A Pirate's Life For Me

Ships In The Storm

Annabeth's eyes fluttered open and she frowned. She had no clue where she was. The last thing she remembered was the hooded man stabbing her in the stomach. Thinking about it sent a wave of pain and nausea and she squeezed her eyes shut again. A door opened to her left.

"How's she doing?"

"She won't die. Why did ye save us?"

The first voice she didn't recognize. The second belonged to Will Solace.

"I wasn't about to let you get burned alive. And it was one of my crew who inflicted the damage, though under the influence of some sort of sorcery, so I figured I should return the favor."

The room rocked slightly and the man growled quietly. "Zeus isn't happy."

"Well it ain't every day one of his children murders a whole ship full of people and then goes after his sister." Will said.

Annabeth's mind whirled. The only child of Zeus she knew aside from her captain was Jason.

Could Jason have been the man?

Thinking back on it, she realized the answer was a resounding yes. The sword had been familiar.

Her arm had started to ache, but when she tried to pull it down, ropes that she hadn't noticed before dug into her skin. Surprised, she let out a yelp.

"Ah, she's awake." The man commented.

"Will, where are we? Why aren't we on the Zephyrus?" Annabeth opened her eyes, but didn't look over to where the men were standing. Will walked over and stepped into her line of view.

"The Zephyrus burned. The bodies had to be sent to the Underworld somehow."

"And who was the attacker?"

"Jason, but he wasn't right. There was something in his head, forcing him to do it."

"Where is he now?"

"In the brig until I know I can fully trust him again." The other man spoke again.

"Who are..." Annabeth's words died in her throat as she turned to see who was speaking. "You!" She snarled, attempting to get up.

Her frantic movements to attack the black haired, green eyed man were stopped by Will and an extreme pain in her stomach.

"Lie down, ye'll tear the stitches!" The son of Apollo snapped.

Annabeth lay still, taking deep breaths. "How bad is it?"

"Ye'll live. He managed to miss the important stuff. Just don't go leapin' from bed like that until I say ye can."

Annabeth nodded, then remembered why she had leapt to her feet so fast. "Why the Hades are we on his ship?!"

"Because I found your ship first. Most of the crew was already dead, but we saved three."

"Three?"

"You, Will and your lovely captain whose language for the past day or so has been consisting of angry swearing. Who knew she was so creative." The captain smirked, his eyes glinting in amusement.

"Cap'n!" A boy's voice shouted from the hall.

"In the sick bay, Ethan!" Green-Eyes bellowed over his shoulder.

A teen with black hair and an eyepatch burst into the room. "She's stopped with the swearin' Cap. Wants'ta see ya."

The Captain nodded. "Is Frank still with them?"

"Nah, Piper an' Mitchell."

"Alright, let's go."

The two men left and Annabeth turned to Will. "We need to get out of here. They might be planning something."

Will didn't look convinced. "They've been hospitable so far. At least t' me. I ain't leavin', not yet."

Annabeth glared at him. "We are prisoners! You do realize that, do you not?"

"Listen, Princess, I'm free to roam the ship at the moment. You ain't. I'd be careful who I was callin' a prisoner if I was you."

"You're on an enemy ship with no weapon and constant supervision of some sort." Annabeth sneered.

"Ye know what? Go back to sleep." Will walked away. Annabeth growled, only abiding his orders because she was tied to the bed and it hurt to move.

'I'm getting off this ship, no matter what.' She thought viciously.

Will walked confidently through the hall up to the deck. They had anchored the ship in a sheltered cove to wait out a huge storm, most likely the king of the gods throwing a hissy fit about what had happened to his children.

The rain seemed to be slowing, even if the winds were still as wild and angry as ever. Will shimmied up the mast easily, sarcastically saluting a watchful Leo Valdez, who was perched in the rigging as usual.

Reaching the crow's nest, Will peered out to sea, curious as to what he would be able to spot in this mess.

He thought he saw a dark blur on the horizon, but passed it off as being the storm playing tricks on his eyes.

Maybe if he'd looked closer, he would have warned the captain. Or at least told Leo. But he didn't.

As a result, he didn't know what was headed straight for them.

He didn't know that a ship black as night had set a course.

He didn't know that there was a woman at the helm.

And he definitely didn't know that in the center of her dark face, as her wild curly hair whipped in the wind, her usually gold eyes would occasionally flash green as she headed for a target only she could see.

[A/N Mayhem on it's way!]