A/N: I own nothing but plot. Enjoy!
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Annabeth's footsteps echoed on the stone floor as she walked through the halls. The air here was chilly, and the temperature never changed regardless of the season. Annabeth could never have imagined that there was a prison tucked so far underneath the castle floors. Percy had told her it was reserved for the most dangerous of prisoners, either for the Cuoran citizens' or for the prisoners' safety.
The ordinary Cuoran commoners had received the news of the coup poorly, allowing their support for the Cuoran royal family to grow. For far too long, the commoners had been under the thumb of the aristocrats who levied heavy taxes. There were many who were eager for the opportunity to take a crack on the imprisoned aristocrats.
Annabeth had received special permission to speak to two such nobles. The prisoner guard led her down another flight of stone stairs, lighting the way with a torch.
"Careful here, Your Grace. The floor is slippery."
With a shake of his keys, the guard opened a heavy metal door. Inside was Kelli, messily sitting down on the cold floor. Her dark hair, that Kelli loved to put up in curls and jewels, was grimy. Kelli looked up as Annabeth entered the cell.
"Have you come to laugh at me?" Kelli sneered. She laughed derisively. "Go ahead, then! Laugh!"
Annabeth stared at her cousin soberly. If she could have her way, she would never want to see Kelli and Luke again. But she found that there was some part of her that still needed closure before the nightmares of the past could end. She found herself recalling her childhood memories. When they were young, she and her cousins would play blissfully by the lake on her grandparents' land. That was a happier time, before money issues tore the family apart.
"Did you really think I didn't know what you were planning to do?" Annabeth asked, softly. "You and Luke were planning on slowly killing me after my marriage to Luke and then gain all the financial benefits from it. And perhaps if I had a son, you would take him from me and raise him as your child so you wouldn't even have to undergo the pain of childbirth. A pity for you, but fool me once, you won't be able to fool me twice."
Kelli widened her eyes in disbelief. Quickly, though, the disbelief was replaced with denigration. "Who cares if you knew. Luke still chose me over you! If it wasn't for the fact that my father was the second son, I would have been in your place to get engaged to Luke!"
Annabeth smiled at this. "And yet, Luke dropped you the moment he figured out you weren't profitable enough for him, didn't he? Isn't he engaged to Lady Soleia Elucard now? Beauty, money, and reputation. You could only offer your beauty, but Luke's greed was far attracted to wealth then he ever loved you. In the end, all you could be was the mistress, and never the true wife and Countess. You picked the wrong man, Kelli."
Kelli's eyes turned red with rage as she tried to jump forward, but the metal chains around her ankles attached to the wall stopped her from lunging at Annabeth. But Kelli's expression told Annabeth her cousin's anger was far more directed towards Luke for abandoning her.
Annabeth continued. "Those personality flaws of Luke are exactly why my engagement to Luke fell through. You must have thought it odd when I suddenly broke off all talks about being engaged."
"Ha! So it was just another political marriage when you got engaged to the duke right after. I wonder how all the nobles would think when they know that you and that bastard duke were married for money instead of for romance like they all think you did."
This time, Annabeth smiled. "Then it's a shame for you to know that Percy and I truly do love each other. But I don't care whether you think that it's true or not."
You don't think you've won, have you?" Kelli demanded. "He's gonna leave you in the end, you know, that bastard husband of yours. You're just too hard to love. Always so focused on your stupid work! Why are you even here?"
Annabeth bent down so she could be on Kelli's level. She had thought about for ages about what she would say to Kelli. All the pain, the anger, the hurt and humiliation from being betrayed by those she thought she trusted. Those seemed to vanish as she looked at Kelli's small and dirty figure on the floor. Kelli was small, and no longer threatening. All the evil will get their just desserts in the end, Annabeth decided.
"I came here to do you one small favor as my cousin," Annabeth finally said. "Didn't you wonder who was truly behind the attack on you after you were kicked out from being Princess Medea's errand dog? Let's see if your quick mind can pick this up. Who would benefit from having you removed from his sight? You were privy to information and plans from the aristocratic faction. But you became an eyesore when you lost your reputation again and again, damaging his interests. Any tasks you were send to do by Princess Medea also ended up in failure, causing Princess Medea's alliance with the Cuoran aristocratic faction to waver."
"L-Luke would never." Kelli spat.
"Oh, but he did give the order. Your usefulness was over. That's the kind of person Luke was, don't you see? We were both played, but you were played to be the biggest fool between me and you."
Annabeth stood up and brushed off her dress. "Goodbye, Kelli."
Before the jail cell door was closed, Annabeth heard the anguished screams of her cousin.
"Shut up, wench!" The guard cleared his throat before turning to Annabeth politely. "Are you ready to see the next prisoner, Your Grace?"
"Lead the way, please."
In no time at all, Annabeth faced Luke. He looked in better shape than Kelli did, with a small cot, table and chairs in his cell, though he was also chained by the ankle. Luke was sitting in the chair, lifting his head as Annabeth entered his cell. Seeing who it was, a flash of surprise briefly crossed his face before it changed to a look of stone cold. The scar across his cheek was new, most likely a souvenir from the attempted rebellion.
"I see you're well, Your Grace," Luke said, mocking saying the last two words. He sarcastically gestured to the other chair across the table for her to sit.
The guard pulled out the chair for Annabeth before standing back with his arms crossed against his chest. The guard stood there, eying Luke to send a message that the prisoner had better behaved himself.
"Not as well as you, compared to the other prisoners," answered Annabeth. "I see Lady Soleia sent these to you?"
Luke scoffed. "She came yesterday." His blue eyes stared at her coolly. "I never would have thought you were the one who was behind sending her to me. Looks like you're trying to continue her streak of having her husbands killed."
Ah, so it seemed that Lady Soleia had revealed what she was trying to do and who was her secret sponsor. Annabeth didn't mind. It saved her the energy of having to explain, and she didn't want to waste her breath on seeing a man no longer worth her time.
"How fortunate for you that you're not her husband yet, Count Castellan. After all, you two were only engaged just recently." Annabeth smiled. "Although I'm sure not for longer."
Luke stared at her. "The one thing that I don't understand is...why did you choose not to get engaged to me?"
Annabeth cocked her head to one side and studied him. Despite being a prisoner and with his new scar, she could objectively say that Luke was handsome and charismatic. She could see why so many women fell for his charm, including her. But that was all. Beauty will always turn into a husk one day, leaving nothing but Luke's cruel personality and greed. It had been a costly lesson for her.
"Perhaps it was because it seemed like I had woken up from a dream," Annabeth said slowly. "A dream where you continuously betrayed me with my own flesh and blood relative. A nightmare where everything was taken from me, from my daughter, my inheritance to the company I grew with my own hands. To the true love and life I was meant to have. But I finally woke up from that fog and saw the monsters of what you and Kelli truly were. I don't know why or how I was given a second chance, but I'm not going to let it go by so easily."
There was a hint of confusion in Luke's face but Annabeth didn't care. The hazy fog of the past had lifted, and she was ready to move on.
"Goodbye, Luke. Enjoy what karma has left for you."
With that, Annabeth left, not caring or bothering to see Luke's final reaction. It had been the first and last time she had called Luke by his first name in a long while.
Annabeth smiled as she emerged from the dark underground jail and into the sunlight of the coming spring.
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King Zeus' health had worsened after the attempted rebellion, so he left the rest of the official duties to the crown princess. Rumors floated that King Zeus would soon abdicate the crown to his eldest daughter, and the whispers seemed to be confirmed when Crown Princess Thalia sat on the throne usually reserved for the Cuoran king, acting as the de facto ruler.
Prince Jason stood beside her, calmly watching the main leaders of the rebellion being brought into the royal hall where they had fought just hours before. By his side, Duke Perseus Jackson organized the files of every leader as evidence against them. There were a few nobles on the royal family who thought the leaders of the rebellion should have just been executed immediately, but Crown Princess Thalia argued that such savagery would stain Cuoran history with blood, particularly as she aimed to bring in a new era of peace.
"Bring in the next prisoner."
The next prisoner did not come in quietly. The guards wrestled with him, finally throwing Marquis Ares onto the ground before the throne. His mouth was gagged, but it didn't stop the marquis from glaring with hatred up at the crown princess. Percy sent him a warning glance for him to behave.
"Marquis Ares Scopa, you are charged with the following crimes: storming of the royal palace, raising unlawful forces for rebellion, levying unjust taxes on the honest citizens of Cuora, collaborating with foreign powers into the usurping of the throne, the murder of Cuoran civilians and the attempted murder of your fellow nobleman," Percy read from his documents.
"For all these crimes, your punishment should be being drawn and quartered, along with your whole family," Crown Princess Thalia stated. "But in light that you were a war hero in the wars twenty years ago who has contributed to the greatness of Cuora, you will be sentenced to the guillotine and the Scopa family will be erased from the Cuoran nobility. The descendants of the Scopa family will not be able to enter the ranks of nobility again for three generations."
The former ex-marquis Ares protested, but no heard anything from the muffled cries of outrage through his gag. No one spared the disgraced man a glance as he was dragged off.
A similar ruling was handed down to Count Castellan, as well as for the other leaders in the coup. No doubt the aristocratic faction had taken a severe blow. It was hard to say whether they could ever recover again.
Princess Medea of the Colchis nation was one of the last ones to receive the judgment from the Cuoran throne. Bound in chains and cloth gag to prevent her from using magic, she was a sorry sight. The cloth gag was not really needed as someone had slipped a poison in her poison gruel that damaged her vocal cords. No such order had been given from the Cuoran royalty. But one morning, the mute maid, who had been curiously not rounded up like the rest of the Colchis attendants, had silently disappeared. In her room was an empty bottle containing a few drops of a murky liquid. She had been an instrumental part of the Cuoran spy network in relaying information of the aristocratic faction's and Medea's plans.
As Princess Medea was the princess and a citizen from the Colchis nation, it was not up to the Cuoran throne to determine her final punishment. But as Colchis had tried to invade Cuora, Crown Princess Thalia did not hold back in exacting a heavy toll of tributes and land from Colchis as they had lost their gamble in usurping the Cuoran throne. Princess Medea was sent back to Colchis in chains and shame. Colchis could decide what to do with the disgraced princess there.
In return, Inferis and Cythera took their due portion from the tribute exacted from Colchis. There was also the upcoming wedding of Prince Jason and Princess Piper where many neighboring kingdoms were invited to join. Colchis was not one of those kingdoms.
It was late in the evening after the proceedings when Percy could finally rush back home.
"Excuse me, sir," one of his Black Knights said to his commander.
Prince Jason stopped the new knight from saying anything further and waved Percy away. "Not today. Sir Rodney, is that correct?"
"Yes, Your Highness." The new Black Knight was brimming with joyfulness at being noticed by the prince.
"You haven't married yet, or have a lover, I assume?"
The youth blushed. "No, Your Highness."
"Then, I'm sure you'll understand in the future."
Prince Jason patted the young knight on the shoulder. The duke was already too far away to hear what was said, quickly walking at a pace just barely below a run. He had a loving wife to get back to.
Percy found Annabeth leaning on the balcony, holding a wineglass and gazing out at the gardens.
He strode up to her from behind. She wasn't startled as she leaned back into his touch as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Have you been busy?" Annabeth murmured as Percy kissed her temples.
"Very. I thought the day would never end."
"What a shame. Looks like you'll have to go straight to bed and rest," Annabeth teased.
She reached up and caressed the side of Percy's cheeks. He followed her hand, kissing the soft palm and fingers. Percy plucked the wineglass from her fingers and placed it on the balcony, uncaring that it was balancing precariously. He turned the woman in his arms around before ravenously kissing her lips. There was a taste of mulberry wine on her lips and tongue, sweetly drawing him in.
"I agree with the suggestion of going to bed, but who said anything about rest?" Percy grinned and pulled her tighter.