A/N: I own nothing but the plot. The story pic is from "The Return of the Female Knight" which isn't a bad red. Enjoy!
It had taken Annabeth a few days to acclimate back to the time period she had returned to. Thankfully, she and Luke were not married yet, but they were about to be officially engaged in a couple weeks. She still had a little time left to find some way of preventing this marriage. But it would not be easy.
Luke Castellan came from the prominent and influential Castellan family. Not only was he a Count, but he was also the Head of the White Knights Order, one of the two Knight Orders that protected the royal family of the kingdom of Cuora. But he was also part of the aristocratic faction.
Meanwhile, Annabeth's own family originally came from that of commoners. Her grandfather was a scholar fortunate enough to be sponsored into the Royal Academy. Eventually, her grandfather made a small fortune through his writings and was promoted to Baron through his academic achievement.
The Chase family was granted a small plot of land on the border of the Cuora nation, but the bulk of the wealth came from a diamond mine that had been discovered after her grandfather received the land. The royal family had been quite sorry to see the loss of a diamond mine, but it had ensured the Chase family's eternal support of the royal family who were actually quite fair rulers, advocating for equality between the commoners and aristocrats.
That one diamond mine had many suitors seeking Annabeth's hand, the only daughter of the main branch of the Chase family. Although her younger brother Malcolm would inherit the land and the title, Annabeth's parents had promised a sizable dowry equivalent to that of a Count's. The Castellan family had been one of those suitors.
As for why she agreed to Luke's hand in marriage? Annabeth could only wince in regret at her foolishness now.
Luke Castellan was also a target of many female suitors and their families. The Castellan land was plentiful but not particularly useful for agriculture, but Luke was a renowned swordsman who climbed the ranks of the White Knights Order. Not to mention, he was considered one of the most handsome men in the country with his sandy blond hair, blue eyes that matched the sky, and a smile that melted the coldest hearts. A statue carved by the angels themselves, some would say. And instead of complimenting on Annabeth's beauty like so many others had, Luke had praised her writing and studies before commenting on her appearance. That alone made him stick out to Annabeth.
It would take her a miserable marriage and her death to figure out that no matter what subject flowery words praised upon, they were still meaningless and worthless as a pile of horse dung. In the end, Luke had still chosen Kelli, someone fair and lovely. No, scratch that. Horse dung was at least useful as fertilizer.
Yet, Annabeth had fallen in love with Luke, sealing her gruesome and miserable fate. Despite the clash between the aristocratic and royal family factions, Annabeth agreed to marry Luke, perhaps even hoping the union would calm the tensions between the two factions.
This time, Annabeth swore to never fall in love again. She had experienced love, and it gave her nothing but wasted time in return.
Annabeth slipped under the shadows as her family's knights turned the corner, dressed as a maid on an errand. Today, she was going to determine if Luke's and Kelli's relationship truly began before the engagement. Perhaps if she caught them in the act, she could even gain evidence to break the upcoming engagement.
The moment the knights disappeared, Annabeth darted across the lawn to the stables. She knew the guards' schedule like the back of her hand, as she often escaped her family's mansion in her childhood. Her parents would have let her gone outside without her sneaking around, but then she would have to bring her brother or knights as guards.
At first, she had considered going down that route. If Malcolm or her knights had seen Luke with Kelli, they would have fought for the dissolution of the engagement. But then Kelli's reputation would be sullied, and Luke would be forced to marry Kelli or take her as an official second wife. That would have been what Kelli was aiming for, anyways. Kelli couldn't marry Luke otherwise, since officially she and her parents did not have any titles. The Castellan family could never stand for Luke marrying a commoner without special circumstances. The Chase family would have to pay a small dowry, and Annabeth was loathe to even give a little of anything to Kelli.
No, Annabeth had far greater plans than that. Live quietly now that she had a second chance at life? Pah, she would spit on that path. She would make sure that anyone and everyone involved in her death would have hell to pay, and then some. She would not be satisfied until the Castellan family was driven to ruin and Kelli was kicked out of the Chase family.
With just two copper coins and a cookie for her favorite young stable hand, Annabeth was able to hop on a wagon heading to the royal city. As the wagon rumbled over the cobblestones, she relaxed her mannerisms. No one would be able to tell that she was a noblewoman, especially under the plain cotton cloak with the hood she had on.
The wagon dropped her off in the middle of town, and Annabeth quickly blended into the commoners. In her past life, Kelli had bragged that she and Luke were secretly together before the engagement. As Annabeth recalled, there was a day where Luke had come to meet her and given her and her mother a beautiful silver and sapphire hairpin each that she had seen the receipt before. Kelli had a similar one but an even more luxurious emerald version with golden pearls. Annabeth had thought that Luke had been so sweet, gifting jewelry to the female members of the Chase family.
The hairpin had much more suited Kelli than Annabeth and her mother. Now Annabeth surmised it was probably Kelli who had wanted the hairpin and Luke had bought a similar version for Annabeth because he didn't know what Annabeth liked. He had never cared in the beginning after all. If her memories were correct, the date on that receipt corresponded to today.
She headed towards the jewelry store where she spotted the carriage of the White Knights Order outside. The emblem of the winged griffin shone on its embossed covering. She arrived just in time to see Luke in his knight uniform exit the store. A companion was with him, smaller in build. A dark cloak with a hood hid the face and clothing of the person next to Luke.
Luke helped the companion onto the carriage. As the companion stepped into the carriage, the hood unfurled slightly, exposing the chestnut hair underneath.
Kelli. Annabeth felt a retching sensation in the back of her throat.
So it was true. Luke had been seeing Kelli behind everyone's back after all.
The carriage soon rumbled off into the distance. Annabeth walked into the jewelry store.
The jewelry store owner came out, inspecting Annabeth's plain maid dress. "How can we help you?" He said coolly.
Annabeth curtsied slightly. "My mistress asked me to look into some hairpins for her. She is planning to have a tea party, sir."
The jewelry owner's eyebrows raised. Annabeth could practically feel the owner's anticipation for making some more money. "And your mistress is?"
"Mistress Gardner," Annabeth lied.
Her friend Katie would just have to forgive her. Annabeth didn't want to expose her sleuthing, just in case Luke found out. Annabeth jingled her heavy money pouch to help the owner along. If she bought anything, she planned on paying in cash instead of on credit so it harder to trace.
"Oh my."
The owner was much more enthusiastic now. The Gardners were a wealthy merchant family, friends with the Chases. The owner's eyes flitted to the full pouch Annabeth carried.
"Good thing I have all the hairpins out on display already. I was just about to put them away."
"Oh, my. Already?"
"Oh, yes. My last customer was also looking for some hairpins. If you'll follow me, please." The owner led Annabeth to the back store room.
Annabeth's heart sank as the hairpins were revealed. Here was further proof. Immediately, she could see two hairpins set in rubies in the similar design as the one Luke had given her. They were more expensive than the sapphire version.
"Do you have an emerald or sapphire version of this?" She asked the shop owner.
"Oh, dear, we just sold out of this hairpin style. If your mistress can wait awhile, we will have this in stock in a week or so. It is less expensive than this ruby hairpin."
Annabeth shook her head. "That's all right, then."
Something caught her eye. A butterfly shaped gold hairpin with soft golden pink pearls inlaid in the wings. The pearls reminded her of a pearl necklace she had received as a wedding gift. It had been her favorite necklace to wear on a daily basis. It was with a small tinge of sadness that Annabeth realized that she would not receive the necklace in this lifetime since she would not get married to Luke. Perhaps she could get something similar commissioned.
"How much is this?" She asked the owner.
"You have a good eye. Your mistress would be very happy with you!" The owner exclaimed.
He named a price that Annabeth did not hesitate to pay. It would have been relatively expensive as it would have amounted to a commoner's month worth of salary, but it was nothing compared to the wealth of the Chase family.
The owner bowed Annabeth out as she exited with unusual courtesy, telling her that her mistress was welcome to come anytime. Annabeth clutched her hairpin tightly, her money pouch a little less heavy.
Annabeth started walking back to where she had appointed the stable hand to pick her up. As she walked, Annabeth felt the sensation of eyes watching her.
Shit. Annabeth pulled her hood down lower.
She was sure that no one would recognize who she really was. Perhaps some thieves who had seen her exit the jewelry store without any other companions wanted to rob her. Annabeth hastened her steps, trying to stay in areas where there were more people.
Annabeth moved to the side when a wagon carrying vegetables charged down the road.
"Mmmph!"
A hand suddenly darted from her right side, pulling her into a dark alley.
"Quick, grab her money!" A couple of dark clothed men surrounded her.
Annabeth felt hands reaching for her nearly empty money pouch while another tried to press a sweet-smelling cloth to her mouth.
Fools, Annabeth scoffed as she evaded the rough hands easily. These thieves must be desperate, robbing people in the middle of the day. Unfortunately for these dolts, Annabeth was trained in self-defense. Her parents being scholars, were more progressive than other nobles, so Annabeth learned some self-defense skills with her brother. Malcolm had given her a beautiful dagger for her sixteenth birthday, polished steel with a sturdy handle and wickedly sharp blade.
Annabeth whipped out her trusty dagger. Suddenly, the man who had tried to chloroform her found a blade digging into the back of his hand.
"Yoowww! You bitch!"
Annabeth loosened the dagger from the man's bleeding hand and aimed a well-placed kick at the man's groin. The thief collapsed, groaning in pain.
Of course Annabeth didn't forget about the other two men. She slipped out of the way as one attacker tried to punch her. Using the momentum of the man's action, Annabeth grabbed onto the man's arm and flipped him neatly over her shoulder. The man hit the alley's wall and became unconscious.
But the third man...
Annabeth whirled around but the third man had already been taken care of. A new stranger, a dark hooded man, had knocked out the third. Annabeth could tell the sword the man wielded was of high quality.
Then the hood unfurled and Annabeth gasped. The man had black hair as dark as midnight, a straight nose paired with a sharp jawline, and piercing green eyes. Overall, he was quite handsome.
"Percy." Annabeth whispered.
During her marriage when she ran her company, Duke Perseus Jackson had been a business client and collaborator. His company owned a fleet of ships known for taking dangerous trips across the seas to trade luxury goods and other cargo. Annabeth's company had often enlisted Percy's help in buying unique timber and other construction supplies. They had become close enough for Annabeth to call him by his nickname after she had won a bet.
But the Percy in this timeline had not met her yet. Percy's eyes narrowed, turning wary as he heard her whisper his name.
"Who are you?" He asked slowly.
His sword had turned instinctively towards her. She knew that with just a casual flick of his sword, he could take off her head. Such was the power of being the Head of the Black Knights Order.
Too late did Annabeth realize her mistake. She was still too used to the mannerisms of her old life.
Annabeth quickly curtsied. "Thank you for saving me, kind sir. I must be on my way."
Keeping her head down, Annabeth moved past the Duke and darted into the streets. She half-expected him to stop her, but he didn't. Now would not be a good time to be introduced to Percy. She was dressed as a maid, and there would certainly be probing questions she did not want to answer.
"Should we follow her, Your Grace?" Percy's second-in-command asked.
"No, there's no need." Percy waved his soldiers off. "Take these men and lock them up in jail."
The woman had indeed been strange. Though dressed in a plain cotton maid uniform, she had been carrying a dagger far too exquisite for that of a maid. The hilt had lovely diamonds embedded, and the blade was sharp. Not to mention, the young woman had stellar fighting skills. Even if Percy hadn't stepped in, he had a feeling she could have found some way of taking care of the three men. If he hadn't caught the sight of her dagger or her fighting skills, he might have thought her just a plain maid caught by some thieves by unlucky circumstances.
But her face had been quite lovely overall. The hood had hidden most of her hair, but he could tell it was golden, with soft wisps of curls framing her jawline. Calculating grey eyes had stared straight up at his, filled with shock, recognition, and some emotion he could not decipher. It was as if she was seeing though him, looking at him, yet looking as though he was someone else.
Percy bent down to pick up the fallen handkerchief the woman had dropped in the scuffle. It was fine silk, only something a noblewoman or a wealthy commoner would have. There was a gray owl perched over a scroll embroidered in the corner. He did not know who this woman was, yet she had recognized him and said his nickname.
"Find who this belongs to."
A/N: Hope you've been enjoying this far! I have to finish my laundry real quick, and I'll pop up the next three chapters. I took a little time to fix these chapters up c: