The Arranged Marriage (Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

Twenty-Two

Annabeth kneeled in front of a quivering child, taking her hand. "Hey," she said quietly, "you're going to be alright."

The little girl clutched the princess's hand tightly as she looked around her, her eyes filled with tears. She looked to the two white sheet covered figures and Annabeth gently led her away from them.

"Listen," she coaxed the girl to look up at her, brushing away the soot and ashes that littered her hair and smeared on her skin. "You're going to come with these little kids and we're going to go to the castle. That sounds like fun doesn't it?" The girl nodded. "And we're going to have a few slumber parties okay?"

The girl's eyes lifted a little, her lips turning up in a soft smile. "Yes," she rasped. Annabeth took her hand and led her gently to the small group of other orphans.

"I'll be right back," she assured the children as she spied Percy forty feet away. She set off towards him, nearly tripping on the pieces of homes and what Annabeth realized were charred bodies. She placed her hand gently on Percy's shoulder, guiding him to stand up. He did.

And he turned and buried his face in her shoulder. Annabeth stumbled back a step but wrapped her arms around the prince, as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "So many," he murmured into her hair shakily, "so many dead or injured or lost."

"I know," she said, "but it's our duty to be strong. We have to show our people that we can come back from this and that we will be alright."

Percy allowed himself another moment before he straightened, fixing his lapels before he turned to the huddle of children. His green eyes swept over them, warming a bit, but Annabeth could tell that they simply increased his despair. "Alright kiddos," he knelt down before them, "you're going to follow those guys right there," he pointed to the Royal guards, "the ones with the weird robes on, and they'll take you to the palace. Pretty cool huh? Princess Annabeth and I will be there real soon and we're going to have a sleep over okay?"

The little kids looked up at him in admiration, the little belongings they held clutched to their chests. The little girl Annabeth had just talked to came up and hugged Annabeth's legs before hurrying after the others. Tears momentarily blurred her vision as she watched them walk to the palace, leaving their broken homes and families behind them, hardly knowing the long term effect it would have on their lives.

They were orphans now.

And lives of orphans in a time of war are always the most difficult. Annabeth promised herself then and there that she would do everything she could to improve their lives.

Annabeth gripped Percy's hand and they walked along the destroyed city together, prince and princess, heirs to the throne. And they found more children. And parents who lost their children. And holes that lost their families. And let's that list their families.

And all the while, Annabeth forced herself to smile, to comfort those that suffered, reassuring them that everything would be alright.

* * *

The crisp breeze signified the coming of autumn, the palace standing tall against the wind that whipped at the flags proudly posted on top, and the banners waved from their poles. The flag from Crete and for Athens wrapped around each other, an ironic coincidence.

Annabeth sat down beside Percy at their adjoined desks, letting him read over her shoulder. The balcony doors were flung open, letting in a light breeze in which was still heavy with the scent of burning, rustling the papers laid out before them. Annabeth worried at the quill in her hand, biting down on her lip as she read.

We, the royals of Olympia, demand you surrender Her Highness Princess Thalia to the King and Queen. After the recent attack on Crete, it is no longer safe for the said city-state to harbor our Princess. We demand her return or we will bring an army to your doorstep. Relinquish the daughter of Olympia or you will regret it.