★ 。＼｜／。★

𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗘

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖎𝖙𝖗𝖊 𝖙𝖗𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖊-𝖈𝖎𝖓𝖖:
SNAKE MEN BOARD
THE ARGO II

★ 。／｜＼。★

NOW, BELLE HAD learned that as a Demigod, she always had to be ready for surprises. That's why she wasn't shocked when snake people arrived.

They had just docked at the harbor in Piraeus which was on the outskirts of Athens. After months, they had finally reached their final destination. Somewhere out there — past the rows of cruise ships and hills crowded with buildings — was the Acropolis. One way or another, this was the last day of their journey. Belle found it kind of bittersweet. Sure, they had gone through some terrible stuff on the Argo II. Annabeth's solo quest, Belle and Percy falling into Tartarus, the ship being attacked endlessly . . . but the eight Demigods of the Great Prophecy had formed such a tight-knit bond. It was strange how they wouldn't all be living on the same ship after today.

While Piper was on watch, the rest of the crew geared up in preparation for combat. Everyone else checked their armor and weapons and loaded the catapults and ballistae. Meanwhile, Belle made sure everything on her was settled. Wearing jeans so that Sunflower's keychain could easily clip onto her belt loops? Check. Hair tied back in tight French braids (courtesy of Piper) so her hair was out of her face? Check. Extra seeds in her pockets just in case? Check.

"Um . . . Annabeth? Belle?" Piper suddenly called.

Belle turned to the girl. Her eyebrows knit in concern as she walked up to Piper, Annabeth and Percy trailing behind her. Belle placed her hands on the rail as she watched snake guys slither along the docks. They winded through crowds of mortal tourists that paid them no attention.

"Oh, great," Percy commented. "Dracaenae."

Annabeth narrowed her eyes in thought. "I don't think so. At least not like any I've seen. Dracaenae have two serpent trunks for legs. These guys just have one."

"And they look more human on top," Belle added. "Should we try to talk to them or fight?"

Nobody answered her. Belle stared down at the snake men as they continued to approach them. The one in the lead had his head held high, which helped Belle to see his chiseled bronze face, black eyes, and glistening curly hair. He wore nothing except a Greek chlamys — a white wool cloak loosely wrapped and pinned at the shoulder — over his upper body that rippled with muscles. From the waist down his body was a green eight-foot-long serpent trunk. In one hand he carried a staff topped with a glowing green jewel while in the other he carried a silver platter covered with a silver dome. The two others behind him appeared to be guards, since they wore bronze breastplates and elaborate helmets topped with horsehair bristles. Their spears were tipped with green stone points and their oval shields were marked with a large Greek letter K — kappa.

About a few yards away from the Argo II, the leader looked up and studied the four Demigods before him. His expression was intense yet hard to read. Belle tilted her head in thought at him.

"Permission to come aboard," he pleaded, his voice raspy.

"Who are you?" Piper asked.

His dark eyes fixed on her. "I am Kekrops, the first and eternal king of Athens. I would welcome you to my city." He held up the covered silver platter. "Also, I brought a Bundt cake."

Piper glanced over to Belle, Percy, and Annabeth. "A trick?"

"Probably," Annabeth responded.

Belle nodded. "Yeah, I don't know what their plan is."

"At least he brought dessert," Percy stated, smiling down at the snake people. "Welcome aboard!"

Kekrops had agreed to leave his two guards above deck with Buford the table. Coach Hedge's mini hologram ordered them to drop and give him twenty push-ups. The guards seemed to take this as a challenge, so they left them there. Meanwhile, Kekrops and the eight Demigods all met in the mess hall to have a meeting. Belle sat in between Percy and Annabeth, staring at Kekrops in confusion. It was obvious that he wanted something.

"Please take a seat," Jason offered.

Kekrops wrinkled his nose in offense. "Snake people do not sit."

"Please remain standing," Leo said.

He cut into the Bundt cake and took a bite. Belle blinked in surprise. That cake could've very well been poisoned, but Leo seemed to be okay.

"Dang!" Leo exclaimed with a grin. "Snake people know how to make Bundt cake. Kind of orangey, with a hint of honey. Needs a glass of milk."

"Snake people do not drink milk," Kekrops voiced. "We are lactose-intolerant reptiles."

"Me, too!" Frank agreed. "I mean . . . lactose intolerant. Not a reptile. Though I can be a reptile
sometimes—"

"Anyway," Hazel interrupted. "King Kekrops, what brings you here? How did you know we'd arrived?"

"I know everything that happens in Athens," Kekrops answered. "I was the city's founder, its first king, born of the Earth. I am the one who judged the dispute between Athena and Poseidon, and chose Athena to be the patron of the city."

"No hard feelings, though," Percy muttered.

Belle elbowed him. "Quiet."

"Right, sorry."

"I've heard of you, Kekrops," Annabeth told him. "You were the first to offer sacrifices to Athena. You built her first shrine on the Acropolis."

"Correct," Kekrops responded, though he sounded bitter like he regretted his decision. "My people were the original Athenians — the Gemini."

"Like your zodiac sign?" Percy questioned. "I'm a Leo."

"No, stupid," Leo said. "I'm a Leo. You're a Percy."

Belle buried her face in her hands. "Oh my Gods, you can't be serious."

"Will you two stop it?" Hazel chided. "I think he means Gemini like doubled — half man, half snake. That's what his people are called. He's a Geminus, singular."

"Yes . . ." Kekrops trailed off, leaning away from Hazel as if she somehow offended him. "Millennia ago, we were driven underground by the two-legged humans, but I know the ways of the city better than any. I came to warn you. If you try to approach the Acropolis aboveground, you will be destroyed."

Jason stopped eating some of the cake. "You mean . . . by you?"

"By Porphyrion's armies," Kekrops explained. "The Acropolis is ringed with great siege weapons — onagers."

"More onagers?" Frank complained. "Did they have a sale on them or something?"

"The Cyclopes," Hazel guessed. "They're supplying both Octavian and the Giants."

"Like we needed more proof that Octavian is on the wrong side," Percy commented.

"That is not the only threat," Kekrops warned. "The air is filled with storm spirits and Gryphons. All roads to the Acropolis are patrolled by the Earthborn."

Frank absentmindedly drummed his fingers on the cover of the Bundt cake. "So, what, we should just give up? We've come too far for that."

"I offer you an alternative. Underground passage to the Acropolis. For the sake of Athena, for the sake of the Gods, I will help you."

A shiver ran up Belle's spine. She remembered what Piper had said when she relayed her dream to her, Annabeth, and Percy at Sparta. The Giantess Periboia (the anti-Aphrodite) had said the Demigods would find friends as well as enemies. Perhaps she had meant Kekrops and his snake people, but there was something about Kekrops' voice that Belle didn't like. She locked eyes with Piper across the way. Somehow, she knew that they were thinking the same thing. Belle subtly nodded.

"What's the catch?" Piper asked.

Kekrops turned to her. "Only a small party of Demigods — no more than four — could pass undetected by the Giants. Otherwise your scent would give you away. But our underground passages could lead you straight into the ruins of the Acropolis. Once there, you could disable the siege weapons by stealth and allow the rest of your crew to approach. With luck, you could take the Giants by surprise. You might be able to disrupt their ceremony."

"Ceremony?" Leo repeated. "Oh . . . like, to wake Gaea."

"Even now it has begun. Can you not feel the Earth trembling? We, the Gemini, are your best chance."

Belle slowly looked towards Annabeth. They communicated with their eyes. There was a sort of eagerness, almost hunger, in Kekrops' voice.

Percy glanced around the table. "Any objections?"

"Just a few," Jason voiced. "We're on the enemy's doorstep. We're being asked to split up. Isn't that how people get killed in horror movies?"

"Also, Gaea wants us to reach the Parthenon," Percy added. "She wants our blood to water the stones and all that other psycho garbage. Won't we be playing right into her hands?"

Belle, Piper, and Annabeth all looked in between each other. Ever since their trip to Sparta, the three of them learned to solve problems from different things. Annabeth with her logic, Piper with her gut reactions, and Belle kind of in the middle with both logic and gut reactions. Together, they either solved the problem three times as fast or hopelessly confused each other. It was kind of a great system.

Kekrops' plan seemed to make sense. It was probably the least suicidal option, but Belle could see the snake king was hiding his true intentions. Before any of them said anything else, Piper suddenly began to sing. Belle blinked in shock at the girl's beautiful voice and straightened up in her chair. She had no idea her friend could sing that well. Apparently, neither did anyone else, because they all stopped to listen as well. Kekrops, on the other hand, stared at Piper in wonder and began to sway along with the song. Piper then finished the first verse. Nobody spoke for a count of five.

"Pipes," Jason breathed out. "I had no idea.'

"That was beautiful," Leo agreed. "Maybe not . . . you know, Calypso beautiful, but still . . ."

Piper didn't pay attention to them and kept the snake king's gaze. "What are your real intentions?"

Belle now understood what Piper was doing. In a way, this singing was a form of charmspeak. Belle could snap herself out of the trance, but apparently, this charmspeak was powerful enough to keep Kekrops transfixed.

"To deceive you," Kekrops answered in a trance, still swaying. "We hope to lead you into the tunnels and destroy you."

"Why?" Piper questioned.

"The Earth Mother has promised us great rewards. If we spill your blood under the Parthenon, that will be sufficient to complete her awakening."

Underneath the table, Percy's hand found Belle's. Belle gripped it back and laced their fingers together — their main source of comfort.

"But you serve Athena," Piper stated. "You founded her city."

Kekrops lowly hissed. "And in return the Goddess abandoned me. Athena replaced me with a two-legged human king. She drove my daughters mad. They leaped to their deaths from the cliffs of the Acropolis. The original Athenians, the Gemini, were driven underground and forgotten. Athena, the Goddess of wisdom, turned her back on us, but wisdom comes from the Earth as well. We are, first and last, the children of Gaea. The Earth Mother has promised us a place in the sun of the upper world."

"Gaea is lying. She intends to destroy the upper world, not give it to anyone."

Kekrops bared his fangs at her. "Then we will be no worse off than we were under the treacherous Gods!"

He raised his staff. Belle's eyes widened, but Piper began to sing again. She suddenly lost her tension. As did Kekrops, whose arms went limp and eyes glassed over. Piper sang a few more lines before asking another question.

"The Giants' defenses, the underground passage to the Acropolis — how much of what you told us is true?" Piper inquired.

"All of it," Kekrops replied. "The Acropolis is heavily defended, just as I described. Any approach aboveground would be impossible."

"So you could guide us through your tunnels. That's also true?"

Kekrops frowned. "Yes . . ."

"And if you ordered your people not to attack us, they would obey?"

"Yes, but . . ." Kekrops shuddered. "Yes, they would obey. Four of you at most could go without
attracting the attention of the Giants."

Annabeth's gray eyes turned stormy. "Piper, we'd be crazy to try it. He'll kill us at the first opportunity."

"Yes," Kekrops confirmed. "Only this girl's music controls me. I hate it. Please, sing some more."

Piper sang another verse. This time, Leo got into the act. He picked up some spoons and made them do high kicks on the tabletop. That continued until Hazel slapped his arm.

"I should go if it's underground," Hazel announced.

"Never," Kekrops refused. "A child of the Underworld? My people would find your presence revolting. No charming music would keep them from slaying you."

Hazel swallowed nervously. "Or I could stay here."

"Me, Percy, and Belle," Annabeth suggested.

"Um . . ." Percy cut in, raising his hand. "Just gonna throw this out here again. That's exactly what Gaea wants — you and me or me and Belle, our blood watering the stones, et cetera."

Annabeth's expression was grim. "I know. But it's the most logical choice. The oldest shrines on the Acropolis are dedicated to Poseidon and Athena. Kekrops, wouldn't that mask our approach?"

"Yes," Kekrops admitted. "Your . . . your scent would be difficult to discern. The ruins always radiate the power of those two Gods."

"And Belle is definitely coming with us," Annabeth continued. "Us three against the world, right?"

Belle laughed slightly at the memory from last night. "Quite literally."

"And me," Piper offered at the end of her song. "You'll need me to keep our friend here in line."

Jason squeezed Piper's hand. "I still hate the idea of splitting up."

"But it's our best shot," Frank countered. "The four of them sneak in and disable the onagers, cause a distraction. Then the rest of us fly in with ballistae blazing."

"Yes, that plan could work," Kekrops told them. "If I do not kill you first."

"I've got an idea," Annabeth revealed. "Frank, Hazel, Leo . . . let's talk. Piper, can you keep our friend musically incapacitated?"

Piper started to sing a different song. Meanwhile, Annabeth, Leo, Frank, and Hazel left to go talk strategy. Now it was just Piper, Jason, Belle, and Percy in the mess hall with a swaying Kekrops.

"Well," Percy began, rising with Belle and letting go of her hand to offer his to Jason. "Until we meet again at the Acropolis, bro. I'll be the one killing Giants."

Jason shook his hand. "Until then." He then looked to Belle and raised his hand for a high-five. "Good luck out there, B."

She rolled her eyes and ignored his hand, opting to hug him instead. The two of them hugged for a long moment until they pulled away. Jason squeezed her shoulder and rejoined Piper's side so she wasn't just singing to the snake king by herself. Belle took a deep breath and looked up at Percy.

"I still don't really like this plan," Percy said. "We've known since kind of the beginning that Gaea wanted the blood of a boy and girl Demigod to wake her. And especially now, me going with Annabeth to the place where Poseidon and Athena had that competition and you coming along . . . something's telling me that it isn't going to end well."

"It'll work out," Belle reassured him. "Because as long as it's you and I, we can do anything, right? If we go down, we go down together."

Percy offered his pinky to her. "Till forever falls apart."

Belle smiled gently at him, interlocking their fingers together and feeling her heart race from the amount of love she felt for the boy she started with and would end with next to her. "Till forever falls apart."

—  [  ♡  ]  —

omg guys my prom is tonight how tf did that happen

and the thought of belle having her hair in french braids >>>>

gifs by 1-800-SIMPINGFORSEB !