xxx
CHAPTER THREE: The Salacia
Annabeth III
"Annabeth?"
She froze, unclenching her hands from the blanket that lay on the simple barrack bed. Glancing up, she saw a familiar chubby face looking curiously at her. Frank Zhang. It was strange, for once his girlfriend wasn't by his side. Normally the two stuck together.
"Where's Hazel?" Annabeth asked tightly, leaning against the wall. Her body itched to move around, to leave, but she knew that would only raise suspicion. She had to bide her time, wait until it was perfect timing. But perhaps she could gain a little bit of help...
"She's out talking with her brother." Annabeth frowned. The way Hazel had put it, it sounded like she was the only child of Pluto, and that it was a bad thing. Still, she brushed it to the back of her mind, where many other things were stored. Right now, more important things needed to happen.
Annabeth pulled her Yankees cap from under her pillow, and held it up to Frank. He seemed to be confused, and rightfully so. If Annabeth didn't know what it's magic properties were, she'd be puzzled as well. After all, it was just a simple Yankees cap, right?
"Annabeth... What are you doing?"
"I have to see Luke," she explained. Frank's expression seemed to tighten with a mix of nervousness and anxiousness. Annabeth suddenly wondered if telling him was a good idea. But he seemed friendly enough. Annabeth hoped that she could depend on him not to report her to the Romans.
"Annabeth, that isn't such a great idea.."
"Please," she pleaded, getting to her feet. Frank drew his weapon, but Annabeth stayed where she was. "You can trust me. I know I'm a Greek, but I mean no harm. I swear. I just... Just let me visit Luke. I want to talk to him. Just talking, nothing else! I won't escape, I won't do anything else. We've secured your help. Why would I want to break that trust by murdering you?"
"Do you have any idea how much trouble I could be in?" Frank was whispering now, even though there was no one around besides them. The barrack was empty, something which was rare. It was some sort of training exercise, Annabeth thought. She had learned to pick up a lot in her lifetime, a skill which helped greatly now. "I could be banished from Camp, thrown in the jail cells."
"They're occupied," Annabeth remembered, playing with the fabric of her Yankees cap.
"That's not the point. Some acts are even punishable by death," Frank hissed, looking stressed.
"So you'll help me?" Annabeth felt her hopes rise quickly, silently thanking the gods for whatever they had done to influence Frank. She'd have to give them even more offerings when she next got the chance.
"Yeah," Frank said wearily, casting nervous glances around them. He seemed unnaturally skittish. "But how are you going to get to him without being seen?"
Annabeth almost ran forward and hugged him, but she restrained herself. The guy had a girlfriend, who might take it the wrong way. "Thank you." Holding up her hat, she smiled. "This is where this comes through. I won't mention you at all, even if they torture me." She placed her cap on her head, smiling to herself as Frank's eyes grew wide.
She jogged her invisible self out the door, waving goodbye to Frank although she knew he couldn't see it.
...
"Luke, Luke, it's me." Annabeth approached a familiar blonde haired man with relief, weaving around various Romans. It had been a job to find Luke, searching through the various Cohorts to find him. There had been a lot of close calls, one including almost running into the skinny blonde guy, who she faintly remembered as being called Octavian. The guy had paused and glared at the thin air for a long time, and Annabeth had been terrified that somehow he could see through her cap's special powers, and see her standing there.
She tapped Luke on the shoulder, and he jumped, spinning around with a snarl. Annabeth was taken aback by her fierce he looked, before he relaxed.
"Annabeth? Where are you?" Annabeth felt like throwing her arms around him and kissing him on the cheek, but she figured that might be a bit weird, seeing as she was currently hidden under her invisible cap.
A stocky girl with black hair - whom Annabeth hadn't noticed before - turned, snapping at Luke. "Who are you talking to, Graceus?" She had a long yellow (Imperial Gold, maybe?) sword that dangled off her pelt threateningly.
Annabeth felt like sticking her dagger in the snarling girl's throat, but Luke only ran a hand easily through his blonde hair and shrugged apologetically. "Sorry, Bay. Just talking to myself. Listen, I need to use the bathroom."
Annabeth clicked onto his chain of thought immediately. She began to sneak towards the door, keeping careful tabs on the two. She was grateful that the bathroom was not far off. Very convenient. "I told you not to call me that!" The girl, Bay, grunted. "Go to the bathroom. But no funny business. I'll be waiting outside. And I'm not afraid to bust in and slit your throat with this sword!" She pointed to her weapon, baring her teeth. This girl clearly had something against Greeks.
"Of course." Luke crossed over to the bathroom, holding the door open for a split second longer than he should. Annabeth took the time to slip in through the doors, purposely brushing against Luke to let him know she was inside.
Once the door swung closed and Luke locked it, Annabeth tore her cap off. "Annabeth, how did you escape?" Luke demanded, his voice low. She threw her arms around him quickly, before stepping back just as fast.
Slightly disappointed that he did not seem to miss her at all, she smiled at him. "My guards are a bit nicer than yours."
Annabeth took a moment to rake her gaze over Luke. He had dark rings under his eyes, and he looked weary. His scar looked more taut and dark then ever. His hair was lacking some of it's usual shine, and his expression was filled with worry. Annabeth reached out a hand to him, frowning. "What's wrong?"
"The visions. They're much stronger here. That blonde Praetor, he's one of the people in my dreams." It made sense, she guessed. That explained why Luke had seemed so wide-eyed at seeing him yesterday.
"Jason? He's powerful, but I think the other girl, Reyna, has more status here. What's bad about him?" She paused, searching his blue eyes for answers. He was keeping something from her, that much was obvious. And she hated being kept in the dark. "And what about the other one? Have you seen the black-haired one around here?"
Luke shook his head, leaning against the wall. "No. Not yet. Annabeth.." His eyes flickered uncertainly. "I'm scared."
Annabeth couldn't help but be surprised. Luke Castellan, forever brave son of Hermes was scared? She wrapped her arms around him, wishing he wasn't quite so much taller than her. "Don't be. I'll be with you. We'll be there for each other, remember?" She hoped he still remembered. Annabeth could still easily think back to when she was seven, being offered a knife by Luke.
Luke's eyes darkened, and Annabeth got a bad feeling that she'd done something horribly wrong. "That changed when Thalia died, Annabeth."
Thalia Grace. Daughter of Zeus, and possibly the bravest girl Annabeth had ever met. She and Luke together had helped Annabeth when she was seven. They'd been running to Camp.. To safety, with Grover. And then Thalia made the ultimate sacrifice. She stayed back to beat monsters. She'd given up her life so the others could make it to Camp safely.
Annabeth sucked in her breath at the memory, about to retort with something witty and hopefully soothing, when someone rapped on the door. "Hurry up! How long does it take, Greek?" The girl muttered something in Latin, and Annabeth knew their time was up. She took a step back and pulled her cap back over her head.
"I know things have changed," she murmured sadly.
...
It was a clear sunny day, worthy of the enchanted days back at Camp Half-Blood. Annabeth felt a painful pang of longing for her home, and she prayed with all her soul that when they returned, the Camp and it's dwellers still stood strong.
It had been two days since her secret discussion with Luke. She had not pushed for anymore meetings, especially as Frank was still edgy about the other one, but she longed to see her friends once again. They had not all been together since the dinner on the first night. Annabeth had never felt more lonely.
But today it was time to set off. There was no time - or space, to mourn for her social life. More important things were at stake right now, like the Camp, and possibly the safety of the world. It sounded like one of those typical cheesy action movies that she liked to curl up and watch with Piper. But if it was one of those typical action movies, who was the superhero? Not her, that was certain. She was just the useful sidekick, that silly blonde girl who tagged along just to attract male viewers, who came up with ideas and watched as the hero saved the world. Maybe Luke was the knight in shining armour, the hero who dashed in to save the world at the last minute.
Annabeth shook her head clear of those thoughts quickly. She was just tugging her hair up into an efficient ponytail - she believed loose hair just delayed her battle skills - when someone approached from behind. She was surprised to see Reyna, looking very serious, and beautiful with her dark hair. Annabeth felt a jolt of envy. She always wished for dark hair. Blondes were always associated as dumb, and Annabeth knew she was anything but that.
"Isn't Praetor a busy job, running around and preparing troops?"
Reyna smiled dryly. "Yes, and that's what I'm doing. Jason's getting people organised into their various carriers. I came here to take care of the Greeks." She held out a bag of some sort, filled with things. Annabeth accepted it warily, peering inside. Clothes, toiletries and...
"My dagger?" She blinked, wondering why Reyna would hand an enemy a weapon in the heart of their camp.
"I thought it would be wise to arm you. The journey there will be difficult, especially for you. And if you as much as lay a finger on my people, you'll regret it, I'm sure."
"Why will the journey be difficult for me?" Annabeth found it wise to be suspicious, narrowing her eyes and clutching the hilt of the dagger close to her. She slotted it back into her sheath, feeling a sense of relief spread through her.
"Unfortunately, you and a group of Roman warriors will be travelling by boat," Reyna pursed her lips, and Annabeth could sense she was unhappy with this fact. "While air travel is better, unfortunately we have a son of Neptune who cannot travel in air. And he insists on attending."
"Gaea has more control over sea," Annabeth guessed, and by Reyna's uncomfortable look in return, she had guessed right. "So it's more dangerous."
"If I find the ship pulling up with my legionnaires dead, it will not be pretty," Reyna glared daggers at Annabeth, but the blonde daughter of Athena only mustered a smile. Grudgingly, she had to respect the Praetor. Annabeth saw a lot of similarities between them.
"In better times and places, I think we could be friends."
Reyna looked curious, gripping the handle of her weapon. "Perhaps. But Romans and Greeks were never made to get along." She exited the barrack swiftly, gesturing for Annabeth to follow along.
Annabeth slipped her cap into her bag, before hoisting it over her shoulder and following Reyna. She kept thinking. What if Romans and Greeks could get along? Annabeth had a feeling that it could happen. Maybe not all too gracefully. But if the Greeks and Romans could work together now to defeat a greater evil, maybe there was hope for the future?
...
"This is how you'll be travelling for the next while," Reyna gestured to the boat that rocked gently in the water in front of them. The boat took Annabeth's breath away, she had to admit. Mostly made from wood and pieces of bronze and Imperial Gold, it was tall, slender and beautiful. It had an older style to it, with several oars that seemed to be powered by engines. Modern metal railing bordered the deck of the boat, and a tall mast rose up, with purple sails that wafted in the breeze.
"I thought Romans didn't like to travel by water?" Annabeth questioned, taking in the sight.
"We don't," Reyna answered simply. "This was built just these past days. It's called the Salacia, in hopes that the goddess herself will help them in their journey, and guard the boat."
Annabeth frowned. The speed and scale with what the people must've built with.. It was amazing, unlike anything she had ever seen or heard of before. Not even the Hephaestus cabin was capable of such speed. "Salacia? That's Amphitrite, right? Why not just pick Neptune as the name?"
Reyna pursed her lips, an action she appeared to do often. "As I may have mentioned already, we have a son of Neptune on board already. I'm trusting Lord Neptune will be kind enough to stop sea monsters from attacking his son's ship. Salacia, however, is a different matter. She hates Percy, and understandably so. Naming the ship after her may just gain a little bit of her help."
Suddenly, a figure ran down the gangplank, presumably to greet them. He had messy black hair, sea-green eyes and a troublemaker smile (one which Annabeth made a mental note to stay away from). Annabeth knew without a doubt that this boy was the son of Neptune that Reyna had previously been talking about.
"Reyna!" He held a pen firmly in his hand, something which Annabeth found strange.
"Percy," Reyna greeted, before talking fluently in Latin. Annabeth couldn't help but scowl. She hated not knowing their language, but Annabeth had always found it hard to learn languages, especially with her dyslexia. For some reason, Latin was harder than usual for her.
Judging by Reyna's gestures to Annabeth, she was introducing her. Suddenly switching back to English, she turned to Annabeth. "This is Perseus Jackson, son of Neptune, and the captain of the Salacia. Percy, this is Annabeth Chase."
Annabeth was distantly glad that Reyna had not mentioned anything about her being the daughter of Athena, or Minerva. It was a well known fact that Athena and Poseidon didn't get along, and Annabeth intended to stay as far away from this Percy Jackson as she possibly could. Her mother would undoubtedly not be happy if she interacted too much with the son of Neptune.
She shifted, her hand flying to her dagger as Percy looked her up and down carefully. He only smirked, his expressions seemingly saying, bring it on. Annabeth felt like punching him as he inspected her.
Annabeth scowled at him, dreading the days where she would have to be under his orders. She could already tell that he was not going to be pleasant company in the slightest.
Percy did not say anything, only turning back to Reyna, looking unaffected. "We've got all the troops ready for the ship. The sails are up and we're ready to go."
Reyna looked pained, but she nodded. "Then you must go. The sooner the better. You do realise you'll be setting off before the planes? You'll be the battering ram, the flaming light. You'll be the signal that we aren't being betrayed." Annabeth caught Reyna's uneasy side glance. Surprisingly, Annabeth wasn't too mad. It must've been hard. But they didn't understand. Lives were in danger.
"So.. We're the leaders, basically?"
"Yes."
He grinned, that same troublemaker smirk that Annabeth found unsettling. "Well. I think it's time to play Follow the Leader, then."
Thank You's: Singaler, Ill elemental, DaughterofPoseidon12470, There'sAlwaysAnException, pococo, beckibean76, Tumbelinaface, and everyone who happens to read this! Thanks for reading, favouriting and following!
A/N:
So, a Saturday (well, it's Saturday over here at any rate) update. The next one may or may not be a while in coming, it's still uncertain. I'm pretty certain it's a Percy chapter, so hope you enjoy that (I'm not making any promises, by the way). I don't really have much to say other than that, so thanks again, and have a nice day/night/whatever you are experiencing right now!
