Prisoner of the Sea

Chapter 10

I DO NOT OWN THE PJO/HoO SERIES, RICK RIORDAN DOES! THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION!!!

Chapter 10

"Celeste!" Nora cried.

It had been almost an hour since Celeste had woken from her nightmare and Nora had turned her back for a second before Celeste was nowhere to be found.

Panicking, Nora dashed throughout the palace, shoving away merpeople and several aquatic creatures.

If Poseidon found out that Celeste went missing on Nora's watch, he would have her fins.

"Celeste!?" Nora screamed again.

Then it hit her.

The cave where Jacob and her used to go. Celeste was using it as a hiding spot.

It was only a guess, but Nora had to try.

Quickly, she burst out of the palace and towards the cave. Just as she suspected, she saw Celeste curled up in the shadows.

"Celeste?" Nora asked softly.

Celeste glanced up and saw Nora. She sniffled and turned away. "Go away Nora, I'm not in the mood."

"But what's wrong? Why did you run away?" Nora asked.

"Because!" Celeste screamed, making the water churn and some sea plants to wither and die.

Celeste's voice quieted. "Because I can't stand being treated like a freak. I'm different, and you know it. I'm not supposed to be this powerful. Something's wrong with me and I can't do anything to stop it. I might as well just kill myself. My father doesn't want me, my mother doesn't want me, my brother doesn't even know me, the merpeople are scared of me, and the gods don't even know I exist."

"Oh Celeste, please don't think like that." Nora said, swimming closer to her friend. "Look in you necklace and tell me what you see."

Celeste rolled her eyes. "Nora, I don't-"

"Just do it. Trust me." Nora broke in.

With a sigh, Celeste looked inside the pendant and saw herself and Nora sitting side by side. She was looking in the pendant and Nora was by her side, smiling. However, pendent-Celeste glanced up for a split second with a cruel face and black slit eyes.

She thrust her hand out and snapped Nora's head around. The mergirl dropped dead.

Celeste dropped the pendant with a gasp. Nora was looking at her with alarm. "What is it!? Didn't you see us? You and me sitting here? It shows that I care about you Celeste. Don't you realize-"

Celeste ripped off the pendant and placed it in Nora's hand. "No, no I'm sorry. I just can't right now. I'm going back to the palace."

Nora grabbed Celeste's arm as she turned to leave. "Celeste, wait. What did you see?"

Celeste took a deep breath.

"Nothing."

She swam off before Nora could say another word.

The shadow swirled in her mind:

"Time is ticking by...
I almost have you in my grasp...
Time to say goodbye..."

Celeste shook her head to clear it. She would not kill anymore, she couldn't.

She needed to talk to Poseidon.

•••

Poseidon came back to the palace to find Celeste waiting for him at the door.

She glanced up at him with a solemn expression and came closer.

Poseidon studied his daughter thoroughly to check for any chance it might be Kayla's blood bond in activation.

But at the moment, Celeste looked in control of her own body.

Time, however, was still ticking away.

"Father. We need to have a serious discussion. It's about me, and Percy and...well my abilities." Celeste muttered.

Poseidon nodded. "Yes, of course."

"There's um...been a voice in my head, telling me to kill things and sometimes I can't control it. It's like this urge inside me saying that I need to kill, that I need to rule. I didn't tell you because, well, I didn't trust you. But, with everything happening, I was hoping you could help me figure out what it is." Celeste said.

Poseidon was silent for a moment.

It was Kayla. It had to be.

"That is definitely something serious, Celeste. But whatever it is, and whatever it has to do with your unusual powers, we'll figure it out. Don't worry." Poseidon said.

Celeste sniffled and hesitantly walked up to her father. She wrapped her hands around his torso and did her best to keep from crying.

"I'm sorry I doubted you so much. I just couldn't handle how you always yelled at me and continuously kept me away from Percy. I understand now, it was just my mother. She didn't want me and you took me in. I'm grateful for that. And I'll be even more grateful when you help me get rid of this voice." Celeste looked up at her father with a faint smile.

Poseidon did his best to return the smile, but the guilt washed over him as he stared into his daughter's bright sea green eyes.

As he stared into her eyes, he saw the swirling darkness, the blood bond Kayla had created. If he waited too long, Kayla would take over Celeste's body and Celeste would eventually die. And, with the bond so strong, Kayla probably could destroy Olympus.

"A half blood of the eldest gods,
Shall reach sixteen against all odds,
And see the world in endless sleep,
The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap,
A single choice shall end their days,
Olympus to preserve or raze."

Poseidon sighed as he ran the Great Prophecy through his mind once more. The more he thought about it, the more Celeste seemed to fit into the holes.

"And I'm grateful for you." Poseidon said.

Celeste smiled sincerely at that and released from the hug. "I'm going to go get dinner now. We can talk more about this tomorrow."

Then she went around the corner, and was gone.

Poseidon closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened them again, Night was in front of him, her arms crossed and her scowl deep.

"Poseidon." She snarled. "Before you rudely interrupted our conversation and left, we have more to talk about."

Poseidon tried his best not to roll his eyes. "Yes, of course. What do you want?"

"I want that half-blood daughter of yours dead." Night snapped.

"What!?" Poseidon exclaimed, his tone furious. The ocean around him swirled with his mood.

Night rolled her eyes as if the raging storm and the angry god didn't faze her.

Which, it probably didn't.

"She's dangerous. What you explained to me, and from what I've recently been observing, she is definitely under a blood bond. And the only way to break a blood bond is for the person who created it to remove it themselves, or for both of them to die. And the only way for Kayla to remove that blood bond is if she was a completely different person, which she's not. Apparently, she's turned into a psychopath and proved me wrong. She's evil after all. However, not that I care about Olympus, but i'd rather not be on the gods bad side for not stopping her when I had the chance. So, either you kill Celeste, or I will." Night explained.

Poseidon narrowed his eyes. "I will not kill my daughter. But...I have been thinking of another option I could use."

Night raised an eyebrow. "And what is that exactly?"

"Well, it's a type of curse...it'll make her invisible to all creatures, but it'll trap Kayla, leaving her powerless. The only downside is Celeste will be cursed...what do you think?"

Night smirked. "When do we start?"