Thanks to FlyingFun! You're awesome! Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter: Holmes Sherlock, Nowhere Is Darkness, PercabethLover032600, ukie & Abigail Thalia La Rue.
~"Guys, we are off to Verona."~
Annabeth's POV
I can't believe we're off to Italy! Well, Verona to be precise. As soon as I looked up 'star-crossed' on Google, 'Romeo and Juliet' was the first thing to come up! I was so excited, but then I realised something. It was 'Romeo and Juliet', Shakespeare's famous tragedy. Is the tragic ending of the play a foreshadow of the outcome our quest? I hope not. No. It won't be like that. It can't be! I tried not to let my fears show as everyone else was ecstatic about going to Italy. I didn't want to ruin the mood.
Nico was the most excited; he never got around much. He usually sticks to Camp Half-Blood and the Underworld. Thrilled murmurs bounced around the room, then all of a sudden Chiron cleared his throat loudly, making everyone fall silent.
He said with a small grin, "Thalia, Nico, Percy and Annabeth get to packing, your flight's tomorrow morning!"
"But Chiron, won't something bad happen to me when I fly?" asked Percy, nervously.
How thick is my boyfriend? Really? The gods have lost all their powers! Zeus is a god? Making a connection here?
"The gods have lost their powers, Percy." Chiron told him.
Percy was still silent. But I could stand it no more.
"Percy! The gods have lost their powers and Zeus is a god! He's lost his powers! He can't attack you from the sky! Honestly!" I cried.
There were snickers from all parts of the room and Percy looked down at his feet. Wait! Was he blushing?
Then, Nico left the room, still shaking with barely-suppressed laughter. I left afterwards with Rachel following behind me. I really need to go pack! I have to organise all the equipment I am going to take, and I need to think thoroughly over the prophecy before we leave!
Just before I entered my deep chain of thought, Rachel ran up next to me. When I saw her face, it made stop in my tracks. It was a ghostly white – not the way she does as an oracle. I immediately asked her what was wrong.
"Look, Annabeth." She said, sighing, "You and I both know how Romeo and Juliet ends. If that has anything at all to do with the quest, then this will be the last time I'll see you."
Rachel and I have become great friends through the past couple of years. It daunted me to think of this as the last time I saw her, or anyone at this camp. No. Stop it! Don't think like that because it's not going to happen. It can't! It won't.
"Rachel," I replied, "Romeo and Juliet does end that way, but it won't necessarily have anything to do with our quest. Don't even think like that! It won't happen. Well, I don't think it can! Don't worry. I'll even get you a souvenir when I come back, how about that?" I tried to give her my most encouraging smile.
She just said, "Okay then. Just take care of yourself. I want to give you something. Wait for me outside the Big House."
I retraced my steps back to the Big House. It was where Rachel lived while she hung about at camp. Usually she would be with her dad, but now and again she'd come around when there was a new prophecy to be discussed.
I looked around camp, it was more packed then ever since the Gods claimed their kids younger now. However, Zeus, Hades and Poseidon still only had one child each. I suppose they were somewhat careful when it came to their oath.
"Here, I wanted you to have this."
In Rachel's hand was a beautiful notebook with my name inscribed on the bottom right corner. It was a Florentine design. I eyed the notebook as Rachel gave it to me. All the different colours were astounding.
"Rachel, this is beautiful." I sighed.
"You can use it as a travel diary. My dad bought a few when he was in Florence last year. I decided to test my calligraphy skills and write your name on it. I hope you like it!" Rachel said with tears pricking at the end of her eyes.
She gave me a big bear hug and I returned it.
"I really do love it Rachel, but I have to go pack now. I'm leaving in the morning." I tried to escape her hug, but she just held me tighter.
"Oh alright. I'll see you when you get back then." She jumped up and with a friendly wink, skipped away.
Percy's POV
I'm going to die before the mission even starts. Despite the fact that Zeus has lost his powers, I'm still not quite sure about it. I don't think being blasted out of the sky is a good idea, godly powers or no godly powers. Obviously Nico and Annabeth think it's a smack-bang good idea.
I was pacing nervously around the room when I realised I wasn't alone. Thalia was still here, with her mouth wide open. I recalled that she was afraid of heights. Looks like I'm not the only one scared of this flight. Yes, it's true. Percy Jackson, son of big old Poseidon, is scared of getting blasted into little bits and scattered around the sky. Who can blame me?
"Thalia, we'll get through this together."
I tried to comfort her, but I think it ended up sounding more like me trying to comfort myself.
"Percy, I'm not scared. I was just, uh, standing there because I'm thinking about, erm, what to pack."
She tried to cover up how scared she actually was but it failed. Usually she was brave, considering she is part of the hunters and a daughter of Zeus, one of the big three. But, this is her Achilles heel.
"It's ok, look, when we get our tickets, I'll make sure that you don't sit on the window side. Just think it's a big boat. Plus, if it's any consolation if anything does happen, your in the sky. Your home territory. You can levitate or something."
That seemed to calm her down. From the corner of my eye I saw Rachel enter then leave the Big House. I wonder what she is up to.
"Thanks Percy, that really means a lot."
She smiled and left the Big House, probably for her cabin to pack. Which is probably what Annabeth is doing. I wondered if I should disturb her; a mischievous smile crossed my face. I murmured to myself. Maybe, I could have some fun before we leave camp. With that, I ran off to the Hermes cabin.
Please review! If I get more than 5 reviews then it gives me an incentive to update!
Maybe in the next chapter I'll have a section in Nico's POV. Hmm... does that sound good?
I hope all you had a Merry Christmas and will have a Happy New Year!
So there you have it! Another Chapter to this story. By the way, now and again I change the summary to suit the story… Any suggestions? I'm not really good at summaries. I also just finished reading Shiver! It was pretty good =) Any suggestions for new books to read? PM me :D Just letting you all know that I changed my username, it is now: PercyJackson-PeetaMellark-Fangfan11.
