Princess of the Sea (Fem Percy x YJ)

29

"Are you sure you're okay?" Canary had asked. She leaned closer to me and kept her voice low.

"I didn't get enough sleep last night." I smiled and walked to the living room, away from the Team's training. The smile fell as soon as she couldn't see it.

"Your Highness, you---" Kaldur had looked at me with soft green eyes, concern dripping and bleeding from every syllable he said.

"Don't." I slipped away towards the library. I was going to eat, but hiding among the stacks was as good of an option as any. If it made him more concerned, he'd have to do it away from me.

Orin stopped by. He was far harder to avoid, and Orm was harder still. I gravitated towards them. They were whirlpools, catching me in the current and spinning me in, in, in. Orm was the calm one, the one that caught you unaware until you were wrapped in the choking embrace of water. Orin was far more rapid and persistent, the type that would throw waves to pull you into the current and made you panic until the water filled your lungs.

Orm rarely said anything. He brushed his fingers against me, and he searched my eyes in those rare moments when I'd make full eye contact. Kisses on my forehead and hugs and sitting beside me. I liked that.

"Orin's worried about you," he'd said. "Apparently, sleeping medication has vanished from the infirmary. A lot of it." Blue swept over me, looking for a reaction I'd never give. Gabe taught me things. Sometimes they were useful.

The door to the locker room slid open. Artemis twisted, peering at me through the neck of her uniform.

"I'm coming with you," I said.

"You have to talk to Kaldur about that." The locker shut with a clang, and she swung her quiver over her shoulder. "He won't let you."

"Which is why I'm talking to you." It would be easy, so so easy to walk up to Kaldur and tell him I was going. He couldn't deny me. Simple words, an equally simple order.

A confession of what I was.

But telling Kaldur before we left meant he'd call Orin. And that crashing pulling whirlpool would descend on me once again. A lecture on his lips, stern, steely expression, and that same tone of voice Mom used. If he only found out after we left, I'd have more time before Orin confronted me.

"Listen," she said, brushing past me. "I don't want to get benched. So you're going to have to talk to him, instead of hiding."

"He wouldn't have to know you helped me."

"Secrets don't stay that way." The door slid shut.

A threat and truth and a warning. A single sentence with so many different meanings all wrapped up and delivered with a bow of electrified wire. I sighed and pressed my head against the cold stone wall.

"Why are mortals like this?" I breathed. Had I asked a demigod, they wouldn't have thought twice. Might've bargained with me for a favor or to handle dish duty, but there was never a question of if they'd do it. 

My shoes scraped the floor. I walked to the living room.

The differences between us, they weren't usually apparent. We looked the same, we bled red. Our parents could easily pass as human, and how were we supposed to be any different? The differences came in the ways we acted. Blades first, then questions. Jumping at shadows, and talking our way around names. We're dangerous, and I wasn't afraid to deny that. If I wanted to---

I growled. That power meant nothing. And that's why I was in the situation in the first place. Even Dad would admit going out and fighting things was better than standing under scalding water and scrubbing at my skin until it was raw. Or maybe he wouldn't and he'd prefer for me to go crawling back to him with my tail between my legs.

Gods loved to have power over us. Why would Dad be any different?

The thought bounced around in my brain. He'd let me stay with him. His arms were warm, and his hugs were tight. I shoved my hands into my pockets. Could I afford the price?

The others stood around: Robin checking his utility belt, Megan leaning against Connor, and things moving about in the kitchen as Wally packed food. Kaldur's eyes flicked to me.

"I'm going with you," I said.

"I have orders to keep you safe, your Highness. You should know that I cannot deny my king."

"And besides,"Robin added, "If you get hurt up here, there's no telling how your people would react. A group of superheroes willfully endangering the life and well-being of the crown princess?"

"You do realize that my uncle is the king, right? He's the actual head of Atlantis." I ran a hand through my hair. "As long as a descendant of Atlan is on the throne, we'll stay in favor with Lord Poseidon. I'm just---" A daughter of the main god for Atlanteans. I didn't say that, couldn't say that. I shook my head. "Orin was the closest thing I had to a father growing up, and he's always treated me like I was his kid."

"So you should see why he would want to keep you safe."

"Then he might as well lock me away."

Kaldur closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled. He looked at the others. "Robin, you and Artemis are in charge. Try not to burn anything down."

"You're not coming with us?" Wally asked. A plastic bag, full of food, swung on his arm.

"I think you should be able to manage without me. Ultimately, the burden of keeping her safe falls upon my shoulders. This should prevent any...unwelcome additions to the group."

Somehow, this was worse than him calling Orin.

After like two months of saying I'd update, I have finally updated

And part of the reason may or may not have been that Percy was supposed to hide on the Bioship like when you shove an extra person on the front passenger sides floor.

Anyway,

See yah