Triton POV
I watched the procession, filled with pride as Metu slid the bands on Persi's arms.
It's been a very long time since an Apori of the sea was banded and Persi did it all properly. And it only took two dozen practices till Mevu was satisfied.
Now it was my turn.
I slid the trident charm out of the pouch at my side, tugging it lightly so that it transformed into a full-size trident. Persi's new trident.
The celestial bronze shone as I held it by the kraken leather grip. I'd had it made specifically for Persi, every detail specified, down to the scale patterns down the shaft and the conch shell charm hanging just beneath the head.
When Metu flicked back I swept forward, expression solemn as I settled in front of Persi.
Persi twisted his hand respectfully, the fingers folded precisely. I copied the motion as I began speaking.
""Persi Bellerphon Yakson, Son of Poseidon and Sally Yakson, today you have been recognized as Prince of Atlantis, Youngest Prince of Poseidon's Court, and Prince of the Oceans. Every Prince needs a proper weapon, and you are no exception. You are thirteen Veruov old and now of the age to receive your true weapon, to hold in hand through battle and peace."
I studied Persi, he looked like he was trying very hard to look proper and princely while still eyeing the trident in excitement.
My lips twitched, hidden from the guests, "The greatest of the Royal forgers have come together to make a weapon suitable to your loyalty, grace, and strength. I am proud to present your weapon: The Trident of the Uteron Piviua. It holds the name Mairoik Upe, the Cleansing Red Tide."
It had been forged in the toxic waters of the red algae, to bind the power of the blade and infuse it with the proper intent. In time Persi will be able to use it to augment certain skills of his.
"May it serve you with all the power you wield."
I couldn't help my smile as I held the trident out for him, allowing him to get a solid grip before letting go.
His eyes were sparkling, and he was clearly holding back a grin as he made the proper motion of gratitude with his free hand.
I watched proudly as he floated steadily in the water, looking every inch the prince he was.
"Thank you Triton-re'aia. I vow to use this weapon nobly, to keep the peace of the sea and ensure the safety of our subjects."
I twisted my fingers into the motion of acceptance and then swished aside so that he could be seen by the many guests.
I took a breath, before announcing to the many beings watching, "Before you stands Persi Bellerophon Yakson, the youngest of Atlantis' royals, second Prince of Atlantis. May he live with bright scales and swift currents."
"May he bring clean waters and calm waves," declared the guests, as is tradition.
Persi made a motion of respectful greeting, and the ceremony was complete.
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Khrysaôr POV
That glàmon bdelyròs. He could es kòrakas with his snide comment saying Perseus was the second prince. I was the second prince, whether he liked it or not.
That pankataratos koprìas was gonna pay for that comment.
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Percy POV
I was finally back in my room, my one in Atlantis that was. My bed was comfy and I really didn't want to get up.
The ceremony had been so stressful. I was so scared of getting something wrong and making a fool of myself in front of everyone there.
I was honestly so thankful for the strict lessons Amphitrite-nai put me through over the last week. Plus, the few dozen practice rounds of the ceremony, that was scary.
And then having to interact with all the guests after? So stressful.
At least Triton was there. He made sure to support me and interrupted the few times I messed up a bit. Thankfully nothing too bad, but I'd never interacted in such a high class setting.
At least I got to spend some time with Fetu and Lagi, they introduced me to their parents.
One was clearly from the Ive Mahuti Moare, Ryujin's kingdom, with branched horns and scales with almost fur like fins reminding me of the draconic beings that lived there. His spouse was definitely from the Ive Pahuti Moare, Duberdicus' territory. The scale patterns were very similar to the ones of the merfolk of Atlantis, the two nations had a lot of overlap.
They (the spouse) were a lot more colorful than my family though. I could see where Fetu and Lagi got the bright colors from. They seem to have inherited more of their parent's coloring and appearance than their father's, though the gold and red in his scales were fairly bright as well.
I wondered how they would look with horns like him, and promptly blushed at the image of Fetu with curling branching horns.
I forced my thoughts away from that. Those meetings had gone well but then I'd had the stress of being introduced to the subjects of Atlantis from the balcony thing.
Everyone had stared at me.
They hadn't seemed to dislike me though?
I didn't know, the whole thing made my skin kind of raw.
All the sensations were fairly similar, all reminded me of water in some way, but they had a lot of variety and I was very glad I didn't have to be in such a large group again for awhile.
It was over. I was introduced and banded and everything there was done.
Now I just needed to finish the main physical therapy and finish setting up the stuff for the school year and I'd be good!
I fingered my new trident charm for a moment before my stomach growling had me pushing out of the bed. My tails draped over the edge as I ran a hand through my hair.
Carl was asleep in his bubble of fresh water.
I should get cleaned up some… I was the Prince and Triton emphasized all the time how important it was to look neat and tidy and in control in front of others.
I groaned and flicked over to the table thing, kinda reminding me of a vanity. On it sat a few brushes, two for hair and a couple for tails plus a scrub for skin.
It was interesting to me how different it was undersea. There weren't baths or showers, you were always in the water. Instead you had to use scrubs and brushes.
I scooped up one of the hair brushes, the bristles widely spaced, and took a moment to brush my hair then used my coral hair pin to pin it back.
I grabbed the scrub for my skin, rubbing it over my skin and removed algae, plankton, and other assorted specks that clung to it.
Finally, I used the scale brushes (they were almost like a cross between a brush and a scrub) to clean my tails, scrubbing at them until the scales shone and carefully using the gentler brush on the flowy fins and actual tail at the end.
I learned the hard way that you needed to be gentler with the fins, they were much more delicate.
I slid the bands on my arms distractedly (Triton said that I had to wear them whenever I was at the sea… and suggested I do so out as well).
I put all the brushes back in place and picked up my camp necklace, a single bead hanging on it… or well, floating…
Triton mentioned getting a heavier chain for it, but I wasn't sure where I'd do that…
"Hello, hetae tatu!"
I jolted, turning to find Kymopoleia floating in the doorway.
"Hello, Kymopoleia-vua," I said carefully.
"Grab you things, we're going shopping."
I blinked, "What?"
She stayed at the door as she motioned to me, "Get ready to go. Triton's busy today so you're with me-"
"And me!" Herophile declared, head poking out from behind Kymopoleia.
"Yeah, you're with us. We're going shopping."
I blinked, "Oh, um-"
I guess that worked? Could I buy a chain for the camp necklace while we were out?
"One sec-"
I swam to the drawer, pulling out one of the belt pouches.
Since wearing clothes in the sea was rather pointless for most mer, we used belt-like things. They had shaped pouches formed out of woven kelp and seagrass, sometimes with fish bones for shaping.
I connected a belt around my waist and slipped the camp necklace in it then swam over to Kymopoleia and Herophile. Kymopoleia looked smug and the Herophile looked delighted.
"Perfect, so we're getting you some things to spruce up your room and of course a beauty treatment because those are so nice," Kymopoleia started tugging me through the halls. "I was thinking we could go to the theatre, Momus and the Gods is happening today, and there's also Uku's Storm which always has the best effects, the imoteorav they hire are top notch for plays."
"Can I buy a chain for my camp necklace?" I asked when she paused.
She blinked, "Oh, yeah sure. We can stop by a jewelry place. Hmm…"
She turned to study me, "I think silver would look best."
"It would match the-" Herophile faltered "-five letters, starts with B, worn on arms-"
"Bands," Kymopoleia said.
"Yeah! It would match the bands."
"It doesn't need to be too much," I started to assure.
"Nonsense, silver, I'm not sure of the type of chain. We'll need to see the necklace to figure that out. Did you bring it?"
I nodded, struggling to keep up as she tugged me along.
"Wonderful, we'll see if anything else fits you. Oh, Triton mentioned something about you learning tahuhu, what kind did you learn?"
I considered. Tahuhu, Halmaheran for magic.
"Well," I hesitated. "I mostly focused on purification magic, and Thermomancy. I've been learning some Siren's Song though, I'm only a beginner there. And I want to learn more about healing because it would be super useful."
Herophile beamed, "Have you considered learning- um-" she hesitated "-eight letters, prediction of the future."
"Prophecy," Kym offered.
"Yeah! It's a fun magic…"
I considered, "I mean, I have dreams sometime… They're uh, they're called Hee-oh-eep-hah-ee-oh?"
"Hee-oh-ee-pee-hah-ee-hoe," Kymopoleia corrected. "Close though."
"Hioipihaiho is one of the most common forms," Herophile agreed. "It's one of the easiest to control though! If you- uh- if you-it's…"
"Try?" Kymopoleia suggested.
"No, hard work-"
"Attempt?"
"No no…"
"Train?"
"Starts with a P..." Herophile mumbled.
"Practice?" I offered.
"Yes! If you practice, then you'll be able to control it in time. But it's also da- it's- it can be- uh…"
She wrinkled her nose, looking very frustrated.
"It can be bad for you."
"Dangerous?" Kymopoleia asked.
"Yeah, dangerous. It is you, your personality and being. At least when doing hioipihaiho. If someone can trap it they can trap you, or hurt you, it's bad."
I nodded, "Is there a way to stop it? Or protect yourself?"
She nodded, "Yeah, but it takes lots of practice. You have to learn trenching and learn how to shield yourself from outside energies. It's not something you learn fast."
"Oh, okay," I felt a bit disappointed, but I hadn't had issues with my dreams yet so I was sure it would be fine."
"I can teach you though!" Herophile said suddenly, looking at me with hopeful eyes. "I've been doing it forever!"
"Oh," that would be nice. "If you don't mind, I wouldn't want to take away from your time-"
"No! I'd- I'd- I- ugh…" she frowned for a moment. "I'd really like it!"
"Cool," said Kymopoleia. "So Herophile will teach you to control those dreams, I'm gonna teach you to raise storms!"
Her eyes were sparkling as she turned to face me as we left the castle.
"It's going to be amazing! Just don't tell Triton."
I blinked, "Um, isn't raising storms hard?"
"Well, big ones yeah," she said with a shrug. "But we'll start small. Then do big ones!"
"Oh," I considered. "How do you start it?"
Kymopoleia grinned, "We'll start it later. But it's going to be the best thing you'll ever learn."
"Storms are cool," Herophile agreed. "Kym is good at them."
Kymopoleia nodded sagely, "I am."
She paused in the water now.
"Anyways, the markets over there," she pointed at an area filled with shining pearls and arching coral buildings. "That's where we're going first."
"Over there is the- the-" Herophile thought for a moment. "Play place."
Kymopoleia laughed, "The park?"
"No!" Herophile pouted. "The… the play… the place where plays are."
"Oh," Kymopoleia nodded. "You mean the theater, yeah that's there. We're going there after shopping and a nice relaxing beauty treatment."
"What's a beauty treatment?" I asked.
Kymopoleia gasped, "You've never had a beauty treatment before? Oh that won't do, I'll have to fix that immediately!"
Herophile nodded, "They're so nice! Relaxing! And you're so shiny after."
"They're wonderful," Kymopoleia insisted. "You're going to love it."
She snagged my hand, tugging me down to the market.
"But shopping first!"
Herophile swam right alongside us as we entered the market area.
It was multi-layered, with many colors of coral making up the buildings around us. The pinks and purples and blues made a striking backdrop of the buildings, with many different anemones clinging to the corals, some seemed to make gardens.
I looked around in awe at the many shops.
"That place has some great books," Kymopoleia said. "And that's one of the best ink-makers in the undersea, very expensive though."
"Most inks are," Herophile added.
"True," Kymopoleia agreed. "Now then, jewelry, over there is a good one, lots of charms and the like…"
She paused, "What does your necklace look like?"
I pulled it out of my pouch, showing her the skillfully made clay bead.
"Oh, I like the trident," she grinned. "Okay, I think that Tuki's shop would be the best one for this."
She led the way, slipping through the crowds easily. Herophile stuck by me as I slipped down and up and to the sides and all around. It's not like land stores at all, you don't just stay on one level. The market in Atlantis was for all levels, and everyone went up and down the same way you'd go right or left on land.
When we caught up to Kymopoleia she was drifting at an arched entrance to a store. The board on the coral said "Hena Potaeov". Lovely Pearls, that sounded promising.
"There you are," Kymopoleia said. "Come on."
She led the way in, pushing the shell curtain aside and sweeping in.
Inside was lit softly with ponisi pearls, illuminating the many coral shelves, with careful nooks filled with glittering gems, sparkling metals, and many other creations.
The room itself made me rub my arms, twisting currents that almost seemed like a wall. I wasn't sure what that feeling is.
"Ho ponuho, hamoto," murmured a voice from the back.
I turned and noticed a merman working with a thin line of metal, shaping it carefully with deft twists of his hands.
Another sensation hovered in the air, fainter than the wall currents, something like a heartbeat thrumming against my skin.
I shook my head and focused as the mer finished his work.
"Ta, Kymopoleia-ava, eaye uk otiat, y Herophile-ava," he smiled. "Noaye etav ta rav rao sa'opu ertma?"
Kym smiled at the greeting, responding in Halmaheran before switching to English. "Yeatula, maiv mafatu. We're here for a chain for my soha tatuno necklace."
His gaze switched to me when she mentioned her little brother, studying me intently.
"Ah yes, the sovuoti aipri," he nodded. "Let me see the necklace."
I pulled it out of my pouch again, handing it over to who I assumed was Tuki to look at.
He hummed, studying it for a moment.
"A cute charm, are you wanting a new charm? Or just a chain?"
"Just a chain," I said quickly. "The charm is from camp."
He cocked an eyebrow but nodded. "A snake chain would work best, I think. Perhaps…" he dug around for a moment. "Here we are."
He pulled the bead from the leather cord, compared sizes, then reached for some… tweezers? They were made out of some sort of shell material it seemed.
A few moments of twisting the metal led to it shaping properly, then he slid the bead onto it.
Somehow it didn't look that out of place, despite the high difference in quality.
"Hmm, perhaps adjust the bead, add some embellishment around the edges-"
"No," I said. "It's perfect as is."
He looked a bit doubtful, "If you're certain…"
"I am, havu," I twisted my hand to support the thanks I offered.
He sighed, "Maiv, uafoto. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"Yes," Kymopoleia said. "My tatu has far too little jewelry, is there anything here that you think would fit him well?"
I faltered. Jewelry was an important show of status and basically the clothes of the undersea… I was just wearing the shell necklace from Metua, the bands, and my hair pin. But did I really need more jewelry?
The man studied me, "I have a few necklaces… have you considered earrings?"
I blinked, earrings?
Kymopoleia studied me, "Earrings… hmm… What kinds do you have today?"
Herophile looked excited, "Do you have blue ones?"
"A few, I'm sure I can find one that satisfies you."
I glanced at one of the coral nooks, assorted hair pieces gleamed in it.
…
"Can I buy something for my mom?"
Herophile's eyes lit up, "Oh that's so sweet!"
Kymopoleia pulled out a collection of gold coins.
I actually loved the undersea coins, they were shaped like scallop shells with a hole through the base and it made me feel like I was in a fantasy world to use them.
"Yeah sure, get her whatever you want. Metu is paying."
I blinked, Metua was paying? Did He give permission? Should I not buy too much?
"You should get that one," Herophile said, pointing at a really elegant pearl and deep blue coral hair piece.
Mom would love that.
"It's perfect," I said.
Herophile beamed.
"Okay, we want that," Kymopoleia said. "And then we want Perseus' ears pierced."
I leaned over, curious about what earrings there were.
Sitting on the flat coral counter were assorted earrings ranging from simple pearls, to flattened pearls (both plain and with carved designs), to mother of pearl shaped earrings, to twisted corals shaped like a dozen different things, to even little gems (were those diamonds?) that glittered in the light of the ponisi. There were even some simple metal ones, gold, silver, bronze, and platinum.
"Wow," I muttered.
Kymopoleia picked two simple pearl ones (one blue and one white), a mother of pearl set shaped like conch shells, three hooped earrings in gold, platinum, and coral, and two sparkling gems.
"Hmm," she held them up to me with a thoughtful look. "Which of these are best…"
"I like the blue pearl," I offered.
"They would be good starting earrings…"
"I could throw it in as a set," Tuki suggested. "The three hoops in one, the two pearls in another."
"We're definitely getting the conch ones," Kymopoleia said. "Might as well buy a few though, you can pick your favorites later."
"Yeah! And you'll look great with them," Herophile said eagerly. "They'll go great with the- the-" she huffed. "They'll match well in the future."
I smiled, Herophile was really sweet.
Kymopoleia nodded slowly, "Okay, we'll get them all."
Tuki twisted his hand politely, "An excellent choice."
He swept over, plucking the hair piece for my mom up and gathering up all the earrings.
"I will be but a moment," he said. "Then I shall put the Aiprin earrings in."
It was only a short delay before he returned, the jewelry wrapped up in kelp and seaweed packaging and traded for a couple silver shell coins. Kymopoleia tucked the jewelry away in her pouch.
"If you would come with me for a moment, Aipri."
I glanced at Herophile who nodded eagerly before following him back.
He sat me on a kelp seat and scooped up a jar with a paste.
"This will numb the ear, so you don't feel the needle," he explained.
I nodded, sitting still as he spread the paste with a sponge brush.
After a moment I could definitely tell that my ears were numb, and he picked up one of the needles.
I didn't even feel a prick as he threaded the first earring in, then the second.
He studied them for a moment before nodding.
"Just right," he scooped up another jar. "Apply this around the ear once a day for a week and you'll be done."
"Havu," I thanked him.
He nodded, "Of course, Aipri."
I swam out to Herophile and Kymopoleia, flushing as Herophile squealed.
"Oh it looks- it looks- um…"
"Perfect," Kymopoleia said with a smirk.
"Yes!"
"Okay," Kymopoleia said. "We have just enough time to get to the beauty treatment. Let's get going!"
She thanked Tuki and ushered us out.
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Kymopoleia POV
Perseus did look great with the earrings, and also Triton was gonna murder us for them. That made it a win-win!
Earrings were completely normal, but Triton was gonna be angry we did it without getting his permission. He was playing such a big brother with this one.
What was more important right now though was the beauty treatment!
I was gonna be Perseus' favorite, if only to make Triton jealous.
I led him (and Herophile who was absolutely delighted to be doing family bonding right now) into the beauty place.
They had some of the best treatment.
We started with the body scrubs. They were made with concentrated salts, enchanted to slow the time it took to dissolve. They cleaned you very well. Then we spent some time in the garra rufa room, the fish eating away at all the dead skin cells.
Perseus kept giggling as they worked though, apparently he was ticklish.
Next was a lovely seaweed wrap mixed with a lovely thin paste that rubbed in well. It made you feel nice and moisturized. They had a special paste for our fins that was simply divine.
And then of course, the best part of all this, the massages.
There was simply nothing like a good massage.
"I've never had a massage before," Persi murmured.
I blinked, he what?
"Well," I said, clearing my throat. "We're going to fix that."
Herophile gasped, "We can do this as a sibling thing! Go get massages and stuff. It would be so fun to do, like, every week."
He blinked, "Um, every week?"
"Perhaps every other week," I offered. "I'll see about arranging it."
No sibling of mine would be lacking in something as nice as a massage. Besides, I could just imagine the look on Metuno face when he found out. He wouldn't even be able to say no! He was trying to look good right now.
I loved it every time there was a custody battle, we could get away with anything during that time.
"Are you sure? I mean… aren't these expensive?"
I cooed, "Perseus, we're royalty. We're more than able to pay for it. And it's good for our subjects to spend money on things for them. We'll cycle, there are a lot of spas so we'll try out a variety!"
He blinked, "This is a spa? I thought it was a beauty treatment place?"
"That's what spas are," Herophile chirped.
He blinked slowly, "Carl told me to avoid spas at all costs."
"Well," I said, pretending I had any idea who Carl was. "Nothing bad will happen to you with us here. So it'll be fine. Just only go to spas with us."
He considered seriously for a moment, "Well… I suppose."
"Trust me," I assured him. "I won't let anything happen."
He nodded, "Alright… I'm sure it'll be fine."
I beamed.
I was right of course, the massages were lovely. He fell asleep during his, he was so relaxed. I was going to introduce him to so many things, it was going to be so much fun.
I wondered if he'd like stream surfing?
…
Yeah, he needed to try that.
"Alright! How are you feeling?"
Perseus grinned, "That was really nice!"
I smirked, "Of course."
"We should definitely do it again," Herophile insisted. "Like next- ugh, four letters, starts with W…"
"Week?" Perseus y asked.
"Yes!"
I nodded, "I'll see about setting it up. Now then, the play should be starting…"
I tilted my head, tracing the tides real quick, "In twenty ioma. We should go get our spots and snag some snacks."
Perseus perked up, "What's the play again?"
I led the way out, thanking the workers on the way, "Momus and the Gods is a story about Zeus, Athena, and Metu. They all make things in it, and then Momus is to judge it. Only Momus is a ufanto and hates all three of them so he's super judgey about all their creations."
"The moral of the story," Herophile added. "Is that some people are just rude and nothing will ever be good enough for them. You shouldn't listen to those that judge out of envy."
Wow, that was the most she'd said all day.
"Yeah, basically."
Perseus looked very curious, "That sounds cool. What about the other play you mentioned?"
"Ukun Storm," I said. "It's about Uku, a mer who had little power. It follows how he went from weak to strong, and then became just like those he'd hated all his life. He decided to create a massive storm to destroy everyone and everything."
"This is Kym's favorite," Herophile giggled. "Because she's in it."
I sniffed, "According to the story, I was the one to end his storm and take his power from him, completing the cycle of his life."
He looked awed, "Wow, did that really happen?"
I laughed, "Not as far as I remember. But it's a fun tale."
He nodded eagerly, "I can't wait!"
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Triton POV
The meetings today had run long. We had a lot of arranging to do so that everyone knew exactly who harmed my brother and how.
No one was impressed by this Luke's actions. To attack a child like that, especially when said child was unarmed (well mostly) and not fighting was unforgivable.
I shook my head, better things to focus on.
I was going to show Persi the royal library! It had many books on magic he'd shown an interest in, and some very interesting story books I thought he'd like.
Tomorrow he would get to see his friends, but today I thought we could spend some time together. It had been far too long since I got to just sit with my little brother.
I checked in his room for him, but he wasn't there. Nor was he in the gardens. Or the dining room. Or any of the sitting rooms. Or the kitchens. Or the balconies. Or even the library.
I was only mildly panicking. There was no way he could come to harm here… right?
I swallowed, searching through the sitting rooms again before deciding to check the training fields. Maybe he went out a bit?
It was fine, he's just exploring the palace.
It was totally fine.
He wouldn't be someplace bleeding out. I wouldn't find him pale and barely breathing-
He wasn't at the training fields.
Okay, so I was panicking slightly more.
I tried to steady myself, not thinking about him lying in the healers room just a week ago.
It was fine, he was fine, he was just… somewhere I hadn't checked yet.
Maybe he was visiting the healer!
I swept there as quickly as I could, only to be disappointed to see no sign of him.
This was fine.
"Oh, hello Triton, my favorite brother."
My eye twitched, I was not in the mood to deal with Khrysaôr.
"What do you want?"
"Oh, I was just wondering what you were doing. You're practically swimming in circles."
"It's nothing that concerns you," I muttered.
"Oh," he followed me as I started swimming away. "And here I thought you might be looking for Perseus."
" Persi ," I snapped. "And yes, I was just going to get him."
"Ah, good luck with that."
The smugness in his tone made me pause.
I turned slowly to him, "You know where he is."
"Do I?"
My eyes narrowed, "Khrysaôr so help me-"
"I'm being threatened!" He cried. "By my own brother! Oh how could you?"
I took a steadying breath and tried to resist the urge to punch him in the face.
"Where. Is. He."
He grinned, "Oh, out and about."
"Khrysaôr," I snapped.
He just laughed. "Oh please, what do I get out of telling you? Nothing. If I don't tell you I get all kinds of entertainment from you rushing around searching."
My trident appeared in my hand, "Where is Persi."
"Hmm," He seemed warier now, good. "Well, maybe he's in the library, maybe he's at the market-"
I paled, "He left the palace!?"
Khrysaôr grinned, "Perhaps."
He wouldn't have done that without permission, did someone take him? Someone must have taken him.
"Who took him?"
His smile widened, "Oh, maybe someone you know, maybe someone you don't, who's to say."
I snarled but spun away. A guard would likely have more information.
"I'll be sure to inform Metu of your disinterest in your brother's safety," I snapped.
"Oh, I'll be fine. He's perfectly safe."
He had no way of knowing that! Persi was out of the palace, anything could happen to him!
It was only a week ago that he'd been-
I shook my head.
It was fine, he was fine, it wouldn't be like before. It wouldn't be like Pallas-
I swam to find one of the perimeter guards. Khrysaôr followed me and commenting on how nice the water was today, and how there was a really cool starfish on a wall, and did I hear about the new play coming out?
I was going to stab him.
I reached the perimeter and found a guard before I gave into the urge.
"Have you seen Persi?"
The guard twisted her hand in greeting, "Yes, Aipria. He came by a few hours ago, at the very beginning of my shift. He was with Kymopoleia-ava and Herophile-ava."
My eye twitched, "Thank you."
I flicked away, Khrysaôr still following with eyes still glinting in amusement.
As soon as I was certain none of our subjects were around to see I spun, slamming him into a wall in an instant.
"You couldn't have informed me," I hissed. "That our sister's took him out?"
"But where's the fun in that?" He asked sweetly. "I think it's so touching how you worry for him, I was just gonna let you keep doing it."
"You said earlier you found it entertaining," I snarled.
"That too."
I, once again, resisted the urge to stab him.
" I am going to get him. You are going to stay here and not bother anyone."
He rolled his eyes, "Those are very high expectations."
"Then you'd best meet them," I snapped.
I flicked my tails, shooting up and arcing out to the perimeter.
It wasn't that long of a swim and I was able to track my sister's easily enough. I found them leaving a shop.
"Persi," I called, gliding to a stop in front of him. "There you are."
I took in his appearance, no injuries, no bandages, he didn't look distressed.
He's okay.
Thank Pontus.
I noticed a glint on his ears and blinked, "Did you get your ears pierced!?"
"Oh," Kym chirped. "Do you like them? I picked them!"
"Yeah," Persi said eagerly. "They're pretty. She also bought some others, oh and I got some stuff for my mom-"
"And we bought clothes!" Herophile chirped.
"And we went to a spa," Persi continued. "Do you think I could bring my mom to it sometime? I think she'd really like it-"
"We also went to a play," Herophile said. "It was great!"
"Two plays!" Persi added excitedly. "Kym was in one!"
"Look we bought him tail ornaments, since he doesn't have any," Kym was digging through the kelp pouches she was holding.
"I got my mom a cool anemone, Kymopoleia said she'd show me how to make a tank for it!"
"I told you, you can call me Kym," Kym said, a smug smile on her face as she stared at me.
I resisted the urge to yell.
"This was incredibly dangerous," I hissed. "You didn't bring any guards-"
"Two Goddesses were here," she pointed out. "What was gonna happen?"
"I don't know," I snapped. "Something could've! What if you'd lost him in the crowds-"
"But I didn't."
"Or there'd been an attack-"
"There hasn't been one in literally hundreds of years."
"Or he'd been tricked by someone and stolen away-"
"We wouldn't have allowed that."
"Or-"
"Triton, you're overreacting."
I took a deep breath, "He could've been hurt."
"But he wasn't! Do you have no faith in us? Honestly, he's fine, we had fun."
"Sorry," Persi said. "I didn't mean to worry you."
His deep blue eyes (the same shade as his hair) peered up at me so sadly, filled with so much guilt, it was like a stab in the gut.
I swallowed, "It's fine. You were having fun. As long as you're safe it's okay."
He nodded, still looking guilty, "Okay."
I brushed his hair back, "Well, let's get back to the castle."
Maybe then I could calm down, just a bit. He'd be behind safe walls again.
I wrapped an arm around him and led him back to the castle.
OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO
Poseidon POV
Dealing with everyone and ensuring they acknowledged Perseus as my son and Prince was very stressful.
I heard the whispers, the people wondering why my son, the youngest child of mine, was the one to end the war. They wondered why I allowed him to be put at such risk.
Some wondered why I said nothing until he'd gained titles.
I would have to show over the next few months that he was my son, and not just because he did some great feat.
I didn't acknowledge him before because I needed him hidden, but now that he was known I could treat him as the prince he was.
Perhaps I could send one of my Kyklopes children to him for the school year… that would allow him to have a friend (and sibling) and would help keep him safe. Not many would challenge a Kyklopes.
But I have to make sure I can keep him first.
By Pontus, I was so sick of Okeanus trying to steal my kids.
OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO
Okeanus POV
So, things weren't going quite as I'd planned.
I hadn't expected him to do so grand of an announcement, he hadn't done one like that in a very long time. Only a handful of his previous demigod children got such a grand introduction. It did a lot for convincing most of his intent with his child.
And I had to leave tonight. I was ruler of my territory and I'd been away too long already. I had matters to attend to.
Of course, there was some hope. Many noticed how quickly Tethys and I arrived when he was injured, and quite a few were unimpressed with Persi having to do so much at such a young age.
It gave me a chance, if only a small one.
I'd take full advantage of it.