A Pirate's Life For Me

STOP FIGHTING!!!! ~Joss Whedon, 2011

Will was the only one who saw Reyna for the next two days. She stayed at her captain's bedside, murmuring prayers to the gods and holding Percy's hand tightly in her own. She refused to see anyone.

The crew was tense. Thalia had silently taken the role of steering the ship, but refused to give orders. It wasn't like she had to anyway, everyone knew their role and how their job worked with everyone else's.

"Do you think she'd do it?" Piper asked, breaking the silence on the morning of the second day.

Leo nodded. "For Percy? She'd die without hesitation."

"There's more to it than that." Gwen shook her head. "Percy wouldn't bear life without her."

"She's stuck at a crossroads and either way she decides, it won't be pretty." Mitchell sighed, crossing his arms.

They all knew that. Reyna would hate living without Percy, especially with how much she went through to get him back in the past weeks. It was doubtful she'd even make it another month without him.

On the other hand, Percy was likely to kill himself on the spot if he was brought back from the brink of death to find out that his lover had given her life for his. He would flat out refuse to go on if she wasn't at his side.

It was a stalemate. A horrible, disgusting, morally ambiguous stalemate.

Everyone's heads shot up when Reyna emerged onto the deck. She was wearing one of Percy's shirts, and her hair was out of its braid for once. Her sword belt was buckled loosely around her waist but clearly it was for appearances more than necessity.

"I am officially taking suggestions."

Her voice aged her another ten years. She was clearly exhausted, as seen by the bags beneath her eyes, and possibly just as lost and confused as the day she and Hylla had frantically scrambled into the small lifeboat to escape the pirates that were trying to kill them.

No one said anything. None of them wanted to be the first to condemn her death, nor did they want to give up on their captain.

"I think you should do it."

Everyone looked up. Thalia was leaning against the railing above the main deck. Jason was behind her at the helm.

"Because you hate me?" Reyna asked flatly.

"No. Because the world really, truly needs that blasted son of Poseidon. As much as I hate to admit it, he changes people, and that's a good thing."

"What would he say?" Gwen countered, uncharacteristically fierce as she glared up at Thalia. "He'd want Reyna to live her life."

"Of course he would, he's a selfless idiot. It's not what he wants, it's what we need."

"That was incredibly cold hearted and selfish, Thalia. I applaud the focus on your own wants." Leo sneered, clapping his hands sarcastically.

Thalia sent a small bolt of lightning at him that hit the wood of the spar he was sitting on and began to smolder. Leo and Piper scrambled to stop it from setting alight completely.

"He's right." Frank shook his head, looking up at his former captain. "We need to consider what Percy would want, not what we want. He's the one whose life hangs in the balance here."

"Or mine." Reyna reminded him. There was no anger, no malice there. She was tired, and she wanted this all to be over.

"It's not like there are many options anyway." Piper finally pointed out. "We all agree that each of you would say the other should live. You could make the decision as simply as casting lots."

"This is not something trivial to gamble over." Reyna shook her head. "I cannot leave this up to chance, or fate. Clearly one of them is against me, I do not know if the other stands in my path as well."

"Really though, what else are you supposed to do? Argue with his body whether or not you should turn yourself over?" Thalia made an undignified snorting sound. "Good dinner theatre, yes, but a horrible way to make an important decision."

"Well I don't know what else to do and I've prayed to every god of fortune and good luck that I can think of." Reyna shook her head. "No answers. I have to choose before she gets here."

"Or, you could offer her a deal." Someone suddenly spoke who hadn't been involved so far.