn't the most athletic of the bunch, being a mortal and all.

She wanted to give up climbing midway. Every time Percy almost fell to his death, which was more than five times, Astoria's heart almost jumped out of her chest. Even Annabeth caught herself in slippery situations when she accidentally misplaced her foot and it landed on Astoria's face.

"Sorry," she murmured.

"You're good," Astoria said from under Chase's shoe.

When they finally reached the top of the cliff, Astoria's fingers felt raw and throbbed painfully. Her muscles cramped like she carried the world on her shoulders.

"Ugh," Percy muttered.

"Ouch," moaned Annabeth.

"Erggg," Astoria groaned.

"Garrr!" a voice bellowed.

Annabeth clamped her hands over Astoria and Percy. She motioned with her head to the source of the voice right below them.

"You're a feisty one!" the deep voice bellowed again.

"Challenge me!" Clarisse demanded. 'Give me back my sword and I'll fight you!"

Polyphemus roared with laughter.

The trio crept to the edge, which was right above the Cyclops' cave. Below them were Polyphemus and Grover in his wedding dress. Clarisse was tied up, hanging upside down over a pot of boiling water.