Hunters

I Embark on a Quest of Utmost Importance

I returned a half-hour later, with my arms full of ham, bread, and some rather expensive butter. Percy was sitting upright on my chair, with hair brushed and shirt fully buttoned. "I hope you don't mind," he started carefully, "but I emptied and cleaned that dreadful-smelling chamber pot while you were out. I couldn't stand to smell my own vomit any longer."
"Why thank you, Percy. Now," I placed the bread, butter, and bacon on the table. "Why don't you tell me about how you met Annabeth?"
"It's actually a very lengthy story..."

Percy proceeded to tell me his entire life story. He was the illegitimate son of a Spanish king and a washerwoman named Sally. His parents had met while he was still a prince touring the countryside, and they fell in love and conceived. Shortly after the birth of Perseus, the prince was summoned back to the castle, as his father had died and he was to be married to a noble lady, lest he give up the crown. Growing up, Sally and Perseus would often receive small packages of clothing, dried meats, and other miscellaneous goods; one time, they had even received weekly visits from an English tutor, anonymously paid for by the King. Sally remarried twice, once to a smelly fishmonger named Gabriel, and again to an scholar named Paul after Gabriel's timely death. Percy had moved to England in hopes of becoming a famous musician, but shortly after his boat left shore, he was kidnapped by Reyna and Annabeth. He claimed to have had a romantic affair with Annabeth before she allowed him to sneak off the ship in the dead of night. He eventually found his way to a small pub called The Lotus where he spent one of the pounds that he smuggled from the ship on a pint of ale.

"When and where did you get released?" If he was released nearby and recently, I could persuade my fellow Hunters to accompany me on a quest to find their ship and capture them.
"It was about three days ago, I presume." Percy cut a slice of bread, spread some butter on it, placed a slice of ham on top, and shoveled it into his mouth. "Annabeth said that they wouldn't be leaving London until the 15th, so you've got plenty of time."
"Plenty of time? It's the 14th, and it'll take at least a day to travel to London, and even longer to convince my... friends to accompany me!" I started to sob in exasperation.
"Hey, no need to cry, Thalia." Percy reached out to dry my tears, but I pulled away. "I'll come with you! I might not be very a skilled archer or a master of disguise, but I'm relatively good with a sword. And besides, if I join you, Annabeth might persuade Reyna to be more merciful if we get captured."
I pondered my situation for a minute. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, was I daffy enough to ignore it? I wasn't as prepared as I'd like to be, and I had just met Percy. 'How do I know he isn't a murderer, attempting to lure me into his hideout where he'll stab me and loot my corpse?' I quickly shook the thought out of my head. Percy seemed too kind to lie about something so serious. 'And besides,' I thought, 'who would lie about having an affair with the Annabeth Chase?'
"It's a deal. Would you mind helping me pack a few things? I need to fetch my bow and arrows."
"I'd be delighted to," Percy said with a mischievous gleam in his eyes, "miss Thalia Grace!"

A/N: Ugh, midterms are terrible! I haven't even taken any of the tests yet, but I'm already stressed out from the review worksheets! Other than that, my week has been fairly decent so far. Not too much to talk about, but not much to complain about either. Well, thank you for reading this chapter! See you next week!
- Nicole