{1} Princess - P. Jackson 🔱

"What in the Achilles is this?"

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Here's my definition of not fun. Fly a Pegasus toward an out-of-control helicopter. If Snow White had been any less of a fancy flier, we would've been chopped to confetti.

I could hear Rachel screaming inside. For some reason, she hadn't fallen asleep, but I could see the pilot slumped over the controls, pitching back and forth as the helicopter wobbled toward the side of an office building.

"Ideas?" I reluctantly asked Maria. Her face was serious and she was holding tight on Snow White. She was angry and I tried to change that by repeating that Rachel wasn't my girlfriend, but it didn't help at all. I don't know why she insists on saying that.

Why are girls so hard?

"You're going to have to take Snow White and get out," she said.

"What are you going to do?"

In response, she said, "Hyah!" And Snow White went into a nosedive. "Duck!" Maria yelled.

We passed so close to the rotors I felt the force of the blades ripping at my hair. We zipped along the side of the helicopter, and Maria grabbed the door.

That's when things went wrong.

Snow White's wing slammed against the helicopter. She plummeted straight down with me on her back, leaving Maria dangling from the side of the aircraft.

I was so terrified I could barely think, but as Snow White spiraled I caught a glimpse of Rachel pulling Maria inside the copter.

"Hang in there!" I yelled at Snow white.

My wing, She moaned. It's busted.

"You can do it!" I desperately tried to remember what Silena used to tell us in pegasus-riding lessons. "Just relax the wing. Extend it and glide."

We fell like a rock—straight toward the pavement three hundred feet below. At the last moment Snow White extended her wings. I saw the faces of centaurs gaping up at us. Then we pulled out of our dive, sailed fifty feet, and tumbled onto the pavement—Pegasus over demigod.

Ow! Snow White moaned. My legs. My head. My wings.

"Ow!" I moaned "My legs, my head, my arms. My whole fucking body hurts."

Chiron galloped over with his medical pouch and began working on the pegasus.

I got to my feet, Annabeth came running and stopped by my side. "Percy! Are you okay? What about Maria?" When I looked up, my heart crawled into my throat. The helicopter was only a few seconds away from slamming into the side of the building.

Then a pink ball surrounded the helicopter, the propellers stopped turning and the helicopter positioned itself straight. For a moment it stopped moving, floating in the air until it slowly descended.

It seemed to take forever, but finally the helicopter thudded to a landing in the middle of Fifth Avenue. I looked through the windshield and felt my heart beating in my ears. Maria was seated by the controls, she was breathing heavily and her eyes glowed hot pink. The pink ball dissolved in a puff and the girl closed her eyes, resting her head in the headrest.

I ran forward with Annabeth. Rachel opened the side door and dragged out the pilot.

Rachel was still dressed like she was on vacation, in beach shorts, a T-shirt, and sandals. Her hair was tangled and her face was green from the helicopter ride.

Maria climbed out last, stumbling and holding herself on Annabeth. "Maria, gods!"

I stared at her in awe. "I didn't know you could hold a helicopter."