We found Annabeth by accident. It was just supposed to be Leo, Jason and I out on the Dunes, looking out over the Long Island Sound, and discussing the Argo II. It was almost done, maybe only two more months to go and then we'd head to where ever the gods decided to take us. Hopefully, the Roman's camp. When we stumbled up onto the Dunes a lone figure was already sitting there. Wearing a pair of Jeans, and a blue tank top, hair loose down her shoulders. We all paused,
"Annabeth, that you?" Leo practically bounded over to her and plopped down next her. Jason and I approached more slowly, I sat down on her other side, Jason next to me.
"Hey guys, what are you doing here? It's like one in the morning, shouldn't you be asleep?" She asked lightly, a relaxed smile spreading across her face.
"Hey, we could ask you the same question," Jason challenged jokingly. Annabeth shrugged nonchalantly, and ran her gaze across the beach.
"When I can't sleep I come up here, stare out at the Sea. Sometimes I think if I stare hard enough Percy will appear. Or maybe someone we lost in the war last summer... Here, at night, alone; who knows what's possible." She said this casually.
"Why do you wait by the ocean though, like wouldn't people come by car or whatever?" Leo asked. Annabeth laughed.
"Probably, but I dunno. Percy would come here, and I guess since this is where he brought Beckendorf after he died. It just seemed like this is where it started. He was the first official casualty of the war, you knew that right? Well anyway, I just always think of this place as the place where people I love come back to me." Her gaze was far away as she said this.
"Annabeth, how exactly did the war go down? I mean, I just feel out of the loop." I said tentatively. She looked at me in surprise, I felt Jason nod in agreement.
"You really don't know? No one's told you?" Annabeth couldn't keep the surprise out of her tone, she looked at our faces. I felt my cheeks grow hot, Jason finally said what we were all thinking.
"We didn't think it right to just ask someone - what happened last summer, I mean. And well, Percy…. We didn't want you to have to talk about that with us." Annabeth turned back towards the water and sighed. She took in the view of Long Island sound, and the city in the distance.
"You guys have a right to know these things. I'll answer your questions as best I can." She shook her head like someone about to re live a lot of painful moments. I looked at Jason, I guess I'de try to start easy.
"There was a war last summer right? Who was fighting who?" It seemed like a good enough place to start. Jason knew the answer to this, Leo and I were still a bit unclear on the whole thing.
Annabeth shook her head sadly,"The Titans were rising for years, we just didn't see it. Kronos was coming, he had been lining up his ducks for a really long time and last summer it all came out. There was a big battle for Olympus in Manhattan. Camp Half-Blood made it's stand there." She paused and looked briefly at Jason. "And from what I understand the Roman Camp took on Mount Othrys. The Gods chased the titan Typhon across the West. The Hunters of Artemis stood with us." I nodded, this made sense with what I had already gathered. Leo cleared his throat,
"Lots of campers died right? That's why you guys don't talk about it." Annabeth nodded and almost unconsciously raised her hand to her neck and drew a chain over her head. She tossed it to us, on it were a string of brightly colored beads. Each one was beautifully painted, and all told a different story.
"We get one at the end of each summer," She said quietly after a minute of watching us puzzle over it. "It's the one with the big Empire State Building. The one with the names," Our eyes drew to the one she was talking about, we read the names in silence. Michael Yew, Lee Fletcher, Charles Beckendorf, Luke Castellan, my eyes paused on one.
"Silena Bouragaurd, she was head councilor of Aphrodite before Drew right? What happened to her?" I asked it tentatively. Annabeth sighed, her eyes roamed the sea looking for something that would never appear.
"Yeah, she was…" She paused, and let out a ragged breath. None of us spoke. "She um, she was a great girl, sweet as ice cream and the best Pegasus rider who couldn't talk to them. She was even close with Clarisse!" She exclaimed the last part, and I nodded, smiling a little. That was certainly a feat. Annabeth's voice lowered again, "And she and Beckendorf, the head councilor for Hephaestus, they were in love. Like really in love, I used to look at them and wonder how that sort of love worked. How it was even possible to care for someone that much. Now…" Annabeth trailed off, running her fingers through the sand absently.
"I heard she was a spy, betrayed Camp. Is that true?" Leo spoke off handedly, but the second he said the word spy Annabeth stiffened. Her fingers froze. When she brought her eyes to Leo they were sad and angry.
"Where did you hear that?" She said it sharply. I heard Leo swallow, he didn't like being under her scrutiny.
"I don't really remember," he mumbled. Annabeth sighed and shook her head in frustration.
"It wasn't her fault! It was the way that stupid cabin was run when she was younger!" It came out in a huff. Then she looked at me. "Sorry Piper, but it was the same the way Drew used to run it. You know what I mean." I didn't really feel insulted. I nodded. "It was just, She was different. Sort of a loner, we grew up together. She didn't agree with the Aphrodite cabin's beliefs. She was bullied a lot, and her siblings disliked her. She only became head councilor at fourteen when the former one died on a quest. She won over their loyalty quickly, but I think she was lonely, and that's what drove her to Luke, and that deal I know she regretted from the moment she made it. She was brave in the end. Made it all up, without her we would have lost. He would have beaten us." She said this all with a sad sort of anxiety, as if she was afraid of what we thought of Silena. "She saved us." It was quiet then, none of us new what to say. Finally Jason cleared his throat.
"So what happened to start everything. Who is Luke?" He picked out the name, I had never heard it before, but I had a feeling he had. Annabeth turned to him.
"Do you have that picture? From your Cabin?" It wasn't a question, Jason took it from his pocket and handed it to her. I had seen it before, it was a young Annabeth, with a smiling Thalia who looked pretty much the same, and a lean boy with sandy blonde hair. She pointed at the boy.
"That's Luke, he was a son of Hermes. He ran away from home when he was fourteen, and found Thalia and me, we were a family, the three of us. I worshipped him, and him and Thalia were in love, I guess. Those were some of the best years of my life. Then Grover found us, took take us to camp. We were on the hill, outnumbered by monsters and Thalia sacrificed her life so we could be safe. I think that's when he changed. That act, that Zeus would let Thalia die, with no after thought combined with his hatred towards his father… It planted a seed of bitterness in him. Then a couple years later he went on a quest for his dad, Hermes, to collect a golden apple from the garden of Heperidies, and he failed. When he got back to camp he felt that people began to pity him, it set him over the edge; and no one noticed until it was too late. Before Percy, I thought I was in love with him. This is where Percy comes in." She smiled then, as if a happy memory was coming to her.
"I was twelve, I had been at camp for about four years when we got word that Grover was bringing an important Demi-god to camp. He was so special that Chiron had personally went to his boarding school to protect him. I new something was coming, so I practically stuck to Chiron. I hadn't left camp in years, I wanted to go on a quest more then anything. Then one night, this boy appears on Half-blood hill. The Minotour was chasing him. I watched him kill it, it was crazy. This twelve year old kid, with no training whatsoever, defeated this ancient monster. He was hurt though, and when he collapsed on the steps of the big house Chiron asked me to nurse him back to health. He was so sweet looking. I had to feed him Ambrosia and he talked in his sleep. Later, during capture the flag, he was claimed by Poseidon. One of the big three, back then there was that Pact. You know," she gestured to Jason and nodded, "so it was unheard of to get a child of the big three, he was special. He was also dangerous. The kids were scared of him, he was so powerful, but I wasn't. All I saw was my ticket out, and that he was. He got his first quest only a couple days after arriving, and I got to go with him to retrieve Zeus's master lightening bolt. Then came the first signs of Luke's betrayal. He tricked Percy into taking shoes that had belonged to Hermes, they were meant to kill him but Percy gave them to Grover instead. I can't believe I didn't see it then, but it wasn't until after the quest that it was obvious Luke was playing us. He took Percy into the woods, intending to kill him I guess. That's when it came out, Luke's ties to the titan Kronos; he left camp. I was devastated. I refused to believe he would betray us like that.
The next summer, Percy and I went on a quest to rescue Grover and find the golden fleece, and Luke tried to frame Chiron for problems at camp, but Percy tricked him into revealing the truth. The winter after the goddess Artemis and I were taken hostage by Luke, and all I could do was think that there had to be a way-somewhere deep down he was in there. By this time, Thalia had been resurrected so she, Grover, and two hunters went on a joint quest to find the goddess. I heard later the Percy had crashed the party, he never stopped looking for me." Her voice quieted. " Two people died on that quest, none that I knew very well - but Perc was really broken up by it, and felt that he had betrayed a young boy who he had made a promise too to keep his sister safe. Not long after that Percy had a vision that Luke had taken on Kronos's essence. He was gone. That's how it started." She relaxed, it had been a long story. Unfortunately, there was still more I wanted to know.
"But what I don't get is why? I know you love Percy but all of the pain. Why do you care so much. You know you'll see him eventually. Why do you keep looking, even though you know you won't find him?" I had to know, had to understand her. She regarded me for a second. Staring into my eyes.
"When Luke took me hostage all those years ago the hunters wouldn't let Percy come on the quest because they didn't want a boy accompanying them. He stole a Pegasus against Chiron's orders and crashed the quest. He wouldn't take no for an answer. After the quest I was so angry about Luke, so betrayed, and frustrated. I didn't even see what was right in front of me. We were standing on Olympus and Artemis offered me a place with the hunters. It seemed so good, no boys, everlasting youth. I was about to accept and then I looked back at Percy. I looked into his eyes and it shattered me. I could see how scared he was, of losing me. That I would choose Artemis and go away forever. I looked at him and knew I couldn't leave him, that I loved him. He had traveled all that way for me, and I was about to give it all up.
Over the school year we gained intel that Luke was going to use Deadulus's labyrinth to get past the camp's boarders and invade. That was my quest, finally I was getting a quest, and it was this death trap. I still remember how scared I was when the oracle spoke those words… you shall rise or fall by the ghost kings hand, the child of Athena's final stand." She shuddered. I felt a chill race down my spine, that didn't have a nice ring to it. "Anyway, at some point Percy and I were separated from the others on the quest and we ended up on Mount Tam near San Francisco. We witnessed the rise of the Titan typhon, and everything just unraveled. One second everything was fine and then just Chaos. We decided to split up, but I knew that was just code for him sacrificing himself so I could get away. In the last second I kissed the idiot, I didn't even think about it. Then he was gone." Her gaze had gone vacant, absorbed in the past. "In the aftermath I searched for him but he was just gone. No body or trace, nothing at all. It was the hardest time or my life. Eventually I returned to camp and sought help but in the end there was just nothing anyone could do. Two weeks past and the camp was so past hope. Chiron made the choice, announced Percy dead. On the day we burned his shroud the asshole showed up. He looked so pleased with himself and I was so angry at him. Turns out he had been recovering on Clypso's Island for a while. Those weeks were some of the worst I have ever had.
Last summer was the final battle. A lot of people died, and Luke sacrificed himself to put thing's right again. Percy gave up so many things for that battle, he swam in the River Styx, and became invulnerable. He fought harder then anyone. When it was over the gods called us into the throne room and offered us rewards for our service. Athena gave me everything I wanted that day by asking me to be Olympus's architect. It was the most rewarding moment of my life. Validation from my mom. Then they called him up, and offered him something unimaginable. They told him that if he desired it, they would make him a god." She gave us a minute to absorb that. I felt the way Leo looked, stunned. Jason remained thoughtful.
"Wow, when I meet this dude I want to know all his secrets. Guy's a fucking badass." Leo couldn't keep the awe from his voice. I slapped his knee reflexively. Annabeth only gave a small smile.
"I can assure you Leo that at the time it was just as unbelievable. Suddenly I was thirteen again, standing in front of the goddess Artemis, looking back at him. Seeing the pain in his eyes, I knew at that moment we had switched places. As a god, we could never be together, but an offer like that? How could he refuse? Then at the last second he looked into my eyes. I didn't want to look at him, didn't want to show him how terrified I was to lose him… But I guess he knew. He didn't hesitate, he turned them down. In that moment I knew, I just knew, that he felt the same way for me that I felt for him. That was the best, and saddest day. So you want to know why I don't give up? I don't give up because on that day he didn't leave me. He turned down the ultimate gift so we could be together, and I will never stop owing him for that. He has always followed me, always. He crashed a quest to find me, sacrificed himself on Mount Tam so I could get away, and gave up immortality for me, for us. So that we could have something. He has always followed me, and I have always watched his back. As a twelve year old girl I followed him to the underworld too rescue his mother even though we had only know each other a week, no matter what crazy story he told I always believed him, I even took a knife for him. He didn't give up on me, even though he knew I was in love with someone else, with Luke." She spoke softly but silent tears streamed down her cheeks.
My stomach felt oddly hollow, I swallowed tightly. Suddenly I was struck by an overwhelming wave of jealously. I stole a look at Jason. I knew I cared for him, but did I love him? No, at least not yet. Would I search the world for him even though I knew the gods would keep him hidden? Yes, I'm sure of that but as I thought of this the words five months bounced through my head. Annabeth had spent the last five months looking for Percy Jackson. Would I be able to do that for Jason? My stomach dropped, because I wasn't so sure. Because over these months I had watched Annabeth, and seen how with every passing day she became more and more sad. I saw her faint of fatigue and she was a tad thinner then she ought to be. This need to find her missing boyfriend had consumed her. I don't think I could let that happen to me over Jason. We were all quiet for a long time. Finally I cleared my throat.
"Annabeth… I think I envy you." Leo looked like he was about to interrupt but I held up my hand to stop his words. "What I mean is, that you have so much faith in how you feel. The love you feel for this guy, it seems so unreal." I stole another look at Jason and met his eyes for a long moment. "I wish I could feel that." Annabeth smiled a sad sort of smile,
"Oh Piper, it takes time but when you know you know. What Percy and I have… I never would have seen it before but that doesn't make it any less consuming or less important. I want to be looking for him, because the second I stop I just start to feel empty, like I've lost everything in me. I would search the world ten times over for that boy, and I know he would do the same for me." She gazed at us for a minute. "Now I think it's time you all returned don't you think? I hope I was able to answer all your questions. I'll see you in the morning, ok?" Wordlessly Jason got to his feet, nodded silently at Annabeth, and helped me to my feet. Beside me Leo rose as well. Soundlessly we turned our backs to her and headed back towards ring of cabins. Leo ran across the circle into his after saying goodnight, but Jason walked me silently to my door. I was turning to leave when he called my name softly.
"Piper," I turned back to face him, he was looking at me curiously. "All those things that Annabeth said, do you really believe those things exist?" Under his questioning gaze my stomach erupted into butterflies. I looked down and needed my hands. I was nervous but when I spoke my voice was strangely steady.
"Yeah, I really do…" I peered out into the quiet stillness of the night. "I think that, it's very real. As real as casual sex, or the power of lust. I think real, true, love exists just as surely as those other things." I thought of everything I had heard about Silena that night, and Beckendorf, her boyfriend. I thought of Annabeth's many loses and the love still had for all her friends who were no longer around. "Love is many things, Jace, and it has the ability to be obsessive, passionate, quiet, or misguided. It can consume quickly or build for years stretching up into infinity." I didn't really know where the words were coming from because I had never really thought about it that deeply before but it was all true. Aphrodite, love, it's misunderstood and it's almost never believed in. Finally I remembered about Jason, and I peered up into his face, there was something in it I couldn't read.
"Annabeth really loves him," he said it so quietly, I almost don't know if he intended it to be heard. His ridiculously blue eyes bore into mine.
"She loves all of them," I responded, the words tumbled from my mouth before I could stop them. "Who is Rayna, Jace?" He looked a little sad.
"You know something Pipes? I've been trying to figure that out for a while and now I think I finally have. Rayna," his eyes looked a little far away, "I do love her, Annabeth taught me that tonight. About friends dying in that war, but I'm not sure I'm in love with her." I couldn't stop my heartbeat from speeding. "In fact, I am sure I'm not in love with her because I know the way I feel when I remember her isn't the same I feel when I think of you." I barely had time to register this last sentence before his lips touched mine softly.
He drew back after a second, "is this ok?" he asked softly, simply. He leaned back in but words tumbled out of my mouth before he could press our lips back together.
"Jace, are you… I mean, all those things I said about love and stuff. The stuff Annabeth said about Percy and her. I really like you Jason, more then I can possibly say. I've wanted this moment ever since I've known you but…I don't think I can love you like that yet… Is that wrong?" I bit my lip, trying to stop the words. I hadn't wanted to ruin it this fast, but I just hadn't been able to help myself. Jason tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and smiled.
"Annabeth said it took a long time for her and Percy to know, and I am willing as long as I have to in order to feel that way about you. We have a long way to go, but I know we'll get there. Lets just stop wasting time." I felt the smile spread across my face, and this time I was the one who leaned into him. I pressed our lips together, his arms wrapped around my back, pulling us close. My hands intertwined themselves in his hair.
It was better then I remembered.
Annabeth's Point of View
I was aware she was there before I looked up. It certainly was turning into an eventful night, first the drawn out stroll down memory lane with Piper, Jason and Leo and now a surprise visit from my mother. She looked like any average young soccer mom would, faded jeans, a pair of high top black converse, a white t-shirt. She sad down next to me on the dune.
"Mom," I didn't really feel the need to elaborate on that much. I think my anger spoke volumes for me. She sighed,
"Oh Annabeth, darling. I know you are angry I haven't been around to help you deal with this but Percy's disappearance isn't something I can talk about." She didn't speak warmly, but the words weren't unkind either.
"Five months mom, I've been searching for him five months. I think he might be dead," the words felt heavy as I uttered it but I knew at least with the wisdom goddess I could be honest about my feelings. I felt her gaze on me.
"He isn't and you know that. You also know that you won't find him no matter how hard you look. Hera wishes him hidden and he will be as long as she does wish it. What you are doing is a waste of time." This was sharper, as if my mother was frustrated by my inability to see the big picture. I ground my teeth to keep from snapping.
"I. Love. Him. Nothing you do will change that mom, and I will look for him as long as it takes." The next time her mother spoke I could hear the anger.
"Annabeth Chase, no daughter of mine would spend this much time on a missing boy. Love or not it simply isn't smart. I grantee that Percy Jackson, she said the name disdainfully, will be returned to you are some point but for now invest your talents in things more worth while.
"There is nothing more important then finding him." I spoke through gritted teeth, feeling the anger curl inside me. My mother raised one eyebrow, it challenge.
"That is not true daughter, as long as Percy Jackson is under the care of the romans he is safe within their confines. Trapped though he may be. It is your own safety daughter that should demand you and your allies' attention." The surprise must have showed on my face because my mother gave a small smile.
"What are you talking about mom?" I felt the anger evaporate from my stomach. Athena remained stiff and formal despite her sitting next to me on the dunes. When she spoke it was a tight formal sentence.
"A prophecy has… come to light. Or at least it's part of a prophecy but even Apollo is unsure that it is complete." Confusion swirled in me.
"But the oracle hasn't issued any prophecies since Jason's last fall. I would know." It had to be a mistake.
"No, the oracle didn't speak this prophecy. This one came from the west, no one quite knows where but it has come, and all the Harpies have taken to it. Apollo has confirmed it's legitimacy, but that is all we really know of it." I felt a shiver go down my spine, what did this have to do with me?
"Why did you come mother?" I asked it with a steady voice but inside I was screaming. She turned her stormy eyes to mine, and regarded me.
"Because Annabeth, the prophecy is about you my darling. I think it's about time you stopped and reevaluated your priorities." She said it very calmly but I could detect a hint of triumph in her voice. I focused on breathing and speaking calmly. I knew from watching Percy how hard it was when a prophecy was dependent on your actions.
"What did it say," I asked quietly.
"Wisdom's Daughter Walks Alone/The Mark of Athena burns through Rome. Two lines, that is all Annabeth." A cold fist wrapped around my gut. No matter how short it was, I still felt it's power. It's truth. It scared me deep, to the core. Then I thought of Perc, and how at this moment he is stuck somewhere. Alone, with no one who loves him and he probably can't remember who he is. I focused on that and calmed down. I slowly turned and faced my mother.
"Thank You mother, I'll be sure to think over what you've said to me tonight." I said it stiffly but Athena only nodded, and in the blink of an eye she was gone. The silence was overwhelming in the minutes afterward, I could only hear those words echoing in my head. Wisdom's daughter walks alone, the mark of Athena burns through Rome.
Slowly I stood and made my way down to the shore of the water. Percy always used to tell me that when he was upset, or confused he would always go to the water and it would make everything easier. I stood on the sand, and waited until the tide rolled in, coating my feet with cold, icy water. I looked up a the sky, away from the hustle and lights of New York City the stars were visible, and the night was clear. I scanned the sky, my eyes came to rest on Zoe's constellation. I spoke softly into the night.
"Perc, I miss you so much. I am so tired, and I am terrified. Terrified of this prophecy, and of never seeing you again. I want you home so badly, and I promise that I won't stop looking. I promise that when this prophecy comes you and I will have found each other, and we'll face whatever happens together."
Fin.
Wisdom's daughter walks Alone
The mark of Athena burns through Rome.
So here is this story i've been working on for a bit in my spare time. I realize there will be mistakes in continuity and I tried really hard to be factual according to the book. However, due to the nature of the story I do believe I made some minor timing and plot errors. Please forgive this, as I have tried to be as true to the book as I could manage.