At the hotel...
"What were you thinking?!" Annabeth exclaimed. We were in the boy's room at the hotel, and Annabeth was upset about our little… stop at the bar.
"I was thinking, 'oh, look. I have another client and no way to find her. I'll look for her at a hangout place where monsters go'." I said. Percy and Seth had taken spots on the beds, watching our argument.
"You could have gotten us killed!"
"Killed? Oh please, they couldn't have taken us all out, we have experience, or do you three not? Because if this is too much for you, I could drop you back at your godly day care, while I find a missing dog."
"Godly day care!" Annabeth was outraged. "Camp Half-Blood isn't a 'day care'! You took an unnecessary risk, which was both reckless and stupid!"
"I wonder how on earth and Tarturus, you managed to destroy a titan's army. In life you take risks, because that's what being in the world is. You go places that aren't always safe. Because you want to, or have to. Life isn't a walk in the park! The real world is dangerous, and messy, and sometimes to get what you want you need to be a bit reckless. Camp doesn't prepare you for that, does it?"
"Yes. It does. At Camp we train, we train for the fights for our lives, but we don't go looking for them!"
"I wasn't looking for a fight! I was looking for information. Because I can't just open a book and see where to find what I'm looking for. I have to actually look for it! At Camp, you train, but what good does training do when in training you always have a back up, you have some extra ambrosia in your pocket before you went into the arena, or a friend to kill the monster, when you get knocked out. Well, that doesn't happen in the real world. In the real world, you're always on the run, trying to do what you can, so you can keep on running. Having no home, because they will find you. You run until you can't run anymore, because if they catch you, you will have no more need to run. In the real world, you take risks to stay alive. You have no clue what I'm talking about, always having Camp Half-Blood looking over your shoulder. Because you don't run. You hide." At the end of my speech, there was a silence, and then a small voice said.
"I do know what it's like." Annabeth took a breath and then said louder. "Because I have run. I ran to Camp Half-Blood because there I could learn how to be better. A better fighter. A better learner. A better daughter. A better friend. But when I ran at least I had friends. At least I had someone to stand by me. My 'backups'. You know why? Because everyone needs to have a back up. Even you, Athenia Sarah Lance. Or at least you used to." My eyes widened, how did she know my entire name? And how did she know about Luka? Answering my unasked question. She said: "I IMed Mom. I asked her about you. She told me about your father, and your friend. I'm sorry."
"I didn't really know Dad anyway." I said quietly, but she heard me. "And my past is my business!" I said angry, and louder. "You had no right to snoop around like that Annabeth Chase! I bet Luke wouldn't approve." I had no clue why I said that. But it just came out. She shouldn't have been opening 'past wounds'. Annabeth's eyes got gray and stormy by the mention of Luke's name.
"You have no right to mention his name!" Annabeth hissed.
"No right?! At least I knew the guy, where as you have no clue what happened to hi—in my past at all! You have no right!"
Annabeth growled, and screamed some insults in ancient Greek—which should never, ever, be said in polite company, or in any type of company for that matter—to which I returned in kind. Percy jumped in between us before we could hurt each other.
"O.K., now let's just calm down…" Percy said. I took a deep breath, and resolved to let Annabeth live another day. "And let's hug it out." He concluded, to which Annabeth and I glared at him, he shrank back. "Worth a try…" he muttered to Seth, who smirked.
"Annabeth." I said sweetly.
"Yes, Athenia?" she replied.
"How about we agree, never to mention my full name or yours, my past or your past again?" I said.
"Sure." Annabeth agreed without an ounce of sarcasm that I could trace. We went to get ready for bed, and sadly I can't tell you I had a dreamless sleep.
