¹Pocket Full of Posies, p. jackson

x. Fall from the Sun Chariot

chapter ten
❛ fall from the sun chariot ❜

━━━━━  THE FIRST CLUE that something was wrong should have been the very warm welcome from a person stuck on an island in the middle of the Sea of Monsters. It wasn't, admittedly, because Posie was too thrilled to have her feet on land.

"Welcome!" the lady with the clipboard greeted them with a (painfully) large smile.

She looked like a flight attendant — with a blue business suit, perfect makeup, and dark hair pulled back in a tight-looking ponytail. She shook each of their hands as they stepped onto the dock with their wobbly knees. With the dazzling smile she gave them, it should have been them getting off a boat like the Princess Andromeda instead of the bashed-up, washed-up rowboat with a hastily-stitched sail.

Even then, as Posie glanced around the port, their boat wasn't the strangest one there. Along with a bunch of pleasure yachts that rich families tended to have, there was a U.S. Navy submarine, several dugout canoes, and an old-fashioned three-masted sailing ship. There was even a helipad with a Channel Five Fort Lauderdale helicopter on it, a short runway with a Learjet, and a propeller plane that looked like a World War II fighter. Maybe they were replicas for tourists to look at or something.

That must be it, Posie decided, suddenly so sure of herself. It's just a bunch of replicas. Rich people do odd things all the time.

Will you stop ignoring me? Onesimus demanded.

Ultimately, she continued to ignore him. All Onesimus tended to do was dangle the prospects of answers over her head — that, or complain that she was doing something stupid.

"Is this your first time with us?" the clipboard lady inquired, glancing up at them from the clipboard she held.

The three demigods exchanged confused looks. Ultimately, Annabeth was the first to speak, mumbling, "Um ..."

As Posie took a closer look at the lady, she realized the lady didn't look that much older than herself. She looked only around seventeen or so, perhaps a little bit older than that. "First—time—at—spa," she guessed correctly, writing fervently on the clipboard. "Let's see, then ..."

She placed the clipboard to her chest, closely analyzing the three demigods, her eyes moving from each one of them individually, up and down. She hummed quietly to herself, irking Posie for all the staring and silent judgments, as she pulled back the clipboard to write on it. "Some herbal wraps to start off the young ladies. And, of course," she gave Percy this critical once-over, "a complete makeover for the young gentleman."

Percy blinked at the lady. "A what?"

However, the lady was too busy jotting down notes for their "makeovers" to answer him. The son of Poseidon sent Posie a questioning look, but all she could respond with was a simple shrug in confusion.

"Right!" the lady said loudly, giving them all a breezy smile. However, by her loudness, all the three demigods did was jump in their own skins. "Well, I'm sure C.C. will want to speak with you personally before the luau. Follow me, please."

As the young lady turned on her pristine-looking, blue heels, the three were left behind, all looking at one another in apprehension. For demigods, finding themselves accidentally stumbling into traps set by monsters was far more common than any half-blood wanted to admit for their own egos. More often than not, those traps sprung by monsters were often made to look too good to be true, attempting to lure in any unsuspecting demigods passing by. It was only natural for Posie to expect the lady with the clipboard to turn into a snake, or a winged lady with fangs, or anything else dangerous at any moment. On the other hand, they had been floating in a rowboat for most of the day. Posie was hot, tired, hungry, and dehydrated. Admittedly, when the lady mentioned a luau, her stomach became her main focus; the only one of her senses she was actually listening to.