A/N: Psst! I dropped a chapter last Thursday. Go back if you haven't read it!
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"We...we were looking for the queen," Sir Nico said.
The knight was looking down at the floor, possibly hoping that the floor could swallow him up. Slightly annoyed, Percy vowed that next time he would have to dismiss all people from coming to this corner of the library in the future. Sir Nico should take a leaf from Sir Grover and pretend to be selectively deaf and blind at the right times.
Privately, Sir Nico grimaced on the inside, feeling his promotion slip further and further away by the second. Behind him, the maids tried to make themselves as small as possible behind the night.
"She'll come in a bit." Percy answered for the queen, seeing that she was determined to be a statue.
Percy sighed on the inside as Sir Nico and the maids staggered off, their hearts having taken quite a huge blow. Perhaps it was for the best that they were interrupted. Or else he might have lost control and given in to the queen's soft skin and inviting fragrance. If that had happened...well, he didn't have any access to contraception potions at the moment. As much as Percy meant it when he wanted an heir from the queen, he also knew that an heir would just put a target on the queen's back at this moment.
Annabeth still had her head buried into the crook of his neck, too embarrassed to face him. So cute, Percy thought.
"You'll have to come out of there one day or another." He persuaded.
"No," came her small voice. "How am I ever going to face them again?"
Percy laughed. "They should be happy that the king and queen are getting along so well."
If anything, this would just spread more rumors around the palaces that the king and the queen were doing quite well. People would be fools to intrude on this couple during their honeymoon time.
"I suppose if you don't want to come out, then that's fine by me. I'll just have to carry you around like this all around the palaces."
That got her attention. The queen immediately pushed herself away and glared at Percy. He was drawn to her lips again, all swollen and bruised from their earlier passion.
"Hmmph!"
The queen quickly ran off, leaving Percy alone on the chaise. He couldn't blame her. It was a natural reaction after being caught in such a scene.
Well, it was best he didn't move for the moment. The feel of Annabeth's body against his had caused quite a reaction.
His eyes fell down to the chaise they had been on. This was one of his favorite spots in the library, not to read, but to take naps and escape from his tutors when he was younger. But perhaps he should install chaises in his and her bedrooms, their studies, and maybe even one in the gazebo....
Ah. It seemed like once he had a taste of her, it wasn't enough.
After his body had calmed down, Percy was informed by Sir Grover that he had a private letter. He opened the letter and raised an eyebrow. The king of Barinia had selected his heir, and in return, the Barinian king had made contact with the person Percy had requested him to find.
The famed dark wizard lord was willing to meet with Percy. In fact, the wizard lord was at the Eldoris capital tonight.
That was fast, Percy mused. He had thought that the wizard lord Christopher would be reluctant to meet with the king. After all, in Percy's past life, the wizard lord had given Percy a tough time after the mage had fallen in love with Princess Alana. But in this timeline, Lord Christopher should not have met with Alana yet.
"Your Majesty, the queen says she would like to have dinner alone tonight," Sir Nico reported. He still couldn't quite look Percy in the eye.
For the past several weeks, Percy tried to accompany the queen at dinner as much as possible. It was the first time that the queen had requested to be alone. Percy figured that she was still shy and embarrassed about what happened that afternoon, though he couldn't help but swallow his disappointment.
"Understood," Percy said.
Sir Nico peeked at him and was relieved that the king didn't seem angry. But Sir Nico felt a twinge of confusion in him. Did the king not have any feelings for the queen? Shouldn't the king show at least any emotion like he had earlier? Perhaps the king had hidden his true feelings and was just an actor. Sir Nico felt a sense of sorrow for the queen who loved the king.
Percy dismissed the knights and called for Sir Grover to strengthen security for the night. Perhaps it would be better that the queen chose not to gave dinner with him as he was going to sneak out of the castle and meet the wizard lord at one the capital's inns.
At least, that was the plan. However, when he was changing into casual commoner clothing, he was interrupted by the queen. Percy was just pulling his shirt on when the queen entered abruptly into his bedroom.
Percy froze. The queen froze. Then her face turned a palette of pinks and reds.
"I'm sorry!" She sputtered. The queen was about to turn away when she took notice of Percy's clothing. Her grey eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Are you about to sneak out again?"
Again? Ah, right. He had to sneak out of the castle during the time to rescue her. Apparently, the queen still remembered this.
Percy studied the queen, thinking of what to tell her. She should be healthy enough for a stroll, and it would be better to take her along rather than leave her alone in the castle, even for just one night. Besides, one of the reasons why he had requested to meet Lord Christopher was not just to attract him to Eldoris' side before Alana could get her claws in him, but because Percy was still curious about who truly was Annabeth. Even if she wasn't Annabeth, then Percy felt that he would still be able to accept it.
"Do you want to come?" Percy offered.
The queen looked astounded, probably expecting an excuse instead of Percy's answer. "Could I? Where are you going?"
"Outside to the capital."
Percy rummaged through his dresser and threw clothing at Annabeth. "If you want to come, then get dressed in five minutes."
A few minutes later, the queen was attired in shirt and trousers, with a hooded cloak to cover as much of her as possible. Meanwhile, he had Grover take care of the castle in their absence.
Percy looked her over and nodded his approval. "Let's go."
Aside from the underground corridors that connected Gardenia Palaces to the other palaces, there were a few that led from Gardenia Palace to the outside. A wiser and less trusting king than Percy would have Annabeth wear a blindfold or not simply bring her outside the palaces, but Percy didn't mind letting the queen know of the secret tunnels. If he couldn't trust his queen, who else could he trust? Besides, this knowledge might be useful to the queen one day.
Percy didn't catch how the queen's eyes flickered when he told her that only the royal family knew of these secret tunnels. To tell her of these tunnels meant he had already considered her part of his family.
The queen didn't ask too many questions about the narrow hallways until they came to a section that was particularly dusty. Percy noticed that she wasn't following behind when her footsteps paused.
"What's wrong?"
The queen stood frozen, her eyes panicked as she stared at something in the dark corners. Percy followed her eyes and caught sight of a few spiderwebs. A spider sat there, looming in the middle of one. Because of the angle of his torch, the spider's shadow made it seem much larger than it really was.
"It's okay, it's just a spider." Percy turned back to the queen, but she shook her head mutely.
Ah, she was scared of spiders, Percy realized. Wasn't there something in his reports that said the elder Kiran princess had been frequently locked into dark and musty rooms? Perhaps the queen had gotten her phobia of spiders there.
With a few swift steps, Percy was by her side and pulled the hood over her head.
"It's alright, don't look at the spiders. Just look at me or close your eyes."
He reached for her hand and gently beckoned her to follow him. Her eyes slid onto his and she gave a small nod. Percy didn't like seeing the fear or panic in her eyes. They reminded him too much of the time when she had passed away. His steps quickened as they rushed out of the passageway. It was regrettable, but he couldn't have the tunnels be cleaned since they were supposed to be secret and only known to the royal family.
Finally, the musty hallways emerged into the crisp and cool night air. Percy moved aside a cleverly designed wall of woven brambles that concealed the entry to the secret hallway. They were now in the woods that separated the Eldoris palaces and the capital.
"Are you feeling alright?" Percy asked.
The queen was a little pale but she didn't seem exhausted by the long walk through the narrow and dusty passageways.
She sneezed and nodded. "I'm okay now, thank you."
There was dust on her nose and cheeks.
"Oh, hold on. You've got a little dust."
Percy reached for the handkerchief he always carried around. He wasn't sure of it due to the dim torch light but perhaps the queen blushed slightly as he cleaned her face gently. The corners of his lips quirked up as he slowed his motions.
"Okay, let's go."
Percy blew out the torchlight just in case someone saw them and was wondering why a couple would be out in the woods at this time. Somehow his hand went back to naturally clasping hers, as if not wanting her to be lost because the only light was moonlight. The queen looked down at their intertwined hands but didn't say anything.
Half an hour later, they emerged into the capital. The queen was twisting her neck here and there, trying to get a glimpse of everything at once. There was the hustle and bustle of merchants trying to sell their wares of food, clothing, and jewelry. Children ran happily alongside their parents along the streets of stores.
"The Eldoris capital seems rich," the queen noted. "Everyone seems happy."
"I'm glad you think so."
Percy smiled. If there was one thing he could be proud of was that he tried to do his best for his people. His mother had been a scholar and wished that every child had the opportunity to read and write. In Percy's reign, he followed his mother's wishes to try to have every child go to school. The budget for that came from taxes, though not every aristocrat was in favor of this plan of widespread education, preferring that the commoners' gold be placed into the nobility's coffers.
Regardless of the nobility's opposition, allowing everyone to have the opportunity for education had helped Eldoris create a culture of fine arts, literature, and innovation. Poverty, criminal activity, and sickness levels were lower compared to that of other countries.
Percy surmised that the queen had probably never visited the Kiran capital, or gone outside of the limited life in the palaces that she knew. Her grey eyes were bright in curiosity as she observed the capital.
"We'll come out and visit more next time," Percy promised.
He bought some grilled meat skewers from a hawker as he herded them both to the planned meeting place. Neither of them had eaten dinner.
"So who are you planning to meet?" The queen asked.
"A man who might help us. He's a citizen of Barinia and an excellent user of dark and shadow magic, Lord Christopher."
The queen choked on her skewer, so Percy helped pat her back. Unbeknownst to Percy, the queen had choked because she hadn't thought that she would be meeting the third male lead of Clarisse's story so soon.
"Is he going to help fight against Alana?" The queen asked.
Frankly, she had been so busy dealing with her queen duties and dealing with the dowager queen lately that she had forgotten all about preventing Alana's wicked schemes. The queen supposed that getting the crown prince of Tynan onto their side may not be enough.
Percy glanced at the queen. This was one of those moments where he felt he was in a state of cognitive dissonance whenever the queen displayed knowledge of events or skills that she shouldn't have known about. The queen shouldn't have known of Alana's future ties with the dark wizard lord.
"Or is he supposed to help deal with the dowager queen?" The queen quickly followed up.
Percy didn't answer right away because they had arrived at the tavern. "We're here."
The tavern was full of people, rowdy and raucous. Percy ignored them all and headed towards the counter.
"Three ales with a plate of salted peanuts please," Percy said to the bartender.
Silver flashed on the counter before the coins disappeared into the bartender's pocket.
"Room on the third floor, all the way to the end of the hallway on the left." The bartender said in a low voice barely audible above the hustle of the tavern.
"Thanks," Percy returned. "Come on, love."
The queen's eyebrows lifted just slightly. Percy just grinned and brought the queen upstairs. If anyone saw the two, they would think that they had just rented a room to spend the night.
The room that the bartender gave was not empty. A tall man leaned against the windowsill on the other side of the room, looking up as they entered.
The last time Percy had seen this face was on the battlefield, so his body couldn't help but tense up just as it had when he had met Prince Jason in this second life. Lord Christopher was an exceptional mage, casting many deep wounds in Percy. It was also Lord Christopher's magic that had caused Grover to die in Percy's arms. Even now, Percy felt a surge of anger rise in him at the sight of the dark wizard. But Percy strove to fight the fury down.
That was in the past and this was now. In this lifetime, Percy and the dark wizard had only met for the first time. Lord Christopher had done nothing wrong to Eldoris yet, and Percy was trying the diplomatic approach first.
"Lord Christopher of Barinia," Percy greeted.
The dark wizard lord nodded back. "Your Majesty. Ah, this would be..." Lord Christopher's eyes trailed onto the queen.
Percy wanted to block the wizard's curious gaze from seeing the queen.
"...the queen," Lord Christopher finished. "An honor to meet you both."
"Likewise," the queen returned. Percy felt a twinge of annoyance as her grey eyes were equally observing the wizard lord.
"Please sit." The wizard lord gestured to the table and chairs. He poured some water from a jug. "I would offer you some ale, but I'm afraid their ale is quite watery for my taste. I'll have to apologize in advance. I'm a bit more partial to Barinian ale than Eldoris ale. Do forgive me."
"No harm meant. We're more partial to wine in Eldoris, anyways," Percy returned.
Lord Christopher smiled. "Then, shall we get straight down to business? The offer you're giving me is quite tempting."
Barinia was a much smaller country than Eldoris and didn't have the resources the wizard lord sought. In the past, Princess Alana had offered the wizard lord access to some crystal mines the wizard lord needed for research in exchange for his help in conquering Eldoris. Then, the wizard lord fell in love with Princess Alana with her studious and gentle nature in helping him explore the crystal caves. This time, Percy would offer the wizard access to a blue crystal mine in Eldoris first before the wizard lord was snatched up by Kiran.
"Would you like to accept?" Percy asked.
"With such delightful benefits, there should be no reason for me to decline, Your Majesty. But as for some of the other answers you seek, I am not sure if I may be of much help." The wizard answered.
"What do you mean?"
Lord Christopher's glanced at the queen.
A small part of the deal Percy had offered in exchange for the crystal mine was to ask whether the dark wizard lord could sense who the queen truly was. For weeks, Percy had wondered who Annabeth really was. There were little inconsistencies here and there. Sometimes his suspicions were allayed such as when Princess Alana recognized Annabeth as her half-sister, but other times his suspicion only heightened.
So Percy had called for help. Dark magic dealt with the shadows and spirits and could manipulate other people like unconscious puppets. Light magic was similar in manipulation but still left the user conscious. Perhaps the wizard lord could tell who the person beside him was. And even if she wasn't the real Annabeth...he didn't think he would do anything. He was most worried about what if the soul inside her disappeared, and she returned to the shell of a human that she was the first time he ever met her.
"Shall we find out now, Your Majesty?"
Lord Christopher moved so quickly that Percy scarcely had time to react. Wisps of dark magic like smoke flew from the wizard lord's outstretched hand and into the queen. The queen's eyes widened before she fainted and slumped onto the table.
"Annabeth!" Percy yelled.
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A/N: Oh ho ho, was I evil in the last chapter? I guess I shall be more evil this chapter to celebrate Halloween! *cackles
Hmm, brainwashed male lead like Luke? Turned on the good side male lead like Jason? Hmmmm...
Did you all survive from the last couple cliffhangers? Better work those arm muscles to keep hanging on the cliff and get some gains! Just don't hate me too much. *puppy dog eyes
As always, see you next week!