All those days, chasing down a daydream
All those years, living in a blur
All that time, never truly seeing, the way things were
Now she's here shining in the starlight
Now she's here and suddenly I know
If she's here
It's crystal clear
I'm where I'm meant to go
And at last, I see the light
And it's like the fog has lifted
And it's like the sky is new
And it's warm and real and bright
And it's like the world has shifted
All at once, everything is different
Now that I see you
Now that I see you
Percy's POV:
The cold drift finds its way to my cell and I shiver, wrapping my jacket around me tighter. Cheers are followed out the tiny window and I struggle to a stand. Grasping the cold metal bars, I watch the fading lights in the sky, the moon taking its place. That's when I begin to have flashbacks of everything that occurred in the last three hours. Cringing, I gaze out into the night, sadness taking its toll...
The night started out as it should. We got on a canoe of a sort and paddled out into the misty lake. The sky was silent in the start before lighting up with a thousand lanterns, each glowing differently than the next. The whole time I wasn't watching the lights, I was watching her. Annabeth's eyes train themselves on the glowing objects, light reflecting off of them breathtakingly. It was when she looked at me that I really realized something. I liked her. I was attracted to this girl I found hidden in the tower. I'm falling for the lost princess. But what's worse is that she doesn't know it. My eyes drifted down to her hand. I've been blind. From what I've felt and what I have to do. And if protecting her means she'll end up hating me, I'll have to deal with it. As long as she's safe. But for this one moment, this one time on the boat, I'm going to allow myself to be driven by my emotions, not my thoughts. Sucking in a breath, I gently grasp her hand, sliding my fingers in-between hers. She smiles slightly, still gazing out. I feel mine grow wider and I lift my eyes to the sky.
"Percy?"
"Yes?" I ask, my eyes flickering down to her searching ones.
She seems to shake her thoughts away, pulling something out of a bag. Its gold surface shines in the night, the lanterns gathering around us in the sky. I feel my eyes widen slightly. "I've brought this along with us, and I er, I thought that uh," She stammers, something I can't pinpoint flashing in her eyes. "That maybe this wasn't the reason you were helping me anymore, so I thought it was only fair." She stuffs the crown in my hand, the cold metal carving its memory into my palm.
Gulping, I feel my mouth go dry. What I am holding in my hand at the moment has been the core reason I've helped her, I've wanted my life back and everything since that moment I snatched the crown from the thief's hands. But now? Now it's not the crown, it's not the money. It's not even my old life. It's her. "You're right, you're the reason," I reply back truthfully, the words pouring from my mouth like a waterfall. "I haven't felt what I feel with you in a long time, Annabeth. I love your intelligence, the way you blink twice every time you can't figure something out, the way you hold yourself," I tuck a strand of blonde curly hair behind her petite ear. "And the flaws that make you human."
Her eyes shine, and she squeezes my hand so hard I refrain myself from crying out. "Thank you, Seaweed Brain."
"Anytime, Wise Girl," I comment, grabbing a paddle from the side. "Now, let's go eat something, I'm starving."
Annabeth laughs, "Your always hungry."
"Not always a bad thing," I shrug my shoulders, throwing her a lopsided smile as I begin to steer the boat to shore.
Out of the corner of my eyes, I see her roll her eyes. The rest of the trip back to land is silent, both consumed within our thoughts, I would guess. I catch her glancing at me every so often, before quickly looking away when my eyes flicker towards hers. Smirking, I grab the dock with one hand and the side of our tiny boat with the other. Pulling our boat into the dock's side, I tie the rope with expert hands. Holding out a hand to pull her up, she takes it, her soft skin grazing mine.
The meeting with the thugs crosses my mind and I feel my heart kick in my chest, eyes fleeting from Annabeth's. I need to ensure she's safe. Why did I say all those things to her on the boat when I'll only be crushing her?
Turning to Annabeth, I say, "I just need to use the restroom." She nods slightly. Pascal just stares at me before sticking his tongue out, without Annabeth's notice.
I begin to walk away, weaving in and out of villagers as I do so. Something lingers in the pit of my stomach, I feel like even though I'm protecting her, this will all end up badly anyway. My steps hesitate as I exit the town.
The stables come into view as I whistle, trying to distract myself. My stomach then grumbles, and I choose to ignore it, no matter how loudly it shouts, 'burgers!!'.
"I've got to say, I am impressed Jackson," A voice says, as two figures emerge from the stables I used to clean as a boy.
With great sorrow, I toss the crown onto the ground in-between us. "Save your breath," I scoff, spinning on my heel, I begin to walk back not wanting to stay a second longer.
It is a hand that lands on my shoulder, that stops me. "Oh, we're not done yet."
Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I turn around. "I completed our deal, you may not be done, but I am."
The thug with blonde hair and a scar on his face smirks, "Name's Luke," He then gestures to his friend who has brown hair and hazel eyes. "This is Ethan. Now, we usually honor a deal. But. We heard some interesting news."
Narrowing my eyes at Luke, I say in a low voice, "And what is that?"
Luke spits at my feet, "That your little road-trip buddy has some interesting abilities. Annabeth, I believe her name is?"
At the mention of Annabeth, I tense. They threatened her once, and now they're doing it again. "Don't you dare think about it."
He chuckles, low and dangerously, "She has such long hair. I wonder how much money that'd earn us? To have immortality." Luke turns to Ethan, "Did you call them?"
Ethan nods, picking up the crown and hoisting it into my hands. "Keep it fish boy."
My face scrunches into confusion at the crown being given to me again. However, I'm too distracted by how much in-danger Annabeth is in to pay much attention. "You won't get her."
Ethan laughs loudly, "Oh, that's not your choice Jackson. You can't protect her now."
Narrowing my eyes once again, I open my mouth to question them but hear the running footsteps in our direction. Snapping my head to the side, I see guards from the palace. That's when everything clicks. They set me up. "You bas-" I begin to say, but Luke grabs my arms and begins to take me towards the slowing soldiers.
He leans to my ear and whispers, "I wonder what the look on Annabeth's face will be when she finds out the guy she trusted, even liked, took advantage of her all along."
That comment makes something explode inside of me. Annabeth needs to be safe, and if that means I'll go down defending her, so be it. Twisting my wrists in his grip, I latch onto his wrists and judo flip him over my shoulder. "That was learned by Annabeth," I say swiftly, before bolting into town again. I must get her to the palace, she needs to know who she is, and I need to explain everything to her and everyone else.
I jump over crates and dodge on-looking, confused villagers. Up ahead I spot a carriage full of hay and hop onto it, steadying my balance with outstretched arms. Annabeth sits on a bench with a dark-haired girl up ahead. Jumping off my ride, I run as fast as my legs could carry me towards Annabeth. When she looks up, mid-conversation, her eyes light up, but confusion takes its place when she notices my expression and the crown gripped in my hand.
"Percy!" She yells, beginning to make her way towards me. Almost to her...
"Anna-"I begin to shout back when I am hit with brutal force into the pebbled road. "Ouch," I mutter to myself.
The guards shove my face into the road and I cringe, when I hear Annabeth's shouts of protest. But it isn't until when my heart cracks that I hear what the head guard has to say, "That's where you're wrong. He was spotted making a break for it with the two thugs who stole the crown in the first place." I lift my eyes, regret and hurt filling my chest as they meet Annabeth's shocked, heartbroken ones.
She stares off as the guards take me away, and even though that could've been my moment to tell her everything; everything that I felt between us, everything that she needs to know and that I'm not a thief...I don't. All I can do is just let the guards pull me along, every step chipping off pieces of my heart.
***
When they thrust me into a cell, I curl up.
What have I done?
Oof. Luke and Ethan. What are your thoughts on what Percy did? What would you do if you were in his situation?
Hope you're all having a wonderful day/night wherever you are! - The Fangirl
Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO or HoO series. I do not own Rapunzel. I do not own these characters.