Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians nor do I own The Heroes of Olympus.
Story: Champion of Olympus: A Titan's Secret
AN: This story takes place over six months after the end of The Sea's Wrath. Percy and Annabeth are both 14, Thalia is 13, and Nico and Bianca are 12. This story is loosely based on The Titan's Curse.
Chapter 1: Home on Olympus
Mount Olympus
Annabeth's POV
"Your papers are due on Monday; this project is worth twenty-five percent of your final grade. Also, don't forget that you have math homework, and an essay on the Battle of Marathon, both due on Monday. Class dismissed." Athena said. I looked at Thalia and Percy; they both looked worn out. My mother walked out of the classroom; she gave all of us an amused glare before she left.
"Did you see that? She thinks our misery is amusing." Thalia said, as she sighed in desperation.
"Come on, my mom's not evil." I defended. Percy laughed at my statement. I gave him the death glare.
"She's not evil; Athena just likes to torture us with education. Believe me a trip to Tartarus would be less painful." Percy said. I just rolled my eyes at his stupidity.
"Why are you complaining? You should be use to her teaching methods." I asked.
"I am, that's why I'm not complaining. I'm just trying to provide comfort to my little sister." Percy said as he placed his arm around Thalia's shoulder. I saw her cheeks turn pink; I wasn't sure why she was blushing, but I had caught her doing it before. I was starting to get suspicious of her feelings towards him. Percy pulled his arm away from Thalia; he stood up grabbing his books off the desk. "Are we going to train or what?"
"Sure, seaweed brain." I said, as I stood up and grabbed my books. I grabbed Thalia by the arm, and then I pulled her to her feet. She gave me the death glare, but I just smiled fiendishly back at her. Tonight I was going to grill her about the blushing. Thalia and I followed Percy as he walked to the training area, which was basically a large plaza just outside of Athena's temple. Percy placed his books on a marble bench, and then he walked into the middle of the plaza. Thalia and I sat down on the same bench. We laid our books down next to us as we watched Percy train.
Percy began to glow with that familiar orange glow, his eyes burned like the hearth. Suddenly, his body caught fire, but he didn't burn. I felt Thalia tense next to me. I had seen this before in battle, but I don't believe Thalia ever witnessed Percy using the powers of Hestia.
"That's so damn cool." She said. I gave her a wry smile. Percy's eyes began to change colors quickly, and I had to look away before I got dizzy. Suddenly, I felt the wind pick up around us, and then Percy flew into the air. He circled about a hundred feet above the plaza floor. He began to glow with incredible power until he unleashed a huge fireball into the sky. The shockwave of the explosion made the trees in the plaza move as if they had been hit by a thunderstorm. Percy slowly descended until he landed softly on the floor of the plaza. The fire subsided until the only things that burned were his eyes. He closed his eyes, and I could see him relax. He opened his eyes revealing the all too familiar sea green orbs. Percy walked over to us with his crooked smile playing across his face. "Good job seaweed brain." I said as Thalia just nodded in agreement.
"Thalia, how about we try to get you in the air again?" Percy asked. Thalia's face paled at the thought. Thalia Grace was terribly afraid of heights.
"I can't do that." Thalia stated in fear. Heights were the only thing that terrified her this much. Percy gave her a warm smile, and then stretched out his hand to her, so she would take it.
"Come on Thals, I won't let anything happen to you. You trust me, right?" Percy asked. Thalia's cheeks flared pink again as she nodded in agreement. Thalia took Percy's hand as she stood up. They both walked to the center of the plaza, and then I felt the wind pick up as it blew towards the two children of Zeus. I saw Percy talking to Thalia, and then she nodded in agreement. The winds picked up even more as the two demigods floated into the air. They both rose into the sky, until they were at least fifty feet in the air. Then I noticed Percy let go of Thalia's hand. She looked scared for a moment, but he said something to her, and then her eyes shined a bright blue. She rose into the air until she was at least one hundred feet above the plaza. After a few minutes of floating Thalia slowly lowered herself to the ground until her feet touched the marble tiles. Percy flew forward at top speed, and then landed on the tile in a running position. Thalia immediately ran to Percy, and engulfed him in a huge bear hug. I felt a stab of pain in my chest at the sight. They separated as they walked back over to me.
"Annie, did you see?" Thalia asked excitedly. I held in my emotions as I gave her a happy smile.
"Congratulations Thals, you did great." I said. She hugged me tightly. When we separated I noticed Percy standing in front of us smiling.
"Why are you so happy seaweed brain?" I asked playfully.
"I'm happy for Thalia, and I think it's great how close you two are." Percy said. A bright golden light appeared behind us. We turned to see Hermes standing in front of us.
"Lord Hermes," Thalia and I said. Percy just walked over to the god, and gave him a hug.
"How are you bro?" Percy said. Hermes gave him a large grin once they separated.
"I'm well, still delivering messages. I have one for the three of you." Hermes said.
"What message?" I asked. Hermes gave me a small smile, and then he took a parchment out of his pocket, it held the royal seal of Olympus.
"You three are cordially invited to the new year's eve celebration on Olympus. This is a formal get together, and you must be accompanied by a date." Hermes said. My eyes widened in surprise, and so did Thalia's. I looked over at Percy; his face was morphed into a look of horror. Hermes began to laugh at his little brother's expression.
"Perce, I know you hate Olympian parties, but dad wants you there, so you need to learn to enjoy it." Hermes said. Percy nodded sadly at his older brother. "I've got to go, see you around." We closed our eyes as Hermes disappeared into a golden light.
"Seaweed brain, you ok?" I asked worriedly. Percy looked up at me; he still had a dazed look on his face.
"Sure, I just remembered that Hestia needed to see me. I'll see you both later." He said. Thalia and I both waved goodbye.
"That was weird." Thalia said.
"I wonder why he hates Olympian parties so much." I stated.
"His face paled, and for a moment I thought he might get sick, weird huh?" Thalia said.
"I thought so too." I agreed. Thalia suddenly looked at me with a mischievous grin.
"I wonder who he's taking to the party." Thalia said. I looked at her in disbelief.
"Thals, why do you blush when Percy puts an arm around your shoulder, or when you hugged him a few minutes ago?" I asked. Thalia's eyes grew big with surprise, she never expected me to ask that question.
"I do not blush because of Percy Jackson." Thalia stated defiantly. I gave her my best bull shit glare.
"That's a load of Minotaur dung, and you know it." I said. Thalia glared at me with those piercing blue eyes, but I just stared back with the look I inherited from my mom. Thalia just sighed in defeat.
"Brain, you're a real pain, you know that, right?" She asked.
"I sure am." I stated proudly. "So, do you have a crush on Percy Jackson?"
"Not really, he's my brother, but you have to admit that he's rather handsome." Thalia said mischievously. I rolled my eyes at her childish ways.
"What do you know about handsome, you're thirteen years old?" I asked incredulously. Thalia's eyebrows raised, and then an evil smirk crossed her lips.
"You like Percy, don't you?" She asked. It was my turn to blush.
"He's my best friend." I said. Thalia began to laugh.
"You're red cheeks tell me that you're lying." She said, as she began to laugh at my expense. I placed my hand over her mouth to shut her up.
"Ok Thals, I like him, so what?" I said, tired of her giving me a hard time. I took my hand away from her mouth; she still wore that stupid smirk on her face.
"Ok, ok, I'm sorry. I didn't know that you liked him that much. Just so you know, I think Percy likes you a lot too." Thalia said, like she was confessing a big secret. I knew that Percy liked me, but I wasn't going to say that to her. "Are you going to ask him, or wait for him to do it?"
"The guy should ask out the girl, but that seems so old fashioned. Besides, you saw the look on his face; I don't think he really wants to go." I said.
"Dad's not going to give him much of a choice. He'll have to go." Thalia stated.
"You think I should ask him?" I asked. I saw Thalia's brow furrow in thought.
"Why don't you ask him who he plans to take, and if he doesn't take the hint, then ask him?" Thalia said. Not a bad idea.
"Ok, I'll try that. Now who do you plan to take?" I asked. Thalia shrugged her shoulders.
"I have no clue; could you set me up with one of your brothers?" She asked.
"Malcolm's the only one old enough, and I bet he's going to ask Bianca." I said. Thalia looked down, I felt sorry for her. "What about Nico?" Thalia's eyes lit up at the name, but then I saw a sad look stretch across her face.
"He hasn't spoken to me since I accused his father last year." She said. I nodded in understanding.
"Listen, I'll talk to Bianca, maybe she can help. Like you said, he's going to have to go to the party, Zeus's decree." I said. Thalia's eye lit up with hope.
"You think she'll help?" Thalia asked hopefully.
"She will if I ask her for a favor." I said. Thalia hugged me tightly.
"Thank you, Annie," Thalia said, when she finally let go of me. Secretly, I knew that she had a thing for Nico, or at least she had a lot in common with boy in black. Thalia had the same fashion sense that was for sure.
"We're like sisters, right?" I asked. Thalia nodded in agreement. "Therefore, I have to look out for you."
"Agreed; we'll look out for each other. I don't know about you, but I'm hungry." Thalia said as she grabbed her books, and then began to walk off towards the Olympian kitchens. I ran to catch up with her. This was one thing that she and Percy had in common; they always seemed to be hungry.
AN: This chapter sets up the next few chapters. Not a lot of action in the beginning, except for some training. More to come, so stay tuned.