The Black Coral (Percico/Pernico)

Chapter Twelve: Tales of Two Runaways

Percy could not sleep. He had been tossing and turning, wide awake half the night despite his exhaustion. It had been a long day for everyone. They had lost Hazel, to boot. Now Percy's crew was down one person, and lacking the kindness and purity she possessed.

However, the person who Percy was worrying about was his mother. How was she doing? How was she coping with her husband and the awful things he did to her? Was she even alive? Percy shivered at the thought.

He was such a coward, he thought. He had to run away, abandoning her with that monster, while she had done all she could do for him. She even found him a nice girl who she wanted him to marry, but he only thought of them as friends.

He wondered what would happen if he stayed, as well. He would not be wanted for nearly a thousand pieces of gold, and his mother would have eventually had enough and drowned Gabe in a river, or in a similar body of water. Maybe she would frame him for a crime and have him executed. He had no idea of what could be if he had not run away.

He tried to write a letter to her, multiple actually, but he ended up feeling so guilty about leaving that he crumpled up the parchment into a little ball, throwing it over his shoulder, which most of the time found its way under his bed, which could be indicated by the large amount of old balls of parchment that had accumulated under the regal bed.

Percy tried to fall asleep once more, rolling onto his other side under the soft, warm blankets. He tried and failed. His mind kept drifting off somewhere, that was not sleep, might he add, which only doubled, if not tripled his anxiety.

He eventually gave up and sat up in his bed, sliding his feet into his shoes with the Crow's Nest in mind. Perhaps the cool night air could clear his head and put him at ease.

He walked out of his quarters, closing the door quietly behind him out of habit, before seeing a familiar mop of inky hair approaching the ladder to Percy's ideal destination.

"Can Nico not sleep, either?" Percy thought, subconsciously following the sleepless prince as he climbed up to the Crow's Nest.

As he reached the top, he saw the younger boy leaning against the railing, the wind blowing though his dark hair. He looked lost in thought. Percy deduced that he was upset because they had to leave Hazel behind.

"Nico, are you alright?" inquired the captain.

Nico looked behind him, seeing Percy lift himself to his feet.

"I suppose so," he answered. "I am alive and mostly uninjured; I would assume so."

"Nico," Percy looked at him with a sarcastic look. "Can you not sleep?"

"I cannot believe Hazel would give herself for some gold," Nico sighed. "I understand that we are pirates, but she was so sweet. I wish she understood how important she was to your- I mean, our crew."

"I know," Percy agreed. "She felt like she owed me, and there is nothing I can do once she gets her mind set on something. She's stubborn, I'll tell you that."

A small smile formed on Nico's lips, the wind whipping through his tousled, inky mane. His pale olive skin was illuminated by the moonlight, making it look a light porcelain. He looked...beautiful.

"So, Captain," Nico spoke, bringing Percy from his thoughts. "What brings you up here this late?"

"I believe the same reason you have," Percy responded. "I could not sleep. My thoughts wouldn't let me."