Daughter of Mother Earth

Chapter Sixty-Two

Crystal glanced around the hall. They had a cupboard full of the magic cups and plates from Camp Half-Blood and even a magical ice chest for picnics. The chairs, of course, were extremely comfortable, equipped with anything a demigod would need to relax. Crystal sighed as the watched the walls. They showed real-time footage of Camp Half-Blood. She could see the strawberry fields and at that moment she wanted nothing more than to lay down and breathe in the scent of sun-baked strawberries. 

"So, Percy began. "What now?"

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"That's a great question," Crystal sighed, sitting down. 

Frank picked at his bow. "Maybe we should figure out the prophecy?"

"Let me think about it," Annabeth crossed her arms. "Right now we have a more oppressing issue. The ship needs to be fixed. What do we need?"

"We need tar," Leo said.

Crystal nodded. "That'd be easy to get. We can get that at a roofing store or something."

"Then we need Celestial bronze and lime, but both of those are on an island in the lake." Leo finished. 

"We have to hurry," Hazel said. "Octavian is most likely searching for us and will send a strike force."

Leo chewed his lip. "I don't know what happened. I promise, I-"

Annabeth raised her hand, cutting Leo off. "Leo, we've been discussing it and agreed that there was no way it could've been you. It must have been magic controlling you, like when Crystal was being controlled."

Crystal looked down with guilt, remembering the incident. "Did you have to bring that up?"

"It could've been Gaea or a minion of hers," Annabeth continued. "And until we understand what exactly happened-"

"How do we know it won't happen again?" Frank asked. 

"I'm fine now," Leo insisted. 

Crystal thought for a moment and looked up. "What if we used the buddy system? That way nobody is alone. Piper and Coach will stay here and watch Jason. One team goes into town, one team goes to the island."

"I don't know," Percy said. "Splitting up doesn't sound too good."

Hazel spoke up. "It'll be quicker. There's also a reason demigods don't travel in large groups."

"You're right," Annabeth agreed. "That's why we need the Argo II. Seven demigods in one place will attract too much attention to monsters. The ship protects us, as camp does. If we leave, we shouldn't travel in groups larger than three."

"Dibs on Annabeth as my buddy," Percy said. 

Hazel grinned. "Frank, turning into that dragon was amazing. Do you think you could do it again and fly Percy and Annabeth into town?"

Frank hesitated. "I guess, but what about you?"

"I'll ride Arion with Leo," Hazel said. 

"I'm coming too," Crystal blushed when she realized she had said that a little too quickly. "T-To make it a group of three, of course."

"How long will it take to fix the ship?" Annabeth asked.

"Hopefully a few hours," Leo said. 

Annabeth nodded. "Alright. We'll get the supplies and meet back here as soon as possible. Everyone, stay safe."

~

Racing a magical horse was a lot more difficult than Crystal had anticipated. Since Arion could only carry two passengers and Crystal was the only one who could fly, Hazel and Leo rode Arion across the lake as Crystal tried her best to keep up.