Beyond the Shining Lights (Percy Jackson Barbie's Mariposa AU)

Chapter 4

"Okay, I got as much as I could find!" Thalia complained as she flew into the house. "This time, the bog smelled worse than feet! It smelled like twenty stinky fairies' feet! Why do you guys- Wait... Where is everyone?"

Thalia looked around the house, noticing that she was the only living thing around. "Seriously... Where are they?"

A Flutter Fairy flew out of it's little home, flying up to Thalia.

"Hey, what's up? Do you know where the others are?" Thalia asked cautiously.

The tiny fairy grabbed Thalia's finger as she pulled her over to the giant mirror, where a letter was lying on the ground. Thalia picked up the letter, quickly reading it over.

Clarisse, Silena, Piper, and I went out to save Halfling.

King poisoned. Searching for the antidote.

Had a run in with the prince this morning, and he gave me a map. We'll be fine.

Track down Prince Perseus, he'll explain everything.

- A

P.S. Sorry to make you go for more thistleburst and to not wind up using it. Silena and I will find a purpose for it, promise.

- Piper

"Find the prince!?" Thalia asked out loud, looking at the paper questioningly as she folded it back up and stuck it in her bag. "How the heck am I supposed to find someone that I literally don't know!? I don't even know what he looks like!"

Confused on what to do, Thalia left the bounty she collected in front of the mirror and flew out of the house.

Meanwhile, in the castle, Percy was rattling on the bars, trying to annoy Lord Chiron to the point where he'd let Percy, his younger brother Tyson, and Grover, his best friend the training guard assigned to stay inside with the two princes, out of the cage around Percy's bed.

"Perseus, please understand that this is for your own protection." Lord Chiron said, standing far away from the bars. "Since your father is incapacitated at the moment, I'm in charge of Halfling, not you. This is for your own good."

"That's what you wanted, isn't it!" Percy protested. "You wanted to take over the throne, so you poisoned my father! I swear, if I find out that you're behind this-"

"Prince Perseus, how many times do I have to tell you that I didn't poison him." Lord Chiron said, shaking his head. "I only want the best. If, and I hate to think this, but if your father dies, you need to be here, sage a ready to rule, not chasing after antidotes to poisons in fairytales. I'm sorry, but I can't let you go."

Once Lord Chiron was gone, Percy threw his hands up in the air, plopping down at the edge of his bed. Tyson was drawing on a piece of paper at the head of Percy's bed, ignoring the world, and Grover was anxiously sitting in a chair in a corner of the room.

"Percy, do you actually believe that this-"

"Yes, I do." Percy said, glancing at his copy of The Tale of Antonio Andreas in the back corner of his room. "And if she doesn't get word-"

"She?" Tyson asked, setting down his piece of paper, an eyepatch over his blind eye. The reason why the two brothers have rarely seen their own city was because one day, when, Tyson was playing with some of the neighborhood kids, he accidentally got a stick poked in his eye that the kids were using as swords. The jolt from the stick was enough to make him go blind in the eye that the stick hit. Ever since, King Poseidon kept the boys under lock and key inside the palace. That's why Percy was out just the night before: with King Poseidon occupied by his guests, Percy could easily sneak out of the palace without being noticed and seen by the guards. "Who's this she you just mentioned?"

"Nobody. Just... This fairy I met yesterday."

"Woah woah woah." Grover said, putting up a time out sign as he looked at Percy. "You know girls? Since when!?"

"Last night..."

"When you said you were going to the royal library?"

"Maybe..."

"Brother, you sly dog." Tyson said, lightly punching Percy's arm as he leaned forward. "Well, who is she? What's she like? We need details, Percy."

"You mean you need details." Grover said, rolling his eyes as he sat down on the bed. "I already have a girlfriend. I know what girls are like."

"But aren't you curious about who he met last night?"

"Maybe a little bit..."

Percy laughed, rolling his eyes, as he grabbed his book and sat back down. "Well, her name's Annabeth, she has curly blonde hair, surprisingly dark grey eyes, and she's the only other person I've met who knows details about the world outside of Halfling. She's read this book 10 times, and thos is the book where the poison is mentioned. I gave her a map to the antidote in case I got captured. If she doesn't get the information that I've been captured, then..."

"Father might die." Tyson said uncertainly.

"Well, it seems to me that you two are a match made in heaven." Grover said, grabbing the book as he started reading the pages inside. "I mean, someone whose outread you? Seems unheard of!"

"Ha ha." Percy said sarcastically, looking longingly outside the barred window.

"Seriously though, dude. She's probably heard the news by now. It's not like you went quietly. She's probably on her way to find it now."

"I hope you're right." Percy said, smiling at the window before lying down in his bed. "She might be the only thing that can save us now."