It was a hasty decision and Percy hadn't really thought through how it would work, but he managed to convince the girl to come with him. Not as a prisoner-he would never even consider it-but as a friend.
It had taken quite a bit of convincing before she agreed, but that was to be expected. He'd been part of the team that had attacked and destroyed her home. If the roles had been reversed, Percy was pretty sure he'd have said no and never thought twice. He had a sinking suspicion that she didn't have either a family or a home anymore though, so when he offered her a room and a job in the palace, she'd hesitantly agreed.
As Percy returned to camp with the girl-Annabeth, she'd said her name was-at his side though, he realised just how little he'd thought this through.
"Bring us a spoil of war, have you?"
Some of the troops snickered and taunted her, but Annabeth held her head high and stayed at his side. He took her straight to the centre of the camp where his tent had been pitched and although he knew it would only lead to more taunting, he led her inside. She hesitated just outside, but Percy nodded in reassurance and she ducked inside.
"You'll be safe in here," he promised, poking his head through the flap. "No one will bother you and I'll return shortly, alright?"
Annabeth nodded and took a seat on a pile of blankets. It was cold out and the sun had yet to rise, but she didn't lie down or wrap a blanket around her shoulders.
Percy made sure she was comfortable before backing up out of his tent and turning to face the camp. Some of the troops were staring, but most of them had attempted to redirect their attention. With a pit in his stomach, Percy realised that only half the troops had returned.
"Where are the others?" he asked, turning to the nearest soldier.
"Some are still in the city," he answered. He shifted uncomfortably and added, "Others are in their tents."
"Are they sleeping then?" Percy demanded. "Or are you going to tell me no one took prisoners?"
The soldier didn't answer, but that was enough for Percy. Even with him leading their attack, his troops had still had the guts to take prisoners and hide them away in camp.
"Let them all free," Percy ordered. "I don't want to see a single prisoner by daybreak."
Without waiting to see if his order was heeded, Percy went in search of Jason.
He was sitting just outside of his tent and cleaning his sword when Percy stumbled upon his tent. At the sound of his approach, Jason set down his sword and looked up at him. Rather than smile or crack a joke, however, Jason frowned.
"You took a prisoner," he said.
Percy frowned. He'd only been at their camp for a few minutes. Rumours didn't fly that quickly and Jason certainly made a point of not listening to them either way.
Instead of asking how Jason already knew about her though, Percy said, "Annabeth isn't a prisoner. She came willingly."
"But you did bring her back."
Jason nodded behind Percy and he turned. As he looked up, he realised Jason had a perfect view of his tent. He hadn't heard rumours. He'd seen Percy bring her back with his own eyes.
"She would have been alone," Percy defended. It was a poor excuse given the fact that Annabeth was old enough to marry, but it was the best excuse he had. "I offered her a room in the palace and a job."
"You're already attached to her then," Jason said. On this, Percy didn't argue. "You shouldn't have brought her."
"She's safer in my tent than on the streets."
"The others will see it as permission," Jason told him with a scowl, "to take prisoners whenever they want."
"I'll take care of it," Percy promised. Annabeth had told him the prisoners never left the base camps, but he'd make sure they were never even brought to the camps.
Hoping to turn the conversation away from Annabeth, he asked, "Has Octavian returned?"
Jason's scowl deepened and he nodded towards a nearby tent. The flap was closed and there were no lit lanterns, but Percy could hear muffled sounds coming from inside.
"You might want to wait until he comes out to confront him," Jason warned.
Percy nodded and after telling Jason they'd leave at daybreak, he returned to his tent.
Although there wasn't a crowd gathered outside his tent, he could see his troops staring. There were a few whispering a couple of yards away from his tent, but none were standing close enough for Percy to worry they had gone inside. At the sight of Percy's return, the men turned back to their own tents, slowly disappearing. Percy scowled at each of them until finally, no one was in sight. With a sigh, he ducked into his tent and pulled the flap closed.
"You must hold a lot of power," Annabeth said as soon as he stepped inside. "No one came close enough for me to hear what they said."
"That's good, isn't it?" Maybe she had wanted to listen to whatever his troops had been saying, but Percy was glad they hadn't come too close.
Annabeth shrugged. "Maybe. Or maybe they're just waiting."
"You're safe in here," Percy assured her once again. "As long as you're with me, you'll be safe."
* * * * *
Annabeth stayed tucked away in the soldier's tent until daybreak. She'd asked if he needed to sleep, but he'd promised her he was alright and taken a few blankets outside with him. Against her better judgement, she'd fallen asleep shortly after he stepped outside and woken up to the tent flap being opened.
For a moment, she was terrified that someone else was coming for her. When her eyes finally focused though, it was just the same soldier as before. He looked tired and still half asleep, but she could see the sun rising outside and knew they'd be leaving soon.
After confirming her suspicion, the soldier said, "I don't have anything for you to wear, but you're welcome to use my cloak."
Annabeth nodded and together, they dug through the pile of supplies before finding his cloak. As she pulled it out and wrapped it around her shoulders, her eyes caught on the embroidered crest near the collar.
She had expected to find the symbol of Atlantis on the back of the cloak. The trident had become a familiar sight to her during the war and she knew well enough what it looked like from afar. What she had not expected, however, was the see the crest of the royal family embroidered to the right of the collar.
Her breath caught in her throat and with a curse, Annabeth dropped the cloak in her lap. In front of her, the soldier-the Prince!-frowned.
"Is it dirty?" he asked. He took the cloak from her but all Annabeth could do was stare at him with wide eyes.
The prince brushed off the collar of his cloak and handed it back to her with a lopsided grin, but Annabeth didn't move. It had been the prince who decided to spare her and it had been the prince who offered her a job at the palace. No one none of the other troops had bothered her. They would have crossed their prince.
"Are you alright?" the prince asked. He set down the cloak and gave her a strange look. "If you don't want it, you don't have to take it."
"You're the prince," Annabeth said in a strangled voice. Of all the people for her to encounter, she had not expected the prince to be one of them.
"Oh." The prince scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Yeah, um, I am. I guess I thought you knew that."
There was really no way for her to have known that, but she certainly didn't say so. The last thing she wanted to do was offend him now that she knew who he really was.
"Look, you don't have anything to worry about," he promised. "I'll still get you a job at the palace and you can still stay there. Unless you don't want to."
"No, I—" She hesitated. "I do want to. I'm just a little surprised."
The prince nodded and the tent fell silent for several seconds. The sounds of soldiers cleaning up their camp came from outside, but Annabeth hardly heard it all. She was still staring with wide eyes at the Prince of Atlantis, entirely unsure what to do.
"If you'd prefer," the prince offered, "you can ride back with one of the troops. I have a friend here. He'll keep you safe."
Annabeth immediately shook her head. Prince or not, he was the only one she felt safe with. As long as she was surrounded by Atlantian soldiers, she wanted to know she was safe. Apparently, staying with their prince was the only way that would be happening.