The Winds Against the Ocean (Percabeth)(Jiper)

--> Chapter 12

Piper woke up to Jason's fingers shocking the nape of her neck. She gasped and sat up, wincing. That'll be another bruise.

She gently massaged it, sighing. Meanwhile, Jason tossed around. She decided that she needed to wake him up.

She leaned over him, touching his shoulder. "Jason," she said gently. She shook it a bit. "Hey, wake up. Jason!"

"Piper...." he whispered. Suddenly, he grabbed her forearms and his knees knocked her over and they went tumbling off the bed along with the blankets. Piper landed on the floor with a small cry, Jason's hands pinning her wrists against the ground.

"P...Piper?" He said as if he just woke up. "I'm sorry." He quickly helped her up. "I was having a nightmare."

"You've been having them for the past few days."

"I..I didn't think it was that bad."

"You woke me up almost every night. You kept saying my name and stuff and you like tossing and turning around a lot. But it's fine, a few years ago, if I even got sleep i was considered lucky."

She forced a smile up at him despite her sore body. "C'mon, let's get back to bed," she pulled the blankets with her as she climbed onto the mattress.

He climbed in with her. He wrapped his arms around her and laid back, staring at the ceiling as she fell back asleep.

He ran his hand up and down her back to sooth the pain if she had any. Now that he thought about it, she did seem very tired these days. Sometimes he saw her rubbing her arms and waist as if she had bruises on them.

Maybe they shouldn't sleep together since it was only hurting her even more. He would discuss it with her tomorrow. But he wanted her in his arms. It was the only way he knew that she was with him.

He sighed and breathed in her scent. He pulled her closer. And for once, he had a peaceful sleep.
•••

Piper woke up by herself and found the bed empty. She got up and saw that her usually dress had changed. It was a traditional Greek dress and how a bunch of Romans got it, she didn't know.

There were no underclothes which she was thankful for. It was quite low cut, it shaping a V on her chest, but better than nothing. It had more than one layers and was beautiful.

She slipped it on and pulled her belt around it. The lightning bolt necklace filled on the empty chasm on her chest. She washed up a bit and then left the room.

She found Jason and smiled. He was at the helm, controlling the ship. He saw her and grinned back. She went up to him.

"You look nice," he said.

"Did you give it to me?" She replied.

He nodded and she kissed his cheek. "Thanks."

"Pipes, why are there bruises on your arms?" And with one hand on the wheel, he gently turned her arm over.

She hadn't even realized that the dress showed all of her arms and the bruises. "From fighting practice," the life rolled off her tongue.

He calmed down and let her go. "I thought I hurt you while I slept," he said. "But did I ever hurt you when I was asleep?"

She shook her head. "Of course not."

"We're reaching the Lands of Aphrodite," he said.

She nodded. "I'll go get the goods."

"Wait. Last night, you said you woke up a lot in the middle of the night because of me. Should we sleep separately-"

"No! No," she said. "It's fine. I've been through worse. I'm fine! Don't worry, Jason. You worry too much."

He nodded, smiling, and kissed her lips. Then he let her go.
•••

She watched from the quarterdeck as Jason walked off the ramp, Frank dragging the goods behind him.

He spoke with a woman with a notepad and quill. They nodded and shook hands. Then they walked off to a market nearby.

Then she watched, suspicious, as Octavian walked off the ramp. He looked around as if to see if anyone was watching him. And then he darted off. She narrowed her eyes.

"Hazel," she tapped the girl next to her. Then she pointed to him. "Where is he going?"

Hazel shrugged. "He runs off all the time. He always comes back thought, don't worry about it."

Piper nodded, but she couldn't shake the feeling that he was up to something. Seconds later, Octavian came running back.

"Hey! You two!" He ordered, pointing at both girls. "Help under the deck! Don't just sit around doing nothing."

Hazel rolled her eyes and dragged Piper away, leaving the upper deck empty.
•••

Piper pulled her dress off and replaced them with her robe. She climbed into bed with Jason. He was sleeping peacefully, surprisingly and she was thankful.

But she couldn't sleep for some reason. She tossed and turned. Then she decided to help whoever was taking the night watch.

She changed back and went outside. She found Leo, sitting by the fire pit with flames dancing in it. He was building something, as usual.

"What's up, Beauty Queen?" Leo said. "Couldn't sleep?"

She nodded and sat across from him.

"Me neither. Hazel was the night watcher but I told her that I'll take over for tonight. She looked like she was about to pass out." He sighed. "Nothing's better than staying up and watching the stars, am I right?"

She nodded again with a smile, looking up at the sky. "The full moon is up tonight."

"Yeah. It's nice."

The she heard footsteps. "Did you hear that?"

They both stayed silent. Then there were faint footsteps again. She had a bad feeling in her gut. She stood, her eyes scanning the ship which were lit by torches.

"Hello?" She called out, her hand drifting to her sword hilt.

The Octavian appeared out of the shadows.

"Octavian?" She said, surprised.

"Hello, Greeks," he said with a disturbing grin.

Then two more figures appeared. One was Dombolio and the other-

"Drew," Piper said. How did she get on the ship? Why was she here?

"Hello, sister," Drew said, flashing a smile, her eyes cold.

"Sister?" Leo said, confused.

Piper drew her sword out. "Leo, get out of here."

"Uh, you're not the one with fire powers," Leo said, next to her, his hand ablaze. "Yo!!! Anyone awake?! We got intruders!!!"

"Don't bother," Octavian said. "One of my sorceress caster a spell that'll keep them in a deep sleep until morning."

"Why aren't we asleep?" Leo said.

"My sorceress casted a second spell that kept certain people awake. I'm glad she did well with her part."

"What do you want?"

"To get rid of you two," Drew snapped. "I don't want to see your face. Especially since I see you've found a handsome boy to date you. I don't like that."

"I wanted both of you off the ship and I knew that there were two people who wanted to get rid of you also."

"How did you know about Drew and me?"

"Oh, you and Jason talk pretty loudly," Octavian said.

"What are you gonna do to us?" Piper said. And as if on cue, several guards came out and surrounded them. Leo and her stood back to back, ready to fight.

"You don't need to know anything, Piper McLean," Dombolio said with a grin. "You just need to worry about your safety."

And with the the guards attacked.