A Pirates Life For Me

Chapter 8

Percy's POV

Speaking those words was like having my heart being torn out of my chest. I'd never spoken of Mom's death, to anyone. Not even Grover, my best friend, or Nico, my younger cousin. Only Luke and I knew about it, and I was content to keep it that way. Then, when I have my revenge on him, only he'd know what was coming.

But I felt like I could trust Annabeth with anything, with my life. When I told her, her expression soften so much I thought that shewas going to cry. She reached out wiped a tear from my cheek. "I would say that I'm sorry, but I know that won't mean anything to you." She said gently. She was right. I hate it when people say sorry for things that are out of their hands.

"When we were twenty, there was a woman that we both loved, but she loved me. Her name was Atalanta, and she was proclaimed to be the most beautiful woman on the island. She looked a lot like you, but with caring, crystal blue eyes. Luke got so mad that Atalanta loved me, instead of him and he threatened to kill my family. Atalanta and I didn't think that he'd carry out his threat, but when she refused him, he murdered my mother. Atalanta told me that she couldn't let Luke hurt my family any more, and that she loved me more than anyone. She agreed to marry Luke, and on the day of their wedding, Luke discovered that she could never bear a true loyalty to him, and he pushed her off the balcony and she fell to her death.

"He blamed me for it, saying that I'd killed her to get revenge on her for leaving me. But I was on my ship at the time, and no one believed him, so he blamed Mom's death on me instead. I was found guilty and sentenced to a hanging.

"On the day, I made a daring escape with the help of my crew, and became a notorious criminal wanted for murder. A year later, I came back for Luke on a ship that he thought was thePrincess Andromeda. I had a plan, to make him believe that I was dead and that my ship no longer sailed the seas. After a huge battle, we sunk the ship, and I was effective in making Luke believe that I had died when the 'Princess Andromeda' sunk. Tales were spread that my ghost sailed the seas on a ghost ship, searching for Luke to have my revenge.

"I did come after him, many times, but only carrying out petty things that would make him believe that he really was being haunted, things like painting messages to him with blood. "

I took a deep breath. Annabeth was a good listener, but this would be the hardest thing to tell her.

"Then I found out that he was marrying you, I heard rumours that you looked like Atalanta, and that was why Luke wanted to marry you. Determined to make sure he would never marry my Atalanta, I decided to kidnap you, show Luke that I would never stop making his life misery for what he put me through. He doesn't deserve to die yet, not until he goes through the same pain as I did."

After a minute, I finally looked back at Annabeth, and she had tears running down her face.

"Percy, I had no idea. I'm sorry-"

"I don't want an apology."

"No, that isn't what I meant, I thought you were just using me to make Luke jealous, I had no idea that he would've done that to someone."

"Exactly," I said. "No one imagine that he would murder his own wife."

Annabeth's POV

Percy really had saved my life. Would Luke have done the same to me? Was there something wrong with him? Had all those years of Percy's ghost tormenting him driven him mad?

His story made me remember where I'd heard his name before. I'd never believed the tale of the ghost ship, but my little brothers did. People would tell stories of the pirate driven mad with heart-ache and the want for revenge, whose ghost wouldn't rest until he found his lover.