I was taken by surprise when I heard the sound of wings in the air. I recognized that sound anywhere. It was Festus the dragon! That means Leo must be here! I looked to the sky and saw not only Leo Valez, but also Calypso Angelis, Jason Grace, Piper McLean, Hazel Levesque and Frank Zhang. Calypso didn't really have a last name (due to her formerly being a Titan), so she adopted the surname of Angelis. The mechanical dragon landed on the ground. Jason flew down using his power over the wind. Everyone else used one of the dragon's metal wings and climbed down.
"Ah, it feels good to be back at my former stomping grounds." Piper said.
Leo looked around the camp. "There aren't too many people here." he said.
"I wonder where Annabeth is." Frank commented.
"Probably cuddling with Percy somewhere in the lake." Hazel suggested.
I wish that was true. I needed him to comfort me. He was the only one who really knew the truth. If I couldn't talk to him, my half-siblings, or my cousin, maybe I could talk to these guys. I took off my invisibility cap and walked up to them.
"Good guess, but not quite." I answered.
"Annabeth! So good to see you!" Piper said. She gave me a bear hug.
"I can't... breathe..." I muttered.
"Oh sorry." she said, letting go.
"Where's Percy?" Frank asked.
"I'm not sure..." I answered.
"What do you mean you're not sure?" Calypso asked. "Didn't he tell you where he was going?"
"Not really, no." I answered.
"What's wrong?" Hazel asked. "You look troubled."
"Tell us what's wrong." Frank commanded.
"Don't force her, Frank." Piper said. "Annabeth, if there's anything you want to talk to us about, you can tell us. If not, then I understand." She turned to Frank. "I'm not going to Charmspeak the truth out of her."
I sighed and asked, "My fellow demigods and former Titaness, can I confide in you?"
"You can us anything." Calypso answered.
"We don't tell a soul, living, dead or resurrected." Hazel said.
"Ok, in a nutshell, here's the problem." I began. "About one month ago, me and Percy were at Lake Half-Blood. It was a nice, starry autumn night where the moon could be seen. All was calm that night."
I described the scene to them. Me and Percy had gotten changed into our bathing suits. We left our normal clothes, including my Yankees Cap, on the dock. Percy was wearing blue swim trunks, while I was wearing a purple bikini with a dark blue floral pattern. At first, we were just splashing around and having a good time. Then I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I thought I saw a beam of light reflecting from a stopwatch. I dived down under the water. I found nothing. Percy saw me.
"Saw something that caught your eye, Wise Girl?" he asked me.
"It was nothing." I lied.
Soon we were kissing, embracing each other, being partially soaked and partially dry all at the same. Before I knew it, we were getting to... making love. (I know that's scandalous. No need to tell me.) As far as I could tell, there were no witnesses around. No spirits, animals, monsters, humans, demigods or deities. Poseidon might have known about it, but if he did, I don't think he'd be telling others about his son's affairs.
"You guys had sex?! Before marriage I might add?!" Piper gasped in shock.
"So... why didn't you try to talk him out of it?" Jason asked.
"I...I don't know... I knew it was a bad idea, but..." I sighed. "I don't know."
"Are you sure there were no witnesses?" Leo asked.
"Pretty sure." I answered. "And can we stick to the topic please?"
"Sorry." Leo said.
"Yesterday at about 4pm, my mother Athena showed up and tried to maim Percy. She accused him of trying to rape me, which is obviously false, and nearly killed him. She challenged him to a duel at sunset tonight. They're supposed to duel at 6pm on the roof of the One World Observatory."
"Why can't Percy just back out?" Jason said.
"If he refuses to face her, she'll find him and destroy most of Camp Half-Blood in the process..." I answered.
"That's bad." Frank said.
"Very bad." I said. "And I'm not even done with the bad news yet."
"Oi vey." Frank commented. "What else is there?"
"Under different circumstances, this would be good news. At this moment, not really very good at all." I answered. "I'm pregnant."
Jason, Leo, Frank, Hazel and Calypso gasped. Piper was not surprised.
"That... is not good..." Jason said.
"Uh, why exactly is that bad?" Frank asked.
Piper put her hand to her forehead and sighed deeply. "Think about it, pie for brains." she said, removing her hand and looking at Frank. "She's already suffering from emotional distress. If Percy dies, she'll have to raise the child on her own or give him up. And, last I looked, you guys aren't married yet."
"That is true," I answered. "And what I really don't get is how did Athena find out in the first place? Who told her that me and Percy were doing the deed?!" I sighed. "I don't want to tempt the Fates by saying this, but, could this get any worse?"
Suddenly the barrier around Camp Half Blood vanished.
"We've got a problem! A big, big problem!" someone screamed.
"The fleece has been stolen!" someone else cried out.
"What?!" we all exclaimed in unison.
We ran to Thalia's tree. Or rather, most of us ran. Frank was nice enough to let me hitch a ride on his back in the form of a horse. The dragon guarding the Golden Fleece, named Peleus, was lying on the floor, bleeding heavily. He was dead. We gasped in terror.
"Oh no..." Chiron said. "This is bad."
"Oh Gods, this is awful..." I said. "I spoke too soon."
"Without the Golden Fleece, how are we going to protect Camp Half-Bloods borders?" Piper asked.
"Things just went from bad to worse to way worse." Leo added.
"What are we going to do?" asked one of the campers.
I got off of Frank and tried to conjure what little courage I had left. Frank turned back into a human shortly I got off of him. I looked at the campers.
"First off, we can not let this get to us." I said. "If the Fleece can not guard the camp, then we must guard it. We'll need to have at least four people patrolling the borders of this camp day and night. With the small number of campers here, it will be a difficult task, but it must be done. Sherman Yang, take at least three of your half-siblings and take the first shift. Guard the camp for four hours. Lou Ellen, you and your half-sisters take the post after the Ares' Cabin is done patrolling. I'll create a chart on who guards the camp for which day. Now Ares' cabin, go forth!"
Sherman's half-siblings ran off to guard the borders. Sherman himself stayed at the border. I turned to Frank.
"You think there will be a quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece?" he asked.
"I don't know." I answered. "Frank, I need you to go to the lake, turn into an aquatic animal and search the lake for anything that might give us a clue to who did this."
"Right away." he said. He turned into a raven and flew off.
"Annabeth, what are you thinking?" Calypso asked.
"I think that whoever stole the Golden Fleece may have been the one to lie to my mother." I said to the rest of them.