She didn't think. It was something she was becoming rather good at. 

The hands of the divine closed in around her, lifting her up, molding her face, and her body ignited with white lightning. Whatever limbs were still hers expressed their freedom to the fullest. Squirming, twisting, pressing up against the boundaries of Olympus, straining for the tiniest gap to reach the floor again and get away, get away, get away!

The deepest sting of all was that she would only be free at Zeus’ pleasure. And whether a heap on the deck or a heap in Zeus’ arms, the end was the same; a panting, trembling lioness, heart racing out of her. “You don’t [i]have[/i] to intervene.” The words spilled out, choked and mangled. “Because it’s going to be me. It’s always going to be me, no matter what I do or how far I run or how high the price. Sooner or later it’s. Always. [i]Me!”[/i]

******************************************

Oh no. 

It was a [i]test.[/i]

Were you [i]really[/i] paying attention, Dolce? Actually, honestly, taking in what she was telling you? Or were you shirking your duties, and letting your mind wander like some loafing delinquent? Come now, speak; silence only serves as a testament to inadequacy. If you cannot help her, perhaps she will have you replaced with someone more suitable to the job; a wall, a child’s toy, or better yet, an empty room. Or maybe no one will be able to help her. The presentation will fail, the ship will never be repaired, and when the history books look back on this doomed voyage, they will all agree that things might have turned out differently had they actually brought [i]proper[/i] help on board.

Think hard, Dolce. And be quick about it.

“Ah. Well.” It was a miracle he could still swallow his tea with her presence squeezing him from all sides. “To, start with, what are the advantages of our crew and armaments? What may be leveraged?” Yes, yes! Focus her mind on the problem at hand. This was, after all, the princess’ problem to solve. A little gentle nudging, and her own brilliance would sort out the rest, no?