After all the ceremonies, we went for a feast, not that I ate the food any more. Being a god, my true food was ambrosia and nectar, even if Dionysus does down a couple of diet cokes every thirty seconds. We, the gods, were all seated at a huge table at the front of the hall. The other campers were scattered. I noted, with a bit of interest, that they weren't sitting in cabin groups, but rather in a 'random' seating plan, that Aphrodite decided on. Random, for sure. Cue eye roll.
From the moment Annabeth walked in, my eyes never left her, except to examine her seatmates. She was sitting alone until Tyson appeared, I knew that Annabeth was working on the hate-everything-with-one-eye problem that she had, and from the look on her face, maybe Tyson's company was welcome. He sat down, and they began something that looked like a conversation/Annabeth answering the million questions that came out of Tyson's mouth. I couldn't tell what they were saying, but that was okay. A few seconds after they started to talk, Annabeth pointed at the table where the gods were sitting.
I laughed when Grover, heading over to the table with Juniper, jumped a foot in the air because Tyson yelled, "GOAT-BOY!" loud enough so that every camper around turned to stare. The conversation continued and Annabeth pointed at the gods's table again, this time for Juniper's benefit.
Nico slumped over to the table and sat down. This action made me wish more than ever, that I was over there sitting with them. With Tyson in the good mood he was in (and honestly, when is Tyson ever in a bad mood for long?) and with Nico feeling everyone's death, I'd bet the two clashing would be an entertaining experience, to say the least. Well, no one was killed in the first twenty seconds, and then Beckendorf sat down, taking Tyson's attention off of Nico.
I was getting ready to go back to my favourite activity, Annabeth watching (watching, not stalking) when Rachel sat down. This was like a soap opera, and I found it funny. Tyson turned to Rachel, and she yelled, "EXCUSE ME?"louder than Tyson had yelled 'goat-boy.' Rachel, after a few seconds flipped her hair over her shoulder in a completely unattractive gesture.
"Well, son, how are you feeling?" Dad asked as he sat down beside me.
I wanted to say 'melancholy' but I knew Dad would probably ask for a explanation, and since I knew he was asking about my newly dubbed divine status, I answered, "No different."
"That's good." Dad smiled, and turned to talk to whoever was on his other side.
Someone sat down on my other side, and I turned to greet them. It was Hades. I was instantly speechless, what do you to the guy who let you save your world? My eyes found the blonde girl who'd stolen my heart.
Without so much as a word, the god found what my eyes had found a few seconds earlier. "Yes, she's quite a gem." He said in a low voice, so that no one could overhear. "It's a shame though . . ." He trailed off, and I was instantly on guard.
"What are you talking about?" I demanded.
"Nothing, nothing." Hades replied off handedly. "Someone like that should get everything they deserve, and little Annabeth deserves nothing of what she will get, unless . . ." He gave me a pointed look, "Unless you make it right."
I frowned. This guy was a walking riddle. "Do you enjoy confusing me?"
The god of the dead almost cracked a smile, "No, I enjoy a challenge."
I scratched my head, was he saying that I was easy to confuse?
Noo, he's saying we are easy to confuse. Devil informed me.
You two may be idiots, but I am most certainly am not! Angel sniffed.
News flash, you are us. Devil answered cockily.
I am not! Angel cried out, indignatly.
Sure you're not, that's exactly why we're sharing his head.
"Was that meant to be an insult?" I asked Hades.
"Hades," Called Athena before he had a chance to answer me. Athena came over and said, "My daughter wishes to speak with you. Will you meet her over by the Athena cabin? It seemed like a very pressing matter."
Hades nodded, and Athena strode back to her seat, where Annabeth was locked in a conversation with Aphrodite. Seeing her mother approach, she quickly broke it off. Athena spoke to Annabeth, and Annabeth took off in the direction of the Athena cabin. This made me confused. Most things do, Devil sang.
I rolled my eyes. Anyway, I was confused. Why would Annabeth want to talk to Hades? Would it be silly of me to think it was about me? I mean, after all, Hades biggest part in this war was bringing me back to 'life'? Was she thanking him? Was she asking him questions? Was I going to go crazy from asking all these questions?
You can't go where you already are. Devil informed me.
Thanks. I rolled my eyes again.
You're welcome.
I was being sarcastic! I cried.
So? I was being polite.
I craned my neck, to see if I could spot Annabeth and Hades, but I couldn't. Being unable to stand it, I stood up and headed toward the Athena cabin.
"Where are you going?" Dad asked me.
"Just going for a walk, try to calm the thoughts in my head." I told him. He smiled, being given the answer he must have wanted, and leaned back in his seat.
I was just passing Aphrodite when she stopped me. Well, not directly, but she said Annabeth's name, so I just had to ask. "Were you just talking about Annabeth?"
"Of course, dear. Her love life is just so wonderful!" She squealed like a school girl. "You have catastrophe here, heartbreak there, yearning, love, drama. It's glorious."
"Does she get her happy ending?" I wondered.
"Now, now." Aphrodite chastised me. "A princess can only get her happy ending if she has her prince."
"Does she get her prince?" I asked.
"Quite literally." Aphrodite answered, and shooed me away. All the freaking gods were walking riddles, just waiting for a chance to confuse me.
"What did she mean by 'quite literally'?" I asked Angel and Devil. "Does she mean that a real prince will sweep Annabeth off of her feet?"
I hope so, Angel replied, Annabeth deserves a handsome, caring prince. So, of course it can't be you.
I sighed, but Angel was right, still a snob, but right. I was no prince, so Aphrodite couldn't have meant me. I was just Percy Jackson. Though my Dad was a god, that didn't make him a king, and my Mom was just a mortal who could see through the mist, but that didn't make her a queen. Oh gods. My Mom. How was I going to tell her that I was a god? Don't focus on that, I told myself, focus on the problem at hand. Right, back to Annabeth and her prince.
It's still not you. Angel told me. That won't change in the space of five minutes.
Could you be more wrong? Devil demanded of Angel. We were both surprised.
Excuse me? I am always right, and Percy is not a prince. Angel snapped.
Sure he is. You could practically hear Devil's smirk. Let's think about it for a second. Poseidon is like King of the Seas, right? I nodded slowly to myself. That would make Percy the prince now that he's a god, right?
I love my Devil.
Okay, to all of you who do not know before Inner Conflict came into being, another story (a completed story) came before it titled Inner Turmoil, which is from Annabeth's pov. I would not be bringing this up if I wasn't starting to get ticked off about all the reviews about 'missing details' most 'missing details' show up in Inner Turmoil or in the later chapters of Inner Conflict. K?
Now that my rant is over. I don't own PJO. Review please.
~DI4MGZ~
