The Lost Prince

⇀ three

HE WANTED TO give his best friend a Leo-sized slap on the face. Percy should have just kept to his god forsaken job of wiping the floor clean, but nope; he just had to jump in between the princess and the chick Phoebe as if Annabeth was a damsel in distress. Well she practically was, but that isn't Leo's point. The prince kept putting himself before of others in order to protect them.

The son of Hephaestus winced upon remembering the number of lashes he had taken in Leo's place.

He forced himself to work harder, scrubbing the floor of the deck, mainly because he didn't want to watch like the other crew members; they enjoyed his pain, as it was a form of entertainment for them. Personally, Leo Valdez found that disturbing. Who in their right minds wouldn't?

But no sound escaped Percy's lips-not even the slightest grunt.

Jackson had said that it was because he had a high pain tolerance; a lie that Leo didn't buy. The Latino didn't exactly know the reason as to why, though, but he trusted his best friend enough that he'd wait until Percy himself will tell him when he feels like it. Leo had a sneaking suspicion that Percy was close to spilling, but he didn't know if it was going to be him or the daughter of Bellona who'd first hear it.

Leo might not be an expert on love or living beings, but he figured that there was at least a thing going on between himself and Reyna. Leo was proud of his growing relationship with the younger female demigod.

Despite her being Roman, she was Percy's closest friend after Leo. It was completely platonic, from what the son of Hephaestus could tell.

The elfish boy was completely okay with that; he wasn't once jealous of either of them. After all, the four of them had grown close over the years; they were something like family to him. He couldn't exactly explain the feeling, but after going on for years with only his mom to live with in the machine room before she was offered a position in the royal castle, he could only say that it was pure bliss. Okay, maybe they were slaves to a ship crawling with pirates, but they still had each other.

"Valdez!" he heard Reyna hiss from somewhere in front of him. He snapped out of his daze and looked up. Immediately, he sprang to his feet and caught Perseus as he stumbled forward, even more bloodied and battered than he usually was. This was one of Leo's many jobs in the ship. Cleaning the filthy floor, fixing the engine, constantly worrying for the wellbeing of the three other slaves on the ship, and catching his friends after a whipping. Fantastic. He would joke that it was because they have grown to trust him more, but no one seemed to deny it.

"I've got you, buddy." Leo said. He had grown accustomed to the weight of his friend who was slipping in and out of consciousness, muttering inaudible things under his breath. Leo looked at the captain for approval. After several agonizing moments, she finally nodded and made a motion for Leo to leave.

The son of Hephaestus tried to bow as gracefully as he could before scampering below decks. He paused in front of the door with old, peeling red paint and hastily turned the knob. The rusted hinges creaked with age as he pushed past it and gently laid the wounded and bleeding prince on a thin sheet of cloth spread out on the floor. Beside it was a bucket filled with sea water. Usually, it stung like hell whenever it comes in contact with an open wound, but it somehow soothes Percy down a bit. The said boy eased himself into the single layer of cloth, allowing his friend to wipe away the blood and the grime. Again, not a single sound went past his lips.

"Are you okay, dude?" Leo asked once he was sure that all the newly opened wounds were washed. "That was twice as much as the number you could usually handle; you've got to be hurting all over."

Percy managed a cocky grin. "I'm fine," he insisted, waving a hand at the Latino. "I'll be good in a few minutes."

"You know, I'm not an expert on medical attention or anything, but deep wounds usually take longer to heal." Leo pointed out, shaking his head. But Percy was unwavering. "The Captain would issue more lashes if I come out too late," the prince murmured.

"Man, I'm serious. Your fresh wounds are going start opening again if you move too much. I'll just do your half of the deck. I've just finished with mine,"

Before Percy could say anything, Leo stood and strode towards the door. He looked back once he stood in the hall.

"Please don't do anything stupid while Uncle Leo is out,"

Then the door shut closed with a small audible click.

-------

The daughter of Aphrodite awoke to the sickening stench of blood and a month old stack of unwashed laundry. She managed to not regurgitate the breakfast she had had that morning. However, she couldn't stop herself as she gagged.

Then it all came rushing back to her: the walk in the city, the guards, being abducted in an ugly empty potato sack, and being knocked over the head before passing out cold.

Piper's eyes adjusted to the bright light streaming from the open door somewhere in front of her. She tried to stand, but immediately froze at the sound of metal hitting metal. Sure enough, when she looked at her wrists, they were bound with handcuffs that was attached to a trail of chains. She blindly ran her hand through the cold metal surface, trying to find the end. She tried tugging at it, but it wouldn't budge. It was hewn to the stone surface of wherever she was. Then she saw the faint outline of thin metal poles a few feet in front of her.

Piper managed to subdue a cry of frustration. Of course, she was in some sort of holding cell. It was only typical. Then the floor lurched violently to the left, and the demigod had to flatten herself against the cool smooth wall behind her in order to maintain her balance. She smell of decaying seaweed hit her like a gigantic wave, mixing with the horrible scents that she had noticed earlier. Her eyes watered. She tried her best not to breathe through her nose as she continued scanning the area.

She then noticed the silhouette of a man coming through the door that was flooding with light. She barely had enough time to register what he looked like. Blond hair, sky blue eyes, tanned skin, and...Piper forced herself not to blush. He wore a button down shirt, but she wanted to ask why he bothered wearing one when all the buttons were undone anyway. Not that she wanted to complain, of course. It showed his six-pack quite well.

Then she let out a small irritated grunt. Those were thoughts from the Aphrodite part of her that she usually kept at bay. But the sight of a cute guy made her heart flutter. She sighed. Piper didn't even know the guy, and yet she was already lowering her defenses.

The sound of the metal bars scraping against rock made her cringe. The man stepped through the newly opened doorway and headed towards her.

"Don' try to fight me, love." he whispered in her ear. Goosebumps rose on Piper's arm as she felt his warm breath on her neck. "I wouldn' want me sister to throw a beauty like ye overboard,"

"Your sister?" Piper managed to ask. "Who's your sister?"

Through the darkness, the Native American girl swore that she saw him give her a mischievous smile.

"The Captain herself, 'course."