A/N: If you're unfamiliar with me or my previous story, The Assassin of Olympus, this first author's note doesn't pertain to you. You can skip it if you like and go straight to the story. (Read the author's note at the end though.)
Okay, I can explain. I said I was quitting fanfiction — multiple times, actually. And I came back, yet again. I also said I was writing an actual novel, which I am still doing. I just decided that I can write two things at once, so here we are.
Why isn't this the sequel to Assassin of Olympus? Honestly, I have zero ideas what to do with that story. I'm not sure I'll ever get to it — it's why I left it open ended. The idea for this story is older than the Assassin of Olympus but I never gave it a second thought, that is until I read Vas Bellicosum by CombatTombat (great story, highly recommend) and it reminded me of this idea. So whenever I felt like I needed a break from my actual book, I worked on this idea. Several weeks later and I have the entire plot lined out from start to end, and now I have the first chapter written.
I've written romance stories in the past, so how is this one going to be any less garbage? Well in my old really garbage stories that were in the romance genre, I started writing with zero ideas other than a pair of people to ship together and zero plot. This time I have plot, I have arcs, I have everything. This story will be good, or at least that's my opinion. Although still rather inexperienced, I'm a far better writer than I was when I last wrote a romance story. Also, it's not JUST romance. The plot of this story doesn't rely solely on that aspect. I'd go so far as to say that romance is only a feature in this overall story. So if you're for some reason not too into romance, then there's still things for you to enjoy here.
So I need you all to know something: this story doesn't have priority over my real book. I'll always work on that first, but this is a side project. I intend on finishing it and updating somewhat frequently, but I can't promise it'll happen quickly.
Speaking of, I had one or two of you ask me to keep you updated on the progress of my book, so that's what this is. I'm currently in the long and tedious process of worldbuilding. I've also just had to scrap a lot of progress that I wasn't happy with and have to redo all of that but better. So in short, it's slow going. Okay, I'm done rambling. You can get to the story now.
Percy awoke in his cot to immediately feel alone. He looked beside him and found the other half of the bed vacant, meaning she had woken before him. He always hated waking up alone.
He pulled on his clothes and boots before exiting out into the rebellion's encampment to find less than half of the other demigods awake. Passing by his comrades that were still too tired to greet him, he made eye contact with Connor and Travis.
"By the river," Connor said before Percy could ask his question.
He gave a single nod of thanks and then walked away from them. He passed between the various tents, the chill morning air nibbling at his skin — it made him miss their old location where they could freely light a fire without worrying about anyone seeing the smoke.
He didn't have to walk long before the comforting sound of the running river met his ears and he knew she was close. Once the river was finally in sight, he spotted his quarry: a woman with wet blonde hair just barely pulling on her top and boots.
"I guess I missed the show," he jested.
His voice brought her attention to him and she stood and smirked at him. Once they were in arm's reach, Annabeth met her lips to his and they held each other for a moment.
"You could have woken me," he said as he ran his fingers through her freshly washed hair, willing the water from it and back into the river.
"I thought you could use all the rest you could get today," she replied.
"Ah, today. I almost forgot."
"Are you ready?"
"We're only intercepting a weapons shipment. Nothing to worry about."
"But I am worried. It's been a few months now since we first moved against Rome and they've yet to retaliate."
"It's because they don't see us as a threat. The longer they underestimate us, the longer we have an advantage."
"You're not at all worried they might be planning something?"
"Maybe? I don't know, honestly. It's why I leave the thinking to you. I just feel like they're waiting for us to do something big before they come at us full force."
"That's an assumption we can't afford to make."
"To you every assumption is an assumption we can't afford to make."
"They've never panned out for me before, have they? I assumed Chiron would come back to us eventually. I assumed my mother might one day acknowledge my existence."
"You don't need a third," he said before she could continue. "I get it. We all miss Chiron. He's still out there somewhere, I'm sure of it."
"That's another assumption."
"We can afford to have hope."
"Hope doesn't win wars."
"We do. We'll win this war and avenge Daedalus's murder. And that's not an assumption — it's a promise."
She rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile. "How can you stay so positive all the time? We're a group of demigods fighting against an empire."
"We've lost a lot so far, but we still have each other. As long as there's still something to fight for, why not be positive?"
They kissed again, but stopped when they heard someone approaching.
"Luke's calling a meeting," Travis told them. "A scout returned."
They followed him back through the encampment until they entered the main tent where most of the other demigods stood around a map on a table.
"Strategos," Percy greeted Luke as he and Annabeth took their place in the tent.
A couple more minutes passed as the rest of the demigods gathered and then Luke spoke.
"As we all know Carthage is expecting a weapons shipment today, and it just so happens that we could use those weapons instead. Prodromoi Will, however, has returned with whispers from the city in question."
Will stepped forward and spoke. "The Romans have demigod captives."
Murmurs erupted at this news.
"How sure are you?" Clarisse asked.
"I'm certain," Will replied. "I heard several rumors about demigods being held in the city, and then I overheard an officer commanding his units to guard 'the prisoners.' I followed them and saw the prison myself. Once there they had a whole conversation about their powers and how difficult they were to catch. After I heard the screaming I rushed straight back here."
"Screaming?" Annabeth said. "Could you recognize the voice?"
"No. It was a man though, sounded somewhat young."
"It could be Nico and Bianca," Percy said. More murmuring followed his comment. Nico and Bianca, being children of Hades, had a way with shadows. This made them the best scouts the rebellion had until they went on a mission they never returned from two months ago. A lot of the demigods had already mourned them but others still held out hope.
"Could be," said Katie. "Or it could be someone else."
"We've not lost anyone else," Charles replied. "Who could it be?"
"Someone new?" she offered.
"Or it's a trap," Luke said, a silence following his commanding voice.
"I'll go alone, then," Percy said.
Everyone looked at him, but it was Luke's eyes he met.
"You'll go alone?" Luke repeated.
"If there's even the slightest chance Nico and Bianca are still alive, I have to try and save them," Percy said. "No matter the risk."
"We can't even know it's them they have captive," Annabeth said.
"Whoever it is I'll rescue them. The Romans are torturing them from what Will's told us. If it's a trap, I'll escape."
"I suppose I'd be wasting my breath trying to stop you," Luke consented. "But come back, that's an order."
"Of course, strategos."
"When will you leave?" Charles asked.
"Immediately," Percy replied without hesitation.
"Immediately?" Annabeth said sharply.
Percy looked to his beloved. "They're torturing them. Of course immediately. You won't miss one soldier. We're overmanned for this interception as is."
"You were supposed to lead the assault!"
"Oh, right. I forgot about that. I was just going to wing it anyway. I'm sure you could do a better job than me."
"We'll discuss that 'wing it' comment when you return," Luke said, interrupting their argument. "But now you have hostages to save and we have to apparently discuss personnel again."
"Of course," Percy said, and then called out good luck to everyone in the tent before exiting, with Annabeth at his heel.
"No," he said to her as he made his way back to their tent.
"No to what?" she asked.
"I know you're about to ask to come with me. You know I can't let you. It'll be hard enough for me to get in and out without being seen, and they're going to need you on this mission anyway."
She sighed, knowing she wasn't going to be changing his mind.
"Let me help you put your armor on at least," said.
He pulled on his leather armor and allowed her to do the straps he had a hard time reaching, not wanting to tell her he'd be taking it off again anyway once he got inside the city.
"I really don't know about this," she said as she worked. "Luke's right. This could be a trap."
"It could be," he agreed. "Like I said: if it is, I'll escape. I'll always come back to you. I have a promise to keep."
Once she was done with his straps, the pair embraced for a long kiss goodbye.
"I think they need you inside," he said after their lips parted.
"If they have Nico and Bianca, bring them back to us," she told him. "And bring yourself back too."
He smiled and then watched her disappear into the tent with the rest of the demigods.
It was a long ride to Carthage, but the sun had still yet to get low in the sky. After tethering his horse outside the city, he hid his armor and sword in a box covered with ragged clothing similar to what he now wore. He began traveling past the Roman citizens searching for a soldier he could possibly tail to the prison, hoping to be able to do so before nightfall.
Another hour passed since his arrival before he overheard talk of prisoners and spotted a pair soldiers walking between buildings, so he decided to follow them. He didn't have to sneak behind them for long before arriving at a stone building with two soldiers stationed at either side of the entrance. Hiding behind a different building, Percy watched the pair he'd followed trade places with two soldiers already there.
As soon as it was only two soldiers near the building, Percy snuck around as best he could without being seen for a bit to try and find a good point of entrance. The prison itself was wholly unimpressive. The bricks were cracked and several were missing. When he found a hole in the back of the building he could climb through he wondered if they seriously couldn't find a better location to hold their prisoners.
Not thinking too much of it, he pulled out his leather armor and put it on as quickly as he could and strapped his sword to his waist in its sheath before climbing through the hole. Once inside he was met with an empty hallway with several locked doors on either side. Stepping lightly, he made his way down the hallway, listening intently for any signs of life inside the building.
Finally, when he was almost at the entrance that had the two guards stationed outside, he heard voices coming from one of the rooms. He pressed his ear to the door and heard a female voice and a male voice having a conversation for only second before he accidentally pressed against the door, making it squeak and causing the voices to stop abruptly. Cursing himself, he contemplated his options for a couple of seconds. He heard a door open behind him and he turned, ready to attack but was thrown back by a blinding and painful something. His sword fell from his hand and he had a metallic taste in his mouth. Vision blurry and ears slightly ringing, he heard his attackers speak.
"What did you do that for?" a female voice asked angrily in Latin, which he had only a limited understanding of.
The male responded and the only thing he could make out was the word "demigod" before being smacked in the head by the hilt of a sword and blacking out.
A/N: There are two author's notes in this chapter, yes I know. Unlike my last story, I'm not going to add a pointless author's note to every single chapter. I'll only write an author's note if there's information you need to know, which this one is an example of.
So this story is obviously set in ancient Rome/Greece. I am by no means a historian, but I'm trying to be somewhat historically accurate. But this is still fiction, so I'm fabricating things to make this story work. If you find anything that makes you go, "I don't think this is how it actually was in ancient Rome" then remember: it's an alternate universe.
Also, the names of the characters are probably going to stick out as not very Roman or Greek because I'm keeping them from Rick's original books, (i.e. Luke. Ever heard of that famous Greek, Luke?) but you'll just have to forgive that because there's not much I can do without making the characters completely different, at which point this would no longer be a fanfiction.
Please leave a review and tell me what you thought of this first chapter. I absolutely love to read them. If there's anything in this chapter that you felt was confusing or ambiguous, it's intentional. It'll be explained at later point in the story. Next chapter in particular should provide a lot of backstory.
