Prisoner of the Sea

Chapter 6

I DO NOT OWN THE PJO/HoO SERIES! THAT BELONGS TO RICK RIORDAN!!!

Chapter 6

The next morning, Celeste wandered about the palace with no destination and a carefree attitude.

"Hey." A voice came from behind her.

She turned and saw Nora. She was smiling faintly. She held a crumpled up piece of paper in her hands.

"I found this in your bags. Not sure if you wanted it or not..." Nora shifted uneasily.

Celeste gave her friend a confused look and took the paper. It was crumpled up, wrinkled, but surprisingly still readable. It must've been some magic since they were underwater and the words should've been blurred.

She recognized the sloppy handwriting immediately. It was written in blue crayon and the date on it was her birthday-her fourth birthday.

Celeste choked back a cry.

It was a birthday card from Percy.

How had she not seen this?

'Der Celeste, im sory bout de spelin. Mom told me how tu spel your nam. I jus wanted tu sa hapi birfda. U r de best sis eva. I lov u. Lov, Percy.

P.S. Mom helped wif mi nam tu.'

Celeste smiled and rolled up the paper. The crayon scribbles murdered her dyslexia, but she could read it nonetheless.

"Thank you." Celeste mumbled.

Nora nodded and placed her hand on Celeste's shoulder. "Come on, let's go exploring. Shall we?"

Celeste smirked, placed the note in her blouse pocket, and swam off after her friend who was already halfway out the door.

•••

Celeste followed Nora through the beautiful groves of coral, smiling and speaking to the fish.

The water was a relieving feeling and swimming made her feel free. However, the feeling of being watched never left her.

Nora stopped in front of her and turned around with a bright smile. "Ok, so, I found this amazing cave with these beautiful crystals! I can't resist shiny stuff, and it's amazing! Wanna come?"

Celeste pondered. "I don't know. My dad doesn't like us venturing off too far."

Nora's smile wavered but it instantly melted back into her normal sharp toothed smile.

"It's close to the surface. There's a certain apartment building you can see into." Nora winked.

Celeste's heart almost stopped. "Percy!?"

"Well, you can't go see him, but you can see him from a distance. Only if you want to of course." Nora said.

Celeste thought about the pain that might inflict in her if she saw her brother again. Would he look any different? What had he been doing for the past year that Celeste hadn't been there to see? And why didn't he remember her?

"So, you want to?" Nora asked.

Celeste blinked. "Uh, yeah. Of course!"

Nora smiled and grabbed Celeste's wrist. She flicked her tail and swam off with Celeste in tow.

You have the ability to kill...to destroy...to rule...

Celeste blinked hard.

No.
This stupid nightmare clone of hers would not haunt her. It was a stupid dream. It meant nothing.