The Pirate of Greece

Chapter VIII (Percy)

The son of Poseidon averted his gaze and listened as the heavy thumping of footsteps drew closer. Annabeth had it worse than he did, seeing as she was nearer and her back was facing the person. She wouldn't be able to see what the man was doing. 

Percy considered throwing a tankard at the bandit's head, but doubted it would be anything of great impact. And all four criminals would be on him before he could blink. He prided himself on his skills, but four was a little too much to handle. But Annabeth could help...

"Ah, what do we have here?" A deep voice said right above them. He looked up at the speaker, but saw the attention was purely focused on Annabeth. Her jaw was knitted and her hands were on the edge of the table, ready to grab for her dagger if need be. 

She looked up and said, "Just a humble girl, trying to avoid trouble." It was a bad lie, but he didn't think that was her intention.

The man scoffed. "A humble girl in palace armour. Say, General, you are daft to think you could have gone unnoticed," he turned to his friends and called, "looky here, guess who I found." Everyone else seemed to ignore what was happening. 

It wasn't long until all five people were crowding around their table. Percy kept his eye on each one of them, not liking his position. They were standing, he was sitting, a civilian was in between, and the chance of a fight was pretty high. Annabeth didn't look very pleased either. And he had a feeling it was because they called her daft. Her hands had clenched and her expression turned furious, the storminess of her eyes returning. She looked as if she was about to take them all on.

Note, never call a child of Athena stupid if I value my life, he thought. Well, at least he knew things were about to get interesting. They bandit's seemed to pay no notice of him quietly sitting there. 

"What are you doing so far away from home, little birdie?" the lanky man cooed as he flicked her curl. Percy was about to say something that would've started the fight right then, but Annabeth got there first.

"This little Birdie is angered and armed," she seethed, "I suggest you leave the girl to me and run on out." 

They only laughed.

"Can we keep her?" the final guy said, the one with the crooked teeth. 

"She could prove valuable," the lanky one offered.

Percy had heard enough. Before anyone could talk, he lent back a bit and tsked. Annabeth shot him a warning glare, probably telling him to shut up, but he didn't listen. He had their attention, and he knew the only way to deal with their kind wasn't what Annabeth had intended. 

"Now, fellows, that is not how you treat a lady," he said, "and did anyone ever tell you it was rude to handle a girl in such manner?" He indicated to the captive who stood looking on curiously. Annabeth put a hand on her dagger like she expected the next thing Percy was about to do. The bandits, on the other hand, looked him over.

"And who are you?" The bald one queried. 

"Who cares, he is a pretty boy," the woman said, "We can keep him too."

Percy let the comment slide. "Who are you?" When none of them answered he smiled. "See, you cannot expect me to give my name when you will not offer your own." 

Crooked Teeth grinned, "of course, you are a pirate."

"Was it that obvious?" Percy asked, but showed in his tone that he didn't care. 

"The General and a pirate drinking together at a local Inn. Sounds like the beginning of a joke," Lanky said.

He shrugged. "I assure you, it has been humorous so far. Well, ever since the incident in Sparta that is. I docked here for ship renovations after all."