Annabeth strode confidently through the city, ignoring the stares. She wasn't sure if she liked how easy it was to slip back into the snobby persona she'd grown up having. She ignored Vlassis as he scrambled to keep up with her, inwardly smirking at the fact that he nearly had to run to keep pace.
Reyna and the others followed her, taking in the city. A few of them had been there before, but most of the crew had never seen anything even remotely as big as Athens. Gwen, who'd rarely even left her house, gaped openly as she looked around.
The guards at the entrance to the palace recognized Annabeth immediately. The large doors to the main courtyard swung open and she walked back into her home after months.
"Annabeth!"
The smile that King Frederick received from his daughter was really genuine. She'd missed him a lot.
"Oh my dear, I'm so glad you're safe!" The king threw his arms around her, abandoning all sense of decorum. Annabeth hugged him back, holding tight and breathing deeply.
"I missed you, Dad..." She said softly.
A woman cleared her throat and Annabeth looked up. She managed half of a smile at her stepmother. "I missed you too."
The smile that she got in return was just as bad, so Annabeth knew that nothing had changed. But Queen Semele stepped forward and hugged her stepdaughter awkwardly.
Annabeth stepped away as quickly as she could, then turned and gestured for Reyna's crew to come forward.
"Father, these are the valiant men and women who saved my life."
Reyna swept into a bow, prompting her crew to do the same. Men and women alike, they bowed in an identical manner, then stood straight again, waiting for orders from either Annabeth or their captain.
"Thank you all, for saving my daughter. I'd be lost without her." King Frederick smiled, putting an arm around Annabeth's shoulders. "I was lost without her. It has been quite hard for us, not having her quick mind around."
Annabeth smiled a little and Reyna stepped forward.
"We're so glad we could help, Your Majesty. Now that she is safe, we should be going-"
"No, please! You must stay." The king insisted. "We'll have a feast in your honor, and in celebration of Princess Annabeth's return, and then you can all stay the night and restock what you need for your ship."
Reyna made a convincing show of not being sure about the king's offer, but her crew whispered among themselves excitedly and she finally nodded.
"Very well, Your Majesty, we accept your generous offer."
King Frederick smiled and turned to a few of the guards who had come to see what was going on. "Please show the crew to a set of rooms in the...."
"The West Wing should be open, dear." Queen Semele offered.
"Ah yes, the West Wing, and see that they are provided with water for baths and fresh clothes." He turned back to Reyna. "You all must be tired, we'll have the feast this evening and you may use the day to refresh yourselves."
Reyna's smiling 'thank you' was much more genuine this time. The crew eagerly followed the guards and footmen who led them into the castle and to a hallway with doors stretched down it. There was a separate room for each person.
Annabeth stayed with her father, following him to her old chambers and telling him a modified version of what she had gone through in the past months. As they talked and caught up, she kept feeling some pricking nervousness in the back of her mind.
Something was seriously bothering her conscience, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Was it something she'd seen? Something her father had said?
Or was it something Queen Semele had mentioned.
Annabeth's blood went cold as she realized what was wrong, but she immediately knew that it was too late.
"Oh gods..."
----------------
Piper sighed and sat up. She'd done just about everything she could on the ship, underneath the deck. At one point she thought she had heard boots up above, but her agreement with Reyna was to stay in the crew's quarters so she didn't investigate.
Surely it must be night by now though, right? She could risk going out there, with it being dark they wouldn't notice a single figure on the ship.
Well, she hoped anyway.
As she crept onto the deck, Piper began to get the profound sense of something being wrong. She chewed her lip and peeked out onto the deck.
There were several soldiers on the deck. Piper's eyes widened in horror and she slipped back out of sight.
Something as definitely wrong.