For those of you who have read "Kiss My Eyes", this is the story of why Andromeda was born blind (because, yes, there IS a story). Not that any of you asked. For those of you who have not done so, read anyway. But anyway, this starts before Andi is born, and before Percabeth ties the knot, when they're on some random quest (I imagine them in their early twenties).
I *sniff* don't own…
O-o-O
"Incoming!"
Without even glancing up, Annabeth caught the apple that Nico had tossed across the campfire. She took a bite, still reading the architecture book in her lap, while Percy played with her hair and said, "Am I the only one who just had a bad flashback of bus stations and hacky-sack?"
"Grover," the couple groaned, while Nico shook his head and announced, "I don't want to know."
"So, watcha reading?" Percy asked, resting his chin on Annabeth's shoulder and attempting to see the page.
"You know you don't care," Annabeth teased him, shrugging him off and laughing when he pretended to pout.
"I always care about you," Percy said, and kissed her cheek.
"Remind me why I agreed to come with you two?" Nico complained, making a disgusted face while Annabeth blushed.
"Because, waaay deep down, you love your big cousin," Percy smirked.
"Maybe that's true, but said big cousin could save the PDA until I've gone to sleep."
"If you say so."
They had just sat down for a lavish meal of burned hot dogs and soggy chips when the hellhounds leaped from the trees.
There were four—meaning the demigods were outnumbered by one—but Percy had no problem entertaining the one that pounced on him. Nico pulled his sword and kept the second busy, and the last two attacked Annabeth, who drew her dagger and prepared herself for one heck of a fight.
The first hellhound swiped at her experimentally with its paw, testing her skill, and she cut a gash in the thing's foot with her knife. The second, who was much bigger and apparently relied on strength alone, snapped and probably would have decapitated her had she not thrown herself at the ground. She gave the beast a nice solid kick in the muzzle for good measure as it drew back. Unfortunately, the smaller and smarter hellhound took this as an opportunity to dart in and snag her leg in its jaw. He lifted her off the ground and shook her like a chew toy, flinging her through the air and letting her fly. She tumbled headfirst onto the rocks, and the world went dark.
*#*#*
"Annabeth? Annabeth, can you hear me?"
"You need to wake up, lazy. Open your eyes."
"Come on, Wise Girl. You need to be okay."
Annabeth's head hurt. A lot. She wanted to go back to sleep, but the voices were insisting that she wake up, and she knew that at least one of them had her best interests at heart. She let a little moan escape her lips as she attempted to open her eyes. Everything was still dark, though, so she had a feeling that her efforts were in vain.
Someone sighed in relief, and a pair of arms tightened around her. "You had us scared there for a minute," the voice said shakily, "but thank the gods you're okay. You're safe now."
Annabeth tried to open her eyes again. It was strange; they felt like they were open, but she still couldn't see anything. "Percy? Where are you?" she groaned.
"I'm right here, you're safe," he reassured her, and a hand ran through her hair. She still couldn't see him, or anything, for that matter.
"I can't find you," she whispered, reaching for his hand. He twined his fingers around hers, but his grip was stiff, nervous.
"What do you mean, you can't find me? I'm right here," he said.
"Percy…" Nico's voice warned.
A sudden thought froze Annabeth. "Percy," she breathed, not sure if she wanted the answer, "are my eyes open?"
He sounded slightly panicked as he said, "Yeah, they're wide open. What's wrong?"
Annabeth couldn't answer. She was too busy hyperventilating.
"Annabeth, tell me."
She could feel herself tearing up. "Percy, I can't see."
He froze. She started panicking. "Oh, gods, I can't see, I can't see, oh, gods, I'm blind!"
He pulled her into a sitting position, and she started sobbing, "Percy, I'm blind—oh gods—I'm blind, I can't see—gods, I'm blind, I'm blind—" She buried her face in Percy's shirt as the horror overwhelmed her. He wrapped his arms around her and rocked her like a child, but she was beyond being annoyed by this. She just sobbed into his chest, shaking and gasping, until her throat felt raw and she had run out of tears.
As she slowly drifted into unconsciousness, Annabeth could hear Nico speaking urgently. "There's no way we can finish the quest, not with Annabeth in her condition. We have to go back."
"We can't quit now; we're so close. And Annabeth would kill us if we gave up because of her."
"Percy, I know you don't like it, but we can't do it. She's our best strategist and she can't even see the battlefield! Not to mention, in a fight, she's a sitting duck."
"I'll keep her safe."
"Yeah, and look how well that worked just now!"
Even in her half-asleep state, she could feel Percy wince.
Nico sighed, and his voice softened. "Sorry, man. That was below the belt."
"No, you're right."
"Will you stop it! You're always beating yourself up over stuff that isn't your fault, and it's getting annoying."
"But I couldn't protect her."
"None of us could. Now get some sleep…we have to get an early start tomorrow if we're going to finish this thing." Nico trudged off. Percy started to disentangle himself from Annabeth's limbs, and she panicked. She didn't want to be marooned in the darkness. Her hand snaked around his wrist, silently begging him to stay. He stiffened in shock, but then relaxed and stretched himself out, tucking her head under his chin. She curled against him as sleep smothered her.
*#*#*
When she woke the next morning, the first thing that came to Annabeth's mind was wonder: why was she sleeping on the dirt, instead of her sleeping bag? And why was Percy with her?
The second thing: I'm blind.
She jerked into a sitting position as the second thought hit her with the force of a charging Minotaur.
She opened her eyes, straining to see anything, which of course was useless. Percy stretched and yawned, and she heard his back pop as he sat up. "Annabeth? What are you…" he froze. She supposed he must have spotted the tears rolling down her cheeks. "Oh—oh, gods…your eyes? Are they—"
"I still can't see." Her voice was similar to that of a frog that had smoked one too many cigarettes.
Percy placed one arm around her waist. "I'm sorry."
"For what? You didn't do anything."
She thought he said, "That's the problem," but she couldn't be sure.
"Come on, lovebirds! I have breakfast over here!" Nico called, but Annabeth could hear the forced casualness in his tone. Percy hauled her to her feet and attempted to guide her to the remains of the campfire, but after two steps she tripped over her own feet and he was forced to nearly carry her. She felt useless.
Percy and Nico managed to get everything packed up, while Annabeth sat and listened and tried not to sulk too much. She could tell that the boys weren't used to organizing anything, and most likely they were wadding everything up and stuffing them in various packs. The only thing worse than the feeling of being another piece of baggage, however, was the feeling of drifting. She was alone in the dark, with no idea where anything or anyone was. The only thing keeping her halfway sane was Percy—every few minutes, he would pass by and stroke her hair or her cheek, and she would know that she was not completely abandoned.
They trudged through the forests for days on end, so close to their destination—and Annabeth hated every second of it. She tried walking, and even though Percy and Nico did all they could to give her a clear path; she tripped over everything, to the point where Percy was forced to pick her up, bridal-style, and carry her. She lost all sense of direction and clung to Percy's neck like it was her anchor—and in a way, it was. He was her anchor.
Monsters attacked almost every day now, sensing her fear and helplessness, and when it happened Percy would set her down and fight for all he was worth. She would curl up in a ball and try not to scream too loudly, because everything was so overwhelming. Every sound echoed in her head like a thousand pounding drums, every touch was too strong…
Well, maybe not every touch. Percy was always gentle and quiet and understanding. He would hold her as she cried, and he would whisper his lame jokes and useless attempts at humor, but he never told her it would be fine. He knew better than to lie to her.
It was several days later—she couldn't be sure of exactly when it was, since it was much harder to mark time when she couldn't see the sun and her sleep patterns had gone screwy—she and Percy were sitting on a log somewhere. Nico had claimed that he was going to go scouting, but Annabeth figured that he really just wanted a break from her moping. She couldn't blame him.
"I'm really sorry."
Annabeth winced involuntarily. Percy always kept his voice low for her sake, but she had a headache already from various monster attacks. "What are you sorry for?" she whispered.
"I couldn't keep you safe," he replied, dropping his voice to match hers. It didn't hurt her head so much.
"That's stupid. What could you have done?"
"Something! I could have driven off those hellhounds, or helped you…"
"Percy, stop it. You couldn't have done anything."
She felt Percy force himself to relax. "That doesn't make me feel better."
She wanted to point out that, all things considered, she wasn't exactly going out of the way to take care of his feelings, but decided against it. It wasn't going to help his mood. They stewed in silence until Annabeth sighed and whispered, "Can you talk, or something? I really need a distraction right now. My head isn't the happiest place to be."
"I can imagine, but my talking probably isn't much better."
"Good point…"
"There's the Annabeth I know and love."
She hid her face in his neck and whispered the most uncharacteristic words to ever cross a demigod's lips: "I'm so scared."
He shifted her until she was sitting in his lap, with his arms solidly around her waist. "I know."
She didn't notice when she started crying again; it had happened so often since the accident.
Percy turned his head to kiss her behind the ear as he murmured, "You said you needed a distraction?"
She couldn't help but crack a watery smile. "That would be nice."
His arm disappeared. She sat up, slightly curious, as he shifted his weight. Then he put something in her hand. It was small, and cold, and round, with a hard little lump on the outside rim.
A ring.
"I know it's probably so cheesy you want to stab me," Percy apologized, "and I guess it's really bad timing, because you have a lot of other crap on your mind right now, but I just wanted you to know that I'm here for you. You don't have to go it alone. I'll even learn Braille with you or something so we can pass notes and drive the Stoll brothers crazy while they try to figure it out. Besides, it'll help with my dyslexia, when I don't have to look around for Greek translations of every book—"
Annabeth hugged him so tightly that she was amazed his ribs didn't crack.
He started laughing as he said, "Am I right to take that as a 'Yes and shut up?'"
She nodded into his shoulder.
"Thought so."
When Nico came back hours later from his "scouting" expedition, he found them curled up on the ground, fast asleep. Annabeth's eyes were dry.
*#*#*
"You have done a great service for Olympus!" Zeus boomed. "In return for this service, I will spare your lives."
"What did we do this time?" Percy asked.
"You have annoyed me enough in the past that it is taking all of my self control not to smite you. Now leave!"
Judging by his panicked footsteps, Nico was only too happy to comply. Annabeth stood as soon as Percy had removed his hand from her eyes. She had no idea if being blind would affect the whole "looking-at-the-gods-in-their-true-forms-will-kill-you" thing, but better safe than sorry. She was about to turn and leave when a voice boomed, "You wished to speak with me?"
"You want me to stay?" Percy asked. She shook her head. He wrapped an arm around her and whispered, "I'll wait outside the doors." Then he kissed the top of her head and was gone.
Annabeth knelt and whispered, "Thank you for your time, Lord Apollo."
"You wish to ask me for something."
She bowed her head and breathed, "Please. I…I would do anything—I'll give anything—please, restore my sight."
"I can't."
Annabeth had never heard a more horrible sentence. Apollo quickly added, "I want to, trust me, but I cannot. Lord Zeus forbids it."
"He forbids it? Why?"
Apollo knelt in front of her, his armor clanking on the marble floor. "You have already received a great gift from the gods, without a price. We cannot do this again."
"What if I paid a price?"
"It is too great."
Annabeth leaned forward desperately. She needed to see. She had to see the things she had taken for granted; she needed to see the monuments she'd designed and the friends she'd laughed with. She needed to see Percy's face. So even though it was foolish and she would probably regret it later, she blurted, "Any price—whatever it is, I'll pay it."
"Very well."
Her heart swelled, and she was preparing to grovel in thankfulness until the sun god continued, "I will heal your sight, on the condition that I bestow your curse on the one you love the most."
Before Annabeth could protest, Apollo's hand touched her forehead, and the world exploded in a blinding flash.
*#*#*
She awoke shivering on the throne room floor, completely alone. Her eyes snapped open, and she was blinded by the bright marble.
She could see again.
Her joy was replaced with a gut-wrenching panic as Apollo's condition rang in her ears again. Gods, she thought, Percy.
She tried sprinting for the throne room doors, but everything was too bright now, too colorful. She closed her eyes and stumbled into the courtyard, calling, "Percy?"
"I'm over here," he said, and Annabeth gave a mental sigh of relief. His voice did not sound panicked or stressed. He reached her, and she ran her hands over his face, demanding, "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," he said. "And you?"
In answer, she opened her eyes.
He stared at her for a long minute before a slow smile spread across his face. Then he swept her up in a bone-crushing hug, swinging her around and setting her on her feet. She didn't mind being lifted off the ground now that she could see it. So Annabeth pressed her face into the hollow of his throat, but he pushed her chin back up so that she was staring into his face again. "Don't look away right now," he begged. "You have no idea how much I've missed you looking me in the eyes." She laughed, and the sound was foreign to her for a brief moment, but she looked at Percy and stated, "You're such a sap, Seaweed Brain."
He started cracking up, and he rested his chin on the top of her head. "I've missed you, Annabeth."
She didn't need to ask what he meant.
*#*#*
Percy swept her up in an embrace that left her feet dangling a foot off the ground, swinging her in a wide circle before setting her down again and dropping dozens of little kisses on the top of her head. She could feel the few curious stares of the new campers—after being married for almost a year now, their rare PDA was old news—but at this point, Annabeth didn't care. She smiled up at him and settled on a bench, wrapping her fingers in his. He perched beside her, wrapping her in his arms and tucking her head under his chin.
"You certainly took the news well," she teased him.
"Of course I did. Did you expect anything different?"
"I was sort of expecting you to freak out a little."
"I can assure you, I'm freaking out—but in a good way."
"Well, that makes it fine."
"You're turning really sarcastic, you know that?"
She laughed and punched his arm. "Get used to it, Seaweed Brain."
"I think I can manage that."
She tugged on their intertwined hands, resting them both on her abdomen. While Percy's free hand twirled the ends of her hair, she felt a twinge of panic in her gut. Apollo's words rang in her ears again, as they hadn't done for so long: on the condition that I bestow your curse on the one you love the most. She feared for her unborn child. But surely Apollo would never do such a horrible thing to a young child? Besides, Percy's sight was intact, and there was no one she could imagine caring about more than him.
Could that change?
*#*#*
Yes, it could.
Annabeth stared blankly at the plain white wall, shivering beneath the thin hospital blankets. She had never felt this cold before. It was a penetrating chill, beginning in her heart and working its way out.
The door banged open and Nico dashed in, saying, "Hey, I just heard! Congrats, you two…" he trailed off as he took in their expressions. "Wait, did something happen? Oh, gods, did the baby…you know…"
"She didn't die." Annabeth's voice was hollow.
Nico crossed the room and dropped into a chair, saying, "So, did something happen?"
No one bothered to answer. They sat in uncomfortable silence, with Annabeth not looking at either of the boys, both of whom were gazing worriedly at her. Minutes passed.
"She's blind."
Percy and Nico snapped back into focus at Annabeth's words. She continued to look at the wall as she said, "She was born blind, and the doctors already told us that they can't do anything to fix it. Nothing. And it's all my fault." Her head bowed and she twisted her whole body to the side, facing the wall, resting her head on her arm.
Percy got to his feet and walked across the room, sitting on the side of Annabeth's bed and running his hand through her hair. "You honestly think that? I thought you were supposed to be the smart one."
"Stop it. This isn't funny." Her voice was so full of agony that Percy dropped the joking attitude. His shoulders drooped and he leaned his head against the wall.
"It's not your fault. I don't know how you got it into your head, but it isn't."
"Yes, it is."
"Annabeth—"
"Stop it, Percy! You don't know what…what I did…I didn't think it would turn out like this…" she started shaking.
"Do you want to tell me?"
She sniffled and sat up, leaning on Percy's shoulder. "I…after my accident, when we were at Olympus, I stayed behind to talk to Apollo—"
"We've heard this," Percy reminded her gently.
"Not all of it," she said. "He…he wasn't going to heal me…he said Zeus wouldn't allow it…but I agreed to pay a price…I…I had no idea he would…" she shook her head and swallowed her tears. "He said he would heal me, but he…he had to…g-give my c-curse to the person…the person I loved more than anything…and…I didn't have time to s-stop him…"
Apart from her quiet sobs, the room was silent. Finally Annabeth regained enough control to say, "I thought it was you, Percy. That's why I was so worried when…this is my fault. All my fault."
Percy tucked her under his arm and rubbed her back as she was reduced to incoherent cries again. His face was blank, numb.
They lost track of time again until Nico asked, "What does she look like?"
Percy and Annabeth looked up, confused until Nico elaborated, "The baby. What does she look like?"
A small smile crept across Annabeth's face, and she sniffed and rubbed her nose. "She's gorgeous," Annabeth beamed. "You should see her."
Just then a nurse bustled in, pushing a small cradle-like cart with a sleeping child inside. The nurse placed the little girl in Annabeth's waiting arms and slipped back out again.
The girl was pale, her skin almost white in contrast with her dark black hair, which was barely long enough to be given the name. She lay still in her mother's arms, apart from her little fist, which grasped at the empty air in front of her, pawing at objects dancing behind her closed lids.
Annabeth reached out and placed her finger in her daughter's hand, smiling when the tiny fingers encircled her own. She could feel her chilled heart begin to thaw as the newborn yawned; her tiny lips puckering into a delicate O. Annabeth pressed her lips against her daughter's fist and leaned against Percy, this time sharing joy rather than sorrow.
Nico made his way across the room and squatted next to the bed, hesitantly stroking the infant's milky arm. "She's going to be a real knockout someday," he breathed.
"Just like her mom," Percy said. Annabeth snorted and shook her head.
The trio sat in silence, as they had nearly two years ago in that forest. The greatest change was the sleeping girl in the woman's arms, and the adults' warm expressions, watching her. Finally Nico asked, "What's her name?"
Annabeth pulled her finger free of her child's grasp and took Percy's hand. He squeezed her fingertips, and she watched the girl yawn once again and open her stormy gray eyes, which were empty and motionless.
"Andromeda," she told him.
O-o-O
Love it? Hate it? Quit reading it because you found it depressing and OOC? I'm not a mind reader. You must tell me, preferably in review form. The little button needs some love.