The Lost Prince

⇀ five

PIPER WALKED WITH the man who introduced himself as Jason Grace. He was a son of Jupiter, based on the markings in his forearm, which didn't help one bit with her growing unease.

"Where are you taking me?" she finally asked as they climbed up the small set of stairs leading to the poop deck in the aft of the ship. Yes, the poop deck is a real thing, apparently. She could tell that there was a room right underneath them, based on the hollow sound of their footsteps. Piper could see everything from up there; from the Mizzen Mast right in front of her, up until the prow on the other end of the ship. She caught her breath when she saw the horizon. Nothing but water stretched around the Aegis for thousands of miles, but she was okay with that, having practically grown up in the seaside. What got her attention, however, was the spectacular view.

"Yes," Jason said softly from beside her. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

The look of longing and hurt on his face made her want to envelop him in a hug, but she doubted that he would appreciate the friendly gesture, no matter her good intentions. The small scar on his lip looked more prominent as a shadow crossed his face.

"D'ye mind if I ask how you're takin' all this without going mad?"

She let out a bitter laugh. "Trust me, I've seen enough crazy that would be able to drive anyone off the edge—yet I'm still here, am I not?"

He smiled at her with what looked like amusement. It might have just been a figment of her imagination, but she thought she saw his eyes shift from a serene light blue into a miniature version of the sky, which was a mixture of all the colours from the rainbow. Piper almost couldn't believe that the man that stood in front of her was an actual, flesh and bone pirate; the captain's brother, nonetheless.

She extended her arm at him, a daring glint in her eyes.

"What are ye doin'?" Jason asked with his eyebrows raised, looking taken aback by the small gesture of the girl with chocolate brown hair.

"It's just a handshake," she snorted, as if that cleared everything up, rolling her kaleidoscopic eyes. She watched him closely. His lip twitched slightly, as if he was trying not to give her a smirk.

"Offerin' a hand to the First Mate of the Aegis right above the quarters of the captain? Sounds dangerous,"

"I'm a dangerous girl," she countered, a cheeky grin appearing on her face.

"That, I can believe." there was a tone of humour laced in his words.

He shook her hand, and she didn't know what to expect, but she was shocked when she felt the rough and scarred surface of his palm. His grip was steady and firm, however.

"Piper McLean," she said, standing up a bit straighter. "Daughter of Aphrodite. I'm guessing you're a son of Jupiter?"

He nodded with a small chuckle. "A pleasure to meet you, Piper."

"Same here," she said before reluctantly letting go of his hand. The female demigod had done a lot of things, but fraternizing with a pirate who happened to be sailing a ship whose crew kidnapped her and the princess of Athens, led by a captain who was feared by almost all the people? That was a whole new level of crazy, even for her.

"This isn't the time to be courting someone, Jason. Did ye tell her why I asked ye to bring her here to me?" a new voice rang out from somewhere.

Piper saw Jason's eyes narrow a bit.

"I was getting to that," he growled, then shot the daughter of Aphrodite an apologetic look.

Piper didn't need anyone to tell her that things were about to get bad.

———————

A figure stepped out from behind the nearest mast, wrapped in shadows. The voice that had come from her was definitely feminine, and based on the tone she had used, Piper could only guess who the person was.

"Captain, this is Piper McLean." she heard Jason say stiffly. "Piper, this is—"

The girl waved him off. "I heard everythin' from my quarters. Ye should really learn how to keep yer voice down, brother. Formalities aren't necessary as of the mo'. All ye need to know is that I'm the capt'n, and if ye don' follow what I say," she flashed a maniacal smile at Piper, "well, ye get the idea."

The daughter of Aphrodite nodded, but her eyes were wide with horror. She steadied her heart rate, taking deep soothing breaths. "I've heard a lot about you," she said in awe. "The Hunter, right?"

Piper could see her clearly now. She had perfectly curled dark hair, electric blue eyes, and pale skin. Her face was dotted with freckles. She wore the typical pirate outfit: dark coloured knee breeches, a simple sleeveless button-down shirt, and boots. A yellow bandana like the one she had seen on Ethan, Butch, and Jason, was wrapped around her head.

The Hunter's eyebrows rose slightly, looking at her brother. "I like this one," she announced, "she's got spunk."

The demigod daughter of Aphrodite didn't know if she should take that statement as an insult or a compliment. She picked the latter.

"Any who," the captain said, clapping her hands together. "Yes, Piper, I am what the others call 'The Hunter'. As to why ye are here, however," she paused, briefly glancing at the blond pirate. "Well, I'm sure Jason here ought to cover that."

The said guy scowled, his eyes flashing dangerously. However, he obliged.

"Piper," he started. "We want ye in the crew."

She wanted to burst out laughing. She was on the brim of her wits, but when she saw their serious expressions, her heart dropped like a stone. The girl opened her mouth to speak, but it seemed as if her voice failed her.

"I will take full responsibility of ye; teachin' all the customs and whatnot of the Aegis," Jason continued. "I will monitor yer actions and correct yer wrongdoings,"

"You're kidding, right?" she choked out. "You want me—a lowlife, poor, inexperienced daughter of Aphrodite—in your crew of vicious, deadly pirates?"

"Basically, yes." Jason deadpanned. His jaw was set, and he was twirling a golden coin in between his fingers with familiarity. "Will ye accept?"

"Whoa, whoa. Hold on," she said, trying to keep her hands from trembling, "what exactly does it mean when you say you'll take full responsibility over me?"

"It means," the blond son of Jupiter growled, "that if ye happened to screw up, she'll have both our heads." He motioned to the captain behind him, who have her a two fingered salute.

"I..." she trailed off. She was intrigued by the idea of a new start, honestly, but what of her future?

Would I even have one if I don't join the crew?, Piper thought to herself glumly. Somehow, she figured that that was a do-or-die moment—literally. Join the crew or live as a slave until you rot; that was the motto for people like Jason.

Piper took a deep, shaky breath as a single word escaped her lips.

****
FYI: There are two separate places wherein there are holding cells in the ship.

Oh my god UK what are you doing why the hell did you leave the EU? Your economy is currently plummeting, you lost more than three hundred million, and you have no prime minster. Wyd?

-Abby