Chapter Text
“Remember, Annabeth, this is for your own good.”
The only response Annabeth gave her father was a silent glare in his direction. She had been silent their entire trip from Athens to Phthia. Annabeth wasn’t one to show much emotion but she had cried when she found out her father was sending her away to the other side of Greece.
Even though her father was from Africa, the continent across the sea, she had been born and raised in the city of Athens and she knew no other home, not when her mother was the goddess Athena herself. The city didn’t always embrace her back but she still loved it fiercely. There was nothing for her in Phthia, an island ruled by Poseidon, the enemy of her mother.
To add insult to injury, the household she would be under the protection of had no need for girls. Her curly hair that she had worn as a crown had been shorn off so she could pretend to be a boy, leaving her with short hair that barely touched her nape.
She wasn’t new to pretending to be a boy. Her father had made her tie up her hair to visit the market since she was a child. But now she would have to put on a full-time performance while stranded in a household where she had no allies.
“You won’t understand it now but you’ll thank me when you’re older,” Frederick sighed as he looked at his daughter. Annabeth didn’t want to look back at him. It made her too sad to see the gray in his beard and the bags under his eyes. “Your destiny is here not in Athens. After you succeed here, one day the poets will sing of your glory.”
“I’m not the type that poets dedicate their songs to,” Annabeth said dryly. Her father flinched but he didn’t have a way to dispute her statement. He remained silent as they arrived at the palace.
The palace was made of brilliant white marble. It was smaller than the palaces and temples she was used to seeing in Athens, though much bigger than the one bedroom she had lived in her entire life. But in that moment she would have given up a million palaces to be at her humble home, curled up on a mat and enjoying the breeze from the window.
“Wait here,” Frederick gestured to the garden. “I’ll go speak with them first before I bring you in.”
“Okay,” Annabeth said glumly. Reality slowly started to sink into her. She would be living here for the next ten years of her life at the very least. Her father had saved up for months to afford the journey to bring her to Phythia, meaning he wouldn’t be able to visit. Once he left, she would be on her own.
“Cheer up,” her father touched her shoulder, seemingly reading her thoughts. “Paul and Sarah have a son your age named Perseus. Maybe you two will be friends.”
“Maybe,” Annabeth shrugged. She had never had a single friend in her life, and she doubted it would start now. She had heard of Perseus, a son of Poseidon himself. Athena had no fondness for Poseidon, and there was no reason to believe a daughter of Athena would get along with a son of Poseidon.
Once her father was out of her sight, Annabeth decided to wander away from the gardens and head towards the glittering sea that waited just in front of her. She sat on her golden sand and stared out to the horizon before slowly dipping her feet into the clear waters.
Annabeth was staring at the sea when she saw a figure rise from it. For a few seconds, she watched the boy emerge from the sea and felt like she was watching the birth of a god. His hair, which stuck to the sides of his face in wet curls, was as dark as the midnight sky, and his eyes were such a piercing aquamarine color she could see them gleam from where she sat. He was too far away to judge accurately but from his lean frame, he seemed to be about her age and height.
Annabeth was so caught up in staring at him she barely noticed when her father touched her arm. The boy sent her a sarcastic smirk and dove back into the waters, disappearing from view as Annabeth was led into the palace.
Sat in the throne room was King Paul and his elegant wife beside him. Despite their high position, there was a warmth in them that instantly put Annabeth at ease.
“Call me Sally,” Sally had said as she took Annabeth’s hand into her own. “Think of my husband and I as your parents while you’re here.”
Annabeth nodded gratefully in response. She wasn’t used to being touched by people who weren’t her father, but Sally made her feel comfortable.
“Our son Percy was meant to be here to welcome you,” Paul said, looking around in embarrassment. He looked like he had more to say, but before he could say anything else, the boy from the sea leisurely strolled into the throne room.
He had put on a cloak and tunic, and there was a laurel wreath tangled in his dark curls that could have easily been a golden crown. Now that he was closer, Annabeth could see the kohl that lined his eyes and how long and dark his eyelashes were, almost like a girl’s.
From the traces of baby fat left in his cinnamon-dotted cheeks, he couldn’t be any older than her. But he was beautiful. So beautiful that she felt her breath hitch. He was the type of hero that the sculptors would make statues of, and the poets would compose songs about. Though not even the most skilled poet or artist would be able to capture the elegant arch of his nose or describe the flecks of warm gold in his irises.
Annabeth hated him immediately. She hated the finely-curved scarlet rose petals he called lips, the soft flush of his freckled cheeks, his tousled hair that looked like he had just run his fingers through it, and the sarcastic, knowing way his eyes bored into her. She already hated him so much it made her sick. He was clearly used to being worshipped, in fact he was made for it being no less fair than Adonis himself, but she had no intention of indulging him.
“Percy, this is Annabeth,” Sally gave her an encouraging pat on the back.
“The Ethiopian son of Athena?,” Percy glanced through her, causing her cheeks to feel warm.
“I’m not Ethiopian,” Annabeth immediately corrected him. “My father is from a land further west. The Greeks haven’t mapped it yet.”
“Is it true that over there you go to war against cranes?” Percy’s eyes gleamed dangerously as he leaned forward.
Annabeth shrugged and looked at her father. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been there.”
“We don’t,” Frederick laughed.
Percy seemed disappointed for a brief second before he shrugged and turned away like he couldn’t care less. “I’m going to practice using my new bow. Send a servant if I’m needed.”
He disappeared without another word and Annabeth turned up her nose at him. She could immediately tell they wouldn’t be friends or anything close. She would stay out of his way until she could leave this place and return to Athens.
“You’ll be sharing a room with one of our other foster boys, Luke,” Sally said
As soon as she spoke, a boy with crisp gold hair walked towards them. He had a kindly and easy-going smile that made her feel better as she hugged her father goodbye. Once her father had set off on the path away from the palace, Annabeth followed Luke into the main section of the house.
“How many people live here?” Annabeth asked, trying to gather as much information as possible so she could assess her situation.
“There’s about twenty of us demigods altogether,” Luke said.
“Where do the others sleep?” Annabeth asked. “Are all the rooms in pairs?”
Luke hesitated a moment before continuing. “The rest are all in a different room. It’s just the two of us that live separately.”
Annabeth frowned, trying to parse why she had been given special treatment before she figured it out. “They don’t want to share a room with me, do they?”
“They aren’t bad people. They’re just not used to foreigners. I’m sure they’ll accept you in no time,” Luke wore an embarrassed smile.
Annabeth shrugged and avoided his gaze.
“They can do what they want,” Annabeth said calmly. The boys avoiding her meant that they were less likely to catch her and find out her secret. She wouldn’t mind if they stayed away from her the entire time. The only thing she needed to entertain herself was a few books and space to train.
“There are some girl demigods too,” Luke wisely changed the topic.
“Do you spar with them?”
Luke raised an eyebrow. “The girls don’t spar. The nymphs educate them in domestic arts so they might one day be wives of heroes. They’re meant to carry on our divine lineage and all that.”
“Oh,” Annabeth scrunched her nose, suddenly feeling grateful she had avoided that fate. Nothing sounded worse than spending her days cooking and weaving clothes for a man. “Is it possible to see them?”
“Are you already thinking of taking a wife?” Luke laughed as he draped an arm around Annabeth’s shoulders. “I jest. We go hunting in the forest every full moon. If you’re lucky, you might come across one of the girls there. Otherwise we’re technically not permitted to visit them.”
Annabeth nodded, already scheming as Luke guided her into a modest but comfortable-looking room. She placed her small bag of belongings on the floor and sat on the bed with her legs folded.
“Dinner will be served soon. We all eat together in the dining room,” said Luke.
“You can head there without me. I’ll be able to find my way.”
“Are you sure?”
Annabeth nodded. Luke mirrored her gesture and left the room without another word. Once he was gone, she opened her bag which contained a few pieces of clothing, a ring from her father and the baby blanket she was wrapped in when she was left on her father’s doorstep, the only thing her mother ever left for her.
She lingered in the room until a bell chime rang through the palace and she had no choice but to get up and find the dining hall.
There was a crowd of rambunctious boys about her age or older jostling each other and eating when she entered the room. A few whispers of ‘barbarian’ resounded in the space as she walked to the table but she kept her head raised high and ignored it like always. She tried to slip in unnoticed but Luke immediately spotted her and gestured for her to sit beside him.
“I saved you some food,” Luke passed a plate of bread, honey and vegetables towards her.
Annabeth gave him a small nod of appreciation and took a bite of the bread and cheese.
All of a sudden, she started to think about home and how when her father earned money, he would bring her wheat bread and sprinkle red peppers on the cheese because the flavor reminded him of home. She blinked furiously to stop the tears that threatened to spill out and ducked her head so no one would see her.
Annabeth was still lost in thought when a sudden silence fell over the room. She watched everyone bow their heads as Perseus walked to the head of the table and took his seat. The light from the setting sun behind him gave the edges of his coal-dark hair a golden glow and the wind from the open window that tousled it carried the scent of sea that lay a few feet away. From where she sat, Annabeth could smell the scent of sea salt, honey and rose oil coming from him.
“We’ll have to wake up early tomorrow to train,” Luke said, picking cherry tomatoes off his own plate to put on Annabeth’s. “The next few months we’ll be preparing for the Olympian games. Have you participated in them before?”
“No. What are they?”
“We have them every ten years. All the male demigods, even the Trojans, participate in them. For the course of a month, we compete against each other in a series of games and challenges to win the gold wreath and the favor of the gods. Everyone knows that Percy is going to win but we might as well enjoy the ceremony and the feasts that accompany it.”
“He’s going to win?” She repeated, replacing the rude word in her head when she spoke her thoughts out loud
Annabeth locked eyes with Percy and expected him to smirk at her but he looked past her as if she didn’t even exist. He turned to speak to one of the boys sitting beside him as the others competed for his attention.
Annabeth felt a twinge of anger simmer within her as she a furious another bite of bread and looked at the window. She vowed to herself that she would win the games and get out of this gilded cage as soon as possible. And she would make sure to defeat Perseus in the process, even if it was the last thing she ever did.