sorry, I know nothing has happened yet, but trust me : it will speed up! I have plans for this fic and I really don't to lose my OOMPFFF.
Also: credit Rick Riordan.
chapter two
The next morning Annabeth woke up at sunrise and her stomach was growling. She hadn't eaten dinner and grudgingly decided it was time to make the trek down for breakfast. Luckily, the palace was fairly empty as it was early enough in the morning for that most were still asleep or just waking up.
Annabeth stopped at her suite first to freshen up, tame her hair, and change out of the uncomfortable gown (which she couldn't believe she had slept in) into a pair of leggings, oversized sweatshirt, and fuzzy socks - an outfit the Duchess would surely be enraged by. Before the princess might have made an effort to wear something nicer to breakfast, maybe a simpler piece of neglige the Duchess approved for her as appropriate princess breakfast attire. But today Annabeth didn't care one bit.
She slid through the marble halls in her cozy socks to the kitchen where the chefs were beginning to prepare breakfast. It smelled of roasting coffee, syrup, and oranges. Annabeth loved it.
"Your Highness, how may we help you this morning?" the Head Chef asked her kindly.
"Good morning, Philip, I'd like a Poptart," Annabeth said in a surprisingly bright tone. She had decided as she was sliding around the palace that today she would do everything against the Duchess's wishes, and that was reason enough to be in a good mood. Plus, her guard was nowhere to be seen.
Philip eyed her warily, "That's not very healthy, Your Majesty."
"Hmm… you're right. Actually, I'd like an apple pie. There's fruit in there," Annabeth amended her decision, laughing to herself.
"A whole pie?"
"Yes, please. If it isn't too much trouble, of course. I just thought you already had some prepped," Annabeth smiled at him, turning on the charm.
"Of course, Your Majesty," the Head Chef nodded to her.
Annabeth grinned to herself as she got a glass of milk and sat at the counter to watch them heat up her pie in the oven. Soon it was out and ready to be plated.
"There's no need for a plate. I have a fork and I'll eat it all right out of the dish," Annabeth said quickly, holding up her fork.
One of the chefs set the pie in front of her on the table and the princess dug in, "Mmmmmm! This is delicious!" She shoveled forkfuls of delicious apple cinnamon sugar filling and flaky pie crust into her mouth at an alarming speed.
Annabeth heard someone coming and looked up as the young man she saw yesterday enter the kitchen. Her guard, Sir Percy Jackson. Ugh.
He was wearing black pants with a light blue shirt tucked into them. He looked exhausted, with dark bags under his eyes. Annabeth felt a pinch of guilt at the thought that maybe he had stayed up all night looking for her. After all, it wasn't his fault the Duchess hired him.
The guard's dazzling sea green eyes stared into Annabeth's grey ones for a moment, making her freeze and forget everything she was thinking about, before flickering down to the whole pie she had been busy consuming.
"Your Majesty, I'm so glad I found you. Your father has been very concerned ever since you didn't show up for dinner," he said, approaching the princess.
Annabeth licked her fork and studied the boy as he grew nearer, "Hmmm."
"I'm Percy Jackson, by the way. But you can call me Percy," Annabeth decided he was being irritatingly nice to her, especially since he looked so tired. She decided that this did not make her like him any more.
Annabeth ate another large forkful of apple pie, continuing to watch the guard as he began to feel uncomfortable since she had not said a single word to him yet. Annabeth wondered what he thought of her, after her outburst the day before. Then she reminded herself she didn't care what he thought. What right did he have to judge her? He didn't even know her.
Sir Jackson swallowed and Annabeth watched his adam's apple bob up and down, "That's not a very healthy breakfast you have there, is it?" Annabeth said nothing, but ate another bite of pie. "Look, princess, I know you don't like the idea of having a guard or protector or whatever, but the King hired me to look after you and I think he just wants to make sure you're safe."
Annabeth looked up to glare at him (she had been told she had a very scary glare), "Excuse me, Percy, but my father did not hire you. That ignorant, imbecile, empty-headed Duchess hired you, and force fed my father lies so he would believe she had descent intentions other than stealing my father's fortune and marrying me off to some vapid royalty so I can be miserable my whole life. Excuse me." The princess got up and left the kitchen, and her unfinished apple pie, much to her disappointment.
Annabeth groaned to herself as she heard Percy follow her. She was already mad he had ruined her good mood. Annabeth spun around, startling him, "Are you really going to follow me around everywhere?"
"Well, that was part of the job description," Percy smirked, looking down at her.
Annabeth was irritated she was so much shorter than him and that he wouldn't leave her alone. And she hated his stupid smirk, "Ugh! Follow me then." She continued to hurry down the hallway.
Percy jogged to catch up to her, "Excuse me, princess, but your schedule says that you're supposed to begin your lessons now. And those are in the opposite side of the palace."
Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Yes, I know my way around the palace, Mr. Jackson. According to the Duchess, your job is to 'protect' me, and nothing else, alright? So don't worry about it."
"Okay, princess, I don't know why you hate me so much. This isn't really my idea of a fun time either, and I didn't choose to do this. Why can't we be friends?" Percy sounded so legitimately kind and genuine that it almost made Annabeth feel bad for being so rude. It also made her wonder how old this guy was, begging for her friendship like some preschooler. Dang, I really am mean, she thought.
"Look, I don't hate you, okay?" Annabeth sighed, looking over at him and immediately becoming absorbed in his eyes. It took her breath away. She quickly glanced away and breathed in, "I just don't particularly like you. And stop calling me princess. I have a name."
"Sorry, Annabeth. How about you can get to know me and you'll like me and we can become friends," Percy said smoothly.
Annabeth tilted her head to the side, "Really? Because you sound like every other self-righteous young bachelor I've ever met."
"Except I'm genuine. And honest," Percy said, flashing her a brilliant smile.
The sound of loud clicking heels came from down the hallway and Annabeth immediately knew it was the Duchess. And she wasn't ready to face her quite yet…
"Shoot," Annabeth grabbed Percy's hand and dragged him in the opposite direction, through a wooden door and up a narrow staircase to a small octagon-shaped room, with floor to ceiling windows on each wall. It was like a fancy lookout tower.
The early morning sunrise streamed in through the glass beautifully and illuminated the entire room in an orange glow. Annabeth released Percy's hand and he stepped away from her, "Okay, what is your problem, princess? All you seem to do is run away from people."
Annabeth closed her eyes and responded through gritted teeth, "Don't call me princess," her eyes snapped open to look at the boy next to her, "And I don't just run away."
"Oh really?" Percy asked tauntingly, his eyebrows raised.
Annabeth scowled at him, "You don't understand. You don't know me. And you've clearly never experienced the Duchess."
"Hmm, I suppose you're right, princess."
Annabeth forced herself to refrain from punching him and instead turned away. She took a deep breath to clear her mind before looking back at Percy, who seemed to be watching her expectantly for a reaction. "Alright, just about now, the Duchess will be eating her breakfast. I don't care what you do, just stay a reasonable distance away from me, please. We're not friends."
"Wow, harsh. But whatever you say, princess," Percy grinned at her in such an annoying way it made Annabeth seethe as she marched out of the room and back down the stairs.
Percy followed her as she expertly navigated the palace halls, filled with servants polishing silver and vacuuming the expensive handmade rugs, on her way to the guest wing. On her way she ran into Selena, who was making the beds in the suites.
"Oh, Annabeth darling! There you are! I was so worried when you never came to bed for the night. Why aren't you studying? Did you have breakfast? Oh, you must go take a warm bath and I'll fetch you those cookies you adore and your favorite earl grey tea…" Selena rambled off, fussing over the princess as usual.
"Selena. Really, everything's fine. I already ate, and I'm just going to look for Thalia and Piper," Annabeth said calmly, having been quite used to the constant fretting. She knew Selena cared about her and was just looking out for her.
"Hmmm. If you insist. I saw your friends in the game room. But then back to your studies," Selena told her, giving her a reprimanding look.
"Of course," Annabeth smiled.
Percy, who was grinning, as he observed the scene from behind, nodded Selena, "Good morning, Miss Beauregard." Selena smiled at him in return.
Annabeth was already walking off but Percy soon caught up with her and followed her into a room off the main hall. The room was furnished for teenagers obviously, with multiple TVs, beanbags, couchs, and other games like foosball, skee ball, billiards, pinball, and air hockey took up much of the space in the room.
Piper and Thalia were sitting on the couch watching cartoons and eating cereal in their pajamas. Annabeth envied their lifestyle. She immediately flopped down next to them. Percy decided to respect her wishes and kept his distance.
"Hey Annabeth!" Piper exclaimed, as she ate a mouthful of Fruit Loops.
"Hey guys," Annabeth grumbled into the pillow.
"Wow, your day's going that great, huh?" Thalia laughed at her friend, "It's not even 8:30 in the morning."
Annabeth mumbled something unintelligible before popping her head up and speaking clearly, "Can I get some of that?"
"What, cereal? It's over on the counter. Did you not have breakfast?" Piper asked, her eyes focused on the old cartoon rerun on screen.
"That would explain why she's in such a bad mood," Thalia chuckled.
Annabeth poured herself a bowl of Fruit Loops with milk and then made her way back to her friends, "For your information, I did have breakfast. I just happen to still be hungry." She returned to her seat and wrapped a blanket around her feet.
"Yes, she's still hungry after eating an entire apple pie, apparently," Percy smirked from the corner, startling Piper and Thalia who were unaware of his presence.
"Whoa, Annabeth! Is that your guard?" Piper asked rather excitedly, the answer obvious. Thalia shot Piper a warning look, obviously sensing her friend's unhappiness around the subject, but the princess didn't notice.
Annabeth looked up from her bowl of cereal and glared at Percy, "Yes. That is who the Duchess hired. Sir Percy Jackson," She turned back to her friends, "And for the record, I did not eat a whole pie." Percy laughed.
"You know, he's cute, Annie. How old is he?" Piper inquired, always the boy crazed one. Thalia chuckled as she finished eating her cereal.
Annabeth rolled her eyes, "I don't know. If you care, ask him yourself." She continued to eat her Fruit Loops, but immediately regretted the suggestion she gave her friend. That would only invite him into their conversation and let him feel as if he were part of their group, when he was most certainly not.
"Percy, how old are you?" Piper called out to the young man in the corner. She was never shy, especially when it came to boys. Piper was always playing matchmaker for Thalia and Piper. She never seemed to learn, even when the results turned out disastrously.
Percy came over to the girls, just as Annabeth knew he would, "I'm 18 years old, ma'am." Annabeth rolled her eyes. What, so he's a perfect gentlemen to my friends but a jerk to me?
Piper nudged Annabeth, not subtly at all, "That's only two years older, Annie." Annabeth glared at her, before taking another spoonful of cereal and purposefully ignoring Percy as he stood behind the couch they sat on.
"So, Annabeth, why aren't you in class? Doesn't the Duchess order your tutors to begin at 8?" Thalia asked, skillfully changing the subject.
Annabeth smiled gratefully, "Actually, today I am not following the Duchess's orders. What power does she have over me? What's she going to do if I don't go to ballet lessons? I already know how to dance, what's the point of continuing any of it?"
Thalia and Piper exchanged glances. The princess was known for her stubbornness, and even her best friends had a hard time talking her out of something.
"Well, how about you show Percy around the palace? That's productive isn't it?" Piper suggested brightly.
"I'm sure Percy has already seen enough of the castle..." Annabeth shrugged.
"Actually, I'd love a tour. I've never been inside the palace before. The Duchess gave me a brief description of where some things were, but it took me half an hour to find the kitchen and I think it would be beneficial to learn my way around," Percy jumped in.
"It's settled then. Annabeth after you finish eating, you can give Percy a tour of the castle," Piper said happily with her hands clasped together and held to her chest.
Annabeth sighed. She could never say no to Piper. No one ever could.