One
The Beginning

Poseidon's palace was the most beautiful building in the entire country of Greece, so of course it was the first place Annabeth went when she ran away from home. So what if it was the ultimate symbol of power for her mother's sworn enemy? So what if she'd probably be murdered if they ever found out her true identity? Annabeth was drawn to the place, pulled by an invisible rope that weaved around her wrist, her ribs, her very heart, coiled tight and dragged her in. She belonged in that beautiful building. She didn't know why, but she was a smart girl: she'd figure it out.

The staff took pity on her. Unwilling to turn away a seven year old girl who had appeared on their doorstep in her pyjamas and claimed to be an orphan, they put her to work. Annabeth didn't mind the labour. Mostly she was grateful that she had something to keep her busy, and her job as a maid meant that she got to spend her days admiring the impressive architecture of the palace. Once her chores were done she liked to wander, craning her head back to peer at the towering gables in the roof, the floor-to-ceiling windows and the amazingly life-like portraiture that decorated the walls.

And after all that, she liked to read. The palace had an extensive library, but no one else that lived there seemed to make much use of it; but Annabeth didn't need to worry about being discovered there anyway. There was a secret compartment, in the very back left hand corner of the room, that could only be accessed by sliding open a panel in what appeared to be a solid wall. Annabeth had discovered it by accident in her first week at the palace, when she was dusting one of the busts and slipped, knocking the panel slightly loose. It was now one of her favourite places: her own secret space, where no one could find her.

She was in there one day, reading a thick tome on the history of the palace, when she heard the library door shut with a soft thud, followed by a boy declaring, "Yes, this is perfect. Chiron will never think to look for me in here, and I won't have to do the Latin exam after all!"

Annabeth froze. Her heart began to race. The boy sounded young, probably around her age, but he definitely wasn't a servant boy. She didn't recognise his voice. Which meant that he must be someone important.

She couldn't be caught. If he found her in the library, relaxing, she'd probably be kicked out. And he'd know about her secret room, then, which would make it no longer secret - it would be just a room, indistinguishable from the hundreds of others inside the palace. She'd already lost so much. She couldn't let him take this from her, too.

As Annabeth sat completely still, she heard the boy mutter to himself. He sounded equal parts elated and annoyed, which was a strange combination. His soft footfalls came across the room, getting closer and closer to where she hid. They stopped for a moment, too close by, before continuing on. He did a lap of the library, mumbled something indistinguishable, and then she heard the door creak open and shut.

She waited for a sound, checking that he had indeed left the library. When she heard nothing but silence, Annabeth slowly, slowly cracked open the door to her hiding place and peeked out. She couldn't see the boy anywhere. With a sigh of relief, she pushed the door open just enough so she could slide out, leaving her book behind. As quietly as possible, she slid the panel closed and took a moment to check her work. The secret entrance was indistinguishable from the rest of the wall. Her secret was safe.

She turned to go, and inhaled sharply as she saw the boy standing by the door. His back was to her, and he hadn't seemed to notice her yet, but a quiet rage began bubbling in her stomach. How could she have missed him? And now what was she going to do? It was too risky to try and go back into her room - the panel could creak as she reopened it, or he could just happen to turn and catch her before she'd got it shut again. It wasn't worth the risk. She'd have to try and sneak out the side door.

Annabeth took a deep breath in, exhaling silently, and began creeping across the thick, padded carpet of the library. She'd made it half way when a startled gasp made her freeze in place.

"Whoa!" the boy exclaimed, staring at her with wide green eyes.

She recognised those eyes - the king had them, too. And this boy's face was unmistakable. She saw it every day, painted with an intimidating expression in numerous portraits around the palace. She'd never seen it in the flesh before, but now that she had she thought the portraits didn't quite do him justice by portraying him without his crooked smile.

"Prince Perseus," she said, dropping into a quick curtsey.

"Where did you come from?" he asked, looking around her. "How did you get there?"

"Excuse me?" Annabeth asked, trying to keep her tone cordial. He hadn't even asked her name.

"You weren't there a second ago, you just appeared out of nowhere. Like you were invisible!" He was smiling at her like she'd just done a trick that pleased him greatly.

She didn't like the thought of being mere entertainment for another person. She narrowed her grey eyes at him and said, "Well I'm not invisible, am I? I'm right here."

"Well, bravo anyway," Perseus said with an easy, unaffected smile. He tilted his head to the side and surveyed her more closely than before. "Are you a visiting princess? Father said we had guests coming soon but I didn't expect to find any in the library."

Annabeth glanced down at her smock and then back up to him. Surely he couldn't be serious. "What makes you think I'm a princess?"

"Your hair," he said lightly, and her hands immediately flew to the blonde curls. "Only princesses have hair like that."

Her cheeks warmed at the compliment. Annabeth might have had royal blood, but she was no princess. Not anymore.

Perseus didn't look fooled, though. Maybe there was something, she thought, that attracted those of royal lineage to each other. An aura of some sort, an invisible signal that let them know, I'm like you. I understand.

The rope around her heart squeezed a little bit tighter.

"I'm not -"

She was cut off by the library door swinging open with a bang.

Tyson stood in the open doorway - the king's older, illegitimate son, who would inherit no title or power but who was welcome to stay in the palace and enjoy its wealth anyway. Looking at him and Perseus side by side, it was hard to believe they were related at all. Tyson was larger, rougher, with squashed features and wide brown eyes. Something about him reminded Annabeth of the people she'd met on her journey here, when she'd been living on the streets, and that scared her.

He glanced from Perseus to her and back again. "What are you doing in here? Chiron's looking for you."

"I'm avoiding my Latin test," Perseus said. "Please don't tell on me."

Tyson looked genuinely apologetic when he said, "Dad says you have to do it."

"But I'm busy!" Perseus said, gesturing at Annabeth. "Can't you see we're very busy?"

Tyson hesitated. He glanced again at Annabeth and she tried to ignore the uncomfortable way her stomach twisted under his gaze. When Perseus mouthed please and made a praying symbol at her, she nodded quickly.

"Very busy," she managed to say.

Tyson chewed his bottom lip. "Okay," he said slowly. "I won't tell where you are."

"Thanks, Tyson, you're the best!" Perseus beamed at his half brother, and Tyson grinned back.

Annabeth watched the exchange silently, remembering the times when she'd smiled at her own siblings like that. She wondered how they were doing without her. Did they miss her?

Tyson exited, and Annabeth unclenched her hands.

"Thanks!" Perseus said jubilantly, turning his charming smile on to her.

She met his gaze, and felt the sensation of the rope pulling her forward again. For the first time in her life, Annabeth was hesitant to follow it.

"You should really do your Latin exam, you know," she said.

Perseus gaped at her. She gave a small curtsey and swept from the room, head down.

"Wait!" He just managed to catch her by the wrist as she rounded the corner. "What's your name?"

Annabeth looked down at their clasped hands and then back up to his face. She hesitated, and he dropped her arm, as though only just realising he was still holding it.

Before she could decide what to say, a loud voice interrupted from the other end of the corridor. Chiron, the palace tutor, strode towards them, looking thoroughly displeased. "Prince Perseus! You are twenty minutes late for your exam," he said sternly. And then he noticed Annabeth, and his expression softened, ever so slightly. "And Annabeth, what are you doing here?"

"Annabeth?" Perseus echoed, staring at her. "Your name's Annabeth?"

She found herself in the rare predicament of being lost for words. She nodded mutely.

"Come on, it's time the both of you got back to work." Chiron steered Perseus away, leaving Annabeth standing alone in the middle of the corridor outside the library.

Just before he turned the corner, the Prince glanced back at her one last time. His expression was unreadable. Annabeth took a single step forward, as if to follow him, but then he was gone.

She blinked and shook her head, trying to restore order to her thoughts. But she couldn't focus on anything except the way he'd said her name, and the way her wrist felt as though it had been burned where he'd grabbed her - as though he'd imprinted himself onto her skin. She could feel the rope there, almost chafing now, as though she'd found what it was tied to at the other end.

Prince Perseus.

a.n. this will eventually cover the entire plot line of the movie anastasia. :) if you have any questions or you'd like to see graphics for this fic you can find me as bananannabeth on tumblr.