Behind the Shadows

There was a hole in the boat. It was small, however the amount of water that was currently flowing through it was a worry. Jake was humming to himself completely oblivious to the problem. The dolphins were chattering amongst themselves and kept on squirting water at him. Sapphire stared at the hole wondering how long the boat would keeping floating for and if it would make it to camp. The hope of that was squashed like a bug when she noticed that there was nothing in sight around the boat except open water and the endless horizon. She didn't even know how long they had been sailing for. It had been a loop of endless of days and it did not sit right with Sapphire. It had taken just one night for Luke to take her from the camp to the boat and she had escaped just a few hours after that. It was slowly becoming clear that Sapphire and Jake were sailing in the wrong direction.
The weather had kept clear the whole time they had been sailing. The dolphins pulled the boat with ease and at a fast speed. She even noticed the dolphins shuffle nervously sometimes as though they too could sense something was wrong. Either they were just lost or something was not right. Last night Jake and Sapphire had had a lengthy conversation about what might be happening. Jake just keep on saying that they were just lost, but Sapphire knew not to think of something as simple as that. Nothing was ever that simple when you are a demigod. Especially for a demigod of the big three. Just in case she as right she and Jake had mentally prepared themselves for the worst. The boat had been of great use until the hole came. Jake had found food and water stored under the seats and blankets in a duffle bag. So they had been sorted until that damn hole.
"I've just noticed something!" Jake chirps. He is frowning down at the smooth water. Sapphire sighs and looks away from the hole."What?" She replies. Jake looks at her for a split second and then turns back to the water and points with his hand.
"I've not seen a single fish in the whole time we have been out here. Except for the dolphins". Sapphire shuffles towards him and looks down at the water. She smirks.
"Maybe your face scared them away" Sapphire barks a laugh. Jake gives her a frown that screams at her to be serious. She clears her throat and looks him dead in the eye. She had noticed the missing fish as well, but the list of things to worry about was growing and since they were stuck on a boat in the middle of the ocean there was little they could do to solve the issues. "Do you think it was my face?" Sapphire blinks a few times to make it look like she was thinking it. She touches her face and then stares down at the water. Jake scratches the back of his neck obviously feeling awkward. He was clearly not used to handling insecure girls. "It is isn't it!"
"I - I.. Sapphire?" Jake stutters. Sapphire bits her lip and raises her eyebrows at him. "Have you been drinking sea water?" She scoffs and hits his arm.
"No, have you?" Jake grunts and looks down at the clear water again. "I wonder if the camp has even noticed my absence"
"Of course they have" Jake swishes at the water. " You're not exactly one of the quiet loners there"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sapphire glares at the back of his head.
"It means that you are the daughter of Apollo and Poseidon. Both of them have children that are gifted and make sure everyone else knows that" Sapphire stares at him lost for words. He was correct in a way. The Apollo kids were loud, popular and very gifted and the poseidon children were always admired throughout history and if you were one of them you were automatically a someone.When she was in the Apollo cabin she had lots of friends and enjoyed sitting at their table while shouting and laughing at each other. Everyone wanted to be friends with her and admired her gifts. And as soon as she became a daughter of poseidon there was not a single moment when someone was not looking her way and gossiping about her. With Jake by her side the whole time he must of noticed everything.
"Out parentage does not make us who we are" Sapphire mutters and tugs at the bottom of her shirt. " I am Sapphire Willow. I was raised as an only child and my parents were Alice and Greg Willow. Thats who I am" Jake is not staring at her. There is a surprised glint in his eyes.
"You have never told me about your parents" Jake voice comes out in a whisper. Sapphire picks at her nails and looks away feeling like an open book.
"They are gone now" She cuts him off. Her past was a touchy subject and it was not often brought up.
"Gone?" Jake asks. Sapphire sighs.
"I left them behind and I have no plan on going back. They would not want me back anyway" Jake is silent. His silence makes her cringe and she almost considers throwing him overboard just to cut the tension.
"Its strange" Jake mutters half to himself "I've heard more about Lukes past than yours and you're my best friend" Sapphire freezes and lets out a small laugh which turns into a grin.
"Best friends?" Jake laughs too now.
"I would of thought we were considering that I've been bugging you for years now" Jake pinches her arm. Sapphire laughs and shoves him away. Her feet splash on water and she groans. The boat is filling up with water. It now reaches her ankles. Jakes eyes grow into the size of golf balls. He has finally noticed the little problem. He gets to his feet and makes the boat wobble. Jake looks under the seats for blankets or something. "There has to be a bucket somewhere"
A bucket won't help the hole on the boat. Sapphire continues to pick at her nails.
"There is a hole on the floor just beside where you are standing" Sapphire mumbles. Jake curses and stomps over to her. The boat sways a lot causing her to tumble off her seat."You knew!" Jake grumbles "You knew this whole time and didn't bother to tell me" Sapphire looks down at her soaked shorts and almost whimpers at the bad luck she is having. Her gaze looks up at a very angry looking Jake. There happy moment is not long gone.
"You were too busy looking for fish to notice"
"I was trying to figure out what is going on!" Jake is now shouting. Sapphire sits there on the ground and stares at his angry face. It was odd how handsome he was considering who his parent was. Usually all the children from Hephaestus were not so pretty. Jake looked more like a son of Apollo with his golden hair and broad shoulders, but his inverting and need for scrap metal didn't quite fit in that category. Maybe he just picked up his mums looks whoever she was. She continued to stare while Jake lectured her.
"You have pretty eyes" Sapphire muses. Jake stops mid sentence and looks her over like she has lost her mind. Sapphire sighs and splashes her hands in the water which has reached her waist. its cold but a nice kind of cold.
"Saph" Jake speaks. Sapphire raises her head. "We need to get off this boat"
She nods her head and gets up with the help of Jakes outstretched hand. Sapphire looks about and comes up with a plan. She whistles a small tune and the dolphins stop and turn to face her. She smiles at them and grabs Jake's hand.
"Lets go for a swim" She laughs. Sapphire jumps off the boat followed by Jake. The dolphins let go of the boats ropes and swim toward them. Jake and Sapphire both grab and dolphin each. The dolphins sing in delight of company and whiz off through the water.

Notes