A/N: I own nothing but plot. Enjoy!
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"Your Majesty, the Kiran knights that were sent back were recaptured." A shadow guard informed Percy.
Percy nodded. It was best to ensure that no one knew that it was he who had rescued the Kiran princess. The Kiran princess had exposed who he was in front of the assassins and her escorts. Unfortunately, he didn't trust her escorts and certainly wouldn't let them come into Eldoris. He had only let the Kiran knights go in front of the princess for fear that he would scare her more if he took them all prisoner. Then, she might truly feel alone. Then again, the princess didn't look like she cared much about what happened to the failures that were her escorts and nanny.
"Good, keep them separate from the other prisoners when you extricate confessions from them. Ah, do take care that they're able to use their voices. As for the rest of their limbs...you can figure it out." Percy ordered.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Eldoris had many forms of torture able to elicit many information from spies and traitors. Percy didn't care which ones the shadow guards chose, just as long as what he needed to know was done.
Hearing that the princess' bath was over and that she was getting dressed, Percy headed back up to her room. Who knew that the inn owners had other plans?
His face automatically stiffened as the young woman curtsied in front of him. He recalled that the inn owner had introduced this woman as his daughter, but Percy was too concerned about the princess' health to pay attention to the inn owner's daughter's name.
"Is there a problem, miss?" He asked.
The young woman stiffened at the chilly tone in the young man's voice but plucked up her courage. She had taken a look at the stable where the man and his servant's horses were kept for the time being. Just seeing the quality of the horses and their livery let her know that if the young man's horse was being treated finer than the average commoner lived, how would his mistress be treated? Thoughts of her climbing onto the bed like that had entered both her and her parent's mind. Though she had no idea who this man was, she was sure that he was likely a wealthy merchant or even a low ranking noble.
"No, sir. I wanted to ask whether there was anything I could do for you?"
The young woman bowed her head, her eyelashes fluttering down. On the surface she seemed demure, just a commoner woman. But her hair was neatly brushed and braided, exposing the soft skin behind the nape of her neck. She had a delicate and innocent look, opposite to what the woman was doing right now, pressing her body forward against his arm.
Percy's mood worsened which made some of his swordsmanship aura leak out. The young woman instinctively shivered and froze. A knight's aura could be severely imposing, especially on those who did not have auras themselves.
In his time growing up in the palace, what tricks hadn't Percy seen? The Dowager Queen had dealt with many women who had thoughts in their head of trying to climb into King Poseidon's bed. As a result, Percy was no stranger to those who applied the same tricks with little variation to him. Ironically, when the dowager queen herself began sending women to him, he used what he learned from his stepmother to avoid all those traps.
His hand itched for his sword.
The door to Princess Annabeth's room opened and the princess stepped out, taking in the scene before her. But her expression hardly changed as she assessed the situation with a deft eye. Thankfully, she didn't seem angry as she noted Percy's frown.
Percy smoothly shook his hand off and went past the inn owner's daughter, taking a look all over the princess. Now that she was cleaned up, Percy could tell she was feeling a lot better, though on her face were still those ugly bruises. He made a note to have someone with makeup cover those bruises before the princess entered the palace lest someone thought he was the one who had been abusing her.
As for the real perpetrator of those bruises, Percy felt letting the shadow guards take care of that one. The princess was now one of his people, and he would protect her as so.
"How are your wounds?" Percy gently asked.
"Much better, though it will take some time to fully heal. Are we going to stay the night?"
He shook his head. After knowing what the inn owners had planned, he would be foolish to stay the night. What if this caused a rift between his and the princess' relationship before they were even married?
"But good sir, you paid for two nights." The young inn woman pleaded behind them, her brown eyes earnest and inviting. "If there is anything amiss, I could help make amends."
Percy didn't spare another glance at the woman, only looking at the princess. Was this woman an idiot for not having eyes?
"It's better to rest without too much annoying disturbance," he explained to the princess. "This place is dirty with far too many insects buzzing about."
The princess looked at the woman beside them, seeing her in humiliation as the king had called her an "insect." To be honest, the princess didn't care if the king took another lover, particularly as she barely knew the man and wasn't the type to fall in love with good looks on sight. Besides, the king was described as a tyrant in Clarisse's story.
But she was observant and noticed that the mood in the situation was not quite correct. The king was severely displeased about this woman trying to seduce him, judging by a cold aura around him. She deduced that this was his normal attitude towards people who did not know their place. Besides, the story had stated that the king was very much in love with Princess Alana. The courtesy he was extending her must only be because she was Alana's sister.
"Very well," the princess said, clearly not caring whether they were staying or not.
The inn woman's face reddened as the pair brushed by her without so much as another word or glance. She had thought that when the man had brought this injured woman, he had not cared much about his current wife. That wounded woman had limp hair and rough skin, hardly a beauty. But just now when the woman had exited the room, the inn woman had seen that the woman had been wearing plainly-decorated but fine silks.
Washed up and her hair tied back, the noblewoman was skinny but pretty with an aura of grace and confidence that could only be gained when born into wealth and nobility from a young age. There was something strikingly attractive about her. Foolishly, the inn owner's daughter had thought she had a chance with her own pretty face but plain mannerisms.
Out of the inn, Percy helped Princess Annabeth onto his horse. Seeing how she had fled on horseback earlier, he knew that her riding posture indicated that she was not a well-versed equestrian.
"But sir, what should we do with the extra money you paid?" The inn owner came out, wringing his hands in worry.
One night in his best room was merely ten copper coins, yet the king had paid with ten silver coins. He had also heard from his daughter that the nobleman did not want her.
"Keep it for the...courtesy...you have shown my bride and I."
Though the king's words were polite, his cold tone indicated anything but. The inn owner only bowed deeper and shivered on the inside.
Percy scoffed. If it wasn't for the princess being there, the inn owner and his family would have been flogged for their impertinence before being thrown into jail. The woman who had dared to touch him would have had her hands cut off.
In a few days, the inn would be closed down by a royal ordinance citing an environment infested with insects and other indicators of filth.
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Though Annabeth had rested and eaten, her body was still quite tired. She wasn't used to not having this much stamina. In addition, horseback riding was tiring and she found her thighs sore after chafing as the horse galloped.
"Just a little longer," the king promised, noticing her fatigue. "I'll have your wounds dressed again. There should be a carriage prepared as well."
Annabeth nodded, too tired to reply.
"Sleep. I'll make sure nothing happens," came the soothing words. "I promise."
Annabeth didn't trust the king fully, but what else could she do? If she tried to escape, where could she go? How could she get back to the modern world? At the very least, the king had never shown any signs of threatening her. And so, Annabeth leaned her back against the king's chest and closed her eyes.
When Annabeth woke up again, the king was gone and she was in a fancier room unlike that of the inn's. Instead, several matrons helped her brush her hair and put on new attire that was much more luxurious. She could tell that these matrons had been specially trained, unlike the rough inn woman who had helped her dress before.
Some makeup was applied to her face to cover her bruises. Annabeth had to admit their makeup skills were much better than hers, adjusting not to cover any flaws but to highlight her grey eyes and pink lips.
Now the face in the mirror was more familiar to her. If Annabeth had to think of a princess, this image in the mirror would be what she thought of, except for her grey eyes instead of blue.
The door opened again and this time a bright teenager of about sixteen or seventeen entered.
"My name is Lucy, and I will be your personal maid. I have been instructed to attend to your every need, Your Highness."
Annabeth smiled back at Lucy's dimpled smile. "Then I shall be in your care."
While the matrons continued to fuss over Annabeth's appearance, adding diamond earrings and braiding pearls into her hair, Lucy introduced Annabeth to her schedule and to Eldorisian royal protocols. She was currently in the royal capital and would be formally received by King Perseus into the royal palace.
In three weeks, the wedding and crowning ceremony were to be held at the same time. Lucy said that the three weeks would be used to increase preparations for the grandest wedding, but Annabeth had a feeling that the three weeks was meant to give her some time to recover.
Shit, Annabeth thought. Now there really was no chance of escape. That route was thrown out the window. Because of the attack, the king had placed numerous knights and maids around her for her protection. Lucy never left Annabeth's side for a moment.
To Annabeth, this was half stifling and half reassuring that no one could harm her. She resigned herself to being transformed from a modern New Yorker to suddenly being planted in the Queen's seat. Some Cinderella story, she thought, if Cinderella also had to deal with the stepfamily trying to kill her at every turn.
Lucy then briefed her on the familial relationship of the Eldorisian King. He had been the eldest son of King Poseidon who inherited the powers of water manipulation at the age of twenty, designating him the crown prince back then. King Perseus had a younger half-brother, Prince Triton, four years younger who was weak in health and born from the now Dowager Queen.
Annabeth recalled from her reading of the manuscript that this dowager queen had been instrumental in the final death of King Perseus. Apparently, the former queen had been angry that her own child did not inherit the throne and was constantly trying to control King Perseus.
FML, Annabeth thought again, almost cursing out loud. That probably meant the dowager queen may have been involved in the eldest Kiran princess' death, or at the very least would be against Annabeth. There had been a lot of political schemes going on behind the scenes. She would have to guard herself against the inner enemies of Eldoris as well as those from Kiran, it now seemed.
Soon, Annabeth was bundled onto an extremely fancy carriage bedazzled with flowers and jewels, yet tastefully arranged. The carriage went through the royal capital with a procession of a hundred royal knights on horses. Annabeth opened the silk curtains of the carriage and saw hordes of Eldorisians in awe at the parade. Seeing their future queen, many people cheered and threw flowers.
Annabeth felt a little sad that the original soul had never gotten to see this. Not many people had been happy to see her alive.
Well, if she was meant to be queen, then she would make it harder for the Eldorisian king to throw her away if he ever deemed her useless. Annabeth reached out the window and caught a pansy before smiling and waving back. The crowd seemed to love this, cheering even harder.
At last, the carriage arrived at the steps of the royal palace. Lucy had told her that the royal palace was actually a collection of several buildings together. The main building where the king lived and held court and banquets was known as the Gardenia Palace. Looking through the window, Annabeth was impressed with the exterior design of the Gardenia Palace.
Imposing beautiful white marble columns with a balcony overlooking the top of the grand front door gilded with gold. Annabeth counted four floors full of shiny glass windows in the sky blue walls. Gardenia Palace reminded her a little of Catherine Palace in Russia that Annabeth once had the fortune to tour on a family vacation.
Then Annabeth's appreciation of the palace was interrupted by a hand waiting outside the carriage.
"I greet you, Princess Annabeth, as King Perseus Jackson. Welcome to Eldoris."
Lucy had already informed her that she was to pretend that this was her first meeting with the king for some unknown reasons. Her every reaction would be watched by many eyes, so Annabeth was to be extremely careful. Annabeth surmised that since she was supposed to die and yet survived because the king had helped her, the king probably did this in secret and did not want anyone to know of the attack lest it was blamed on Eldoris.
Annabeth threw on a gentle smile as though she had been waiting for this moment her whole life.
"I greet you, Your Majesty."
"I would like to sincerely invite you to Eldoris and apologize for not being able to personally pick you up." The king said so naturally.
The people around him were listening, clearly believing the king's falsehoods. Had not Annabeth known the truth, she would have believed him just as easily.
"That is quite all right, and no fault of yours. I am glad that Your Majesty has recovered, and I pray for your good health."
Grey eyes met green, each one's smile masked hidden intentions and secrets.