Proairesis━𝐢𝐢.( PJO/HP )

𝐱𝐢𝐯. SHIPWRECKED

▬▬▬ CHAPTER FOURTEEN ▬▬▬

ESMERELDA HAD ALWAYS WANTED TO go on a ride on a fancy looking yacht but this was not how she wanted it to go. Not even close, really. When she daydreamed of it happening, she always imagined herself just chilling at the pool with a fruit smoothie or something, not trapped in a cage because she was being kidnapped by her stupid ex-friend.

After they boarded the expensive looking yacht, Ethan immediately took her to the Bridge room (the place where the ship was commanded) and he gently placed her on a table before getting to work. Esmerelda had no idea how the fourteen year old boy knew how to steer the thing, plus apparently he could drive trains too? What exactly was he being taught in the Titan Army because this wasn't what she was thinking of.

After about twenty minutes, he set the ship on autopilot and took Esmerelda to a room, most likely his judging by the little belongings she recognized inside.

"It'll take us a couple hours to get there, maybe even a day." He said, setting her cage on the bedside table.

Oh yippee, she rolled her eyes, knowing very well that he was watching her. I can't wait to get to my doom. What exactly does Luke have planned for me anyways, hmm?

He threw himself onto his bed and covered his forehead with his arm, looking at her miserably. "Are you still gonna give me the silent treatment? Come on, Essie, say something. One small bark at least."

If she had fingers, she would flip him off. Because she didn't, she settled with scoffing loudly and turning away from him to observe the room.

Ethan obviously hadn't been using it for long, because most of it looked untouched. He had a backpack on the far corner of the room, a trashcan with only a couple of food wrappers inside it, and a clipped bag of potato chips on another table. There was also a clock on the wall next to the circular window. It was almost midnight.

"So," he said awkwardly, obviously feeling uncomfortable about talking to a puppy of all things (even if he knew said puppy was actually her). "This is your Animagus form, huh? I'm a little surprised. I always thought you were gonna be a kitten or something. Looks like Travis won the bet..."

Yeah, and you owe him money. Too bad you're a filthy, lying traitor, she thought snidely.

"I knew you'd be small though," he said, snorting to himself. "The second you told me that it was based on personality, I knew you'd be some small, adorable, harmless animal."

Esmerelda inwardly groaned, covering her ears with her paws. She didn't need to be told twice about this. She honestly should've known that her personality was too soft to for her Animagus form to be anything bigger than a baby animal. Everyone kept telling her, but she was just so hopeful...

Ugh. And look at what all the trouble had caused her. She was a tiny puppy and now she was stuck in a dog cage because her best fri—ex-best friend had lost his mind.

Ethan stole a glance at her, irked that he had yet to get any reply. He knew he was currently the worst friend ever, but couldn't she bark at him at least? He was getting desperate here.

He heaved a sigh. "Essie—"

But then the worst thing happened. A shimmery image appeared at the center of the room, catching their attention. When the image cleared out and Ethan saw just who was contacting him, he knew he was in for it.

"Ethan!" Alabaster greeted, looking as if he had just finished a session of intense training. "Hey, man! How's the mission going? Did you convince my sister to come with you yet?"

He tried not to glance at the puppy. "Um."

Esmerelda let out a loud bark, then began ramming against the bars in order to catch his attention. The cage kept skidding forward with every hit and soon enough, she was falling off the nightstand.

Ethan shot up. "Essie—!" He called out in alarm, catching the cage just in time. Then he realized his mistake. He carefully set Esmerelda down and looked warily at Alabaster, who had fallen silent.

"...Did you just call that dog 'Essie'?" He asked in a stone-cold voice.

He swallowed. "Uh..."

The older boy's face turned red. "Ethan," he said through gritted teeth. "Is that Esmerelda?"

The dog barked in reply, nodding her head up and down in confirmation. Ethan braced himself for it.

"'DON'T WORRY' MY ASS!" Alabaster raged. "You turned my sister into a dog and put her in a cage! What the fuck is wrong with you, Ethan?!"

He sighed at the volume. He was way too tired to deal with this right now. "I—"

"—I TOLD YOU NOT TO DO ANYTHING TOO DRASTIC! THEN YOU GO AND DO THIS! THIS IS CRAZY!"

"Let me explain!" Ethan burst out. "Just—let me talk, please."

Alabaster narrowed his eyes at him. "You better have a good reason for this."

Ethan began to explain. "Essie refused to come with me, so I had no choice but to... take her away."

Kidnap me, you mean, she corrected.

"When she was trying to get away, she turned into a dog. That's her Animagus form, by the way. Suddenly that stupid looking cage appeared out of nowhere and I was all out of ideas so I just used it to trap her. I'd let her go, but I know she'd just try to escape."

Alabaster stared at him. "What the heck do you mean the cage appeared out of nowhere?!"

He shot him an annoyed look. "Just as I said! It appeared out of nowhere. After she turned into a dog and ran away from me, I saw a bright light and when it died down, the cage was just there!"

Alabaster placed a hand on his forehead, thoroughly confused. "What the fuck?"

"That's what I'm saying," Ethan muttered.

Esmerelda barked to catch their attention. Tell him to let me out, Ally! She begged, almost forgetting that she was upset with him too. I hate this stupid cage! I wanna get out so I can strangle him!

Fortunately for her, he seemed to be able to read the desperation in her facial expression. "You have to let her out, Ethan. This is kinda screwed up."

Ethan sighed. "I know," he murmured. "I would, but I know she'll just try to escape. She doesn't have her weapons on her, but who knows how much stronger her magic's gotten. I can't risk it. I'm sorry." He apologized to the both of them.

Much to her horror, Alabaster seemed to nod at the logic. "Alright, fine. I don't like it, but fine. Just... don't hurt her, Ethan."

Ethan scowled. "You know I wouldn't."

Esmerelda barked wildly. You can't be serious, Alabaster! Don't let him do this to me! You're supposed to be my brother!

But Alabaster was no longer listening to her.

"I gotta get back to training. You two take care. I'll see you later." He said, before waving his hand through the Iris Message.

NO! Esmerelda screamed, but it was already too late.

Ethan looked at her guiltily, but didn't do anything to help her. Instead, he walked up to the light switch. "Try to go to sleep, okay? We have a long trip ahead of us."