Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 45: A Change In Management

I stared intently at the ring in front of me as I hold it in my hands. Air fills my lungs as I inhale deeply to calm myself and to bring focus to my mind. I close my eyes and gently push my energy and will into the ring.

The strain I feel from the flow of energy is an intense one. If I break my concentration, it will even hurt. It already happened once. For two days, I have been trying, ever since Chiron left. Percy and Annabeth will go on a quest, one way or another. Hades gave a ring with her blessing to my mother, now I want to give one of my own to Annabeth.

Chiron said my powers are linked to faith, trust, and honesty. The last few days, I have been trying to make a ring that could help Annabeth. Shield her or help her discern who lies or tells the truth, something useful. The success rate was not very high. I have blown up ten rings, while five others were only able to work for a few seconds. This is harder than I first thought.

Slowly and carefully, I let my energy flow through the ring. The cold metal of the ring is slowly getting hotter and hotter. It may just because of my incomplete form, but the ring becomes fragile when it starts to receive the current of energy. That caused a high failure rate, and constantly having energy leave me made me exhausted.

A minute flew by and for once I succeeded. I proudly looked at the silver ring with my blessing. Before I could see what the ring could do, I feel myself falling asleep soundly.

"Wakey, wakey, Aileen. Dinner is almost being served," Annabeth cooed in my ear. "One more minute..." I groaned out. Annabeth chuckles.

"And I was planning on giving you a personal present tonight if you were behaving well. I guess I should-" Annabeth says in a teasing voice. I almost jumped to my feet with a newfound surge of energy.

"I am ready to go!" I exclaim. Annabeth playfully slapped my arm as she laughs. "That got you up. What were you doing that caused you to sleep on the floor?"

It made me smile even wider as I took the ring from the floor. I presented the ring to Annabeth. "To make this. You carry the ring of my mother, yes?"

She nods as she took the ring with care to inspect it more closely. "I do. I still carry it with me everywhere I go. You gave it to me on the day we met. It's one of my most prized possessions," she says.

"That makes me very happy. As you know, it carries a blessing from Hades. Chiron asked me to stay here, no matter what comes our way. If I know one thing, it is that Percy will go and try to find the fleece. You will go with him, and I won't stop you. Of course, I don't want you going without me, so I made this ring with a blessing from me. A piece of me," I explain to her, taking the ring from her and attaching it to the necklace.

"You... you make me love you more and more," Annabeth says as she looks at the ring. "Well, I'll always love you a tiny bit more."

Annabeth lips curl into a wide smile as she locks her lips with mine. Arms snaking around my neck. "I highly doubt that," she murmurs through the kiss. It makes me smile as she deepens the kiss.

Her lips part as her arm links with mine. We soon walked towards the dining pavilion. "The material of the ring is made of silver, but what it can do? I am not sure yet. It took many tries to make it," I explain to Annabeth.

"How many tries?" she asks out of curiosity. "Fifteen."

"Fifteen?! And they're all from silver!? Love, you waste too much money..." she mumbles out as her eyes flick to the ring once more. It's contains more admiration for it, as if it is the Golden Fleece itself.

"Well... Some were made of gold," I corrected. "Aileen... and the others?" She asks, her voice a bit sternly and accusingly. "Maybe one or two were platinum..." I whisper out.