Author's Note: I have read many stories about The Heroes of Olympus series and there are some good ones and some downright horrible ones. While reading them I always feel unsatisfied, by the way some author's portray Annabeth (and other characters).

Now Annabeth is an awesome character. She is the beauty, the brain, and the brawn and not many can pull that off before being labeled as a Mary-Sue. Other than her fatal flaw of being too prideful, I consider her harsh and judgmental personality as a dangerous combination in a child of Athena even though it is only at first. I think that being harsh and judgmental are not wise characteristics. Maybe it is just me… I admit I am an avid Tolkien reader and most of his characters are portrayed as being wise. However, the wisdom of his characters is tempered by time, patience, and experience. So when I think of wisdom, I think of Tolkien. In Rick Riordan's series, he has many characters that are wise (my favorite is Hestia and Hephaestus). However, whenever I read about Annabeth, she is portrayed as being more of a know-it-all than wise. There are times when she has wise insights but that is few because we do not read the stories in her POV. We do not get to read about what goes on inside her mind that she does not reveal to other people. In this story, I wanted to portray Annabeth as being more mature emotionally and character wise. After all, she went through many things in the series and I doubt it left her unchanged. I hope I do not make her too out of character.

Hmmm… I hope I am not contradicting myself. It is so hard to express my thoughts since I feel like it only makes sense in my mind. Please do not flame me, although criticisms are welcome.

Conversations

EVERYTHING WAS so peaceful at camp. It was as if nothing was wrong. Everything was picture perfect. However, things were not "right." Percy Jackson, unofficial leader of Camp Half-Blood, mysteriously disappeared months ago. It was only earlier that day when it was finally realized where he was whisked off to by Hera, queen of the gods.

Sitting on a log, staring out into the horizon beyond the sea was Annabeth Chase. Her posture was serene and her face revealed nothing but contemplation. Inside her was a different matter though. Her emotions were all in turmoil. For months, she has been looking for him. Traveling to all the places of the world for a hint of his presence. Now to realize that he had been closer to her than she thought… the Bay Area… so close to home.

It is said that truth offers no consolation, no relief, and no peace of mind; indeed, truth is especially heavy for those who cannot accept it. A person who wishes for truth must accept it exactly as it is, without question, without doubt, because everything they have done up to that point has led them to that one, inevitable conclusion, because there is only one truth. Well… the truth troubled Annabeth. It made her anxious to the point where she just wanted to scream and curse the hell out of Hera. All these months of frustration and fear accumulated to this one truth and it did not make her feel better. She wanted to cry. However, she knew that if she did, she would break. The people here could not afford for Annabeth to be weak now more than ever. It was an unspoken agreement upon all the campers that in times of great need, the weight of leadership would be placed upon Percy's shoulders while the duties of his second-in-command would fall to Annabeth. Percy is gone though… whisked off to the Roman camp at the other side of the country. Yet Annabeth remains.

It would be so easy to take Blackjack and fly west. So easy. That was all she wanted. All she thought about; to go west in search for Percy. To see his gentle smile that he reserved only for her, to see his eyes light up with wonder and joy whenever they were by the sea. To be in his arms again and just be Annabeth. It was so tempting because it was so easy to leave.

"I know what it is you're thinking."

The voice was one she knew well. She watched the owner of the voice grow over the years from an awkward and shy boy to a strapping young man who could hold his own in battle. She turned and saw the calculating gray eyes of Malcolm. Those gray eyes… the same gray eyes that she had… the gray eyes of their mother, Athena. It always fascinated her whenever she thought of her siblings. They were brothers and sisters, yet they did not share a single drop of blood with each other.

"Do not assume to know what I'm thinking little brother." She replied in a cold voice. She hoped that he would get the hint that she wanted to be left alone with her thoughts in peace. He did. Of course, that did not deter him from continuing right on. Not only that, he had the audacity to smile at her as if nothing was wrong. Brat.

"You want to leave to search for Percy in the Bay Area."

"Straight to the point, I see."

"There would be no point in skirting around the issue."

"Maybe I just wanted to spend some time with my family. I have not seen them in months. I am sure the twins are being the troublemakers they are. If they did not look so much like my father then I would have thought them the children of Hermes. They act like the Stoll brothers enough." Thinking back to when she ran away, Annabeth felt like a fool. At the time she was seven, what would she know of how others felt. Her misunderstanding had hurt the only normal people who had tried their hardest to understand her. Yet she did not regret running away. Those days on the road with Luke and Thalia were one of her happiest memories.

Luke. How bittersweet the memories were. Almost a year has passed but the memories of his betrayal and his death were still fresh in her mind and in her heart. Then and now he will always be an important person to Annabeth. She realized that he must have been just as sad as she was in the end.

"Annabeth, I'm a son of Athena, I'm not stupid. When it comes to Percy you have always been emotional."

Annabeth pierced her lips together. She hated when he said that. It made her sound like a child who could not help but be a crybaby whenever something was taken away from her. She hated to lose. There is no shame in losing, for there is much to be learned from it. Even more, she hated to lose people who are precious to her. We all end up losing something or someone. That is the only way we can ever gain anything. Equivalent exchange. A voice in the back of her mind whispered. Drat! Sometimes she hated being a daughter of Athena. No matter if she was angry or sad her thoughts always ended up in the realm of logic by the time she was done arguing with herself.

After a while of being in each other's company in silence, it was getting uncomfortable. Annabeth was staring at the night sky while Malcolm was staring at the back of her head. She could feel his intense gaze locked upon her head. People always said that they could not stand the gaze of a child of Athena for long, now she understood why. Malcolm's gaze was so intense that even without looking at him she could feel it. She wondered if red beams of light would shoot from his eyes like Cyclopes in X-Men and blast her head off. At least she would not have to be so anxious anymore if that happened.

Not being able to stand it anymore, she broke the silence first. "You're right. I want to go to him. I don't want to wait anymore."

"You know, there are men and women who have a loved one in the military who wait for years to see them come home. The ones left behind and the ones sent off to fight in the front lines… all of them pay the painful price of waiting. Indeed, it is more painful to wait than to go along on the journey. Patience is a virtue sister. There is wisdom in patience. During this crucial time when great things are in motion, we all must endure with patience the hours of waiting. Now that we know where Percy is, we can rest more easily. At least we know he is not dead."

"How would you know he isn't dead? For all we know, he may have never made it to camp or the Romans could have killed him upon arrival. Heaven knows Hera would like to see me suffer."

"Annabeth!" For the first time, he said my name in a chiding tone. He never dared to use such a tone with me before. "As someone who has an unbiased view on your quarrel with Lady Hera, I say that you give her more credit than that. Just like us, the gods are not perfect. They have their own flaws. Lady Hera is the goddess of marriage and family, she may not have the same views of family as we do but she knows best that in times of great crisis family must stand together. Thinking about it now, the risky gamble she took was a genius. Our history with the Roman demigods is a bloody one. Even if the gods willed us to work together, we would still have been hostile with each other. If Percy and Jason had kept their memories when switched, their personalities would have clashed with the opposite camp. Without their memories, they could start fresh without any biases. You and Percy may not be very high in Lady Hera's Christmas list but she would not take a risky gamble if she did not believe that Percy would be killed off so easily. Have a little faith in your boyfriend."

That was exactly the problem she had though. Percy was her boyfriend. Hera took a risky gamble involving her boyfriend's life. She hated that. If it were anyone else then she would probably not have cared as much. The other problem was that she agreed with Malcolm. What Hera did, after much thought, was a logical gamble. She hated being logical sometimes.

"What if… what if he doesn't remember me?" There was desperation in her face and unshed tears in her eyes. The one question that she put off her mind finally burst through.

"Of course he doesn't remember you." Annabeth elbowed him hard in the gut. "Owwww! What? It is true. Right now Percy has amnesia so of course he has no memory of you. Although I do not believe that he has wholly forgotten you. Like I said, have a little faith in him."

Suddenly she felt an overwhelming feeling. Like water breaking through a dam. She did not know why… she just felt like crying… and she did. Malcolm held her while she cried her frustrations and worries out. Soon her crying subsided into snuffles and whimpers. She felt a whole lot better now.

"Sorry for being such a mess. I just want to be by his side."

"I know. But you have something you must do here."

Her duty here. Now that Percy was gone, it was left to her to make sure the camp did not break. She felt guilty for being selfish. There were people who needed her here. She could not just think about her wishes and her desires. Yet there is no such thing as an unselfish decision even if it was made for the good of others. Just as there is no such thing, as an unselfish wish or desire. Every choice, every wish, every desire has its root in selfishness. In the end, deep down, Annabeth knew that the only reason she chose not to abandon camp was that she would not be able to stand the disappointment in Percy's eyes if he ever found out. How selfish… but that is ok. I have earned the right to be selfish.

"Thank you, Malcolm."

He smiled a wolfish smile. It looked so strange on him. "We are siblings are we not? Percy is not the only one who has your back."

At that, Annabeth smiled. It was a genuine smile. One that has not graced her features in a long while.

The End

I hope everyone enjoyed my story and my portrayal of Annabeth and Malcolm. Please Review. Thank you!