Annabeth POV:

"Annabeth?" my half-brother Malcom called. I sliced the dummy's arm, and turned to find Malcom at the door of the arena.

"Are you coming to dinner?" He asked hopefully. I shook my head.

Malcom sighed. "Okay." He tried to smile. "See you at the sing along."

I couldn't blame him for being a bit frustrated at me. I had been here for hours, and I had destroyed over seven straw dummies.

I struck at the dummy's waist and it split in half. Now it was my turn to sigh. I put down the practice sword and took a seat on the bench.

I was drenched in sweat, and my hair was a mess. With the back of my hand, I wiped some sweat from my forehead and glanced around the arena.

This place reminded me so much of Luke. Before he . . . turned bad, he would spend several hours a day here, practicing. I remembered how I would watch him. I would wish nothing but to be exactly like him. But now . . he wasn't here.

I was surprised when I found some tears slipping down my face.

"Stop it, Annabeth." I told myself as I swiped the tears away. Footsteps suddenly echoed through the empty arena.

"Hey." Percy slid next to me on the bench.

Great. He was the last person I wanted to see. Thank Gods I wasn't crying anymore.

I turned my back to him, but he just stood up and walked to the other side of the bench to take a seat. We continued this game for about a minute until I let some of my anger spill.

"Just leave me alone, Percy." I scowled. He didn't budge.

I rose from the bench and picked up the practice sword. Percy got up too. While I turned my back for a second to get another straw dummy, Percy grabbed my arm and spun me to face him. He pulled out his sword, Riptide.

"You can fight me, can't you?" he asked. "I need practice."

I refused to smile, but replied, "Good point. You're going down."

Percy gave me a small smile. "Thanks."

My heart felt strange. I felt a little mad about the way he had blown me off on the hill, but I also felt like I just wanted to give up and apologize. On the hill, he had made me feel like a jerk. A jerk who rattled off random information and a jerk that always had to be right. That sure helped my self-confidence.

He uncapped his sword and it grew into three feet of Celestial bronze. He stood ready.

I looked at him. His sea-green eyes full of concentration. His shaggy black hair hung in his face, but he seemed to be ready anyway. What was I putting myself up for?

I drew my sword, at the ready. I swiped at his waist, but he knew me too well. I was too competitive, too aggressive, and he knew that I wanted to get this over with. His sword hit the base of mine, and he twisted. My sword almost flew out of my hands, but I saved it.

I shook him off and straightened myself out. He wasn't wearing any armor, which worried me a little, but after that last shot, I didn't care.

I tried for his chest, but he put his sword across his body in a diagonal line, and blocked the shot. With my blade against his, he turned it quickly, so before I knew it, my sword clattered to the ground.

Percy glanced at me and picked up my sword. He handed it to me and said, "One more."

I inhaled. I was exhausted. Not just because of the fighting, I was exhausted because I just wanted to give up, but I didn't want Percy to see me like that. Wait, he's my best friend, I thought, it should be okay to see him like that. Or at least he was my best friend.

I shook some loose blonde hair out of my face and faced Percy. He was studying my face, tracing circles with his green eyes.

This time, I struck against his sword. The metal clattered together. I twisted, like he had done earlier, and got my sword out of his lock. I went up closer with my sword in front me. Percy struck for my waist and I barely blocked it. Using most of my energy, I spun around, which was pretty risky, but when I was facing Percy, his sword was on the ground. He was smiling again.

"Nice," he said.

I nodded my thank you and started heading towards the door. He ran and stepped in front of me so I practically ran into him.

"What?" I scowled again.

"Annabeth, look," Percy said. "First of all, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for blowing up at you on the hill. But there's something else I came here for."

That stung a little; the fact that something else was a little more important, but he looked nervous . . . even a little bit scared.

I sighed. "And I'm sorry too Percy. I didn't mean to yell at you. It's just that the prophecy seems pretty scary and there's . . . other stuff on my mind. So, I'm sorry."

Percy was smiling, and his eyes got his twinkle back. I grinned at him.

"Great. Anyway, I need to tell you about something that happened when I was in my cabin."

"What?"

"Someone sent me an Iris-message."

This was news. I knew that Percy had a saltwater spring in his cabin, but no one really sent him messages unless it was completely necessary.

"Who sent it to you?" I asked.

Percy shrugged. "I'm not sure." He walked out of the arena and turned to me. "You are coming to dinner, right?"

I rolled my eyes. "Get to the point. What was in the message?"

"Oh . . . um," Percy stammered. He even got a little red.

"Seriously, Seaweed Brain? You forgot the message?"

"N—no. I didn't forget it. I just . . ." he trailed off.

"Yeah?"

"Calypso."

"Calypso?"

"Yeah. Calypso. Remember a few years back? Mt. Saint Helens? When you thought I was dead? That's where I was. With Calypso."

And all I remember from the moment was my fist flying out in front of me hitting the target perfectly.

A/N: Hope you liked this chapter!! :D This was my first time EVER writing a sword fight...especially between Percy and Annabeth. :] Review if you'd like!