Queen of Atlantis - Rewritten Entirely

Chapter 9

Their ships had trouble leaving the port the following morning. While the captain insisted he was doing all he could, Percy nearly jumped into the sea when he was told they would have to spend the day in the harbour.

"We struck the shore when we anchored," the captain explained weakly. "There's a hole in the hull that needs fixing."

Percy left after that.

He refused any guard accompaniment and walked along the shore until he couldn't see the port anymore. When he was satisfied that he was well and truly alone, he collapsed onto the sand and screamed. Tears blurred his vision and for a long time, all he could do was cry helplessly on the beach.

His father had been right. He'd done everything he could think of to keep Annabeth safe and it hadn't been enough. Nothing he could do would have been enough. Short from locking Annabeth in their quarters and begging her to stay there, her disappearance had almost been inevitable.

His thoughts spiralled dangerously. With every wave that crashed onto the shore, Percy found a new reason to blame himself. The cawing of seagulls above him tempted him to dive into the water and never resurface, but he stayed seated in the sand. It burned and his head swam, but Percy didn't move.

Many hours later, that's where Jason found him.

"I was worried you'd gone to a bar," he murmured, standing several paces away.

Percy frowned at the sand in front of him. "You came?"

He'd honestly thought that Jason had stayed in Athens. Up until now, he hadn't seen him on any of their three ships.

Despite lashing out at him days before, Percy no longer blamed him. He regretted the angry words he'd thrown at his friend, but he hadn't been able to bring himself to apologise. Not yet.

Jason didn't respond. Silently, he took a seat beside Percy and squinted out across the water.

"I know you're angry at me for losing her," he mumbled. Ignoring Percy's gaze, he said, "I still—I just need to see this through before I leave. I need to at least try and make it right."

Percy sighed and dropped his forehead to his knees. "It's not your fault."

"It is—"

"It's not," Percy interrupted. He glanced at Jason and shifted in the sand before saying, "Hazel told me what happened. Annabeth would have gone regardless of whether or not you had been there."

"Still," Jason muttered. "I'd understand if you want me to leave."

"You're a good friend, Jason," Percy assured him. Following Jason's gaze, he looked out at the sea as well. "I wouldn't trust anyone else to lead my army."

* * * * *

Percy waited until the sun had set to return to the ship. With Jason at his side, he walked through the town until the sun was long gone and dragged his feet on their way back to the dock. Despite the fact that he usually enjoyed being at sea, Percy was beginning to despise it.

Stepping onboard, Percy half expected the captain to tell him they would have to delay further. It was a welcome relief when that wasn't the case.

"We've fixed the hull, Your Highness," the captain exclaimed, bowing lowly as he appeared in front of Percy. "We'll set out tomorrow at dawn!"

At his right, Jason thanked the captain.

Drained and dehydrated from his time on the beach, Percy merely nodded before stepping around the man and retiring to his quarters.

Jason disappeared below deck without a word and although Percy hadn't intended to fall asleep, he was out before the last crew member had finished eating dinner.

* * * * *

Morning brought a sense of haste with it. After losing a full day of travel, even the soldiers were anxious to start sailing. In record time, they were leaving the harbour and making their way in the direction of Kronos's second and last-known camp on the sea. 

As exhausting as the last days had been, Percy didn't wake up until they were well away from the harbour. When he finally left his quarters, the sun was a quarter of the way in the sky and the ship had reached its full traveling speed. Breakfast was waiting for him, but he refused.

"We're making good time." It was Jason who appeared beside him this time, not the captain. "If the weather stays good, the captain says we'll make it by dusk tomorrow."

"Gods," Percy murmured. If the Princess Andromeda was there, they couldn't lead an attack at dusk. Located so near to an enemy camp and in an area they hadn't scouted, the odds were stacked against them. They would have to wait an extra night.

"We have 600 men between the three ships," Jason reminded him, gesturing two the two ships that followed them. "It's enough for a strong attack even if their base is prepared."

Rather than respond, Percy nodded numbly and moved to the edge of the deck to watch the water pass them by. What had once been soothing was now hypnotic. Often, Percy found himself swaying like the waves below him but couldn't remember why or how he had started moving.

At some point during the day, Jason managed to drag Percy away from the side of the ship to eat something for the first time in a while. After his first bite, it was only a matter of minutes before Percy had finished the meal and was reaching for some water. 

The meal had the desired effect and when Percy returned back to the deck of the ship, his mind felt less foggy and his thoughts weren't as muddled. It was such an improvement to the sluggish state he'd been in before that when dinner rolled around, he didn't try to refuse the food again. He did not eat with the crew, choosing instead to eat in his quarters, but it was still an improvement.

When they finally anchored for the night, Percy couldn't help but feel restless and trapped. They should have been at the second camp by now, but instead they were still at sea. A full day's worth of travel. Even when they did arrive in the evening, there would be no time to stage an attack before night fell and they were vulnerable.

It was an aggravating thought, but it wouldn't leave Percy's mind. Even when the last candle on the ship had been blown out and the only sounds were the waves hitting the hull of the ship, Percy couldn't help but worry that two days from now would be too late.