princess // percy jackson

i. eighteen - a plan to piss off the parents with a not-so-pertinent parcel

words : 3942

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"...ten!"

alliah froze and ducked as percy rose to action, forcing his eyes shut as he blindly stumbled towards medusa. he braced himself as he waited for annabeth's call-out.

"now!"

there was a muffled gasp from medusa as annabeth shoved the hat onto her head, and a small little 'pop' sound as the woman turned invisible.

alliah forced her eyes shut as she heard percy's sword swish and collide with something rather squishy, and then the quiet but spine-shivering thud of something hitting the ground. percy let out a disgusted groan as alliah emerged from hiding.

"did you do it?" she asked though her question was answered once she was met with annabeth staring back at her, a squeamish look on her face and percy by her side, looking equally as uncomfortable.

alliah's eyes drifted down to the sight of medusa's body slumped over, the rest of her from the chest up was hidden behind a pile of boxes.

"something tells me i should be grateful i can't see her above her neck..." she winced.

percy cringed, shaking his head as he tried to avoid looking at the fallen corpse of medusa. "don't even start..."

he bent over to pick up what seemed to be nothing.

"is that the head?"

he nodded.

"careful," annabeth warned. "if the cap falls and she's facing up then..."

percy scowled, grossed out, as he held medusa's newly estranged head between his arms, making sure to keep his fingers from touching too much of her now-dead reptilian hair.

"what are we supposed to do with it now?"

-

"make sure it's pointing in the right direction before you take the cap off or you're screwed." alliah reminded him for the third time in the last five minutes.

percy rolled his eyes. "you sure talk a lot when you're nervous."

"i'm just worried your small dumb brain'll act up and you'll get us all killed." alliah tutted.

grover snorted. "ha ha, seaweed brain!"

"seaweed brain," annabeth smirked. "i like that, that's funny."

alliah realized that with the new context of percy turning out to be the son of the sea god, the name made more sense.

she shrugged. "i like barnacle boy better - yeah, that's it. i'm gonna use 'barnacle boy' instead."

annabeth and grover giggled as percy frowned.

"funny," he said, unamused. "now are we actually dealing with alecto or not?"

"fine," alliah smirked. "don't get all upset, barnacles - oh my god, i can call you barney for short!"

everybody but percy began to laugh at the revelation as the targeted boy only continued scowling sourly.

"grover and i'll go check downstairs for anything we can use on the road." annabeth decided after they'd all calmed down. "you guys deal with 'ol granny."

alliah nodded, straightening up - they still had yet another dangerous task to deal with after all.

once grover and annabeth disappeared down the stairs, alliah and percy made their way to the front door.