Indigo Eyes

Chapter 45

"Can we talk?" Percy asked the next morning as he approached the Dionysus table.

"I don't think so -"

"I think we should go prepare for this afternoon. You still have no idea where you put your armour from last summer," Castor interrupted as he held his plate in one hand and his twin's shirt in the other and headed for their cabin, bickering the entire way.

Cressida found the entire thing strange that her brother would do something to help Percy, but she figured that he'd keep talking even if she did say no. "Fine," she relented, still picking at her eggs with a fork. "Talk then," she said as he sat down.

"Tyson says hi," he began, and her hand stilled. "They're warring with some powerful spirits that are keeping the Princess Andromeda hidden from my dad."

"Tell him hi back. And that I miss him," she said, still not looking at where he sat next to her.

"I will," he promised. "Wine Vine, I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't mean to get angry at you and I -"

"You were upset about Annabeth," she interrupted, her voice still sad. "I know. I am too but that doesn't give you a reason to act like a jackass, Jackass."

"I know. I know. And you have every right to hate me and call me a jackass and all the names you want, but, I think you might be interested in a few things I have to tell you," he said and she raised a brow.

"I'm listening."

"Ok, do you want the good news or the bad news first?"

"Why did I think that there could just be good news? Fine. Gimme the bad news," she decided.

"I had a dream about Annabeth," he began, explaining how he'd watched her take a cavern ceiling that had been collapsing down on Luke and he didn't know if she survived. Grover had also overheard the fact that Zoë had also had a dream about Artemis and the fact that it was the same night as Percy's dream seemed awfully too coincidental. 

Cressida had smiled nostalgically as Percy told her about the scarf he'd seen from their first adventure together up in the attic by the Oracle that had given him nothing about where Annabeth was. How far they'd come from then - or maybe not so far if she and Percy were still arguing all the time.

"Can I ask you something?" he wondered and she nodded. "Did you know anything about the Hunters pamphlet in Annabeth's bag? Did you know she was considering joining?"

Cressida nodded. "I gave it to her," she explained, her eyes down as if she was waiting for him to get angry at her again.

"Hey," he said as he reached for her hand. "I'm not here to fight. I'm here to talk. Why did you give Wise Girl the pamphlet?"

"She asked for it. If a girl walks into Cabin Eight, a pamphlet appears in their hand. Books asked for one because her father is leaving New York. He wants to move their family to San Francisco for work and Annabeth knows why it's so dangerous for demigods to be in San Francisco. I don't know what was going through her head exactly but she asked for it, so I got her one and overnight shipped it to her through Hermes. And I didn't ask questions. I figured she'd tell me when she was ready."

Percy nodded as if he was letting all the information sink in, their hands still linked.

"Could I maybe get the good news now?" she asked and Percy gave her that stupid troublemaker grin of his.

"Castor said that you'd love to know that this afternoon we're going to be holding a Capture the Flag game against the Hunters."

Her jaw dropped and Percy swore that she looked both confused and on the verge of kissing him - at least that's what he slightly hoped for even though his head knew she'd probably hit him.

"How - when did you talk to Cas? Why did you talk to Cas? Why did Cas let you talk to him? Why are you not dead?" she blurted and Percy just laughed.

"All very valid questions that I'm not still 100% on the answers, so I think it's probably just best to ask Castor."

"Oh, believe me, I'll be asking Castor. And you're not completely off the hook," she said as she poked his chest and it rumbled with laughter again.

"The gods forbid that happens. Oh, by the way, you'll have to deal with both me and Thalia being co-captains of our team."

"Ok, I resent that whole Big Three thing if it gives you two the power to do that because I have the most experience at camp next to Annabeth who isn't here. And Papa help us if the children of Zeus and Poseidon are leading us, because we might as well just present the Hunters with our flag."

Dionysus didn't even look up from the head table he sat at, observing the wine goblet full of Diet Coke in his hand. "I'm afraid that not even I could help you with that unfortunate situation, Jewel."

"See!" she exclaimed. "And on that note where you are going to lead us to defeat and not even a god can't help us, I will see you at dinner," she said as she stood to leave, but not before taking a plate of pancakes with her.