Chapter Text
Annabeth’s eyes were having trouble staying open as her maid was doing her hair, the result of staying up past midnight reading a book by the light of a single candle. She should have known better, but the description of Atlantis’s palace, which was half beneath the sea, was captivating and filled her with curiosity. After all, it’s not like she could ever visit a realm she was on the brink of war with.
“Lady Annabeth,” her maid, called. “You are ready.”
“Thank you, Silena” Annabeth stood from her chair and walked to the mirror.
The reflection showed her in a long lilac dress with short sleeves resting on her shoulders. Her arms were embraced by silver bracelets and her black curly hair was braided and held up on a long ponytail. Finally, on top of her head was her tiara: a silver, shiny piece that looked like silver leaves intertwined with some white lilys. The only gold piece on Annabeth’s body was the ring hanging from her necklace that used to belong to her father.
A sad feeling ran through her for a second before she contained it.
"There’s no time for that." she thought.
Annabeth held tight to the ring, took a deep breath and got out of her room with Silena behind her back.
That evening was The Graduation Ceremony for the future knights. Queen Athena will declare them as the official Guards of Athens before everyone in the Golden Palace and would name Annabeth's new royal guard.
Chiron, who had served as her personal guard since she was eleven, would from that night onward devote himself exclusively to training future knights, a role he had held for decades, yet one that would now become his job. Queen Athena believed that only someone at the very height of his abilities could be entrusted with safeguarding the kingdom’s future: Annabeth.
Walking into the Crown Room, Annabeth saw her mother already sitting on her throne: a tall white marble chair with arm rests on the sides and gold pieces decorating it. Her mother, the queen, sat on it with conviction and stability, looking fearlessly beautiful. Athena was wearing a light yellow gown with long sleeves, a square neckline and golden jewelry decorating her brown curly hair. She didn’t wear a crown but a Laurel wreath made of gold around her head, Athena believed her words should be able to make the same impact as a crown on her head would.
“Daughter” she said.”You have arrived”.
“Hello, mother” Annabeth walked in front of her mother and bowed to her. “Excuse my tardiness”
“Don’t worry, you are on time. Sit.”
Annabeth climbed the steps to her own throne, same as her mother but much smaller, the only two chairs on the dais…there used to be three.
“Annabeth, are you listening?” her mother asked.
“Uh, what?” Annabeth turned to her left and was met with her mother’s cold green eyes. “Oh, my apologies mother, I was distracted. You were saying…?”
“I would like you to name your own knights this evening”.
“Name them?”.
“Yes. I’ve already selected them as you know, but I think that for their official presentation in front of the people, it would be a good opportunity for you to be seen as a figure of authority." Athena expressed. Annabeth’s chest filled with excitement, she could barely contain the smile growing on her face. “After all, you will be queen of Athens some day, and people should start to see you like it”.
The queen never did anything just because this was more than a demonstration of the princess's authority, Annabeth thought. This could mean Athena was starting to let go of her title, it could take years before she resigned, but it was already a plan in motion.
“Thanks, mother,” she answered. “It will be an honor.”
“No,” Athena smiled. “It will be their honor”.
—------------------------------------------
“Good evening, everyone. Tonight we are here to celebrate the new incorporations to our royal guard. The title you will be given in a moment is a product of all the hard work you have paid over the years of training, this is not luck nor is it a gift freely given, it is an honor you have earned. From here I can see the proud faces of your family and friends…I trust you will remain wise and don’t disappoint them” the queen warned. Athena turned her back to the formation of guards firmly standing in the center of the room and their guests, to grab the ceremonial sword her personal guard was handing her. Facing the crowd again, she announced. “From this day, to your last. Do you swear to care and protect all of the people in Athens, to serve and follow orders as long as they protect the kingdom? To follow orders, so long as they uphold the kingdom? Do you swear your loyalty to the Crown, to defend and preserve it?”
At the same time, all of the guards took their hands to the left side of their chest and loudly said:
“I swear.”
“Then from this moment forward, I declare you Guards of the Kingdom of Athens”.
Annabeth felt how the room erupted in noise from every person in it, the guards were celebrating, laughing and embracing one another, while their families applauded and shouted words of congratulations. Even Annabeth’s mother showed a smile.
“Alright, alright” Athena began. The crowd slowly quieted down again to hear their queen “Now it is time to reveal the chosen ones to protect my daughter and the future of my lineage, Princess Annabeth. With her heart pounding loudly on her chest Annabeth rose to her feet and walked to the center of the stage as everyone applauded. Her mother rested a hand on her shoulder and gave her a look of assurance.
"My nerves must be showing", she thought.
“My daughter will announce the names of her two new guards and one personal protector,” she said. Her mother made it sound as if it was Annabeth herself who chose the members of her royal guard, she hadn’t said a lie explicitly but it certainly was a well thought out choice of words to make Annabeth look more in control.
She didn’t like it, no matter how smart a move it was.
“Take it away, dear” Athena whispered to her ear before going to sit back on her throne.
Annabeth took a deep breath, she felt how every pair of eyes was set on her at that very moment, she held her shaky hands in front of her and exhaled the air she was holding letting her fear out with it.
“The names of the guards that will belong to my unit are…” her maid, Silena, gave her the envelope containing the names, she opened it and read out loud: “Clarisse La Rue and Frank Zhang”.
A young man and woman walked forward from the gathering of guards.The young darkhaired man was tall, his body clearly muscular even beneath his armor; but his blushed face and almond eyes gave away a friendliness that you wouldn’t expect from a royal guard. The girl, in contrast, had brown skin and even a darker brown hair collected in a single braid, her athletic posture and fierce expression almost demanded someone dare to challenge her. But Annabeth could see a faint excited movement from her eyes.
Her new guards, now standing in front of her, sank to one knee and made the promise to protect her against anything that might harm her. Once done, both guards walked past her and took their new positions behind her small throne, as the previous ones walked away and out the room, their service finally over.
“And now, the person who will be in charge of my own personal protection. Who, I warn you, should be prepared for my many hours of reading in the library” she joked.
Luckily the people laughed, even her mother seemed to like her way of sympathising with the civilians.
“The person chosen for this job is…Perceus Jackson”.
Annabeth’s eyes looked frantically in between the crowd of guards. Before, when talking to her mother she had told her Perceus Jackson was said to be the best and youngest of the new incorporations. Chiron himself had recommended him, which already gave Annabeth a good feeling.
A boy walked forward from the middle of the cluster of guards, as he approached the front, the first thing Annabeth noticed was his golden hair all curled up and falling to his forehead. When he looked up, their eyes met. His were blue, like the color of the ocean when illuminated by the sun in paintings she had seen before. Perseus Jackson had a sharp jaw for his young age, although there was still some baby fat on his cheeks that were decorated by sand-coloured freckles. Even some steps above him, Annabeth could tell he was much taller than her. And there was a certain presence in the way he moved, something difficult to ignore but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
Perseus drew his sword, lowered its tip to the ground, and sank to one knee, resting both hands on the hilt as he bowed his head to swear his oath.
“I, Perseus Jackson,” he began, his voice echoing clearly through the room. “vow to obey, care and protect princess Annabeth until the end of my days or so my soul shall never find Elisyum even after my death.”
His head lifted and both pairs of eyes met once more. His ocean blue met her dark brown and something entered Annabeth’s brain. It wasn’t a thought but a certainty, this boy had caused something that made her aware of a fact she wasn’t even sure was possible. It's not something that was happening, but something that would happen, and she knew it from that very moment. Just as quickly as the thought came, she pushed it to the back of her mind, dismissing it as nothing.
Nothing.
Without looking away, Perseus Jackson finished his oath.
Blue.
“I swear, my princess”.