Percy's first thought was how much his head hurt. He couldn't remember what he could have done to have it screaming in pain as much as it was. It hurt just trying to think. Slowly he became aware of a rocking back and forth motion. At first he thought it was his head, but his whole body shook from the motion. He chanced opening his eyes, only to squeeze them back shut. The light was definitely too bright. He tried to think where he was. His bunk? No, he remembered he was headed somewhere. He remembered saying goodbye to Tyson and Blackjack. He remembered Annabeth splashing water at him. Annabeth! Everything rushed back to him. He sat up with a jerk, which he instantly regretted.

"Woah, woah. Lay back down." A feminine voice soothed.

"We were attacked. I have to go." Percy insisted, though he still squeezed his eyes shut.

"It's alright. We found you laying by the road. We saw the wreckage. We're getting you home as quickly as we can."

"Home?" Percy wondered out loud and for a terrifying moment, he thought they were headed to Thebes.

"Athens. I assumed by your uniform, you were an Athenian soldier."

"Athens. Yes. But, I have to find . . ."

"You're in no condition to go anywhere. Here drink this." He felt a hand gently lift his head up and a water bottle pressed to his lips. He drunk greedily. When he was done she gently lowered his head. He chanced a glance despite the bright light and was met with fiery red hair. He instantly closed his eyes again.

"Who are you?" He draped an arm over his eyes to shut out the light.

"My name's Rachael Elizabeth Dare."

"Were there any others found . . . alive?"

"We found two other wounded soldiers. They are in the other wagons."

Percy felt his throat constrict. "Did you see any women?"

There was a pause. "There were only soldiers."

Percy tried to focus on just breathing. She had to be alive still.

"Rachael." Percy heard a deep voice snap. "You're done playing nurse. We're approaching the gates. Come take your place up front."

"Yes, father." Rachael's voice sighed. "We're here." She notified Percy.

"Wait." Percy yelped. "How long have I been out?"

"Since we found you, only a day." He heard her slip out of the wagon.

A whole day had passed, probably more since they were attacked and Annabeth . . . . He wasn't sure what happened to Annabeth. Was she dead? No. She had to have been taken. Otherwise they would have found her body. Percy forced himself in to a sitting position, hanging onto his head with both hands. It seemed like his head was still intact, despite the splitting headache he had. The wagon stopped abruptly and Percy was tempted to lay back down, but if he was back in Athens, Queen Athena had to know what happened to her daughter. Percy heard some people talking. He moved his way to the back of the wagon and started clambering out of it.

"Sargent Jackson." Percy heard Queen Athena's sharp command. He stood to attention as best he could. His back screamed in protest.

"Your majesty."

"Report."

"A trap was laid in the Parnitha Pass. I did everything I could, but I believe Princess Annabeth was taken."

Percy was having a hard time seeing straight, but he could have sworn her nostrils flared. "Go to the infirmary. I want a full report when you're recovered."

"Yes, your majesty." Percy tried a bow and then turned to leave.

"Thank you for your help." Athena said to a man in formal attire.

"It was the least we could do." He smoothly said. "Our relations with Athens has always been good."

Percy didn't hear the rest of the conversation as he made his way to the infirmary.

"Need help?" A familiar voice piped up next to him.

"I just need some pain medicine."

"This way," he felt her tugging on his arm, "I see the infirmary sign." He followed half blind. "So what's your name?"

"Percy." He said without thinking. He just wanted something to take away the pounding in his head.

"I've heard tales of a guy named Percy who tamed a wild stallion." Percy hurried forward. "If I remember correctly, he's an Athenian soldier." Percy stumbled. "But I don't take too much stock in rumors. Here we are."

Percy gratefully entered the tent. "Thanks for the help." Percy mumbled.

"Always happy to help." She replied cheerfully.

"Percy Jackson." Percy recognized the doctor's voice clearly.

"I just got a headache. Got something to take away the pain?"

"Sure." He went to hand him a solution, but just as soon as Percy went to grab it, he snatched it back away from him. "How did you get a headache?"

"It doesn't matter." Percy replied stubbornly.

"If I were to hazard a guess, it was because you were thrown off a horse and hit a tree." Rachael supplied. Percy glared at her. "That's what it looked like to me. You really shouldn't hide things from your doctor." She shrugged innocently.

"Let's have a full examination then." The doctor replied. "You'll have to leave, miss."

"Of course." She grinned as she left.

Sometime later, Percy was laying on a cot. The good news was that his headache was blissfully gone after he drank the concoction the doctor gave him. The bad news was he was drifting fast, despite his best efforts to stay awake.

Percy struggled to force his eyes open. His limbs felt heavy, but at least there was no pain. He blinked a few more times before he forced himself up into a sitting position. His head gave a little protest. The rising sun let him know he had spent the night in the infirmary. One day and a night she had been gone. How far could they have gotten? Where could she be? Percy tried to sift through the information he had. The soldiers didn't have any uniform he recognized. With the oncoming war, it could very easily be Castellan's men, but he wasn't sure. If he could get back to the sight of the attack, he might be able to make some sense of it. He stood up and left the infirmary. He stretched his muscles a little to try and loosen them up. He heard a few pops and felt better. After he cleaned up and changed his clothes, he made his way through the servants hallways through the palace and came to Athena's study. He knocked respectfully on it.

"Enter." He heard her voice.

Percy entered her study hesitantly. "Your majesty." Percy bowed.

"Sargent Jackson." Athena sat back in her chair and studied him. "What happened?"

Percy told her everything that happened up to when they flew off the horse and he lost consciousness. He told her what information he had found out from Rachael and how he believed her to be taken. Athena looked more and more angry. "I would like to request to be on the rescue party." He finished.

Athena eyed him and then snapped, "No."

"You're majesty . . ." Percy began to protest.

"I understand your desire to fulfill your duties, but I have already sent a patrol out. All signs show that they are headed south."

"South? How did they get past the ranks that are watching Castellan's army?" Percy knew he was overstepping the line. "There is no way they could be heading south."

"Are you saying that my soldiers are unable to read tracks?"

"No, but . . ."

"Are you saying that we let them attack my daughter?"

"No."

"This conversation is over. You are dismissed." She turned her attention to some papers in front of her.

Percy about faced and left the room. He was so frustrated and angry. How could he have not seen the attack coming? War was threatening to break any day now and he was foolish enough to think that the north roads were safe. He wandered into the stables where Tyson was slipping Blackjack some sweets. "Trying to get him to sweeten up to you, huh?" Percy grinned at Tyson.

"Percy." Tyson pulled him into a bone crushing hug.

"Not so hard." Percy winced.

"You and princess are back early." He grinned.

Percy frowned, when he thought about his abysmal failure to protect Princess Annabeth. "I . . . uh . . . she was kidnapped."

"Princess is in trouble?" Tyson looked scared.

"I messed up, Tyson. The Parnitha Pass may have been the fastest way, but it was definitely not the safest. It was a trap."

"You'll save her."

"Queen Athena has excluded me from the rescue party." Percy tried to explain to Tyson.

"You'll save her." His big brown eyes looked at Percy with such confidence that he had a hard time arguing.

"Well, I never was relieved of my duties as her escort." Percy said with a smirk.

"Ride Blackjack." Tyson clapped excitedly.

"Uh . . ." Percy looked at the wild stallion hesitantly.

Blackjack was nodding his head enthusiastically.

"I'll get supplies." Tyson grabbed a saddlebag and ran off to the kitchens.

"Okay." Percy eyed the stallion up and down. He slowly grabbed a soft pad, making sure not to make any sudden movements. "This is a pad." He showed it to the horse. "I'm going to put this on you."

Blackjack sniffed it and then went back to chewing on some hay.

Percy gently put the pad on the horses back. A shiver went through Blackjacks coat, but other than that he didn't move. Percy did the same thing with the saddle. Blackjack seemed to be okay with everything as he put the saddle on, so when Percy went to put the harness on him, he was surprised when Blackjack started bucking.

"Okay, okay." Percy scrambled backwards. "No harness." He threw it to the side. Once Blackjack saw that it was gone, he calmed down. "This is going to be interesting."

Tyson returned with a full saddlebag and a round bronze shield. Percy stared at it in amazement. "This will protect Percy when he saves princess." Tyson handed the shield to Percy. Then put the saddle bag on Blackjack who nickered at it.

"Thanks Tyson. You constantly amaze me." The brothers hugged each other one last time and then Percy guided Blackjack to the gates.

Once he was through the gates he mounted the stallion for the first time. The moment he was on the stallions back, Blackjack took off. Percy gripped the stallions mane for dear life. He'd never ridden so fast before. He screamed some directions at the stallion like, "Take the right path." And he would steer the stallion as best he could. They made excellent time. They reached the wreckage of the carriage before sunset. He found the dead horse that had been shot from underneath them. Percy saw the tree he must have hit. He got down from Blackjack and looked around. He counted five dead soldiers. Looked like Annabeth took some soldiers out before they took her. Percy grinned at that then frowned. He should have been there with her, fighting them off. A glint caught his eye. He turned toward what caught his attention and saw Annabeth's knife. It would have been easily mistaken for a enlisted soldiers knife, but he knew it was hers. He had spared with her enough times to know. He stood and held it reverently in his hands. Blackjack came over and sniffed it curiously.

Percy shooed him away before he could hurt himself. "It's not for you." He chided him.

Percy stowed the knife in the saddlebag, making sure to wrap it carefully. Blackjack wandered around while Percy searched the soldiers, trying to figure out who they worked for. They only had a symbol of a scythe attached to their mismatched clothing. He ripped one off of the soldiers clothing. Percy then started following the shallow tracks. They walked for about another hour when the tracks turned south. Nothing on any of the other paths.

"I don't get it. It doesn't make sense to go through Olympus, when the Northern border is just there." He pointed north. Blackjack was already trotting down the path that led west. "Where are you going?" Percy wondered. Blackjack nodded his head as though trying to encourage Percy down the path. The sun was hanging low on the horizon, so it was getting harder to see. He would have to make camp soon. "We've got to follow the tracks." Percy pointed south.

Still Blackjack trotted further and further west.

"Come back here." Percy called after him, and then chased after the stallion. The stallion nickered and trotted just out of reach as though taunting him. Percy stumbled through some brush and fell roughly. When he looked down he saw at least twenty horse tracks. "What the . . ." Percy got up and followed them back. "They went through the brush. They turned south and then backtracked." Percy looked at the stallion with amazement. "How'd you know?" The stallion just stared back. "Can you go for a little longer?" Percy asked the stallion.

When Blackjack nodded, Percy didn't ask twice before climbing back on and race the stallion down the path heading west.