It seemed like some of my training was already make itself useful. I never thought I'd say this, but this really isn't my first time in a charged situation with a naked woman. Atlantean training really was something else. Amphitrite reached forward, her smooth hand cupping my face. The fragrance of flowers reached my nose. Was that Wisteria—no, Chrysanthemum! My mom used to have a bunch of these in our garden back home.
Her multicolored eyes bore into my own. "You are to accompany me tonight?"
"Yes," I replied, not trusting myself to say much more. I still couldn't get that great of a read on how she felt about me, and I didn't want to risk offending her more than my existence probably already did.
"Delightful," Amphitrite said, retracting her arm and holding it to her chest. I pretended to not notice her tracing the underside of her breast. "Oh, it's been so long since I've had a companion to one of these dinners!"
"Doesn't Lord Poseidon accompany you?" I asked curiously. So far, so much of the Greek world has been different than the myths. I intended to find out just how deep that change ran. Plus, it gave me something to focus on. [Gamer's Mind] or not, Amphitrite was a bombshell.
"Poseidon does not," Amphitrite clarified as her beautiful face darkened slightly. I didn't miss the way she said Poseidon—it sounded like I'd asked her to say slug, instead. "And has not. After I bore him that waste of godly blood, he has not done more than what our contract has required."
"Contract?" I wondered aloud, and she smiled pleasantly at me. The message in her eyes was clear: not here.
"I will explain once we depart," she said casually, one of the naiads moving down to her legs with the balm. The one that was shaving her was done, apparently, as she stood up and started walking towards me.
Suddenly, my clothes were gone, too. I yelped, jumping backward in an attempt to cover myself up.
"Relax, my lord," she whispered, dropping to her knees. I stood, frozen until she just went on to rub that same balm on my legs.
"What is that stuff?" I asked curiously, ignoring the blush that was spreading on my face. Did I think that was going somewhere else? Maybe. Let's move on.
"It's a special balm, my lord," the naiad tending to me said softly, taking great care to avoid certain parts of my anatomy as she continued rubbing it into my skin. "It's been a standard step in getting ready for political functions. It's a mark of the House of Poseidon."
"That it has," Amphitrite made her presence known, her finger resting on one of the green fabrics presented to her. I easily observed the distaste on her face at the mention of Poseidon, again. "Plus, it just smells so nice. Tell me, Percy, do you go to functions often?"
Functions? Me? I resisted the urge to laugh.
"No, my lady," I replied, a slightly justified annoyance permeating my being. "I wasn't even aware that Atlantis had concerts, up until today."
I was rewarded by Amphitrite's melodic laugh.
"Yes," she agreed, lightly tracing her stomach. An unmistakable tinge of bitterness followed in her next few words. "I wonder about that quite often. How it is that out of his many sons, it just so happens the one I gave him turned out to be such a major disappointment?"
I was at a loss for words. We stood in silence for a few moments, as the naiad moved onto my arms and chest.
"Forgive me for my outburst," Amphitrite said, not sounding too apologetic at all. She not-so-subtly looked me up and down. I tried to ignore that weird gleam in her eyes. "Is there any color you'd like to wear?"
I know the whole "in the grand scheme of things" argument that basically says that this situation is more or less the same level of wrong as my dad and mom being together, but that doesn't make me feel any less weirded out, and that doesn't make the situation any less wrong. Don't misunderstand me—Amphitrite is a total MILF. I have half a mind to call this place MILFlantis with the way these older women are trying to entice me—but there's something seriously wrong with that.
At best, I look fifteen, maybe sixteen at this point. My uncle thought I looked fourteen a month ago—and at that point, I'd only had my powers for a week or two. I get that they must be attracted to me because I'm the prince or whatever, but this is just odd. Predatory, even.
"Any color is fine," I said as the naiad finished rubbing the balm onto all of me. She gave me a quick bow, and all but scurried over to the side of the room, standing attentively.
"Mm," Amphitrite said, slowly walking over to me, taking drawn-out steps. She got uncomfortably close—to the point where her warm chest was pressing into my body. With a shock, I realized I was at eye level with her. How much had I truly grown in the short time I'd been here?
[Gamer's Mind] was back to being pretty much near infallible. For a while there, its strength would fluctuate, but now, after maybe an initial moment of shock, it did its job fairly well. I have a theory that it got a little wonky because my body accelerated itself into puberty, but I'm not going to think too much about it. As long as it's working now, I'm good.
She reached out, grabbing my hands and slowly placing them on her waist. My hands felt like lava on her smooth skin. Amphitrite looked at me intensely, her eyes flickering with all kinds of unreadable emotions. Her warm breath tickled my neck.
"Amazing. Your mental fortitude is strong. You're a true candidate, then."
"Candidate?" I repeated, feeling a lot more comfortable than I should've been at that moment. "What do you mean?"
"Why," Amphitrite said softly, tracing my chin with her finger and lightly pulling my face closer. Her lips were pressing into my ear. "To be crown prince, of course."
"Isn't that Triton's job?" I wondered aloud, ignoring the, uh, reactions I was getting to being this close to a naked woman. My mind was racing, trying to string together all of the bits and pieces of information Amphitrite had planted throughout the conversation.
This woman has a deep hatred for Triton for sure. I can tell she doesn't like my dad either, but I'm not sure if it runs quite as deep as the level of dislike she has for my half-brother. Her biography—I was forced to read it as a part of training, by the way—says she cares about Atlantis and its citizens, though—so she wouldn't be hinting towards treason, now, would she?
"It sure is. For now. I think it's time we give it to you," Amphitrite whispered hotly, pressing a burning kiss onto my cheek before pulling away. "Some food for thought. Oh, silly me, it's nearly time to go."
I stood in shock for a moment as she turned, swaying her hips back to her original spot, where she finally picked a color.
Me? The crown prince?
Her use of sensuality as a deterrent fell flat against my mental resilience. She tried to plug the idea of me wresting control of Atlantis from Triton, in between what was a pretty good attempt at seduction. She was good. Not good enough, unfortunately, but still good.
The idea of me being crown prince wasn't exactly treasonous, though. In fact, it was the kind of thing my dad had offhandedly mentioned to me a few times, too. Once my time as the prophecy child was over, he'd said, I could come back down here and take my rightful spot. Amphitrite seemed eager for me to do so.
I'll have to keep an eye on her, I thought to myself as I eyed her not so discreetly bend down to pick something up. The naiad holding the fabrics smiled and nodded, and they all broke into a lullaby.
The water around me suddenly came alive with mana, twirling, and twisting around my skin. It changed colors multiple times, eventually settling on the green Amphitrite had selected. It grew longer, encasing my entire body before settling.
I held up my hands and looked down. It looked like I was basically wearing what Aladdin wore when he wanted to impress Jasmine—just green—and if you can believe it, even tackier.
Amphitrite was wearing a dress that hung much lower than it needed to. There's no wonder that dress was made from magic—any normal dress and her chest would've been spilling out. It looked unbelievably tight in certain areas, but she seemed to pay no mind.
"Perfect," Amphitrite clapped her hands, and the naiads looked on bashfully. "You did wonderful, girls. I'm very impressed."