The Lost Prince

⇀ eleven

A BUFF MAN with chocolate brown skin groaned with effort as he brought down his hammer, trying to flatten the piece of metal into a sword. The heat didn't bother him, honestly, but his muscles ached each time he brought down the small tool.

The sound of metal hitting metal reverberated throughout the small workshop he owned. Perspiration poured down his forehead, and his face was set.

Just as he was about to slam the hammer onto the metal that was finally becoming the shape of which he desired, the door behind him opened, letting in a rush of fresh cold air. Charles yelled in surprise and almost crushed his finger.

Standing in between two figures he had never seen in his entire life was his girlfriend. She looked slightly uncomfortable, but she had a small smile plastered on her face.

"Charles Beckendorf?" the blonde girl that stood beside Silena asked. She had an athletic build, and the son of Hephaestus doubted that he could beat her in wrestling, despite his muscled body.

He hesitated for a few seconds before setting aside his things and grabbing a clean rag to wipe the sweat off his face. "Yeah, that's me. How can I help you?"

"My name is Annabeth Chase. We need to talk,"

-------

"Connor, you bambling idiot! Did I not tell you to refrain from acting so shady and obvious?"

"Dear brother, I do believe that I was the one that said that to you."

Two teenage boys sat in a crowded bar, bickering and inconspicuously pickpocketing several people that sat nearby, all of whom were oblivious of the theft. The siblings looked almost exactly alike, if not for their height difference.

They did their best to ignore the drunken citizens that stumbled past, slurring words and laughing hysterically for no apparent reason.

"There's a new man of the seven seas!"

"I hear that he's called the Destroyer,"

"Riding aboard a ship named Riptide, isn't he?"

Travis let out a snort upon hearing bits of the conversation coming from the table beside them, his eyes darting across each face in the pub. Then he spotted a small elfish Latino with an expensive-looking tool belt strapped around his waist. The said boy sat at a a stool near the bar, trting to flirt with the barista. He nudged his brother, nodding at their next victim.

"Be my guest," Connor said jokingly as he gave the slightly taller boy a small bow. Travis obliged, and he disappeared in the crowd. Just as the son of Hermes was creeping towards the strap of the pouch, a hand suddenly closed around his wrist. The Latino smirked at him.

"Oh, no, you don't. You're coming with me buddy,"

Panic welled up inside Travis as he tried tugging his arm free, but the midget was stronger than he let on, as his grip was like steel. "Are you here to arrest me?"

The shorter boy snorted. "Nah," came his vague response. "Now call your brother over unless you want to create a scene."

"Who are you?" the Stoll brother asked, narrowing his eyes slightly. "What do you want from us?"

"The name is Leo Valdez," then he waved a hand at Connor as the boy stepped closer. "Can I trust you to not run off?"

"No."

"Brilliant!" Leo said as he released Travis and clapped his hands together over-enthusiastically. "So! Since that's settled, please come with me."

-------

The sails flapped as the wind whistled past, and the setting sun revealed the silhouettes of several figures that seemed to be approaching a rather peculiar looking ship. It was painted with a beautiful shade of blue, though it was quite hard to tell since the sky was darkening as nightfall came.

A lone figure sat on the rail beside the gangplank, twirling what seemed to be a small golden coin in between his fingers. There was a dark hat that was resting atop of his head, casting a shadow across the man's face, obscuring most of his features from other passersby. But three of the seven in the group that came to a halt before the ship knew what to do. They immediately climbed aboard and stood at attention behind the man, who had hopped onto the deck, his boots hitting the wood with a dull thump.

"Good evening, lads." he said, his tone surprisingly light and gentle. "I'm assuming that you've been briefed as to why you were taken here?"

Travis perked up suddenly, though disbelief was quite obvious in his tone. "You're that Destroyer guy, aren't you?"

The bluntness in his words made the man laugh aloud. His voice was melodic and soothing, as the Stoll brother found himself drawn to the anonymous hat-wearing person. "Yes, I suppose I am."

"And you brought us here to be slaves, didn't you?" Connor scowled half-heartedly, although he took a step back anyways.

Annabeth looked horrified and utterly disgusted by the statement. Her face contorted slightly, her lip curling with anger. "No!" she exclaimed, shooting a glare at the five foot tall demigod beside her. "You didn't tell them?"

"I may have forgotten," Leo replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

The daughter of Athena shoved him so hard that he almost fell face first onto the wooden floorboards.

"You were brought here for another reason," Reyna said reassuringly. "We don't do 'slaves' aboard the Riptide."

"So?" Connor demanded. "Why in Hades are we even here? Did we do anything wrong?"

The man let out a long, wistful sigh before removing his hat, revealing unruly hair that stuck out in a messy way. His sea green eyes sparkled despite the darkness.

"I'm assuming that you two," Percy said, pointing at the couple, "already agreed to the terms?"

"Yes, sir." Charles replied stiffly.

Annabeth chuckled to herself softly as she watched Percy shift uncomfortably. "No need for formalities, Beckendorf."

The taller son of Hephaestus looked surprised at the statement, but he nodded and slipped his hand onto Silena's. Annabeth motioned for them to come aboard, and they obliged, carefully stepping onto the deck. They were immediately whisked away by the blonde, and the three disappeared belowdecks.

"So," the captain said, turning his attention back to the brothers. "Do you want to join my crew?"

"Crew of what, cargo shippers?" Travis snorted as he shook his head in disbelief. Connor let out a short sigh from beside his brother.

"No," Percy said, letting out a contagious laugh, looking highly amused at the statement of the Stoll brother who stood on the right. "My crew of pirates."

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I'm currently putting all my stories on hold, as I'm sort of losing interest in writing them. Don't worry, I'm probably going to continue them but not right now. Stay tuned for updates though! Sorry guys