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A storm of bubbles whirled behind Percy as he swam out of the throne room and slammed the massive door behind him. Percy hurriedly navigated the twisting hallways of Atlantis and fled to a nearby coral reef that was filled with countless nooks and crannies to hide from his irrational, infuriating, arrogant father!
“Damn him!” Percy snapped his tail and dove into an underwater cave through the top opening. His friend Bessie, an Ophiotaurus that had taken a liking to him years ago, was already waiting for Percy and rested on the dappled sand of the ocean floor. Bessie woke with a start after Percy started swimming in furious circles around a large rock protruding from the ground in the center of the cavern.
“That stubborn old pufferfish!” Percy exclaimed, frustrated beyond belief.
“Mooo?” Bessie raised his head to look at Percy inquisitively.
“The king, ” Percy bit out. “In all his wisdom, forbid me from going to the surface. Again!”
“Moooo…” Bessie floated slowly off the ocean floor, no longer surprised when Percy came to him enraged from something his father did.
“And not only that! He told me to get rid of my human thingamabobs!”
“Mooooooo,” Bessie crooned sympathetically. The half-cow half-serpent winded in circles behind Percy, following him as he continued his pacing around the rock.
“I just don’t understand why he’s so unreasonable!” Percy stopped abruptly raising his arms. “He was never like this with Triton or Kym! Kym told me dozens of times they went to the surface and Dad didn’t give one flipper about it!”
“Moo!” The Ophiotaurus ran into Percy’s back where the Mer floated in place. Percy signed and turned to hug Bessie, pulling them back to lay on the rock they had previously been circling and squeezed his arms around his friend.
“I just want to know what’s like up there,” Percy whispered, anger replaced with sadness. “It’s all so different. I spent so long learning about them from afar…I just want to talk to one of them someday!”
“Moooo.” Bessie licked Percy’s chin and got comfortable on his chest, ready to go back to napping.
“I don’t know how to change his mind,” Percy complained, running a hand over the back of Bessie’s scales. “But maybe I don’t have to.”
“Moo?”
“Kym said,” Percy paused, looking around and lowering his voice. “Kym said that there’s someone who could help me find out more about the humans.”
“Moo…”
“I know what happened the last time I listened to her but I swear this time she’s telling the truth.”
A judgmental silence followed his words.
“It’s true! I heard about the witch from others too!”
If anything the silence grew even more disapproving. Choosing to ignore this, Percy’s voice was full of hope.
“They say there is a witch who lives in a cove to the west.” Percy squeezed Bessie harder in his excitement. “And he’s not a Mer like us! He’s got legs like the humans and can make any wish come true with his magic.”
“Moo!” Bessie protested the tight grip.
“Sorry boy,” Percy apologized but then continued. “But his help comes with a price. I wonder what kind of price?”
Perhaps Percy would have discarded any thought of going to some witch if not for the blue and yellow striped angelfish that zipped down next to Percy, excitedly conveying his father’s message.
Message from the King! You will report to the blacksmith tomorrow at first light to start an apprenticeship for the remainder of the summer season.
“What?!” Percy sat up, features twisted in rage, and displaced a sleepy Bessie from his chest.
Normally after one of Percy and Poseidon’s arguments, they merely spent a few days in tense silence and stilted conversation before going back to normal. This time however, it appeared that Poseidon wasn’t willing to let their most recent disagreement go. Apprenticing for the blacksmith would take up all of Percy’s waking hours, leaving him exhausted during his sparse free time. This was clearly Poseidon’s way of trying to keep Percy from the surface.
“Not today old man!” Percy hissed. “Fuck this shit.”
He couldn’t stand this. Couldn’t stand his father. Couldn’t stand being confined to the city. Couldn’t stand the whispers that would inevitably follow him when everyone saw him trudging along at the blacksmith. Bastard prince. Not as smart, not as talented as his siblings. What else would you expect from the by product of an affair?
Percy shot out of the cave and swam in the exact opposite direction of the palace. After what felt like hours of furious swimming, the surrounding water grew dark and cold. Night had fallen and Percy was farther out from Atlantis than he normally would go even in daylight.
Sighing, Percy turned around and started at seeing Bessie who had followed him all this way.
“Trying to keep me from doing something stupid?” The look on Bessie’s face could only be described as a glower. “I guess it’s too late for that…”
“Where are we anyway?” Percy looked around at the blank expanse of the ocean, no hint of where they were to be found. “I guess we’ll have to look at the surface and see if there’s anything familiar.”
“Moooo…”
A mismatched pair of heads emerged from riotous waves, the surface of the water equally as dark as its subsurface. Even the stars’ reflections, normally a hypnotizing dance of lights on the waves, were absent, blocked by a thick blanket of clouds covering the night sky. The only source of light for miles was a large human ship lit with countless hovering lights.
“What are those?” Percy felt his eyes widen at the unknown sight. “Mini-stars?”
He dove under the water and came up again right next to the ship. As close as he was, he couldn’t see anything over the tall walls of the ship. Spying a ladder hanging off the side, Percy hauled himself up by his arms, his tail dragging behind him, heavier out of the water than he had expected.
“Mooo!” Bessie’s concerned moo was a quiet hiss in spite of the loud music and voices coming from the ship.
“I’ll be right back!” Percy grinned down at him before finishing his climb to rest his arms and head on the floorboards.
The mini-stars Percy had seen from a distance were encased in glass cages and lit up the party happening on deck. Music unlike anything Percy had ever heard before flowed through the air and the humans’ strange fins (legs?) whirled in patterns, somehow matching the beat of the music.
Oh, they’re dancing! Percy realized, fascinated at the difference from Mer dances.
“Make way, make way, you idiots!” A person with a tall white head (hat?) yelled and pushed through the crowd. “Don’t ruin the princess’ cake!”
A man, Percy realized, pleased with himself for remembering the difference in genders for the humans.
“Thank you, Gaius.” A woman with long, curly hair that looked spun from gold smiled at the man, before turning to the crowd who had stopped dancing. “Thank you everyone for being here with me. We’ve had a long journey and I’m proud to celebrate my birthday with such a fine crew as you!”
The crowd of men and women roared their approval and raised their drinks to their mouths. Soon enough, the party resumed with half the humans continuing their dance and the rest crowding around the cake, a fluffy cylinder that was apparently something humans liked to eat.
The woman, presumably the princess, stood back against the railing and smiled faintly at the commotion. She wore a simple white shirt tucked into tight black trousers and her gray eyes were infinitely more luminous than the gray of the clouds above.
In the back of his mind Percy was pleased he remembered the names of the strange human garments but he was too entranced by the princess to feel too proud. No one under the sea had hair that looked quite like that. It was more common to find greens and purples than a shining gold, gleaming from the light of the mini-stars. He fingered his plain black hair and frowned; he was so bland.
Lightning split open the sky and thunder rumbled through the air. Percy could faintly hear Bessie’s worried moo in response but he wanted to stay with the humans as long as possible. He stayed there for what felt like hours, ducking his head anytime a human got too close.
The wind howled and suddenly a large wave crested over the walls of the ship, tipping the boat far enough over that Percy lost his grip and fell into the ocean with a large splash.
“Ow.” Drifting further underwater, Percy rubbed at his stinging backside.
“Moo!!” Bessie raced down to Percy and swam around him in agitated circles.
“What is it boy?” Percy asked, concerned at seeing his normally calm friend so frantic.
“Moooo!!!” Spinning around, Bessie nudged his head up at the boat. Percy’s heart dropped when he realized that the ship had collided with several spirals of rocks, hidden just below the surface of the water. The ship had torn apart and several pieces of wood drifted down into the depths.
“Shit, the humans!” Percy hurried to the surface, ready to rescue any fallen humans, secrecy be damned. While the crew was clearly taken by surprise at the sudden impact, they had gathered themselves enough to escape into several small miniature ships. Eyes roaming the cluster of humans, Percy didn’t see the princess anywhere. He glimpsed a flash of gold in the corner of his eyes and spun around in time to see the princess fall beneath the water.
Diving once more, Percy flapped his tail as hard as he could in spite of his sore muscles from his long day. He caught the princess a few dozen feet beneath the surface and spied a trail of red coming from her hair. Blood. She must’ve gotten hurt in the wreck and passed out.
Quickly, he dragged her limp body above air, relieved to hear her take in a gasping breath. Turning back around, the boats had drifted much farther away than he could hope to catch up with in this weather and with his current fatigue. Percy had no choice but to haul the woman up on a nearby rock and wait out the storm. He hugged her shivering body to his own and tried to block out the cold rain as much as possible.
It felt like an eternity before the faint dawn light broke through the clouds and the storm dissipated. Thankfully the princess was still breathing, but Percy knew he needed to get her to shore as soon as possible. Bessie, who had scouted out the nearest land during the night, guided Percy to the west. After only thirty minutes, Percy reached a sandy beach, and dragged the woman out of the surf as best he could.
“What I wouldn’t give for some legs right now.” Percy complained. When the princess was finally fully out of the water he collapsed on his back next to her.
“You better be grateful for this human.” Percy panted and glared up at the now blue sky.
The sound of strangled coughing came from beside him and the Princess suddenly shot up right.
Percy eeped and flinched away, startled at the sudden movement. The princess turned to him at the sound and stared at him, gray eyes meeting his own sea green gaze. She looked dumbfounded at the sight of him. Percy had just frantically put together an explanation in his head when she abruptly closed her eyes and laid back down.
It was now Percy’s turn to look confused. Had she suddenly died? No, Percy observed with relief, she’s still breathing.
The sounds of approaching humans snapped Percy out of his thoughts and he squirmed back into the surf. He’s glad that Kym and Triton weren’t here to see this; he’s sure he looked as ridiculous as he felt.
Finally fully in the water, he swam to hide behind a nearby rock and peeked back at the shore. Men and women were frantically surrounding the princess looking concerned and one of the larger men picked her up.
Once all of them were out of sight, Percy sighed and floated down underneath the waves. While it was likely easier that the princess passed out, he had wanted to talk with her, ask her so many questions. Percy stared up at the ribbons of sunlight weaving through the surface of the water until Bessie nudged him questioningly.
“Bessie,” Percy said, looking at his friend determinedly. “I’m going to see the witch.”
“Mooooo…”
After spending the first hour figuring out where they were, Percy realized that the island that he had landed on with the princess was the same island that hosted the cove of the witch. Bolstered by the coincidence, Percy set off to the west, swimming along the coast and looking out for a proper witch’s cove.
He didn’t know what he had expected to find for a witch’s cove, but the clear, shallow waters and sparkling white rocks wasn’t it. Every inch of it seemed inviting and warm, beckoning visitors in with its entrancing beauty.
Feeling more wary than ever at the welcoming cove, Percy cautiously swam through a gap in the rocks that guarded the cove, the gleaming spirals hewn in almost a perfect crescent moon shape. A shiny beach sprawled out in front of him and an additional break in the rocks were located to the left.
That must be where the witch lives, Percy thought and entered the twisting spires of stone. Beams of sunlight illuminated the path and he soon encountered a wide-mouthed cave. While still warm, the water inside was cooled by the shade and splashed up against flat ledges on either side of the cavern in gentle waves.
“Well, hello,” A deep voice drawled, reverberating off the walls. “Who do we have here? A pretty Mer decided to wander into my lair?”
Gasping, Percy spun around and found the source of the taunting voice. The witch, seated in a patch of sunlight entering a gap in the roof of the cave, could be compared to a human man in the way that fish could be compared to Mers, similar but utterly inadequate.
The first thing Percy noticed was the witch’s hair: long, curling tendrils of gold that seemed to have been woven from pure sunlight. If he had thought the princesses hair was beautiful it did not compare to the sight before him. Tanned skin pulled taut over muscles glistening with drops of water and the lean expanse of his body was covered only by a small piece of white fabric that draped from one shoulder to tie at his hips.
The witch’s mouth twitched in amusement and Percy realized that he had been gaping at him for far too long. Percy cleared his throat in embarrassment, hoping to dislodge the sudden dryness in his mouth.
“Are you the witch?” Percy asked, eyes never leaving the man’s sculpted features.
“I am indeed, Beautiful.” Pearly teeth glinted in the light. “And what is the name of the Mer who so boldly entered my home?”
Despite himself Percy flushed at the purr that seemed to vibrate through his very bones. Many Mers had tried to court him back in Atlantis, but that was only due to his status as a prince no doubt, bastard though he was. But he had never been so flustered by any of their flirting.
Percy steeled himself and shook off the bewitchment that was surely influencing him. “Percy, my name is Percy.”
“Percy.” Gods, how could one word sound so sinful? Apollo’s tongue seemed to savor the taste of his name. Percy was doomed. “My name, Percy , is Apollo, a witch of great renown and talents. If you have some desire, some wish, you only need ask.”
Alright, Percy was less doomed than he thought. Pretty as the witch’s blue and gold eyes were - extremely pretty his traitorous mind whispered - nothing was less attractive than the smug aura that seemed big enough to fill the entire cave.
“And with what price?” Percy demanded, crossing his arms where his torso hovered in shallow water, his tail resting in coils on the smooth rock beneath him. Apollo’s beaming smile seemed to falter at Percy’s shift in tone, but he soon recovered and slid off the ledge into the water.
“That, my dear,” Apollo said as he waded closer to Percy. “Depends on what you desire?”
Percy ignored the heat that emanated off Apollo and looked up from the soaked fabric covering sculpted abs that were suddenly at eye level.
“I want to become human,” Percy said, not even sure of what he would request until after the words left his mouth.
The witch faltered for the first time since Percy entered, hand frozen outstretched in front of him as if he were about to touch Percy.
“What?” Apollo asked, tone bewildered. “Why would you want that?”
“I--” Percy felt heat flush across his cheeks again. “I’m curious. I want to know what it’s like.”
“Boring,” Apollo said flatly. “Tedious. Mundane.”
Percy glared defensively. “Not to me.”
Strangely, Apollo almost seemed to quail under Percy’s gaze. “But your tail!”
“What about it?” Percy asked, arching a brow.
“You’re going to replace that magnificent thing with fleshy human legs?” Apollo said, taking personal offense to the removal of Percy’s tail.
Percy’s flush deepened. Certainly he had been told his tail was beautiful in the past but that was just flattery. His tail was a dull blue and green, nothing like the vibrant colors his species usually boasted. Percy recovered himself and tried to regain an unimpressed look that he wasn’t sure he was ever successful at.
“No, you’re going to replace it with fleshy human legs.”
Apollo wrinkled his nose. “You know that’s not what I thought you would ask for.”
Curiosity bubbled up in Percy. “What did you think I would ask for?”
A faint blush dusted Apollo’s high cheekbones. “Never you mind. But by the gods, why do you want this? It can’t be just curiosity.”
That was certainly true. It was more like a combination of curiosity, defiance, and recklessness. He had only wanted to merely talk with a human, but his father’s controlling demands ignited a rebellious fury in him. But Percy couldn’t say that to Apollo. Surely that wouldn’t but a good enough reason and worse, the witch would only laugh at his immaturity. What was it Kym had said? That the witch had a soft spot for love stories?
“I’m in love with a human princess,” Percy blurted out.
“What?!” Apollo gaped down at him, then scowled. “That’s what this is about?”
Apollo seemed angry at Percy’s lie. Was what Kym said a lie? It wouldn’t be the first time…
“You’re willing to turn into a human because of some girl?!”
The derisive way Apollo said 'girl' raised Percy’s hackles. He didn’t know the princess but she didn’t seem like she deserved such disdain.
“What about it?” Now that Percy had said it, he wasn’t going to back down from his lie.
“Have you even spoken with this… this…princess?” He hadn’t. Ugh, this was so dumb, Percy bemoaned his own stubbornness.
“I didn’t need to.” Percy sniffed and turned his nose up. “I just had to take one look at her shining golden hair and…and…unending gray eyes to fall deeply, deeply in love.”
What could only be described as squawk left the witch’s mouth. “Blonde hair? That’s all you needed to fall in love?”
“And gray eyes.” Percy bit out, still avoiding Apollo’s face.
“Gray eyes.” Apollo’s words sounded like they were forced out of gritted teeth. “But you’re a prince of Atlantis. You just can’t run away like this.”
Percy finally looked back at the witch and narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “You know who I am?”
Apollo’s flush surged to a bright red and he avoided Percy’s gaze. “You’re King Poseidon’s youngest, of course I know of you.”
Somehow that didn’t seem like the whole story but Percy didn’t push. It was better to take advantage of Apollo’s flustering. “My father has no say in what I do.”
That was the biggest lie Percy had told yet, but it was also the truest reflection of what he actually wanted. Perhaps sensing that, Apollo’s countenance softened and he seemed to let go of his indignation.
“I won’t do this without payment.”
Percy had expected as much. “What is it you want?”
“I’ll switch your tail for legs so you can see your precious human princess.” Apollo’s eyes overflowed with gold and seemed to burn with the intensity of his gaze. “I’ll even shield your location from your father so he can’t find you. But in exchange you will give me your words.”
“My words?” A shiver ran down Percy’s spine at the demand.
“Your words,” Apollo confirmed and nodded gravely. “You will be unable to speak for the duration you have your legs. The only way you can have your voice returned while you’re human, is if the princess can guess your name without you telling her in any way.”
“What?” Percy gaped at the witch in disbelief. “That’s impossible!”
That defeated the whole reason he wanted to become human - so he could ask them all his questions!
Apollo’s lips curled. “Well if that’s how you feel then I guess you’ll have to give up.”
“No.” Percy tensed his shoulders. “I’m not giving up.” He had already come this far and he wouldn’t let some pretty boy witch stop him now. He would kill Kym when he got back. Soft to love stories, yeah right .
“Fine.” Apollo spat out.
“Fine!” Percy glowered at Apollo. The tense moment lingered until the only sound was the crashing waves in the distance. Suddenly aware of how long Percy had been staring at Apollo, awkwardness washed over him.
“So…” Percy said, looking to the side at this tail. “How does this work?”
Apollo snorted, his own tension broken by wry amusement. “We’ve made the deal, the only thing I need to do is work my magic.”
“Oh…” Percy felt an anxious pit open in his stomach and he looked back up at Apollo from underneath his lashes.
While his brows were still furrowed, Apollo’s eyes had softened. “I’ll change tail to legs and from that moment you will be unable to speak. But you will need to return to this cave once a week for me to renew the spell.”
“Really?” Even from this short interaction, Percy could tell that Apollo was powerful. It seemed strange that the spell would only last a week. Sensing Percy’s disbelief, Apollo cleared his throat.
“Well, of course I could make the spell last longer than a week,” Apollo said defensively. “It would be trivial even. But you don’t want this to be permanent do you?”
At Percy’s sheepish nod, Apollo gave him a smug, little smile. “This way I can ensure there is no… accidental permanence.”
“Right, that makes sense…” Percy felt a bit foolish now. He hadn’t even thought of that possibility and he realized how little he actually knew about this kind of magic.
Apollo nodded decisively. “Right, let’s get to it.”
“Wait!” Percy backed away from Apollo’s encroaching hand.
“What? Changed your mind?” Apollo perked up, tone hopeful.
“No! I just…before I lose my voice can I send a message to my mom?” Percy asked. He had to make sure his mom knew that he wasn’t dead. She would think he was being reckless but knowing where he was would be enough to keep her from tearing the oceans apart in search of him.
“Of course,” Apollo acquiesced. He waved a hand nonchalantly through the water and a yellow angelfish appeared. “And for your father?”
“He’ll find out from my mom,” Percy replied evasively. It was true eventually his dad would think to go to his mom but not before panicking for a few days. Percy was still resentful enough of Poseidon to be petty.
Apollo hummed a bit disbelievingly but didn’t press.
Once the angelfish had been sent off with the message to his mom, Percy steeled himself. “I’m ready,” He told Apollo.
This time when Apollo reached a glowing hand out, Percy didn’t evade. The witch’s hand was searing from where it pressed against his scales and Percy felt a wave of heat rush through his body. He had halfway expecting potions, or herbs, or ominous chanting to accompany the witch’s magic, but instead a melodious voice rang out, brightening the very air around them.
Percy was once again bewitched by the being in front of him. It was unreal that such ethereal sounds could be made by anyone and yet before his eyes, Apollo wove magic with his voice alone.
Captivated as he was, Percy didn’t realize he was staring at Apollo’s lips until he noticed they were no longer moving. He flicked his eyes up to meet Apollo’s.
“Ready?” Apollo asked, so quiet Percy could barely hear him.
“Yes,” Percy breathed out and promptly sucked in a breath when he felt a sharp pain run through his tail. Before he could cry out, the feeling disappeared and he was left staring at a pair of legs the same shade of tan as his upper body.
Wow , Percy tried to say but no sound emerged from his throat. Instead he was left mouthing the words but Apollo understood anyway.
“Wow,” Apollo agreed. “Ready to try standing?”
All of Percy’s previous excitement came rushing back and nodded enthusiastically. A large hand grabbed Percy’s own and helped pull him up slowly. Percy stumbled at the strange feeling of being upright and he fell forward before he could brace himself.
His fall was halted by a broad chest supporting Percy’s body. Strong arms wrapped around Percy’s back and steadied him further. Frozen, Percy stared at the glistening skin of Apollo’s shoulders. He was almost a foot shorter than the witch and not nearly as broad. Percy felt heat rush to his face again and he almost couldn’t force himself to look up at Apollo, but he was glad he did when he was rewarded with the bright red of Apollo’s own face.
Hmmm, Percy thought consideringly. He placed his hand over Apollo’s chest and pressed down slightly. Apollo’s flush spread from his face down his neck, and Percy ducked his head wondering at Apollo’s angle.
“Right,” Apollo said, voice mangled. “I’m going to let go now. Take care to keep your balance centered and go slowly.”
Percy nodded and reluctantly withdrew from Apollo’s embrace. He took halting steps around the shallows of the cave, reluctant to try it on bare land yet in case he fell. Soon enough, he was walking as briskly as he had seen the humans on the boat walk and delightfully splashed the water with the strange appendages at the bottom of his legs.
Feet, a voice whispered in the back of his head. And toes.
Part of the disappointment Percy felt at not being able to ask the humans his questions was soothed by what must be an additional gift of knowledge from Apollo.
Curious about his new feet and toes, Percy bent over to examine them more closely. Apollo’s indulgent laughter that had previously come from behind him abruptly halted, and was replaced by a strangled gasp.
Percy ignored whatever was bothering the witch and examined his toes with his fingers. They must be for balance , Percy reasoned. The backs of his new legs strained from bending over and Percy experimentally bent his knees, lowering himself to the ground and back up again.
The sounds coming from Apollo behind him were more like a dying animal now and Percy whirl around to see what was wrong.
“What?” Percy asked, bewildered at the deep red flush that had spread down Apollo’s chest and the cornered look on his face.
“Nothing!” Apollo said, voice a high pitched whistle. “I’m happy you’re getting the hang of legs so quickly. Here!”
Percy caught the ball of fabric that was tossed at him and unraveled them. It was a length of cloth with several pins attached to them - an outfit similar to Apollo’s own clothing.
“Let’s get you to your princess.” Apollo said, smiling wanly.
Percy sputtered as he stumbled out of the waves onto the beach in front of a set of humans dressed in uniforms and fell face forward. Before Apollo had pushed him in he had explained that those were guards who worked at the castle and they would take him straight to the castle if he looked like a shipwreck victim and passed out in front of him.
Well, Percy mused as he inhaled sand. It’s been a long enough day I can definitely pass out just laying here.
Next thing Percy knew, he was waking up on something soft (bed, his new knowledge told him) and squinting into the bright light. To his surprise, the princess he was supposedly in love with was seated right next to him in a chair. She was already staring intently at him and noticed immediately when he awoke.
“You drool in your sleep.” The princess said with an unimpressed tilt of her eyebrow.
What? Percy thought incredulously, Is that really the first thing she says to a shipwreck victim?
When he didn’t say anything, she frowned at him. “Well? Cat got your tongue? The doctor said you didn’t show any signs of injury. You are remarkably lucky for a man who survived a shipwreck.”
More like a witch, Percy snorted, then shrugged at the princess’ suspicious look. He pointed at his mouth and shook his head. Then when she didn’t say anything, he tried mouthing I can’t speak .
“You’re mute then?”
Percy nodded, glad she understood quickly even if he could see that she was still suspicious of him.
“Do you know where you are?”
He shook his head and the princess sighed.
“This is the Kingdom of Athens and I am the daughter of our queen, Athena. My name is Annabeth.” The newly named Princess Annabeth explained. “I don’t suppose you can tell me your name? Write it down?”
Percy shook his head again and she gave him a small smile. He smiled back until he found out what amused her so much.
“Well in that case I’ll have to name you, Seaweed Brain.” At his glare, her smile widened. “You washed up absolutely covered in it.”
Somehow this isn’t what Percy had imagined his encounter with the princess to be, but didn’t find himself disappointed by Annabeth at all. His shoulders shook with the force of his silent laughter and Annabeth gave him a more genuine smile.
“We’ll get you settled in here for now.”
Over the next few weeks, Percy fell into something of a pattern. He spent his weeks in the castle alternating between hanging out with Annabeth, listening to her rants about architecture or whatever noble did something dumb this week, and training with the head of Annabeth’s guard Clarisse.
Annabeth soon let go of her suspicion of him, saying something about only having seaweed in his brain so he couldn’t be a spy, but Percy could tell that she was fond of him. At this point all Percy had to do was point at something and look confused to get Annabeth to explain everything he could possibly want to know with a mutter under her breath about “baby seal eyes”. He was finding his lack of communication to be less of a hindrance that he had thought it would be. Still, he missed being about to call Annabeth by his new nickname for her (Wise Girl), and wanted to tell her all about his life under the sea. He knew her enough by now to know that she would be fascinated at the new knowledge and would threaten him with a knife if he stopped talking.
Clarisse, however, delighted in knocking the clumsiness out of his human legs as fast as possible. Percy had already had training in swords under the sea but he was fast learning how to use them properly on land. In spite of her gruff demeanor, she never treated him like he was stupid because of his lack of voice like others tried to.
Still while he was closest with those two, most people in the palace were generally friendly and had made a game of trying to guess his name. They had finally gotten to the P’s but hadn’t yet guessed Percy. Clarisse had settled firmly on Prissy and wouldn’t be moved.
On the other hand, his relationship with his humans wasn’t the only thing that had developed over the past few months. As agreed, Percy showed up at Apollo’s cove every week to have the spell renewed but, soon enough, he ended up spending whole afternoons with the witch. When his legs turned back into a tail, he was free to swim about and talk about everything that he had learned to an indulgent Apollo.
On one such sunny afternoon, Percy arrived at Apollo’s cave while the witch was out. As he crossed the threshold of the cave, his tail returned in a now familiar transformation. He swam about leisurely for a bit and played with Bessie, who had taken to showing up during these visits, before he hauled himself up on a rock to sun himself.
He had almost dozed off from the warmth by the time Apollo returned. Percy heard a low gasp when Apollo entered the cave and saw Percy sprawled out as he was. In spite of the doubts spiraling in his mind, by this point Percy would have to be truly oblivious to not notice that Apollo had feelings for him. Truth be told he was becoming fond of Apollo as well.
When he had first noticed Apollo's attraction to him, he had been wary and worried about the witch wanting to take advantage of their deal. But the most Apollo did every week was listen to Percy ramble and oblige him with stories of Apollo’s own past.
Percy lazily cracked open an eye and spied a basket full of herbs in Apollo’s hands. “How is Artemis today?”
“She’s doing great as usual,” Apollo replied while he sorted the herbs into their proper places. “Hunting all manner of beasts, animal or otherwise, with her cohort of terrifying women.”
Percy snorted. He could believe that having met Apollo’s sister one afternoon. She too was a witch but practiced wholly different magic from Apollo. Whenever Apollo ventured further onto land to gather herbs, he always visited his sister and made sure she was fully stocked.
“How about you?” Apollo turned and smiled at Percy, taking a seat on a nearby ledge. “What new and strange human customs have you learned?”
Not needing any more encouragement, Percy began rambling about a funny incident with a young guard during a foreign dignitary’s visit. However, as he continued his story, the back of his mind was preoccupied with the dimples at the corners of Apollo’s lips and the smattering of freckles dusted across his strong nose. He really had to do something about this sooner rather than later.
Hours later when the sun had begun its descent and painted the water a deep orange, the two lay side-by-side in silence, listening to the far off cries of birds and dolphins.
“You know you’re going to have to make a decision soon right?” Apollo broke the silence and turned on his side to look at Percy, hand propping up his head. Percy mirrored him but said nothing. He knew this but wanted to put it off as long as possible.
Likely sensing this, Apollo shook his head. “Your father won’t last much longer waiting for you, Percy. Already I can feel that we’ll have storms later this week, and it will only get worse.”
Percy pressed his lips together, unhappy but knowing Apollo was right. “He knows I’m not dead or kidnapped. That should be enough.”
“You stubborn Mer,” Apollo said, flicking droplets of water at Percy’s face. “I know you miss your family, including him.”
“I know but,” Percy sighed, hesitating. “I just don’t know how to meet his expectations. Why does he want so much from me when I’m just the youngest product of his latest affair.”
“You know that’s not what he thinks of you as,” Apollo chided. “He loves you and believes in you.”
“Shouldn’t you be on my side,” Percy grumbled and crossed his arms, plopping down to lay on his back again.
Apollo’s face, burnished amber by the setting sun, appeared above him when the witch propped himself up to look down at Percy. “I am on your side. And if you want to stay away forever I would hide you myself.” The with me was unspoken but Percy heard it just as clearly.
“But I know you, and you would regret it.” Apollo finished.
He did know Percy, truly. Percy had confided in him more than he had any other except his mom and Bessie. Apollo in turn had become more than just the witch of legend, spoken of in whispers but little guppies in Atlantis.
For a long moment, they simply stared at each other, Apollo leaning over Percy and his hair forming a golden waterfall around Percy’s face.
As if his father had heard this conversation and agreed, a distant rumble of thunder broke the moment, and Apollo pulled away to lay beside him again.
“It’s getting late. Your princess will wonder where you’ve been.” Apollo said.
“You're right.” Percy agreed, about more than just the time, but still made no move to get up until the dusk light had been replaced with sparkling stars.
Apollo’s hair looked just as beautiful illuminated by the silver light of the moon as it did in the bright sun.
“What’s up with you, Seaweed Brain?” Annabeth asked over breakfast the next morning, pointing a knife at him from across the table.
Percy just glared at her blearily, exhausted from the tossing and turning last night, his head filled with blue-gold eyes and the smell of herbs.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Clarisse snorted from the end of the table where she ‘stood guard’ over her plate of food. “Prissy’s in love.”
Percy inhaled his orange juice and spat it out his nose. Annabeth shot him a disgusted look then turned to Clarisse. “What makes you say that?”
Clarisse snorted. “He’s gone an entire morning without asking about something stupidly mundane and he’s been looking real eager to leave every Sunday afternoon. He has to be meeting someone or in some kind of debt.”
At Percy’s glare she just shrugged. “At least, I don’t think you’re in trouble with some gang.”
“Is this true?” Annabeth directed at him. Percy aggressively chewed on his potatoes, glared at his fork, and then shrugged. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
Percy grumbled indistinctly. That was what he had realized for himself last night.
“Are you going to do anything about it?” Annabeth demanded, looking like any negative answer would have her judo flipping him over the table.
Percy pointedly turned his head to the side and chewed loudly.
“Well, don’t dally with it. I don’t want to see your pining for too long.” Annabeth finally relented from her one-sided interrogation and Percy shot her a grateful smile. She really did care.
Annabeth blushed. “Oh shut up Seaweed Brain.”
Despite Annabeth’s threats and Clarisse’s knowing smirks when he left the castle on another visit with Apollo, he still hadn’t resolved to confess yet.
It was , Percy mused as he laid next to Apollo and listened to him strum a lyre, not out of fear of being rejected. Every time he saw Apollo he saw more and more evidence of the witch’s regard for him. But every time he felt a crushing disbelief that anyone could think of him so fondly, that anyone could look at him like he was the most lovely thing they had ever seen.
But as he laid there, listening to the crooning melody of Apollo’s song against the backdrop of a storm, he started to truly believe it.
Next time, Percy resolved. Next time I’ll tell him how I feel.
The next day Percy was in the library with Annabeth for their weekly guessing game. Annabeth had a book of names in front of her that she had been diligently working through the entire time Percy was here. While it clearly infuriated her that he refused, couldn’t , simply point at a name, she still tried.
“Patrick?”
“Paul?”
“Percival?”
Percy snapped his head up, stopping himself from automatically shaking his head as he had been all morning.
“Percival?” Annabeth asked again, looking hopeful at the change in his response. He shook his head, and made a so-so motion with his hand.
“Close but not quite?” Percy nodded, grin widening.
“Peran?”
“Perry?”
“Percy?”
Percy opened his mouth to exclaim, to use his voice for the first time to his friend, but his voice still caught in his throat. He didn’t let his smile falter as he nodded and swallowed his seething anger when she jumped up to hug him.
He needed to have words with Apollo.
Apollo jumped up from where he lounged in his cave, taken aback at Percy’s entrance only a day after his weekly visit.
“Percy? What happened?” Apollo asked, concern lacing his voice.
“Your game didn’t work.” Percy gritted out, staying at the far side of the cave and wading in the water, glaring at the witch across from him.
“What game?”
“Your name game!” Percy yelled. “Annabeth guessed my name and I still couldn’t speak!”
“Are you accusing me of breaking our deal?” Apollo asked lowly, expression graver than Percy had ever seen.
“Ye--” Percy stopped himself, somehow knowing that this kind of accusation was much more serious to Apollo than it was for him. “No. I’m not. I’m just frustrated. It’s been months and when she finally guessed my name I thought I could speak. But the words wouldn’t come out.”
“What name did she guess?” Apollo’s eyes were narrowed and he looked like he already knew the answer.
“Percy.”
“And is that your name?” The question set him off again with a renewed blaze of anger.
“It is. It’s the name I go by. It’s the name I gave you.”
“But not your full name.” Apollo replied calmly, a statement not a question.
“And how exactly do you know my full name, Apollo?” Percy demanded. “You knew me before I showed up, and it’s not because of my dad. I never go by my full name outside my family. It’s not known by just anyone to hear about from rumors.”
Apollo’s jaw clenched and he breathed in deeply through his nose.
“I know many things--”
“Don’t give me that!” Percy interrupted. “I just want the truth.”
“Truth? You’re one to talk.” Apollo spat back. “I may have believed you at first but it became clear soon enough. You’re not in love with the princess any more than I am!”
“So?!”
“So! You acted like you were, trying to get me to agree to help you under false pretenses.”
“You’re the one who entered into our agreement under false pretenses!”
“You know how I feel about you!” Apollo yelled, fists clenched at his side. “You’ve known for weeks and yet you still didn’t care to tell me one way or the other. You just strung me along, giving me signs that you…that you cared too and yet you still went back to her!”
“Because how could someone like you love someone like me!” Percy felt tears prick the corners of his eyes and knew without looking at a reflection that his face had turned ruddy. “You’re smart, powerful, and so beautiful I could scream and yet you feel like that for me?”
They both paused, breathing heavily, and Percy somehow forced himself to continue.
“I’m just…just the troublemaking byproduct of an affair. I’m not as smart as Triton or as responsible as Rhode, or even as talented as Kym. The only reason people want me is to get to them, or my father. I’m not--”
A pair of warm hands on his face interrupted him. Apollo had strode into the water and knelt in front of him. His hands grasped his cheeks and Apollo’s face was so close to Percy’s that he could feel his breath kiss his skin.
“Don’t you dare say that about yourself.” Apollo looked angrier than Percy had ever seen him. “I won’t allow it.”
Percy choked around a wet laugh. “Bossy as ever.”
Apollo ignored him and leaned forward to rest his forehead on Percy’s. “You’re the kindest person I have ever met.” He placed a kiss on the crown of Percy’s head.
“The most stubborn.” On his forehead.
“The most curious.” On his closed eyelids.
“The most enchanting.” On his nose.
“The most stunning.” Here Apollo paused, his breath caressing Percy’s lips. Percy felt salty tears stream down his face.
“Apollo,” Percy had barely breathed out his name before Apollo pressed hot lips against his own. It felt like a song. Like a storm. Like Apollo had waited an eternity and now all he wanted to do was spend the rest of his life breathing Percy in.
Percy clutched at Apollo’s neck and pressed his body as close as possible. He whimpered when Apollo sucked on Percy’s bottom lip and withdrew with one last scrape of his teeth. They stayed there panting and pressed their foreheads together.
“Do you remember when you first rescued Bessie?” Apollo asked, calloused thumbs wiping away the last remnants of Percy’s tears.
“Yes, why?” Percy sniffed and leaned his face into Apollo’s hand. He had told that story to Apollo the first time Bessie showed up unannounced in Apollo’s cove.
“I already knew what happened before you told me about it.” Apollo confessed. “I saw you in the shallows of the reef. I saw the way your beauty shone in the sunlit waters - your iridescent scales, the inky black of your hair, and the glowing color of your eyes, perfectly matching the waters of my home. Even more than that, I saw the way you treated your Ophiotaurus, how you soothed him as you cut him from the ropes.”
Percy couldn’t look away from Apollo’s face, away from how his features glowed with an internal light as he remembered when he first saw Percy.
“I was captivated by you.” Apollo continued, never looking away from Percy, as if to burn his feelings deep into Percy’s bones. “I sought out information about you. Artemis called me stalker but I swear I had no ill intentions. I know how I’m viewed by your people, and I was resigned to never seeing you again.”
“But then I showed up.” Percy whispered, chest aching with the beats of heart.
“But then you showed up.” Apollo breathed the words into Percy’s mouth and they tasted like forever.
Percy savored the gentle kiss he pressed onto Apollo’s mouth.
“I’ll go back to Atlantis.” Percy said, coming to a resolution finally. He heard Apollo’s breath catch in his chest and ran a soothing hand through his hair. “I’m going back to my family. To apologize for running away and…to apologize in advance for running back to you.”
“Percy--” Apollo choked on a sob.
“Come on, Apollo,” Percy teased. “Is that my name?”
“So,” Annabeth drawled, seemingly unimpressed. “You’re a mermaid?”
“Yep!” Percy said, tail submerged in the waves as he peered up at Annabeth standing in front on shore.
“And an evil witch tricked you into giving up your voice so you could walk around as a human?”
“Yep!”
“And then you fell in love with the witch? And you’re secretly a prince of the lost kingdom of Atlantis?”
“Hmm, yep!”
“You dumbass.” Annabeth finally quit pretending to be bored. “I knew you were hiding something fishy!”
Percy snorted.
“Shut up!” Annabeth yelled at him with a grin on her face, and dropped to her knees to run her hand over his tail. “Tell me everything! No, tell me everything twice! I need to write this all down.”
“Well,” Percy drawled, trying to will the blush away from his face. “I can tell you that your hand does not belong there.”
He cackled as Annabeth shrieked and fell back, face bright red.
“You ran away from home.”
“Yes…” Percy squirmed under Poseidon’s stern gaze.
“And you rescued a human from a ship, putting yourself in danger of being exposed.”
“Yes…”
“Then you made an ill advised, ignorant, utterly nonsensical, bargain with a witch.” Percy winced at the audible sound of his dad’s teeth grinding.
“Well--”
“Right?”
“...Right.”
Poseidon sighed and leaned on his trident like it was the only thing keeping him upright. “What matters is that you came home eventually.”
Percy gaped at the uncharacteristic words. He looked around to see if Triton was prompting him or something but no it was just the two of them. When he turned around and met his dad’s eyes he was smiling wryly.
“You’re not the only one who did some thinking while you were gone.”
A weight that Percy didn’t realize was pressing him down felt like it had finally lifted. “I’m sorry I ran away dad.”
Poseidon opened his arms and Percy rushed forward into his hug. “I’m sorry too that I pushed you away. I will try not to be so…overbearing.”
Percy stifled a laugh. “I’ll try not to be so…trying.”
Poseidon's laugh rumbled through his chest. “So, is there anything else I should know about your time above the sea?”
Reminded of the one thing he had omitted, Percy stiffened in his father’s arms. “Uhmmm….”
Poseidon pushed him back and held him at arm’s length, face wary. “What is it?”
“So, I might have fallen in love with the witch?” Percy said sheepishly.
“In love,” Poseidon said slowly, as if he couldn’t understand the meaning of the words. “With the witch.”
“Yeah…” Percy confirmed, barely withholding a wince.
His dad pinched at the bridge of his nose and took in a deep breath, then counted to ten under his breath. “I’m sure he’s a…fine witch. I look forward to meeting him.”
Percy blinked, dumbfounded at Poseidon’s restraint.
“After all,” Poseidon continued a bit hysterically, “It could be worse. It could be some godforsaken son of that bastard Zeus. After all, he has countless of those scoundrels running around up there”
Percy said nothing in the face of his father’s hypocrisy; he had to take all the victories he could.
“What’s the name of this witch of yours?” Poseidon asked.
“Apollo.”
“....”
“...”
The floor cracked beneath them as Poseidon’s thinly held rage finally snapped.
“Damn it, Percy!”