I 030. I

𝑯𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔

❝ sheep ❞

SHEEP THE SIZE OF HIPPOS. That was all she saw. Fluffy white animals who looked pretty peaceful, despite their giant size. They looked like walking clouds, and a small part of her wanted to know what their wool felt like.

Around them was not what she expected the Polyphemus's island to look like, with its green pastures, tropical fruit trees and white beaches— it looked like a Caribbean postcard.

But her head knew what was hiding behind the pretty exterior. It was hiding a deadly beast who was practically blind from what she had heard. The only thing creepy about it was the rope bridge, which hung over a chasm.

Annabeth took in the smell of the sweet air. "The Fleece," she said.

"If we take it away," Percy frowned, "will the island die?"

She shook her head. "It'll fade. Go back to what it would be normally, whatever that is."

Ariadne gazed at the meadow which was towards the base of the ravine, a dozen or so sheep milled around. A path led behind and into the hills, which were near the edge of the canyon. Sitting there, was a massive oak tree with something glittering between its branches.

"This is too easy," Percy said. "We could hike up there and take it."

Annabeth's eyes narrowed. "There's supposed to be a guardian. A dragon or..."

From the bushes emerges an innocent dear who trotted into the meadow, most likely looking for something to eat, when all the shell bleated simultaneously before rushing towards the small creature. The deer was surprised and stumbled around before it was lost in the mass of wool and hooves.

A few seconds passed before the sheep moved away and went back to walking around aimlessly, leaving behind a pile of bones which were squeaky clean— it was the deer.

Ariadne, Percy and Annabeth shared looks.

"They're like piranhas," Annabeth said.

"Piranhas with wool," Percy told them before crossing his arms across his chest. Ariadne let her eyes drift and noticed a lifeboat below the sheep meadow... "How will we—"

"Perc!" Ariadne gasped, grabbing his arm. "Look." She pointed towards the lifeboat and both of her friends looked over, and there it sat— the other lifeboat from the CSS BIRMINGHAM.

Percy let his eyes close tightly, and she decided to let him be.

Since they couldn't get past the man-eating sheep, Annabeth suggested she sneak up the path invisibly and grab the Fleece, but Percy talked her out of it, convincing her that something would go wrong.

Ariadne added onto it that she could get hurt and neither would be close to her, or the she would smell her. Something in Annabeth snapped. "I would be fine. I don't need you worrying about me every second!"

The brunette frowned, "What does that mean?" Her arms crossed.

Grey eyes bore into her head before the blonde shook her head. Her eyes were full of anger and frustration— which Ariadne had never seen towards her. "Doesn't matter." The brunette decided to drop it... until she heard Annabeth mutter, "Besides, you already know."

"No," she snapped. "No, I don't."

Annabeth grit her teeth. "Yes, you do! Because everything seems to be a problem with you!"

"What?!" She gaped at her friend. All their emotions had built up too much. "You're a ridiculous. I don't think everything's a problem."

The blonde let out a dry chuckle, "Oh, really? My plan you had a problem with."

"Oh, I'm so sorry that worrying for my friend's safety is a problem!"

"And it's not just that," Annabeth snapped. "It's everything you do. Anytime someone goes against you in sword fighting, you're always saying how they need to fix whatever their doing. You think you're so great all the time!"

Ariadne gave her a massive glare. "Says you, Princess Annabeth. Anytime I even get a small fact wrong, you're on my ass about it. I don't give a crap that your mom is the goddess of wisdom, we get it! We get that you're smarter than most people!"

"By the gods! If you didn't get angry and pissed off at everyone, than maybe people would actually like you!"

"Uh, guys" Percy stuttered. He was uncomfortable between the two best friends fighting. "We should probably—"

"Shut up!" Ariadne shouted at him as Annabeth gave him a glare. The boy shuffled back like a hurt puppy, watching his feet.

Both girls took a step towards one another, they were the same height. "Sometimes, you get on my last nerve with your pride, okay? And for the record, you create the most problems for me because of your need to prove yourself to your mother!" The brunette snapped.

Annabeth seemed to growl slightly. "And your excessive anger gets on my last nerve, ever think about that? I don't care that you have an IED disorder. And I'm constantly trying to prove yourself because I have you for a friend."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I'm done! I'm done! I'm done with being in your shadow, even my own siblings compare me to you! 'Annabeth, did you see that cools sword trick Ariadne learned?' 'Hey, Annabeth, why don't you have any cool powers like Ariadne?' Oh, and my personal favorite: 'Annabeth, don't you ever think that Ariadne was blessed my Aphrodite when she was born? Cause she's so damn pretty!' You're lucky!"

Ariadne notes slightly before tears pricked her eyes. "I hear that about you all the time! I can't be a strategist like you, and you think I'm lucky?!"

"Yeah. Yeah, I do."

"I was abandoned. My powers could destroy everything, and I have so much pressure on me. I'm not lucky!"

"You have powers!" Annabeth shouted. "And they work pretty well, too. But you know why you aren't lucky? Because at least my mother claimed me as hers."

That was a step too far. "Yeah, well at least I wasn't hopelessly in love with someone who betrayed me." And she shot the final blow, which ultimately destroyed Annabeth.

Annabeth had tears in her eyes— tears. She had only seen the blonde cry twice in her life. And making her cry meant you hurt her terribly, and Ariadne had caused it.

The girl reached forward, trying to touch her friends shoulder. "A-Annabeth," she only looked away before wiping her tears.

"Come on," the blonde told her friends, explaining her idea for a plan. Percy agreed and when he looked to Ariadne, his heart dropped. Because the girl had a heartbroken expression on her face, fists clenched so tightly he could see some blood dripping down her palms.

Ariadne was heartbroken, and she damn well deserve it. She had broken her best friend, pushed her to the limit, the girl had a reason to never talk to her again. That's what made her feel like the worst person in the world, even worse than when Luke betrayed them. Because she may have just lost her closest best friend.

***

     THEY ONLY CAME CLOSE TO DYING SIX KR SEVEN TIMES. Neither of the girls talked to one another the entire time as they traveled to and up the cliffs. They reminded her of the climbing wall back at camp, even though there was no lava, it was still a bit challenging. At one point, foot slipped on a patch of moss and landed against another foothold— which was Percy's face.

"Sorry!"

"S'okay."

Once they made it to the top, and hauled themselves over the top of the cliff and collapsed, her arms felt like lead and she was pretty sure she had lost all her fingernails.

"Ugh," Percy groaned.

"Ouch," Annabeth muttered.

"Shoot," Ariadne hissed.

"Garrr!"

If she wasn't so tired, the girl would've been up and running. Her head twisted to where it came from, and as Percy opened his mouth, she clamped her hand over it.

Annabeth pointed over towards the ledge which dropped off. The voice came from there— right below them.

"You're a feisty one!" The deep voice bellowed. The brunette removed her hand from Percy's mouth as the sound shook her entire body. It had to be the Cyclops, There was no other explanation. All three of them crept towards the narrow ledge and looked in above the entrance of the cave.

Polyphemus was the ugliest thing she had ever seen. His hair was matted with sheep wool and bones, and his smell— she wanted to gag at the scent of outdated meat and wet sheep. Her stomach was churning— which made it hard for her to not gag. The Cyclops towered over everything.

Clarisse hung upside down over a pot of boiling water, tied up with rope. Grover was trembling in his wedding dress, which the Cyclops must have been believing.

Annabeth was pale in the face, and the brunette was feeling guilt.

"Hmm," Polyphemus contemplates. "Eat loudmouth girl now or wait for wedding feast? What does my bride think?"

He turned to Grover, the Satyr almost tripping over his bridal train. "Oh, um, I'm not hungry right now, dear. Perhaps—"

"Did you say bride?" Clarisse demanded. "Who— Grover?"

"Shut up," Annabeth muttered. "She has to shut up."

Polyphemus seemed to glower. "What 'Grover'?"

"The Satyr!"

"Oh," Grover yelped. "The poor thing's brain is boiling from that hot water. Puller her down, dear!"

Polyphemus's eyelid narrowed over his one milky eye, trying to see Clarisse more clearly. "What Satyr? Satyrs are good eating. You bring me a Satyr?"

"No, you big idiot!" Clarisse bellowed. "That Satyr! Grover! The one in the wedding dress!"

Ariadne was ready to leap down and throttle Clarisse's neck, but it was too late. Polyphemus turned and ripped Grover's wedding veil off— traveling his curls, scruffy beard, and tiny horns.

The Cyclops started breathing heavily, trying to contain his anger. "I don't see very well," he growled. "Not since many years ago when the other hero stabbed me in the eye. But YOU'RE—NO—LADY—CYCLOPS!"

He ripped the rest of Grover's dress away. Underneath, he was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, he looked like himself. Grover yelped as they monster swiped over his head.

"Stop," Grover pleaded. "Don't way me raw! I-I have a good recipe!"

Percy reaches for his sword, but the brunette placed her hand over his while Annabeth hissed. "Wait!"

Polyphemus hesitated right a boulder in his hand, ready to smash his would-be bride. "Recipe?"

"Oh, y-yes! You don't want to eat me raw. You'll get E.coli and botulism and all sorts of horrible things. I'll taste much better grilled over a slow fire. With mango chutney! You could go and get some mangos right now, down there in the woods. I'll just wait here."

The monster pondered his suggestion. Ariadne gulped and hoped he took the bait. "Grilled Satyr with mango chutney," mused Polyphemus. He looked back towards Clarisse, who struggled over the boiling water. "You a Satyr, too?"

"No, you overgrown pile of dung!" she yelled. "I'm a girl! The daughter of Ares! Now untie next so I can rip your arms off!"

"Rip my arms off," Polyphemus repeated.

"And stuff them down your throat!"

"You've got spunk."

"Let me down!"

Polyphemus snatched Grover in his hand. "Have to grade she now. Wedding postponed until tonight. Then we'll eat Satyr for the main course!"

"But... you're still getting married?" Grover seemed hurt. "Who's the bride?"

Polyphemus looked towards Clarisse, who made a sound like she was being strangled. "Oh, no! You can't be serious. I'm not—"

He plucked her off the rope and tossed both her and Grover deep into the cave. "Make yourself comfortable! I come back at sundown for big event!"

The Cyclops whistles and a mixed flock of goat and sheep— smaller than the man-eaters— flooded from the cave. He called some of them by name as he patted a few on the back.

Polyphemus rolled a bolder in front of the doorway once the last sheep waddled out, shutting off Clarisse and Grover's screams.

"Mangos," he grumbled to himself. "What are mangos?" The Cyclops stroller off the mountain as he left them with a six-ton boulder and pit of boiling water.

They couldn't move the boulder, it was too heavy. And for what seemed like hours, they yelled into the cracks, tapped the rock and did everything they could to signal Grover, but if he heard them, they couldn't tell.

If they killed Polyphemus, Grover and Clarisse would die inside the sealed cave. She even tried using a vine to move the rock, but it was no use, there were no places to grow them from.

Percy stabbed Riptide against the boulder in frustration, but it just caused sparks to fly off. Ariadne and Annabeth slumped against the ridge in despair, watching as the Cyclops walked amongst his flocks. He was clever, dividing his regular and man-eating sheep from one another.

Polyphemus walked amongst the man-eating sheep, but sadly, they didn't eat him. They weren't even bothered by his presence. He fed them chunks of mystery meat from a wicker basket.

"Trickery," Annabeth told them. "We can't beat him by force, we we'll have to use trickery."

"Okay," Percy said. "What trick."

"I haven't figured that out."

Ariadne raised an eyebrow, "Great."

"Polyphemus will have to move the rock to let the sheep inside," Annabeth said as she ignored the girl's comment.

"At sunset," Percy told them. "Which is when he'll marry Clarisse and have Grover for dinner. I'm not sure which is grosser."

"I could get inside," the blonde said, "invisibly."

"What about us?" The brunette asked.

"The sheep," Annabeth mused. A sly look crossed her face and looked towards the two demigods. "How much do you like sheep?"

Ariadne and Percy exchanges wary looks— whatever she had planned, it had to work.

Next thing Ariadne knew she was hanging onto the underbelly of a sheep like a baby wallaby. The sheep didn't care that she was hooked onto it for dear life, or the fact that some of its wool was being spat out of her mouth. She was easily hidden because Polyphemus's smallest she was enough to hold her. The worst part was the smell— like a sweater dragged through mud and left unwashed for a week.

Percy was in the same predicament as her.

"Just don't let go!" Annabeth said, she was standing off somewhere while wearing her Yankees cap.

The brunette would've made a smart comment, but her and Annabeth's relationship wasn't the best at the moment.

"Oy!" the Cyclops roared. "Goalies! Wheelies!" The flock trudged back towards the cave as soon as both of them were in position.

"This is it!" Annabeth whispered. "I'll be close by. Don't worry."

Ariadne's sheep walked up the hill and she gripes the wool tighter, thinking it was like the lava rock wall back at camp. As they made it towards the wall, she caught sight of Percy who shifted before his sheep made a grumbling sound.

"Hasenpfeffer!" the Cyclops said before patting the sheep in front of Percy. "Einstein! Widget— eh there, Widget!"

Polyphemus patted the sheep and the demigod boy almost fell off his taxi. "Putting on some extra mutton there?"

It was then her sheep's turn to enter the cave. "Lockhart! You too!" He cheered while the girl underneath the animal held her breath. The Cyclops swatted the sheep's tear end which sent it into the cave. "Go on, fatty! Soon Polyphemus will eat you for breakfast!"

She was in the cave.

The last sheep trotted in before Polyphemus moved to roll the stone back in place, just as Annabeth shouted from outside, "Hello, ugly!"

The Cyclops stiffened. "Who said that?"

"Nobody!" Annabeth yelled.

Polyphemus's face turned red with rage, the reaction that the blonde had been looking for. "Nobody!" He yelled. "I remember you!"

"You're too stupid to remember anybody," Annabeth taunted. "Much less Nobody."

The Cyclops grabbed the boulder at his front door and threw it towards the sound of Annabeth's voice. It was a painful pause as the brunette thought her friend had been hit. "You haven't learned to throw any better, either!"

Polyphemus howled. "Come here! Let me kill you, Nobody!"

"You can't kill Nobody, you stupid oaf," she tainted once more. "Come find me!"

He barreled towards the sound of her voice.

Annabeth and Ariadne has explained to Percy that Odysseus used the name 'Nobody' to trick Polyphemus centuries ago— right before he poked the Cyclops's eye with a large stick. As always, Annabeth was right. She had told both of them he would still have a grudge against the name.

Polyphemus had forgotten to reseal his cave entrance in a frenzy to find his old enemy. Ariadne expected that he wasn't all that bright.

Percy let go of Widget and Ariadne followed, letting go of Lockhart before giving him a pat on his head and an apology. The girl looked out to see the Cyclops still following Annabeth's voice and her heart stopped for a second, her demigod instincts seeming to keep her grounded.

"Aidan," Percy whispered. "We have to go."

She shook her head, "You go. I'll watch out for Annabeth." He hesitated for a few seconds until he saw her look, "We don't have much time, go." And he was off to run through the maze of corridors.

Ariadne could heat Annabeth's voice and saw Polyphemus swipe, and he heart seems to leap from her chest. All she heard after that was Annabeth's terrified scream once her cap fell off, her body being hauled into the air.

She ran past the sheep, trying to get to her best friend, hoping it wasn't too late. But just like always, her mind knew, she couldn't save anyone. Because she was a faulty hero, her biggest weakness was herself.