Percy Jackson, the Son of Olympus: The Sea of Monsters

| Chapter II | A Quest for Sheepskin |

*August 22 XXXX*

*Percy's Point of View*

"I've got it!" were the first words on Annabeth's lips the next morning. She ran up to me at breakfast, and grabbed my arm, ripping me out of my chair so swiftly that I was sure that my stomach had been left behind as she dragged me back to her cabin.

Once I stepped over the threshold, I got the distinct feeling that I was in the wrong place. Maybe it was a son-of-Poseidon-instinct, and this was the Athena cabin.

Annabeth didn't even let me regain my bearings before she was dragging me again, this time to the back of the cabin, where one of the beds was covered in papers and scrolls. The rest were neat and tidy, but not Annabeth's. I briefly wondered if she'd even slept, but judging by the bags and crazy look in her eyes, I concluded that she hadn't.

"Annabeth, what have you found?" I decided to use a calm tone with her, as she seemed ready to snap at any moment. I rarely wanted to deal with a crazy normal Annabeth, but a crazy sleep-deprived Annabeth was something of my darkest nightmares.

"I've found the thing that we need!" she exclaimed gleefully. She hopped over to her bed, releasing my arm of her death grip, and gathered up her multitude of papers.

"And what is that?" I asked. I was generally curious.

"The Golden Fleece, of course!" she said, shoving a particular scroll in my face.

I grabbed the scroll, holding it at a reasonable distance from my face so that I could actually read it. The text was old and faded, but I translated it pretty well. Also, the giant inked image of the golden fleece in the center was a huge clue.

As I read, I could feel my eyes widening. Hope was growing in my heart, a warm bubble of optimism. As I reached the end of the scroll, though, my bubble of optimism burst.

"Annabeth," I said, "How are we supposed to get this? Its last known sighting was somewhere in the Sea of Monsters. That's one of the most dangerous places for a demigod."

Annabeth sighed, and I could see her physically draining. "I know...but I thought...maybe a quest could be issued..." She seemed to be trying to come up with any excuse she could think of. I knew why of course. Thalia - the tree - had been a very close friend of hers, so she'd obviously want to do anything to save her.

"We'll take this to Chiron first, and then we can figure out what to do."

Annabeth nodded again, and I could see the need for sleep on her face. So I said: "First, you sleep, then, we'll talk to Chiron. I promise to wait until you're feeling better." I brought her over to sit on her bed, shoving aside the papers so that she could lay down. As soon as I'd tucked her in, her eyes drifted closed, and she went straight to sleep.

I went back to breakfast, hoping to get there before all of my food was gone.

As soon as Annabeth was awake and had some food in her belly, we ran to Chiron with her suggestion.

"Chiron!" I called out to the half-horse man as I saw him in the distance.

He turned, and the two of us sprinted the last little stretch of grass towards him.

"Annabeth, Percy, what brings you two here this fine afternoon?" he asked.

"Chiron, we think we've found a way to heal the tree. I've been up all night searching, and I found something that I know can help, if not, heal the tree," Annabeth explained, holding the scroll out for him to inspect.

Chiron was silent for a few moments after taking the aged parchment from his long-time student. "This may work..." he muttered. "It will be very dangerous, though, and we don't have an exact location as to where it is..." He looked up. "But I think that this is our best bet of saving the tree and ensuring our camp's safety. Thank you, Annabeth," he said, a small smile gracing his features.