Empress (a Percy Jackson AU)

Annabeth's Decision

      "Annabeth!" Bobby cried when he saw her. "What are you doing here? Mother said were a traitor."

       "What are you you going to do with them?" Connor asked.

     Annabeth saw the anxiety flickering in her brothers' eyes. "Let's discuss this away from their ears. Piper, can you supervise them in the library? Take Jason with you."

     Piper nodded and promptly left with the two boys, Jason taking up the rear. Annabeth exhaled. She remembered the embarrassment and fear she had felt when her father and stepmother had discussed her fate in front of her.

     The door opened again. Annabeth smiled at the sight of Gleeson accompanying Chiron. She ran forward and hugged her former tutor. "Chiron, I am sorry about that. When this is all over, I will give you a generous pension."

      Chiron smiled. "If all goes well, I'd like to educate your future children."

     Annabeth felt a jolt of confusion until she noticed his gaze land on Percy. Her cheeks heated and she cleared her throat. "For now, I am still in need of your services."

      She told Chiron of the assassination of her husband and child. The room was quiet as she related her escape to Greece, her return to Rome, and how she had snuck into the palace. "Ingenious," Chiron said by the end. "Am I correct in venturing that your plan to disguise yourself was inspired by Odysseus?"

     Annabeth nodded. "And Percy carried me in a rolled up rug like Cleopatra."

"My dear," Chiron said. "You are the brightest student I've ever had."

     Annabeth found herself grinning widely. "You are the best tutor I have ever had and that's why I need your advice: what should I do with Bobby and Matthew?"

     Chiron scratched the brown, curling beard on his chin. "They're still young and it may be merciful to spare them."

      "But then they might rebel," Octavian said.

     Annabeth turned to look at him. He had killed Ethan and she didn't trust him one bit.

    "Perhaps you could exile them," Chiron suggested.

     "Or you could keep them here under your wing," Percy suggested.
 
     "But what about Helen?" Annabeth asked.

      She knew her brothers would hate to be separated from their mother, but she might be a bad influence on them. If she exiled them together, Helen might teach them to revel, but if she executed Helen, they might grow up to resent her. Besides, as much as Annabeth hated her stepmother, she couldn't traumatize her brothers the way she had been.

     "What if you exiled Helen to an island," Chiron suggested, "and send Matthew and Bobby to live with a trusted family. When they grow up, you can make them governors if they prove their loyalty."

        "Doing so will make the symbols of a rebellion," Octavian said. "That's why Helen tried to have you killed. You should publicly execute them. Make it a spectacle that no one will forget."

    Annabeth curled her lip in distaste. "Chiron's words were well spoken," she said. "I will exile Helen to the island of Lesbos and send the boys to be raised in a trusted household."

     "But which household?" Percy asked.

      Annabeth smiled and turned to face him. "Yours."