A Quest of Eight; A Heroes of Olympus Fanfiction

The Son of Neptune; Boarding the Ship

Y/n's POV

Today was the day we were leaving to start our quest. It had been decided that Annabeth would be our eighth member, which was fine by me since she was one of my closest friends. Coach Hedge was also coming to act as our guide/protector, and I knew that would lead to some fun times so that was cool as well. I pulled on my combat boots, which had thankfully returned to my cabin after Aphrodite had given me a new outfit on our last quest, and then headed to the mess hall. As I was sitting down eating my breakfast, Will slid into the seat in front of me and dug into his scrambled eggs.

"Since when did you become such a rule breaker?" I ask him and stab my fork into a piece of fruit on my plate.

"Since you left me to fend for myself," Will replied jokingly. "And you're leaving this morning, so I'm going to spend as much time with you as I can before you go."

"Well how can I say no to my best friend?" I question. At that moment, I glanced up, and my eyes met Leo's from where he was sitting at the Hephaestus table. He sent me a small smile, which caused me to blush, and I looked down at my plate. Will turned around to see what had made me all shy, and when we found the culprit, he just shook his head.

"You really like him don't you?" Will quizzed.

I nodded. "He's different than most of the boys here, and for some reason I like that. Plus he's really funny and sweet and just the best guy in the whole world."

"Someone's in love," Will teased.

"Mmm, I wouldn't go that far," I oppose. "It's only been a few months." Leo and I began dating soon after we ended our last quest. Things hadn't gotten too serious yet, but I had a feeling that they would soon. Once breakfast was over, Will and I had about an hour to kill before I had to start packing, so we sat around thinking of what we could do.

"Archery competition?" Will proposed. "It may not be my specialty, but I'm a pretty good shot."

"You're on," I agree.  Will and I each went to retrieve our bows, and me met up at the archery range. "I'll flip a drachma to see who goes first. Heads or tails?"

"Heads," I respond immediately. I watched as the coin flew into the air, and when Will caught it, he turned it onto to his arm to reveal tails. "Schist. That always happens. I always say heads, and its tails."

"Then pick tails," Will recommended.

"I will never. Tails always fail," I recite. Will stood in front of the first target and knocked and arrow, and when he let it fly, it hit the bullseye. The point of the game we played was to get closest to the exact center of the target. So going first was a huge advantage because if someone hit the target dead center, the other person's arrow would have to go straight through it to win. Each time Will and I shot our separate arrows, they landed the same distance away from the target. When it came to the last target, it was a tie game. And of course, Will's arrow landed right in the middle of the bullseye.

"I've basically won," Will cheered. "You should just give up now."

"But you haven't won yet," I remind him. "If I can split your arrow in half, then we tie."

Will laughed. "That has never been done in one of our competitions. You've lost. Give up."

"Never," I say and knock my arrow. I took a deep breath, focused on the target, and then let my arrow fly. I watched as it sailed through the air and........split Will's arrow in half. "Oh my gods. I did it! In your face Will!"

"What? How?" Will gasped. "This has never happened before."

"I'm just too good," I confess and slide my bow onto my back. "I've got to go finish packing, so I'll see you later." About an hour later, it was time for us to board the ship. I had all of my belongings packed, and Leo took them aboard while I said my goodbyes. Obviously, Will was the last person I had to talk to. "Make sure the Stoll brothers don't trash my cabin."

"I will," Will confirmed and held me close. "I'll see you when you get back."

"If I get back," I correct him.

"Y/n," Will started.

"Will, you know how quests like this go. Ones that involve saving the world usually end in someone dying. And I know it's not a certain thing but-"

"Stop," Will interrupted me. "You're Y/n freaking L/n. No one can kill you. Sure, you may be clumsy and trip over your own feet from time to time resulting in the stupidest injuries, but when it comes to quests and battling monsters, you're amazing and fearless and better than anyone I've ever seen. So you're gonna make it back. End of story."

"And that is why you're my best friend," I tell him and pull him in for another hug, which lasted longer than the previous one. "I'll try to Iris message you as often as I can."

"You better," Will threatened and let me go. "Bye, Y/n."

"Bye, Will," I return before climbing aboard the Argo II. Leo and the Hephaestus campers worked day and night on the ship to get it functional. And now that it was finally finished, we could go and get Percy.

"You look happy," Leo noticed.

"Because I am," I admit. "I've missed Percy so much these past few months. There's no much I want to tell him. Plus, I really want him to meet all of you."

"Well don't worry," Leo assured me. "You'll see him soon. And I can't wait to meet him." Once everyone boarded the ship, we took off.

"Whoa," Piper commented as she admired the deck. "This is amazing."

"Come on," Leo urged. "I'll give you all the tour."

I had only seen blueprints of the ship, but in person it was way more impressive. Leo showed us the dining hall, the boiler room, the sick bay, all of our bedrooms, and everything else the ship held. Each bedroom was customized to our liking, each of us having put our own things in them. My room had a cool under the sea look so that it reminded me of my cabin at Camp Half blood. I had a pretty descent sized bed, a desk, and a few shelves on the wall. The shelves had a few pieces of decor on them, like a pretty piece of coral, but most of the space was filled with picture frames I had made and brought in.

One frame held a photo of Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and I some time after the first Titan war. We were all gathered around the campfire sharing some s'mores. Another one contained Leo, Piper, Jason, and I all wearing our Camp Half Blood t-shirts and smiling brightly. One of my favorites was of Will and I celebrating our Capture the Flag victory. We were both holding the opposing team's flag, triumphantly. Then there was a photo of Nico and I facing off against each other in the arena, both of our swords shining in the sun. And my absolute favorite one was of Leo and I hanging out on the beach building a sandcastle. Next to my desk was a hook designated for my bow and quiver, which I ultimately decided to bring on the quest. Sometimes, bows could be more useful than a sword, so I had it with me just in case. For a few hours, I laid in bed and switched between readings and taking naps. But soon I got restless, so I headed up to the desk where I took a seat against the side of the ship. It wasn't long before Jason sat down next to me.

"Hey," Jason greeted. "What are you doing? I thought you'd be either relaxing in your room or hanging out with Leo by the head of the ship."

"I'm just thinking," I answer.

"About what?" Jason pushed.

"What if Percy doesn't remember me? If his memories were taken away like yours-"

Jason cut me off. "Y/n, I've practically regained all my memories. All of the important ones, anyways. So don't worry. He'll remember you."

"Hey guys! We're here!" Leo called out. I took a deep breath. This was it. It was finally time to get Percy back.