A Crown of Golden Leaves
By xXTheDragonRiderXx
June 2014
Title: A Crown of Golden Leaves
Category: Het (Canon AU)
Characters/Pairings: Percy/Annabeth
Ratings/Warnings: T+/angst, major character death, violence, language, Romans, fluff, historical inaccuracies,
Tags: soulmates, good vs. evil, AU, Greco-Roman AU, omg what has this fic turned into?, truth and lies, light and darkness, right and wrong, destiny, arranged marriages, FLUFF, feelings, relationships,
Summary: Annabeth, a princess from the declining polis called Athens, must marry the Heir Apparent of Rome, Perseus, in order to save her country and the rapidly expanding world from a threat even the gods couldn't foresee.
PART I OF II: Where the Light Is
"Most days it feels as if the world is whirling around me and I am standing still. In slow motion, I watch the colors blur; people and faces all become a massive wash." -Sarah Kay
Caput IV: Iridescence
Iridescent: showing many colors
"ANNABETH."
Annabeth looked up from the surface she had been sitting on and peered into the white mist. Her eyes narrowed and her heart began to pound rapidly under her chest—ba-boom, ba-boom, b-ba-boom, boom, ba-boom.
A gust of wind that blew her hair across her face, though she was in a place that was suspended in time and space, and the white mist cleared. A tall, black-haired woman was walking toward her, grim-faced as ever.
She stood up and curtsied, lowering her head so that she would not have to look into the goddess's gray eyes. "Mother," she greeted, forcing her voice to stay steady and unemotional.
"Rise," Athena commanded in a flat voice. Annabeth lifted her head slowly, just in case the woman was angry for some reason. She could never be sure with her mother.
"Why are you here? Why have you come into my conscious? My lady?" She added the last part hastily, realizing her tone had been less than respectful, and the goddess's lips twitched for a moment before her face became hard.
"Have a guess, Annabeth. You are not that feeble-minded."
Annabeth scowled for a moment, trying not to cross her arms as that would show defiance. It wasn't exactly her fault father had decided that reading and writing and mathematics were useless skills for a girl—even if she was a daughter of Athena—and instead stuck her with the ladies of the court. It wasn't exactly her fault that the only thing she really knew was how to keep her mouth shut sometimes and to crochet. Oh, and how to gossip—even if that made her feel like she was about to explode.
She held her hand up and let her wrist face Athena, showing her the dark lines of the owl and mediallion that had been burned into her skin... very much against her consent. "Does it have something to do with this?"
"Do not tell me you are still bitter over something so trivial."
"Trivial? You burned a permanent thing in my skin—against my consent, and even after I told yoou not to!" She didn't mention the burning pain that had almost knocked her into a coma. She hadn't been able to properly use that hand for a month, which had caused some very awkward questions. But it wasn't like she could say her crazy mother had decided to burn some permanent black ink into her wrist.
"Enough with this!" Athena's voice turned piercing, and her gray eyes turned a shade darker. "You are being melodramatic."
Annabeth pressed her lips together, trying not to say something she knew she would regret later. One, two, three, four, five... she counted inside of her head, and once she reached ten she let out a huff. "I have a feeling this has something to do with the Mark of a Champion."
Athena shook her head slowly and smiled. It wasn't mischievous like Lord Hermes'; it was colder, crueler... more calculating, like she had just figured out how to checkmate Lord Poseidon in a game of chess. (The sea god was almost as good as Athena herself at chess.) "Nay. It has to do with your destiny."
"Which one?" Annabeth snorted derisively before she could help herself. "The Champion of Olympus one? Or the one when I'm destined to be Perseus' housewife and bear children?"
"You know you have many more destinies than just that."
Annabeth half raised her foot off the ground before she caught herself—she was not a child. "That's so helpful, Mother."
Her mother began to pace, her purple cloak trailing out behind her over the gold chiton, the picture of grace and dignity. Also the picture of exasperation, though. "It has to do with you being a Champion of Olympus—though I have doubts about that happening."
Athena stopped to eye Annabeth, and she glanced down at herself. Barefooted (as always, Percy had a point about that), clean, white, nearly see-through nightgown and overall plain ol' Annabeth. Yup. She could tell why her mother would think that.
"Mother," she reminded Athena politely. The goddess arched an eyebrow.
"Annabeth," she mimicked in the same tone. "As I said, it has something to do with you being one of the Champions of Olympus."
"I have no idea what you're talking about now," Annabeth said honestly and quite serenely, in her high opinion. "Please, Mother, elaborate."
"Your husband."
Annabeth sat up straighter. "What about Percy?"
"It is his destiny to be the founding father of Rome—the footsteps in which future generations will follow in. It is his destiny to bring upon us one of the greatest empires known to mankind."
"Let me guess, there's a twist," Annabeth said sarcastically, already sensing the but.
Athena nodded, her lips curling up in a rare non-mocking smile of Annabeth's lack of a proper education. "There is. Octavius has a great influence on him."
"So it is my destiny to break that influence?"
"Not quite, my daughter. You are destined to be... oh, what is that saying? Ah, I got it. You are one side of the coin—he is the other. There is a similar prophecy, how a child of Hecate is to advise one of the greatest mortal kings of Brittania—that their deeds will be so great, that it will become legendary and will be known about until the end of time itself. Like Shakespeare or Queen Elizabeth."
"You're talking nonsense to me again, Mother," Annabeth remarked humorously. Athena looked up into the white expanse for a half second, before her gaze bored into hers. Annabeth felt like her mother was looking into her soul, reading everything about what made her Annabeth—and Annabeth could not let her down.
She shifted.
"I will try to put this into simpler terms for your inferior mind," Athena finally said, letting out a great sigh, as if she was doing Annabeth a great favor. However, that made Annabeth bite her tongue—her mother was a goddess, an arrogant one, granted, but a goddess nonetheless. She would not appreciate back talk.
"Perseus is meant to be one of Rome's greatest leaders—like Odysseus great. But he is being held back by his own fears, by Octavius' influence on his mind. Which is where you come in. You will be there to guide him, gently, to see that everything he believes in is wrong. It will take many years, full of ups and downs, trust and betrayals, tears and laughter... but you will get there. He will cause a great empire to collapse, but another one will rise in its wake."
"Greece?" she asked softly, feeling a strange squeezing in her chest, but she wasn't particularly surprised. It was as if... some part of her knew about this.
Athena nodded. "Do not despair. The fall of Greece has been foretold since the beginnings of time— Athens and Sparta have made the kingdom unstable."
She sighed and nodded. Athena pressed her lips together, her eyes narrowing slightly, and Annabeth stood up straighter.
"I fear you will disappoint me and the Olympians." Her tone was full of warning as she turned and walked back into the white mist, her skirts sweeping behind her with an elegance only royalty could manage. The mist started to descend on Annabeth, but she did not remove her eyes from the queen of wisdom.
Sometimes, her life was utterly unfair. She never asked for this to happen. She didn't even want some kind of messed-up destiny.
But... she wanted to prove Athena wrong. Maybe it was her pride getting in the way, or her stubbornness, but she didn't like the way Athena had not given her a chance.
Annabeth licked her lips and hardened her resolve.
"I will prove you wrong."
With those words, Annabeth's eyes snapped open. Gray light leaked through the large window, making the shadows look longer than usual. Her limbs were stiff, too, though she was lying across something soft...
Where am I? she wondered, pushing herself up carefully. Her arm felt like it was about to collapse on her, making her body crash down on the unusually comfortable surface. Actually, the last time she had been on a surface this squashy was nearly a year ago...
White. Annabeth was on something white—and soft. Very soft. And she wasn't outside, sleeping under the stars with the wind in her face and the grass prickling into her back. Oh, and rain. Can't forget the rain.
In fact, she was someone's chambers. Not hers, of course— hers were a simple gray color with a dark blue as the accent color on one wall. In fact, it was rather strange: this room was a light blue... and muted, red wood on the ground... and someone else on the daybed...
It all came back to Annabeth in a flood. How her father had announced she was going to be married to the Heir Apparent of Rome, since it was the will of the gods. The seasons of travel, first by horse, then by boat and finally by foot. How she met Percy during that raid. Rome itself. Finding out just who Percy was. His wife... Heir Apparent...
How he didn't... do anything to her.
Annabeth fell back onto the fluffy white things where she had placed her head on. She suddenly felt very dizzy and maybe a little sick to her stomach as she remembered their conversation last night. How? Why? She knew he had to have another motive other than just wanting to get to know her better. After all, he was Roman...
Her mother's words from the dream last night resonated inside of her. Maybe Percy... really was... meant to be one of the forefathers of Rome. Maybe it was destiny. Or maybe it was something more...
Maybe she was wrong to hate Romans, even though they were the archenemy of Greece.
There was a loud creaking sound, even though it also sounded like it was slow—like the person behind it was trying not to make it creak. Annabeth jerked her head up, in time to see a scrawny-looking boy come in.
Wait... he wasn't... not entirely...
"You're half donkey!" Annabeth yelped. "You're a satyr!"
The satyr's head jerked and his eyes rounded to the size of saucers. One of the logs tumbled off the top of the pile, as if in slow motion, but the satyr didn't even seem to register it.
"I'm half goat," he finally said in a sarcastic monotone, if that was possible. Too late, Annabeth remembered how much Alec, a satyr who used to watch over her a lot, hated being called half donkey—which she had been fond of when she was little.
"Sorry?" she offered. The satyr tilted his head, his face not revealing anything, but Annabeth got the feeling that he was trying to see if she meant what he had said. It wasn't the same intensity as Athena, but it still made Annabeth feel uncomfortable.
"It doesn't matter," the satyr muttered after a few tense heartbeats. He tilted his head and Annabeth studied the ground. When she looked back up, the satyr had started to pile the wood in the hearth.
Half of it was gone now...
Almost all of it...
The silence was so thick Annabeth though she could shatter it by poking the tension with a dagger.
She said the first thing that popped into her mind. "I'm Annabeth."
The satyr stiffened for a moment, his hands stilling as he placed the last log onto the heath, and then he released it slowly. Annabeth tilted her head as he took a flint from the side and struck it.
No flame.
"You speak to a slave like me?" the satyr finally asked, striking the flint again.
It felt like a bucket of ice had been poured down her back. (Unfortunately, she was speaking from experience—Luke had thought it would be funny to hear her shriek.) "You're a slave?" Annabeth had no idea why she was so surprised; after all, Roma was supposed to have slaves. Maybe it was the idea of Percy having a slave...
The satyr smiled. "I'm one of the lucky ones. Most of the others have masters who are not even half as kind as Percy." It was like he was stating a simple fact.
"Percy is kind?" Annabeth didn't mean for her tone to be so sharp, but the satyr looked at her reprovingly, like parents scolding their child or an older sibling scolding his younger one.
"Have you not realized that already?"
"I suppose you have a point." She sighed, but she couldn't continue on her thought when she was distracted by a loud crackle and the fire caught.
"It's actually clean..." The satyr sounded shocked, and Annabeth jerked her head up. His gaze swept the chambers—the spotless chambers. Her lips twitched up of their own accord.
"Yeah... It was a pigsty in here last night so I picked up a little."
The satyr turned to look at her with—were those hearts shining in his eyes? Annabeth tried to scoot away from him —she remembered Alec when he was on a sugar high, and this satyr looked remarkably similar to that— but the satyr only moved with her, somehow staying a respectful distance from her.
"I like you." His voice was quite serene, and that only added to the creepiness. "I've always thought that Percy makes a mess to make life harder for me—I mean really, every time I come in here, it's always a mess! And then you come in and it's perfectly clean. Thank you! Will you marry me? My name is Grover!"
...I think I'm still dreaming...
"Grover." An amused, deep (or was that sleepy?) voice came from behind them, and Annabeth looked up on instinct. Percy stood above them. "I think you're scaring her. Plus, you're a day too late for your proposal..."
Grover pressed his lips down and his bottom one stuck out. "How are you already awake? I normally have to drag you out of your bed—and even then, I have to pour water on your head."
Percy rolled his eyes, a gesture Annabeth was rapidly becoming familiar with. "I could hear both of you yakking."
Okay, that wasn't right. "I am not that loud," Annabeth protested. He looked at her with an are you serious? face and cleared his throat.
"'Oh my gods, you're half donkey!'" he said in a high-pitched voice, obviously doing a terrible imitation of her voice—and probably on purpose, too. Annabeth narrowed her eyes and stood. Percy didn't even have the courtesy to look nervous.
"I do not sound like that."
"Uh, yes, you do."
"I can't recall a time I have ever used the expression 'oh my gods'." That was technically a lie... but it wasn't like he had to know that.
"You just did." His lips were twitching, as if he was trying to resist the urge to smile. Annabeth growled and she took a violent step forward, fully preparing to take him by his tunic to—
"Oh gods, you're already having a lover's quarrel and you've only been married for a day."
"What?" Annabeth swung around to gape at the satyr, who had at some point stood up and cross his arms. She gestured between her and Percy frantically, almost slapping him in the face at some point. "We're not lovers!"
"We're not lovers!" her husband blurted as well, with only a split-second difference between their voices.
"You're not?" Another feminine voice spoke up, sounding surprised, and Annabeth jerked away from her glare at Percy and glared at her maidservant instead.
"Piper!"
Piper tilted her head, adjusting the tray as she closed the door behind her. She looked genuinely surprised, but her gaze was darting between Annabeth and Percy. Annabeth could just see the daughter of Aphrodite was thinking about something ridiculous.
"Of course not; we only just met!" Percy sounded a bit repulsed by the idea, and Annabeth had to bury her head in her hands when her ears suddenly felt hot. She could already hear Piper's suggestive response...
"I bet you wanted to, though."
There were several splutters from Percy, either from embarrassment or indignation. Annabeth lifted her head when she felt like she had gotten the urge to blush under her control—
Nope. It's back.
Piper was grinning that grin as she shifted the trays and handed Annabeth some bread—not cooked over the fire—and handed some to Percy as well. A part of Annabeth wondered where her friend's I don't like Perseus the Heir Apparent of Roma attitude had gone.
There was a short knock and a tall blond man stepped inside of the room. Annabeth quickly glanced at the window: the sun had only just started to come up.
When Annabeth looked back at the blond, she saw that he and Piper were staring at each other strangely. "Do I know you?" the blond asked after a moment.
Piper shook her head. "No."
The man nodded slowly, as if he didn't fully believe her, then switched his gaze on Percy. It was like Annabeth didn't exist, at least for the moment, and she was happy to keep it that way.
"The eastern patrol came back safe and sound, Percy. Oh, and Octavius requests your presence in the council today."
Percy let out a sigh that sounded relieved. "That's good... and tell pater I'll be there soon."
The man lips curled up into a grin. "That's not a response I would expect from someone on the day right after their wedding."
"Jason!"
Jason let out a laugh that sounded like a catcall while Annabeth stalked over to the desk and picked up the knife she had seen on it and marched back to Percy. The picture of dignity and grace... not embarrassment. Nope. Nuh-uh.
Percy looked like he wanted the earth to swallow him whole. Jason grinned and bowed first to her, then Percy, and then to Piper. Annabeth felt a vicious surge of Evil Plotting to Tease Piper to her Demise when she saw that her cheeks had turned a little pink.
"I'll see you soon, my lady."
Oh, this was wonderful.
"I'm not a lady."
"Someone as pretty as you isn't a lady?" Jason sounded genuinely confused, and Piper became a stuttering mess.
Grover laughed behind her, but it didn't sound mean. Percy looked like a cat that had just caught a canary as he bit into the toast. Annabeth wasn't sure why; at the moment, she pretty much felt like she was about to die from embarrassment. Oh, and evil, cunning blackmail plans.
"I need to get something!" Grover suddenly yelped, and he began to trot to the door.
Piper nodded. "And I'll... erm, help you get them!" She peeked at Jason, who smiled at her. Annabeth felt unadulterated glee at the blush that spread on her face, especially after Jason smiled at her. It was adorable, and she would finally be able to have get revenge for all those times Piper teased her!
"Someone's happy," Percy quipped above her head, and she beamed at him. He looked at the door thoughtfully, where Piper, Jason, and Grover had disappeared, and scratched his chin. "I don't think he realized that he was flirting with her... or the fact that she blushed..."
"Really?" Annabeth asked, beginning a tiny dance around their room with a couple of high-pitched, girly squeals.
"He's already engaged to Reyna." Percy sounded amused as he walked over to his (their?) dresser and started to rummage around in it, looking for something.
"That's even better!" Annabeth was sure her voice broke glass, but at the moment, she didn't care. Instead, she started waving her arms in the air and kicking out everywhere.
"Might I ask what's got you behaving like a lunatic? And careful about that dagger."
Annabeth scowled at him and threw the knife onto their bed. "I finally have blackmail material, and a chance for revenge."
"Oh boy, what have I gotten myself into?"
She stuck her tongue out at him. He responded similarly as he pulled out a... toga? He ducked behind a screen and Annabeth sat down in front of the fire. Hopefully Piper would think of getting her some clothes.
"I'm likely going to be in the council until the noon bell." Percy's tone was light and conversational. Annabeth figured he didn't need for her to encourage him. "You'll be fine without me?"
Annabeth almost smiled. "Percy, I'm an only child with a father who really doesn't care about what I do. I can take care of myself for a few hours."
"I'm sure you can." His voice was neutral.
She paused for a moment, wondering if she should ask him about Octavius... but she didn't want to destroy what little trust they had in each other.
"Annabeth?"
She looked over her shoulder to see Percy fiddling with a belt on his shoulder.
"Do you know how to adjust armor?" He looked at her with pleading not just in his voice but his eyes as well, making an adorable seal-like expression.
Annabeth smiled and walked over to him carefully. She hesitated for a moment, then she took the strap he had been playing with and tightened it. For some reason, her throat was constricting and she had to remind herself to breathe.
Percy swallowed.
She bit her lip and then pulled the strap toward her, and then she threaded the metal thingy (which she still didn't know the name of) through the hole.
"Thanks." His voice was hoarse.
Annabeth smiled at him, but stepped away quickly for some reason. "No problem."
Percy tilted his head, and then a careful smile spread across his face.
It was a beautiful thing.
