Dark-Hair, Sea Eyes

13

Percy sat in the corner of the king's private throne room. It had been easy enough to get there as His Highness didn't have the most capable group of soldiers. The throne was made of gold encrusted with diamonds and it was the most expensive thing Percy had seen when he waltzed in looking for his target but he supposed it would have to do.

There was another throne almost identical to the king's, just smaller, and while the king's throne was in the center with steps leading up to it, putting him on a pedestal, the other was cast off to the side.

"That one must belong to the 'witch'", Percy said to himself out loud, mostly because his ears were blocked as recommended by the people. Their variation of 'witch' could make people do whatever she said, so his ears were plugged and he'd navigated his way deaf.

The people here had done most of his job for him giving him routes that they had tried. This throne room had hollow spaces in the walls big enough for someone to hide in and there were escape routes galore. Seeing how planned out this was made Percy wonder why they just didn't do it themselves, but they apparently had, they just failed. Percy situated himself and his gun and began his wait.

The king took this moment to step into the throne room and Percy noticed something odd. The king was walking apprehensively, he was sweating and Percy could visually see his panicked breaths.

Percy had had targets who'd seemed to know that they were indeed just that—targets—and showed signs of distress and uneasiness just before Percy killed them, but none of them looked so utterly defeated and panicked as this one did.

He was muttering something, and Percy silently debated whether or not it was a good idea to take the plugs out or if to leave them in just to be safe. There was no sign of the woman that they called a witch and even so it could just be a local superstition. Two familiar people walked in, and Percy frowned while taking the plugs out, knowing why they were here. "M-my people would never! I should have you whipped, hanged, and beheaded for having the audacity to suggest that the people of my kingdom would ever-"

"My liege," Sparky said, her trusted sidekick, Sparky 2, not too far behind her. "We know he's here. We are trying to save your life." She said, obviously getting annoyed at the monarch.

The king looked even more nervous and Percy frowned. It didn't matter that the Graces were here, he could kill his target. What mattered was how they found him. Steadying his gun, his job would be successful if he simply pulled the trigger. But he didn't, because Jason was too close and would wind the bullet away.

Cheater.

With that in mind, he shot Thalia. She could easily react but Jason didn't ignore his brotherly need to protect and stopped the bullet just in time for the king to hit the ground.

"Ah yes, Pinecone Face and Sparkles. Why the sabotage?" Percy asked stepping out of his hiding place. Jason looked at the body with disdain. "Sloppy, " he muttered but didn't speak up. "Perseus, thanks for revealing yourself. We were getting nowhere with... That." Thalia said, gesturing towards the now deceased king.

"What do you want?" Percy asked, despite already knowing that Order sent them after him. "We want a favor," Thalia said. "I don't owe you one. Why is that my problem?" Percy asked. If it was anyone else, Percy would ignore them and simply walk away, but he and Thalia were raised by the same man. He decided to give her the privilege of hearing herself talk.

Percy didn't know where the dragon they'd been riding on was, but its rider could track it where ever. That meant as long as the Graces were near him, someone knew where he was. He didn't like that feeling.

"I'm sure di Angelo has already told you that Order is after you. And that we've come as messengers, " Thalia said, always the somewhat reasonable one if it helped her get to what she wanted. Nico had his spies just about everywhere—both dead and alive—so he'd probably been able to track the stumbling movements of the Graces as they went after him.

Yet that didn't answer this question. "How'd you find me?" Percy asked. "My dragon found yours easily. I believe it's what its breed is known for, " Thalia said. Jason was silent, listening to the exchange intensely. It was him attempting to be unsettling, but Percy had seen books with more spine than him.

"Next time Abyss will go for a little fly then. Thanks," Percy said, ready to leave the same way he came in—undetected—and find his next job. "You never heard out our favor," Thalia said. Percy ignored her. Anytime someone looked for him meant he'd been as Jason had said: sloppy. It was a bad idea if someone could trace back to him and it was worse that the Graces of all people found him. If they'd been more threatening, or if Tyson was with him, this could've been bad. "It has something to do with Chiron."

Percy paused, before deciding to ignore that part too, mostly because of the footsteps he heard coming towards them. His hands swiftly put the earplugs in before raising his gun to aim at the pretty girl who walked into the room and looked straight at the dead king. Her irises had a lot of colors and her kaleidoscopic eyes locked onto Percy, or rather the gun pointed at her, and she spoke. Both Jason and Thalia stiffened and their eyes glazed over.

She spoke more, her posture becoming more defensive. When her eyes narrowed, Percy got the inkling that he had somehow made her angry. She wasn't his target but looking at the two assassins who stood gawking like idiots uncharacteristically doing nothing, he didn't feel bad when he pulled the trigger.

He was trigger happy, sure, but with reason.

When the bullet landed, the siblings snapped out of it. He pulled one of the plugs out.

"She's not dead," Jason said, pulling out a gun of his own. He looked mildly confused, but in that way, he and Percy were similar; kill first, ask questions later. "Wait Jace," Thalia told her little brother, who frowned but obeyed. "Look at her. She's one of us," Thalia said, leaning down next to the injured girl. "How do you know?" Percy asked, still wanting to leave this planet before having to deal with yet another person who knew who he was. He preferred to keep those people concentrated on one planet.

"She said, 'Stop' and I couldn't even think about moving. There's a goddess with that ability," Thalia said. Percy wasn't convinced as he didn't listen to the nonsensical rambling their teacher did, then again, Percy realized he didn't care. "Okay, then you deal with that. I'm going to go," Percy said, turning to walk away.

He and The Graces hated each other, but they had an agreement: One had never seen the others' face. He knew they wouldn't tell, even if it was just them clinging to their morality.

"But Chiron-" "Don't mention him, Thalia. Tell Order that whatever she wants, Perseus declines," Percy started, before another question popped into his mind. "You mentioned Chiron to her?" Percy asked, well more accused. "No, of course not. I'm not cruel," Thalia said, almost offended.

Percy relaxed and put his gun away out of sight. "Keep it that way. It will be too soon if I see you again," Percy said, walking around the girl's unconscious body. They wordlessly let him go.

Di Angelo would send someone to pick up whatever reward he had. Abyss flew down to meet him, landing on his shoulder with the usual happy squawk.

Swiping the air, Percy mindlessly scrolled and clicked the job that had been sitting on his waiting list for a long while. Damn it all, he let Thalia get to him.

//////
Zeus was chained in gold, with a crown of glass on his head. Chaos liked his metaphors and dressed him in rags but chained him in riches. Hades suffered silently, rarely moving. He'd been reunited with his Roman equivalent, yet he still seemed weak. Zeus could hear waves that weren't there, a violent sea invading his mind. His brother was calling for help, yet Zeus was powerless.

I'm not dead. Promise.

Well, what did you think? Tell me your thoughts, its been a while. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, bye~