━━ chapter thirty-four
fiona hates octavian

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    ━━They didn't make it to the ship in time. 

    Halfway across the dock, three gigantic roman eagles descended in a well-organised flock in front of them. Each deposited a Roman commando in purple and denim with glittering gold armour. Fiona would have been fine━maybe could have somehow explained their situation to them━until she saw Octavian land with them, raising his visor to shriek:

    "Surrender to Rome!"

    Hazel drew her cavalry sword and grumbled, "Fat chance, Octavian."

    Fiona fixed her dagger and glanced at Annabeth━a nod to her to let her know she'll take them out when she wanted to until Octavian noticed and gestured two fingers back to his companions and towards her. Before Fiona could realise, the two others threw a set of Imperial Gold bolas, and Fiona's legs were knocked together. She fell to the ground, gasping in pain.

    She tried to get out of them, but the weight was too much. "Dammit Octavian!" she shouted.

    Annabeth ran to help her, but realised it would be unwise, considering they were outnumbered weapon wise. Fiona grit her teeth, still struggling. 

    Octavian scoffed down at her. "We fixed your little speedy problem, Fiona. How does it make you feel to be just as slow as all of us again?"

    Piper raised her hands in a placating gesture, even though she looked murderous over what Octavian had done. Fiona's knees seared with pain and when she looked down, she thought she might be sick at one knee-cap completely turned to the side. "Oh, gods," she mumbled and threw her head back. She refused to show her pain, even though it made her want to scream. 

    "Octavian," she said, taking a careful step forward, "what happened at camp was a set-up. We can explain."

    "Can't hear you!" Octavian yelled. "Wax in our ears━standard procedure when battling evil sirens. Now, throw down your weapons and turn around slowly so I can bind your hands."

    "Let me skewer him," Hazel muttered. "Please."

    Annabeth glanced back and forth between them all, her gaze settling on Fiona with distress in her grey eyes. She was trying to figure out a plan, but they were stranded. The ship was only fifty feet away, but there was no sign of Coach Hedge or Sam on deck. Jason's group wasn't due back until sunset, and Percy would be underwater ...

     Percy was underwater.

    Ignoring her pain, Fiona reached back for her dagger tangled amongst the rope as Octavian demanded, "Well?" his two friends brandished their swords━stupid first Cohort junkies...

    Fiona managed to grab the hilt of her pugio. She held it up, biting back her cries of pain to wave it at Octavian to tell him, You want this━? With everything she had, she leaned back and threw it right across the deck and into the water. 

    Octavian made a squeaking sound. "What was that for? I didn't say toss it! That could've been evidence. Or spoils of war!"

     Fiona just sent him the finger before dropping back down, her head hitting the deck. Please get it, she prayed. Please see it. She was in so much pain, her eyes brewed with tears, and she swallowed it down. Just hold on for a little longer. 

    Octavian huffed in exasperation. "You other three..." he pointed his blade at Hazel, Annabeth and Piper. "Put your weapons on the dock. No funny bus━"

    Charleston Harbor erupted. A entire wall of a massive wave that soared over the Romans and swept them right off their feet with gurgled screams. Fiona closed her eyes in relief, thank you, she told Percy silently. When the water subsided, the three Romans were in the bay, spluttering and frantically trying to stay afloat in their armour. Percy stood on the deck, holding Fiona's Pugio. He looked ready to say something smart━probably along the lines of you dropped this, until he saw her, and the poker-face disappeared with a flare of anger.

    "Fiona!" he exclaimed and ran to her. 

    "Hey," she managed, feeling him hold her up in his lap as Annabeth dropped down and started to cut away at the bola ropes. Fiona winced, unable to move her knees without them screaming. "Um ... my legs hurt. I don't think I can walk."

     "We have to get her back to the boat," said Hazel. "But we need to hurry."

    Down in the water, Octavian yelled. "Get me out of here! I'll kill you!"

     Percy's eyes flared again, and he suddenly looked terrifying as he shot a glare down at Octavian. Fiona quickly reached for his hand, scared he'd do something he'd later regret. "Percy, Hazel's right."

    "We can't let them drown, can we?" Hazel then asked, and Percy shook his head.

    "They won't," he promised, though for a second there, Fiona thought he wanted to leave them to drown. "I've got the water circulating around their feet. As soon as we're out of range, I'll spit them ashore."

   Piper grinned, "Nice."

    "Yeah," he muttered, but his focus was on the girl in his arms. Annabeth managed the cut free the last rope and gently untangled it from her legs.

    She winced, "Her knee's dislocated."

    Percy frowned, trying to think of a way to get her out of here. Fiona grit her teeth and glared at her knees. With a brave breath, she reached forward and steadied her leg. With a whimper even she couldn't keep in, she locked her hands around the knee cap and snapped it back into place.

    "Oh━" she bit her tongue to stop her scream. Piper winced at the sight. Fiona felt dizzy, but she managed to push herself to stand up. Percy helped her, wrapping an arm over his shoulders. "Okay, okay, I think I can move now ... we need to get out of here, fast."

    She went to step forward, only to buckle. "Shit━" she let out, leaning in closer to Percy who was there to catch her.

    "All right, hang on━" he turned to the others, "Go on, we'll follow up."

    Annabeth nodded, and she and the others started to run to the Argo II, leaving Percy with Fiona who suddenly felt a wave of uselessness. You're injured, she reminded herself, lay off yourself.

    "Come on," Percy told her softly, holding her arm back over his shoulders. "I got you━just hang on, it'll hurt for a bit."

    "What do you mean━ow!"

     He hoisted her up and off the ground, and Fiona swore into his chest, "Yeah, yeah, I know━" Percy held her close, careful to place her in the least painful spot in his arms as he could, but it was almost impossible. Down in the water, Octavian was still yelling. "Just hold on, I got you, okay━I got you..."

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    ━━Fiona think she passed out from the pain after that, because that was the last thing she remembered before she woke back up, and she was in her bunk. She frowned, pushing herself to sit up. Her right knee flared━the one she had dislocated━but she also felt something against it. Pulling the blanket back, she arched a brow at the brace around her knee. Her other knee was bruised with purple, but it was fading. She must have had some Nectar or Ambrosia; they were healing. 

    Gritting her teeth, she swung her legs over and off the bed. She had to know what happened after━whether everyone was okay. She ached, and her knee ached, and everything ached, but she pushed through it to stand up, putting more weight on her better leg than the other. 

    With a deep breath, she limped her way to the door and outside into the hallway, slowly making her way up to the deck using the wall to balance her. The stairs were tough, but she refused to let it stop her; she was as stubborn as a Roman soldier (obviously), and so she bit her tongue and pushed through the pain to reach the top deck.

    The others were in discussion by the mast. Coach Hedge had the wheel. Fiona wanted to hear what they were saying, and hated the fact that she felt a little miffed that they didn't wake her to make sure she was apart of it. Getting closer, she saw Jason and Percy with their backs against the mast, looking exhausted. Piper and Annabeth were trying to get them to dirnk some water. Hazel and Frank were just out of earshot, having an argument that involvedlots of arm waving and head shaking. It made her frown, but she pushed forward. They stopped abrupty in seeing Leo, and Fiona had a sinking feeling it was about him.

     Percy's gaze flickered up, about to say something to Annabeth when his eyes caught Fiona's, and despite being exhausted, he pushed himself to his feet. "Fiona━" the others all looked over, and Fiona held her hand out, tellin him to stay down. He slopped back against the mast, looking pale and bloodshot. Jason wasn't any better. (What had she missed?).

    "Is everyone okay?" she asked, reaching the mast and hiding her limp by leaning up against it. But she knew they all took notice. Sam frowned, going to say something but Annabeth shushed him with a look to say, not now. 

    "Yeah, we're fine," said Leo, arms crossed. "A little bruised, a little Roman-beaten-up, but fine."

    Fiona nodded, and with difficulty, sat down beside Percy. She didn't want to stand anymore, it was a lot of effort. She held out her leg, glaring at the support strap around her knee. Please heal soon, she prayed. Ambrosia, work your magic, thanks, I don't want to be like this any longer. 

    "Are we being followed?" she then asked, trying to catch up on what happened. 

    Frank shook his head, scowling. "No sign of pursuit," he said.

    "Or land," added Hazel, looking very sea-sick.

    Leo pursed his lips, his fingers itching as if he wanted to fiddle with something. He turned to Annabeth. "Did you find the map you wanted?"

    She nodded, though looked quite pale. Fiona frowned again, very behind. That's what happens when you pass out and be useless, the annoying side of her brain chided; it sounded very much like her grandmother. "I'll have to study it," said Annabeth, as if that was the end of the subject. "How far are we from those coordinates?"

     "At top rowing speed━about an hour," sighed Leo. "Any idea what we're looking for?"

    "No," she admitted. "Percy?"

     Percy raised his head, attention drifting from Fiona beside him to Annabeth. "The Nereid said Chiron's brothers were there, and they'd want to hear about that aquarium in Atlanta. I don't know what she meant, but ..." he paused, like saying just that much had used up all of his energy. "She also warned me to be careful. Keto, the goddess from the aquarium: she's the mother of sea monsters. She might be stuck in Atlanta, but she can still send her children after us. The Nereid said we should expect an attack."

    "Wonderful," Frank muttered.

     "We'll just fight them off," said Fiona, determined. But it didn't sound very determined where here she was, sitting against the mast with an injured knee. Gods, how was she supposed to fight? (She wondered whether that was Octavian's plan from the beginning. Get her knee knocked up so she couldn't run and fight━no, of course not, the Ambrosia and Nectar will fix it up, she reassured herself, you'll be back to fighting in no time). 

    Jason tried to stand, which wasn't a good idea. Piper grabbed him to keep him from falling over, and he slid back down the mast. Fiona watched him, concerned. "Can we get the ship aloft?" he asked. "If we could fly━"

    "That'd be great," agreed Leo. "Except, Festus tells me the port arial stabiliser got pulverised when the ship raked against the dock at Fort Summer."

    "We were in a hurry," said Annabeth. "Trying to save you."

    "And saving me is a very noble cause," Fiona frowned at Leo's words━it sounded like to him it wasn't as 'great' as they made it out to be; like he wasn't worth it. "I'm just saying it'll take some time to fix. Until then, we're not flying anywhere."

    Percy flexed his shoulders and winced, "Fine with me. The sea is good."

    "Speak for yourself," Hazel glanced at the evening sun that set behind the horizon. "We need to go fast. We've burned another day, and Nico only has three more left."

    That was a punch to Fiona's gut. Nico...

    "We can do it," said Sam. "Right?" he looked to Leo for assurance. "We have to."

    "Yeah," Leo nodded. "We can make it to Rome in three days━assuming, you know, nothing unexpected happens."

    Frank grunted, "Is there any good news?"

    "Actually, yes," said Leo. "According to Festus, our flying table, Buford, made it back safely while we were in Charleston, so those eagles didn't get him. Unfortunately, he lost the laundry bag with your pants."

    "Dang it!" Frank barked. He looked like he might say something else, but Percy interrupted by doubling over and groaning. 

    Fiona pushed through her pain to shuffle over and hold him up, a worried hand reaching up to his forehead. "Did the world just turn upside down?" he asked her.

    "Yeah," Jason pressed his hands to his head, "and it's psinning. Everything is yellow. Is it supposed to be yellow?"

    Fiona glanced up and met Annabeth and Piper's concerned gazes. 

    "Summoning that storm really sapped your strength," Piper told the boys. "You've got to rest."

    Annabeth nodded in agreement. "Yeah━Frank, Sam, can you help us get the guys belowdecks. As well as Fiona? She needs rest, too."

    "No, I don't," she grumbled in reply and tried to get up, only to fall back down when her knee got too much. Stupid Octavian. She went red (she hated asking for help). "Um ... can somebody ...?"

    Annabeth had a look on her face like she understood. She reached a hand down, and Fiona awkwardly grasped it, letting herself be hoisted gently up. "You'll be okay," she promised her. "Come on. Rest helps Ambrosia the most."

    She helped her down the stairs while the others helped the boys, and while Fiona complained and grumbled the whole way, she was secretly glad it was Annabeth who helped her instead of anybody else. She didn't know why, but she felt less useless and stupid with Annabeth holding her as she limped back down the stairs. 

    "This was Octavian's plan, I know it was," Fiona told Annabeth as they stopped by her cabin door. "I can't run with this━" she gestured to her leg, and the daughter of Athena pursed her lips.

    "Just rest," she told her. "Who knows, maybe you'll wake up and the Ambrosia has done it's work━you'll be perfectly fine again."

    It was a logical answer, but it didn't settle well in her stomach. Before she left, she glanced back at Percy who was almost ready to pass out himself. She grew worried━she didn't want to leave him. 

    Annabeth arched a brow, and understood. She turned to her best friend, "Hey, Seaweed Brain, it's your stop."

    He frowned at her, "I don't sleep here."

   "Yeah, you do," she led him to the door and into Fiona's cabin (she sent the girl a small smile). 

     "I do?"

     "Yep," Fiona added and guided him over to her bed with her hop of a limp. "Come on, Sleepy Seashell Sally, off to bed." She sent Annabeth a thanks over her shoulder and she smiled again.

     Closing the door behind her, Fiona set Percy down on her bed. She dragged a chair over herself and sat beside him, brushing his hair out of his face as he drifted off to sleep. Careful not to hurt her leg, she leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. She set her injured leg up on to edge of the bed and set her head back, falling asleep on her chair while her boyfriend rested under the covers. Her hand lingered by his, finding herself desperate to know he was close. 

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     a/n: 

     no one:

     me: let's give my characters pain and cuteness in the same short chapter. 

     and yes, i made it so that fiona damaged her leg, which means she can't fight or run as well (or run at all) because character development; take away the one thing that makes them, and let them become themselves without it. this is just not as drastic as claire's one *cackles*. but fiona relies on her speed, and tbh, her having it will create plotholes in the future of this book, so ... i got rid of it for now? used it for development and a cool plotline for her character? am i mean by doing that? probably. but did we get percy and fiona moments out of it? hell yeah, we did. the idiot was ready to stand up and go to her even though he probably would have passed out in the process. gah, i want him.