Chapter 4
Of Shades and Shadows
When the secret door opened Annabeth was prepared. She had long been waiting for that moment to arrive. The moment when her chosen victims would be the most vulnerable. Because of the bright lights shining inside their protective chamber the dark clouding the room where Annabeth was hiding would feel twice as strong. They would not expect an attack, which would prove to be a fatal mistake.
The moment the door slammed shut and darkness again was all that existed Annabeth threw her dagger. She had memorized the guard's position – who had accompanied the two royalties – and did barely need to aim. With a thud she heard the dagger reach its goal. The rattle that followed showed that the guard's sword had been dropped to the wooden floor.
Against her will, Annabeth was impressed by the young princess. She had not screamed or fainted, something that Annabeth had actually anticipated. Instead, she stood with the fallen guard's sword in her hand, and the prince at her side.
"Who's there?" the prince demanded. "Show yourself!"
"Are you sure?" Annabeth purred with deadly calm. Secretly she enjoyed the scene. "I could very well be the last face you look at alive."
By this statement, the young princess laughed. "I highly doubt it," she said in a firm voice.
Annabeth snorted. "You want to play games, Princess? Do not play the hero, you will still face the same fate as your dear brother here. "
"Cousin," murmured the prince and shifted his footing. "Not brother. Cousin."
"Percy!" the princess hissed, glaring daggers at her cousin.
"Thalia!" Percy imitated in a high-pitched voice. "What? If she has been sent to kill us, it's not like she doesn't know how we're related. "
"I didn't," Annabeth remarked coldly. "But it doesn't matter to me if you're siblings, cousins or lovers." She gave Percy a dazzling smile. "I guess I'll just hope it doesn't run around more royalties who lives in secret chambers here at the castle." To her surprise, the prince only laughed by this statement.
"Do you know who it is you are challenging?" he asked teasingly. "This is Thalia of the house of – Thalia, no!"
The origin of Percy's last words was based on that the young princess in that exact moment decided to act. Firmly she thrust her sword forward aiming for Annabeth's heart. Reflexively Annabeth jumped aside, but could not completely avoid the blade. With a rending noise the edge cut through her tunic and cool metal kissed her skin. Red droplets of blood fell to the floor.
"So, Princess is feeling brave tonight?" Annabeth snarled. "You'll regret that."
The only answer she got was Thalia's quick grin that clearly indicated that she wished the other woman a painful death. The feeling was mutual, Annabeth thought with growing irritation.
With her right hand she palmed her second dagger. She circled around her opponent and saw with growing amazement how the princess followed closely, nimble as a cat.
"Who are you?" Annabeth asked, and immediately followed the question with an attack that would have left any other opponent with their stomachs on the floor. Thalia however parried easily, but she also had the advantage of holding a sword in her hand.
"Shouldn't you know that?" became the princess's reply. She made a diversion and managed to give Annabeth a shallow wound on the right leg. Annabeth hissed, but did not show any other signs of pain. "I am Thalia," the princess continued, undisturbed. "The first female warrior in his Majesty's Guard and unbeaten winner of the country tournament. Who are you?"
Annabeth was in a state of shock. Was this the Thalia? The Thalia who had defeated five warriors only armed with two daggers? The Thalia who had overpowered her own cousin in a swordfight? Annabeth's dagger fell to the ground with a clatter when she released it with stiff fingers. She saw the other woman prepare for a final fatal blow. The sword glittered like ripples on a water surface after a pebble been dropped into the water, and the blade sang when it cleaved the air.
Annabeth was not afraid of Death, she had been staring it in the face far too many times and often encountered the cruelty of humans to be afraid of the dark god. No, she not afraid of Death, she was afraid of what laid behind it. The unknown, the unexplored darkness, the dark god's realm of shadows.
She closed her eyes.
