Rick Riordan owns all the characters. I own nothing.
The Marks we Bear
Annabeth looked around the room cautiously. She vaguely recognised this place. She didn't know when she'd been here before but it seemed familiar somehow. She stepped further into the light so she could see better. Then she spotted a few beautiful tapestries hanging on the walls. Gods, one of them showed her and Percy kissing underwater. And there was a hole in the centre of the room. Where was she? Annabeth racked her brains. She suddenly remembered. How had she forgotten? A dark shape dropped onto the floor. It all made sense now. The impossibly good tapestries. The huge, jagged hole. It pointed to one thing.
'Arachne'.
No. It couldn't be. It was impossible. She couldn't be here. Percy had killed her. She hadn't reformed that quickly had she? A large shape dropped onto the floor.
'No.'
Long time, no see Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena.'
'You… You can't…'
'Oh yes. And I want revenge.'
The walls of the cavern shook. A mass of black surged towards Annabeth. Black, eight-legged spider united in their hate towards Athena and her children. Annabeth screamed as the spiders crawled over her, pushing her backwards. Her foot hit thin air. The last thing she saw before she fell into the pit was Arachne's monstrous face looming over her.
Annabeth woke with a start. She was trembling and covered in sweat. She was in her bed in her cabin on the Argo II. Not in Arachne's lair. Not falling into Tartarus alone. She heard running and her door flew open. Percy took one look at her and walked forward. He climbed in next to her and encircled his strong arm around her trembling, weak shoulders. For a long time they lay in silence. He knew better than to ask whether she was okay. She could have stayed like that forever but she needed to talk.
'I'm sorry.'
'What for?'
'Waking you up. And probably getting you grounded by Coach Hedge again.'
'I was already awake. Besides, Coach isn't here to ground us anymore, remember?'
'Oh yeah. Why were you awake Percy?'
'I get them too, you know.'
Silence filled the room until it became deafening.
'What are yours about?'
'Remember when the aria cursed you to think I had left you? I dream about that all the time. What about you.'
'Everything. Mostly Arachne's cave and what would happen if I fell in without you.'
'I would never let that happen to you.'
They became quiet again. Annabeth felt that talking about her nightmares had helped her to come to terms with them. She thought Percy felt the same to. She felt her eyelids drooping. Just before she fell asleep she told him:
'I love you Seaweed Brain.'
And she closed her eyes, knowing that the nightmares would stay at bay as long as he was here to protect her.