The Sea and The Moon

Chapter 9

Percy POV:

I woke up in the guest bedroom of my house next to little girl who was still asleep. Yesterday's events rushed back to me and I subconsciously hugged the little girl closer to my body. I laid my head back on the pillow and waited for Ashley to wake up as I didn't want to be the one to break that peaceful expression.

Ten minutes later, she woke up and immediately scrambled off the bed. She looked confused and scared at first, but when she saw me, her stiff posture relaxed.

"You're safe now, Ashley. You don't have to worry about waking up to your horrible uncle anymore," I said soothingly. She came over and climbed back on the bed, hugging me tightly.

"Thank you, Percy. You're the best big brother ever!" She exclaimed. I chuckled loudly and led her to the bathroom down the hall.

"We need to get you cleaned up."

I helped change her out of her pajamas into some day clothes and then brushed her teeth for her. We made our way down the stairs and into the kitchen where I pulled out different ingredients for breakfast.

"What would you like to eat for breakfast?" I asked.

"Pancakes and spaghetti waffles!" she said excitedly. I wasn't exactly sure how to make spaghetti waffles, but I would try anyways. While I was cooking the pancakes, I remembered that I hadn't seen my mom for over 2 years, since the beginning of the war. She was going to kill me for not coming to see her. When she's mad, I would rather face an angry Artemis who wants to kill me than her. I shivered at the thought.

I finished with the pancakes and realized that I had added blue food coloring out of habit. I hope she doesn't think too much of it. Anyways, how do I make spaghetti waffles. I prepared the noodles and the sauce while making the waffles in a pan. After preparing the spaghetti, I laid some down on a waffle and folded it over to create a spaghetti-waffle taco.

I served the food and the minuted the plates touched the table she was off. She ate ravenously, not even stopping to question the blue pancakes. Man, I guess she hasn't eaten like this in forever. By the time she had eaten her fill, there were only a few morsels of food left for me, but I didn't mind. I would gladly starve just so that she could eat until she was full.

I chuckled at her,"Was it good?"

She nodded enthusiastically as her mouth was still stuffed with spaghetti. I picked up a napkin and wiped her face, before asking her," What would you like to do today?" She shrugged.

"I have a friend that I would like you to meet. She is a god just like Father, except of course she is not male and she's very nice as well. Would you like to go see her today?" I asked.

"Ok," she replied.

I scooped her up in my arms and mist traveled to Olympus making sure that she was holding on tight. We reappeared in the middle of a busy street right in front of my least favorite Olympian.

"Perseus! How great for you to come here! I see you have become even more handsome since the last time we met," Aphrodite squealed. I inwardly groaned and gritted my teeth while I replied," Hello, Lady Aphrodite. I'm honored that you think so. Look, we are in quite a hurry though so I apologize that we can't talk for longer."

"Oh ok," she said disappointed, but immediately perked up again," You can come by my palace any time you want and I can teach you how to really have fun." She winked at me and continued walking past, smiling a dazzling smile at me as she passed. I shook my head and started walking towards our destination.

"Percy, who was that? She seemed a little bit weird and she looked kind of ugly," Ashley said in my arms. I grinned at her words and nodded in agreement.