Annabeth woke with a pounding in her head. A consistent rhythm hammering away at her skull, which if continued, would surely drive her mad. She groaned and blindly brought a hand to the side of her head, faintly aware of some cloth material sliding off her arm. It was this detail that made her stop, frown, and forcibly pry open her eyes, finally becoming semi-aware of her surroundings.
The object Annabeth lay upon was soft- obviously a bed of sorts judging by the thin blanket draped across her body. She was positioned on the floor at the back of a silver tent, the opening sealed shut by what appeared to be threaded rope. Yet other than a discarded bucket and herself, she couldn't discern any other item in her proximity, therefore, giving away no clues as to just where she was.
Annabeth winced as she clumsily pulled herself into a sitting position. But a sudden stab of pain ran through her body as she pressed weight onto her right arm, making her bite back a curse.
Annabeth looked down at where the pain came from, spying bandages wrapped around a wound.
An arrows whistle cut through the air.
The horrific feeling of metal cutting skin and lodging there.
A sickly, nauseous feeling coming over her body.
"Annabeth!"
A moment of dread overcame the daughter of Athena as she tentatively touched the bandages with her free hand.
Percy! Where's Percy?
The green eyed boy was right beside her. She remembered pushing him out of the way of the arrow's path. She could faintly recall the way he stood protectively over her, brandishing Riptide menacingly. Everything after that was swiped from her memory or her mind had difficulty trying to piece together images. But one thing was certain. He wasn't with her here. She couldn't lose him! Not now!
The sound of boots against gravel alerted Annabeth to the entrance of the tent. She scooted closer to the bucket so that it was just in arms reach, ready to use it as a weapon if need be. A quick mental check of herself already told her she had nothing but garments on, and her dagger was nowhere to be found (which annoyed her to no end).
Black silhouettes slowly formed on the material of the tent, muffled voices drawing nearer. Even with the weak barrier between her and the approaching people, it was quite obvious that they were female judging by their shadow's shape, and their voices became ever so clearer.
"Why do I have to?" Annabeth heard one say.
"Because," another girl started, "the last guard attempted to kill them."
The daughter of Athena raised an eyebrow at this.
The first person spoke again. "What makes you think I won't?"
"You're already on a fine line."
She waited for more conversation to break out, but all the reply was, was a long sigh and heavy footsteps retreating back in the direction they came from. Annabeth couldn't think much on their words, especially since the second arrival's hand appeared on the flaps of the tent.
She steeled herself, grabbing for the wood of the bucket and holding onto it tightly. If she had to, she'd swing it the first opportunity she got.
Light blinded her as the tent's entrance was pulled aside, forcing her to squint. Her view became distorted as she tried adjusting to the drastic change of light, especially after just waking up. Annabeth instinctively went to block the sun's rays from her eyes with her free hand, but that hand was where her wounded arm was, and as soon as she lifted it an immense, painful throbbing began. She couldn't bite back the string of curses that came next.
"I wasn't expecting you to have such a mouth."
Annabeth turned to the sound of the voice, finally seeing the girl who stepped inside. She was framed by the light behind her, but she was still clearly visible.
The daughter of Athena took in the details before her. Short, dark spiky hair- topped with a silver circlet- framed her face, enhancing the shockingly bright, blue eyes. A faint dusting of freckles ran over the bridge of her nose, her mouth sporting a smirk. She managed to pull off the stoic, troublemaker appearance in a simple shirt and pants with a pair of well-worn boots.
But it wasn't her appearance that made Annabeth's throat constrict (or maybe it was. It sure helped). Her eyes widened at the sight of the girl in front of her. Years worth of pain, sorrow and regret threatened to spill from her. And all she could do was stare in shock.
A hoard of monsters. The four of them. The lightning and the tree.
"Thalia?"
The dark haired girl chuckled. "You've grown up Annie."
Annabeth let out a choked sob, much to her own betrayal. Thalia's eyes turned sad as she approached her, kneeling right in front of the daughter of Athena. They swept each other up in a hug, both gripping the other like their lives depended on it. Tears threatened to spill from Annabeth's eyes, distorting her vision, as she used one arm to wrap around Thalia's form.
"You-I saw you-," she muffled into Thalia's shirt, finding it difficult to speak.
"I know," she responded slowly, "and I'm so sorry."
Annabeth could hear the pain woven in Thalia's voice. She squeezed her eyes closed.
"How?" she whispered.
Thalia pulled back, but only far enough for Annabeth to comfortably grip her arm without strain.
"Long story. It involved a satyr, a cyclops and a golden rug."
She smiled as recounted the small details, but the one thing Annabeth had caught onto were her differences.
The last time she'd laid eyes upon the daughter of Zeus, she was shorter and less filled out. She used to be a child, like Annabeth used to be. But now Thalia had grown up to be the very woman Annabeth thought she'd turn out as. Strong and confident and very much alive. There was no trace of that dreadful night in the past. No evidence about what happened.
Annabeth hastily wiped away any trace of tears. "I don't understand. You were younger when...when you changed."
Thalia's eyes moved from her face and rested on the floor. "I aged inside that tree Annabeth. And then when I was free, it took me much too long to realise what to do."
Annabeth didn't know how to feel. Happy that she had her part of her family back? Sad because of all the years she lasted without Thalia? Or angry because the daughter of Zeus had been alive all this time and hadn't even bothered to contact her? If anything, she was more inclined on the last part. That was a cruel move.
"I know I should've sort you out," Thalia continued, seeing the look on her face, "and I tried. I honestly did. But do you think Athens's would've let in a bandit like myself? That place is sealed better than the Roman's camp. I heard you were the one to enforce it."
Annabeth let her anger slide away, but not fully. She was still mad at Thalia for keeping this news for so long, but she was alive, and she guessed that was the most important fact out of the situation.
"What did you do when you woke?" the daughter of Athena said.
"I stumbled across a group early on, and they took me in. Maybe you've heard of them? The Hunters of Artemis?"
Annabeth had indeed heard of them. It was impossible not to. Any young, female, independent kid would've heard about them at some stage. A band of strong woman going around the country fighting monsters and was said to have direct contact with the goddess herself: Artemis. The only downside was that they had minimal contact with men. Annabeth was fine with this, but what she heard as well was they treated the opposite sex highly unfairly. They took their dislike to the next level. And this, Annabeth was not keen on.
"So what did you do? Rise to power?" Annabeth said, indicating to Thalia's circlet. It was obviously a symbol of status, and something as precious as that was bound to indicate something of superiority.
Thalia moved strands of fridge away from the circlet. "Yeah, you could say that. It's a long story. I'll explain it when we get more time."
Annabeth nodded her head and went for one more hug, this time grinning from ear to ear.
"Thank the gods. I can't believe you're back."
The daughter of Zeus chuckled and pulled away. "Me neither."
"If only Luke was here," she said quietly.
It had been years since she'd freely mentioned his name. Since she'd allowed herself to look back on her past.
Memories of long ago invaded her mind. A damp night, heavy with rain that battered against the roof of the house. Chiron seated by the fire with her younger self, telling her stories of past heroes. Luke had walked by them, smiled, and said he'd be back. Young-Annabeth hadn't thought twice about it. He always went to visit Thalia's resting place, sometimes alone and sometimes with her. But he never came back that night, and seven year old her had waited by the door for weeks on end. She remembered the absolute sorrow she went through, being left behind by both Thalia and Luke in such short a time. Her sibling figures gone in a heartbeat. What had she done wrong? Chiron had always tried his best to raise Annabeth, and she was thankful for that, but it couldn't cover the deep feeling of loss she grew up with.
But after all of that, she still held onto the memories. The three of them running through the countryside, dodging monsters and people alike. The stories around the fire and the feeling of a family. She hadn't realised until now how desperately she missed them. Annabeth still recalled Luke's short, sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. The way they sparkled every time he grinned that mischievous grin of his warmed her to the core. Thalia, Luke and herself were family, and Grover came soon after, adding to their group and leading them to safety.
Annabeth missed those times when they were together. But she started anew. She trained herself to be better, to achieve more. To be greater. Then she'd be able to protect those she cared about, unlike the times she couldn't. She rose in ranks, and soon enough she was doing exactly what she said she'd do. Annabeth became the General of Athens, and she protected her city and the people within.
Although, Thalia and Luke never quite left her. They were always there, either at the back of her mind or in her heart. They were family, and family stayed together.
There was a silence between them, and if it wasn't for the way Thalia's shoulders tensed at the mention of their friends name, she would've thought it was simply for acknowledgement. But Annabeth didn't like the way Thalia pulled back slowly, her eyes downcast.
"Annie, there's-."
"Lieutenant?"
Annabeth jumped at the person who slipped inside the tent unbeknown to even Thalia. The daughter of Zeus tore her gaze away from Annabeth and looked at her companion - an average height, red-headed girl with an emotionless expression.
"Phoebe, what is it?" Thalia said, dusting herself off as she stood.
"It's the male," she spat, like the last term was poison, "he's becoming difficult. We've placed the wolves around him, but even they aren't deterring him. He's persistent."
Annabeth struggled to stand and think at the same time. The poison wound mayn't be killing her, but as soon as she was helped to her feet her head started spinning. She bit back profanities until she adjusted, and therefore managed to think more clearly.
Stupid! Percy! How could I forget Percy!
And;
What in Tartarus is he doing, that twat?
Thalia casted Annabeth a sidelong glance. "Wouldn't happen to know this boy by any chance?"
She sighed. "I do, and unfortunately, I need him. So hands off."
Thalia shrugged. "Shame that is. It would've been funny to see him as a stag."
Phoebe chose this moment to smirk. "Better to hunt him down."
"If you could show me to the untouched, human male, that would be highly appreciated," Annabeth interrupted.
Thalia chuckled and nodded her head, using an arm gesture to show her the way.
"After you Annie."
Annabeth sighed and took the few steps towards the tent's entrance.
"I almost forgot how much I hated that name."
"One of the many perks of having me back," Thalia responded.
Annabeth couldn't argue with that.
After the events of the past few hours - getting stabbed with a poisoned arrow; losing her pirate companion and re-discovering her past - she was ready to hit the haystack and sleep for the next few days. But for now she held her head high and anticipated the situation her son of Poseidon had managed to get himself into now.
-
-
-
-
Wow...ha...would you look at that. Another chapter....
Okay, that was really bad time management skills. I know that. It's been a while since I last updated.
I wanna say I hope this'll make up for it, but I still seem to be dragging it out. My apologies for that. It should've been into the main action by now. Oh well, looks like this is going for longer then I intended.
Hope it was worth it?!
Also:
Guys! You are all friken amazhang! Look at how much views and votes there are! You guys are more then awesome! You're a word that I haven't made up yet that means you're better then the whole universe! (I know, bare with me. That was the best I could do).
I want to do something special for you all, but I don't know what. So I thought for those who's active in my story (commenting, voting etc.), leave a comment below and I'll follow you (if I'm already following, I'll dedicate this chapter and others to come).
So thank you very much! You're all terrific! \(^-^\)