AN. Hi everyone! Evelyn here, and, well, it's my first attempt to publish my stories. First fic! ;P
As stated in the summary, this fic is an AU PJO/HOO fic, heavily based on The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. To those of you who have read The Goose Girl, in the beginning, the storyline may seem similar/the same, but later on (possibly much later on) it's going to take a turn of my own. Pairings: Percabeth, and possibly Jasper if I find a way to get them together...
Ok, so this is kind of a intro chapter...not much action. We all want to rush towards the climax, but there needs to be a start somewhere...
It might be a bit boring, but the action will come:)
Constructive criticism, advice, and slight flames welcomed.
I know you guys are probably getting bored (if any of you even reads this thing), so...hope you like the story :)
Disclaimer: Do not own PJO, HOO, characters
Prologue
The cries of a newborn baby filled the air, chasing away the worried silence.
When the queen held the tiny baby in her arms, her smile softened her stormy gray eyes, and she hugged the baby to her chest, murmuring to her newborn daughter. The baby looked so beautiful, with a perfect round face and a wisp of soft golden hair. The king stood by the bed, smiling joyously at his wife, his love for his queen clear as day.
The baby had ceased her crying, and was staring at her mother with wide gray eyes, the exact shade of her mother's. The baby murmured, and the queen laughed softly.
"Look, my king," Athena said to her husband, still cuddling her baby. The girl was warmer than anything or anybody Athena had ever felt. "Does she not seem like a wonderful girl? She is already trying to speak. And she has stopped crying so early. Most babies would have kept on howling until they exhaust themselves."
The king smiled lovingly at his wife. "Yes. I am confident that our daughter will be capable of great things." King Tristan II knelt down by the bed, touching his fingers to the baby girl's cheeks. The girl moved her hand and grabbed her father's fingers, her fist seeming tiny compared to her father's large hand. "She will be the greatest queen there ever was."
The maids and physicians all backed away respectfully.
"What shall we name her?" The king wondered.
Queen Athena looked out the window at the sky beyond. Light from the rising sun filtered in. She still looked worn out, but peaceful and absolutely beautiful.
She smiled. "Annabeth."
The king smiled back. "And so she shall be."
Annabeth Gramarye Pallas-Minerva, she was named. She was born the crown princess of Greece, destined for greatness.
Chapter I.
Annabeth slashed the knife at the straw dummy, grunting with effort. She was only nine, but ever since she saw soldiers training in the rings, having mock fights with each other, she had wanted to know how to fight.
In her hand was a bronze, leaf-shaped knife. It had been given to her as her birthday present just a few days ago, by her friend, son of the Captain of Guards. Well, not the old Captain. She heard from the maids a year ago that the old Captain had been tortured to death, even though she didn't quite understand what "torture" means. The maids had continued gossiping in low voices, saying that they only found out after almost eight years because the man had been careful. He had eliminated almost all traces of evidence, and killed all people involved. But what he hadn't been able to erase was his own memory, as he blurted out his secret himself while drunk. "Quite stupid of him," the younger maid had commented with a snort.
They said that he had tried to kill the king, putting poison in his goblet, but killed the queen instead by accident. Annabeth hadn't understood. Wasn't the queen fine? Queen Aphrodite was just in the gardens having a walk; it was such a nice day after all.
But when she emerged from behind the doors to ask the two maids about it, they had paled and clammed up, saying that they didn't mean anything, that they were only joking around. Annabeth didn't believe them, but she had better things to do other than grill gossip out of nurse maids…
Annabeth scolded herself for letting her mind wander again. It seemed to be her worst problem. Her mind tends to trail off, failing to focus. But she shook her head and attacked the dummy with renewed vigor. As the dummy reduced to small pieces of straw on the dirt, clapping came from behind her.
Annabeth turned around. It was Luke, son of the Captain of Guards, the very person who gave her the celestial bronze knife. He was around fifteen, with sandy blonde hair and light blue eyes. Apart from his good-looking face and well-toned body – Annabeth had heard that also from serving maids, though she must admit herself that she also found Luke extremely good-looking – he was pretty ordinary, considering that most Greeks had light hair and eyes. Annabeth's parents were exceptions, as King Tristan II had dark hair and chocolate eyes, and Queen Aphrodite had eyes whose color changes as often as the weather. Her younger sister, Piper, had inherited both of their parent's unique traits, but Annabeth was still just…normal, with honey blond hair and gray eyes.
"Great job, Annabeth!" Luke praised her. "It seems like you are putting my present to good use."
Annabeth beamed. She had always loved Luke, ever since they met when Annabeth was…three? Four? She couldn't remember, but it didn't really matter anyways. He was his best friend, other than Piper. "Really?"
Luke nodded. "But you do need more practice if you want to defeat…"
"Annabeth." The voice came from the side of the ring. It was Queen Aphrodite, her mother, and she didn't look too pleased.
Luke knelt down and muttered, "Your majesty."
Annabeth went over to her. "Yes, mother?"
Aphrodite's voice contained only displeasure. "What do you think you are doing?"
Annabeth frowned slightly. "I…am training?" She said uncertainly, her answer sounding more like a question than a statement.
The queen lowered her head and looked straight into Annabeth's eyes. "Princesses do not train."
"But, mother –"
"As Crown Princess, you are to lead the country one day. How will the people think of a princess who trains alongside men? They will doubt you. They will doubt your abilities, and they will not trust you." At that moment, Aphrodite's eyes were icy blue.
Annabeth looked crestfallen. Her eyes were threatening to well up with tears. "But, I am not doing anything wrong. I can fight and also be a princess!"
Aphrodite looked down at the girl, her eyes unreadable. She then turned to her maid. "Take her to her room and change her into something…presentable. We do not want our guests this evening to see her in this dirt-covered dress and think that their future queen is a dirty servant."
The maid stalked over and grabbed Annabeth's arm, hard. "Now you be nice, Crown Princess. You do not want to disobey your mother."
Annabeth fought her, but as she struggled, the maid's eyes morphed from gray to light blue, and her hair from white-blond to light brown. She was no longer the queen's maid, but Annabeth's own lady-in-waiting, Drew.
"Stop fighting, Crown Princess. You will break your mother's heart," she chided.
Somehow, the fence of the ring between her, her mother, and Drew had disappeared, and Drew was right in front of her. Aphrodite was walking away, apparently called by a page boy, heading off to more urgent business.
Annabeth turned her head to plead to Luke, but Luke had mysteriously vanished. She turned back around, and found Luke standing beside Drew, his face a foreign, cold mask. Annabeth almost yelped.
He smiled, and it wasn't like any smile she had ever seen before. It was evil, also completely and definitely not Luke. "Be nice and surrender, Princess Annabeth," Luke said. "It will be for the best."
Annabeth's grip on her knife loosened, and it clattered to the ground.
Luke picked it up, and examined the blade.
Annabeth looked on in shock, unable to comprehend the series of events. Some part of her mind prevailed, and she whispered, "No…" Her voice grew stronger, more determined, and she repeated, "No!"
Drew laughed her light, tinkling laugh and put her hand on the handle of the blade. She whispered to Luke, "We will kill her. You shall help me."
Annabeth's heart was pounding in her chest.
Luke nodded, his blue eyes that Annabeth had always found beautiful glazed. "Yes, I will."
And together they drove the blade into Annabeth's heart.
Annabeth flew out of her bed, eyes wide open and wild. It took a few moments to convince herself that she was dreaming, and another few to convince her concerned maids that she was alright and not sick or otherwise diseased.
In the light of a beautiful morning, the dream seemed childish and silly. The first part of her dream had come straight from memory, the part where Annabeth was practicing with the knife from Luke, the part where the queen had discovered Annabeth's…extracurricular activities and forbid her to train, fight, or do basically anything unladylike again. Though, when the maid morphed into Drew, Annabeth should have realized that it was a dream. But no, she let herself get tricked by her own mind.
Annabeth laughed lightly to herself as she sat back down on her bed. Really, how could I have even dreamed that Luke and Drew, two of my best friends, will kill me? It is ridiculous, that's what it is.
As the maids came back in to help Annabeth change out of her nightgown, she thought about the day, and her heart filled with excitement. It was her sixteenth birthday, and Annabeth had successfully convinced her father to spend this one with her instead of huddled up in his throne room. Sixteen was the most important age for girls in Greece, as it was when girls became women. It was a special day for them, even though there were no specific ceremonies or anything.
But on a boy's sixteenth birthday, Annabeth thought grumpily, they get a special adulthood ceremony, and they become legal citizens of Greece. What do we girls get? We get married off to people we have never met before.
Fortunately, that was not the case for Annabeth, for, being the Crown Princess, even if she did marry in a few years, she would remain the queen of Greece, and would not have to move to her husband's place.
But in the evening, Annabeth would be "presented" to the country, meaning that she would stand on the balcony of the palace, and people would come from all across the country to witness their future queen give a boring speech that was written by someone else. Best birthday ever, is it not?
Annabeth didn't want to live her life like this, but she has no choice. She was born Crown Princess of this country, and she needed to fulfill her duties.
Annabeth relaxed slightly as she entered the horse stables. It was one place that the queen had allowed her to go to, after tremendous amounts of protests from her father, of course. The king had thought that Annabeth was responsible enough to own a horse of her own. "Besides," the king had said, "How would the people think if their ruler cannot even stay on horseback? How shall she lead the people in battle?" Aphrodite had pursed her lips and countered the argument, saying that being a ruler doesn't entail being able to ride a horse, and that Annabeth should win the hearts of the people by being a lady, as she should be. The king argued adamantly.
It was the first time Annabeth had seen anyone successfully stand up to the queen, and her heart had warmed that day when her father had led her personally into the royal stables on Annabeth's tenth birthday, telling her to choose her horse.
Annabeth didn't choose from the horses already standing and lined up. Her eyes had been drawn to the pretty gray mare lying on the ground, and the damp little horse that was lying beside her. The chestnut must have just given birth to her foal, Annabeth had thought.
She looked to the little creature, the newborn…
"A colt, your majesty," the stable master reported to her father.
Annabeth studied the practically black colt. The little thing had long legs, and two huge eyes that seemed to glow with life. He struggled, and stood up on its feet, then promptly fell back down on the straw.
Annabeth gasped, starting forward to help the colt, but her father had held her back. Annabeth looked up into her father's warm chocolate eyes, confused. Her father explained, "You have to let him learn himself. If you help him now, he will never be able to be a good horse."
Annabeth understood, and stood back when the colt tried a second time, and a third. She practically whooped with joy when the tiny fellow finally succeeded, and she stretched out her arm.
"I want that one!" She exclaimed excitedly, pointing.
The stable master started. "Now Crown Princess, that mare is not for riding…"
"No, I mean the little one! The black colt!"
The king and the stable master both looked towards the colt, who had trotted over to his mother and was feeding contently. The colt paused and looked at them, flicking his ear, as if he knew that he was the subject of discussion. He trotted over and sniffed Annabeth's outstretched hand. Annabeth noted with fascination that the horse had white markings on his nose and around his eyes.
The stable master, slightly miffed for reasons beyond Annabeth, protested, "I do not think that a wild colt is suitable for the Crown Princess…"
The king interrupted, "It will be all right, Geryon." He turned to Annabeth, his eyes almost sparkling. "If you think that you can handle him," he said with a sweep of his arm, "You can have him."
Annabeth beamed.
Annabeth smiled at the memory. The king rarely had free time, so whenever he spent time with his children, Annabeth treated it as something invaluable. That was part of the reason why Annabeth was so ecstatic about the ride today. King Tristan II had finally gave in and agreed to Annabeth's birthday ride proposal. Even though he probably had mounds of work to do, the small, selfish part of Annabeth cheered triumphantly.
I will just help him later, Annabeth thought as she walked along the stable halls, nodding to the saluting guards. I am to become the future queen; more practice cannot do me any bad.
When she saw the gleaming white coat of her horse, she grinned. Pegasus was truly magnificent, his snow-white coat and mane making him seem as regal as a prince. His dark gray coat from when he was just a colt had faded into dappled gray, then pure white, and he had grown to a full seventeen hands, which had aroused many concerned whispers from court officials and such. The future queen, riding a seventeen-hand tall stallion? Of course they wouldn't know or care about the fact that Pegasus was the gentlest horse there had ever existed on this land.
Annabeth knew better than to let those comments get to her head. Even the queen's regular "looks" could never come between Annabeth and her beloved horse – no, Pegasus was more than just a horse. Having cared for Pegasus ever since his birth, Pegasus and Annabeth were inseparable; they were, as some would say, life and death partners.
Annabeth tacked up Pegasus, talking to him all the while, and led him outside, where her father was waiting already with his gelding.
"Ah, Annabeth, here you are." Tristan led his horse over, his eyes twinkling. The two horses snorted and touched noses.
Annabeth smiled in return, and was about to say something when someone called from behind.
"Annabeth!"
She turned around, finding Piper holding a mare of her own and grinning from ear to ear.
"Piper!" Annabeth exclaimed, letting go of Pegasus's halter and rushing over to hug her sister. "I didn't know you were coming! In fact," Annabeth eyed her father, standing innocently behind the two girls with the horses. "I think someone specifically told me that you are not coming along with us."
"Of course!" Piper's kaleidoscope eyes danced with laughter. "Would it still be a surprise if everyone knew?"
The two girls laughed as their father coughed. Pegasus nickered and flicked his ears.
"I think that the horses are eager to go." The king mounted his horse. "Shall we?"
The trio left the rings, heading towards the outer fields and woods. A small group of guards trailed behind.
As they left, Annabeth gazed longingly at the training rings and the two sparring soldiers.
Yeah...I couldn't think of any pet that Annabeth owned in the canon, and the other pegasus names in PJO seemed weird in this story (I mean, a horse named Porkpie in a medieval kingdom...it simply won't work), so I just took the name Pegasus! A bit lazy, but, eh, it works... Think of it, Annabeth has a white horse named Pegasus, and Percy's horse is...[SPOILER! well, y'all have probably already guessed anyways XD]
As you can realize, the way of speaking of many of these ppl seems a bit stiff, like "and so she shall be", "does she not seem like a wonderful girl", etc. Don't worry, it's not a weird disorder of mine; it's on purpose.
EDITED 12.30.2013 - combined prologue and chapter 1
Ok, first chapter up! Like? Dislike? Be sure to throw a review this way if you have the time!