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chapter nine ˏˋ°•*⁀➷
009. An Island of Pretty Ladies? Sign Cassie Up!

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PERCY WOKE UP JUST ABOUT READY TO PUKE HIS GUTS OUT.

He was in a rowboat with a sail made from gray uniform fabric. No doubt it came from one of the now dead (for the second time) skeletons.

Annabeth was across from him steering the boat. Cassie was sleeping with her head on the blonde's shoulder.

When Percy went to sit up a wave of dizziness flooded over him.

"Rest. You're going to need it." Annabeth spoke.

"Tyson . . . ?"

Annabeth shook her head, trying not to move too much and wake the sleeping brunette.

"Percy, I'm really sorry."

After a few moments of silence, Annabeth figured her words out.

"He may have survived. I mean, fire can't kill him." Annabeth offered, but her heart wasn't in it.

Percy nodded along, but he wasn't too hopeful. If Tyson had been in there when the engine exploded there was no way he survived.

He had died for them and all Percy could remember was how embarrassed he had felt that they were related.

They stayed afloat, tiny waves rocking the boat. Annabeth showed all the things she saved from the wreck.

Hermes' thermos was now empty. They had a bag of ambrosia, some sailor's shirts, and a bottle of Dr. Pepper.

It had taken a while but Cassie had spotted Percy, face down in the water.

She got Annabeth and the two got him out of the water with his knapsack torn in half.

Most of Percy's things had been washed away but he still had the vitamins Hermes had given and Riptide.

But that didn't really count because he could never actually lose his sword.

Percy glanced to the daughter of Ares and gestured his head to her.

Annabeth sighed, quickly glancing at the peaceful girl on her shoulder.

"She was really worried Seaweed Brain. I've never seen her look that broken before. But it kinda wore her out so I told her to get some sleep."

Percy smiled slightly. He felt bad scaring Cassie that much but he was here now.

The two occupied themselves discussing Grover, Tyson, the great prophecy, and Thalia.

That was until a seagull dropped leaves in the blonde's lap.

"Land. There's land nearby!" Annabeth exclaimed.

Cassie jerked awake, startled by the blonde's sudden outburst.

"Where are we." Cassie managed through a yawn.

No one replied and she rubbed her eyes, noticing the island in front of them.

It had a small mountain in the middle with shiny white buildings, beaches, palm trees, and a collection of weird boats.

The current pulled them into the paradise.

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"Welcome!" A lady with a clipboard said.

The woman wore a blue business suit. Her make up was perfect and her hair was neatly combed into a ponytail.

She flashed them a smile and Cassie swore she was in heaven. She was a sucker for pretty ladies.

The woman didn't seem to care about their boat. I mean some of the other boats were weirder.

In the litter of boats, there were some hatch's, a navy submarine, canoes, an a real old three-masted sailing ship.

There were even planes and helicopters. Some that could've fought in World War 1. Cassie was suspicious, but Percy brushed it off as some copies for tourists.

'Is this your first time with us?" The hot clipboard lady asked.

The three glanced along themselves.

"Umm . . ." Annabeth hesitated.

"First-time-at-spa," The woman said the words as she wrote them. "Let's see . . ."

She looked them up and down, tapping her pen against her chin.

"Mmm. An herbal wrap to start for the young lady. A trimming for the other young lady. And of course, a complete makeover for the young gentleman."

"A what?" Percy questioned.

She didn't reply, too intrigued in her notes.

"Right! Well, I'm sure C.C. will want to speak with you personally before the luau. Come, please."

The trio knew to watch for traps. They expected a monster to pop out at any second.

But Cassie was too fascinated by the pretty lady and Percy's stomach wouldn't stop rumbling.

"I guess it couldn't hurt," Annabeth declared.

Now last time one of them said something like that they were attacked by a snake woman who Cassie wanted to date.

They were in for a hell of a surprise this time.

Still they followed the woman. Percy kept one hand in his pocket in case he need the vitamins or Riptide.

But the farther in the resort they got, the more his possessions slipped his mind.

The place was pretty fancy. Everything was made of white marble and all the water was clear blue.

Terraces ran along the mountain side with every level swimming pools.

They even had water slides, water falls, and underwater tubes.

The fountains created amazing shapes. The horse shape reminded Percy of Tyson.

He was about to turn to see the cyclops' reaction when he remember that Tyson was gone.

(That just killed me to write 😭 it's like fred and george in the deathly hallows)

"You alright Kelp Head? You seem a little paler than usual." Cassie observed.

"I'm okay Casanova. Just . . . let's keep walking."

They passed by all sorts of animals. All napping in various spots.

The resort guests were all young women. They laid on deck chairs, keeping themselves distracted as manicurists painted their nails.

The thing is . . . they were all in bikinis. Cassie was beet red now.

Percy had to push her forward to keep her from gawking.

"Cas, we gotta keep up! You can stare later."

Cassie shook out of her trance and turned to the boy.

"I wasn't staring." The brunette denied.

"Don't even try that excuse. Now hurry up!" Percy called as he walked ahead of her.

Cassie stuck her bottom lip out and crossed her arms, fake pouting.

Percy glanced back and rolled his eyes with a laugh.

Annabeth noticed the two behind her and saw Cassie's gaze shift to the sunbathing women every other second.

The blonde frowned but if she had any thoughts, she didn't voice them.

Speaking of voices, a majestic sound flowed through the air catching their attention as they headed up stairs.

It was a woman singing in some ancient language. It definitely wasn't Greek. Annabeth would say Minoan.

Something about her voice drew them in.

They entered a huge room with windows for a wall. The back wall was made of mirrors making the room seem endless.

All the furniture was clean white and totally expensive. In the corner of the table there was a pet cage.

The trio didn't pay it much mind, too distracted with the woman.

She sat in front of a giant loom. It was about the size of a TV.

She made it look so easy as her hands drifted over the loom with colored thread.

The tapestry was amazing too. It was done well and almost looked real.

The waterfall seemed to actually flow and the clouds drifted through the blue sky.

Annabeth breath hitched. "It's beautiful."

"You're beautiful." Cassie let out to the woman who turned around.

Her dark long hair had golden threads braided in. Her green eyes shined with kindness and she wore a fitting black dress.

Yup, that's it. Cassie's gonna faint.

"You appreciate weaving, my dear?" the woman smiled.

"Oh, yes, ma'am!" Annabeth nodded immediately. "My mother is-"

Annabeth caught herself. She couldn't just tell the woman her mom was Athena. People would think she's crazy.

The hostess didn't seem to care.

"You have good taste, my dear. I'm so glad you've come. My name is C.C!"

The guinea pigs from the corner of the room squealed.

The three introduced themselves and she scanned them over.

Her face fell as she looked at Percy. The son of Poseidon soon felt bad, wanting to please the lady for some reason.

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

"Ma'am?" Percy didn't know what she meant.

C.C. beckoned the clipboard lady over and some other girl around their age.

"Hylla, take Annabeth on a tour, will you? Reyna, be a dear and take Cassandra. Show them what we have available. The clothing will need to change. And the hair, my goodness. We will do a full image consultation after I've spoken with this young gentleman."

"But. What's wrong with my hair?" Annabeth asked.

"Nothing's wrong with you Chase." Cassie muttered. As much as she liked beautiful women, mean ones weren't as appealing.

"But yeah! I happen to like my clothes, thank you very much."

C.C. just smiled. "My dears, you are lovely. Really! But you're not showing off yourself or your talents at all. So much wasted potential!"

"Wasted?"

"Okay not to be rude but-"

Annabeth slapped a hand over Cassie's mouth. She already knew the long line of curses that would easily slip if C.C. kept backhanded insulting them.

"Well, surely you're not happy the way you are! My goodness, there's not a single person who is. But don't worry. We can improve anyone here at the spa. Hylla and Reyna will show you what I mean. You, my dears, need to unlock your true selves!"

Annabeth seemed to like the idea of becoming her true self. Cassie just scrunched her nose.

The daughter of Ares was fine the way she was.

"But . . . what about Percy?" Annabeth hesitated.

"Oh, definitely," C.C. remarked, not having to think about it. "Percy requires my personal attention. He needs much more work than you!"

"Makes sense." Cassie grinned and Percy elbowed her.

He was too busy feeling sad that he disappointed C.C. to mind the insults.

The guinea pigs squealed again.

"Well . . . I suppose." Annabeth gave in, looking at Cassie expectantly.

The brunette saw the face Annabeth was making and sighed.

"As long as it's not too much." Cassie decided.

"Right this way, dear," Hylla led Annabeth away into the gardens of the spa.

Cassie watched them go when a hand grabbed her wrist. It was the Reyna girl C.C. called over.

Reyna tugged Cassie with her in a different direction and the daughter of Ares begrudgingly followed.

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Cassie entered another spa room with Reyna.

The latter led her to a bath tub and after some complaining, Cassie was fresh and clean.

Her damp hair fell past her shoulders, very unevenly. Reyna noticed immediately.

She guided Cassie to one of those hair salon chairs and managed to get the brunette to sit.

Cassie knew there was no way out of this and just sat unwillingly and made small talk with Reyna.

They chatted for awhile before Reyna pointed out Cassie's discomfort.

"Is this you're first time at a spa?" Reyna laughed as Cassie made another complaint about the itchy robe she was wearing.

"How'd you know?" Sarcasm laced her lips.

"You're the first girl who's come here and complained about getting a makeover." Reyna smiled.

"Wow, really? I mean, we didn't really expect to find the island. It was just there."

"Well, I'm happy you did. You're an interesting person Cassie."

"You're quite interesting yourself. What's a girl like you doing, working at a spa with her older sister?"

"We found it just like you I suppose. C.C. offered us the chance to stay and we took it. I wouldn't mind if you stayed too?" Reyna told Cassie, but is was more of a question.

Being the oblivious (player 😏) idiot she is Cassie just snickered.

"Yeah right. It sounds cool, but spa life definitely isn't my thing."

"You never know though?" Reyna tried again.

"I mean, I guess." Cassie shrugged and looked in the mirror.

Oh my gods. Her hair was ruined. It was all cut in a perfectly straight line and curled.

Cassie wasn't gonna tell Reyna but as soon as she got off this island, she'd be cutting her hair again.

Cassie inwardly sighed but didn't say anything as Reyna shoved her into a changing room with a set of clothes.

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Cassie hated it. The white flowy dress which was really tight around the waist.

She couldn't even recognize herself anymore. The makeup, the hair.

The brunette couldn't bring herself to hurt Reyna's feelings so she just smiled and thanked the girl.

Similar to Cassie, Annabeth had also finished up and was on her way back to where they met C.C.

The blonde heard the woman talking to someone and entered the room.

Annabeth interrupted the lady, "Miss C.C."

C.C. rushed to drop (now guinea pig) Percy in the cage and kicked his clothes out of sight.

The blonde glanced around the room for either of her friends.

"Where's Cassie? And Percy?"

Before C.C. could reply, Annabeth's got her answer. The sound of nearing steps in high heels got louder.

Cassie huffed as she stomped into the room messing with her hair and pulling on her clothes.

"Ugh, what did they do to me-" The brunette's voice faltered, "Woah . . ."

Cassie stopped in her tracks when she saw Annabeth.

The daughter of Athena was wearing a sleeveless white silk dress much like her own.

Her hair was clean of all the dirt and braided with gold. It really shined in the sun and Cassie noticed it was out of a ponytail.

Annabeth was even wearing make up. It wasn't too much to overtake the blonde's features, but just enough to draw attention to then.

And she looked good. Super good. So good that Cassie would've died right there on the spot . . .

But she liked her Brainiac better.

Her Blondie whose unruly hair somehow still looked perfect tied up in a messy ponytail. Her Chase who didn't care for makeup or about looking great.

This was Annabeth, but it wasn't her Annabeth.

Cassie stared at the daughter of Athena and her heart pounded in her chest.

This felt weird. It was different and kinda gross, but in the best ways. It felt right.

Of course Cassie didn't know why she had the feeling or what it was. She was still clueless why Annabeth had something to do with it.

But she was figuring it out. One heart palpitation at a time.

On the other hand, Annabeth was just as star stuck.

Cassie was wearing the same sleeveless white dress, something she'd never be caught dead in. Her hair was cut even and curled.

Gold was braided into Cassie's hair and her face had mascara and light gold eyeshadow.

She looked really pretty. Beautiful even and Annabeth wasn't complaining.

Cassie was. Every two seconds she tugged at the belt around her waist and messed up her hair.

Annabeth felt heat rise to her face and she grabbed Cassie's hand to stop her from touching her hair again.

(Not because she wanted to hold the daughter of Ares' hand 😉)

"You look great Carter. Not that you don't normally look great, but dresses aren't as terrible on you as you make them sound." Annabeth smiled.

Cassie stuttered, "I-um . . ."

The brunette was still staring at Annabeth and glanced down at herself, clearing her throat. She might have been a little dramatic.

"Fine, maybe you're right." Cassie mumbled, but she was still cutting her hair!

"Annabeth's not wrong dear! You two look wonderful!"

Cassie nodded and repeated Annabeth's forgotten question. "Where's Percy?"

Squealing came from the cage and Cassie thought she heard something.

C.C. just beamed back at them.

"He's having one of our treatments, my dear. Not to worry. Soon he'll look as wonderful as you two. What did you think of your tour?" The lady changed the topic.

It was a good distraction. Cassie watched as Annabeth's gray eyes light up and she started rambling.

"Your library is amazing!"

"Yes, indeed. The best knowledge of the past three millennia. Anything you want to study, anything you want to be, my dear?"

"An architect?" Annabeth replied, but she seemed unsure.

Cassie caught this and squeezed the blonde's hand. At least she could be supportive.

"Pah! You, my dear, have the makings of a sorceress. Like me."

"What's wrong with her wanting to be an-wait did you say sorceress?" Cassie stopped herself.

"Yes, my dear."

C.C. raised her hand and a flame formed. It leapt across her fingers.

"My mother is Hecate, the goddess of magic. I know a daughter of Athena when I see one. We are not so different, you and I. We both seek knowledge. Cassandra, daughter of Ares. I know your yearn to prove your worth. We both admire greatness. None of us needs to stand in the shadow of men."

"I-I don't understand." Annabeth murmured.

Percy squealed again and Cassie swore she heard something this time.

The daughter of Ares glanced around the room as C.C. and Annabeth held the conversation.

"Stay with me. Study with me. You can join our staff, become sorceresses, learn to bend others to your will. You will become immortal!"

"But-"

"You are too intelligent, my dear. You know better than to trust that silly camp for heroes. How many great female half-blood heroes can you name?"

Cassie scoffed at the question. There were tons of amazing female half-bloods.

"Um, Atalanta, Amelia Earhart-" Annabeth started to list.

"Bah! Men get all the glory. The only way to power for women is sorcery. Medea, Calypso, now there were powerful women! And me, of course. The greatest of all."

"Pft-You? The greatest of-"

"You're . . . C.C. . . . Circe!" Annabeth realized, cutting Cassie short.

"Yes, my dear."

Annabeth stepped back, pushing the daughter of Ares behind her. Circe laughed sinisterly at the movement.

"You need not worry. I mean you no harm."

"What have you done to Percy?"

That's when Cassie's eyes widened. The weird cage in the room.

Her eyes whipped to it as Circe grinned.

"Only helped him realize his true form."

Annabeth spotted guinea-Percy too.

Circe waved it off. "Forget him. Join me and learn the ways of sorcery."

"But-"

"Your friend will be well cared for. He'll be shipped to a wonderful new home on the mainland. The kindergartners will adore him. Meanwhile, you will be wise and powerful. You will have all you ever wanted."

Annabeth stared at Cassie with a kind of dopey look. 'All she ever wanted' huh?

Circe didn't know deep down what the blonde wanted. Sure smarts and power were great, but that wasn't Annabeth's deepest desire.

Cassie was busy ignoring everything Circe said, trying to plan a way to get to Percy.

He was scratching at the bars, begging to be let out.

It was obvious that Cassie had a plan when a smirk made its way onto the brunette's lips.

"Hey Circe? Could we have a minute to you know . . . think about it? Say goodbye?" There was nothing wrong with the daughter of Ares' intentions.

"Of course, my dear. One minute. Oh . . . and so you have absolute privacy . . ."

Circe agreed and with a wave of her arm, iron bars appeared on the windows and the door locked as she left.

The once dreamy look on Annabeth's face disappeared as Cassie sighed.

The being locked in wasn't part of the plan.

Annabeth hurried to the cage, scanning the mass of guinea pigs.

"All right, which one is you?"

Percy squealed, but the other guinea pigs had the same idea, squealing along with him.

Annabeth was getting desperate and Cassie seemed to be searching for something.

She snatched up Percy's discarded jeans and stuffed her hand in the pocket.

The brunette grabbed the multivitamins and tossed them to Annabeth.

Percy's furry eyebrows creased as he squealed again. Now wasn't the time to be getting their daily dose of vitamin C.

Annabeth ate a lemon one and threw a cherry one in the air which Cassie caught in her mouth.

The brunette threw her hands in the air, cheering when Circe came back in.

Two attendants stood behind her.

"Well, how fast a minute passes. What is your answer, my dears?"

This," Annabeth pulled out her knife, surprising Circe.

It was the sorceresses turn to step back. But she quickly got over her shock.

"Really, little girl, a knife against my magic? Is that wise?" Circe said it so snidely, Cassie could've ended her right then and there.

The sorceress and her followers raised their hands threateningly. Percy was squealing in the cage for them to leave.

Percy wanted to hide like the rest of guinea buddies, but he had already lost Tyson. He wasn't gonna lose Cassie and Annabeth too.

"What will Annabeth's makeover be?" Circe chuckled.
"Something small and ill-tempered. I know . . . a shrew!"

Blue fire overtook Annabeth and Percy couldn't believe Cassie just stood watching.

But nothing happened. Annabeth was still her (hot . . . because of the fire i mean) blonde human self just a lot angrier.

She pounced on Circe, knife now on the sorceress' neck.

Cassie watched with red cheeks as Annabeth threatened Circe. Dam, a hot girl about to kill a somewhat hot lady.

"How about turning me into a panther instead? One that has her claws at your throat!"

"How?!" Circe asked.

Cassie waved the vitamins from behind the two with a proud look on her face.

"Everyday nutrition goes a long way. You should try it sometime. Maybe it can help with the wrinkles." Cassie gestured to her own face, mocking the sorceress.

"Wrinkles!" Circe hissed, going to lunge for Cassie but Ananbeth's weapon was still by her neck.

"Curse Hermes and his multivitamins! Those are such a fad! They do nothing for you"

"Turn Percy back to a human or else!" Annabeth threatened, knife almost pressing into Circe's skin.

"I can't!"

"Then you asked for it."

The attendants went to help but were called off.

"Get back! She's immune to magic until that cursed vitamin wears off."

Cassie helped Annabeth haul Circe over to the cage and they undid the vitamin bottle cap.

The brunette dumped the rest of the vitamins in.

"No!" Circe protested in fury.

Percy got to a vitamin first and took a nibble. Then, a strange feeling and BANG!

The cage exploded and a bunch of guys, including Percy were sat dazed on the ground.

"No! You don't understand! Those are the worst!"

One of the men got up. His hair was a black knotted mess and his teeth were yellow.

His clothes were uncoordinated. The other men were dressed more simple but they all were barefoot.

"Argggh! What's the witch done t'me!" the pirate guy complained.

"No!" Circe groaned.

Annabeth covered her mouth and gasped. "I recognize you! Edward Teach, son of Ares?"

"He's my brother!?" Cassie raised an eyebrow.

"Aye, lass! You got that right lil' sis. Though most call me Blackbeard! And there's the sorceress what captured us, lads. Run her through, and then I mean to find me a big bowl of celery! Arggggh!" Blackbeard ordered.

The pirates ran after the fleeing sorceresses and Annabeth put her knife away.

Percy debated what to say but settled on a, "Thanks . . . I'm really sorry-"

Cassie glared and him and he expected a scolding or something. Annabeth didn't look to happy either.

Instead all he got was a punch to the shoulder and a group hug.

"Gods Kelp Head. You know one day, we're gonna have to leave you to fend for yourself. We'll see how that works out." Cassie threw an arm around his shoulder.

"You'd miss me too much Casanova. Besides, who be there to hang out and talk with you over the year when you're bored."

"I'm sure I'd find someone. Chase is okay to talk to."

Cassie now had both arms over one of Annabeth's shoulders and one of Percy's.

"Now come on, we've gotta go and these heels are killing me!"

Annabeth was undoing her braids as Cassie said that.

The daughter of Ares dragged both Percy and Annabeth along before just holding the blonde's hand and beckoning Percy to hurry.

They ran down the hill, passing frantic spa workers and mad pirates.

Broken tiki torches lit things on fire, the towels scattered on the floor were aflame, and the pool was covered in herbal wraps.

Percy almost felt bad but then he remembered they had been stuck in a cage as guinea pics for three centuries.

"Which ship?" Annabeth asked as they gazed upon the mass of weird looking boats.

Percy inspected the ships and concluded on Queen Anne's Revenge.

"There," He pointed.

Annabeth went to protest. "But-"

"I can make it work."

"You sure?" Cassie inquired.

Percy didn't explain just ran toward the boat. Cassie hesitated but Annabeth followed him.

The blonde grabbed the daughter of Ares' collar and tugged her after them.

"Argggh!" Blackbeard yelled as he watched them run towards his boat.

"Those scalawags are a-boarding me vessel! Get 'em, lads!"

"We'll never get going in time!" Annabeth warned when they got on board.

The ship was lovable but it would take a crew of fifty. Problem is there was only three of them and they didn't have enough time.

Percy closed his eyes while Cassie got ready to fight. She'd go down fighting pirates in a dress. Not exactly how she imagined it.

"Mizzenmast!" Percy abruptly shouted.

Both girls looked at him funny, but their expressions changed to one of shock as the air started whistling.

Ropes snapped, sails came down, and pulleys groaned. Cassie pulled Annabeth down as a cable almost hit them.

"Kelp Head how did you . . ."

Percy didn't know how to reply and focused on getting the ship going. It caught the wind and the Queen Anne's Revenge left the dock just as the pirates arrived.

Soon they were on their way, sailing back into the Sea of Monsters.

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ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ author's note

There you go! A chapter of Cassie having absolute gay panic, especially around Annabeth 😉

This chapter was fun to write! The Cassibeth scenes and Cassie obliviousness to Reyna's flirting.

I'm absolutely OBSESSED!! 😘😘

Side note, do you guys like my format of the chapters?

I feel like it's not as aesthetically pleasing as others books but then again this is my first one so i can always change it.

I am planning to revamp it one day in the near future but let me know what you think! Be honest please, it won't hurt my feelings! 😁

Anyways, enjoy and see ya next chapter 🙃

— Just Another Overthinker