Peace is an Illusion

Hi this is my first fan fiction so please bear with me. This is about Percy and Annabeth once all the fights are over.

Chapter 1

The clouds drifted above me, a light pink, and the sun was just rising up from what seemed to be the ground. A nice early morning air drifted into my lungs, sharp and clean. Autumn leaves painted the sky in an everlasting hue of peace and rebirth. Peace…it has been a long time since I have ever been able to think about peace. It's almost like a dream, and once I wake up, I will be imprisoned or badly wounded from fighting monsters, Titans, etcetera. But no, it has been two months without a quest. I liked it, but I was always on edge, and I fear that, with the things I've seen and done, I may never be able to truly forget and let my guard down. With every monster I've killed, every near-death experience I've survived, every loved one I've lost or put in harm's way, every sorrow I've endured, and every betrayal I've lived with, a wall has been made protecting myself from the outside world. In the end, the only person I have truly let in right now is Percy, the love of my life. My biggest fear is that someday, just like with everyone else I love, I won't be able to fix a problem, and he will disappoint me and be killed.

"Hey-"

I fling my head around, immediately unsheathing my dagger, knocking my attacker down with a quick kick to the legs and hold the dagger down to Percy's throat…PERCY?

"Jeez Wise girl, you looked like you were about to gut me like a fish," he says trying to stifle a laugh. I still have the dagger to his throat and quickly put it back in its hilt, then help Percy up.

"Well you are a son of Poseidon Seaweed Brain. I thought you were a fish. And besides, you know better than to not sneak up on me, especially when I'm practicing my sword fighting."

Percy laughs, his eyes sparkling, but then becomes serious. When I look into his eyes, I can almost see the ocean battering its waves against the sandy shore. He looks exactly like the ancient Greek heroes from the stories, strong, lithe, curly auburn black hair, olive complexion, a slight smile. But his eyes hold sadness and sorrows that no regular human can even imagine, a sadness and simple knowing of the horrible fate placed upon him before birth that all the great heroes have. Unfortunately, all the great heroes end up dying early and suffering a horrible fate.

"Do you think we will ever be able to forget what we've been through and live in peace?" The sea in his eyes is turning into a storm.

I swear sometimes it is like he is reading my mind, "I don't know…there have been so many deaths so much blood, so much evil. I feel like there is always something watching me, waiting for me to let my guard down so that it can kill me and torture me and hurt the ones I love."

"I know…" he says quietly, and wraps me into his arms.

This is what I love about Percy; he doesn't say it's going to be okay, because he knows better than anyone else, even me, that if you're a demigod, things are never truly "okay". False sympathy and security just makes it hurt more. Percy's real, and he has been through more than any teenager should ever have to go through. I hold him tighter, and breathe in the familiar scent of seawater and pine. After a couple of minutes, we let go reluctantly.

"So, why were you over here at the crack of dawn?" Percy inquires. Although he knows the general reason why I workout, he wants to know what is bothering me this time.

I always find that practicing with my dagger, sweating and working, not only helps me focus on intellectual matters, but also gets my mind off things, so I practice early in the morning when something is bothering me.

"It's just…I feel like something's breathing down my neck. I'm suffocating Percy, there are no monsters to fight and yet their destroying me. I keep having dreams. I keep seeing my friends die and get hurt because of me. I see myself killing and killing and killing…I can't turn it off Percy." I shudder at the thought of my recurring nightmares. Usually, half-blood's dreams aren't happy and nice and such, but instead of dreaming about the future battles and enemies to come, I keep dreaming of the horrors of my past quests. I wonder if I'm going crazy.

"I know what you mean, the same thing has been happening to me…" the storm has turned into a hurricane.

I look into Percy's eyes and realize that he may be having more trouble than he's been letting on. Silence envelopes us as we stare into one another's eyes. Silence, silence, silence. I start to tremble, and I feel a tear slide down my cheek. I break the gaze and hastily wipe the tear away. Stop crying! Why am I crying? No one's going to play a small violin for you Annabeth! I think to myself, trying to stop the rush of tears. Percy puts his hand on my shoulder and gently turns me around. Another tear glides down my cheek, but I cannot brush it away.

"Annabeth…" My heart races as he says my name. We stare into each other's eyes, mine a storm of sky and his is a storm of the sea. He smiles and lifts my face to his, and kisses me gently on the cheek.

"I love you"

Thanks and let me know what you think. There will be another chapter coming out soon.