Hello peoples! Well, to start off, I am VERY ANGRY at my computer. (Even though technically this was my fault). I was very busy over the past week, so I wrote about 500 words in one sitting. My usual chapters are 1000-3000 words though, so I didn't submit the document. But my computer ran out of batteries and deleted everything I had written. So I did it again. I rewrote it. And it ran out of batteries AGAIN. So this is the third time that I have written this. Just so you know, it is written with fiery anger. And I am too angry to do a disclaimer. Reviews:
Sv007- Yeah, but I personally hated Rick Riordan when he published Mark of Athena. That cliffhanger was awful. And don't worry, I have a plan for managing the many personalities. You will have to wait and see... MUAHAHAHAHA
Guest- Thanks for reviewing! Here's your chapter.
Penny (Guest)- Yay! She can! (Or can she?) NO SPOILERS. Thanks, you too!
Athenachild101- YAY! THE NEXT CHAPTER! Well, this chapter is only Percy again- sorry! And yes, you guessed it! Thank you for being such a consistent reviewer. Here is your update. XOXO
Percy's POV:
"Dad? Where are we going?" I asked curiously. My father had barged into my room at midnight and only said something about an "Urgent Event." Since then, he had said nothing else to me. I was currently trailing behind him in the hallway, trying to keep up with his swift steps. Many of the guards were staring at us.
He kept up the rapid pace and didn't answer my queries. I had vague suspicions as to where we were going, but it couldn't be. Princes weren't allowed in the drawing room. Besides, I had no idea where the drawing room was. It couldn't be in the palace- could it?
My father covered ground quite quickly. Within only about thirty seconds, he had reached the massive, golden spiral staircase at the end of the main hallway. Without pause, he hastened down the steps. Meanwhile, I was trying to catch up, to no avail. I wondered if he was actually trying to leave me behind.
Now I was annoyed. He wasn't speaking to me at all. Did I do something to anger him? "Sir?" I called out to him. "Can you please answer me? Where are we going?"
Finally, he wheeled around. At first, I thought he was going to look at me. Instead, he barreled around a corner and suddenly stopped. Then he finally opened his mouth to speak. "Perseus, can you possibly quiet down and stop making a scene?" he hissed.
I was about to snap at him, but I realized that would be directly defying his orders. Instead, I curtly nodded and stopped speaking. I observed my surroundings, still slightly winded. I recognized where we were by the massive painting of a fruit bowl hanging on the wall directly across from us. We were near the Report room.
This was confirmed when a red-clad guard opened a pair of double doors for my father and me. We strode into the busy Report room. There were people crowded on the set, moving furniture and testing cameras. A massive chroma-keying screen was erected on the left side of the room, and the right wall was covered in pictures of famous guests on the show and rewards for "Best Television Show of the Century." There were also two doors to other rooms.
I had been forever convinced that Apollo Solace and Artemis Nightshade each had their own offices, but that was apparently wrong. One of the doors led to both of their offices. The other led to- I didn't know where. Now I would learn where the other door on the right wall went.
Another guard appeared out of nowhere and rushed to open the door for us. My father strode into the room with no hesitation. I glanced at the guard before entering the room. What was this place? I had never been in here. That was strange when you added in the fact that this was my home.
The first thing I noticed when I crossed the threshold was the darkness. I was extremely accustomed to walking into a room where the lights were on. Here, they were all off. The guard behind us flicked a switch on the wall, which flooded the room with color and light.
Now I actually could see. It was actually very snug but terribly appointed here. A worn, Prussian blue curtain hung from a metal rod and split the room in half. I couldn't see behind the curtain. The only thing I could see was the drab half- consisting of only a large table and many wooden chairs.
I quickly counted the chairs and came up with thirty-seven. That confirmed it, this was the drawing room. Thirty-five chairs for a delegate from each province, and two extra chairs for the king and a servant to take notes.
My father waited for a moment, taking in the sights. It was strange to think that he had been here yesterday morning, drawing names. Then he reached up and pulled the curtain away, revealing the other side of the room. I allowed myself to exclaim "Woah."
The room was much wider than I had originally thought. When my father pushed the curtain off to the side, a huge chamber was revealed. There were tile floors, that caused my dress shoes to make a clacking noise every time I took a step. But that wasn't the astonishing part. The staggering detail that made me curious was none other than a plastic cube set on a chair in the middle of the chamber.
"Father? What is that?" I asked. But I already had a general idea. Inside the cube was a few hundred slips of paper. They were all crumpled into balls, and I couldn't see what was written on them.
My father didn't answer my question very well, saying only "All will be explained in time, Perseus. We just have to wait for..." he never finished his sentence, because the door was opened again and two people sauntered in, immediately taking seats around the large table and noting our presence.
I recognized one of the newcomers, as I had seen him the night before. Sharp silvery hair, and a well-tailored black suit nearly identical to the one he had worn before- that was my father's trusted advisor, Delphinus. The other was a blonde woman wearing a fitted blue blazer. They both nodded their heads to acknowledge our presences.
"Delphinus, Miss Tabitha Wordsworth," my father stated. He needed only to say those words, to get his points across. Delphinus was taking notes on a purple pad that looked like it belonged to a kindergartener, whilst Tabitha was unashamedly staring at the plastic bin on the chair. I couldn't blame her, as I was doing the same thing.
"Your Majesties and miss, we are gathered here today in a classified manner. No note of this day should be spread to the general public, or it would cause rebellions and mayhem," announced Delphinus. I thought he was being rather hypocritical because he had taken notes up to this point. But to prove his point, Delphinus stashed his notebook in his briefcase.
I decided to voice some of my inquiries because nobody had answered them so far. "Sirs, Miss." I hated beginning each sentence with titles, but it was the formality. "May I ask what we are doing here?"
Miss Wordsworth rushed to answer. Her voice was annoyingly high pitched. "Sirs." She gave a false smile. "Perseus, we are here to draw a new name for the Province of Angeles."
"And what is in that cube there?" I asked. I pointed my head towards the plastic box set on the chair. "Are those... the names? Wouldn't there be more of them?"
Delphin answered my question eagerly as if he existed to do so. "Yes, my prince. Those are the Selected. There were actually about twenty-five thousand women who entered the Selection from the Province of Angeles. But it would be terribly inconvenient to have each applicant here- it would take up far too much space. There is a committee that puts numbers on paper slips- each woman receives a number. Then the slips are shaken up, and somebody grabs random handfuls to put in a smaller container. And yes, that is the container. One of those slips will be drawn by yours truly. Then we will input the number into a computer, and it will give us the information about the candidate."
I tried to follow his words, but I still didn't understand what in the world he was saying. Luckily, I was spared from having to answer by my father clapping his hands together. The loud noise echoed off the tiled floors. "Well, we should get to it! Delphin, please draw a number." Without waiting for a reply, he grabbed the shiny bin labeled "Angeles" and passed it to Delphinus.
I drew in a breath as Delphin unscrewed the lid. When he did, a few paper slips fell out onto the floor. Delphin didn't pick them up. It was hard to imagine each of these papers as a woman- somebody who wanted to marry me. Then again, they could be in it for the crown. My mother always told me about her Selection, and how there were ladies in it entirely for the position and caste.
Delphin reached into the container. It was packed like sardines, filled to the brim. As he put his hand inside, dozens of papers fell out. He was definitely enjoying this- he shook the container around a few times. Papers spilled to the floor and laid motionless.
Finally, Delphinus grabbed a slip of paper. Unfortunately for me, he laughed like a child and dropped it in again. The suspense was killing me, but I didn't have to snap. My father did instead, saying "Well, get on with it!"
Delphin did as his king commanded, plunging his hand into the pile and grabbing a piece of paper. The number read: 321631. There was nothing else on the paper. Delphin handed the paper to me, and I stared at it in disbelief. There was a one-in-thirty-five percent chance that this would be my future wife. When I thought about it like that, the percentage seemed higher.
My father seemed annoyed at the drama and stood up instantaneously. He motioned for everybody to follow him, and we did. On the other side of the room, there was a computer. It was large, box-like, and plugged into the wall behind it with a heavy orange cord.
While Miss Tabitha logged on to the computer, everybody waited in silence. When it finished loading, a browser popped up on the screen. It was a page with a backdrop of green, and two boxes. The first was to enter text, the second was simply labeled "Enter."
Miss Wordsworth backed away from the computer. It took a few seconds, but I realized that I was supposed to enter the number. I looked at the sheet of paper in my hand, and then I entered the number into the text box.
321631.
Enter.
Are you sure? This information will be submitted to the database.
Yes, I'm sure
No, I'm not a robot.
Loading: Please wait
Loading: Please wait
Loading: Please wait
Your search is completed. You will see your results in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...
MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I'm sure you thought that you would figure things out. While we all know what's going to happen (Or do we?) I just couldn't resist that cliffhanger. Sorry for the slow updates- but if you review I will update faster. Please? No? Okay... sorry for asking.
But seriously, please review. I will see 'yall next chapter. Bye!
-Meistar