I'm back!
"Do you think we should sleep now?" I heard Percy ask a while later. I was sat against the wall, directly under the vent.
"Yes, I'm quite tired." I replied.
"Goodnight." Percy said sleepily. I lay down facing the wall, waiting for sleep to come for me, but it wouldn't. The cold seeped into my bones, but eventually, my eyes grew drowsy and I slipped away.
I woke up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily, my head throbbing and my heart pounding.
"Annabeth?" I heard Percy call frantically. I stood up, reaching up my hand to the grate. "What happened?"
"I had a nightmare. I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"
"No - well, yes - but I thought you were hurt or something..." My cheeks flushed red in the darkness of the cell at his concern.
"I'm sorry." I repeated , unsure of what else to say.
"It's fine, I just… I wish I was there with you." My cheeks reddened again.
"I wish you were too," I whispered too quietly for him to hear, closing my eyes tightly. When I opened my eyes again, I heard Percy's cell door slamming shut. I realised that I must have fallen asleep again at some point, though how long I had been asleep I did not know.
"Percy?" I asked, hoping for a reply. None came, so I assumed that he had been taken. My cell door creaked open, only this time, unlike all the others, it opened slowly, carefully, like the person behind it was trying not to make a sound. One of the guards stepped in. He was familiar, one of the less rough and heartless ones. He tiptoed closer to me. I scrambled to my feet, my head spinning for a second as I regained my balance. The guard was within touching distance. His grinned evilly at me, a look which didn't suit him at all. His eyes, which I remembered as being blue, were shining dark gold. I wanted to say something, but was aware of what usually followed when I tried to speak to these people. Suddenly, he darted forward, pinning me to the damp stone wall which dug uncomfortably into my back. His face loomed over mine, leering and menacing.
"What are you…?" I started, but was cut off by him forcing his lips onto mine. I gasped in surprise as his hands grabbed my waist, pushing me backwards. I tried to push him off me, then my hand brushed against his belt and an idea formed in my head. I stood still, my hand moving as inconspicuously as possible towards to bunch of keys held on a hook on his belt. He stopped, and I froze, hoping he wouldn't notice my hand hovering near the keys.
"It's a shame you're getting married tomorrow, princess." He hissed in my ear. I squeezed my eyes shut in disgust as he kissed me again, my fingers closed around them and I pulled them into a fold in my dress, hidden from his sight. Then, I bit down hard on his lip, making him growl in pain.
"You little…" He snarled, slapping my face hard. I hit the wall, silently begging the keys not to make a sound. The guard wiped blood from his lips and strode from the cell, the door snapping shut behind him. I breathed a quiet sigh of relief as I slid the keys into my dagger sheath which was still hidden in my dress. I heard Percy's cell door open and then close again through the grate.
"Percy?" I asked again, but there was no reply. My heart jumped. If he had been taken just then, why hadn't he replied earlier?
"Percy?" I asked again, louder, an edge of panic creeping into my voice. Still no reply. I had to find the right moment to escape. I decided on the night, when all the guards would be gone. I hoped Percy would still be all right for that long… Night had fallen, as far as I knew. No guards had passed for several hours and everything was silent outside the cells. I slipped the key into the lock and turned it slowly. The lock mechanisms clicked softly and I stepped cautiously out into the cold corridor. After checking that the way was definitely clear, I opened Percy's door. I almost gasped out loud when I say him, but managed to stay silent. He was lying on the flagstones, deathly pale and still, his eyes closed. I ran to him, checked for his pulse and felt a wonderful sense of déjà vu as I felt the pulse under his chin. A bottle of nectar was lying on the floor near him and I trickled some into his mouth. He coughed quietly as he sat up. I hugged him gently, not wanting to hurt him further.
"Annabeth? What's happening?" He asked weakly.
"I stole the key off a guard. Come on, we need to go. Can you stand?" He threw the rest of the nectar into his mouth and nodded stubbornly.
"Let's go then."
Percy POV
Annabeth helped me to stand up and I rested some of my weight on her. We struggled down the corridor and up the stairs together, slower than I would have liked, but there was nothing I could do to help that as it was mostly my fault. My ankle felt broken, or at least sprained, but I didn't say anything to Annabeth. We were in a long, richly decorated hallway, which stretched at least 25 metres in each direction.
"Which is the way out?" I whispered. Annabeth closed her eyes, murmuring to herself.
"That way," she said decisively, nodding to the left.
"Are you sure?"
"I've been memorising the halls since we arrived here. I always have a plan." I silently marvelled at her planning as we hobbled as fast as we could down the corridor. We reached a tall, dark wood door at the end of the corridor. Annabeth pushed it open with the hand that wasn't helping to hold me up and we struggled through, straight into… Ethan Nakamura.
"Well, well. Look who finally made it out." He said menacingly.
"Let us past." I said quietly but threateningly.
"And why should I do that?"
"Please." Annabeth pleaded.
"Kronos will kill us if he finds out." Ethan dropped the evil glare for a second, looking thoughtfully at us.
"Alright. I don't want to see you killed. I didn't think it would go this far. Follow me." He hooked his arm under my shoulders, taking my weight off Annabeth, and we hurried out into a shadowy courtyard.
"I can give you a horse. You'll have to get yourselves out of here. There's a road that leads away from the palace. Follow it as far as it goes, and you'll be at the coast. You'll know the way from there." Ethan opened one of the stable doors and led out a huge chocolate brown stallion, its back covered with a thick woollen blanket.
"There's no time to saddle it. You'll have to ride bareback." I nodded, then helped Annabeth climb up, and climbed up, with Ethan's help, in front of her.
"Thank you. I won't forget this." I said sincerely. Annabeth's arms shot around my waist as the horse jolted forwards, out through the gates, and into the night. We were free at last.
Ethan POV
I watched the couple riding into the distance, and felt a slight sense of pride in myself. I'd done something good. I could change. I heard the door open behind me and my stomach dropped as I saw the glint of a golden crown on the figure's head. Kronos.
"Nakamura? What the hell have you done?" He hissed menacingly.
"I've done the right thing, sir. I've saved them from you. You can't hurt them anymore." His low chuckle rang in my ears.
"Maybe I can't hurt them, but do you expect to get away with this?"
"No. But I can die knowing that I did the right thing." Kronos unsheathed his sword and lunged. I stood still, knowing I had no chance. I was unarmed. I closed my eyes as the floor rushed up to meet me, my hands cradling my stomach. I couldn't feel anything anymore. The dark colours of the night faded to black and white, then grey, then darkness.
Guys I got my laptop back! Oh, and don't worry, this isn't the last chapter. Far from it, in fact.
Thank you soooo much to everyone who is following this now, we hit 70 follows! I won't do cookies this week because my mother is really annoying and is telling me to get off my laptop. Okay, see you next time! ( also sorry for the crappiness of this chapter, I just really wanted to give you an update and yeah. I'm quite busy.)
