THE FALSE KNIGHT | Percabeth AU

9: A Little Confusion

Annabeth's POV:

When I saw Luke, it felt really natural, surprisingly. I had to remind myself that I didn't know him at all, he was just the Crown Prince's assistant. I could tell he thought I looked familiar, so I tried to naturally lower my head and tilt it away from him, and switch my gait to seem more slouchy. Definitely not the way I walked.

"I'm here for my Interview," I said in a lower voice. Apparently Luke was convinced, because he nodded. "Understood. Please wait here." It was weird to hear the formal voice coming from Luke. I've always known him using a casual voice. But there and then, I had realized that I had only seen the peasant side of Luke. This royal side of him was something new and completely different. And to be honest, I wasn't a huge fan of it.

Luke went inside the interview room, and I stood outside, trying not to think about nervous thoughts, like how if I was caught I could be arrested, possibly executed. Maybe I'll have to work as the lowliest servant. I'll be chained to a wall or something.

Even as Luke came out and beckoned me inside, the nervous thoughts wouldn't go away. I tried to focus on other things. I couldn't even process how the Interview Room they were using looked like. The only time my mind actually focused on something else was when I saw him.

Prince Percy was wearing a different ocean colored tunic and pants. He had removed his cape. I wasn't noble obviously, but I could guess that he only needed to wear it for formal events and he wasn't a huge fan of it. His green eyes bore into me, and his messy black hair was combed, but obviously not very well, though. It was cute, anyway. I sat down on the chair across from him, and quickly remembered to not stare into his eyes. Remember Annabeth, you're here to train, not fall for a prince who thinks you're a small, skinny, guy, I chided myself.

Suddenly, I remembered that this was the same exact person who had forced me to live as a peasant and have the life I currently have. I didn't know whether it was him, or his family, but it didn't matter. What only mattered was that because of him, I was forced to do kitchen work and break my back every day, along with thousands of others, while he got to sit back and do nothing except homework, which was nothing compared to this. Maybe he got to play games too, only because of him, I had never had those feelings.

My feelings were now replaced by hatred.

I glared into Percy's eyes. He evidently noticed. I guess he wasn't used to peasants looking him in the eye, because he quickly looked away, then looked back in a second. It was a mistake, quickly fixed, but still a mistake. A mistake I had noticed.

From now on, at least to me, anyway, Crown Prince of Thalassa, Perseus Jackson, and I were in a war.

A war I was determined to win.

Percy's POV:

Percy was confused. At first, when Andrew had entered the room, the look in his eyes was unreadable. He looked...peaceful, maybe even nice. But as Andrew had took a seat, he glared. And that threw Percy off completely. He couldn't help looking away for a second and looking back, but Andrew had obviously taken it as a victory. Percy wasn't the best at reading people, but looking at Andrew, he could easily tell he was proud.

Well, two could play at this game.

"Okay, state your name." Percy said. He was obviously not patronizing, but he tried to sound arrogant to throw Andrew off. Obviously, that didn't work. "Andrew Glass," the boy said clearly.

"Where are you from?" Percy said. Suddenly, a man came rushing up. "Sir, you're needed in the kitchens." He said to Luke, who nodded. "I'll check up on you afterwards, Your Majesty." Percy nodded, distracted. He didn't even notice Andrew's relieved sigh as he answered, "Starfish Way." Percy frowned. "Where even is that?" Andrew rolled his eyes. "It's a few days from here. Of course, you wouldn't know. You don't know anywhere except for this kingdom! And possibly Coral City." Percy groaned. "I learned it in History class. Of course I know!" Andrew smirked. "Oh really? Have you even BEEN outside of Coral City?" Percy sighed. "I mean....no. You'd better take me sometime, to see your home." "I mean, duh!" Andrew said. Then he seemed to remember he was mad, and quickly frowned back at Percy.

"By the way, shouldn't you be calling me Your Highness?" Percy smirked. "Nope. You don't deserve the title," Andrew grinned. Percy mock-gasped. "You know you could be executed for saying something like that to the Crown Prince!" "Sure, whatever," Andrew replied, but Percy could see the sweat on his forehead, He grinned. Finally, some nervousness.

"Okay, now it's time to test your fighting skills," Percy said, standing up. Obviously, that was a mistake on this part. You could literally see Andrew's skin glowing. (Cue ending scene from Julie and the Phantoms. Sorry, I couldn't resist.) "Sure," Andrew said. He stood up, and Percy handed him a training sword and some armor. Andrew quickly pulled it on, and tested out his sword. They stood, circling each other. Andrew's grey eyes were calculating and narrowed, anticipating his first move. Unfortunately, patience wasn't Percy's strong suit.

He thrust, and Andrew was ready to dodge. Percy quickly lost himself in the fighting. He knew he shouldn't put too much pressure on the newbies, but he could feel himself giving more and more pressure, soon putting his all into the fight, like his training with Luke. Surprisingly, Andrew and him had similar fighting patterns. It was weird, but Percy didn't think too much of it. He was focused more on the fight. Andrew has the upper hand. He and I may have the same fighting styles, but he's smaller and more nimble. I have to stop him from using it to his advantage.

He quickly thrusted to Andrew, who dodged it. Andrew would have definitely won the fight because of Percy's unbalanced position, but Percy knew Andrew would be going for it, and quickly spun and gently pushed Andrew to the floor. He put his sword to the tip of Andrew's chin. "I win," Percy grinned widely.

He could see Andrew's disgruntledness, but he nodded anyway. "Knight initiation starts tomorrow at 6 am." It was his last attempt at making Andrew lose the verbal fight, but obviously it didn't work. "See ya," Andrew said, and spun on his heel and left the room.

Percy pondered, sitting on his chair, spinning around. There was something about Andrew that captivated him. He seemed smart, talented, and had almost beat Percy. Only Luke had beat Percy, and that was because he was his trainer. Percy knew he would get to the bottom of it. But first, he had to set up the groups.