The Runaways [percabeth AU]

Chapter 5:

Annabeth pulled on her creation: a beautiful silver and white ballgown. She pulled her hair in a messy bun and put on some white ballet flats before slinging the sack full of stuff over her back. Then she squeezed through the doorway, and made her way out of the shop, then down the lane towards the large castle at the edge of town.

Once she arrived, she stepped inside and quickly made her way into the ballroom. So far, her plan was going perfectly. Annabeth darted towards the food table and pretended to be going to grab a sandwich, when there was a pleasant laugh from behind her. She whirled around to become face to face with the prince. "I wouldn't do that, if I were you." He chuckled, seeing Annabeth taking three large apples in her hands and stuffing them in the sack.

"Why shouldn't I?" She raised her eyebrow, then bolted for the exit. She wasn't here to dance; the dress was just a disguise.

Annabeth ran out of the room and down the hallway towards the armoury. The prince was hot on her heels. Suddenly, she decided it was time to show him what she was made of. She skidded to a stop beside the armoury and ran inside. The guards shouted at her, but she kept running until she found what she was looking for: her knife.

Annabeth once had a tutor; a young boy named Luke who taught her how to use a knife, and even gave her one. But her mother took the knife and turned it in to the king's army for them.

The knife was made of bronze. It seemed to glow in the dark, and the blade itself was double-edged and shaped like a triangle. Annabeth pulled it off the wall and wielded it in front of her. She then used the knife to rip through a layer of her dress to reveal the leggings she was wearing underneath. She tossed the skirt of the dress at the guards who stumbled back, muffled underneath the fabric. Then she ran for it, easily outrunning the prince who had grabbed a sword off the wall as well.

Annabeth ran until she reached the walls of the village where she gripped the bricks and hauled herself up, then swung back down and landed on the other side. There were shouts behind her, but all she could focus on was the pounding in her heart, and that she was just going to run until she was lost.

She was now officially a runaway.