Of Shocks and Seashells

Of Godly Amends and Hand Holding

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, ornate, silver pieces of headgear, or anything else. Rick Riordan does.

Note: This is an epilogue to Storms

Percy's Point of View

Needless to say, I'm extremely worried. After that whole beach fiasco, Thalia stayed in her cabin for the rest of the day. She didn't come to dinner. She's not answering anyone, not even the Stoll brothers, who felt horrible about all the ruckus they caused. Not even me. I knocked on the door, asked her to open it, and got to the point where I threatened her to let me in 'or else.'

Great insult, Percy.

But now it's after the campfire, and I'm scared about what's going on with her. I hope she hasn't done anything...well, bad. I decide to head over and barge in, whether she likes it or not.

Apparently, she doesn't care, because I find her sitting on her bed, fully clothed, staring off into space. I make no move to sit by her, and she makes no move to invite me further into the room.

"Uhh...Thalia? Are you okay? You haven't come out of your room," I say nervously. She turns her gaze to me, but her eyes are unfocused and distracted.

"Did you know I used to be an amazing swimmer, Percy?" she whispers.

"What?" I ask, startled.

"I said, I used to be an amazing swimmer," she repeats, then sighs. "It's killing me, Percy. To not able to go into the water anymore without something happening, to not be able to swim anymore. I hate how I'm forbidden to do it. I'm restrained by the gods. And that's what I detest the most in life. Being restrained. That's one of the reasons why I ran away. My mom...my mom was big on rules and she liked to control. Control me. Control every freaking thing that I did." Her eyes are lackluster and lacking the electricity they used to posses, the electricity that I was immediately attracted to. They are dull and lifeless, without emotion or feeling.

And that kills me.

Maybe I could do something. My dad's the sea god, after all. Maybe...just maybe...I could talk to him. See if he could do something.

Abruptly, I stand up. "Thalia, come with me." I stretch out my hand, offering it to her. She looks at me suspiciously, and stretches out her cautiously. "Trust me." She takes it, and as soon as her hand touches mine, a tingle shoots through my hand and up my arm. She didn't shock me. It's nothing like that feeling. It's more like Destiny just told me something.

I lead her out of her cabin, holding her hand the whole way. I can't help but notice how her pale fingers are interlocked with mine tightly, causing me to blush. If Thalia notices, she doesn't say anything, thank gods. I pull her to the beach bordering the lake, and as soon as she sees where I'm taking her, she panics.

"Oh. My. Gods, Percy! Why did you take me here? All you're going to do is just make my dad and your dad mad, and when our dads get mad, bad things happen. Why the Hades did I agree to go along with this?" She moans, putting her hands over her eyes, digging her fingernails into her cheeks. I gently pry them away, which is quite hard, because her muscles are so tense. I brush a piece of hair out of her eyes and behind her ear.

"Thalia, all I'm asking you to do is trust me. I can make things right," I say softly.

She swallows nervously. "Okay. Fine. But if you end up killing me, I swear on the River Styx I'll be reborn and I will come and hunt you do and kill you."

"Fine." I roll my eyes, dragging her to the dock. She puts up a little of a struggle, but I pull her hard, and she tumbles to her knees, landing on the front two boards of the dock.

"Percy! Be more careful! If you had pulled only a little bit harder, I would have fell into the water!" Thalia shrieks.

"This is the exact reason I brought you along with me," I mutter. I reach out with the hand Thalia is not clutching, and stick it in the water, feeling the ocean's power rise in my body.

Hey...umm...dad? Could we maybe talk? I promise it will only take a couple of minutes, I think.

Wha-? Oh, hello Percy. Yes, we can talk, but only if it will take a couple of minutes; I am quite busy. My father's voice speaks to me in my mind.

I wanted to talk to you about Thalia.

Daughter of Zeus? I can hear the resentment and the distaste in his voice.

Father, do not judge her. She did not choose to be Daughter of Zeus anymore than I did to be Son of Poseidon. And yet she is punished. She is not allowed to set foot in water without you and Lord Zeus getting very mad. And I want that to change, I think, picking my words carefully.

What do you mean?

Could you maybe allow her to swim in the water without attacking her and having her almost die?

It is the ancient laws, my son. Children of the Big Three were never allowed to set foot in any of the other's territory. I cannot change it.

Please, Father. She is a good person, and I feel that she deserves it. She used to love swimming, and she misses it terribly. Please.

There is a long moment of silence.

I suppose...I suppose I will be able to grant your wish. This girl, Thalia, will be able to swim in the water again. But lest she befoul it in any way...she will feel my wrath.

Oh, thank you, father. Thank you so much.

You're welcome, my son.

"Well?" Thalia whispers. "What's going on?"

I smile, a triumphant look full of pride gracing my face. "You can swim as much as you want from here on, as long as you don't do anything to harm the ocean." Thalia gapes at me.

"Oh my gods, Percy, thank you so much! This is awesome!"

"Well?" I ask. "What are you waiting for? Get in the water!"

She blushes. "I'm not wearing a swimsuit."

"Then go get one on!" Thalia pries her fingers away from mine, walking over to her cabin. I flex my fingers, feeling blood circulate back into them, but realize that I...sort of miss having her hand attached to mine.