Hi guys! So I have decided the update plan is going to be once a week, sometime over the weekend probably Friday or Saturday. I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long I have had a lot of personal things going on. But, I'm back now and I will start updating regularly.

Chapter 7

"Umm, hey Oracle." I kind of waved, nervously approaching her. She didn't say anything. I touched the love scarf that Percy and I had collected on our first quest together. It calmed me, and reminded me that he was down there waiting for me. My steps quickened.

I was now only a foot away from the Oracle. "Oh Oracle, show me the prophecy.
I said. Her dead eyes started to glow green. Her body sat up straight and she started to talk, her mouth spewing green smoke.

You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze

The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise

You shall rise and fall by the ghost king's hand

The child of Athena's final stand

Destroy with a hero's final breath

And lose a love to worse than death

Her eyes sunk back into her head, and she slumped back down again in her chair. It was like watching someone get the life sucked out of her. I thought about the prophecy. Child of Athena's final stand. That didn't have to mean me. Daedalus was a child of Athena and that's who we're going after anyway.

And lose a love to worse than death. That was the line that bothered me. It could be any of my friends. Percy, or maybe Grover. Before I knew it, I was crying on the floor of the attic. At that moment, all I could think about was losing Percy. It was like my mind was against me. I saw image after image of what my life would be like if he was gone or dead. All of them felt… empty.

I stood up, trying to pull myself together. The clock said I had been up here for almost two hours. Everyone would be wondering where I was. I opened the trap door, and headed outside, trying my best to ignore the pleas of Clarisse with Chris.

-o0o-

"My dear." Chiron said. "You made it."

I sat down on a bench and tried not to make eye contact with Percy. I was afraid I would cry again.

"Well?" Quintus asked, which annoyed me. I didn't know him, and he didn't know me so he shouldn't be pushing me like a friend would.

My eyes betrayed me and I glanced over at Percy who smiled slightly as if saying good luck. Then, I looked back at Quintus, on purpose, to answer his question. "I got the prophecy. I will lead the quest to find Daedalus and stop Luke." I looked back down at the ground.

Chiron shifted uncomfortably. "My dear, what did the prophecy say exactly? The wording is important."

I kept staring at the ground. "I, ah… well, it said, you shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze." I paused, not wanting to go on. "The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise."

"The Lost One!" Grover exclaimed. "That must mean Pan! That's great!"

"With the dead and the traitor." Percy added. "Not so great."

"And?" Chiron said. "What is the rest?"

I sighed. "You shall rise and fall by the ghost king's hand. The child of Athena's final stand."

Everyone looked around uncomfortably. I knew what they were thinking. I was a child of Athena, so this would be my final stand. I wasn't too worried about it though, honestly.

"Hey… we shouldn't jump to conclusions." Silena said. "Annabeth isn't the only child of Athena out there."

"But who's this ghost king?" Beckendorf asked. No one answered.

"The prophecy does not sound complete." Chiron said. "Are there more lines?"

"I don't remember exactly." I knew no one was going to believe that. If Percy had said he didn't remember a prophecy, no one would have thought twice about it. But, I was a daughter of Athena, and known for my memory. Chiron raised an eyebrow.

I shifted uncomfortably on my bench. "Something about… Destroy with a hero's final breath."

"And?" Chiron asked. I wish he would stop. It was clear I didn't want to talk about it.

I stood up, refusing to say the last line. I couldn't let people see me as weak, especially right before a quest that I was leading. "Look, the point is, I have to go in. I'll find the workshop and stop Luke. And… I need help." I turned to Percy. "Will you come?"

He didn't hesitate. "I'm in."

I smiled genuinely for the first time in a while. "Grover, you too? The wild god is waiting."

Grover had forgotten how much he hated the underground. The lost one line had really gotten to him. "I'll bring extra recyclables for snacks!"

"And Tyson." I said, taking a deep breath. I knew that this broke all of the Ancient Laws, but I didn't care. It felt right. "I'll need you too."

"Yay! Blow things up time!" Tyson's clapping was so loud that he woke up Ms. O'Leary who was sleeping a mile away.

"Wait, Annabeth." Chiron held up a hand. "This goes against the ancient laws. A hero is allowed only two companions."

"I need them all." I insisted. "Chiron, it's important.

"Annabeth. Consider well." He said. "You would be breaking the ancient laws, and there are always consequences. Last winter, five went on a quest to save Artemis. Only three came back. Think on that. Three is a sacred number. There are three Fates, three Furies, three Olympian sons of Kronos. It is a good strong number that stands against many dangers. Four… this is risky." He sounded very unsure of my judgement, which I didn't like, but I stood my ground.

"I know." I said. "But we have to. Pleas."

Chiron sighed. "Very well. Let us adjourn. The members of the quest must prepare themselves. Tomorrow at dawn, we send you into the Labyrinth."

The council started to disperse. I looked around for Percy, but he was being taken away by Quintus. We would talk later.

-o0o-

I pulled out all the maps I had of the Labyrinth. None of them were very helpful and the stories never agreed with each other. I went over to Malcolm's desk and started rifling through some of his scrolls. Nothing helpful there. I went back over to mine and picked up the book of Daedalus.

"Knock knock?" Someone said. I jumped and turned around.

"Oh… hi. I didn't hear you." I said. It was just Percy.

"You okay?" He asked.

I frowned at the scroll in my hands. "Just trying to do some research. Daedalus' Labyrinth is so huge. None of the stories agree about anything. The maps just lead from nowhere to nowhere." For some reason, I felt like crying.

"We'll figure it out." He promised, but I wasn't so sure. For some reason, I started to feel self-conscious. My hair was tangled and I had dirt all over my face. I was sure it wasn't my prettiest moment.

"I've wanted to lead a quest since I was seven." I blurted out.

"You're going to do awesome." He said, sounding so sure of it I almost believed him.

I looked up from my scrolls at him, smiling gratefully. "I'm worried Percy. Maybe I shouldn't have asked you to do this. Or Grover and Tyson." The prophecy nagged at the back of my mind.

"Hey, we're your friends. We wouldn't miss it."

"But…" I stopped myself. I wanted to tell him, but I was afraid it would make things worse.

"What is it?" He asked. "The prophecy?"

"I'm sure it's fine." I said, quietly.

"What was the last line?"

Then, I did something really impulsive. I rubbed the tears out of my eyes and put out my arms. He stepped forward and hugged me. He smelled like a summer ocean day. He was warm and I was shivering.

"Chiron might be right." I muttered into his shirt. "I'm breaking the rules. But I don't know what else to do. I need you three. It just feels right."

"Then don't worry about it." I could feel his breath on my head, slightly blowing my hair. "We've had plenty of problems before, and we solved them."

"This is different. I don't want anything to happen to… any of you." You. I thought secretly. It wasn't that I didn't care or even love Tyson and Grover. It was just that when it came to my life, I felt like literally could not live without Percy. Thinking about it left a huge gaping hole in my stomach. I hugged him tighter enjoying the warmth, trying not to think about how this might last and only time I get to do this.

Behind Percy, one of brothers cleared his throat. I stepped away from Percy slightly, and saw Malcolm, his face bright red. For some reason I wasn't embarrassed.

"Um, sorry." He said. "Archery practice is starting, Annabeth. Chiron sent me to get you." Percy stepped farther away from me and I immediately missed him.

"We were just looking at maps." Percy said, and I smiled. It was nice to hear him acting like a seaweed brain again.

"Okay." Malcolm looked at him stupidly.

"Tell Chiron I'll be right there." I said. Malcolm basically ran out the door.

I rubbed the tears out of my eyes. "You should go Percy. I'd better get ready for archery."

He nodded. "Annabeth? About your prophecy. The line about a hero's last breath –"

"You're wondering which hero? I don't know."

"No, something else. I was thinking the last line usually rhymes with the one before it. Was it something about – did it end in the word death?"

I looked back down at my scrolls. "You should really get going. Their waiting for me at archery." He looked like he wanted to say something else, but he left without another word. I started putting my armor on.