And we're back. It's been a month and a half since I've updated this story, but if you've been following me, you would know why. More information will be at the end.

Ok, no trivia question from last chapter, but a lot of you gave me your input on weddings. Not many have participated in one, but if they did it was mostly flower girls. A couple bridesmaids here and there, but other than that not much.

Now onto the story. We move back to Percy's POV here for the next two chapters, which have some important events happen in them. We pick up with Percy and Sven today as they are chasing the messenger who had just announced the Schatz's disappearance.

Enjoy Chapter Seven of The Prince, The Girl and The World.

Disclaimer: Started reading the books over again. You start to notice little things foreshadowing the future once you've read it fifteen times.

Chapter Seven: Percy POV

"Percy, look," Sven said, pointing in front of us.

"I see it," I replied.

We were currently following the messenger that had announced the Schatz's disappearance. It looked like he had just joined up with someone else, who had handed him a suspicious bag. Sven and I saw him stop and open the bag. After a couple of seconds he started to walk again.

Sven and I were following the messenger at quite a distance. I quickly turned to look back at the castle and found that I couldn't see it anymore. We were heading into dangerous territory.

"Percy!"

I quickly turned back around and I followed Sven's gaze. The messenger was now getting on a horse. We had to react quickly or else we would be left behind. I saw the messenger take off. I quickly scanned the area and noticed a stable about a half-mile up the road. I was about to turn to Sven when he grabbed my arm.

"Percy, come on!"

I turned to find one of my most trusted handlers approaching quickly with Blackjack. He skidded to a stop right in front of the two of us and hopped off the second horse, which I recognized now as Sven's.

I hopped onto Blackjack in one fluid motion and Sven quickly followed suit on War Symbol. We took off in a flash.

The two of us rounded the left bend and we saw the messenger ahead of us by about a half-mile. Thank the gods Sven had thought to fetch our horses or else we would be totally lost.

We reached the crest of a small hill and I slowed Blackjack to a trot. We were gaining on the messenger at a fast pace.

Sven slowed beside me.

"Why are you slowing down?" He asked. "We can overtake him easily."

"Not anymore," I said, pointing down in the valley. The messenger had just met up with several other horsemen. We were now outnumbered 5-to-1.

I heard Sven swear under his breath.

"Come on, let's keep pace behind them."

We followed the messenger and his crew for another two hours, occasionally having to close the gap in order to keep them in sight.

We were at a walking pace now, which was good considering that Blackjack couldn't gallop for hours upon end.

"Percy," Sven said suddenly as if realizing something. "They're heading towards Grunewald."

Grunewald. Green wood. I recognized the name. It was a forest located on the western side of Berlin and easily the biggest forest in the region. We had to be careful. We could easily lose them in this forest.

"It looks like they're stopping."

"Preparing themselves before they head in," I told him. "Come on, let's get a little closer. I want to see what they're up to."

We halved the distance separating us before I called a stop. Sven and I hopped off our horses in order to give them a short break and they headed over to nibble on some grass.

"What are they doing?" Sven asked as we gazed in the messenger's direction. The messenger was currently holding the Schatz up to a fire they had just made. "They're going to burn it!"

"They won't burn it," I said calmly. "It's too valuable for that. He'll want to make as much money off it as he can. He's not stupid enough to destroy such a profit."

"So what are we going to do?"

"We'll wait until nighttime and then take it back under the cover of darkness if we can."

"Why not go now?"

"He'll move. This isn't his final campsite. There's still several hours of daylight left. He'll want to get Grunewald started tonight. But that'll be his downfall."

Just as I said that, the messenger packed the Schatz back into its bag and he barked an order. I saw one man put out the fire as the others saddled their horses back up. They had finished their meal and were now ready to go.

Without even looking I sent out a quick, high-pitched whistle. Blackjack trotted over to me, War Symbol quickly following suit.

I mounted Blackjack and Sven did the same on War Symbol. Sven was about to head out into the road when I stopped him.

"Wait," I said. Sven brought War Symbol to a stop right before they would have been out in plain sight.

"What?"

I took a look at the messenger. He was looking up the hill.

"He's checking for a chase. Let's let him get on his way before we close up on him."

The messenger turned back, seeming satisfied that he wasn't being followed. Sven and I gave him a minute or two before heading out.

"He's entering the forest now," Sven told me.

"I see. Let's close up the gap a little." We urged our horses into a slow trot.

Four hours later I noticed the gap was getting smaller. I looked up at the darkening sky before back down at the messenger's party.

"Sven, stop," I told him. "The gap's closing too fast. He's looking for a campsite. We have to be really careful now."

"Ok," he replied. "There's a small clearing ahead. Want to set up camp there?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea. We can continue on foot. He shouldn't be too far away."

When we reached the clearing it was obvious that the messenger had considered it before continuing. The clearing was just too small though. There was no way he could fit ten men and their horses in this small clearing.

We waited another hour for the darkness to really creep in. Sven and I had agreed on no fire, seeing as it would give away our position, but we were glad that the messenger had decided on being warm.

We left our horses back at our clearing as well as our armor. It would just make too much noise in a quiet forest like this. We kept our swords though. No need to go unarmed.

The two of us crept up towards their camp, careful not to step on any stray twigs. We had agreed to observe for fifteen minutes or so before heading back to formulate a plan.

Their camp was pretty much thrown together. There was only one tent up, which I assumed was the messenger's. He seemed like the leader anyway. Sven and I observed for a couple more minutes before creeping back to our camp.

"Only one guard?" Sven asked. "Seems overconfident to me."

"He doesn't think there are any pursuers," I reminded him. "But we should still be careful."

"I only counted seven men, not counting the guard."

"So did I. That means there are either two people in the tent or a hidden guard somewhere."

"So, what's the plan?"

"We need to take out the guard first," I said. "If we raise an alarm we'll be in big trouble."

"You mean kill him?"

"If we have to, yes." Sven didn't seem to like that idea very much. "I'll take care of the guard, ok?"

"Sure," Sven said tentatively.

"Ok. Well, the Schatz has to be in the tent with the messenger. He wouldn't let something like that out of his grasp. You'll sneak in and grab the bag with the Schatz. You remember what it looks like?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"Ok, remember, if you have to fight, fight, but make sure you're able to get out of there."

"Got it," Sven replied with confidence. "Let's go get this done."

The plan would have worked perfectly had we not done it right after they had changed guards. It took one hit to the new guard to take him out, but he fell in a not-so-quiet thump.

Sven and I froze for a couple seconds before I motioned him to go on. He sneaked into the tent.

In fact, it was probably my athleticism that was our downfall. The guard wasn't the thinnest man in the world, so when the one guy awoke due to the thump and saw me standing in the guard's place, it took him a second to realize what had happened. That was the split second that allowed Sven to get into the tent.

I noticed a movement to my left and I turned quickly, which was something I probably shouldn't have done.

The man stood up quickly, noticing that I was not the guard. He let go a roar which was sure to wake the others.

"Intruders!" He yelled as he brandished his sword to come at me.

In the two second span I had to pull out my own sword I noticed that everyone else other than the guard who I had knocked out was now waking up.

I blocked the first stroke, an overhand. I noticed a quick movement to my right, the direction of the tent. It was Sven.

"Percy, I got it. Let's go!" Sven let go a piercing whistle. Blackjack and War Symbol would be here in fifteen seconds.

I blocked the attacker's second stroke and quickly sent a thrust which hit his belly. He fell to the ground.

I was about to turn and run when I felt a blinding pain on my lower leg. I fell to the ground, my momentum from trying to run away going against me. I looked down and noticed that a sword was through my calf. It was the guy that I had just taken down.

I stopped an overhand from a second guy from a kneeling position and was preparing for another when a blistering shadow took out my attacker as well as the two behind him. Blackjack had come to the rescue. Sven tried to help me up onto Blackjack, but the sword was still stuck in my leg.

I looked at Sven.

"Take it out!" I yelled. Luckily Sven understood. He pulled out the sword, not caring if it would hurt me more. We had to get away.

I yelled a cry of pain before letting Sven help me up onto Blackjack. My left leg was bleeding profusely. I could not feel anything below my knee.

Sven swiftly made his way onto War Symbol and we took off. Yelling could be heard from behind us. We would have pursuers soon.

Every bounce and jostle of the ride made me want to scream. I took a quick look behind me and saw a trail of blood in the moonlight. I yelled to Sven in front of me.

"Sven, find a river!" When he looked back at me puzzled I continued. "I'm leaving a trail!" Sven nodded and I was confident he understood what I was saying.

Within five minutes Sven had found a small stream and we bounded along with its current, the blood mixing in with the water, destroying our trail.

We spent about ten minutes running down the river before finally crossing over and stopping. Sven hopped off War Symbol and made his way back to me. The sun was beginning to rise in front of us.

I was leaning over Blackjack's mane, unable to make my way off his back. I knew I had to stay riding though. If I got off there was no way I would get back on.

"Percy, can you get off?"

"No. Just find a towel or something. We need to keep moving. I need a healer."

"At this pace we could be back at the castle in three hours. Do you think you can make it?"

"Yeah, but I need something wrapped around it. At least stop the blood flow for now."

Sven quickly went back to War Symbol before returning to my leg.

"Will this work?" He asked. It was a pretty thin piece of material, but it was long.

"Yeah," I said with a grimace. "Fold it a couple times though."

Sven did as I said before wrapping it around my leg. He tied in a knot and looked back up at me.

"Good?"

I didn't even have the energy to respond. I just nodded my head. My breaths were coming in ragged.

Three hours later we made it back to Berlin. About an hour in my bandage had become solid red, so the last two hours probably hadn't done anything, but at least the trail of blood was stopped.

A huge crowd gathered as we sprinted through the drawbridge. Sven stopped next to Adler and Carina and quickly hopped off his horse.

"Get that back to its place," he said to Adler, handing him the bag with the Schatz in it.

I was about to pass out. I thought I heard Carina ask what happened, but there was no way I was answering. I managed to get off my horse but I had to rely heavily on Sven and Carina. I had barely made it to the infirmary before I passed out.

A/N:

So, what did you think? Percy's injury might be more than it seems. You'll have to read on to find out more.

The next chapter provides a huge cliffy, so you guys should look forward to that.

Also, I have completed my second story, The Big Three, which was the main reason why this story has yet to be updated in such a long time. If you haven't read TB3 yet, head over and check it out.

There are several important dates coming up in the Percy Jackson world that you might like to be aware of (huge thanks goes out to annabeth the wise girl for the help):

1-Sea of Monsters (movie): released in theaters August 7th

2-House of Hades: published October 8th

3-Sea of Monsters (graphic novel): June 18th (already came out)

4-Titan's Curse (graphic novel): also October 8th

Now we have back to back announcements of big news.

First off, I have changed my profile picture. Head over to my profile, check it out for me and tell me what you think.

Secondly, I have a new story coming out this Monday. It's called The Ten. A summary can be found on my website. The link is also on my profile.

Question of the Chapter: Dionysus is known for calling Percy by the wrong name. He even called him Pedro in the Last Olympian. However, when was the first time Dionysus messed up Percy's name (what chapter and book) and by what name did he call him?

Correct answers will receive a shout out like always.

Now I should probably end this mildly long author's note.

Make sure to review!

Thanks!

-PSON