For the glory of Rome
*DISCLAIMER* as much as i would like to i don't own Anything to do with the Percy Jackson series all rights go to Rick
Chapter 1:
3rd Person POV:
The sound of laughter echoed around the walls of the villa late in the deep heat of the late afternoon. The blonde mistress of the house was running around, being chased by her dark haired companion. By the time they had burst through the outdoor area, the blonde had been tackled from behind by the slightly younger boy, causing both to burst out in laughter as they began rolling across the grass. As they came to a stop, the two eight year olds fell into a comfortable silence as they lay beside each other, looking over the small hill that the villa had been built on. Not that there was much to be seen, as much of the surrounding area was covered in vast swathes of nothingness, interrupted every so often by a small vineyard or the dust trail of a herder driving their livestock towards the lively cities in the north.
They say all roads lead to Rome, and when you live twenty miles from the city, well let's just say that is a far more accurate statement than you would think. However, for the two children all those thoughts could wait. They weren't interested in politics or what new country the army was fighting. No they were interested in the more important questions in life, like what new trinkets would their fathers bring back from Rome, or the jobs Percy was supposed to be doing instead of playing with Annabeth. Yet neither friend was deeply troubled by the later. In fact ever since Percy got the job as Annabeth's servant, more time had been spent playing in each other's company, than any jobs completed. Yet Annabeth couldn't think of anyone she would rather have had as a friend.
Percy was from a vineyard a few miles further along the road. He and his father lived alone there, with Percy having never met his mother. The only thing he ever learned was that she loved him even more than crops. Like what does that even mean? Either way Percy had enjoyed his childhood, even if his father was fairly poor which necessitated Percy getting a job to help out. Now most eight year olds would be more concerned with learning the trade they would take when they were older, but for Percy growing things came naturally. Plants just reacted around him, growing at an incredible rate. It helped Percy's father sell some of the best fruits at the market.
Just a word about Percy's father he was the best parent anyone could ask for. He also found a way to find the joy in any scenario. Like when Percy was sad that he knew nothing of his mother, Samuel (Instead of Sally) took him outside and picked up a flower bulb that was to be planted the next day.
FLASHBACK
Percy POV:
"Now Percy, look at this bulb and what do you see?" I tried looking at the bulb in the fading light, but all I saw was a bulb? Something I had seen pretty much every day of my life, it was nothing special. More importantly what did it have to do with my mother?
"It's just a bulb. There's nothing special about it? What does mum have to do with this?" I said looking sceptically at my father.
"Now that may be true" he said grinning "but it's not the bulb that is important. It's what the bulb can do" he said, lowering the bulb and putting it in my hand, closing his over it as he lowered himself to my eye level. "But once we plant it, it will grow and grow, and it will become a flower. Now I don't know how large flower will grow or how beautiful the petals will be. All I know is that I will do all I can to make sure it's alright. Then I will wait for the first shoots to find the sun and leave the ground and then it's in the hands of lady Ceres" he said, a twinkle in his deep brown eyes.
"So my mum is like Lady Ceres?" I asked innocently, a strange feeling erupting in my hands.
"In more ways than you would like to think" my father said, winking as he opened my hand to reveal the bulb. Only it wasn't exactly a bulb anymore.
In my hand was now the stem and first leaves of a sun flower. The plant was small and it's petals were not very developed, but it was still further on that it had any right to be. I looked up at my father with bright astonished eyes .I was truly flabbergasted at this, I had no idea how that had happened! My father simply smirked back at me, his usual twinkle in his eyes revealing that he knew more about this than he was letting on.
"In more ways than you can think" he murmured to himself as he ushered me back inside to get ready for bed.
FLASHBACK END
3RD PERSON POV:
Percy still had that flower growing happily in his room. He was eight so didn't really question the fact a sunflower had lasted three years quite happily. Percy had enjoyed his life, and fully expected to one day take over his father's business as a vineyard owner. Annabeth on the other hand had no interest in taking after her father.
Her father was a senator in the city, so he was gone most of the time leaving Annabeth alone in the countryside. She had nothing against the house or his job, but the lack of both a father and a mother had impacted her in more ways than she would like to admit. She always felt more grown up when she was alone, due to her being the nominal head of the household in her father's absence. Sure she had servants who ran the house, but she was supposed to be in charge, or so she told herself. In the end it led to nothing more than a lonely childhood. That was until Percy came along.
The first day she met him, it was safe to say that they did not get on. He was supposed to be her personal servant, so he would tidy up after her, clean her room etc…yet he didn't even seem to realise that the books were ordered alphabetically! Gods she had wanted to kill him that day. She had even found a book on Architecture amongst the T's…honestly. Yet somehow a friendship had developed, and Annabeth had never smiled as much. She finally had the friend that she never knew she needed, one that brought out a side of her not seen by anyone else.
Yes it could be said that they were made to be together, but even as the best pen runs out of ink, or the strongest building crumbles under the test of time, so too do fairy story childhoods come to an end. So as the sun grew orange at its setting that day, the two unlikely friends sat together, just enjoying one another's company.
Percy collected a seed he had stored in his pocket for a time like this and began to make it grow. He still had no idea how his power would work, but when it came to flowers he soon found it easy to create the life within them. In a few seconds he held a beautiful purple tulip.
Percy looked across at Annabeth and felt happy he had a friend as great as her, so taking the tulip he brushed back her hair and put it in just above her ear. Annabeth looked over at her best friend and smiled, before shuffling in closer for a hug to show her thanks. It was truly unfortunate that they never knew how little time they still had to be this way.
HEY GUYS! Thanks for giving this story a go! I hope you enjoyed it, and I have a good idea where I want to take this and I think you will really enjoy it! This will be a Percabeth story and it's something I literally came up with and wrote down, but I'm pretty happy with the idea so going to play about with it. Please let me know what you think and if I should continue! Also they won't have dyslexia since they are supposed to be able to read Latin so it's all good! Thanks CNRBRR