At Mercy to the Sea ［Rewriting］

[UNEDITED] XI-I ship it

I groan as a lay still on the ground as pain splinters my back, not wanting to get up.

"Are you ok Percy?" Rachel asks me, looking at my motionless body not knowing what to do.

I roll my eyes pushing myself up on the grassy green grass. Where are we? I ask myself as I notice the thick green vines that climb up the rough bark of the nearby trees.

"Are you Ok?" She asks me again this time poking me with a stick, grinning like an idiot.

I sigh, I push the stick aside and stood up. My legs still a little shaky from the fall.

"I'm fine" I call out to Rachel, "Do we have anything left from the hot air balloon?"

She gives me a half-hearted smile and takes out a basket from behind her. "At least we have lunch."

I roll my eyes, if we're really trapped in the forest we wouldn't be eating all of our food in just only one meal.

"Come one, Rachel if we want to get back to the castle before night we better be going." I turn away from her and marched towards the small outline of my home. A hand grips me tightly on the wrist. I turn around to see Rachel looking at me with a pleading face.

"Percy," She started, "Promise me that you won't tell anyone about me, about my choices, about-"

"I get it ok?!" I almost lashed out, "you want to make sure that your kingdom will thrive, that your people won't starve."

She sighs and gives me a weak smile, "Thank you" her voice was almost silent as the soft wind carried it away.

She grips my hand tighter as she leads me towards the direction of the castle as if I had no idea where I was going. The leaves of the forest were thriving, green sprouting all over the trees. Thick vines crawl up, spiraling around the trunk.

Our feet in unity as we walk across the soft grass, dandelions scattered everywhere around us.

"Percy, I want to ask you about something" She whispered. "I know there is somebody out there that you know you love, I would like to-"

I cut her off, "If you want to know who she is and tell my parents, then forget about it"

"No, Perce I want you to tell me what it is like; to think that you truly belong to someone."

I let go of a breathe that I didn't even know that I was holding, "For starters, I don't think that I belong to her, I know it." [*Squealing with excitement*, Anyone else? No, nobody fine.]

I look out to the sky as I notice the sun was already settling in the mountains. We should be home by now, we should have reached the castle hours ago.

"Rachel, where are we?"

"How am I supposed to know? You the guy you're supposed to be good at tracking." She shrugs.

"Come on, don't trick me, I know that you lead us in the wrong direction"

She shrugs again and continues walking forwards.

I grab her shoulder, "You don't care if we get back or not don't you?!" I scream.

She barely gives me any attention as she trudges along the grassy path.

"Look, we are having homemade blue cookies tonight and I was planning on having some!" I turned around reading to head back to the way we came from. I couldn't even see the faintest outline of the castle.

The sky was getting dark and we really had to head back.

"You know, you're not going to make it before dark," Rachel called out to me. "I know where we can go for shelter if you are willing to follow me there."

She was already ahead of me, her dress was torn at places and the color was fading. I looked back behind me and saw that the outer sky was already turning dark. Rachel was right if I tried to leave now there is no way I could get to the castle.

"Fine, I'm coming." I sigh at her.

She looks back at me, I could tell that she was happy but she was trying to mask it, "Nobody is forcing your cupcake if you want to come you don't have to sound that depressed."

She looks away and continues walking. I race after her, my legs flying as she disappears out of view.

When I caught up with her I was hot, sweaty, and tired even if the sun was well set under the mountains.

"Now what?" I ask her, "Where are we going now?"

She gives me a sly smile as if she already had everything planned out.

"Follow me."

She races through the grass, I don't know how she can run so fast in a dress.

She runs faster and faster as if she was flying, she soon disappears through the trees.

I really don't get girls today, always trying to outsmart me somehow.

I race after her, I turned around one last time, looking at the dark sky. The stars were showing, if I didn't get home soon everyone would be worried. I turn around at the last moment to find a thinking tree in front of my face.

I stop when I felt it colliding with my nose.

I sigh, who decided to but this tree in the middle of the forest?

I put my hands on the bark of the tree, it felt smooth and polished. I open my eyes to find that I was touching a ladder leading to a tree house.

Well, is Rachel isn't going to lead me to shelter I guess that this might do just fine.

I climb the rickety ladder afraid that it would break under my weight of 190lbs. Don't worry I assure you its pure muscle.

When I get to the top I find that the tree house was abandoned years ago a thick layer of dust coated the tree house. There was no furniture there the only thing that had been left was a picture frame hanging in the very back.

I walk over to it, and wipe the dust off with my sleeve, the first thing that I see was a pair of eyes. One that has been haunting me for many nights, in a good way of course. The eyes were stormy grey, they were horrifying but magnificent.

I quickly wipe the rest of the dust off the picture and find that its a picture of a little kid. A little kid with two other little kids.

One was a girl, she had dark black hair her blue eyes made you feel penetrated with lightning. She had a bracelet on her wrist, one of gold. For some reason, it reminded me of Jason.

The other one was a boy, he had golden hair and blue eyes.

I look at the little girl that was standing in between the two. I knew here, somewhere, somehow I have met her.

It's Annabeth

A creak of a footstep startles me as I look behind me to find a certain red-haired girl.

"That's her right?" She asks me "That's the one you believe is meant for you."

She walks closer as I move aside as she runs her hand along "Annabeth's" face, she turns back and does the same to me.

She goes on her tippy toes and cups her hand on my ear and whispers, "I ship it."