❗ slight tw for mentions of drug use at the end of the story, pls read in a good state of mind  <3

chapter XIV

🌷 It seemed like Percy had finally found something he was really good at: sailing.

The Queen Anne's Revenge responded to his every command. Somehow, he knew which ropes to hoist, which sails to raise, which direction to steer. They plowed through the waves at what Percy told them he figured was about ten knots, but Daphne just shook her head cluelessly. How he could even understand how fast that is was beyond her. Apparently, for a sailing ship, pretty darn fast.

He looked completely in his element, and it all felt perfect - the wind in his face, the waves breaking over the prow. Inky black hair was being tousled by the sea salted wind.

But something was wrong. He was frowning and looked concerned, and Annabeth had the same downcast look on her face. Daphne guessed that now they were out of danger, their failure had sunk in. Annabeth hated feeling out of control, and guilt was a common friend for Percy.

He couldn't get over how badly he'd messed up on Circe's Island. If it hadn't been for Daphne, he'd still be a rodent, hiding in a hutch with a bunch of cute furry pirates. He thought about what Circe had said: 'See, Percy? You've unlocked your true self!'

He still felt changed. Not just because he had a sudden desire to eat lettuce. He felt jumpy, like the instinct to be a scared little animal was now a part of him. Or maybe it had always been there. That's what really worried him.

Annabeth was just as on-edge. They hadn't spoken since they'd started sailing, about ten minutes ago. They stood on the boat, staring out at the sea in silence. Hermes' multivitamin was starting to ware off as Daphne felt a little seasick again, so she took one of his weird paracetamols and prayed for the best.

After about an hour of rocking back and forth, Annabeth announced that she wanted to go below deck to lie in a hammock. Daphne wanted to protest and ask her to talk about her feelings for once in a millennia, but she knew Annabeth preferred pretending like everything was fine when it certainly wasn't.

It was hard for the two of them to give over the power for once. Daphne understood, but she'd been travelling with Thalia for so long that she'd gotten used to not being the most powerful, so much that taking any position in battle didn't phase her.

But... what was that Circe was talking about? Her true potential? Something about a prophecy, too? Thinking about it for too long was starting to give her a headache. She was really starting to freak her out.

Percy watched the horizon. More than once he spotted monsters beneath the waves and edged the boat away from them. A plume of water as tall as a skyscraper spewed into the moonlight. A row of green spines slithered across the waves - something maybe a hundred feet long, reptilian. They didn't stay too long to figure out what it was.

At one point, Percy pointed out a couple of Nereids, the glowing lady spirits of the sea. There were a couple of those living in the lake at camp who Daphne had tried to become friends with. Percy tried to wave at them, but they disappeared into the depths, leaving Daphne unsure whether they'd seen them or not.

Percy glanced at Daphne and noticed something was wrong. Usually, she would've been smiling at seeing the friendly faces, but her face was still creased into a frown. She was still wearing the sleeveless dress from the island as she held onto her arms, still glittering with bangles. Percy noticed that whatever spa treatment they'd given her hadn't worn out yet. She still looked seriously pretty.

But she also looked worried. Afraid. Percy didn't like when she looked like that.

"You're thinking about what Circe said." he spoke for the first time in a while, making Daphne jump. It wasn't a question.

"Yeah," she admitted, leaning on the rail of the sea. The sun was starting to set, casting a pretty pinkish light on them. "But I don't know what she's talking about."

He glanced at her. "She seemed pretty insistent, I don't know. Maybe..."

"Maybe what?" she snapped.

"Nothing!" he said hastily. "I don't mean anything. But aren't you even the least bit curious about it? I mean, she practically said you were-"

She turned to him desperately. "Percy, I have no idea what she's talking about!" Daphne burst as though she was afraid he was going to announce that he hated her. "About potential or magic or whatever - I don't have any of that. Heck, my mom hasn't even claimed me, so I can't be that important. She - she must've had the wrong person."

Something in her tone made Percy think that she hadn't fully convinced herself yet.

"She could've been lying," Percy offered, even though it made no sense. "You know, trying to convince you to stay. I bet she told all of her island attendants the same thing."

Daphne managed to smile. They both knew that couldn't have been the answer, but it was sweet that he was trying to make her feel better.

"Thanks, Percy."

They stared at the ocean for a while. Daphne thought they'd inched closer together, because her left arm which had previously been quite cold was warming up from the heat he was radiating. She didn't move away from it.

"You know you owe me a jellybean for saving you, right?" she muttered.

"I'll add it to the tally." Percy grimaced."How many is that now? Seventeen?"

"Twenty eight." Daphne corrected him.

It was quiet. Then:

"You were pretty cool back there." he admitted, refusing to meet her eyes.

"Yeah?" she smiled. "Thanks. And, well, I'm glad you're not a guinea pig."

"I'm glad you're not a witch."

Sometime after midnight, Annabeth came back up on deck. They were just passing a smoking volcano island where the sea bubbled and steamed around the shore. Daphne briefly thought about going to look for a change of clothes, but decided against it when she remembered what the rugged pirates were wearing, and considered the fact that the cloth was probably moth chewed and decayed.

"One of the forges of Hephaestus," Annabeth told them, not looking any less exhausted than she had before she'd retired below deck. "It's where he makes his metal monsters."

"Like the bronze bulls?"

She nodded. "Go around. Far around."

He didn't need to be told twice. They steered clear of the island, and soon it was just a red patch of haze in the shadows behind them.

When Annabeth came up, she'd brought something from downstairs with her: a miniature ship in a glass bottle. It was enough to entertain Daphne for all but a few seconds before she got bored, but Percy was staring at it until he couldn't see it anymore and the sun had set.

They moved to sit against a spruce pillar of the ship, all cross-legged on the floor. Annabeth sat on the left, Daphne in the middle with Percy to her right. They stared into the inky black night. Daphne put the ship in the bottle beside her.

The cover of moonlight was comforting. Daphne was sure they all felt the same as her, that not being able to see each other's faces made them feel a little more free. She didn't know how it worked, but if it was day, they probably wouldn't have felt so vulnerable together.

Percy directed his curiosity to Annabeth. "The reason you hate Cyclopes so much... the story about how Thalia really died. What happened?"

It was hard to see her expression in the dark.

"I guess you deserve to know," she finally ventured. "I told Daphne a little, but... not all of it."

Daphne looked at her worriedly. "Annabeth, you don't have to."

But she just shook her head. "It's okay. I've been keeping it to myself for too long. It was... one of the nights Grover was escorting us to camp, he got confused. Took some wrong turns. It wasn't too long after Daphne... well, you know. He was so distracted about what happened to her, his sense of smell must've been all messed up from the crying. The worst wrong turn was into a Cyclops's lair in Brooklyn."

"They've got Cyclopes in Brooklyn?" Percy asked in surprise.

"You wouldn't believe how many, but that's not the point. This Cyclops, he tricked us. He managed to split us up inside this maze of corridors in an old house in Flatbush. And he could sound like anyone. Just the way Tyson did aboard the Princess Andromeda. He lured us, one at a time. Thalia thought she was running to save Luke. Luke thought he heard me scream for help. And me... I heard Daphne."

Her face snapped towards Annabeth, and everything made sense. Her nose was scrunched up like she was trying not to cry. It explained why she hated how Tyson and Daphne interacted at first, why she would pull her away from him. Explained her fierce sense of protection, her fears and worries.

Daphne took her hand, squeezing it encouragingly. Annabeth took a shaky breath and carried on, "I was alone in the dark, and it wasn't even that long after... the hellhounds. She was screaming for me. Crying for my help. I was seven years old. I couldn't even find the exit."

She brushed the hair out of her face. "I remember finding the main room. There were bones all over the floor. And there were Thalia and Luke and Grover, tied up and gagged, hanging from the ceiling like smoked hams. The Cyclops was starting a fire in the middle of the floor. I drew my knife, but he heard me. He turned and smiled. He spoke, and somehow he knew Daphne's voice. I guess he just plucked it out of my mind. He said, 'Now, Annabeth, don't you worry. I love you. You can stay here with me. Make up for - for killing me.'"

Daphne shivered. The way she told it - even now, six years later - freaked her out worse than any ghost story she'd ever heard. "Annabeth..." she said, but lost her voice. Instead of trying to finish her sentence, she dropped her head on Annabeths shoulder.

"What did you do?" Percy asked.

"I stabbed him in the foot."

He stared at her. "Are you kidding? You were seven years old and you stabbed a grown Cyclops in the foot?"

"Oh, he would've killed me. But I surprised him. It gave me just enough time to run to Thalia and cut the ropes on her hands. She took it from there."

"Yeah, but still... that was pretty brave, Annabeth."

She shook her head. "We barely got out alive. I still have nightmares, Percy. The way that Cyclops talked in Daphne's voice... it was his fault we took so long getting to camp. All the monsters who'd been chasing us had time to catch up, and it broke everyone's spirit. They heard him projecting her voice that we'd accepted we'd never hear again, and... that's really why Thalia died. If it hadn't been for that Cyclops, she'd still be alive today."

They sat on the deck, watching the Hercules constellation rise in the night sky.

"Annabeth, I'm so sorry," Daphne whispered, her voice so soft but fragile with pain. "I- I should've been there for yo-"

"Don't," she shook her head ferociously. "Don't do that. Don't blame yourself again, please. This isn't your fault."

Daphne didn't know what to say. She nestled herself closer into Annabeth, and wrapped her right arm over her. She leaned into her hug as Percy nudged himself closer, stretching his arm over Daphne to hug both her and Annabeth.

"Go below," Annabeth told them at last, sitting up and wiping away stray tears from her cheeks. "You two need some rest."

Percy nodded. Daphnes eyes were heavy, but she didn't want to leave Annabeth. But her weariness stopped her from being able to stay. The nasty swaying of the boat was starting to irk her again as she fell against the hammock, praying not to dream.

Luckily, nothing too harsh occurred. There was a moment where Daphne envisioned Aphrodite, looking just as she had the last time she'd seen her without her massive ski coat and goggles, watching a misty sky through a magical basin and giggling to herself. A pink smoke overtook the dream and she was being shaken awake.

"Daphne, Percy," Annabeth hissed."Get up."

Daphne blinked around blearily. She hated napping. It felt as though she'd only just laid down and, somehow, was more tired than before.

Percy shot up from across the room, breathing heavily. He must've been having a nightmare. A glance from Daphne told him that they'd talk about it later, after Annabeth told them what was wrong.

"Wh-what is it?" he rubbed his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Land," she said grimly. "We're approaching the island of the Sirens."

They walked back up the creaking steps, seriously water damaged. Daphne could barely make out the island ahead of them, only a dark spot in the mist.

She remembered stories about the Sirens. They sang so sweetly their voices enchanted sailors and lured them to their death.

"We can't let ourselves hear them," Annabeth insisted. "We need to find something to plug our ears, otherwise they'll tell us stuff we're not supposed to discover."

Percy cast her a glance. "Isn't your mom the goddess of wisdom?"

Annabeth shook her head. "It's different, Percy! Too much knowledge can be detrimental. Especially when you're told stuff about yourself you shouldn't know - the sirens show you your deepest desires. True wit is knowing that you have to discover that yourself."

"There was some wax downstairs," Daphne remembered."But only a small bit. Other than that, this whole boat is empty. I think the sorceresses of C.C's island cleared it out of any treasure. We can clog our ears with it, but I don't know if there'll be enough."

"It's worth the try," Percy shrugged. But just as predicted, when Daphne retrieved the last bit of candle wax, they could only mold it into two pairs of earplugs.

They stared at the pieces of wax, the island of the sirens coming closer and closer in range.

"You take them," Percy said. "I'm more likely to survive if I dive overboard. The sirens can't drown me-"

"So they'll slash your throat with their claws and eat you alive. Is that what you'd prefer?"

He paled. "Ah. I didn't know they did that."

Daphne shook her head. "Besides, you being a good swimmer is worse because we'd have to catch up with you as you try to get away from us." Percy opened his mouth to speak, but Daphne interrupted, "And don't say that we shouldn't try to rescue you, because that's just stupid."

He faltered. Annabeth said, "You wear them, Daphne. Tie me to the ship-"

"No," Daphne shook her head. Annabeth went to argue, but Daphne thrust the makeshift earplugs into both of their hands. "Annabeth, you'd untie yourself with your knife. There's no way for me to get my hands on a weapon since my lipgloss hasn't had the chance to reappear back in my pocket yet, since this stupid dress doesn't have any. Which will make it a lot harder to swim in if I do manage to escape, also considering the fact I can't swim in the first place."

They stared at her dumbfounded as she carried on like she'd had a thousand lifetimes to think of all the reasons why they should let her risk her life. "And I know you secretly want to hear, Annabeth, because I know you. That'll make you harder to restrain. But I'm pretty sure I already know what my deepest desire is, so I can hold myself back, even just for a little bit. So don't be a hero for this one, okay?"

She faltered when she noticed them staring at her. "What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just..." Annabeth trailed off.

"It's like you secretly want to die." Percy finished for her, even though that wasn't where her sentence was going. Daphne grinned. "Like, seriously? Absolutely no hesitation?"

"Shut up and put the wax in your ears, dummy."

As soon as the rocky coastline of the island came into view, Percy ordered one of the ropes to wrap around Daphne's waist, tying her to the foremast.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Annabeth asked her worriedly. After revealing to them her secret about the cyclops, Daphne understood where her protection came from. But it was always her first nature to sacrifice herself, no matter.

She shook her head. "No. Just promise me you won't untie me," she said, "no matter what happens or how much I plead. If Percy's brain is so full of bubbles that he forgets, just knock him out, or something. I'll want to go straight over the edge and drown myself."

"Are you trying to tempt me?" Percy called out from where he was staring at the quickly approaching island of the sirens. He turned to her for a second. "Also, seriously? You can't swim?"

"Ha-ha."

They promised her they'd keep her secure and stuffed the kneaded wax into their ears. Daphne nodded sarcastically, letting her friends know the earplugs were a real fashion statement. Looks like crap! she mouthed, though she supposed she couldn't say much with her white dress so dirty now that it had become a strange shade of brown.

Percy made a face at her and turned to the pilot's wheel. Annabeth stuck her tongue out at her looked to face the upcoming island, keeping an eye out in case any monsters wanted to attack them at their most vulnerable.

She took a deep breath and rested her head against the wood behind her. The rope around her middle was so tight she itched to get out of it, but knew that she probably shouldn't do that if she wanted to live. A few minutes passed and all she heard was the crashing of the waves. Maybe the sirens were asleep? She hoped they were. She was getting pretty bored. She tapped her shoes together, making a pattern, desperately trying to entertain herself.

On the other side of the boat, the silence was eerie. For Percy and Annabeth, at least. They couldn't hear anything but the rush of blood in their heads as they approached the island, jagged rocks looming out of the fog. Percy willed the Queen Anne's Revenge to skirt around them. If they sailed any closer, those rocks would shred their hull like a woodsaw, and they'd have a lot more problems to worry about.

He glanced back. At first, Daphne seemed totally normal. But as he kept watching, unable to pry his eyes when her own went wide in awe, she started to change.

Their voices danced with the wind like the delicate strings of a harp were being played, deviously, masterfully. Daphne was instantly mesmerized by them, though they were only singing harmonies and symphonies, not yet enunciating their luring song into words. Melodious and angelic, Daphne felt herself start to sway to the slow and relaxing sound of the song.

And then, just as she was dazed, unable to form a coherent thought, the sirens began to sing.

Their voices... so enchanting, so luring. She froze as they whispered things to her between the lyrics. Promises, they told her. Your deepest desires...

And then, she saw it. And she began to scream.

She strained against the ropes. She called the names of her friends in desperation - Percy ould tell just from reading her lips. Her expression was clear: She had to get out. This was life or death. They had to let her out of the ropes right now.

"Percy!" They assumed she screamed from reading her lips, sobbing already. "Annabeth! Let - me - go! Please, you don't understand - guys!"

She seemed so miserable it was hard for Percy not to cut her free.

Percy forced himself to look away. He urged the Queen Anne's Revenge to go faster. Annabeth spared Daphne a glance and instantly turned shot-back around, already horrified from the look of sheer heartbreak on her friends face.

"Why do you hate me? Let me go! I want to go there, I don't want to be here anymore! I thought you guys were my friends - let me go!"

Percy still couldn't see much of the island - just mist and rocks - but floating in the water were pieces of
wood and fiberglass, the wreckage of old ships, even some flotation cushions from airplanes.

How could music cause so many lives to veer off course? What could the sirens possibly sing so sweetly about, enough to lure innocent souls to their deaths so willingly?

For one dangerous moment, Percys hands faltered as he commanded the ship forward. He was tempted to take out the earplugs, just to get a taste of the song. He could feel the Sirens' voices vibrating in the timbers of the ship, pulsing along with the roar of blood in his ears.

Daphne was pleading with them both. If they concentrated enough, Percy was sure he and Annabeth could her her screaming their names. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She strained against the ropes, as if they were holding her back from everything she cared about.

How could you be so cruel? She seemed to be asking him, screaming and sobbing. I thought you were my friend, Percy! I trusted you.

He glared at the misty island, wanting nothing more than to stop her suffering and uncap his sword, but there was nothing to fight. How do you fight a song? He wished he knew. Percy hated how miserable Daphne seemed.

He tried as hard as he could not to look at Daphne. He exchanged a look with Annabeth, who shook her head at him miserably. He managed it for about five minutes.

But when he couldn't stand it any longer, he looked back and found... a heap of cut ropes. Jaggedly cut, with a broken miniature boat beside it, shattered glass lining all around it.

Percy cursed loudly. Somehow, they'd managed to forget to take away the ship in the glass bottle which she must've somehow wrangled into her hands and smashed against the ground to get some glass to cut the ropes. Sure enough, a small trail of blood was leading from the spot and to the side of the ship. She must've already jumped.

He rushed to the side of the boat and saw her, paddling madly for the island, the waves carrying her straight toward the jagged rocks. She was right earlier, about how her dress would drag her down. But Percy also knew that it would snag a lot easier on the rocks and get her stuck to drown. He screamed her name, but if she heard him, it didn't do any good. She was entranced, swimming toward her death.

At that moment, he almost heard Annabeths scream from his stuffed ears. She was beside him and hitting him in the arm, getting his attention as she gestured wildly. Percy didn't understand what she was saying, but she looked furious. Terrified. Afraid to loose her best friend again.

She began to climb the side of the ship and Percy pulled her down, shaking his head at her, mouthing, "Current is too strong! You'll die!"

Annabeth seemed to understand what he was saying and fell against the railing helplessly.

Before he could think about it for another second, Percy looked back at the pilot's wheel, yelled, "Stay!" - and then jumped over the side.

He sliced into the water and willed the currents to bend around him, making a jet stream that shot him forward. Percy came to the surface and spotted Daphne, but a wave caught her, sweeping her between two razor-sharp fangs of rock.

He had no choice. He plunged after her.

Percy dove under the wrecked hull of a yacht, wove through a collection of floating metal balls on
chains that he realised afterward were mines. He had to use all of his power over the water to avoid getting smashed against the rocks or tangled in the nets of barbed wire strung just below the surface.

He jetted between the two rock fangs and found himself in a crescent-moon shaped bay. The water was choked with more rocks and ship wreckage and floating mines. The beach was black volcanic sand.

He looked around desperately for Daphne, and there she was. By the looks of how she flayed around, she was a pretty weak swimmer, and he thanked every god he could think of that she'd somehow made it past the mines and the rocks without being dragged down into the depths. But she was almost to the black beach.

Then the mist cleared and Percy finally saw them - the Sirens, responsible for luring one of his best friends to die.

He imagined flock of vultures the size of people - with dirty black plumage, gray talons, and wrinkled pink necks. Then he imagined human heads on top of those necks, but human heads which were forever morphing and flicking around. Those were the sirens. They looked nothing like the beautiful mermaids that old pirate folklore had told.

Perhaps the reasons pirates would deeply believe they were the most beautiful creatures was because their faces would morph into the one they loved most before they died.

He couldn't hear them, but he could see they were singing. As their mouths moved, their faces morphed into people he knew - his mom, Poseidon, Grover, Tyson, Chiron. All the people he most wanted to see.

They smiled reassuringly, inviting him forward. But no matter what shape they took, their mouths were greasy and caked with the remnants of old meals. Like vultures, they'd been eating with their faces, and it looked disgusting. As though they'd been feeding on rotting flesh.

Daphne swam toward them, and something told Percy that she wasn't seeing quite what he was.

Percy knew he couldn't let her get out of the water. The sea was his only advantage. It had always protected him one way or another. He propelled himself forward and managed to grab hold of her ankle.

But the moment he touched her, a shock went through his body, and Percy saw the Sirens the way Daphne must've been seeing them.

Six people were basking in the sun of a clearing in some sort of forest paradise. Percy realized it as one of the gardens they'd walked through in Olympus last year. A feast was spread out before them on a pink quilted blanket, arrays of fruits and flowers. It was honestly beautiful. If he concentrated, he was sure he could hear the Muses singing in the background. Though Daphne had never shown him a picture, there was a man who he assumed must've been her father. He was tall and looked healthy, rosy cheeks and a great smile on his face with blond curly hair. He honestly looked nothing like her. Beside him was the punk styled girl Percy kept seeing in his dreams. Her spiky hair and chains made her look relatively terrifying, but she was laughing at something Daphnes dad was saying. It was Thalia, he knew that. Daphnes best friend. The pine tree. Beside her sat...

Me? Percy wondered. He wasn't sure what he was doing there at first, but it was undoubtedly him. But him before the quest where all he had been doing was frowning. Here, he was beaming as he spoke to the perfect images of Grover and Annabeth, how they looked after they'd finished their quest last year. He turned and saw - Luke. Gold hair glittering in sunlight, he was smiling innocently, perfectly happy, unscarred.

The whole scene glowed in a warm, buttery light. They were all talking and laughing, and when they saw Daphne, their faces lit up with delight. Her dad held out his arms to her invitingly. Luke grinned and gestured for Daphne to sit next to him - as if he'd never betrayed her, as if he were still her friend.

She had reunited with her father. She'd brought Grover back together with her and Annabeth. She had saved Thalia, and she had saved Luke. By the looks of where they were, somewhere in Greece, she had explored the world. If he squinted into the distance he could see the celebrations of Camp Half-Blood. A happy home. She had done everything she'd ever wanted.

All she'd ever wanted was to be a hero.

Percy blinked hard. When he opened his eyes, all he saw were the Sirens - ragged vultures with human faces, ready to feed on another victim.

Percy didn't waste another second and pulled Daphne back into the surf. He still couldn't hear her, but he could tell she was screaming. She kicked him in the face, but he held on. She was punching his arms and clawing at his hand, but he winced through the pain.

He willed the currents to carry them out into the bay. Daphne pummeled and kicked him, making it hard to concentrate. She thrashed so much they almost collided with a floating mine. Percy didn't know what to do. They could never get back to the ship alive if she kept fighting, even if Annabeth was waiting there ready to pull them up.

They went under water, and Daphne stopped struggling. Her expression became confused. Then their heads broke the surface and she started to fight again.

The water! Sound didn't travel well underwater. If Percy could submerge her long enough, he could break the spell of the music. Of course, Daphne wouldn't be able to breathe, but at the moment, that seemed like a minor problem.

He grabbed her around the waist and ordered the waves to push them down.

They shot into the depths - ten feet, twenty feet. He knew he had to be careful because Percy could withstand a lot more pressure than Daphne. She fought and struggled for breath as bubbles rose around them. Bubbles.

Bubbles? Bubble brain!

He was desperate. Percy had to keep Daphne alive. He imagined all the bubbles in the sea - always churning, rising. He imagined them coming together, being pulled toward them.

The sea obeyed. There was a flurry of white, a tickling sensation all around them, and when his vision cleared, Daphne and Percy had a huge bubble of air around them. Only their legs stuck into the water.

She gasped and coughed. Her whole body shuddered, but when she looked at Percy, he knew the spell had been broken. Her eyes were teary as she spluttered, her entire body shivering and shaking. He remembered just then that she was afraid of the ocean and held onto her a bit tighter.

Daphne started to sob - horrible, heartbroken sobbing. She put her head on Percy's shoulder as he held her. He wasn't sure whether she was crying about the daydream being broken or her shaking fears, but he didn't care and held her all the same.

Fish gathered to look at them - a school of barracudas, some curious marlins.

Scram! Percy told them.

They swam off, but he could tell they went reluctantly. Percy swore he understood their intentions - they were about to start rumors flying around the sea about the son of Poseidon and some pretty-looking girl at the bottom of Siren Bay.

Daphne, of course, didn't notice. Her head was throbbing as she regretted ever allowing herself to be subject to such an experience. It was truly torture. To see everything in your greatest desires was one thing. It happened to her almost every night, in her sweetest dreams. But to believe that it could become a reality is another entirely different circumstance. It was cruel.

"I'll get us back to the ship," Percy whispered to her. "It's okay. Just hang on."

Daphne nodded into his shoulder to let him know she was still unenchanted, murmuring something he couldn't hear because of the wax in his ears.

Good. She didn't want him to hear it, and she was never going to repeat it.

Daphne tried her best to calm her sniffles down as Percy made the current steer their weird little air submarine through the rocks and barbed wire and back toward the hull of the Queen Anne's Revenge, which was maintaining a slow and steady course away from the island.

They stayed underwater, following the ship, until Percy judged that they had moved out of earshot of the Sirens. Then he surfaced and their air bubble popped.

From aboard, Annabeth saw their faces, alive and breathing. Even from quite far away, he saw her start to cry with relief as her hands furiously clambered to help them climb aboard, wrapping around Daphne furiously when she'd come beside her.

But she didn't reciprocate with the same relief, instead falling to the ground of the boat tiredly. Tears were still streaming down her face as Annabeth wrapped her up in all the blankets from the hammocks below, trying to warm her up and hugging into her as though she'd disappear if she let go.

Percy and Annabeth still kept their earplugs in, just to be sure. They sailed until the island was completely out of sight. Daphne sat huddled in the blankets on the forward deck. Finally she looked up, dazed and sad, and mouthed, safe.

They took out the earplugs. No singing. The morning was quiet except for the sound of the waves against the hull. The fog had burned away to a blue sky, as if the island of the Sirens had never existed.

"Oh, Daphne!" Annabeth burst again, wrapping her arms around her neck furiously. She didn't have to say what they all knew: 'I thought you'd died. For good this time.'

"You okay?" Percy ventured, instantly wanting to kick himself after saying it. Was he stupid? Did he not just see what happened? He was about ready to leap off the side of the ship, especially with the withering glare Annabeth was sending his way. He was still ninety percent sure she hated him.

"I- I'm okay," she said tearfully. "I just... I didn't realise."

"What?" Annabeths eyes were the same color as the mist over the Sirens' island.

"How powerful the temptation would be. How - how it would know stuff about me that I was hiding from myself. That I know can never be true, but..."

Percy didn't want to admit that he'd seen what the Sirens had promised her. He felt like a trespasser. But he figured he owed it to Daphne to be truthful. She hated liars, and the way C.C had tempted her on her island with the knowledge she would never be lied to again... Percy had to say he understood where the temptation came from.

"I saw what you did," he admitted, and sat himself beside her. "I saw us, and... your dad."

Daphne started to cry again. Annabeth looked at him furiously.

"I didn't know!" she wailed, her body wracking with sobs. "I'm sorry! I thought I knew what I wanted, that I was over it, but... I thought that because I knew it was impossible it wouldn't be my dream anymore. Gods, that's so stupid."

"Why's it impossible?" Percy's heart pounded in his ears. "I'm sorry, you don't have to answer, but - didn't you go to visit your dad before you came and saw me? You said it went okay. Right?"

"Enough, Percy!" Annabeth snapped. The two of them glared at each other as Daphne wiped her tears.

"No, it's okay," she sniffled. "I shouldn't have lied in the first place, it was stupid. You two should know anyway. So you understand why I can't go back."

She took a deep breath, and started to pour out her entire heart to them both, leaving her more vulnerable than they started, if that was even possible.

"I can never go back, because... I don't want to ruin his life again," she whispered softly. "The monsters, they were chasing me as soon as I was born. My dad never knew why, but he could see them. He never knew I was a half-blood, or that my mom was a goddess, so... well, he thought he was going crazy. My sweet dad, he - everything I did growing up affected him. He saw the monsters, saw how my baby-self would act, I guess. Demigods usually show signs of being different at the youngest ages. Like Annabeth with the spiders, and Percy strangling that snake in his cot. Some mortals just can't comprehend stuff like that without help."

She took a deep breath. "He turned to other stuff. Psychiatrists. They didn't help. Nobody could, they treated him like he was insane - threatened to take me away. But my dad loved me so much. He - he loved me. He didn't want me to go. So he started to self-medicate. He wanted to take his mind away from everything - it was too much for his mortal brain to understand, to handle. I couldn't explain. I didn't know. But the only thing I understood is that I had to leave. I was driving him insane, I couldn't just... sit by. I couldn't destroy an innocent man's life like that."

"When I went to visit him, he looked... better. Healthy. Clean. He must've found help in the years I've been gone. I can't ruin his progress by seeing him again. He has a new life, one he deserves - one without me. A chance to live without being addicted to stuff which killed him every night. It's my fault he turned to them in the first place, I know it is. He probably thinks that I was part of the hallucinations now. My running away was the biggest gift he could ever receive. But he's my dad. And - and I love him. Knowing now that I have a goddess mom who could've helped but didn't even try to find me..."

She was crying again, and Percy wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She leaned her head into the crook of his neck, her curls tickling his jaw.

"I thought I could do it," she cried. "Leave him. But I'm just too selfish. And... I really miss him."

"I'm so sorry, Daphne," Percy whispered. "I can't believe... that's so much to go through. You ran away when you were...?"

"Nine," she prompted. "The day after my birthday. My dad baked this purple cake, and it tasted disgusting. He was using that morning, so he was so loopy, using all the wrong ingredients. And after I blew out the candles, he hugged me and fell asleep on the couch. That's when I knew I had to leave. I couldn't let him spend another one of my birthdays broken."

The water sloshed against the boat loudly. "We all have ghosts, Percy," she whispered. "We're Greek. We're all born with tragedy in our blood. It's those who learn to accept it and stay true to themselves who are heroes."

Percy couldn't stop repeating it in his head. The linking factor for all half bloods being that their lives were enriched in sorrow wasn't one that he'd considered, but it was true. He tried not to understand Luke going against the gods, he really did - but it was so easy to see where his pain had bloomed. It would be so easy for them all to sink into hatred.

But they were heroes. They had to fight the ever-looming threat of evil, because nobody else would. Suddenly, he felt a lot older. More mature, maybe.

The dark mist of the night curled around her, bathing her curls into the depths of twilight. Nothing shone upon them now. No favours of the gods. It was truly dark and lonesome.

But they were together.

He understood her dream. He was glad that he was a part of it.

Suddenly Annabeth's eyes widened. She scrambled to stand from where she was hugging onto Daphne. "Guys. Look."

They turned.

Up ahead was another blotch of land - a saddle-shaped island with forested hills and white beaches and green meadows - just like Daphne has seen in her dreams.

Percy whispered something that nautical senses had confirmed. "30 degrees, 31 minutes north, 75 degrees, 12 minutes west."

They had reached the home of the Cyclops.

౨ৎ ˖ ࣪⊹ 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆
🌷🪷🌊

   ʚɞ So......yeah. Pretty sad for Daphnes back story.
If it wasn't already clear, her dad became a drug user. I didn't want Daphne to admit it so brashly in the story, though, since there's still a lot of denial on her end. This plot will not go away!!! This is so traumatizing for my poor baby.

   ʚɞ Not too sure about the chapter - it's the longest one so far!!! 6500 words?? What do you think?💗