Archive of Our Own

“So I told them to let go of the ropes because clearly they had no idea what they were doing and they needed someone who actually understands how to sail a boat to handle the situation before we could crash against the rocks. Of course, I’ve learned how to sail a boat since before I could walk. My parents paid the finest sailors to teach me, so I made sure the boat reached the shore without a hitch.”

Annabeth nodded, her eyes glazed over as she tried not to show too much just how disinterested in this entire (most likely fabricated) story she really was. It wasn’t that the man before her wasn’t friendly or nice or ridiculously attractive—it was just that he was so vain and fake and very much trying to impress her and nothing more that Annabeth felt like shooting an arrow through her own head so she could get the heck away from this conversation.

Her hand smoothed down the fabric of her silk dress as her eyes traveled over to the servant standing not too far away, watching the nobleman with a blank expression, his eyes definitely distant as he was lost inside his own thoughts, apparently tired of this man’s rants just as much as Annabeth was.

“How gracious of you,” Annabeth managed to say politely to the guy before her. He sent her a bright, perfect grin and she quickly averted her eyes, feeling like she was actually going to turn blind if she kept on staring at his white teeth glaring back at her. “Boy,” she called.

The servant’s eyes sharpened and he stood up a little, straightening his back as his eyes met hers for a split moment before he took a step closer, bowing his head in respect. “Yes, Lady Annabeth?”

“My mother’s dinner is today, right?” she asked innocently.

Her servant’s eyes gleamed as he seemed to bite down a smile. “It is,” he lied. Then, just to add to their game, he made a show of looking down at his watch. “Perhaps you should leave to start getting ready.”

She offered the gentleman before her an apologetic smile. “This was nice, but I must leave now. No need to worry my mother,” she said as convincingly as she could. It was hard, considering she knew that her mother wouldn’t worry about her absence but would rather become very upset at her daughter being late.

“Oh, uh, of course,” the guy said as he scrambled to his feet, ready to offer Annabeth his hand to help her get up.

She pretended not to notice as she stood up, noticing the spark in her servant’s eyes as he tried not to show how amused he was by the display. Turning to face him, Annabeth took her coat from his outstretched hand, inclining her head a little in his direction and away from the nobleman behind her.

“What’s his name?” she asked in a whisper, barely moving her lips.

“Does it really matter?” was the response she got. When Annabeth glared at the servant, he offered her a small, restrained smile. “Something bland, I think. Georgios, perhaps. Or maybe Christos,” he relented.

Annabeth wrinkled her nose in a way that would have made her mother grow gray hair. “What use are you?” she complained in a hiss and then turned back around to face Georgios/Christos. He smiled obliviously at her—a winning smile that let her know he was certain he already had her. As if. “It was lovely spending the afternoon with you,” she said sweetly.

Behind her, her servant let out a low, fake retching noise.

“The honor was all mine, Lady Annabeth,” said Georgios/Christos. “I hope the rest of your day is as magnificent as you.”

It nearly made Annabeth actually vomit, but she managed to hold herself back as she offered the guy a tight smile before curtsying and turning on her heel to get into the mansion she called home, her servant following behind her, snickering every now and then like he was having the time of his life.

Annabeth herself waited until they were inside the mansion before she started whining. “I have never heard a more unbelievable story in my life! I’ve heard a few lies from guys over the years, but this one… I can’t believe he actually wanted me to buy it! He’s not even from Atlantis, yet he claimed the sailors on his boat that were from the island had no idea how to sail a boat while he did? Preposterous!

“And did you see his smile? He sounded like a snob, and then he smiled at me and I felt like I was staring at the sun. I’ve never seen such a bright smile before, I nearly went blind. And those stories about Sheol were simply false. I’ve read about the architecture in that kingdom and I feel like I know more about it than this noble, and he’s supposed to be from there!”

She crossed the lawn in her hurry toward the other side. There was no dinner to get ready to, after all. She just wanted to get away from this Georgios/Christos guy, and so she’d made up an excuse, knowing her servant would roll with it without hesitation like he always did. Now she just wanted to go to the small garden behind her house, where she went after each little date organized by her mother.

There was no point in explaining where she was going—her servant already knew. He just walked one step behind her, listening to her as she continued to rant about the new idiot her mom had found for her from another neighboring kingdom—never from Atlantis itself, the gods forbid—offering a few hums to let Annabeth know he was listening to her and not just pretending to politely care.

She knew he wasn’t faking his interest, though. She knew him rather well by now. At least, that’s what she wanted to believe.

Her voice quieted down until her lips turned completely still as the two of them entered the garden. It was the perfect place to get some privacy because it was surrounded by tall, decorative bushes that hid the place from the mansion and the rest of the grounds. There was a pond in the middle and a little spring that poured fresh water with a soft churning sound.

Her pulse slowed down as she sat down at the bench in front of the pond, leaving enough space for her servant to sit down. As always, he didn’t—he stayed put, watching her with bright and vibrant sea-green eyes that sparkled in the light of the setting sun. He remained in place, silently admiring Annabeth, until she patted the space next to her invitingly, snapping him out of his trance.

They sat there, side by side, for what felt like forever, simply listening to the fresh water and the birds that tweeted all around them from the trees spread about. It felt so peaceful, so right, so different from the rigid, boring life she’s gotten used to with the years of being a diplomat’s daughter.

“I hate it when you refer to me so formally,” Annabeth said eventually.

“I think everyone would have a heart attack if they heard me calling you anything but ‘Lady Annabeth’,” he said with a shrug. “Then your mom will literally get a guillotine to chop my head right off, and I happen to like it attached to my body. I might risk it when I decide to go for a different look, though.”

She rolled her eyes fondly and turned to face him, a real smile finally gracing her face as their eyes locked. “Your dramatic personality is getting worse, Seaweed Brain,” she said. He just grinned at her. “I wish I could tell my mother about you.”

His nose scrunched up. “She might actually get arrested for murder if you do.”

Annabeth shook her head and then let it rest on his shoulder as she grabbed his hand, interlocking their fingers tenderly, still rather thrilled by the new feeling of their skin touching without one of them instantly pulling away. It was intoxicating, electrifying. It made her entire body buzz with excitement.

“I wish you were one of her candidates,” Annabeth sighed.

He laughed. “Never in a million years will I be on this list,” he said. Then he squeezed her hand a little. “Especially if she knew the truth. She’d hate my guts even more.”

“Percy, you’re making my mother sound like a monster.”

“Well…”

She nudged his side a little, trying not to smile too much so he wouldn’t know just how amused she was. “Sometimes I wonder why it took me this long to realize you were always right here—and then you open your mouth and I remember how utterly annoying you can be.”

“Aw, you love me, anyway,” Percy said.

Annabeth sighed dramatically, making Percy laugh softly, his body shaking and making her head bounce up and down right along.

“Maybe a little,” she admitted.

He stopped laughing and instead tangled the fingers of his free hand in the curls of her hair.

“I love you, too,” he said earnestly.

She felt his chin coming down to rest against the top of her head and her eyes fluttered until she closed them completely, enjoying this peaceful moment as much as she could.

“Shouldn’t that mean that watching those idiots trying to flirt with me should upset you?” she teased.

“Please,” Percy scoffed. Her mother would have had his head for such a sound. “The only thing more amusing than watching these guys making fools of themselves in front of you, is knowing that your mother actually believes they might somehow captivate you. They’re too full of themselves to suit you.”

Annabeth pulled away to smirk at Percy. “What would captivate me, then?” she asked.

For a moment he just hummed thoughtfully. Then he shrugged. “Someone with dark hair, I’d say. You know, off the top of my head—should be into books, although not too big of a reader. Smart, but not smarter than you because there shouldn’t be a room with someone that’s ever wiser than you are. Not full of themselves, maybe. You know, a small ego, but not so small that they’d have self-esteem issues. You’d get sick of reassuring someone like that every time. Oh, and handsome—definitely handsome.”

Annabeth looked at Percy, her eyes taking him in—head to toe—before she pursed her lips. “Better luck next time, then.”

He laughed, the sound of it warming her heart instantly and making her feel lighter than air. This was a magical sound, she was pretty sure of it. This boy was going to kill her with how much she loved everything about him. His face, his voice, his dry sense of humor, his not-that-well-hidden emotions, his ability to make Annabeth swoon and daydream about being held by him after years of believing that emotions were ridiculous and pointless and marriage was simply a matter of convenience.

Gods, she couldn’t believe she literally grew up with him by her side without realizing just how amazing he was. Not in general—he had his fair share of flaws—but for her. There wasn’t a single person out there, in the big, wide world, that could ever suit Annabeth Chase as much as Percy Jackson. It was so clear now, when in reality she came to this conclusion merely a year ago.

Without even realizing it, Annabeth leaned in, tilting her head just enough so they were facing each other completely. He wasn’t that much taller than her—a few months ago she was actually taller than him—but she still found herself having to crane her neck just a tad to meet his lips with her own, swallowing his laughter as his shoulders kept on shaking with silent peals as he pulled her impossibly closer, eagerly returning her feverish kiss that felt like a dream.

It wasn’t their first kiss exactly, but every one since their first felt just as special. Maybe it was the secret accompanying said kisses. Maybe it was just how surprising if felt every time she found herself actually leaning in, feeling the ache in her body finally subsiding as she gave it what it wanted—physical touch. Something she’d never appreciated as much as she did now that she longed for it from Percy in every hour of every day.

“Someone might see us,” Percy muttered against her lips.

“I don’t care.”

“That’s just not true,” he said but he didn’t try to pull away too hard, instead going in for another peck—this one brief and sweet and so much like their actual first kiss that it nearly made Annabeth black out for a second. “I wish we didn’t have to hide.”

Annabeth smiled. “I kind of like it, actually.”

He pulled away to give her a skeptical look. “Do you?”

She grimaced a little. “Well, not really. It’s exciting, but I wish I didn’t have to pretend nothing’s going on.” She felt his hand absently twisting her golden curls, wrapping strands of her hair around his fingers as he stared back into her eyes. “You must be even more sick of it.”

“That’s true,” Percy said with a sigh as he leaned his forehead against hers. “Hiding things your entire life will do that to a person, I suppose.”

A distant bell chiming in the distance made both of them groan as they reluctantly pulled away. It was now actually dinner time, meaning they had to get back to their harsh reality and pretend once more until another chance for them to be alone appeared. It sucked, but Percy was right. If her mother ever found out about this… she would have Percy’s head without a second thought.

“Hungry, Wise Girl?” Percy asked, his tone both bitter and joking.

She let him pull her to her feet as a disappointed sigh escaped her lips. “Not really.”

“Great. I heard you’re going to eat a roasted duck today.”

“I hate ducks,” she grumbled as he started leading the way out of the garden and back to the real world.

Percy sent her a sympathetic look over his shoulder and offered her a small, sincere smile. “We can trade. I think I’m gonna get a lobster today.”

Percy couldn’t handle the thought of eating seafood, so this wasn’t a very surprising trade. They’ve done it once or twice before. Ducks were, technically, still in the water, but they were a kind of poultry, so eating them was less unbearable, according to him. Annabeth figured that if she could talk to sea creatures like Percy could, she wouldn’t have been able to stand the thought of eating them, either.

She grinned warmly at the boy and squeezed his hand one last time before letting go against her better judgement as the mansion came into view behind the shrub. “Sounds perfect.”

✧ ✧ ✧

Annabeth passed by her mother’s room and took a peek inside only to find her mother sitting in front of the vanity, her maid offering her different jewelry that might appeal to her. She seemed to be completely absorbed in watching her own reflection, but the maid—Sally—noticed Annabeth and shot her a warm smile that reminded Annabeth of the fact that this woman was the only one who knew about Percy’s affair with her.

Could it be called an affair? It was still so fresh, so innocent, so small. But it felt big. Maybe that was enough.

It was mainly awkward because Annabeth couldn’t help but stare at the maid, knowing that she knew about this new development because Percy was her son and he trusted her infinitely more than Annabeth trusted her own mother. Then again, Percy’s mother wasn’t an ambassador from a different kingdom, left to overlook the kingdom of the king she couldn’t get along with in the least.

Sally Jackson couldn’t have been more different than Athena Chase if she tried. While Sally was warm and sweet and kind, Athena was cold and distant and calculative. Sally could make a room light up with her presence alone and Athena’s aura mostly made people want to back away in fear, knowing she might just pull out of knife out of her dress so she could stab whoever it is that would dare oppose her.

There have never been such different women, really, and yet Annabeth’s mom seemed to be completely all right with having Sally as her maid. Maybe because she couldn’t care less about the personality of a person when said person was doing a good enough job when needed, which Sally has been doing for years.

According to some of the older staff, the only period of time when Sally had to take a break from her hard and tasking work as a maid was when she was pregnant with Percy, and apparently it was also the only time in Athena’s life when the woman was compassionate enough to not just fire Sally. Maybe because she was going through the same thing with Annabeth, waiting for her own baby to pop out.

“I’ve told you how inappropriate it is to lurk around, Annabeth,” her mom said without taking her eyes off the vanity and her own reflection. She must have noticed Annabeth standing by the door, watching timidly. Or maybe she noticed Sally’s smile. “Do you need something?”

Annabeth couldn’t prevent her eyes from sliding to the side, where Percy stood, standing as straight as possible, keeping the façade of someone who wasn’t planning a way to turn the ballroom into a water park in his free time (they had a few conversations about this subject. It was always amusing). His eyes seemed to light up at the sight of his mother. He was reacting like the exact opposite of Annabeth would have in case she got to see her mother at long last after a long, tiring day.

“Is dinner ready?” Annabeth asked, because if her mother expected her to want something, it would be better to actually inquire about something than stay silent and admit that she just wanted to watch for a moment for no reason.

“Yes. You ought to change from these clothes, darling. They’re filthy from sitting in the garden,” her mother said, dismissing another jewelry choice. Sally turned back toward the box on the vanity after discreetly winking at Annabeth. Or maybe it was aimed at Percy.

“Yes, mother,” Annabeth replied politely and turned to leave.

The sound of her mother’s voice calling her name made Annabeth turn back around to face the woman who finally looked away from the vanity in favor of locking eyes with Annabeth. Annabeth kind of wished her mother would go back to staring at her own reflection because her gray eyes—so similar to Annabeth’s own—bored into her intensely, unnervingly. Percy had once claimed that she had the same look sometimes, but Annabeth couldn’t imagine herself ever looking as stoic and stern as her mother.

Raising an eyebrow questioningly, her mother looked like she was waiting for something. When Annabeth didn’t say anything, though, utterly confused, the woman sighed. “How did things go with that boy? What was his name, again?” Athena asked, gesturing or Sally to speak up.

“Andrew Makris,” said the maid, her eyes landing on her son for a brief moment, as if to check to see his reaction to this conversation. Annabeth couldn’t help but note the lack of a reaction this entire thing got out of Percy, though. Maybe because he was there during the ‘date’ and got to see just how entirely fruitless it was. “Son of Lord Sebastian, ma’am.”

Athena nodded once. “Andrew. How did it go?”

Annabeth resisted the urge to purse her lips in distaste. “It was quite uneventful, I’d say,” Annabeth replied coolly. “He’s a very dull person, in all honesty.”

“He comes from a well-established family, Annabeth. That’s what you should focus on. Love doesn’t matter in the least in marriage. If it did, kings and queens would be madly in love. They wouldn’t be involved solely for political purposes, would they?”

It was always fun to get the reminder that Annabeth was born out of the feeling of necessity rather than love.

“We’re not royalty, though,” Annabeth countered tiredly.

Her mother let out a dignified heave. Annabeth almost expected her to roll her eyes, but her mother wouldn’t be caught dead doing such a thing. “You might as well be.”

“What do you mean?”

Athena spared Sally and Percy a look, as if remembering they had company. Then she seemed to decide they weren’t going to be an issue because she stared right into Annabeth’s eyes and said, “You remember King Zeus’s son, don’t you? Prince Jason?” She didn’t wait for Annabeth’s response. “The king has mentioned starting to look for suitable matches for him. He told me he would like it if Jason picked you.”

Annabeth stared at her mother, completely caught off guard. Next to her, Percy squirmed a little.

“Quit wriggling, boy,” her mother chided.

Percy froze. “Sorry, Lady Athena,” he hurriedly said.

“You think Prince Jason would want to… marry me?” Annabeth asked, her voice choked up.

It must have looked like she was so thrilled by the news that she was speechless because her mother seemed to be content with the response. “Yes. The royal family is about to come here soon to renew the peace treaty with Atlantis. The prince shall be there—as will you. I expect you to make a good impression as usual so that things go according to plan. You may not end up being the queen seeing as Princess Thalia is older, but being a princess will just have to do.”

Annabeth felt sick to her stomach. She held her hands behind her back, wringing her fingers restlessly as she tried to come up with a good enough reply to appease her mother and flee. She didn’t want to hear anything more about this. She didn’t want her mother’s plans or her mother’s pride. She didn’t want to stand here and listen to any of this any longer.

“I shall do my best,” Annabeth found herself saying, her voice coming out as smooth as ever even though she felt like throwing up. She bowed her head a little and then turned around to walk down the hall and away from her mother’s room. “I’ll see you at dinner.”

And then she fled, her heels clicking against the tiles of the marble floor, echoing around her as if closing in on her. She could hear Percy’s footsteps as he followed behind, not saying a word even though she assumed he had plenty to say after this. She would have been surprised had he had nothing to say in response to her mother’s plans for Annabeth’s future.

Gods, King Zeus wanted his son to marry Annabeth of all people? It made sense—the king always did seem to favor Athena above most people in his kingdom. He was a good ruler, if a little paranoid and hasty while making drastic decisions, but this felt like favoritism that Athena was taking advantage of. After all, if the king wanted his son to marry Annabeth, his son will marry Annabeth, no matter what Prince Jason had to say.

From her brief interactions with the prince, Annabeth knew that he had no spine. He constantly tried to do his best to please his father who was already disappointed with having a daughter as his firstborn instead of a son. The entire kingdom knew that the king wished for the next ruler to be a king and not a queen, and yet… well, biology disagreed with him—the Fates decided to decline his wish—and so Princess Thalia was destined to be the next in line for the crown while the king focused on trying to demand as much as possible from his son.

It was almost amazing to think about how well Annabeth knew the politics of a kingdom she didn’t live in. But her mother was the ambassador. She and Annabeth were, technically, from the kingdom of Celestial. Not Atlantis. Annabeth grew up learning about the kingdom she didn’t live in while also getting to know Atlantis—her home. She wasn’t as important as an Atlantian noblewoman, but she was still one of the more important and respected people in the kingdom since Atlantis had to treat the ambassador and her daughter well to have Celestial’s good graces.

If Prince Jason ever decided to really take Annabeth to be his wife, she would have to leave Atlantis. She would have to leave her comfortable life to go live in a castle with a man she didn’t love. She could never love the prince, she knew. He was too perfect, too determined to do as he was told, too much of a goody two shoes. Annabeth needed someone who would walk out of line, who would scoff at the norms, who would dismiss the rules every once in a while.

Funnily enough, she found said traits in a person who, according to the laws of the kingdom, was supposed to be executed.

A part of Annabeth hoped her room would be empty so that she could pull Percy inside and talk to him in private without raising any suspicion, but she wasn’t that lucky. Her maids were inside, ready to assist her with everything she needed—things that Percy couldn’t do since, well, he was a boy. Plus, Annabeth’s mother just sort of forced these girls upon Annabeth, telling her Percy couldn’t help her with everything, which was a shame, but Annabeth couldn’t say no.

“The bath is waiting for you, Lady Annabeth,” one of the maids said politely.

“Thank you, Hazel,” Annabeth managed to say. Then she turned to glance at Percy with the longest look she could send toward him without it looking suspicious. It was brief—more so than she would have liked it to be—but she could still see the furrow between his eyebrows and the way his jaw was clenched, like he was holding himself back from saying something rude or disastrously inappropriate. She wished he didn’t have to keep quiet. “That would be all,” she told him, voice controlled.

His green eyes flashed, reminding Annabeth of the vicious waves of the ocean surrounding the island of Atlantis. But then he seemed to contain it—this emotion—and he nodded at her curtly before walking away, to go and do whatever it was he did whenever he wasn’t needed around Annabeth.

She let herself watch his retreating back for only a split moment before fully entering her room, Hazel and Piper closing the door behind her.

“He sure looked upset,” Piper whispered to Hazel, clearly trying to speak in a tone Annabeth wouldn’t hear.

Pretending not to notice, Annabeth walked toward the bathroom, the two girls following behind her.

“I wonder what happened,” Hazel replied in a hiss of her own. “He looked fine this morning.” She was quiet for a moment. “Do you think it had something to do with Rachel?”

Annabeth had to bite her lip to keep herself from groaning at the name of the maid she couldn’t stand. There was just something about that redhead that made Annabeth want to claw her eyes out. Rachel seemed to be loved by everyone—Percy himself had told Annabeth that Rachel was one of the nicest maids around. Still, she was so… annoying! But commenting on it always made Percy frown and Annabeth hated making him feel bad because she was talking ill of his friends, so she tried not to bring her up.

But gods, she wanted to tear the girl to shreds every time someone so much as mentioned her name around her.

Piper giggled a little as she helped Annabeth take off her dress, Hazel putting the fabric away as she sent questioning looks toward Piper, probably trying to go for discreet. It wasn’t working very well, but Annabeth let the girls believe she wasn’t noticing a thing as she entered the warm water of the bath, closing her eyes and pretending to give the girls some privacy as they huddled together, continuing their whispered conversation.

“Leo said he saw them flirting the other day,” Piper said slyly. “According to him, they nearly kissed, but then Perce had to get back to work. Such unfortunate timing, really…”

“flirting?” Hazel asked. “But I thought… I mean, Percy said he liked someone else when I asked him about it.”

Annabeth shifted uneasily in the water, trying to keep herself from frowning.

Piper scoffed softly. “Puh-lease! This boy couldn’t be more translucent if he tried. Of course he likes Rachel! Their dynamic is so perfect. They’re always in sync with each other, right? Have you noticed that? He probably told you that because he’s embarrassed or something. Gods know how quickly this piece of information would have reached Rachel had he told you the truth.”

“I don’t know…” Hazel said uncertainly. “He looked like he was serious. I really don’t think he likes Rachel like that.”

He had better not, Annabeth wanted to say. She kept her lips sealed tightly, though, her hands clenched under the surface of the soupy, bubbly water. She wanted to announce to the girls that Percy didn’t like Rachel and he really was in love with another girl—her. But the maids really did gossip quite a lot and if word got out that Percy liked Annabeth, Athena would end up hearing about it in no time and she would get rid of Percy before Annabeth could even try and protest.

“Hazel, don’t be so naïve,” Piper scolded the other girl. “I know you never lie, but Percy was definitely lying to you when he said that. Come on, have you seen him around Rachel? Those two have known each other for ages. They’ve been super good friends for a long time now. Now they’re in love. It’s so romantic!”

“I know Rachel likes Percy,” Hazel conceded. “I just really don’t think Percy reciprocates.”

“They nearly kissed.”

Hazel sniffed. “Leo could be wrong, you know. He’s not the best with human emotions. Maybe he saw them just messing around together like they always do and he decided they were flirting with each other?”

“Okay, fine, let’s say Percy was telling you the truth and there really was someone else out there that he liked,” Piper said, the disbelief clear in her every syllable. “Who would that even be? He doesn’t really leave the mansion too often, so his chances of falling in love with someone outside are low. And he definitely doesn’t like you and me. It would have been obvious. You’re like a sister to him more than anything. I’m just not his type.”

“How can you possibly know his type?”

“He likes redheads—duh!”

Hazel didn’t answer immediately this time, instead taking her time to think about Piper’s words, Annabeth assumed. Then the girls said timidly, “I guess it does make sense that it would be someone from the mansion… he really doesn’t get to see a lot of other people…”

“See?” Piper sounded triumphant.

Hazel didn’t reply this time and Annabeth wanted to get out of the bathtub and shake her so that Hazel will find the words to counter Piper’s words. She wanted them to get rid of the idea of Percy liking Rachel because it made her feel sick to her stomach.

Okay, so maybe she did know why she disliked Rachel so much—she and Percy were always too close to each other and their friends kept on whispering about how they fit together so well, how they were obviously in love, how Percy and Rachel would surely end up together one of these days. It was inevitable, according to them. It was only a matter of time.

The only comfort Annabeth had, was that she saw Percy’s gaze when it was directed toward Rachel and it was almost… vacant. Sure, he liked Rachel, but his eyes lacked that spark of warmth and love that seemed to fill them every time his eyes fell on Annabeth. He didn’t light up like a Christmas tree around Rachel, but around Annabeth. Sure, he tried to hide it because if anyone found out about it they would both be dead (mostly Percy), but it was visible to her since she looked for it every time Rachel was around the two of them.

Sinking a little deeper into the tub, Annabeth closed her eyes and tried to relax as water brushed against her ears, blocking out Piper and Hazel’s conversation.

✧ ✧ ✧

He’s been her servant, always standing by her side and ready to assist, since they were both thirteen.

Before that, Percy’s been mostly shadowing his mom during her work, helping her with everything he could to make things easier for her. Annabeth barely even knew his name back then, not really caring about who the workers at the mansion were. She knew his face and she recognized him as Sally’s son, but other than that she never paid him any mind.

Then Annabeth’s mother took her to the capital of Celestial for their annual visit, and Athena, taking Sally as her maid for the trip, told Annabeth she should take someone with her as well. That had caught Annabeth ill-prepared. She had no idea how to pick someone. She didn’t even know who her options were. And apparently it was extremely obvious that she had no idea what to do, because Sally Jackson—sweet, kind and compassionate Sally—had suggested bringing her son along so he could be there for Annabeth.

It was obvious he had no idea how to be a proper servant. He kept on messing up her simplest requests and she had to tell him when to speak up, when to shut up and to please stop fidgeting so much in her line of sight because it made her antsy and nervous and his nerves made Annabeth wriggle her fingers, too.

In short, that trip was awkward and Annabeth was only glad that her mother didn’t seem to notice any of this happening because she would have surely berated both Percy and Annabeth for messing things up. Still, there were a few funny bits in between. Moments when Annabeth got to see this goofy spark in Percy’s eyes right before he did something ridiculous. Moments when he would roll his eyes at her from across a room behind the back of someone boring that was ranting nonstop, making her brain melt.

So once they got back to the mansion in Atlantis, Annabeth surprised herself by requesting Percy to replace the old maid she’d had. The woman didn’t mind stepping down because she really was quite ancient, but Percy took almost a year before he seemed to get used to his new role. Annabeth knew even back then that he only accepted this job because it paid well enough and he wanted to help his mother however he could. It had nothing to do with Annabeth, of course.

Frankly, they butted heads more often than not. Annabeth had threatened to fire Percy at least once a day at the beginning, complaining about how he was clueless as to what his job description even was. And then, just to annoy her even more, he’d confessed to never really reading about what his job included and what his tasks were. Annabeth had wanted to bash his head against a wall more often than not.

She probably would have gone through with her threats, too, if it weren’t for his quirky personality that was so different from everything else Annabeth was used to. He wasn’t really cheeky with her and he wasn’t disrespectful, but he was rush and undignified and as subtle as an elephant in a tutu. But it felt like a breath of fresh air with her mother’s principles all around, suffocating her.

On Annabeth’s seventeenth birthday, she’d went to her mother and asked for sword-fighting lessons. There were a lot of rumors about invaders—dangerous thieves that didn’t mind hurting people to get what they wanted—and Annabeth had wanted to be able to protect herself in case anything happened. Unfortunately, her mother had declined, claiming that using a weapon was un-ladylike.

Because dying at the hands of a murderer was so much better.

She was so frustrated that day that Annabeth hadn’t even acknowledge the magnificent birthday cake that had been made for her or the gifts she’d received from all the people who knew her and her mother. She couldn’t help but sulk, thinking about how someone was surely going to point a sword at her someday in the future and Annabeth would be defenseless because her mother wouldn’t hear about a lady learning how to fight.

“How was dinner, miss?”

She’d grunted in response as she crossed her room before falling onto her bed, burying her face in her pillows.

“How elegant,” Percy had said, the amusement in his voice not quite as masked as he would have probably liked. Annabeth wasn’t even sure whether or not he was doing it on purpose anymore. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone more miserable on their birthday,” he’d commented from the direction of the entrance.

Annabeth had lifted her head just enough to glare in his direction. The door was closed behind him, shutting Annabeth away from the rest of the world. There wasn’t anyone else in her room right now other than Percy, which was good because she was pretty sure she would have lost it if there was anyone else in there. They would all treat her with silk gloves, worried about agitating her. Percy tended to go ahead and speak to her more like she was a normal human being and less like she was an entitled princess.

“What happened?” he’d asked eventually.

Smashing her face back into her pillows, Annabeth had shaken her head from side to side. “She won’t let me learn self-defense,” she’d said, voice muffled. “I’m trying to protect myself and she won’t let me.”

“Stupid choice…” Percy had muttered.

Annabeth had lifted her head again to nod at him, eyes wide. “Exactly! Does she not want me to be able to protect myself in case I’m in danger? Does she think there would always be someone there to keep an eye on me?”

He’d shrugged. “Probably, yes,” he had said. Hesitantly, he’d crossed the room toward the bed, his eyes locked on her face to gauge her reaction as he came closer to her. “Why don’t you ask the guards to teach you a few things? They’ll gladly help you, you know. And they might not even reveal it to your mother. You’ll be able to train in secret.”

“No…” She flopped down on her back this time and stared up at the ceiling. “My mother will get them to talk. They’re too scared of her.”

“Well, I’m not scared of her,” Percy said. He grinned at her. “I could teach you a few things, you know. Enough so you’d have a chance against anyone that might come after you, at the very least.”

Annabeth regarded him for a moment, suddenly intrigued. “Are you any good?”

He smirked proudly. “I beat every single one of the guards in the mansion.”

“No way.”

Percy’s smirk widened. “You can ask them yourself.” Then he straightened up a bit and nodded, as if the matter was just solved. “I’m training outside almost every evening before I go to sleep. If you want, I can meet you by the entrance today so we can work for a while.”

She couldn’t say no to such an offer.

So that night, after her mother had gone to bed and Annabeth was left alone in her room so she could go to sleep at long last, she slipped out of bed silently, as if worried someone might hear her, put on a pair of silent slippers, and exited her room with wary looks around to make sure there was nobody in the area who might notice her and report her actions to her mother.

It wasn’t that Annabeth wasn’t allowed to wander around at night. It was her home—she could do whatever she wanted, mostly—but she didn’t need some kind of rumors to reach her mother’s ears. There would surely be speculations about what Annabeth was up doing at night on her own and nothing would be good in her mother’s eyes. Annabeth didn’t need to make life even more difficult for herself by making her mother suspicious of her.

Luckily, there was nobody in the halls as Annabeth quickly hurried over to the entrance of the mansion. The door was closed when she approached and Annabeth found herself squinting her eyes a little at the sight of a figure standing next to it, tapping its foot against the ground impatiently in the dark hallway.

“I’m here,” Annabeth whispered once she was close enough to the door.

Turning around to face her, Percy’s sea-green eyes seemed to glow in the darkness as his lips stretched in a bright smile that seemed to light up his entire face. “And here I was starting to believe you might ditch me,” he joked, inclining his head a little like he was just too tired to properly show her respect.

Annabeth found that she liked the gesture much more than she did the usual bow she received from Percy. She gave him a onceover, arching an eyebrow at the tattered clothes he was wearing. “Did a shredder attack you or something?” she asked.

He looked down at himself and then shrugged. “They’re for training,” was all he said. “Come on. Let’s go.”

He led her through the front lawn, sending anxious looks over his shoulder as if to make sure no one was watching them. Annabeth tried to keep up with his pace, but his legs were definitely longer than hers and he was more used to physical training than she was, so eventually—once it was obvious Annabeth wasn’t going to be able to keep up—he grabbed her hand and pulled her after him instead of simply slowing down just a tad.

It was strange—the way that touch made her heart flutter for a second in a strange way, an unfamiliar way that warmed her from inside and made Annabeth feel like she was cuddled in her bundle of blankets back in her room instead of crossing the chilly lawn, the breeze blowing her unmade hair into her face.

A part of her bulked at the strange feeling. Another part, though, was extremely content with it as she tightened her hold on Percy’s hand and ran after him, careful not to slip out of her slippers.

“What the heck are you even wearing?” he asked her as he sent a look back at her, probably to make sure she wasn’t slowly getting killed by the nightly jog.

Her cheeks burned as she found herself raising a hand to block her front the best she could from his crinkled, mirthful eyes. “I don’t have anything that could be considered good for training. This is the most comfortable outfit I have,” she snapped at him quietly, eyes dropping down to her nightgown. It wasn’t as flashy as most of the stuff her mom had had made for her, but it was still not going to be comfortable to train in, she was sure. “At least it's not ripped to shreds.”

“Whatever makes you feel better, m’lady.”

They reached the decorative bushes and the small pond, hidden from the windows of the mansion at long last. Annabeth felt remarkably stupid for not even realizing such a place existed after living here all her life, but she didn’t comment on it and instead just took in the place, eyes wide and heart racing as she panted from the jog.

That was the first time she came to the small, hidden garden.

Soon enough Annabeth learned that Percy wasn’t lying—he really was good with a sword. He had a beautiful one ready for him right there (although she didn’t actually see him pulling it out. More like… it just popped out in his hand out of thin air) that he held with such confidence, it was impossible not to look at him and know for certain that he knew how to wield it well.

Training with him was easier than Annabeth had assumed, too. She figured he would either be too gentle with her and show her basic things that would make her feel stupid—the kind of tricks kids would learn because adults didn’t trust them with anything more serious—but he actually handed her a sword and started showing her different techniques and maneuvers, not holding back as he criticized her every move.

At some point he referred to her as Annabeth instead of using a formal name like he was supposed to do, but Annabeth found herself only grinning and relaxing even more at that, deciding against pointing it out to him in case he went back to treating her like she was above him in the social ladder.

Unfortunately, Annabeth wasn’t doing too well when it came to the actual training. She felt awkward with the sword. It was heavy and uncomfortable and she couldn’t seem to get the hang of it, no matter how many tips Percy had for her. By the end of the night she was sweaty and uncomfortable, but despite her lack of success with the weapon, her mood was pretty elevated as she grinned at Percy whose cheeks were flushed from adrenaline and heat.

“This could just be the wrong weapon for you,” he pointed out as they cautiously trekked back toward the mansion. Annabeth had left her sword back at the garden and Percy’s own one had disappeared the same way it’d arrived. “Maybe you should try something smaller. A bow and arrow? A dagger?”

“I could try those,” Annabeth agreed readily.

In all honesty, she would have come back the next day even if she had to keep on training with a stupid sword just so she could spend some more time with the one person that seemed to treat her like she was nothing special. She actually had fun, regardless of how successful this session was. She hoped Percy had as much fun as she did…

He nodded to himself. “I’ll try and find something for you to try,” he said. “Although I have to say that if you pick a bow and arrow, I’m going to have to let you train with someone else because I’m a walking disaster with this weapon.”

She smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind,” she said teasingly. “Although I think that a dagger sounds good.”

“That I can help you with,” Percy said with a confident grin as they reached the entrance. He looked around, as if realizing where they were for the first time. Then his eyes widened a little and his form turned rigid, like he was worried a lightning bolt might strike him down on the spot. “Good night, Lady Annabeth.”

She chuckled cheerfully and waved at him as she turned on her heel and started walking down the hall and back toward her room. “Good night, Percy. And thank you.”

When she sent one last glance over her shoulder, she found Percy standing in place, staring after her with twinkling, wide eyes and a soft smile.

✧ ✧ ✧

“Stop throwing pieces of a dead duck into the water, Seaweed Brain,” Annabeth said, watching amusedly as Percy threw the few leftover pieces of his roasted duck into the pond, encouraging them to swim freely again and seek peace. “You’re just tainting the pond.”

“Add some spices in and stir it up and you’ll have lots and lots of soup,” Percy said and Annabeth rolled her eyes before she dropped her head onto his shoulder. Percy put away his empty plate of food and then took her hand in his and hummed a little. “Are you all right?” he asked.

Annabeth sighed. “Not really, considering I might end up marrying Prince Jason of all people.”

“He doesn’t sound too bad. Definitely better than that guy that was obsessed with crows. Remember him? Philias or something, I think. He had dead, stuffed crows in his pockets and he tried to entice you with them. I think I cracked a rib from trying not to laugh.”

She grimaced. “Ugh, I remember calling for the guards because my mother wanted to set me up with some crazy lunatic,” she grumbled and Percy laughed. Annabeth elbowed him a little, just to try and get him to take this more seriously. “I don’t know what to do. My mother expects me to do my best to win the favor of the prince, and I probably would have done just that a year ago, but now…”

Finally, Percy’s body stopped shaking with laughter and his hand squeezed hers, silently telling her that he could complete the rest of her sentence on his own. She closed her eyes and focused on how content she felt for just a moment, imagining remaining like this forever, having nobody around who would be extremely disappointed with Annabeth’s poor choices in life to worry about.

When she was little, Annabeth was a lot more like Prince Jason, eager to please her demanding parent that seemed to shoot for the stars and nothing less than perfection. She wanted Annabeth to take a certain road, follow her plan without questioning a single thing. And Annabeth didn’t mind back then because she had nothing worth fighting for.

But now things were different. They started being different on Percy’s birthday, or maybe even on hers, right before his. Her need to please her mother suddenly took second place to just enjoying her brief, secretive moments alongside Percy. She used to take her mother’s words as facts that were unchangeable. Then she and Percy started seeing each other behind everyone else’s back and suddenly she had a reason to question her mother’s decisions.

While marrying a prince didn’t sound like such a horrible idea, Annabeth was only eighteen. She didn’t understand why her mother thought it was so incredibly urgent to set her up with someone, to give her to some man to provide for her. And she certainly didn’t understand why her mother wanted to trap her in a life of glamor and glory and riches when she already felt extremely trapped in her current life, when she wasn’t bound to any kind of member of the royal family.

No, wait, that wasn’t quite right. Her eyes drifted toward Percy who looked back at the pond again, his eyes reflecting the water perfectly—dark, but still vibrant and alive and oh-so-green. His dark hair fell into his eyes messily, which probably wouldn’t have been appropriate for actual, official royalty, but it definitely suited him and made him look like more of a rebel. His face was sharp and made Annabeth feel like she was staring at a well-carved statue rather than an actual person.

How could a human being ever look as handsome and breathtaking as Percy? Which one of the gods was responsible for creating such a fine work of art? She had to pray to this god and thank them endlessly for bringing such a person into her life.

“I don’t want to marry anyone,” Annabeth said quietly.

For a second Percy didn’t reply. He just kept on looking out at the water, the moon and stars reflecting on the surface of the pond and in his eyes. Then he said, somewhat jokingly, “Well, you should’ve said something from the start. That’s kind of a deal breaker, you know.”

She chuckled despite herself. “Come on, take this seriously. This isn’t like all of these idiots my mother manages to bring here. If King Zeus and Prince Jason really ask for my hand, we won’t be able to do anything—”

“We already can’t do anything,” Percy said, now sounding genuinely frustrated. “We knew from the start this wasn’t going to lead anywhere, Annabeth. It’s a doomed relationship with a dead-end. Your status is way above mine.”

“Considering you’re not supposed to be alive… that’s not so hard to achieve.”

He hunched his shoulders a little and Annabeth pulled away from him so she could look at his face as he clenched his jaw and glared at the pond like it was all its fault. “You know, the thing is that if I actually went over to my dad and we managed to work things out without anyone pulling out a javelin to impale me on the spot, things might actually work out.”

“My mother would hate you so much, though,” Annabeth said with an upward tilt to her lips.

Percy snickered. “It’s not like she likes me too much now, either,” he noted. Then he frowned and sat up a little straighter, his eyes sparkling.

“What?” Annabeth asked. “I know that look—you have an idea.”

“It’s a stupidly reckless idea,” he warned her, which was just like most of his ideas, really, so Annabeth just motioned for him to go on. “What if I really did go talk to my dad?”

Annabeth’s shoulders tensed immediately. “That’s not stupidly reckless, Percy—it’s downright suicidal!”

He cringed. “Hey, he’s always been nice to me…”

“Yeah, but talking to him to ask for a favor that would outrank Prince Jason choosing someone as his wife would mean you’d have to reveal the truth about who you are and that’s not an option.” She crossed her arms and scowled. “No way. We’ll figure something else out.”

“There’s no other option,” he protested and lifted their interlocked hands to gesture between the two of them. “If there was anything else we could do, believe me—I’d try it. But there isn’t. Is you marrying the prince really a better option than—”

“Than you putting your life on the line? Oh, wait, let me think about it for just a second,” Annabeth drawled out, annoyance seeping into her voice as she glared at Percy. He looked at her with an unimpressed expression, clearly disagreeing with him. “How can you possibly believe that you dying is a risk I’ll be willing to take?”

Percy blew out some air. “Because,” he said, voice clipped, “even if we don’t take this risk, we’ll just get the same result. We won’t see each other again no matter what. The only difference is that maybe—maybe—we could change things if we take this risk. Which I thought was a good enough reason to try, but apparently you don’t think so—”

“You might die! That’s a difference, too! At least if we don’t go with your crazy plan you’ll stay alive!” When she saw the defiant expression on Percy’s face, Annabeth raised her voice a little more. “We’re eighteen, Percy! We’re not even that old yet. What are we going to take this risk for? We’ve been together for barely a year and now we’re planning to, what, try and build a future together when we don’t even know what it’s like for us to be together in a world where this isn’t a secret? This is mad!”

She nearly jumped out of her skin when the water in the pond started churning wildly as Percy’s face darkened. She half expected the water to jump right out and attack her, but they remained in the pond, stirring madly, like someone was disturbing them invisibly. Her eyes returned to Percy who stared at the pond with a faraway look on his face, body frozen in complete contrast with the gushing water.

“I love you,” Annabeth said, her voice softer now. Percy’s eyes snapped over to her, his gaze boring into her. Beyond the layer of frustration and anger she could see his fear and uncertainty—the same things that she’s been feeling ever since she had that conversation with her mother. “I do. I want to be with you forever, Percy, but I don’t want to either have you or live a life while knowing you’re gone. The chances for the first option are just too flimsy.”

He slumped down a little, the water in the pond calming down once more. “I know. I’m sorry,” he muttered, and even though his voice was small, she knew he was being genuine. Letting go of her hand, Percy brought both of his to cover his face as he groaned in a way that would have scandalized Annabeth’s mother to her very core. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” he kept on murmuring, voice muffled.

Her voice caught in her throat as she realized what he was apologizing for. For a moment she thought it was about his lack of self-control. His power over water was scary sometimes, sure, because it was tied to his emotions. But while that was certainly something that slightly worried her for a moment there, what he was apologizing for had to be the situation they were in.

It was an impossible one. Prince Jason was actually someone who might propose to Annabeth just to please his father and then Annabeth would have no choice but to accept. And the only thing Percy could try to do would also be his death sentence. No matter what they did, she couldn’t see the two of them getting out of this predicament side by side. The results would either be of Percy finding himself six foot in the ground, or with Annabeth stuck in a palace in a different kingdom.

Tears sprung to her eyes as she thought about it. Dealing with lame suitors her mother could find was one thing. Annabeth could dismiss them easily since there was always something she could nitpick with them. But if her mother wasn’t mistaken and the prince really might whisk Annabeth away, she would have no say in the matter. It would be required of her to accept and join Prince Jason in Celestial forever.

“There has to be something we can do that doesn’t involve such a high risk, Seaweed Brain,” she said, wiping her tears before they could slide too far down her face. “We still have time. My mother said the king and prince will only arrive in about a month. We’ll just have to figure it out in the meantime.”

Percy peeked at her from between his fingers, reminding her of a little kid more than anything else in that moment as he stared at her with so much uncertainty and fear and trust. “I’m not ready to get married either, you know,” he said with a slight quirk to his lips. “I just wanted to make sure the option remains open.”

She smiled back at him through the screen of tears obscuring her vision. “I know. And we’ll make sure that happens. Somehow.”

“Somehow,” he echoed.

“One day down the line you’re going to regret ever wanting to spend eternity with me,” she said lightly.

Percy pulled his hands away from his face to reveal a sincere—slightly sad—smile. He grabbed both her hands and held them tightly, as if getting ready to fight off anyone who might come forward to try and wrestle her away from him. “That’s highly unlikely, Wise Girl.”

Her chest expanded further at the warmth and love shining in his eyes—all aimed at her. “Seaweed Brain.”

“Owl Head.”

“Kelp Head.”

He chuckled like it was the most entertaining thing in the world. “I love you,” he said breathily.

Annabeth kissed him instead of replying.