Princess of the Sea (Fem Percy x YJ)

30

It was worse.

My skin crawled as I walked through the halls of the Cave, Kaldur's footsteps behind me. He didn't try to talk to me, but he didn't leave me alone. He was like a ghost. His haunting was going to drive me insane, if everything else in this world didn't manage to first. I sighed and brushed my fingers over the cold walls. They had a texture a little smoother than a cinder block. Water pulsed through pipes beneath my feet, coursing with heat.

There was a pool area here, wasn't there?

I didn't put much thought into going there. With how Kaldur was watching---It was making me want to scrub at my arms again--- could I stand to strip to barely nothing? No. The pipes groaned, and I scurried away. Where was the bathroom? Or the kitchen? I couldn't get rid of the pressure once it existed, only vent it. There were two ways to do that.  And one caused less property damage than the other.

Would it be safe to leave the Cave? Maybe. The pressure wouldn't build anymore than it already had. If I sank into the water, it would twist and wrap around me, until Dad was satisfied that I hadn't been injured. He wouldn't care too much about shirking a guard. More importantly, Blackjack wouldn't care at all. Climbing onto his back and flying off somewhere, somewhere where no one would stare at me, sounded too good to be true.

I could get him donuts, I thought as I rounded into the kitchen. Strawberry maybe. I got a cup, a pink translucent plastic one. He always tries to sneak some berries from me when I'm helping pick. Water gushed and sputtered out of the faucet like a fire hose with hiccups. It came up and up and then ran over the rim, trickling down into the drain. I stared at it, fingers twitching.

An arm reached past me and shut the water off. I drove my elbow back in fright. Kaldur caught it. Pipes groaned. I hastily turned the water back on.

"Are--" he hesitated. "Are you okay?"

Taking my cup, I moved to the other side of the island, back to the living room and the flickering television. Some sit-com was playing at a low volume. Water sloshed onto the tiled floor. I waved my hand and watched it swirl into the sink. Kaldur was in the edges of my vision, a place I wanted him to stay. 

"Your Highness--"

"It's nothing that concerns you," I said, turning to grab a coffee mug. Tea. Tea sounded good, and I knew there was chamomile here. Chiron said it was good for calming people. I coaxed the water into it.

"Your safety and well-being concern me."

I scoffed, punched a minute thirty into the keypad. "It shouldn't." I turned my head away from him. "I'm the bastard heir to the throne, a lot of people be very happy if something happens to me."

The microwave, an old rattling thing that needed replaced four years ago, hummed to fill the silence. The green numbers ticked down. I leaned with my thumb resting over the button to pop it open.

"Being heir to the throne is reason enough to have me protect you, you do not need to offer me more reasons." I saw him smile in his reflection. My heart fluttered. The island's still between the two of us, I reminded myself. I could probably outrun him, if I had to, but he knew the Cave better.

Ding. 

He watched me drink the hot water, only water because I didn't want to dig for tea in front of him. Heat scorched my hands, then my tongue. It didn't matter, though, I'd had worse, dealt with worse. It couldn't actually burn me. No matter how much I wanted it to.

"If I may--"

The mug shattered into pieces. Blood fell with the ceramic and Kaldur cursed. He yanked open a drawer for a towel. By the time he looked up, I'd have vanished. My blood-slicked hands wrapped around my biceps. Fabric stuck in the cuts.

Okay, okay. Everything's fine. I just got annoyed. It happens to everyone, who hasn't accidentally broken something my holding it too tightly? Was he going to be able to track me by the blood? I glanced behind me. Red droplets shone in the light. I frowned and lifted my hand. Pain pierced my gut.

"Shit," I choked out. Why now? I threw a glance over my shoulder. He hadn't found me yet. No time to get rid of the blood. Did my door lock? It occurred to me that I didn't know the answer, and Hades if that didn't make bile creep up into my throat. Things like that were fine at camp, where I was safe, or at home where Mom wanted to be able to check on me. I couldn't fault her on that. Not after I went missing.

I always joked that as soon as I moved out, I'd always lock my bedroom door just to spite her. We'd had an argument over that before the visit to Atlantis. I couldn't fault her, but it was annoying.  Why was that what happened that morning?

The door hissed shut behind me, and I made it two steps before collapsing in a heap.

Why is it getting worse? I bit into my hand. The burning pain in my side hurt worse than an actual blade. Getting stabbed would've been better, I knew how to deal with that. Nectar would help with that.  Water would too. They wouldn't work on this. My nails raked across the soft flesh of my stomach. 

My powers ripped up my insides. Twisting my organs and threatening to burst blood vessels. Panting, I whispered a spell, one for emergencies. This was one, right? A whimper slipped past my lips. Would this one even work out of water? What if he wasn't near a Zeta Tube? My mouth was dry.

I pressed my palm to the floor, and I shoved.

Welp, finals week starts tomorrow, so I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, because I'm going to have to reread several books

See yah