Hey, guys! We're back! :) Also- you may have noticed we've been updating every Wednesday. We're going to try to keep up this pattern, so you can look forward to the regular updates. :) And, of course, thanks to everyone who has favorited/followed/reviewed. You guys are amazing!

Disclaimer: *To the tune of "Jack be Nimble"*

Qwerty, be plainer,

PepCo, be braver,

Come on, say it

The disclaimer

Qwerty jumped high

PepCo jumped low

They both avoided saying it

And both made a foe… :O

Annabeth's POV

The wind ripped the air from my lungs as I free fell toward the crashing surf below me. I couldn't even scream, although pure terror cursed through my body. My terror-numbed mind did manage one thought, though: I never should have left home.

-The previous night-

"Annabeth? What are you doing?" The sleepy question came from Bobby, who had some how woken up despite my efforts to be silent. "Are you…packing?" He gasped, wide-awake now.

"Shh," I whispered quickly. "Don't wake everyone else!"

"Why are you packing?" He repeated, quieter this time. I looked down at my small bag, which held a spare outfit, the little money I still had, and my golden dagger.

"I'm leaving," I told him, not meeting his gaze.

"Why?" He asked, sounding hurt. "Don't you like living here?"

"Bobby," I sighed. "Of course I like living here. But what happened today- those soldiers…" I trailed off, and image of the solider taking our food flashed through my mind. "It can't happen again. It shouldn't be happening in the first place!" In my anger, my voice rose and I paused to calm down again. "I'm going to Pacificantis. Maybe their king will be willing to send help." It was a small hope, but right now, it was all I had.

"You'll come back, right?"

Of course that was what he wanted to know.

"Yes, I'll come back," I assured him, feeling my stomach knot in unease. Lying to a child, scolded the sensible part of my mind. It's not a lie, the other part of me argued, even though I knew it might as well be. Wandering around the kingdom by myself wasn't exactly the smartest idea I'd ever had, and I could easily get hurt with no one to help me. I have to do something, I reassured myself.

"Bobby, can you do me a favor?"

"What?"

"Can you give this note to Dad and Susan for me?"

"Ok," Bobby sniffled. "Bye, Annie." I grabbed my bag and left, whispering a "Bye," over my shoulder when I reached the doorway. I wasn't even sure he heard me, but I felt better knowing I'd said it.

When I reached the dirt road, I took a look back. Through the open doorway, I could see Bobby's silhouette as he read the letter I'd told him to give to our parents. I wonder what he thought of what I'd written.

Dear Dad and Susan,

I'm heading to Pacificantis to get help. Maybe King Poseidon will be able to save us from the Queen's taxes somehow. Don't worry about me- I'll be fine. (Susan, I'll even keep an eye open for possible suitors, if it makes you feel any better.) Not all royals can be bad. Maybe some of them will help us.

I'll be back as soon as I can,

Annabeth

Turning back to the dirt road, I brushed the thoughts aside and focused on the journey ahead of me.

-Line Break-

The smell of cooking rabbit made my stomach knot in hunger and I yawned, exhausted from traveling all night. I'd made good time- I'd gotten out of the village and was officially on my way to Pacificantis- but exhaustion and hunger had eventually forced me to stop.

After finding a small clearing in the woods, I'd caught and killed a rabbit with my dagger and all but collapsed next to the fire I'd made, my feet numb from walking so long. Now, as I waited for the rabbit to cook, I turned the golden dagger over in my hands, running one finger over the engraving on the side.

The hilt had a small owl engraved in the side and above it Wisdom was written in Greek. I'd had the dagger for as long as I could remember, although I had no idea where I'd gotten it. Dad had always told me that I'd had it when they'd rescued me from the slave traders, although I had no idea how even the slave traders had come by the weapon. It was finally crafted, fit for a queen.

When I'd turned twelve, I'd convinced (if you asked him, he'd say "blackmailed") a neighborhood boy to teach me to use it, and, if I do say so myself, I was pretty good at fighting with it. Susan had been appalled when she found out I'd learned how to fight, but I was proud of the skill. Not many girls could take care of themselves as well as I could.

"…now?…" The fragment of a voice floated across the clearing to me, and I was immediately alert.

"…fool!…heard us…"

"NOW!" The moment the word was uttered, the figures burst forth from their hiding place among the bushes. I froze, because it wasn't hard to tell who they were. With scraggly half-grown beards and missing teeth, their poor hygiene and odd outfits could only mean one thing: bandits.

I considered trying to fight my way out with my dagger, but there were too many of them, and they had me surrounded. I don't have any valuables, I reasoned, adrenaline driving my exhaustion away. Well, besides my dagger. If they don't see that, maybe they'll go find some rich traveler to ambush and leave me alone.

"Who are you?" I asked, trying to play the dumb blonde card. I hate acting so pitiful, but I was sorely out numbered.

"Bandits," one man- the leader, I assumed- sneered with no shame. "Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way."

"Do what?" I asked, trying to control my racing heart and forcing myself to sound simple-minded.

"The golden knife. Hand it over, sweetheart," the leader ordered. Another man with a potbelly and a stink that I could smell despite the fact that he was a good seven feet away from me smirked, looking me up and down.

"She sure is pretty, ain't she?" He said, grinning at my obvious discomfort.

"We just want her dagger, Barlow," the leader scolded, turning back to me. "Now, where is it?"

"What dagger?" I asked, amazed at how steady my voice sounded.

"Don't play dumb with us," snarled the fat one, Barlow. "We seen it with our own eyes."

I'm not playing dumb, I thought sourly. I'm speaking your language. You're clearly fluent in idiot. Aloud, though, I only said, "Sorry? Maybe you need glasses."

Barlow lunged toward me, snarling, "I'll teach you some respect!" Abandoning the dumb act, I snapped back, "Not likely!" and punched him as hard as I could in the jaw.

I'm proud to say he reeled back in shock, gently rubbing his jaw. That should leave a nice sized bruise, I thought proudly. Furious now, Barlow lunged again, his eyes bright with pain and rage, but with another well placed punch- this one to the nose- I heard a satisfying crack and he stumbled back, dazed. His bent and bloody nose was no doubt broken, which I don't mind saying I was quite proud of.

"Think you're tough, huh?" Snarled the leader, obviously not happy at having his right hand man shown up by a sixteen-year-old girl. "You know the procedure, boys." The moment the words left his mouth the bandits surged forward, closing in on me.

I kicked and punched, determined not to go down without a fight, but was soon overwhelmed. I'd managed to knock three bandits out, but it just wasn't enough. One grabbed my arms and wrenched them behind my back, making me cry out with pain, and another grabbed a cloth, no doubt to gag me. Barlow, holding his bloody nose with one hand, started to search me, much to my fury.

Not finding the dagger (which I had tucked in my boot) he grabbed the gag. Desperately I began to scream, praying someone would hear me.

"Shut up!" Barlow growled, shoving the gag in my mouth and silencing me. "Ain't no one gonna hear her out here anyway," he muttered to the leader, who in turn smacked him over the back of the head.

"Silence, fool," the leader snarls. "I am your leader, and you'll obey what I tell you to do." I rolled my eyes in spite of myself- this was a robbery, not an action play. "Now, little girl…where is it?"

I struggled against the bandit holding my hands back, shouting profanities at the leader that the cloth (sadly) muffled. The leader motioned for the cloth to be removed, and I took a deep breath, determined to keep my temper under control and show them that they hadn't won. Setting my jaw, I glared at him in defiance, trying to channel all my hate into that one look.

The leader slapped me hard, making my face sting and my eyes water, but I reused to cry out. "Tell me!" He cried, clearly frustrated, his hand raised as if warning me he wasn't afraid to hit me again. He looked me right in the eye, probably expecting me to cower in his glare, but I wouldn't. Raising my head, I glared right back.

He blinked for a moment, looking surprised, but then the look is replaced by fury and he slaps me again, twice. My face felt like it was burning, but I was determined not to show the bandit leader that.

"Where is the golden dagger?" He yells, outraged. I kept my silence, glaring at him defiantly. Growling, he started to hit me again, and I could just imagine the ugly bruise that will be there tomorrow morning. "Search her again!" He orders, and I twisted away in protest.

Suddenly the bushes off to the right exploded as four figures raced out, looking furious. They must have realized how outnumbered they were, but they didn't back down. In the skirmish that followed I couldn't get a good look at their faces, but they were clearly excellent fighters.

Using their agility and speed against the bandits, for a moment it almost looked like they might win. Then the moment was over and the bandits began to regroup, striking back with renewed energy. I wanted to scream at how unfair it all was- this fight was about as uneven as it got, and the worst bit? I wasn't a part of it. Help hostage like some damsel in distress, rescued by strangers- I felt completely humiliated.

One of the new comers broke away, a lean boy with black hair and a long bronze sword. Running toward me, he wrenched me from the bandit holding me back, fighting him off. The other bandits quickly surrounded us, realizing that they were about to lose their prize.

This idiot clearly hadn't thought his attack through, either, because soon we were backed up against the cliff.

"What are you doing?!" I cried in outrage, but either the guy didn't hear me, or he just ignored me. The three bandits steadily coming closer smirked, knowing there's no escape for us now.

"Hand over the girl," said Barlow, his murderous gaze on me. "And I'll spare your life, little boy." The boy froze, his arm in front of me.

For a brief moment, defeat and fear flashed across his face, and Barlow grinned his nasty smile triumphantly. Then, suddenly, the boy's expression hardened. He had a plan.

Barlow must have realized that something was wrong, because suddenly his sword was in the air, making its fatal arc toward the boy's head. He ducked just in time, the sword only just missing him, and grabbed me by the waist. I was about to shove him off me and demand to know what on earth he thought he was doing when he did something completely insane.

He jumped off the cliff.

And he took me with him.

The rocky surf below me rushed up toward me incredibly fast as I tried to scream. Terror made my vision blur and the wind stole my breath, but suddenly the boy was doing something… was he… whistling? Was he completely insane?!

I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting to die. Then, suddenly, I landed on something with a hard thump. I opened my eyes in shock and found myself on a pegasus's back.

Then I realized I was sliding off the pegasus. I'd landed awkwardly, and the pegasus's fur was already slick with sea spray. Sliding off, another scream escaped me and the boy turned, his eyes widening when he saw me disappear.

I was falling again, certain death just below me, when he lunged forward and grabbed my hand, pulling me up with a grunt. Shaking and wet with sea spray, I clung to the boy's waist, trying to even out my heartbeat. He directed the pegasus up, flying away from the screaming bandits below us.

"Who are you?" I managed. He turned to me, offering me a lopsided grin.

"I'm Percy Jackson."

Review, review, review! –PepCo and Qwerty