My Favourite Things

Annabeth awoke with to the sound Percy's mom singing along with Maria von Trapp. Christmas carols were all that any of the stations had been playing since the clock struck midnight on December 1st, so Annabeth found it refreshing that The Sound of Music soundtrack was playing. It had been one of her favourite films ever since she was a little girl, and the music brought back a lot of memories. She could hear sausages and bacon sizzling on a frying pan, and the smell wafted in through the door of Annabeth's room, which was cracked open slightly. She slipped out of bed, pulled on her dressing gown and quietly pushed open the windows and breathed in the cool New York air.

'Annabeth honey, are you awake?' called Sally from the kitchen.

'Yeah, I just woke' she called back.

'There's some breakfast here for you if you're hungry'

Annabeth hadn't realized it but she hadn't eaten since the party on Olympus. It was now Christmas Eve, almost 2 days without a morsel. She'd been asleep since then. Who knew holding up the sky was so tiring.

'Thanks Sally,' Annabeth said as she shut the window and creaked open the door dividing her room and the kitchen. Percy's mom was one of the nicest ladies she'd ever known, and always worried about Annabeth, even though she barely knew her. She grabbed a plate from the table and started piling on bacon.

'So the Sound of Music,' Annabeth said with a grin. 'It's one of my favourites.'

'Me too', said Sally. 'Percy and I used to watch it every Christmas

'Percy's still in bed, but I'll get him up out of it if you want,' said Sally, smiling at Annabeth wolfing down her food.

'Leave him be. By the gods, he deserves a lie in,'

Sally nodded thoughtfully.

'Annabeth, there was something I was meaning to talk to you about.' A look of worry had suddenly come over her.

Annabeth gulped. This couldn't be good, but she knew it had been coming. She still remembered the look on Sally's face when Percy and she had been recounting their most recent quest and they got to telling her of Bianca. And Zoe.

'I know that being a demigod is dangerous, and well … I …' She faltered. 'I just hope that you're looking out for Percy. I know how brash he can be, and he really likes you. So please, just promise me that you won't let him do anything stupid. He'll listen to you.' There were tears in her eyes now.

Annabeth took a deep breath.

'I promise' she said. The words came out in a whisper.

Sally smiled, and began wiping the tears from her eyes.

'But Percy is the son of Poseidon,' Annabeth said. 'And he's probably the child mentioned in the prophecy. As he gets older, his life is going to get more and more dangerous. You need to be prepared. It's going to get worse. For all of us. Kronos is rising, and Percy may be the one who has to defeat him.'

Sally nodded meekly. Just then, Percy's bedroom door creaked open. Sally quickly wiped the tears from her face and smiled.

'Good morning' he said with a yawn.

'Merry Christmas, Percy,' said Sally

'So I hear you like The Sound of Music,' a mischievous tone creeping into Annabeth's voice.

He gave his mom an evil look, but he couldn't keep a straight face as Annabeth mimicked an opera singer, and all three broke into a fit of laughter.

'We should all watch it tonight,' said Annabeth.

'I have some work to do tonight,' Sally said, as she began to clear the table of used bowls and plates.

'You're working on Christmas Eve?' Percy asked quizzically.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sally give Percy a sly wink. He suddenly became very red.

'So it's just you and me tonight,' Percy said as Sally left to go get dressed to bring them both out ice skating in Central Park.

'It should be a good night in.' He paused. 'After all, The Sound of Music is one of my favourite things,' he said with a grin.

Annabeth groaned.

'Merry Christmas, Seaweed Brain,'

'Merry Christmas, Annabeth.'