Percy jolted awake, his thoughts scattered and his heart pounding. It was pitch black, the only source of light the moonlight spilling in through his chambers window.
It took Percy a moment to place why he had woken up in the first place, but then he heard it again.
A soft crying.
Knowing it wasn't himself, Percy figured it had to be Annabeth, but why? She seemed tough as nails and why would she anyways?
Percy swung his legs onto the floor, and stood cautiously. He passed over to what he thought had to be Annabeth's bed. Just as he was about to stop, he stubbed his toe. A stream of curses left his mouth before he could stop himself.
Annabeth's bed creaked as she sat up. "Who's there?" She whispered weakly.
Percy froze. Should he answer her or go back to his bed and pretend he didn't hear her crying?
"Percy?" Annabeth whispered.
Sighing, he replied, "Yeah, it's me."
A long pause, then a light flickered on at Annabeth's bedside. Her eyes were red rimmed and her face was streaked with tears. Percy blinked, then sat down on Annabeth's bed.
"Are you alright?" Percy asked sheepishly.
Annabeth still managed to look intimidating whilst sporting a tear streaked face. "No," she said miserably.
He inched closer to her silently, testing his boundaries. She made no move to stop him, so he crawled up beside her, making sure not to hit his head on the headboard.
Annabeth looked up at him, her gray eyes dark. She wiped hastily at her cheeks to stem the tears that were falling. Percy didn't ask what was wrong, he just sat next to her, knowing she would tell him what was wrong if she wanted to.
"I'm sorry for waking you up," Annabeth squeaked. "I was trying to be quiet."
Percy was surprised at how easily her apology came. From his first impression of her he had been pretty sure he would be the one apologizing most of the time. She definitely struck him as stubborn. "No, it's fine. I'm not that tired anyway."
She laughed lightly, but he could tell her heart wasn't in it. "I was just . . . I miss home."
"I understand. It's a lot to ask of you to move from your home to a place where you barely know anyone," Percy admitted.
Annabeth looked genuinely happy that he understood her. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For understanding."
Percy smiled at his future wife. "Well, we're going to have to figure each other out eventually. The rest of our lives together is a long time."
Annabeth grinned. "That it is."
* * *
Percy pulled at his armor. It was still crooked, despite all of his attempts to straighten it. Frowning, he sighed.
"Annabeth?" He asked sheepishly.
"Yes?"
"Do you, um . . . " he blushed, "Can you help me?"
Annabeth laughed. "Not much of a warrior if you can't get your own armor on!"
"Shut up," he muttered, his face as red as a cherry.
Annabeth adjusted his straps and pulled it tighter. Miraculously, it straightened! Her hand brushed his neck as she retracted it. Percy swallowed hard.
A moment of silence before Percy cleared his throat, "Thanks."
She nodded. "Well, uh, you better go."
Percy turned to face Annabeth and stepped backwards. She was standing close to him from tightening his armor. "Can you entertain yourself for a few hours? I have to go to practice and then attend a meeting with the royalty of nearby cities."
Annabeth cleared her throat. "Of course."
Percy shot her a weary grin. "Meet me back here at one? We can get lunch after I'm done."
Annabeth agreed, and Percy gave her a thumbs up. He grasped his sword and put it in his sheath, then rushed out of the room.
He made his way to the arena, where he and a few of his friends would be meeting to practice. "Percy!"
Percy jerked his head up to be met with the figure of Nico, Jason, Thalia, Travis and Connor. "Hey guys! What are you all doing here?"
Thalia grinned and walked up to meet him. "We're here for the meeting later, but we decided to come and visit you now."
A smile blossomed on his face. "Good, because we have a lot to talk about."
Thalia raised an eyebrow. "What did you get yourself into?"
"Myself? I didn't get myself into anything. My parents are the problem."
"Aren't they always?" Thalia sighed, then pulled Percy in for a hug. "I missed you cousin."
"I missed you too Thals. Now to the arena!" Percy shouted, and they all darted down the hill, laughing and stumbling over each other to get there first. "Don't run into a tree again, Pinecone Face!"
Thalia shot Percy daggers as everyone cracked up. "One time! You run into a tree one time, and you never live it down!"
Panting, Percy ran into the arena, bragging about his winning. "You guys are slow! You lack the skills that I have!"
"What skills?" Nico spoke up. "The ability to process optimal stupidity?"
Percy scowled at his other cousin. "Well played, Neeks, well played."
Nico glared at Percy's nickname for him and lumbered over to the weapons cabinet.
Jason sidled up to Percy. "Wanna duel?"
"Wanna lose?" Percy mimicked Jason's voice.
"We'll see about that Jackson."
"Using last names now, are we, Grace? I see how it is," Percy unsheathed his sword, twirling it around threateningly.
Jason did the same, his sneer a bit confident.
"Have you been practicing?" Percy asked.
Jason simply nodded, before lunging at Percy.
Percy rolled away, jumping back up swiftly, and blew a piece of his unruly hair out of his eyes. Jason snarled and lunged again. Percy swung his sword up. Metal clanged on metal. Percy pushed on his sword, when he was sure he had a firm grip, he put his foot up, placed it on Jason's chest plate, and pushed. Jason went sprawling backwards onto the ground. Jason scrambled to get back up, but Percy closed in, disarming him in a simple maneuver he had learned years back.
Jason scowled again. Percy reached a hand out to help him up, but Jason batted him away. Percy grinned. "Didn't even break a sweat, Sparky. You didn't practice enough!"
Travis and Connor cackled. Travis smiled mischievously. "Jason! Percy is the best swordsman in all of Greece!"
Connor continued the thought. "You didn't have a chance!"
Percy frowned. "I'm not the best swordsman. Not by far."
Thalia frowned. "Then who is? Luke?"
Percy flinched at the name. Luke had been his instructor for many years, but he had recently betrayed the people of Greece and moved to Roma to become a gladiator. It sickened Percy every time he thought about it. He suddenly felt nauseous.
Thalia's eyes softened. "I'm sorry. It's just I don't like it when you put yourself down. You are so humble. It's so annoying!"
Percy smiled grimly. "That's what I do. Annoy you, I mean."
Thalia rolled her eyes. "Don't I know it."
For being a Grecian princess, Thalia sure did not act like one. But he supposed that was a good thing. He could think of one other princess he knew that didn't act like one either.
Thalia was the Heir Apparent* of Olympia. She was to become Queen when her father died, as where Percy was being crowned on his twenty-first birthday, which was less than a year away. The wedding being even closer.
Unfortunately for Jason, him being Thalia's brother, he would not become King unless his father and sister were to perish. Thalia's title of Heir Apparent sealed her fate before Jason was even born. She was to become Queen and Jason would live the rest of his life as a Prince. That is, unless he married into another royal family.
Nico, on the other hand, Percy, Jason and Thalia's cousin was of no royal blood, except his cousins. He was an ambassador of Delphi, ruled by Apollo. Travis was the Heir Apparent of Elis, meaning Connor was much like Jason. Percy sometimes forgot that he was in company of so many princes and princesses. It was mind boggling. None of them acted as they were expected to, which Percy appreciated. That meant he wasn't the only immature one.
"Alright, Kelp Head." Thalia shielded her eyes from the sun. "We can fit one more duel in before the meeting. Shall we?"
An evil grin spread across Percy's face. "Yes, we shall."
Thalia activated her shield, Aegis. Percy recoiled slightly at the sight of it. Medusa's head was on it, jeering at him. He would hate for that to be the last thing he saw. Thalia then unclipped her spear from her back, swinging it around.
Percy gripped his sword, ready to swing. Thalia swung her spear at him, nearly slicing his head off. He ducked and rolled back to his feet. Their weapons connected and it felt like electricity sizzled through his veins from the impact. Thalia grinned, but it looked strained. Percy took his chance at her distraction. He pulled his sword back and swung his leg beneath Thalia's legs. She fell, and weakly swung her spear up at Percy. Percy parried and knocked her spear away, disarming her.
Thalia frowned. "Dang it. I trained too."
Percy helped her up, patting her shoulder. "It'll happen one day Thals."
"Yeah, whatever," she grumbled, dusting herself off. "I suppose we should be going. Or our parents are going to murder us."
"Yeah, I guess so." Percy paused, a grin working its way onto his lips. "I have defeated the Graces! Jason and Thalia! I am the conquerer of the Graces!"
Thalia narrowed her eyes at him. "I let you win. Wouldn't want you to bruise your masculinity."
"Uh huh. Sure, you did. Oh, look! There's your integrity back there! You wanna go pick it up?" Percy cackled.
Travis and Connor laughed with him. Nico even cracked a grin. Percy sidled up to Nico, smiling deviously. "How are ya, Neeks? Haven't seen you in a few moon cycles."
Nico raised an eyebrow at him. "Neeks? Really? This again?"
"Yes, indeed. Would you prefer Death Breath, more?" Percy asked.
Nico threw Percy a glare. "Shut up."
"You only say that because you know I'm right," Percy interjected, wiping sweat from his brow. The sun was almost at its highest point. It was sweltering outside, especially with his extra armor on. "I can't believe we're going to a meeting with the royal families looking like this. My mitéra* is going to kill me."
Jason nodded solemnly. "The good thing about not being the Heir Apparent is that my patéras* rarely cares about my appearance."
Nico and Connor agreed.
Travis, Thalia and Percy sighed. "The downs of being royalty," Travis declared.
"There sure is plenty." It suddenly occurred to Percy that he hadn't told his friends about his engagement. "Hey, guys."
All eyes turned to him. "What Kelp Head?" Nico asked.
"Well, um, I sorta forgot to tell you about something." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"Spit it out!" Thalia snapped.
Percy wet his lips. "I'm sort of . . . engaged?"
His voice went up several octaves when he said that and it came out more like a question. All of his friends stopped walking. Their eyes all slid over to him, pinning him there.
"Engaged?" They all yelled in unison.
Percy flinched. He nodded like he was being scolded by his mitéra.
"To who?" Jason asked.
Percy pressed his lips into a thin line. "The princess of Athens."
Travis and Connor's eyes bulged. "I've heard she is terrible!"
Thalia looked confused. "Terrible? What do you mean?"
Travis gave Thalia a look like she was insane. "She's supposed to be a raving b—"
Percy interrupted. "Okay. Let's calm down Travis. She's not that bad. She's a little hostile but I think she's warming up to me."
Nico wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Warming up—"
Percy stopped him before he could go on. "No, no, no! Not like that!"
Nico smirked darkly.
"Let's just get to the conference room before our goneís* kill us." Percy grumbled.
They all laughed and followed him up the hill that they had run down merely an hour before. "So," Jason started, "how did you find yourself engaged to the princess of Athens?"
"Talk to my goneís about that. It's an alliance thing." Percy muttered, panting slightly from their trek up the hill.
Thalia nodded thoughtfully. "My patéras wants to do the same for me. Marry me off, I mean, to forge an alliance. He hasn't decided who yet." She wrinkled her nose. "If it was my choice, I would be all, to Hades with boys! Their idiots anyways!"
All of them glared at Thalia. "Excuse us?"
"What?" Thalia asked, hiding a laugh.
"We're boys. Are we idiots?" Connor asked, touching his chest, as if hurt.
"Especially you all," Thalia said, rolling her eyes.
Percy did a double take. "What rude words, cousin. You hurt me so."
Percy nudged her with his shoulder. She stumbled. Percy raised his eyebrow. Thalia nudged him back, but he didn't budge. She glowered at him. Percy laughed as they approached the conference room.
Opening the door, something in the air seemed to shift. All of them quieted, and straightened up, an air of superiority overcoming them all. Percy bit his lip as they all walked into the conference room. The eyes of their patéras and mitéras pierced Percy and his friends.
Apollo cleared his throat. "Sit, children."
None of them protested. They sat next to their parents, their posture impeccable. Poseidon set his cool gaze on Percy, his eyes flaming. And Percy knew he would be hearing about their absence later.
"Shall we begin?" Zeus asked.
"Yes, let's," Poseidon said, "since our children have finally decided to grace us with their presence."
Percy ignored the comment, taking the poke at him in stride. He leveled his gaze at Zeus, ready for him to continue.
Zeus nodded, sitting up straighter in his seat. "Well, first, I'm sure we all want to congratulate Perseus, for his engagement. Shall we be expecting a Perseus Junior, anytime soon?"
Percy's face burned. Even his ears reddened. He cleared his throat. "I don't . . . I don't think we are quite there yet."
Zeus laughed, his smile hidden by his salt and pepper beard. Others joined in too, making sport of his embarrassment. "Well, congrats all the same."
"Thank you."
Zeus offered a grin, and Percy tried to hide his disgust. He wasn't a big fan of Zeus. Especially not his wife. Insufferable, he tells you. Insufferable.
"Okay, secondly, we need to talk about Roma. They are waging war on many countries, conquering many. We need to stay as far away from that as possible unless absolutely necessary." Zeus continued. "We need to prepare for the worst."
He turned to Ares, King of Sparta. "Are you preparing soldiers?"
Ares rumbled what sounded like a 'yes.'
Zeus nodded thoughtfully. "Make sure to report to each other of known spies. Do not share any knowledge or private credentials except to your most trusted advisors. Does anybody have any questions thus far?"
Percy raised his hand.
"Yes, Perseus?"
Percy took a deep, rattling breath. He hated speaking in front of the whole council. "Well, I was wondering if the spies that set off to Sicily have returned yet? They're reports should affect our—your decisions and what precautions we should take to secure our country."
Zeus gave Percy a tight lipped smile. He looked, almost, impressed. "Good question boy. I can tell you that they returned last night. That was partially why I called this meeting. While we sent twenty-four scouts out to Sicily . . . Only three returned. The rest, they said, were decapitated in gladiator fights as punishment. I'm . . . Im afraid that Bianca di Angelo was among them."
All eyes turned to Nico, who sat frozen in a chair next to Apollo. "W-what?" His voice cracked.
"I'm deeply sorry, Mr. di Angelo. The people of Olympia send their greatest condolences. We will be giving you five hundred drachmas to get by until farther notice."
Nico hardly seemed to hear Zeus talking. He stood abruptly, sending his chair onto the ground. He stalked out of the room.
Percy, Thalia, Jason, Travis and Connor sent pleading looks at their parents. They nodded dismissively.
The five of them stood, expressed their goodbyes to everyone and practically sprinted from the room.
When they exited the building, Nico was already gone.
* * *
Percy lumbered into his room, exhausted. Annabeth was already seated on her bed, reading a book.
She looked up. "You're back early."
Percy nodded. "Yeah, we were . . . Uh, dismissed early."
"I see."
"Are you still up for lunch in the pavilion?" Percy asked, slinging his armor and sword into his closet. It teetered haphazardly on its perch before steadying.
Percy emerged from his closet as Annabeth said, "Why not? I've got nothing better to do."
Percy narrowed his eyes at her. "That sounded like an insult."
Annabeth shut her book and stood. "I don't know Percy. Was it?"
Percy shook his head at her, and sweat flew everywhere. He and the other four had practically searched every inch of the palace to try and find Nico. But to no avail. They ended up giving up when Connor collaspsed from physical exertion/overheating. Percy didn't blame him.
Annabeth jumped backwards. "Ew! That is so disgusting! Eck! Boys are repulsive!"
Percy simply laughed. He quickly changed his clothes before following Annabeth out of the door. They made their way to the pavilion, a comfortable silence following them the whole way.
Percy thought about Nico. His sister had just died. And he had learned about it in a council meeting with a bunch of idiots (Don't tell them he said that).
Percy just wished that he could lift the burden that was now laying on his friend and cousin's shoulders. Nico had probably felt never more alone.
Percy wished he could kill those Romans. They would feel the wrath of Crete.
They would feel the wrath of Greece.
* * *
Heir Apparent: an heir whose claim cannot be set aside by the birth of another heir.
Mitéra: mother
Patéras: father
Goneís: parents