The greatest pain that comes from love

is loving someone you can never have.
~Anonymous~

2

Why me? Why now? This was the worst night of my life. Being torn away from Percy was the most horrible thing that had ever happened to me. I know I sound like an obsessed teenage girl, exaggerating my life and being a drama queen, but I mean it.

Percy was all I could think about. I was losing my mind. I sat in a big dusty-rose armchair in my mother's palace on Mt. Olympus. Normally this would have been a dream come true-staring out that window over the godly city, and seeing the New York skyline so far below, lights dimming in the morning light. Dawn was coming and I was a prisoner.

It was beautiful. Nothing should be beautiful. Everything should be dead and barren and all architecture should just collapse.

Why?

I rested my head on the window sill, gazing out. Sun beams streamed through and made the white marble of my mother's palace sparkle.

I couldn't deny it was picturesque. Athena's whole palace was white marble, with accents of gold everywhere. I had expected something more practical-but I should have known there would be beautiful architecture. There were magnificent statues everywhere. Big, plushy chairs and couches were placed precisely in every room, with tables of dark wood. Each room had a color as a theme-I was in the pink room. This was where I was to live. She knew I wouldn't be fond of the pink. My favorite color was green… Percy's eyes.

This thought brought the tears again.

I'd had no sleep. I'd sat at this chair gazing out the window all night, crying. My eyes stung, but every time I ran out of tears, more came. The sleeves of my t-shirt were soaked with them; my face was sticky and I tasted the salt.

All I wanted was Percy. I had never wanted anyone or anything more in my entire life.

I silently cried one more time and stared at the white marble. Then I realized how dumb I was being. How could I just sit here? I had no way out, no hope of escape… but I could at least do something.

Just then, I heard footsteps at the entryway to my prison. I buried my face in my sleeve, assuming it was Athena. But the footsteps didn't stop at the door-they came all the way across the room to where I was curled in a disheveled heap of sorrow. I must have looked like I'd fallen overboard on a cruise line.

The footsteps stopped just behind me. I resisted the urge to look up-I would not give her the satisfaction. But a petite hand rested gently on my shoulder… comfortingly. I turned slowly to see Artemis in her silver radiance, gazing down at me with understanding, warm, welcoming eyes. Thalia was right behind her. She smiled at me, but her eyes showed concern. Well, the one eye I could see-the other was obscured by her unruly black hair.

"Annabeth, I still favor you," she began, sitting in a chair next to mine. Thalia stood at her right side. I thought I knew where this was going.

"If you choose to try and escape, you will fail. I have seen it. But there is a way you can at least get out of here. You cannot go back to Percy-the only way you can see him again is if he finds you, and Athena does not know. But… you can escape…" she trailed off. I knew what she meant.

"I… I'll think about it." I said. And I meant it. I couldn't believe it but I was really considering this. But I had no way out… I had no Percy… my life was gone… why not make a new one?

"I can only let you think for a week. We leave then, with the rise of the moon," she warned. Of course she wouldn't say the sunset-that paid tribute to her pigheaded brother.

She stood and walked out. I thought hard. But I never needed long to think. She was at the entryway. I turned to watch them leave and Thalia had turned around to look at me. It had been since the final war with Kronos that we'd seen each other. We looked at each other for only a few seconds before some understanding passed between us, and we both ran at each other, wrapping our arms around each other in a comforting hug. I didn't know huntresses could cry, but Thalia cried with me. Percy was her friend, and I knew she'd had high hopes for us. This was a loss for her too. And she was my best friend-so she cried with me. Artemis came back and laid a hand on each of our shoulders, gently pulling as away from each other and turning us to face her on my left. Behind her was a big couch and two chairs centered around a dark wood table, but focused on a magnificent dark wood fireplace; it was beautiful and I loathed it.

Artemis looked into my eyes, then Thalia's, and Thalia and I shared the same intense, understanding gaze.

I'd heard it all before, and she began, skipping all the "Are you sure?" and "Repeat after me," business. I knew what to say.

"I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis…"