Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

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A Twisted Tale of Cinderella

Chapter 7

Annabeth ran. She ran faster and faster until she felt like she would collapse. But she willed herself to keep running. They were closing in on her. She could feel them at her back and their shadows creeping up on her. She blinked to release her tears so they wouldn't cloud her vision.

"We're gonna kill you!" One of them yelled. Annabeth couldn't tell if it was Matthew or Bobby's voice and she didn't care. She had to get away.

Their horses' hooves hit the ground hard and it wouldn't be long before they caught up. Despite knowing this, Annabeth didn't stop running. She was already out of breath but she kept going.

"I'm going to kill you!" The voice was different now. It didn't sound like Matthew or Bobby.

Against her better judgment, Annabeth peaked over her shoulder. Matthew and Bobby's silhouettes against the setting sun morphed into one until they became Percy Jackson. He kicked his heels into his pitch-black horse and reached out his hand towards her. She shrieked when he grabbed a fist-full of her hair.

Annabeth woke up when her body hit the floor. She had fallen out of bed. Several of her candles were still lit and she was glad she didn't blow them out before she went to bed. She didn't want to be left in the dark. With wobbly arms and legs, Annabeth climbed back into bed and pulled the blanket over her head. Her arms were shaking and her legs were sore. She was out of breath. She had a hard time falling asleep again because she didn't want to have that dream again.


Percy hasn't spoken to her since he had his friends over. Medusa came to her one day and told her that she would be the one to bring Percy his meals instead of Annabeth. When Annabeth went up to Percy's room to pick up his laundry, Nancy was already descending the stairs with it. Annabeth was supposed to be Percy's caretaker. She was supposed to make his bed and cook his meals and draw his bath but it's been so long since she did any of that. Had Percy fired her?

She never really got the opportunity to ask. She hardly ever saw Percy in the past few days. He was always up in his room doing something or other and whenever he ventured out, he never spared Annabeth even a passing glance. Whenever he went out of the house, Medusa was the one to get his coat.

But she didn't think she was fired. Medusa gave Annabeth daily tasks to complete before the end of the day so she was clearly still employed.

Annabeth's days were falling into a neat pattern. In the mornings, since she didn't have to cook Percy's breakfast anymore, she set out to help the gardener. She'd pick herbs and vegetables and fruit and pull weeds and water plants.

On her first day doing this, she noticed there were several ugly patches of dirt surrounding the gazebo. Annabeth offered to water it because she thought there were seeds but the gardener told her there was nothing. She found it rather odd and out of place. The gardens were grand and lush everywhere but around the gazeebo. The gardener didn't seem to see anything wrong with it. He never attempted to plant anything in the soil surrounding the gazebo and only watered the grass. Annabeth tried to follow his example by ignoring it, but she caught herself glancing back towards the gazebo.

After working in the gardens Annabeth would bring her harvest into the kitchen and have a quick breakfast. Sometimes she'd help prep food for the kitchen staff but it seems that most times they wanted her out of their way. So she'd go back outside and tend to the horses. She'd see them fed and watered and help the stable hand for a while. Some mornings when she'd walk into the stable with a bucket of feed, Percy was already inside brushing his favorite horse, the pitch-black one she saw him ride in her dream. He never saw her hide behind the door just waiting for him to go away.

By noon, Annabeth would report back to Medusa for another assignment. Usually Medusa had her help out Nancy around the house. The two girls worked together in a peaceful silence. And even though Triton had told her Nancy had no ill will against her like Chrysaor suggested, there was still a part of Annabeth that thought there was some truth to Chrysaor's words. Nancy wouldn't speak to Annabeth or acknowledge her presence. But if they ever crossed paths with Percy, Nancy would bow and smile at him and ask if he needed anything. Percy ignored Nancy most times but Annabeth all the time.

After doing her chores, Annabeth would have lunch in the kitchen. Mrs. O'Leary was her only companion then. Annabeth always wanted to laugh when she remembered her first meeting with Mrs. O'Leary since she felt silly being afraid of a dog so sweet. Though she did knock Annabeth down several times when Annabeth first attempted to bathe her but Mrs. O'Leary regarded Annabeth as part of her family. She'd even let Annabeth trim her nails with little fuss and obeyed her commands.

The cook always let Annabeth stay and help prepare dinner. Medusa and Nancy seemed to have a handle on the laundry and mopping and Annabeth would join them after the cook dismissed her.

Triton, Tyson, Chrysaor and sometimes Poseidon would eat their dinner together in the dining room. Percy was never with them so Medusa had Annabeth serve dinner. She'd stand vigil next to the small table with the wine bottle and water pitcher, waiting on them.

Chrysaor made a point of asking for more wine. He purposely placed his glass as far away from the edge of the table as possible so Annabeth had to lean over next to him to fill his glass. Mrs. O'Leary's growls were always in the background as Annabeth poured. Sometimes Mrs. O'Leary would refuse to let Annabeth anywhere near Chrysaor by biting onto her skirt when Chrysaor wanted a refill. It got to a point where Annabeth had to give Mrs. O'Leary her dinners in the gardens. Triton eventually got sick of Chrysaor's antics and started pouring the wine for his brother. Annabeth was grateful for his intervention.

Only once had Percy come down from his room during dinner.

"Wine." He said and grabbed an extra glass. Annabeth walked towards him with the bottle and poured carefully, sure not to get one drop on his shirt. Percy drank the whole glass in one gulp then called Medusa for his coat.

Tyson looked up from his food and saw Percy.

"Hey, big brother!" Tyson smiled.

Tyson hopped down from his chair and ran over to Percy, holding up his little arms. Annabeth watched from the doorway as Percy bent down and picked up the little boy. Tyson laughed when Percy began making faces at him, sticking his tongue out in all directions, crossing his eyes and blowing up his cheeks. A few almost made Annabeth burst out laughing but she controlled herself. Then Percy rocked his little brother in his arms while he waited for Medusa to fetch his coat.

Annabeth didn't realize she was staring at Percy until their eyes met. Percy was still smiling from playing with Tyson and even when he looked at Annabeth, his smile didn't drop. As much as she wanted to, Annabeth couldn't look away. The five seconds they looked at each other felt like an hour.

Her dream about Percy chasing her and grabbing a fistful of her hair materialized in her mind. But when she remembered the man in her dreams and looked at the man in front of her, despite their similar appearances, she thought they were two different people.

And that worried Annabeth. She didn't want to believe that there was good in this man. Since she arrived in his home, Percy hasn't shown her a shred of kindness. True, he had flirted with her when they first met in the kitchen. But Annabeth hardly considered that kindness. It was obvious that he had other intentions.

But seeing him interact with Tyson...

She didn't know Percy was capable of being so tender and kind. And his smile… his real smile was beautiful. She thought it was a shame when Medusa came into the room and Percy's smile disappeared when the two broke eye contact so Medusa could help Percy into his coat. Percy didn't return home until the next evening.

That was the most eventful evening that has happened since Percy's friends were over.

Usually after her own dinner, Annabeth would read books to Tyson and Mrs. O'Leary in the lounge until it was time for bed.

Annabeth's days went on without incident for almost three weeks. A part of her liked it because she didn't have to deal with Percy. But a bigger part of her felt guilty for neglecting her duties to him. She was hired to care for Percy and that's what Poseidon paid her for. But Percy didn't want her at all.


Mrs. O'Leary circled and played around Annabeth as she finished digging up a row of potatoes. Annabeth stood up from her knees and picked up her basket when she spotted Percy walk out onto the veranda. His brother Triton was seated on one of the chairs reading the newspaper. He and Percy exchanged a few words before Percy turned his head in her direction. She was too far away to make out his facial expression but she heard him whistle and Mrs. O'Leary shot towards him. Annabeth watched Mrs. O'Leary prance to her master's side and stand on two legs to put her paws on his shoulders and lick his face. From her distance in the garden, Annabeth could make out Percy's faint laughter. Percy led his dog off the veranda and along the pathway in the direction of the horse stables.

Annabeth wished Percy was just a fraction as nice to her as he was to his beloved pet. Maybe then she wouldn't be so afraid of him.

She walked past the veranda towards the back entrance to the kitchens to deliver the potatoes when Triton looked up from his paper.

"Good morning." She said to him. After Tyson, Annabeth found it easiest to be in Triton's presence out of all of Poseidon's sons.

"You seem livelier lately." Triton put down his paper and stood up to walk next to her with his hands folded behind his back.

Annabeth didn't say anything to his observation. He was right. She was enjoying her job more and more even though she wasn't technically doing her job.

"Is it because Percy dismissed you?"

"Percy dismissed me?"

"Well, isn't that why Medusa and Nancy have taken over for you?"

Annabeth cast her head down. "Percy hasn't said anything to me at all."

"That doesn't surprise me."

Tyson ran to join to them on their trip to the kitchen. Annabeth smiled down at him. He was such a happy child. He loved to laugh and play and he was always so polite. It made her wonder what Percy was like as a child. Did he try to bite his parents' hands off when they changed him? Was he a bully to his schoolmates?

"Has he always been like this?" Annabeth asked when Tyson raced to the tree in the courtyard and climbed on the swing.

Triton smiled. "Yes, he's a good lad."

"No, not Tyson." Annabeth said. "Percy."

"Like what?" His smile disappeared and he put some distance between them.

"Well," Annabeth struggled to find the right words. Even though she knew Triton and Percy weren't on the best terms, she couldn't just say she outright believed Percy was a monster. "He's grumpy." She tested the waters to make sure she wasn't crossing the line. Triton pressed his lips together and nodded. "Ill-tempered." Triton nodded again. "And well, not very pleasant at all. He's, well…"

"An asshole?"

Annabeth dropped her basket.

"No!" She proclaimed and bent down to pick up the basket and the potatoes that rolled away. "No, he is not… um, one of those."

"I'm his brother. I know him far more than you do. And trust me when I say this: He is an asshole. A nasty, spiteful, ungrateful, spoiled little asshole." Triton said and helped Annabeth set down the basket when the got to the kitchen. They walked back to the veranda and the gazebo came into view.

"But to answer your question: No. I suppose that even I can admit that he used to be quite sweet and silly."

For some reason she couldn't discern, Triton's answer made Annabeth feel sad. It was strange to hear Percy to be described as sweet and silly. But she tried to imagine it. Her mind conjured an image of Percy picking flowers for a girl he fancied or laughing at a joke he made. Then Annabeth remembered how just a few days ago, Percy played with Tyson and made funny faces. Was Percy still secretly the person Triton remembered?

"What made him change?" Annabeth asked. Percy was hiding his true self. And there must have been something that made him want to be the way he was now, which was the word Triton used earlier.

Triton took a deep breath and looked out towards the gazebo. Annabeth followed his gaze. The patches of dirt all around it took away from the gazebo's beauty. If she could just plant a few flowers, that section of the gardens would fit in and not look out of place.

Annabeth felt that Triton's prolonged silence meant he wasn't going to answer her question. Who knows what made Percy want to hide himself, if anything. She remembered that Matthew and Bobby used to be sweethearts. She wanted to smile when she remembered them bringing her flowers when she read under the shade of the oak tree. But she couldn't smile. Not after what they had done and wanted to do to her. Perhaps Percy went through a spontaneous personality change like the twins had.

But she couldn't think of Percy like she did the twins. When she watched him play with Tyson and saw Percy's genuine smile, Annabeth didn't want to associate any of that with the twins.

"It's such an eyesore." Triton said, diverting Annabeth's attention away from her thoughts. "It's been that way for five years."

"What happened?"

Triton started mumbling. Annabeth caught the words "Percy" and "fire."

Annabeth pondered on what could have happened for Percy to want to do something like that. But then she remembered how easily he was provoked. All Annabeth had to do was look in his direction for him to be consumed with needless anger. But again, she remembered Percy smiling at her during that dinner some nights ago.

Triton cringed. "Not his finest hour."

"How come no one has replanted anything?"

"No one ever tried."

Annabeth stared at the gazebo then back to Triton. "Well, perhaps I can try."

Triton looked at her. It was different than other times. This time, his eyes seemed hopeful and the corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly. "You'd want to do that?"

"Of course. I wouldn't mind, especially since I have so much extra time. Percy doesn't seem to need me."

Triton thought for a while. "Do you have any flowers?"

"No?"

Triton moved his sleeve from his wrist and looked at his watch. "I'll arrange to have some delivered this evening and you can start planting then."

Annabeth brightened at his words. She could hardly contain her excitement at her newest project. It has been a long time since Annabeth did something she wanted to do. Perhaps now would be an opportune time to ask about the mail.

"Um, Triton?"

Triton looked back at her.

"I have a letter I'd like to mail out. But Medusa told me that I need permission to go out into the city to go to the post office."

Triton was silent for a while. His eyes narrowed slightly and frowned but he schooled his expression back to neutral. "I'm not sure I'm the one that can give you permission. Only my father or your boss, Percy, can do that."

Annabeth's heart dropped at hearing his words. There was a chance Poseidon would let her go into town. But Annabeth feared that if Percy caught wind he would surely forbid her, even if she already had Poseidon's permission.

Triton cleared his throat to get her attention back on him. "But I'll be in town tomorrow. If you give me the letter, I can drop it off."

"That would be wonderful." Annabeth beamed.

The more time she spent with Triton, the more Annabeth didn't mind neglecting her duties to Percy. Triton's voice was usually gentle with her. And he greeted her in the hallways and thanked her for pouring his wine. She wondered why Percy and Triton turned out so different. But she had an idea. A while ago, she learned that none of Poseidon's sons shared the same mother. Perhaps Percy's mother failed to teach her son proper manners. How irresponsible of her.

"Triton?" Annabeth said in her sweetest voice. Triton's eyebrows lifted at her tone and he took two steps towards her.

From what she's observed, Percy and Triton were not friends but that didn't mean Triton wouldn't go telling Percy about her letter. Annabeth didn't want Percy to know. She was scared he would somehow force Triton to give it to him and read it.

So she spoke in the voice she knew men liked to hear. When she was fifteen, her father started introducing her to his clients' sons in hopes of getting Annabeth to persuade them to continue doing business with them. And she succeeded every time.

"If it's possible, could we keep this a secret from Percy? If he knew he might not allow you to take my letter."

Triton receded away from her as soon as she mentioned Percy and he looked away from her but he nodded. He didn't say another word when he walked away.


The sun was setting when Annabeth finished replanting all the flowers Triton ordered. She took off her gloves to wipe sweat from her brow and she sat down next to one of the flowerbeds to smell a few flowers.

Triton came out to admire her work.

"Its even lovelier than before." He said with a smile.

She wanted to smile too but something behind Triton caught her eye. It was Percy marching towards them. His fists were clenched and his steps were heavy. Annabeth stood up and dusted her skirt of soil though she didn't think it did much. She was covered in dirt.

"What the hell is this?" He demanded, gesturing towards the flowers. Annabeth took a step back from him and folded her hands behind her back.

"They're flowers." Triton answered.

Percy grabbed one of the tulips by the base and uprooted the whole thing. He threw the plant down in front of him, scattering the fresh soil on the walkway to the gazebo.

"Hey!" Triton yelled.

"I want them gone! You!" He pointed at Annabeth. "Get rid of these right now!"

Though she didn't want to, Annabeth nodded and got on her knees to pick up her spade and began removing the flowers from their short-lived home. Triton stepped in front of her to shield her from Percy.

"I gave her permission to plant the flowers here."

"You don't have the right to do that. This was my mother's garden. I want it all gone!" Percy fumed.

"You were probably too young to understand but this side over here was my mother's garden. Her favorite flowers were over here." Triton stared down at the ground. "Sally was kind enough to tend to my mother's half as well after mother passed away."

Annabeth watched Percy's face carefully. The information seemed new to him. His eyes softened a little but then his teeth clenched together so tightly, Annabeth thought they would break.

"I don't care. Seeing them reminds me of my mother and I want all these flowers gone!"

"Won't seeing ugly, empty patches of soil remind you of your loss even more?" Triton retorted.

"Shut up!"

"If you know what's good for you you'll leave right now." Triton warned but Percy wasn't worried. He walked right past Triton and kneeled down next to Annabeth and began pulling the flowers out of the ground. Most of the flowers landed on Annabeth's lap, and a purple one landed on her head. She fell back when Percy tossed one into her face and dirt flew into her eyes.

"Stop! That's for my mother!" Triton said. "Stop it, please!" His voice got more desperate.

Percy wouldn't listen to him and was almost finished uprooting an entire row of daffodils. Triton came from behind him. He put his hand on one of Percy's shoulder and turned him around. Percy stood up so they could glare at each other and only stopped because Triton sunk his fist into Percy's cheek. Percy fell on his back, crushing more of the flowers beneath him.

Annabeth shrieked and shot to her feet. She watched Triton grab Percy's collar and punch him again. Percy freed himself and tackled Triton into the ground, trampling over more flowerbeds. Annabeth looked on in terror as the brothers fought one another. She looked away and covered her ears so she wouldn't have to hear the horrible sound of their punches but it wouldn't work. Each sound of impact reminded her of the times she's been hit and just by the sound she knew exactly how much each of them hurt.

The brothers' fighting successful destroyed most of the flowers Annabeth had planted. They only ceased fighting when Nancy came to fetch Percy. She brought news that Calypso was waiting in the lobby.

Percy delivered one final punch to Triton's face and stood up. He gave Annabeth his wolf stare when he walked by and spit blood in her direction before straightening out his dirt-covered shirt.

"Get this place cleaned up." He ordered and walked back to the mansion with Nancy following him.

"Are you alright?" Annabeth asked, and kneeled down next to Triton.

He struggled to stand and used the back of his hand to wipe blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. Triton's eyes started to water when he looked behind Annabeth at the garden but he refused to let tears spill.

"Please stay here, sir." Annabeth urged him. "I will be back with bandages and ice."

"No. It's alright." He sniffed. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I should have known he'd react like this."

They were both silent. Annabeth fiddled with her hands and kept her eyes on the ground. She had never seen Percy that angry before. The pain in his voice… in both their voices was unmistakable.

Sally… That must be the name of Percy's mother. It was a pretty name, Annabeth decided. She deduced that Percy and Triton's mothers were both deceased and this garden belonged to the two of them. And seeing the flowers reminded Percy and Triton of them. But Percy didn't want to remember. That must be why he set fire to them in the first place.

But Triton… Oh, poor Triton. Annabeth looked over to him. He wiped his dirty hands on his pants leg and stood up. Triton still wanted to pay tribute to his mother.

"She died of a pox." He spoke up. "She and my father never married but she did live here for a while before Percy and Chrysaor were born. The flowers she planted used to be over there." He pointed and Annabeth followed his finger. Now the flowers were bent and crushed. Most lost their petals in the scuffle.

"I just thought…" He whispered. "I just wanted to see her flowers again."

Annabeth wanted to put her hand on his shoulder to comfort him but she didn't.

"Percy always gets what he wants." He huffed and turned to her. "Please, do what your boss says and clean up here."

"What about you?"

"It's alright. I'm fine." And he walked away.

Darkness was settling in and the wind blew around Annabeth. She hugged herself to get rid of a spell of shivers. Maybe she could wait until morning to clean up. But she remembered Percy's face full of rage when he hit his own brother. As much as possible, she did not want to be on the receiving end of Percy's fury so she took a deep breath. Bending down, she wrapped her hand around the base of some petunias and pulled.


Percy leaned on the railing of the balcony. He was shirtless and took sips from his wine glass while he watched Annabeth. He could barely make out her silhouette near the gazebo in the darkness. But he knew she was there.

He heard his door open but he didn't bother to look back to see who it was.

"What do you want?" Percy said.

Chrysaor walked from the door to join his brother on the balcony. He passed by Percy's bed where Calypso lay naked and softly snoring. Chrysaor poured himself a glass of wine from the small table on the balcony.

"I'm impressed. That Olympian wench hasn't left yet." He said and leaned his back on the balcony's concrete railing.

Percy rolled his eyes and continued drinking his wine. If he had to choose between Triton and Chrysaor, Percy would choose Triton. Though he had gotten into a brawl with Triton, at least Triton left him alone most times. Chrysaor talked too much and loved to get Percy riled up.

"Why have you been ignoring her? Are you bored of her already?"

It was questions like those that made Percy want to throw his glass at Chrysaor's head.

"How can I be bored of her when she never amused me?" Percy snapped.

"My mother and Nancy have been attending to you for the past three weeks. Don't tell me you'd rather be in their company than that beautiful Olympian girl?"

"When are you leaving?" Percy changed the subject.

"In a few minutes. I want to finish my drink."

"No, I meant when are you leaving for Louisiana?" But Percy also wanted Chrysaor to leave his presence.

"Probably at the beginning of next month. Father wants me to keep an eye on Hades Asphodel. Don't know what for though. That old mummy hasn't been openly hostile with us for a while."

Percy pretended to be more interested in his wine than in what Chrysaor was saying until he noticed his brother turn towards him.

"You're very cute, little brother. Cute and petty." Chrysaor laughed.

"What?" Percy glared at him.

"You heard me." And he took another sip.

"Who the hell are you to tell me–"

"You locked all the doors to the yard and you told my mother not to let her in under any circumstances. And before this, you locked her in that old cellar."

Percy clenched his jaw. Once again, he was being faced with the horror of his behavior towards Annabeth.

Treating her badly was supposed to make him feel better. He's been needing to take his rage out on something for so long. And he didn't want to swim in the ocean like he used to love. Horseback riding has never quite been the same. He hasn't taken any of his sailboats out in months. And his sex life…

At first, Percy thought that his luck officially ran out when his father assigned Annabeth to him. She was an Olympian, from the family he hated most. But then he realized that she might be a blessing in disguise. He had the granddaughter of Zeus in his home, obeying everything he said, and she seemingly has no idea who she is. She was the perfect target to vent his rage. He could mistreat her as badly as he wanted. And yet, he yelled at her, threatened her, scared her whenever he could, it still didn't make him feel better. Now that his friends and even fucking Chrysaor were recounting his list of offenses towards her, Percy realized that mistreating her hasn't been helping him feel better. It actually made him feel worse.

But he was never going to admit that to Chrysaor of all people.

"She needs to know who's in charge."

Chrysaor scoffed and turned to face Percy. "If you're going to treat her like this, at least be truthful about your reasons. You've got this stupid little idea of revenge in your head."

"Shut your fucking mouth." Percy warned.

Chrysaor wasn't intimidated. "What good is it, brother?"

"I said shut–"

"So you scare her a couple times. Is that really doing anything? Is that really getting back at the Olympians? They have no idea what you're doing." He turned his golden eyes on Percy. "Or maybe you get some kind of sick satisfaction out of hurting cute girls."

Percy scowled. "You're one to talk about being sick. You tricked Nancy into sleeping with you. You told her you would talk Father into setting up a marriage between she and I if she spent the night with you."

"Hey, I didn't really lie to her. I did suggest it to father. You're the one who refused to marry her."

"Don't start with that shit again. I don't love her. And you know damn well I would have never agreed to it when you promised her that."

"You don't need to love someone to marry them. Besides, she's from a good family." Chrysaor tilted his head up and looked at the stars in thought. "Well, she was. Until they disowned her for being with me." He let out a low chuckle.

Percy clenched his jaw. "You're vile. You have the nerve to find it funny that her family kicked her out. If only Father had the sense to do so with you."

"Oh, don't give me that, brother. How is that any different from what you did with other servant girls?"

"I've never tricked or bribed any of them."

"But you had them fired when they got too clingy after you had your way with them."

Percy took a deep breath and looked down at his drink, swirling the wine around the glass like a whirlpool. He didn't have to explain himself to Chrysaor of all people. He didn't have to tell his brother that he didn't really fire them. It was more like he had them transferred to another branch of the family or friend, one far away from him.

"If you really wanted revenge," Chrysaor brought the conversation back to Annabeth. "You'd aim for Zeus, not her." He shrugged his shoulders. "Well, if you really want to, I guess she can be a bonus."

Percy looked up from his drink.

"Come on, be realistic, Perce. We're probably going to end up trading her back to her family sooner or later."

Annabeth was insurance to them. She was to be used as leverage over Zeus. Though they've yet to reveal that they have her, Percy knew Annabeth would either be given back to her family in exchange for peace, or she would be killed if her family didn't behave.

"What are you getting at?" Percy shouldn't have asked. All he really wanted was for his brother to leave him alone.

"Picture this scenario. Annabeth goes back home to the Olympians and they see that she's pregnant! With your child!"

Percy's face twisted in disgust when he turned to face his brother. "I'm not going to rape her!"

Chrysaor eyes widened. Apparently he had standards, too. Who knew?

"I didn't say anything about raping her!" He clarified, and then he glanced back into the room to make sure they hadn't woken Calypso. "Make her come to you willingly. I'd pay good money to see the look on Zeus's face when he finds out that little princess of his is pregnant with Poseidon's grandchild. It's the ultimate revenge for you. Zeus has spent weeks and who knows how much of his resources trying to find her. And when he finally gets her back, she's used goods!"

"You want me to exploit this girl to get back at Zeus Olympian."

"Hey, that's basically what you're doing now. At least if you did it my way, you'd get to fuck her. I'd do it myself, but I'm going away soon and Father won't let me take her with me. Not to mention your damn dog won't let me near her." He walked back to the small table and poured himself more wine while Percy promised himself he'd give Mrs. O'Leary a steak tomorrow. "And really, she doesn't need to get pregnant. Just fucking her is enough."

"Get out now." Percy didn't want to hear anymore.

"And just think of how hurt Annabeth would be when she finds out you never loved her at all and intend to throw her away. It's actually kind of romantic in a tragic way, don't you think?"

"Leave. Now."

Chrysaor tipped his head and poured the rest of his wine down his throat. He gave Percy a satisfied smile before reaching into his pocket.

"Oh, Triton told me to give this to you." Chrysaor held out an envelope. Percy snatched it out of his hands. It was addressed to two people named Grover and Juniper. Though the envelope had been sealed, it was torn open across the top.

"Annabeth asked Triton to mail it for her. And she also told him to keep you out of it."

Percy's eyes widened. This was the evidence he's been looking for, proof that Annabeth was a spy and he was right to hate her.

"You should really give it a read. Some interesting stuff about you in there." Chrysaor laughed before departing.

Percy stared at the address on the envelope. Annabeth's handwriting was neat and elegant, with a few letters having distinct curves. How fitting…

As he sipped the last of his drink and made his way inside, he thought about what his brother had said. It was a crazy, stupid idea that would never work. He didn't want to sleep with Annabeth. He could hardly stand to look at her without his rage threatening to pour out. There was no way he could seduce her. Not only that, he didn't think she'd let him even try to seduce her. If he was successful in anything, it was making sure Annabeth feared him.

Percy froze when he realized it. He was actually considering if Chrysaor's senseless idea was plausible. But… No. That would mean… that he was actually attracted to Annabeth. Percy put down his glass. Maybe the wine was interfering in his ability to think straight.

He conveniently ignored the memory of his first meeting with her.

He walked past the bed towards his office. The letter could wait. He could find out whatever information Annabeth was trying to leak later. Right now he just wanted to sleep. He placed Annabeth's letter in the top drawer and went back to his bed.

Calypso was still sprawled on the bed, taking up much of the space. Percy thought about spending the rest of the night in his office but Calypso probably wouldn't be happy in the morning if she learned that he slept in his office instead of with her on the bed. And he unfortunately needed to keep her happy. Trying his best to be quiet, he blew out the remaining candles and crawled into bed. Percy nudged Calypso a little and she scooted over, but not enough. He had to move her further away from him before he got under the covers and closed his eyes. But Calypso moved closer to him. She pressed her breasts against his back as she hugged him in her sleep. Percy let out a frustrated sigh. He used to like it when she did that. Now it just annoyed him. As soon as she let go he would retreat into his office and maybe if he was in a good mood by then, he would let Annabeth back inside.


Thank you for reading!

Not much Percabeth interaction this chapter but there will be a ton next chapter to make up for this time. We are catching up to the original story and original readers know what's going to happen quite soon! I think everyone will be happy to know that this is the end of Act 1 and we will be moving on to Act 2 where... you guessed it! The romance comes in! But wait, is there something blooming between Annabeth and Triton? What will happen with Chrysaor and his journey to Louisiana? What are the contents of Annabeth's letter? Will Percy ever realize the obvious, that he's attracted to Annabeth?

Stay tuned to find out!

Please review!