Courtly Love (a Percy Jackson AU)

The Sword To My Armor

***Percy***

         "Thou should stop and rest!" Grover insisted.

         I shook my head. "We must save Princess Annabeth," Tyson agreed.

         "But thou must also not be so weary when thou arrives that thou cannot properly rescue her," Grover said.

       My lips formed a stubborn, solid line. I ignored my aching thighs and my dry throat. We had been riding on horseback since dawn and though my limbs were heavy with fatigue and light-headed with hunger, I would not stop to rest. Instead, I reached for the flask of water and clumsily unscrewed the cap, which fell from my hand. I bit back a curse and fumbled for it, but the cap had already fallen behind me. 

      Some of the water sloshed onto my tunic, but I didn't care. I actually enjoyed the sensation of water against my skin; besides, the heat of the sun was rivaling the stifled heat of the kitchens at my castle. Sweat trickled down my neck as I brought the flask of water to my crackled, rough lips and swallowed a gulp of the lukewarm, dusty liquid. 

       I was now out of water and with no cap, I could not refill my flask, but I just shrugged it off. All that mattered was finding Princess Annabeth. Just thinking of her alone and scared gave me the courage and strength to keep going. I was not running on adrenaline, but rather the mere hope of seeing her again.

      I vowed that I would rescue her and punish Lord Octavian, as well as Luke. Both of them would rue the hour they had hurt her. I realized then and there that I not only wanted to make Princess Annabeth my queen, but I wanted to punish anyone who dared injure her. 

     I cursed myself for allowing Lord Octavian to slip away last time. I had been so confident n my men's ability to capture him, but he managed to slither away like the sinful snake he was. When I had heard what he had done to Princess Rachel, I had vowed to have him hung. Now that he had captured Princess Annabeth-and I prayed to God that he would not even touch her-I vowed that he would be hung, drawn, and quartered like the devil-licking traitor he was.

       I looked over to Frank, who was pointing to something in the distance. "Sire," he said, his words hard to hear due to the blustery winds that tossed them about. "I see three figures in the distance."

     I pulled the reins in my hand and Chiron stopped, his flanks heaving. I realized with a stab of guilt that my earnestness to save Princess Annabeth had not only tired my companions, but my beloved horse. "Where?" I asked.

      Frank pointed again and my eyes finally could make out what Frank's eagle-sharp gaze had caught sight of first. I saw three figures swathed in cloaks and two of them appeared to be wearing dresses. I couldn't be sure who they were, but my heart thumped. Could Princess Annabeth be one of the three figures?

         I flicked the reins in my hand and Chiron snorted impatiently. I took out an apple and let him chomp it, patting his head to show my gratitude. "Let's move closer and see if they are people we know or if they can aid us," I said.

      I flicked the reins in my hands again and Chiron trotted forward. Frank and Grover did the same with Arion and Blackjack, while Tyson crooned to Rainbow to go forward. As we drew closer, I felt energy trickle into my weary limbs again and a lump begin to solidify in my throat. I pulled Chiron to a stop and practically leaped to the ground, landing unsteadily. 

       I ran over to Princess Annabeth and picked her up, twirling her in my arms. Her grey eyes dazzled me; they looked as finely made as a knight's armor. I set her down and we both laughed in a hazy of giddiness. Her curly hair was tangled and her dress was in tatters, but I fancied that she had never been so comely or so dear to my heart. My love for her seemed to grow more with every passing day. She was the sword to my armor; the rose-and thorns-to my bush.

        As I set her down, I realized who the other figures were. There was Princess Rachel, who looked like she was caught between pleasure and pain. I felt the lump in my throat thicken as I took in her swollen stomach and tear-stained face. "I will have him punished," I vowed.

      Then, I looked to the third figure and drew out my sheathed sword. "Luke Castellan," I snarled, motioning for the princesses to stay out of harm's way.

     Princess Annabeth snorted and grasped my sword, taking it from my hands. "Luke helped us," she said flatly.

     "He betrayed thou!" I said, a strange kind of anger burning through my body. "Thou trusted him and he betrayed thou!"

       "I was wrong, sire," Luke said.

       "Thou was a scumbag!" I yelled.

        I groped for my sword and cursed as I realized Princess Annabeth still had it. "Give it to me," I said.

     She shook her head and I looked at my companions for help. They all just stared back at me. I turned back to Luke and pulled out the knife I always kept with me. "Thou will never hurt those I love again!" I growled, slashing my dagger at him wildly.

     Luke didn't move, but Princess Annabeth blocked my strike with my own sword. I was about to say something scathing in the midst of my rage when I saw her face turn as white as linen. I turned around to see two figures dismounting from their horses: Lord Octavian and a cruel-faced man with dull brown hair that I had never seen before.

        Lord Octavian unsheathed a jagged sword and a cruel smile played on his lips. "Well, what have we here?" he asked. "Two princesses and a king. It seems like I will soon rule not just Scotland, but all of England too."