I'm baaaack! Did you miss me? Well, I finished my exams! YAY! XD

Interesting factoid: a portion of this was written as soon as I finished my last exam. Our teacher let us play on the computers as soon as everyone was done, so some parts of this were written to the soothing melody of people playing video games while screaming KILL! DIE! They sounded like mortal Coach Hedges. Just saying.

Thank you to llangelofmusicll, foureverbookworm, FourFearsForever, and The Demigod Gryffindor for reviewing. Seriously, your reviews made me so happy!

Disclaimer: Yeah, I'm secretly Rick Riordan and I have a Fanfiction that I told no one about because rabid fangirls would burst down my door and ask me to favorite, follow, and review their stories. You caught me.

I don't own PJO.

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Percy POV

Annabeth. How could he not have made the connection sooner?! "Annabeth Chase, secretary to the king…" Even now, months later, her words echoed in his memory. He shook his head, muttering to himself and trying to get it right. The gray-eyed blonde from his dreams was the same gray-eyed blonde he'd seen earlier today, and also Annabeth Chase, who'd turned her back on King Midas and had helped Percy escape from prison.

Not to mention he was keeping the princess, who was disguised as a villager, hostage because neither of them wanted her to be married off to the ruthless and tyrannical king who ruled the neighboring territory.

Why did his life always have to be so complicated? He took a deep breath and said aloud, "I can get through this. I will not go insane. I will not go insane." He stopped when an old lady shuffled out of her hut, narrowed her eyes at him distastefully, and hobbled away, muttering about "kids these days."

Annabeth was long gone now; she'd disappeared with Chiron sometime ago – he didn't see where. Determination flooded him. He didn't know why he wanted to find her so badly, but it was almost as if he was finding a piece of himself. Like he wouldn't be whole unless he did find her.

He stumbled dazedly the rest of the way home, throwing open the door and tossing his cloak aside. Rachel, who had made herself at home on his ratty, worn couch and was petting Blackbeard, said without looking up, "You had my hopes up for a second there. I was praying you'd never come back and I'd get this awesome place all to myself." She met his eyes, grinning, but her smile melted as soon as she saw the look on his face. "What's wrong?" she asked. "You look like you saw a ghost."

"I think I did," he responded gravely. He began to pace, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts. "When I ran away, she screamed!" he said, aware that he sounded like a complete lunatic. "She screamed and I saw the guard and I thought she died but no she lived and she came in my dream and now she's here. HOW IS SHE HERE?!"

Rachel looked at him with an unreadable expression on her face. Amusement? Shock? "Uh-huh," she said slowly, as if speaking to a toddler. She stood up, set Blackbeard in his cage, and came towards Percy slowly, as if he were a rabid dog. "Okay, Percy. Let's get you over here," she said in a high, sweet voice, setting him down on the couch, "and I want you to breathe, mmkay?"

"Rachel, I'm not crazy!" he said, twisting irritably away from her small pats on his shoulder. He hesitated. Could he tell Rachel the truth about his past? She had proved herself trustworthy, but she had too much to worry about. Also, the mere idea of explaining the complicated truth exhausted him thoroughly. "It's just some stuff from my past," he said finally. "There was this girl, and she broke me out of prison, and I need to find her…"

"A girl?" Rachel asked, frowning.

"Yeah," he replied, puzzled. "What did you expect, a donkey?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. I-I'm just tired." Her voice sounded weird. She stalked over to his bed and pulled the curtains around her, shielding her from his view.

He could have sworn he saw tears glistening on her cheeks, like liquid mercury in the moonlight.

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Rachel POV

When Rachel knocked on Percy's door, she knew the moment she saw his face, with his messed-up black hair and vibrant green eyes that she would be safe. Not the illusions of security and control she'd had at the palace, but the kind of security that came when you met the eyes of someone you loved. Yes. She had come to terms with it. She loved Perseus freaking Jackson. It was your typical princess and pauper story. The princess and pauper fall in love, bypassing all social status, and get their "happily ever after." But Rachel was experienced enough to know that "happy ever after" didn't exist.

Now, he had just smashed her heart into a thousand little pieces. She knew she would never be good enough for him. Several weeks ago, she would have shrugged this off, completely self-assured in her magnificence. Hades, several weeks ago she wouldn't even have looked at a peasant boy! But she was no longer the same person she used to be. It was like moving onto a new skill when you had mastered an old one. When you first tried something new, the failure would hit you like a blast of freezing air. You'd be so used to winning that losing would just make you want to give up and return to what you already knew, what was familiar. Being royal was something she was used to. Secrets? Hiding? Poverty? Those scared her and made her feel weaker than she cared to admit. She hated being weak.

Rachel wanted to give up. Oh gods, she wanted to give up so badly. She wanted the last few weeks to be erased, perhaps wake up in her luxurious bed and find that it was all a bad dream; she WOULDN'T have to go through with this absolutely disgusting arranged marriage; she HADN'T just had her heart broken by a boy from the streets. All she wanted to do was wake up and think, "Well, that was perplexing" and enjoy a nice, warm bath and some honey, fruit, and bread for breakfast.

Stop it, Rachel, she told herself sternly, wiping tears from her cheeks. That isn't going to happen and you know it.

She closed her eyes, trying to ignore the hollow pain in her chest, and fell into a fitful doze.

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Percy POV

Percy rose early the next morning and dressed quickly, glancing at the still-closed curtains around his – Rachel's – bed. He hadn't known what happened to her last night, but he assumed the shock from Midas, running away, the wanted poster had caught up to her. Leaving a note to Rachel saying that he'd gone to work (and telling her not to do anything stupid and to stay in the house, seeing as half the kingdom was after her), Percy left some celery in Blackbeard's cage and hurried out the door.

Work didn't start for another hour, so, with a lot of backtracking, cursing, and stopping to ask for directions, he managed to locate the brown-eyed man, Chiron's, house. Annabeth had been with Chiron yesterday – she had to be here. Steeling himself, he knocked on the door, and it swung open almost immediately. He stared into Chiron's eyes and cleared his throat awkwardly.

"May I help you?" Chiron politely.

"Um…" Percy stuttered, finding himself suddenly at a loss of words. "Is Annabeth Chase here?"

It was as if he had triggered a bomb. Chiron's shoulders tensed almost imperceptibly and his eyes narrowed – every inch of his body seemed ready to attack.

No, not attack. Defend. "I don't believe I've heard that name before," he said lightly.

He seemed ready to slam the door in Percy's face, but Percy held out an arm to stop him. "Wait. Did she tell you her story?" Chiron looked confused. "I was Prisoner B639. She helped me escape. And I need to talk to her. He knew he seemed like a desperate beggar, but his unexplainable need to find Annabeth had only intensified in the last 12 hours.

Chiron's eyes widened in understanding. "It's you," he said. "The boy who gave some spare coins."

"Yes!" Percy said eagerly. "Yes, sir, it's me."

Chiron looked him up and down. "Annabeth's out seeing if there are any available jobs. You'll have to come back this evening." His eyes twinkled merrily. Percy thanked him and walked away, but not before he heard Chiron's low mutter of, "Oh, I can't wait to see the look on her face when she meets him!"

He was pretty sure his face burned bright red the whole way to work.

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Annabeth POV

She couldn't believe it. She'd scoured the entire village, and not a SINGLE job was open? Not even a maid or a seamstress? She stormed back to Chiron's house, feeling irritable enough to stab anyone who crossed her path with her special bronze dagger she kept hidden in her boot. She'd rounded the corner when she slammed into a wall.

Except it wasn't a wall. It was a person, solid and tall. She pulled back and met his gaze directly, and then her heart stopped. Those vibrant, beautiful green eyes. That messy jet-black hair. This was the same guy she'd seen in the crowd, heading to the castle.

"It's you," she blurted. "I…We saw each other near the castle yesterday morning."

"Annabeth Chase," he said, his eyes widened in shock.

"Wha- How did you know my name?"

"Annabeth," he took a step towards her, and if it were anyone else, she'd kick 'em where the sun don't shine and run like Hades, but something this guy made her feel safe, like a warm sweater. "It's me," he continued. "Prisoner B639."

Shock flooded her system. She never understood why people in shock said they needed to sit down, because now, her knees had locked and she couldn't move couldn't breathe couldn't hear couldn't feel. "My God. You made it," she said through numb lips. "B639…"

"Known by day as Perseus Jackson, but don't ever call me Perseus. It's just Percy." He seemed to realize he was babbling, because he cut himself off and fixed her with a shy smile.

She smiled back. "Come over to Chiron's house," she said. "We should talk."

TIME LAPSE

An hour later, after they'd exchanged stories, Annabeth had decided to walk back to his house with him. They walked together in the slightly shady neighborhood, Percy occasionally waving childishly at friends of his and making her laugh with the story of how he'd stolen a pig.

Finally, she'd asked, "So what was the deal with Princess Rachel running away?"

He paused before answering. "She found out that her father was marrying her off to King Midas.

If Annabeth had been drinking anything, she would have spat it out all over Percy's annoyingly handsome features. "Midas?!" she spluttered.

"Yeah," he said, stopping in front of what she assumed was his house. "It's pretty-"

He was interrupted when a girl ran out from the doorway behind him, her hair tied up in a bandanna, green eyes shining. "There you are!" she shrieked. "I was SO worried! Leo told me work ended hours ago and-" she cut herself off and took in Annabeth's appearance critically. "Hello," she said coldly.

"Hello," Annabeth responded in the same tone.

Percy shuffled his feet awkwardly. "Rachel, meet Annabeth. She broke me out of jail. Annabeth, this is Princess Rachel. She's staying with me for now." Nodding imperiously to Annabeth, Rachel turned on her heel and strode back into the house.

There were many things Annabeth could have said. Why do you know a princess? Why isn't she dressed in gowns? Did you help her escape the castle? But for some reason, all she could think of saying was, "She's LIVING with you?" She didn't know why she said that. It wasn't like she cared. Nope. Not one bit.

Percy looked confused. "Yeah…?"

"In your HOUSE?"

"Well, we're certainly not on the streets," he said.

She felt like punching him. This was not the time for his sarcasm! "So let me get this straight," she said. "The princess is sharing a house with you?"

Percy still looked baffled. "I thought we settled this."

She shook her head. "I think it's time for me to head home."

"Annabeth, wait-"

But she had turned away from him and was stomping down the street, furiously wiping tears from her eyes.

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Third Person POV

The red-eyed raven glided over the border between the Dare and Midas kingdoms, swooping down across patchworks of trees and fields, and into the window of King Midas' palace. Midas stood tall and lean, a goatee curling on his chin, arms clasped behind his back, clad in black robes. He was facing away from the window, looking at a table covered with maps. The raven landed on his shoulder and he chuckled mirthlessly, reaching over to stroke it.

"Well, my faithful servant, what have you discovered?" The raven's eyes flashed, and in them, Midas saw an image of the princess, climbing out the window of he chambers, wearing peasant clothes, and running away into the night. "Oh-ho!" Midas said gleefully. "So King Dare believes his spoiled daughter will only remain in the wealthy districts? They are looking in the wrong place, my dear Malvagio."

He turned to the table in front of him, picking up a clay figurine of a woman in a dress with his long, gloved fingers. He closed his fist around the figure, crushing it, and began to laugh, his cackles echoing off the stone walls into the night, while the pale moon watched solemnly.

Soooo? What do ya think? I loved writing the slight Percabeth. But then she just stormed away from him…Oh well. Their relationship shall be mended soon. And I'm sorry for the Perachel. Gack. But at least it was one-sided!

Review please! I mean it! I really need the feedback. Criticize all you want.