My heart thunders in my chest like galloping horses. I find it hard to breathe, my lungs contracting. I school my features, saying, "No. I'm not her, you're wrong."
He shakes his head, "You have to be her."
"How?"
"When I entered your head communication, you sounded just like her. Your thinking style, the way you walk, your eyes, everything."
"My eyes?" My breathing stops altogether. I knew my eyes would be a dead give-away.
"I haven't had a close look at them, but Annabeth's have grey with golden specks," Percy answers with such admiration and confidence. He squints through the dark tunnel at me, "Yours look along those lines, but I can't tell if they are grey or really light blue."
"Blue," I answer quickly. General Hedge's voice barks in my head in memory from that day I was chosen to come onto this mission. I am representing the Royal Spies. I embarrassed myself in front of the King, and I have been failing to keep Percy at bay from me. The wheels in my head start turning and I say, "If you run back and to safety while I take care of these men, I promise to reveal my identity to you in two days."
His face forms a shocked expression, before turning stubborn again. "No, I can fight. Also...I thought the kitchen guy said you couldn't speak?"
I stammer, "Ummm...he lied?"
Percy shifts, "Well, regardless, I'm going to fight with you."
I huff in exasperation, "I have been training for years to do this mission, do not get in the way of that. Go, now." I know I'm being harsh, but he needs to not be in danger any more than he already is. Percy watches me for a second before spinning on his heel and running.
Once he is out of sight I slump against the wall in stress. I have been so careless with my relationship with the Crown Prince. My job here is to protect him, not go on dates. But I will have to play the part of one of the giddy girls. I chew my lip; I need to find a balance. However, first I need to solve the mess I just got myself into. Thalia has blue eyes, and I can blame the dim lighting on not bringing out the vibrance in her – oh sorry, "my" – eyes. I know Thalia has a wig, and I know we can pull this off. See what I'm getting at? Thalia will now have to pose as me – as Cassie – in order for him to see me and her in the same room and stop the suspicion. That should work. I halt my train of thought, bringing myself back to the present. First, I need to take care of these men.
*~*
~*~
I watch the guards take the men away. Sally approaches me as the door closes to the staircase to the dungeon. We stand in silence, the soft moonlight casting through the windows. I look over to her, a soft and careful expression on her delicate, strong features. She inhales, "He was almost taken tonight."
I close my eyes for a moment, "I know."
Sally turns to me, "And he also thinks he knows your identity, Annabeth."
"I know."
Her eyes stare at me longer, and I shift uncomfortably, "What's going to happen? How are you going to fix this?"
I look back down the moon casted hallway, "I am going to have to show him my identity."
"Pardon?"
I open my mouth, close it, open it again. "There is this agent back at the base I work at. Her name is Thalia, or Agent Grace as you may call her. I will be sending a letter to her first thing I get back to my room. She will come and pose as Cassie, as me."
Her eyebrows raise slightly, "Smart." Her face then turns serious, and she grasps my shoulders, "I do not care what you do. Whether you tell him or not who you are, whether you grow a romantic relationship with him or not...just protect him, eliminate the threats in this palace so he may start a marriage and reign with peace. Protect my boy." Her words slam into my heart, and it balls up in my throat. I only nod.
She lets me go. I turn slowly on my heel to proceed to my room. Quite frankly, I only made it up the first staircase before the King began bellowing at me. "IF YOU CANNOT KEEP YOUR IDENTITY A SECRET, HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO PROTECT MY SON?!"
The hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Not because the King of my country is yelling at me, no, due to the fact that ears are everywhere, and he just released a piece of information. The rebel could be anywhere in the palace. I face him and take in his red and scrunched up face. My words are balanced and calm when really, I have a storm raging inside of me. "I can protect him, your Highness. But it will make my job much harder if you keep yelling for the whole palace to hear."
He senses my warning tone and says with a scratchy voice, "You have one week to find something, anything or else you are off this mission. One-week Agent Chase."
I bow, "Of course."
When he spins away, I let my face fall and my limbs drag. Exhaustion hits me and I grunt trying to heave myself up the stairs. The hall is quiet, and but I still hear whispers behind doors. Fiddling with my suit, I push open the door to my suite. Katie and Piper jump up at once. "Have you guys been here the whole time?"
"Of course, Annabeth! I kept imagining you would stumble in here all bloody and oh, I couldn't take the stress. You butt! Why would you just take off like that?!" Piper shout-whispers.
Katie comes to aid me in taking off the suit, but I wave her off. She goes to sit on the edge of the bed, "Many girls are wondering who you are, you know."
I slip on my nightgown. "I know. And they will, in two days."
Piper's jaw drops, "I beg your pardon."
Ignoring her, I say, "Katie I need to write a letter to Thalia which needs to reach her by noon tomorrow."
Katie bounces off the bed in a hurried manner as Piper continues to gawk, "You are going to TELL them?! Are you out of your mind? I mean it's one thing to tell Percy – which would be soooooo romantic – but another to let the palace know, which by the way has the rebel in it and ahhhhhhhhh what?!"
I take the quill and parchment paper Katie hands me, "Thank you. And I'm not actually going to tell them Pipes, I am calling in an agent to pose as me." They stay in silence as I write out my careful, coded and clear instructions for Thalia. Sealing it, I hand it to Katie who whisks it away.
"So," Piper starts. "You are telling me you are making a fake you?"
"Kind of, yeah," I shrug.
She nods, "Okay...but you and Percy...."
I flinch. "Um. Yeah. I have been letting myself become friends with him, when my job is to protect."
She waves her hands, "Blah, blah, blah, girl, you have a chance to be with him! Why not take it?"
I raise my hands and let them fall, "Because that is not what I came here to do!"
She glances at the clock on the wall, "It is getting late, I need to sleep. So, do you!" She hits me in the shoulder, and I smirk. When Piper reaches the door, she turns back and says, "If I were you, I would totally show him this kick-butt side of you and then fall in love and get married."
I stick my tongue out at her, "Aren't I competing against you?"
Piper scoffs, "In your dreams Chase."
The door seals shut behind her and I am once again embraced with silence. The bright stars shine out of the corner of my eye and I get up. My feet gently walk me over to the balcony. I sigh, looking up. My eyes search the night sky, wishing I could sail the sea of pure moonlight away. But I feel this rope, tugging on my waist, keeping me here. I need to be here. I press myself against the balcony railing and go on my tippy toes, watching the stars, as if I'm straining to join them. My only worry of this is I am building on my lie. I am creating the mess to be bigger. But if that's what it takes to protect Percy, then I will do it. Protect my boy.
*~*
~*~
"So, I was thinking I could help you!" Piper expresses excitedly.
I quirk an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"
She giggles, "Well, you said the King only gave you a week to get some sort of lead, right? And you have been on the trail of Adam which has not been working out so well. I could help you, be your spy, be the girl no one thinks is paying attention." It has been one full day since the King yelled at me, since Percy almost found my true identity. It is now the morning of the day Thalia will be presenting herself to the girls, and royal family as me in private with no other eyes. Reason being, even though she is not me, I do not want to put her in any more danger than she is in. Yes, I know she is also a spy, but I am also a concerned friend.
I bite my bottom lip. She states at good point, a good proposition. We break through the breakfast doors, and I say, "Okay then, I want you to monitor the girl's faces when Thals comes in today. I will be observing Percy and the windows and entrance ways which will be sealed shut."
Piper's face breaks into an excited grin and we take out seats at the stiff U table. Paris is the first to greet us, "Annabeth, Piper!! News in the castle is we will be finally finding out the identity of the mysterious woman."
I pull out a shocked expression, then turning it to excited, "Really? Oh, that is news indeed." Piper squeals with the others about how today we get a movie night with Percy in the grand movie theatre. I blow out a breath when my ears perk on the news. I will need to keep my eyes open then and be ready to protect Percy at any given moment. I do not trust the dark.
All chatter in the room halts. The Royal Family walks in and we all make to a stand. Curtsying and then greeting, I keep my eyes trained on Percy. He looks nervous. His eyes scan the crowd before landing on me. Percy's expression softens and he rolls his shoulders back before him and his family walks to the head table. Once they are seated, we sit down. Everyone watches the Royal Family for movement, for anything, waiting. I keep my eyes trained on the door, waiting for the moment Percy's attention will be taken off me. A shadow. And Thalia walks in, face covered, in my exact suit, with a wig matching my exact hair. She practiced my speaking, my movement and knows every single detail of what I have done and how I fended off the rebels all yesterday from the moment she got the letter to now. Her eyes flick toward me for a millisecond and I smirk. I know how much she hates to be looked at. The guards close the door behind her, and she does not move until every window and entrance way is fully sealed – my instructions to her.
Breathing in, I lean back into the chair, so my face is covered more by the people around me. I keep my head in the same position but flick my eyes over to Percy, who sits there in shock. His voice fills the room when he says, "You were true to your word, you really are going to reveal yourself..."
Thalia nods, "Why wouldn't I stay true, my Prince?"
Percy's eyebrows quirk up slightly, before saying, "Okay then, you may proceed." He leans forward, "Who are you?"
Thalia lifts her chin up, "My name is Cassie." She undoes the mask and casts it aside, letting her fake blonde hair flow out, and blue eyes pierce his like I taught her. We also had to cut my hair to my shoulders due to her length. "Cassie Neverland. I am a Royal Spy at the best base in the country, and I have been recruited by the Queen and King to complete and special mission that I will not reveal in front of these girls. Any other questions? Or can I get back to my job, your Highness?" I smirk at her bold choice of words, exactly how I told her to speak, how I would've spoken. I can tell by her expression she enjoyed saying that.
My eyes monitor Percy's face. A million emotions have crossed it, shock, disbelief, confusion, and then awe. "So, you have been the one who has saved my life twice and everyone in this room's once? You have been protecting us." A pain stabs me inside and I don't know why.
Thalia speaks, "Do you need me right now?"
Percy frowns, "No, not at the moment."
She spins on her heel, calling back, "Then I do not want to be here, thank you and goodbye."
Astonished silence stands in her wake and I can't help it, I burst out laughing. Piper joins me and soon our small friend group is trying to stifle our laughter. The other girls go back to eating, while I catch Percy smiling at me, as if he is laughing himself. My smile faulters and I wipe my mouth with a napkin, before excusing myself on an urgent cause. My feet carry me out as quickly. I turn the corner as soon as possible, shrugging off the stares on my back. My walk back all I hear is liar, see liar, think liar.
I pause, crouching down and burrowing my head in my hands trying to shake off the thoughts. I should have never gotten even semi attached to Percy. And what's worse is I am trying to fight myself, I want to get to know him more, I want to, I want to, oh gosh, I want to. I want to be a girl for once, not have all these weights on me. A tired tear drags itself down my cheek as I look up. Thalia stands there smirking, but then it fades when she takes in my expression. "Oh honey, let's go back to your room. Jason, Leo and the twins are meeting us there. And trust me, they'll cheer you up, with whatever is bothering you...want to talk about it?"
I wipe my tear, and clear my throat, "Um, yeah, but not now."
She nods, taking my hand as we climb the stairs, "Take your time Annie."
The walk back all I hear is liar...liar...liar...LIAR.
Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, I am sorry for such a long wait. I am focusing now on the next Surivor chapter and then Haircut after that. :)
Have an amazing night/day wherever you are! - The Fangirl
Disclaimer: I do not PJO or HoO. I do not own these characters. I do not own The Selection Series.