With a final twist of my sword, I disarmed my opponent, the lovely Annabeth Chase. She was panting and out of breath, sweat glistening on her forehead, her ponytail disheveled, and she still looked as beautiful as ever.
"You beat me this time, Seaweed Brain, but I'm gonna whoop your butt tomorrow," she told me.
"I can't wait." I told her with a kiss to her forehead. She blushed and turned away, but not before she could I caught a glimpse of her smile. Of course she enjoyed it. I was her dashing boyfriend, for heaven's sake! Just then the conch horn sounded, signaling lunch.
"I'm gonna take a quick shower before I eat. I'm pretty sure the smell of sweat won't improve my appetite," she told me.
"OK. I'm gonna go right over after I put away my sword. See you later," I pecked her on the cheek.
"Bye!" she said and walked away. I capped my sword went to put it in my cabin, but then I realized, duh, it would just return to my pocket. So instead, I headed straight for the dining pavilion. The smell of barbeque mingled with the sweet summer air, making my mouth water. I started to flat out run to the pavilion, where I wasn't disappointed. Brisket was piled high on platters, along with dinner rolls, strawberries, grapes, and other delicacies. I went over to the brazier and pushed in a thick slice of meat and a juicy bunch of grapes into the fire.
"Thanks, dad. For letting me live these 19 years. And for not burning me to a crisp when you found out I was dating your rival's daughter, unlike a certain goddess of wisdom I know might do." I know I probably shouldn't have been getting Athena mad, but I was still a little PO'd about the multiple death threats.
I headed over to my table and started to dig in, keeping an eye out for Annabeth. After 30 minutes, I started to get worried. She never took this long in the shower, much less a quick shower. I waited a few more minutes, but then I started asking around. No one knew, until I asked one of the new satyrs we recently hired.
"Hey, have you seen Annabeth? Blond curly hair, grey eyes?" I asked him.
"Uh, yeah, the one in the ponytail and grey blouse?"
"That's her."
"Yeah, I think I saw her walking towards the stables. She looked pretty upset. She was muttering something about her parents, and she was crying."
"Thanks." I started to run to the stables, my mind racing. Why was Annabeth crying? What did she mean, "her parents"? Was it Athena, her stepmom, Frederick? I ran through the door to the stables, just as Blackjack came cantering in with a wild look in his eyes.
"Yo, Boss! Annabeth just took me for a ride to a cliff. I didn't know where she was taking me, so I just went along with it. She took me to a sort of cliff overlooking the ocean, and she looked sad and angry. Then she whispered, 'Sorry, Percy,' and she dove of the cliff!" he told me.
I was in shock. Why did she do this? Why was she so sad? So sad to commit suicide? But only one thing was clear in my mind.
Annabeth, the love of my life, was dead.