Prince of Riptide

call me the contender

Sorry I'm probably boring everyone who's reading this lmao but eh I've already posted these on ao3, so what's the harm in doing it here?

Percy woke in a rowboat with a makeshift sail stitched of gray uniform fabric. Annabeth sat next to him, tacking into the wind.

"Rest," she said. "You're going to need it."

"Tyson...?"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry."

Tyson had sacrificed his life for them, and all he'd done was feel embarrassed about being related.

He still didn't understand why Poseidon had made him find Tyson, but maybe it was so that the cyclops would finally find a friend. Safety. A home. That made Percy feel worse.

. . .

They managed to salvage some ambrosia and the multivitamins, but that was pretty much it.

After a day of sailing through the Sea of Monsters—lying in the hard sun with cracking lips and dry mouths—a seagull propped itself in the small boat.

"Land," Annabeth gasped. "There's land nearby!"

. . .

C.C's spa seemed strange, especially with so many different boats docked, but then again, Percy had never been to this part of the ocean before. He was too hot and tired to argue with the nice lady.

He forgot all about their problems when he met C.C.

"Would you look at that!" C.C exclaimed, putting her loom aside. "The illegitimate prince of Atlantis! Oh, Hylla. We're lucky, indeed." This would've usually made Percy nervous since he didn't know these people, but instead, he had this strange need to want to please the beautiful lady before him.

Hylla, the woman who had checked them in, smiled slightly.

"Oh, dear," she sighed. "You do need my help."

"Ma'am?" he asked.

"Hylla, take Annabeth on a tour, will you? Show her what we have available. Meanwhile, I'll give His Majesty a full makeover."

Percy tried to ignore the squealing from the small cage nearby.

. . .

"See here, Perseus." C.C guided him to a mirrored wall. "The first thing you have to do to unlock your potential is admitting you're not happy the way you are."

Percy's reflection made him uncomfortable, for some reason. Like how his front teeth weren't perfectly straight and that his hair was untamable unless he pulled it into a braid or ponytail. He realized how scrawny he looked, as well.

Have I always been like this?

Who cares? Another voice whispered.

"Mm. Yes, you see it, don't you?" she lamented. "Let's try...this." C.C snapped her fingers, and his reflection changed.

It was him...but at the same time not.

Percy looked older in the mirror; he was taller, as well. He had a confident smile on his face. His hair was shorter, more shoulder length. But what intrigued him more was that this version was casually holding a trident like it was no big deal. Atop his head rested a crown made up of seashells. All in all, it seemed to be a ceremony for something, and New Percy looked the part of the prince, which he'd always felt insecure about.

"Can you really...?"

"Why yes, of course. You'll just need to exercise a bit, eat lots of fresh fruit. And of course...this" C.C handed him a pink-looking drink.