𝑨𝑪𝑻 𝑶𝑵𝑬 ━ 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑺𝑬𝑽𝑬𝑵

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐏 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐆𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐔𝐏 as Percy talked. The flames burned red and orange, it looked like a fierce sunburst but during the moonlit night. The night sky was full of stars and the moon stood brightly in the middle as it looked around the earth and camp, knowing all of their secrets. Iris loved the dark night sky more than the morning, but nobody knew that — everyone thought she liked the sun and morning better.

Iris looked up at the sky, and stared at one of the constellations. Made up of twelve stars, the constellation called Ondora roughly resembles the shape of a butterfly. It can be seen most prominently high in the sky in the middle of spring. Iris loved it and she would always look for it at night. It was sort of a comfort thing for her.

She was standing next to Percy and Annabeth as Iris looked up to the night sky in thoughts in search of answers. Percy was going to get them in trouble again.

Iris looked back at the fire and saw Theo who smiled at her gently. Something about his smiled, reassured her into thinking everything was okay. Iris's brown eyes widen as she looked away from his blue one, No! Nope! Not now, Iris focus! Thought Iris.

Before Tantalus could stop Percy, he blurted out his dream about Grover and Polyphemus's island. Annabeth stepped in and reminded everybody what the Fleece could do. It sounded more convincing coming from her.

"The Fleece can save the camp," she concluded. "I'm certain of it."

"Nonsense," said Tantalus. "We don't need saving."

Everybody stared at him as if he was stupid until Tantalus started looking uncomfortable. "Besides," he added quickly, "the Sea of Monsters? That's hardly an exact location. You wouldn't even know where to look."

"Yes, I would," said Percy as he looked hopeful. Iris leaned toward him and whispered in his ear, "You would?"

Percy nodded, because Annabeth had jogged something in his memory when she reminded him about their taxi drive with the Gray Sisters. At the time, the information they'd given him made no sense until now.

"30, 31, 75, 12," He said and Iris had to admit, it was pretty impressive.

"Ooo-kay," Tantalus said, he didn't understand what Percy was saying. "Thank you for sharing those meaningless numbers."

"They're sailing coordinates," Percy said in a quite bored voice. "Latitude and longitude. I, uh, learned about it in social studies."

Even Annabeth looked impressed. "30 degrees, 31 minutes north, 75 degrees, 12 minutes west. He's right! The Gray Sisters gave us those coordinates. That'd be somewhere in the Atlantic, off the coast of Florida. The Sea of Monsters. We need a quest!"

"Wait just a minute," Tantalus said and Iris could tell this wasn't going to end well. But the campers took up the chant. "We need a quest! We need a quest!"

The flames rose higher, and brighter as they all chanted. "It isn't necessary!" Tantalus insisted.

"WE NEED A QUEST! WE NEED A QUEST!"

"Fine!" Tantalus shouted, his eyes blazing with anger. "You brats want me to assign a quest?"

"YES!" screamed all the campers in unison as they agreed. "Very well," he agreed. "I shall authorize a champion to undertake this perilous journey, to retrieve the Golden Fleece and bring it back to camp. Or die trying."

Percy's heart filled with excitement and he wasn't going to let Tantalus scare him. This was what he needed to do. He was going to save Grover and the camp. Nothing would stop him.

"I will allow our champion to consult the Oracle!" Tantalus announced. "And choose two companions for the journey. And I think the choice of champion is obvious."

Tantalus looked at Annabeth, Iris and Percy as if he wanted to flay them alive. "The champion should be one who has earned the camp's respect, who has proven resourceful in the chariot races and courageous in the defense of the camp. You shall lead this quest...Clarisse!"

The fire flickered a thousand different colors. The Ares cabin started stomping and cheering, "CLARISSE! CLARISSE!" Clarisse stood up, looking stunned. Then she swallowed, and her chest swelled with pride. "I accept the quest!"

"Wait!" Percy shouted and Iris knew what was going to happen. "Grover is my friend. The dream came to me."

"Sit down!" yelled one of the Ares campers. "You had your chance last summer!"

"Yeah, he just wants to be in the spotlight again!" another said.

Clarisse glared at him as Iris smiled lightly at Clarisse, sure she knew it had to be Percy but Clarisse was sort of her friend, "I accept the quest!" she repeated as she smiled back at Iris. "I, Clarisse, daughter of Ares, will save the camp!"

The Ares campers cheered even louder. Annabeth protested, and the other Athena campers joined in. Everybody else started taking sides—shouting and arguing and throwing marshmallows. Percy thought it was going to turn into a full-fledged s'more war until Tantalus shouted, "Silence, you brats!"

His tone stunned even Percy. He sounded angrier than usual and Iris knew this was not good at all. "Sit down!" he ordered in a stern voice. "And I will tell you a ghost story."

Percy didn't know what he was up to, but they all moved reluctantly back to our seats. The evil aura radiating from Tantalus was as strong as any monster he'd ever faced.

"Once upon a time there was a mortal king who was beloved of the Gods!" Tantalus put his hand on his chest, and Iris got the feeling he was talking about himself, not that anyone wanted to know anything about him.

"This king," he said, "was even allowed to feast on Mount Olympus. But when he tried to take some ambrosia and nectar back to earth to figure out the recipe—just one little doggie bag, mind you—the gods punished him. They banned him from their halls forever! His own people mocked him! His children scolded him! And, oh yes, campers, he had horrible children. Children —just—like—you!"

He pointed a crooked finger at several people in the audience, including Percy. Some of the campers glared at him in anger and one of them was Iris. "Do you know what he did to his ungrateful children?" Tantalus asked softly. "Do you know how he paid back the gods for their cruel punishment? He invited the Olympians to a feast at his palace, just to show there were no hard feelings. No one noticed that his children were missing. And when he served the gods dinner, my dear campers, can you guess what was in the stew?"

No one dared answer. The firelight glowed dark blue, reflecting evilly on Tantalus's crooked face, Iris had to admit it wasn't the best view— no one wanted to see this face when they woke up."Oh, the gods punished him in the afterlife," Tantalus croaked.

"They did indeed. But he'd had his moment of satisfaction, hadn't he? His children never again spoke back to him or questioned his authority. And do you know what? Rumor has it that the king's spirit now dwells at this very camp, waiting for a chance to take revenge on ungrateful, rebellious children. And so...are there any more complaints, before we send Clarisse off on her quest?"

Silence was completely evident around the circle of children. Iris didn't dare move, the silent making her nervous.Tantalus nodded at Clarisse. "The Oracle, my dear. Go on."

She shifted uncomfortably, like even she didn't want glory at the price of being Tantalus's pet. "Sir—"

"Go!" he snarled. Clarisse's eyes widen as she bowed awkwardly and hurried off toward the Big House.

"What about you, Percy Jackson?" Tantalus asked. "No comments from our dishwasher?" Percy didn't say anything, he wasn't going to give Tantalus the satisfaction of punishing him again.

"Good," Tantalus said. "And let me remind everyone—no one leaves this camp without my permission. Anyone who tries...well, if they survive the attempt, they will be expelled forever, but it won't come to that. The harpies will be enforcing curfew from now on, and they are always hungry! Good night, my dear campers. Sleep well."

With a wave of Tantalus's hand, the fire was extinguished, and the campers trailed off toward their cabins in the dark of the night using only the glow of the moon as light source.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐆𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐒𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐋𝐘 for Iris but she knew it hadn't gone as smoothly for others. The sudden attack had set off this alerting layer that was draped over the camp. But Iris had forgotten about how the full moon would shine through her window and the sound of the surf rumbled in the distance. Iris could smell the warm scent of the strawberry fields, and hear the laughter of the dryads as they chased owls through the forest. But something felt wrong about the night—the sickness of Thalia's tree, spreading across the valley.

It would worry Iris more and more, every time the sickness would advance. Even though she hadn't actually met Thalia, she felt a sort of connection to her — as if they had met in another life and that friendship had stayed as they traveled through the universe. It felt as if she was a lost sister, the kind that you've met through stories and heroic memories.

Iris was asleep, but not in the deepest sleep — she was dreaming of a garden. An ornate field of moss-covered grass flanked by rare flower bushes and shrubs. A lone, wide tree stands in the front left, its bark and branches rise like a pinnacle of the garden. The smaller flower bushes are bordered by the larger ones, but have no difficulties claiming a spot of their own; they're a unique, miniature world.

She was dreaming of one of her mother's gardens, romantic love gardens. It had been one of her most dreamed place that was associated with Aphrodite but she wasn't complaining, it was one of the most beautiful and most calming places she'd ever seen in her life — but honestly she would rather stay in her dreams than in the real world.

On the other side of the cabins, Percy Jackson got out of bed and pulled on some clothes and he grabbed a beach blanket and a six-pack of Coke from under his bunk. No outside snacks or drinks were allowed, but if you talked to the right guy in Hermes's cabin and paid him a few golden drachma, he could smuggle in almost anything from the nearest convenience store.

Sneaking out after curfew was against the rules, too. If he got caught he'd either get in big trouble or be eaten by the harpies. But Percy didn't really care, he wanted to see the ocean — he always felt better there. He left the cabin and headed for the beach  oblivious to what or who was going to meet him and task him with an adventure.

Iris woke up with jolt, what the fuck? She had had just heard screams, screams for help. It sounded like Percy — Kelp-head and to be honest, Iris would not be surprised by Percy getting in trouble again but nonetheless she didn't want to get in trouble for not helping him when he needed.

Iris got out of bed as she rolled her eyes and grumbled, "I'm going to punch you, Jackson."

She slowly got out of her cabin and walked forward towards Percy's cabin until she saw Annabeth running towards her frantically waving her hands, as she got closer—she whispered-yelled, "Did you hear Percy!" And Iris nodded as they both ran towards where they thought they heard his voice. They saw Tyson on their way and they all ran together.

Percy was staring at the delicate waves when Iris, Annabeth and Tyson found him. He was just standing still, he looked as if he saw a ghost and Iris couldn't help but frowned.

"What's going on?" Iris asked as she came closer to Percy who looked back at her in shock. "We heard you calling for help!" added Annabeth as she got closer.

"Me, too!" Tyson said. "Heard you yell, 'Bad things are attacking!'"

"I didn't call you guys," Percy said in confusion. "I'm fine."

Iris paused and burrowed her brows"But then who..." Annabeth noticed the three yellow duffel bags, then the thermos and the bottle of vitamins Percy was holding. "What—"

"Just listen," Percy explained. "We don't have much time."

Percy told them about his conversation with Hermes, to which Iris had laughed in disbelief. By the time he was finished, he could hear screeching in the distance—patrol harpies picking up their scent.

"Percy," Annabeth said, "we have to do the quest."

"We'll get expelled, you know. Trust me, I'm an expert at getting expelled." declared Percy as Iris rolled her eyes.

"So? If we fail, there won't be any camp to come back to." added Iris as sarcasm dripped from her lips.

"Yeah, but you promised Chiron—"

"We promised we'd keep you from danger. We can only do that by coming with you! Tyson can stay behind and tell them—" said Annabeth. "I want to go," Tyson said.

"No!" Annabeth's voice sounded close to panic. "I mean...Percy, come on. You know that's impossible."

There was something they weren't telling him. They all looked at him, waiting for an answer. Meanwhile, the cruise ship was getting farther and farther away. The thing was, part of Percy didn't want Tyson along, he'd spent the last three days in close quarters with the guy, getting razzed by the other campers and embarrassed a million times a day, constantly reminded that he was related to him.

On the other hand, the sound of the harpies was getting closer to the group and Iris was getting more and more worried by the second. "We can't leave him," Percy decided. "Tantalus will punish him for us being gone."

"Percy," Annabeth said, trying to keep her cool, "we're going to Polyphemus's island! Polyphemus is an S-i-k...a C-y-k..." She stamped her foot in frustration. As smart as she was, Annabeth was dyslexic, too. They could've been there all night while she tried to spell Cyclops. "You know what I mean!"

"Tyson can go," Percy insisted, "if he wants to." Tyson clapped his hands. "Want to!"

Annabeth gave Percy the evil eye, but he guessed she could tell he wasn't going to change his mind. Or maybe she just knew they didn't have time to argue.

"All right," she said. "How do we get to that ship?"

"Hermes said my father would help." said Percy after Annabeth agreed. Iris then argued "Well then, Kelp-head? What are you waiting for?" Percy glared at her but gave up and looked away. He'd always had a hard time calling on his father, or praying, or anything but he stepped into the waves.

"Um, Dad?" Percy called out into the water. "How's it going?"

"Percy!" Annabeth whispered as he stupidly stood there. "We're in a hurry!"

"We need your help," Percy called a little louder. "We need to get to that ship, like, before we get eaten and stuff, so..."

𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐃, 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐒 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐂𝐑𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓 the beach, waves crashed against the shore like normal. The harpies sounded like they were right behind the sand dunes. Then, about a hundred yards out to sea, three white lines appeared on the surface. They moved fast toward the shore, like claws ripping through the ocean. As they neared the beach, the surf burst apart and the heads of three white stallions reared out of the waves.

Tyson caught his breath. "Fish ponies!" He was right. As the creatures pulled themselves onto the sand, Percy saw that they were only horses in the front; their back halves were silvery fish bodies, with glistening scales and rainbow tail fins.

"Hippocampi!" Iris said in awe. "They're beautiful." The nearest one whinnied in appreciation and nuzzled Iris who giggled and petted it's head.

"We'll admire them later," Percy grumbled and stared at Iris. "Come on!"

"There!" a voice screeched behind us. "Bad children out of cabins! Snack time for lucky harpies!"

Five of them were fluttering over the top of the dunes—plump little hags with pinched faces and talons and feathery wings too small for their bodies. They reminded Percy of miniature cafeteria ladies who'd been crossbred with dodo birds. They weren't very fast, thank the gods, but they were vicious if they caught campers.

"Tyson!" Percy said. "Grab a duffel bag!" He was still staring at the hippocampi with his mouth hanging open. "Tyson!"

"Uh?" huffed Tyson as he looked up.

"Come on!" yelled Percy.

With Annabeth's help Percy got him moving. They gathered the bags and mounted our steeds. Poseidon must've known Tyson was one of the passengers, because one hippocampus was much larger than the other two—just right for carrying a Cyclops.
"Giddyup!" Percy said.

Percy's hippocampus turned and plunged into the waves as Iris, Annabeth and Tyson's followed right behind. The harpies cursed at them, wailing for their snacks to come back, but the hippocampi raced over the water at the speed of Jet Skis.

The harpies fell behind, and soon the shore of Camp Half- Blood was nothing but a dark smudge. Percy wondered if he'd ever see the place again. But right then they had other problems to attend to. The cruise ship was now looming in front of them, their ride toward Florida and the Sea of Monsters.

Riding the hippocampus was even easier than riding a pegasus. Iris zipped along with the wind in she face, speeding through the waves so smooth and steady she hardly needed to hold on at all.

As they got closer to the cruise ship, Percy realized just how huge it was. He felt as though he were looking up at a building in Manhattan. The white hull was at least ten stories tall, topped with another dozen levels of decks with brightly lit balconies and portholes. The ship's name was painted just above the bow line in black letters, lit with a spotlight. It took him a few seconds to decipher it: PRINCESS ANDROMEDA

Attached to the bow was a huge masthead—a three story-tall woman wearing a white Greek chiton, sculpted to look as if she were chained to the front of the ship. She was young and beautiful, with flowing black hair, but her expression was one of absolute terror.

Why anybody would want a screaming princess on the front of their vacation ship, Iris had no idea. Percy remembered the myth about Andromeda and how she had been chained to a rock by her own parents as a sacrifice to a sea monster. Maybe she'd gotten too many F's on her report card or something. Anyway, his namesake, Perseus, had saved her just in time and turned the sea monster to stone using the head of Medusa.

That Perseus always won, Iris always joked about how he was the better Percy. The original Perseus was one of the only heroes in the Greek myths who got a happy ending. The others died—betrayed, mauled, mutilated, poisoned, or cursed by the gods. Percy's mother hoped he would inherit Perseus's luck. Judging by how his life was going so far, he wasn't real optimistic.

"How do we get aboard?" Iris shouted over the noise of the waves, but the hippocampi seemed to know what we needed. They skimmed along the starboard side of the ship, riding easily through its huge wake, and pulled up next to a service ladder riveted to the side of the hull.

"You first," Percy told Iris who rolled her eyes and replied with, "Of course, I should."

She slung her duffel bag over her shoulder and grabbed the bottom rung. Once she'd hoisted herself onto the ladder, her hippocampus whinnied a farewell and dove underwater. Iris began to climb and Percy let her get a few rungs up, then let Annabeth follow her, and then he got up.

Finally it was just Tyson in the water and his hippocampus was treating him to 360o aerials and backward ollies, and Tyson was laughing so hysterically, the sound echoed up the side of the ship. "Tyson, shhh!" Percy said as he looked down from above Tyson. "Come on, big guy!"

"Can't we take Rainbow?" he asked, his smile fading. Percy just stared at him. "Rainbow?" The hippocampus whinnied as if he liked his new name.

"Um, we have to go," Percy said. "Rainbow...well, he can't climb ladders." Iris hit Percy's elbow as she shushed him with her angry stare, "Shut up, Jackson!"

"Tyson, sweetie, Rainbow can't really climb up but I promise we'll see him again, if you climb up," added Iris as she glared at Percy who rolled his eyes and mocked her thinking she couldn't see it, but Iris made a mental note to jab him with her elbow.

Tyson sniffled. He buried his face in the hippocampus's mane. "I will miss you, Rainbow!" The hippocampus made a neighing sound Percy could've sworn was crying.

"See, you could have just said that dumbass," Iris suggested jabbing him as to which Percy as grumbled under voice an incoherent word.

"Oh, please!" Tyson said, perking up immediately after seeing Rainbow. "Tomorrow!"

Percy didn't make any promises, but he finally convinced Tyson to say his farewells and grab hold of the ladder. With a final sad whinny, Rainbow the hippocampus did a back-flip and dove into the sea...

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❪ ៸ 𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 ━━━━━ ! ﹆◞ ❫
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❪ . . . the 7th chapter for LOVE STORY everyone! ❫
❪ . . . this is 3.7k but I hope you enjoyyyyyyy , also PERCY AND IRIS OMGG ❫
❪ . . . PLEASE tell me how you guys feel about it ??❫
❪ . . .PLEASE don't be a ghost reader, comment and vote, I love to reply to everyone and interact with my readers, love all of you darlings <33 ❫
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