Chapter 9:

Annabeth POV:

"Okay, so when I was raised with my mom until I was five. Then my father and my step-mom took me away to the palace of Maplecoast. I had two step-brothers, Bobby and Matthew. Matthew was the heir to the throne, and even though I was older than Bobby, he was the next heir. My step-mom didn't like me very much, and always blamed me. I was the princess..." I winced at the title. I could almost hear my step-mom's voice whining, 'A princess should not complain', 'A princess should be proper and not play around', 'A princess should be polite to guests'. I decided to ignore the voice and continue on with my story. "...but my step-mom and my father didn't really tell anyone, since they didn't really like me. I ended up being betrothed to the son of King Hermes, Luke Castellan, when I was seven. Bobby was betrothed to Calypso Ogygia, the daughter of a rich noble, when he was five. I ran away because of it, and when I was twelve, I met Percy...and you know the rest."

"Gods, Annabeth, if I had known…" Percy trailed off. "That means that I killed your family?!"

"Yeah. And that technically, I am the only heir to the throne of Maplecoast, since my stepbrothers were killed in the dungeon."

Thalia said, "All this time and you didn't tell us?"

Percy jumped in again, "Did you like Luke?"

"I might've once, a little bit, but only as a brother," I watched Percy's face for any reaction. Why did he care anyways? "But now, about Luke and Calypso, I think that they're the same people as Rachel and Dylan."

"How...what?" Percy was at loss for words, and so was Thalia. I guess this was too much new information for them.

"Calypso is pretending to be Rachel, and Luke is pretending to be Dylan. They dyed their hair and put in colored contacts. They probably want to take over Atlantis, revive Maplecoast, and rule the kingdom," I tried explaining, though I wasn't sure if Percy's mind could take in any more information than what I had already given them.

"That makes sense…" Thalia said thoughtfully.

"We've got to go back to the palace right now," Percy said, agitated.

"You're not going anywhere with your hand like that and Nico knocked out cold," I replied sternly. "My mom told us to stay here and rest for a week. Luke and Calypso will get married the week after, giving us time to plan."

Percy held up his hand in a sign of surrender. "Okay, okay, got it. I'll try to find somewhere to stay."

Thalia snorted. "Like where? Every house here is demolished."

"He might be able to find a cave," I reasoned.

"Yeah, Pinecone Face," Percy retorted. "Ever thought of that?"

"Oh, shut up, Kelp Head."

Percy POV:

Lying down on the makeshift bed of leaves and grass on the floor of the cave, I glanced over at Annabeth. Her face looked angelic asleep-her hair framing her face in curls and her expression devoid of worry. Not that she wasn't as pretty awake. Even though I had known her since we were twelve and she was always cute, she was starting to become seriously beautiful.

"Stop staring at her, Kelp Head," I heard Thalia say.

"Thalia? You're awake?" It was near midnight now. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't fall asleep.

"Yeah. Couldn't fall asleep. So, do you like Annabeth?"

It was a good thing that I was sitting in the shadows. Otherwise, Thalia might've seen my face blush red. "Uh...Do I have to answer that?"

"Of course, you idiot. So, do you like her or not?"

"Um…." I stalled, trying to think of a valid excuse to not tell Thalia. "Uh…."

"Come on, Kelp Head. Just say it. We all know already."

"Then why would you want me to say it if you already knew?"

I could see Thalia rolling her eyes in the moonlight. "Ever heard of the word 'confirmation', Kelp Head?" Under her breath she mumbled, "I can see why Annabeth calls him Seaweed Brain, the idiot."

"Hey! I heard that!" I protested.

Thalia rolled her eyes yet again. "Just answer my question!"

A few moments of silence passed when I was debating whether to tell her. I don't know what made me say it, but eventually I confessed quietly, "Yeah. I do." I felt that I knew that I had liked her since we were twelve, but it felt different saying it out loud.

"Knew it," Thalia teased.

"Oh, so you ask me a question, I give you an honest answer, and you start teasing me about it? What a great friend you are, Thalia," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Okay, fine. But still, I know that she likes you too."

"What?" I couldn't believe what I just heard. "I killed her family and broke our promise, and she still likes me?!"

"Hey, don't ask me, ask her. But yeah, she does like you, but she isn't sure if you like her back."

"I guess Annabeth isn't such a Wise Girl on these things after all."

Thalia snorted. "It's not like you're any better."

"And you are?" I shot back, smirking.

"Of course not. Boys are just so…" She shuddered.

"Hey, what about me?" I said, pretending to be hurt.

"Especially you." Thalia said, laughing. "What? You thought you were all high and mighty? Come on, I've seen you on a plane."

I shuddered at the thought of getting on a plane. The turbulence and air pressure were too much for me. "Like you're any better with being high up off the ground." Even though Thalia was the daughter of Zeus, whose kingdom was known for its advanced air forces, she was deathly afraid of heights.

"Oh, you did not just say that," Thalia growled.

"Yeah, I just did."

"You're so going to get it now."

I leapt up from my bed of straw and grass and took off running into the clearing around the cave. Before I got too far, though, a jolt of electricity crackled up my spine, and I lost my balance, falling face-first into the dirt.

"Thalia!" That was the second time in 24 hours that I had fallen face-first onto the ground. And both times were because of my oh-so-loving cousins.

Thalia cackled with glee as she watched my epic face-plant from the entrance of the cave. "Done kissing the ground yet?" She called.

"Oh, shut up." A stream of water from a nearby brook drenched Thalia from head to toe. "Think of that as a complimentary shower."

Thalia glared venomously at me, now soaking wet and crackling with electricity. "If you weren't my cousin, you would be dead fifty times over by now."

"Definitely feeling the love here," I mumbled as I picked myself up from the ground. "Ouch, Thalia! How many times are you going to electrocute me?" Immediately losing my balance again, I tumbled onto the ground. This time, I luckily didn't face-plant.

"As many times that it will take to hammer into that teacup head of yours that you are NOT going to insult me without paying."

"Yeesh, Thalia. You're the one who started it." I winced, knowing that she would electrocute me again for that comment. But it was worth saying.

Instead, she beckoned me to come closer. "I have something to tell you. It's about Annabeth."

I glared at her warily, though I did want to know what she was going to say about Annabeth. "Like I'm going to trust you after you electrocuted me twice in one night."

"Oh, come on, Kelp Head. You know you want to hear what I'm gonna say."

"How do I know what you're saying about Annabeth is true?"

"She mumbles in her sleep."

I weighed the pros and cons of the situation (yes, Annabeth, I do think before acting, especially when it comes to Thalia) before curiosity got the better of me and I cautiously came closer by about ten steps.

"Closer…Closer…." Thalia instructed, until I was right in front of her.

"So?" I asked. She started leaning in towards me, and I was frozen in place as she came closer and closer...